Manchester High School
| “ | If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you, you haven't done much today. | ” |
| Mikhail Gorbachev, perfectly describing Chris in relation to his high school years. | ||
| “ | I had so many friends over there, in high school. And I was just sad to leave, after I graduated. 'Cause I had to leave all my friends. I had the good life. | ” |
| Chris, ten years after finishing high school, crying alone in his dark, toy-filled bedroom[1] | ||
Manchester High School, located in Midlothian, Virginia, was attended by Chris from 1996 to 2000 (ninth grade to twelfth grade). Chris portrays this period as among the happiest in his life[2], even though he proudly slept through a good deal of it.[3]
Among Chris's classes were the usual subjects, two years of Spanish,[4] Sex Ed, "Coping Skills", and a lot of art classes. According to Chris, he achieved an Honor Roll Grade Streak ALL THE WAY THROUGH M.H.S.[5] However, according to the video Song of Christian, he failed English class during his sophomore year of high school.
Chris is very proud of the fact that he was mainstreamed throughout high school, even though, the captions under the majority of his teachers' names in the extended slideshow say "special education". This implies that Chris was mainstreamed to the extent that he attended the same school as his typically functioning peers, but nothing more than that. He also rode on the "freakin' Handicapped, Special-Ed bus", an experience which haunts him to this day.[6]
Chris was a water boy (and a "manager", according to him) for the Manchester High Lancers basketball team, along with Joseph Herring. He got a certificate and an embroidery "M" for this work.[5]
Known Accomplishments
- 10th Grade
- 12th Grade
- September: Praise from his English teacher for the short story "How the Pokémon came into Our Poke Balls"
- March: CD cover for Christian's Favorite Hits!
- April: Naps in class for the self-documentary "A Week With Christian Chandler"
Social life
Most of Chris's friends were gal-pals, not joy-boys. He had classes and ate lunch with them every other day (the high school has alternating "odd" and "even" days. On odd days he ate alone.[7]). There were immature boys on the school bus, which he dreaded. Chris's purported friends:
- Kellie Andes
- Tiffany Gowen
- Sarah B.[8]
- Miranda, partner in Science class[9]
- Molly, happy and giggly[10]
- Joseph Herring
- Brian, boyfriend of Sarah[11]
In reality, few if any of those people can be legitimately said to have been a friend of Chris. As he himself admits, he spent little time with his so called friends outside of school hours[12] and in his Song of Christian (written at age sixteen) he describes himself as being lonely and isolated.
Go Lancers!
Chris's servitude to the basketball team, probably the only meaningful interaction he had with other males throughout his entire adolescence, remains a cherished memory; so much so, that he continues to obsess about it... over a decade after graduating.
A few references were slipped into the comic. In Sonichu #7 Manchester High was featured heavily. It begins with Chris hanging around his old school without being there on any official business. Magi-Chan then brings Chris and Sonichu back in time to 1996, when Chris was a student. In Sonichu #9, Megagi La Skunk was depicted wearing a Lancers cheerleading outfit.
In August 2010, Chris made a handful of characters and a vehicle in ModNation Racers to commemorate his time with the basketball team. The Manchester High ModNation collection includes the team bus, two of the players, a cheerleader, and Chris himself at age 14, looking as if he's afraid of being jumped by something just behind him.
On 9 August 2013, as Chris continues to fantasise on his high school years, Chris uploaded the logo of the team on Facebook. At the same time, however, he noted that he had avoided attending school pep rallies, because they were "too loud."
The Bus
At age 15, Chris was "demoted" from the regular school bus to the Special Ed bus. Out of all the weird, embarrassing details of his life that he has no problem discussing, this is one experience that he has rarely spoken about. It's clear that Chris was scarred by this experience of being forced to spend time with the seriously mentally handicapped, or "slow-in-the-mind retards" as he calls them.
Chris switched to the Bus of Doom after a confrontation with another student on the Normal Bus. Much like every other time Chris claims to have been physically assaulted, it is unclear exactly what happened. He has only told the story twice;[6][13] in one version it sounds like Chris started a fight because he wanted to get off the bus first, and in the other version it sounds like a niggo punched him for no reason. Whatever happened, Chris cites this incident as the reason for his exclusion from Gen Pop.
The Seinor Prom
Chris took his mom to the seinor [sic] prom. Gal-pal Tiffany felt sorry for him, and so she asked him to dance, which they did so for what seemed like hours to Chris (and arguably seemed like hours to Tiffany too). Chris hopes to re-enact this historic moment at an upcoming high school reunion.[14] That is assuming there aren't security guards there for the express purpose of keeping him out.
Gallery
Stay classy, Virginia.
"Don't go gropin' anyone tonight, Chris... I'm assburgin'."
Chris was probably more interested in the food than the two young ladies.
Chris is feeling all by his lonesome at this point.
Some random people at prom, giving what would be considered a rude gesture in some countries.
Tiffany to the rescue!
Graduation
For Chris, graduation was an emotional experience. In his own words:[15]
| I ONLY got recognized for my Grades with a Star Pin, yet they had MORE FANCIER AWARDS for more important qualities. I should have been Highly Recognized for my ARTISTIC TALENTS I showed in my Many Art Classes for the Award Ceremonies before Graduation Day. I felt crestfallen greatly from not getting recognized for any of my Talents. I EXCELLED IN MATH TOO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!
I had gotten over the Award Ceremony on the Graduation Day, but to add Lemon Juice to an open wound, it was a Dark and Rainy Day that Day, and they handed out MORE TALENTED AWARDS right before handing out any diplomas. When I went up there to get mine, I was feeling depressed, upset, crestfallen and ticked off. When the award was handed to me, I took it without looking anyone in the eye, and I did not shake anyone's hands. I just walked back to my seat in the Graduating Crowd. Then soon after, I just walked the wrong way up the center aisle, found an isolated table and cried myself out. My mother found me later and comforted me; my father was ashamed of the way I acted, and he would later still be angry at recalling the moment. Tiffany also found me and gave me a caring moment of condolences back there. I gave her a plush Psyduck as a graduating gift beforehand. |
In another retelling, Chris reveals more straight anger:[16]
| So while I sit there and feel happy for my friends who got something, I was so %$@# JEALOUS. I was a High-Functioning Autistic Boy who came WAAAAAAAAAY BEYOND OUT OF HIS SOCIAL SHELL, only to get ZILCH, NADA, ZIP; A BIG FAT ZERO! I felt so Devistated and Out Of Sync :'(
[...] I ended up doing what I did when I went up there to accept the diploma; NO HANDSHAKE, TEARS, AND RUNNING AWAY TO HIDE. They don't even have any pictures of that in the Y2K Yearbook; the caption should have read, "Student Christian Chandler is Depressed and Sad for some reasons. His response is tears and fright." Even now as I type this, I am still *&$%^#@ Angry that I didn't get anything for the things I've poured my heart, soul and hand-work into, nor emerged as a friend to quite a few, nor developing a positive social behavior similar to Red Skelton. |
The evil Count Graduon's name was derived from Chris's feelings about his graduation.[17]
Lingering attachments
Generally speaking, Chris's memories of high school still hold great significance for him. This is unsurprising, given that high school was the last time he regularly got out and about in a social environment that seems to have at least partially accepted and tolerated him, though this was most likely because snapping at an autistic child in a public school can get you suspended.
Chris has mentioned that he frequently dreams of his days in high school, recalling his teenage years in a nostalgic tone. A May 2010 YouTube video features a flood of wistful reminiscing from Chris, as he laments having to move away from the suburb where he went to high school: "I had so many friends over there, in high school. And I was just sad to leave, when I, after I graduated." A good half a dozen of the women he recalled in his archive of "gal-pals and past sweethearts" (and most of the ones who weren't trolls) were girls he knew in high school.
There's also the matter of the aforementioned Count Graduon, where Chris may have created an embodiment of the concept of leaving high school to be the dominant villain of the entire Sonichu saga. His graduation ceremony is perhaps one of his most painful memories, and it's particularly fitting that Chris transforms the experience into a villain in his own comic book, all things considered.
Reunion plans
| “ | I know it was Promised, because at the end of the slideshow they had at the Prom, it had a HUGE Message stating, "See You at the Reunion in Ten Year." I am no longer going to take the insubordination and belaboring-to-no-promise-keeping sitting down anymore. | ” |
| Chris on his "Promised Reunion"[18] | ||
In his "Gal-Pals and Past Sweethearts" page from the CWCipedia, Chris notes that he looks forward to attending his class reunion. He doesn't know exactly when this will take place, and made no effort to find out about it until mid-2010, as he assumed somebody from the school would have contacted him with directions by then.
On 27 August 2010, Chris uploaded a video address to YouTube, wherein he reveals that, up to that point, he hadn't heard anything about a coming reunion. He decided to organize one himself, only to give up relatively quickly. In November 2010, there may have been a class reunion, but either way, Chris did not attend.
Gallery
Tungsten. That is all.
Becoming B-ball manager
Prom Note
Classes
Graduation Note 1
Graduation Note 2
Graduation Note 3
Sources
- ↑ Greene County Conspiracy
- ↑ DVD, note 7
- ↑ A Week With Christian Chandler
- ↑ Chris + Sarah's Life-Shares, page 8
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 User:ChrisChanSonichu profile#The Teenage Years
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jackie Chat 9
- ↑ A Week With Christian Chandler
- ↑ DVD, note 6; A Week With Christian Chandler, pages 9 and 13
- ↑ DVD, note 6; A Week With Christian Chandler, page 14
- ↑ DVD, note 6
- ↑ DVD, note 6; A Week With Christian Chandler, page 8
- ↑ Kacey Call 20
- ↑ Kacey Call 9
- ↑ User:ChrisChanSonichu profile#The Seinor Prom
- ↑ User:ChrisChanSonichu profile#Graduation
- ↑ DVD, graduation notes 1 and 2
- ↑ Jackie Chat 7
- ↑ Jackie E-mails 9
