Everyone Loves Cooper….

Cooper Lewis never missed a party, and he sure wasn’t going to let a little final exam in the morning cause him to miss what would be the biggest Senior party of year.

It didn’t matter that Cooper was only a junior. 

Everyone knew Cooper, and everyone expected him to be in the mix of all things social.

“It ain’t a party until Coop gets here” was the unofficial battle cry of every get together since his freshman year.

He was known to everyone, yet few people (if any) really knew him.

The Lewis family was the most well-known family in their military community. His father was a decorated combat veteran, and his mom was a doctor on base. 

Both his brothers were superhumans. One was a sports legend who played football at West Point and would follow in their father’s footsteps straight into an Army career. His other brother was in medical school at Johns Hopkins in Maryland. 

Both were straight A students. Both were going to save the world.

Cooper wasn’t saving anything. He was an anomaly in the high-achieving  Lewis family. 

He was barely passing his classes, and he was average in everything he did. He wasn’t’ setting records on the football field like his brother Ben at West Point, or in the academic arena like his brother Jack at Johns Hopkins.

He was just simply “Coop” better known for slinging red solo cups than slinging footballs, and the only notable academic achievement he had on his resume was winning some stupid writing contest in the 7th grade.

His parents never knew how to categorize him when talking to other parents about their children.

There was the Army football star, the genius future doctor, and then…. there was Cooper.

“Cooper is going to surprise us all someday” was the usual response followed by an awkward silence.

Miraculously, Cooper’s party reputation was unknown to his parents. 

He continued to fly under everyone’s radar with his easygoing personality, quick wit, and charming smile. 

“Everyone loved “Coop,” yet somehow….. He felt as if no one really saw him at all. 

No one knew about the crippling anxiety and the need to escape the questions, and the focus put on him. 

No one knew that the party reputation was more than “just to be cool”. The alcohol (and sometimes other things) was becoming necessary for Cooper to function.

Until he figured his life out, it was just easier to escape. 

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When Cooper got to the party, most of the seniors had already been drinking for hours. He knew they expected him to catch up, and Coop did not like to disappoint his party peers.

Only his parents got to ride the “Cooper Disappointment Train”.

A few hours later, Cooper was feeling loose and his anxiety about final exams, becoming a senior, and figuring out his life started to melt away at the edges.

He lay back on the couch and watched things around him with detachment. He was hoping Jonah would show up. You could always count on Jonah to bring “party favors”.

He didn’t realize right away that something wasn’t right at the party.

But soon, he noticed people were starting to panic and move toward the back door. Coop jumped to his feet and began to move with the crowd when the commanding voice of the police officer froze him in his tracks.

“Party is over people. Everyone needs to get out ID cards and don’t do anything stupid”. 

Cooper turned to see two police officers moving their way into the main room of the party.

Cooper started to sweat, and his hands were shaking as he put down his plastic cup. He started to reach for his wallet in his back pocket when someone screamed from the next room.

 “GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME”!

The scream was followed by a loud crash, and both cops turned and ran toward the kitchen.

Cooper’s instincts kicked in, and he turned and bolted out the front door.

“Don’t stop Coop” he told himself as he ran down the street, past all the cars parked along the road, and into the dark night.

He ran until he reached the edge of the town and collapsed onto the grass field that led down to the lake. Coop lay on his back and tried to slow down his breathing.

He stared up into the dark night and took deep breaths until he could no longer hear the blood rushing through his veins.

Cooper listened for sounds that someone had followed him, but he all he could hear was the gentle lapping of the lake waves on the rocks.

He was safe for now. The escape should have filled Cooper with relief, but instead, he felt numb.

Here he was lying in the dark, alone. He always felt alone, and no one would ever believe it.

Especially not his perfect family. 

Cooper could feel the familiar pain starting to rise in his chest. He couldn’t go back to the party, and he didn’t want to go home. 

So Cooper Lewis…. son of the power couple, brother to superhuman scholar-athletes, and misunderstood partier….. lay on the grass and cried all the loneliness and uncertainty out of his system.

It was time to figure out who the real Cooper was.

For other insights into the Military Teen – check outSam Says See You Later.