Not the “slightly edgy” type. The full package. Neon pink hair spiked straight up, sides shaved clean. Piercings in his lip and eyebrow. A leather jacket that smells like gym socks and cheap body spray. Combat boots. Band tees covered in skulls I make a point not to read too closely.
He’s loud, sarcastic, and far sharper than he pretends to be. He tests boundaries just to see the reaction. People stare wherever he goes.
Kids whisper during school events. Parents scan him from head to toe and give me that tight, awkward smile that says, Well… he’s expressing himself. I hear it all the time:
“Do you really let him go out like that?”
“He looks… aggressive.”
Even, “Kids like that always end up in trouble.”
I always give the same answer. One sentence shuts it down every time:
“He’s a good kid.”
Because he is.
