Kevin O.

Kevin Oxgxll was a Coral Reef student who Josh and Jared came to know in their sophomore year. Though Kevin was in their grade, he was a rarity in the class breakdown, as he had no classes whatsoever with either Josh or Jared. By that point, the guys had met a good half of their '09 classmates, and if they hadn't, they had at least seen or heard of them. But before Kevin barreled into their lives, neither of the guys had known he existed. Nobody they knew seemed to know him, either.

Josh and Jared were working as crew members on the show The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd after school one day when Kevin excitedly approached them… even though they had never met. He was extremely friendly and simply wanted to introduce himself to new people.

Kevin was not in Drama. He was apparently there to film the show via the AV Club, or something. Josh and Jared didn't think much of it.

At the next afternoon's rehearsal, Kevin saw the guys again and ran over, giving Josh a huge bear hug and tackling him out of excitement.

The guys didn't know what to make of Kevin. He was eccentric, wild, silly, and unpredictable, but also completely genuine. He was a gentle, easygoing, nerdy guy who was always positive. They liked him, but they were a bit perplexed by how random this new friendship was.

As with many of their school acquaintances, Jared let Josh take the lead. Josh served as the face of the two of them, placating Kevin with jokes and small talk, while just Jared sat there. It worked well.

At one point, Josh cracked a fairly easy joke with him. “Is your name Kevin, or Xxll?” he posed, referencing his last name. Kevin roared with laughter as if it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. He'd apparently never made the very simple connection about his own name that Josh and Jared had after just a few days of knowing him.

When Greasepaint ended, the guys actually saw very little of their new friend again. They never had any classes with him, and they never saw him in extracurriculars. The only tidbit of information they gleaned was that he was dating a fellow student they knew named Maggie, which felt like TV writers pairing up two random characters on a teen drama just because.

***

Years later, Jared's aunt of all people had gone to purchase something at Best Buy. She reported back that she had been helped by a young man who had also gone to Coral Reef, and they had gotten to talking. It was Kevin. Not only did he remember Jared instantly, he was just as excited to have the interaction as he was when he had met the guys originally.

Jared was flattered, but at the same time, it was just as strange as before. The guys just hadn't really ever gotten to know or talked much with Kevin! He was an acquaintance at most, but there he was jumping for joy at just the mention of Jared's name. Jared's aunt went back to Best Buy a few more times and reported that Kevin was just as excited then, too.

Now, the guys look back on Kevin fondly and keep tabs on his life. He went on to marry Maggie and works as a math teacher in a school not far from where they all grew up. He may have been a bit of an odd duck, but Josh and Jared would be happy to bump into him again.  ❒

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