The Class of 2005

We all remember Class of 3000, right? That show that used to be on Cartoon Network? In case you don't, it tells the tale of a music teacher named Sunny Bridges who taught 7 different students with different personalities: The sassy Tamika Jones, the rich Eddie Lawrence, the quirky Philly Phil, the overly happy Madison, the twins Kim and Kam, and Sunny's biggest fan Lil D.
However, when I was in high school, my best friend Jonathan, who was a fan of Class of 3000, and I went on this overnight trip with our other friends. All of us loved making conspiracy theories and telling stories. My friend Peter was the one who suggested we all go on a trip. We were all about 16 when Class of 3000 ended with that whole lawsuit incident.
But during the trip, one of my friends suggested that we should tell some creepy stories. I didn't want to, because it seemed totally dumb, but that was until Jonathan went in on the idea.
His story was something that stays in my mind to this day in 2015. The story was about Class of 3000 and it said that Andre 3000 didn't actually write the show for the sake of musical talent, he wrote it because he wanted to... "grant happiness to the dead." You see, he said that in 2004, about two years before Class of 3000's premiere. Andre 3000 read a story about 7 kids that died in the same year, in different ways. He wanted to make these kids happy in the afterlife and decided to "reincarnate" them as cartoon characters in his upcoming show for Cartoon Network. The kids didn't go to the same schools, but all lived in or outside of Atlanta. They also were all pretty good at music, ironically.
The first victim, Albert Lohrasses, was a percussionist, like Lil D. After he was born, his father walked out on him and his mother, was left to fend for herself. She worked multiple jobs to keep Albert in a safe environment. However, when Albert was 12 years old, she remarried a new man. This man however suffered PTSD after he had to go into witness protection. He didn't like having to take care of a child that wasn't his. When his mother was at work, he would beat him and when his mother saw the bruises, he would tell her that Albert was just "clumsy" and that "he fell all the time." Albert knew the truth but he couldn't tell his mother, in fear of what his stepfather would do to him. One day, Albert's mother went out on a business trip, promising to bring back something for her husband and son. However, Albert's stepfather forced Albert to work and clean in his house and would whip him even. The only time where Albert was sincerely happy was in music class because he could play the drums in peace. He died when his stepfather beat him to death before his mother got home. His death was on January 19th 2004. He was the inspiration for Lil D who doesn't have a father but has a happy wellbeing and is much braver.
The second victim, Penny Papadopolous, was a violinist who saw beauty in everything. She loved nature and the idea of everything being happy. However, in reality, her life was anything but. She wasn't abused, but her parents were constantly at odds with each other. Her mother was an alcoholic who couldn't function normally as her narcolepsy was affected by her alcohol addiction while her father was a verbally abusive man who "handed out honestly to whoever deserved it." Her parents always pretended like nothing happened, but Penny heard aspects of it and hated the way things were in her home. Penny also suffered from depression and took anti-depressants for it. The anti-depressants changed her personality completely and she came off as this extremely happy girl. Because she was so hopped up on Prozac and Zoloft, Penny often told tales of the happy life she never actually had and would even go over the top. She even extended her name to random words such as "Spaghettini." and even told of heritages that weren't actually hers. One day, her mother and father got into a huge fight in front of Penny and her father took her violin and began hitting her mother with it. Penny screamed for her father to stop, but he wouldn't listen this time. Upset with the way things were, Penny overdosed on her Prozac. Her death was on February 15th 2004. Penny was the inspiration for Madison, who got to truly be happy and embrace life, and her lies were truthful.
The third victim, Violet Jones, was a tough girl who took martial arts when some bullies in her grade made fun of her because she was black. Her father was a cop who made it clear to her that she was using the martial arts to gain mental confidence and that she couldn't use her martial arts on people. In her spare time, Violet owned a guitar and was popular for playing songs every year at the talent show. The bullies at her school were jealous of her guitar skills and how respected she was that they were desperate to make her into a loser, so they would call her disrespectful names and even made fun of her because she was black. Her friends tried to stand up for her but the bullies always found a way to show Violet that she was a nobody. One day, Violet became so mad at the ringleader of the bullies that she beat her with a chair and then used martial arts on the others. When she was sent to the principal's office, her father was disappointed in her, but at the same time was grateful that she had defended herself. However the next day, one of the bullies brought their older brother to the school and he wasn't happy that his sister got beat up, so he decided to teach Violet a lesson. Violet was beat to death. She was clearly the inspiration for Tamika, who is tough and able to defend herself. Her death was on April 18th 2004.
The fourth victim, Frederick Lawrence, was a famous trumpet player. He didn't attend a normal school and was taught by a teacher in his mansion. He was held to a high standard by his parents. He came from an extremely rich family and his father used to be a famous flute player in the past. His parents argued constantly and were really only together for Frederick's performances. Frederick always desired to be like everyone else and often times snuck out of his mansion to be with friends. His dream was to marry a woman who lived a free and powerful life and stay in Atlanta, but his mother and father had plans as well. They wanted him to marry a woman of rich descent and someday move away from Atlanta. He died when a spotlight and a bunch of other stage equipment fell on him, during a performance. He was the inspiration for Eddie, but unlike Frederick, Eddie was designed to be able to live the free life and was able to like a woman of a powerful life: Tamika. His death was on May 3rd 2004.
The fifth victim, Phillip Stone, was a genius child, born to a couple who worked as a minimum-wage journalist and a salesman, respectively. His parents were so grateful to have a son like him that they always believed he was able to do anything. But Phillip was actually very weakened. His eyesight was horrible and his health conditions were very severe. His parents couldn't afford a lot because they didn't have proper occupations, so Phil was forced to wear very abstract clothing to school. Teachers appreciated Phillip's intelligence, but students teased him because he was not only a prodigy, but he was also very quirky. He had been offered premature scholarships to universities, but he turned them down to help out with his family. At the age of 12, he became so desperate to keep his house in shape that he ignored his wellbeing altogether. He vowed to make an invention that he would sell for a fortune and make money for his parents. It was a big ambition for a teenager, but he promised his parents. He became more and more desperate to finish this invention before his 13th birthday that he never took any of his medications. He had asked for a bass guitar and wanted to make sure his parents had the money for themselves and for the bass guitar. He died when the stress and health took a toll on his body, where his appendix ruptured and he didn't get to be saved in time before his 13th birthday. In the show, Phillip was reincarnated as Philly Phil, who is the eldest of the kids and a successful genius who gets to play the bass. He is the eldest because Andre 3000 wanted to give him the birthday he never got to celebrate. His death was on June 23rd 2004.
The last two victims, Kayla and Kyle Chang, who were fraternal twins like Kim and Kam in the show. The two twins had different personalities. Kayla Chang was into fashion, hoping to be a famous designer one day. Her twin brother Kyle Chang was a hardworking boy who vowed to inherit his father's business someday. The two however didn't get along very well. Kayla and Kyle were the only ones who actually lived a normal life without any dysfunction in their lives. After their school year in the sixth grade, Kayla and Kyle's parents took them to a summer camp that they so desperately wanted to attend. It was a music camp that they admired. Kayla played various percussion instruments while Kyle played just the piano. During that time, Kyle and Kayla were heavily respected musicians at the camp when they showed off their talent. During one day at the camp, the counsellor said that there was to be a performance at the end of the summer. The twins vowed to do better than the other during the performance. Jonathan said at this point that he wasn't sure whether or not it was actual irony, but apparently news reports had leaked that a serial killer had broken out of an insane asylum. This insane asylum was about 1 mile from the camp. This fugitive was still very psychotic and was willing to kill whoever he wanted. The other kids had gone to sleep and had locked their cabins, but Kayla and Kyle were outside of their respective cabins, practicing and arguing with each other. The killer murdered both of them. In the show, Kim and Kam are still arguing twins, but they aren't as stubborn. Their deaths were on August 24th 2004.
When Jonathan finished the story, we all laughed at him. We told him he was full of shit and that he was totally out of his mind. He had probably watched too much Class of 3000 and was reading too many of those conspiracy theories.
However, a few months later, my grandmother's battle with thyroid cancer ended. She passed away on May 7th 2015. She was 87 years old.
When they buried her, I felt so upset and angry about how she died that I walked away. I don't know if this was irony or what, but I ran into a tree. I went into shock for a few seconds, but quickly snapped out of it. The tree had 6 small name tombstones that read 7 names and informations.
In Loving Memory of The Kids of 2004,
Albert Lohrasses
Penny Papadopoulous
Violet Jones
Frederick Lawrence
Phillip Stone
Kyle Chang
Kayla Chang
Then as if I was imagining things, I read the head caption, which was nailed into the tree.
"The Class of 2005"
Category:Class of 3000
Category:TV
Category:TV
Category:Lost Episodes
Category:2000's