<P> Scott Hudson enters J.P. Zenger High as a freshman , along with his three best friends , Mitch , Patrick , and Kyle , and quickly realizes that it is very different from middle school . Upperclassmen are intimidating and will steal any lunch money along with loose change if you stand in the wrong place . Scott gets put in advanced classes , including an Honors English class which , despite the amount of homework , is his favorite class . His teacher , Mr. Franka , becomes a mentor to him . Scott finds out that he 's not in classes with his friends since he 's carrying all honors and college prep classes . He tries his best from the very start to get the attention of Julia Baskins , a girl who was in his kindergarten class and has recently become very beautiful over the summer . Because of her beauty she quickly blends in with the popular girls and is attracted to the football players who are often bullying Scott . Scott is also connected to another classmate named Louden , who is better known as Mouth . Scott tries every attempt to get Julia 's attention such as joining the school paper , because he thinks that she is part of the staff , only to discover that she has written only a single column for the paper . He then runs for student council , after finding out that Julia is also running as well , and wins a seat , only to find out that she has not won . Because of this , Scott resigns from his position on the student council . It turns out that a lot of other members also resigned including the president meaning Julia who happened to have the 2nd most amount of votes is now president . He also auditions for the school play and is selected as a member of the crew , thinking that Julia is also auditioning for the play . However , Julia has not been selected as a member of the cast or crew . Soon , a new girl named Lee arrives at school , who wears face pins and weird clothes , and has wildly colored hair . Both soon realize that they share the same interests , but he ca n't get past his crush on Julia . Scott suddenly has another `` friend '' named Wesley , a high school senior . Though they share some interests , they have little in common . Then to put the cherry on top of all this excitement going on in his life , his mother announces that she is pregnant . He copes with all of this by creating a tip book for his soon - to - be baby sibling to help him , or her , survive high school when they get to it . In his entries to the baby , he often shows disdain by using degrading terms to talk to it such as `` Smelly '' or `` Blob of unformed goo '' . But he writes it to be a good older brother to this new baby since Scott 's own brother was never very present . As time goes by , Scott tries to find his place , but he starts to lose his best friends . Mitch finds a girlfriend and soon forgets the group , Patrick moves to Texas , then to Japan , and Kyle joins the wrestling team and soon puts Scott down for having a crush on Julia . Soon , Julia 's boyfriend Vernon beats up Scott after finding out from Kyle ( who lost a fight with Scott ) that Scott has a crush on his girlfriend . Scott realizes that what a person says and does can affect the life of another after Mouth attempts to commit suicide . Later , he learns that not everything is what it seems once he finds out that his older brother , Bobby , who is struggling to find a job , can barely read . Scott 's mother eventually gives birth to a new baby boy , whom they name Sean . Meanwhile , Bobby finds a job through guitar - playing and Julia eventually starts dating a nicer guy , though she is now close to Scott enough to give him a kiss on the cheek . </P>
where does sleeping freshmen never lie take place
J.P. Zenger High