A guy who sat next to me in my calculus class senior yr that was unamusing until i spent more and more time with him. His name was B. B was really good at math, whether naturally gifted or naturally inclined, it doesn't matter. He was good at calculus and clearly put effort. But he was arrogant. When I first spoke to him he was the one who spoke first, commenting on how easy the material was while the girl behind us struggled and asked us for help. He kept these comments coming and the girl snarkily replied that he should've taken Calculus BC instead. He paused and said "I'm not tryna do allat."
He's a guy who put in a lot of effort to look like he wasn't putting in effort. Maybe he watched too much anime or something, but he slouched in his seat with his hands in his pockets, said he 'didn't need to take notes' because the material was too easy. But he would always be the first one to answer the question on the board in class, "coincidentally" always remembering to throw down his pencil in his notebook hard to let everyone know he finished first, and would always finish all the homework the day it was assigned. He always paid attention in class, and clearly taught himself material we didn't learn yet so he could impress the teacher. Then he would tell me he never studied for tests, and that he does fine if he doesn't. And it's true, he never took home anything lower than a 95% on our exams.
He's not as much of a pretentious dick as I just made him out to be. I just recounted the important details. We chat in class a lot and he's willing to help others with math. He can easily joke and make fun of himself, he told me he fails english and history classes often because he hates memorization. He's able to create friends where he can banter with. I used to banter a tease my friends a lot more. But one time I did with a friend and she didn't take it very well. I got added into a group chat where her friends grilled me. (No, I did not say any slurs to her, the stituation was over genshin impact.)
We talked throughout the school year and even hung out a few rare times. When I learned more about him I realize he's a bit of a loser. But he put himself in that position. That time I hung out with him, he essentially told me he suffers from bad FOMO, but in a very discreet and calculated way. He asked me whether I had any "huzz" how he was looking for huzz and had no luck. He was tip toeing around, trying to figure out whether I was ahead or behind him in this game of "Did I waste my highschool youth years?" And I came to realize he played this game a lot. B also talked to me about Hoyoverse games. He plays honkai star rail and Zenless Zone Zero. I told him I play HSR. He asked me if I was a gooner. I told him I was not. (B is lowkey a gooner)
B doesn't hang out. He let me know that he hates winter and spring break because he "has nothing to do except stay home and play games." I laughed asking why he doesn't hang out, and he replies... "I have no huzz." Realizing he's serious, I ask him why doesn't he just hang out with guy friends, go to the park, hang out at the mall, and he cut me off with a groan, seemingly annoyed that I'd even mention the thought of going outside. He's too cool for it. B goes straight home after school ends. He doesn't participate in many extracirrculars because he's too cool for it. B doesn't attend any senior events because he's too cool for it. B didn't go to prom, because he "didn't have huzz". B didn't even go to graduation, because it was a drag. He alludes an aura of complacency, like he doesn't care. But he clearly cares. He asks me what I did during break, what and where I hung out, how prom was, waiting for a moment where he can cleverly retort how he's glad he didn't go or do anything. But he always delivers as a joke.
B is likely not happy. He plays that game of "Did I get my ideal highschool experience compared to other people?" because he wants to gauge where other highschoolers were in that game. And then he places people in his rankings to make himself feel better. Because no one gets an anime harem protag high school experience which I suppose would be his 'ideal' experience, with how much he talks about the huzz. But B doesn't realize his game is stupid and he is the only player. Especially since B's stituation and isolation is self-created. If he stopped giving a shit about his "effortlessly cool" highschool anime protag persona, maybe he would've made more friends. Maybe he would've made some plans. Maybe he would've discovered some hobbies and developed his sarcastic personality to be enjoyable to be around. Maybe he would've stopped caring so much about other people's standing in his game.
I still have B added on instagram. He scrolls reels a lot, because I always see a reel that is liked by him. I wonder if he's going to make a college debut.