High School Isn't Easy For Anyone

Note: A ficlet based upon a prompt from Ieresial. The prompt was to start a story with the given first line.

The action, he reflected, would not have been so embarrassing, if not for the reactions of the others.

Connor glanced to his semi-adoptive mother and felt his cheeks flush as he realized that she too was a witness to his spectacular failure. He was sure that this kind of thing hadn't ever happened to Clark.

Inside of the coffee shop he picked himself up from the floor, trying to ignore the giggles of the gaggle of girls around him, wishing that the ground would eat him whole.

Just go for it, Clark had advised him. Don't be shy, Lois had told him, all or nothing, Connor. Women like a direct man, Tess told him, be respectful but direct-and don't lie.

Clark could take the advice that he ripped off of a Nike commercial and put it where the sun didn't shine. He was starting his high school career off spectacularly-as a total loser.

He spilled a chai latte on the most popular girl in school, tripped and nearly fell on his face, and she was looking at him like some sort of farm animal excrement.

Directedness hadn't gotten him anywhere. Apparently Juliana's boyfriend didn't take too kindly to his direct invitation to take her to the homecoming dance. He stumbled over the quarterback's foot, and spilled the drink down her front.

At least the entire coffee house wasn't laughing, there were maybe three or four people apart from Martha Kent who didn't seem to notice-unfortunately those three to four people didn't go to G.W. High School.

"I'm so sorry." Connor repeated as he backed away from her, burning underneath the scrutiny. "So sorry, Juliana."

She still looked horrified, glancing away from him to her boyfriend who pulled her past them.

"Let's get away from here babe, before freak-o spazzes out again." Her boyfriend, Adam said with a snort. "Loser."

With a slow breath, Connor turned around to walk towards Mrs. Kent, who was known to him as Aunt Martha in Washington. It made the story easier.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, quietly.

"Whatever…" Connor picked up his backpack from the chair. "There's a loser in every crowd, right? I guess it was just bound to be the kid who's a freak."

"Connor…" Martha rested her hand on his shoulder, "You're far from a freak."

He glanced up at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry; did you not just witness my massive failure that has destined me to be a true blue loser for the rest of my high school career?"

"Everyone has a few embarrassing moments in high school." Martha reminded him, leading him to her car outside the coffee shop.

"I bet Clark didn't." Connor grumbled, throwing his backpack onto the floor.

A smile crossed Martha's lips. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"At least he had friends." Connor said, dropping down into the passenger seat. "I hate this place. Everyone looks at me like a complete freak."

"It's a new school." Martha said, "Give it time, you'll adjust. People will come to see what a great boy you are."

"Yeah, unlikely." Connor said with a snort, picking up the day's issue of the Planet that was on the dashboard.

He wasn't especially interested in the news, but he liked to read Lois and Clark's articles.

"Page three." Martha told him, knowing what he was looking for.

That got the slightest of chuckles from him as he flipped through.

"Lois must be outraged." Connor said, "I think she gets angry if Perry White drops her articles below the fold, never mind anywhere but page one."

Martha agreed. "I think they've been busy settling in in Metropolis, but if there's one thing I know about Lois, this is only going to make her work harder."

"What do you mean?" Connor asked, scanning the article about a mysterious donation to a children hospital in Star City.

"Well, she's just the sort of person…" Martha glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, "You knock her down a peg or two, and she works three times as hard to come back even better."

Clark was right, Connor thought with a groan as he skimmed the article, not particularly interested in the material, his mom never gave up when it came to the pep speeches.