As his peers busied themselves with the latest trends and gossip, Lucas found himself increasingly sidelined, his attempts to fit in thwarted by snickers and sideways glances. This isolation was made even worse by the physical changes that puberty heralded.
While his peers were sporting new heights and the beginnings of muscular builds, Lucas’s body seemed only to expand sideways. His self-consciousness about his weight turned into a constant, gnawing presence in his heart, making him unable to step out of his bubble and make friends.