David Sokolov (High School)

Basically, he likes being seen as cool more than intelligent so he more tries to pretend to be cool than intelligent. This is disappointing to the people who know he's smart because he's taking the time to lowkey intentionally tank his own life and opportunities.

David was born in a different country than the one he was raised in-- one which broke out into an all-out civil war when he was still a toddler and his parents chose to emigrate from as soon as possible. David had to re-learn language as a child in a family facing the same language struggles as him. He realized early on that other kids can be cruel if they see you as an "other", and learned to mimic behaviors that were praised not by people in authority, but by other kids. Authority has no authority over a social life, and social life lack certainly feels more painful. David has learned to copy other's actions to gain their friendship, even at the sacrifice of how others perceive his intelligence and of the such.