In a classroom, a boy stares at the bluish sky. He leans back in his chair, doodling on the desk without a specific purpose, his eyes drifting out the window. "Man, I wish I could have some excitement." Rei's gaze lingers on the students outside. Their laughter echoes like a distant melody, a reminder of the thrill he craved. "Must be nice to have grace." His fingers tighten around his pen, the longing twisting into a knot of frustration in his chest.
"I mean, why even try to become something more when I’ll always be—" He pauses, the words catching like a thorn in his throat. He doesn’t want to admit it, even to himself. Admitting it would make it real.
Then, someone walked up to him. "Hey, suki. How long are you gonna sit there and stare at the sky?" "Come on, let's go! School's finished!" A voice of a girl with black shoulder-length hair dragged him out of the classroom. Her eyes sparkled as she bounced on her toes, contrasting with Rei's slumped posture.
"Hey-! wait Kristine, don't drag me like I'm some sort of luggage!" Rei remarks as the boy continues to drag him. "Oh please, you're overreacting. You want excitement, right? Then let's go have fun. Or am I too much of a burden for you, Rei?" She gives a playful shrug, nudging my arm before we start walking through the school hallways.
Whoosh-
A gust of wind whipped past them. It rustled papers and sent loose hair dancing. Then, a student ran past them at super speed. "HEY! GET BACK HERE, YOU!" another student yelled, riding a body of water as he chased the other students. From the office, a teacher shouted with frustration, ‘For Pete's sake! No use of powers on school grounds! How many times do I have to say this?!’ as two students chased each other. A student soared overhead, using the wind to flip. I clenched my fist with a touch of tension, bitterness rising in my chest. Here I was, always on the sidelines, wanting just one moment where I could feel that rush too.
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Graces, our world's very own superpowers. It felt like a cruel joke; almost everyone around him could tap into these powers, while he stood powerless. He couldn’t help but feel small, like he didn’t belong in a world where strength was right at everyone else's fingertips. The isolation settled deep, a weight pressing against his ribcage, squeezing tighter with every laugh he heard from those around him. Maybe Kristine sensed it too. She always did.
As we walked in silence, my mind wandered off, drifting back to all the times I’d tried. A sudden tap on my shoulder as I turned Kristina looked at with a worried look "Hey suki, you kinda spacing out..." I shook my head and pushed down those thoughts with urgency. "Sorry, I had something on my mind," I answered back to her, breaking away from her grip. Though she didn't seem convinced and sighed. "I know it’s tough not having a grace, but you’ve still got options."
"Like what?" I countered, irritation slipping into my voice before she spoke about becoming a magic engineer. "It's the closest you can get to a grace after all," she countered. But her words only made the ache worse. Second-best. That’s what it felt like. Another path, another thing that wasn’t what he really wanted. Still, he nodded, letting her think she’d helped. It wasn’t her fault that he was stuck feeling like a shadow, and he didn’t want her to feel the weight of it too.
"So, what do you want to do? Suki?" she said, turning to me with a small smile. She put both hands behind her back. "Well, I don't have any pla-" "Great! Let's go to a cat café then; I bought the new volume of the novel I've been waiting for ages!" She then took my hand and started walking towards the school entrance.
We walked out of the school until we stopped at the entrance. "Ah crap! I forgot my bag." "I'll be right back, Kristine," I said. Then, I sprinted at full speed. I wasn't as fast as the other guy with super speed. But, I was faster than the average person. "HEY! WATCH OUT!" I heard Kristine's voice shout as I turned my head, seeing a soccer ball shot toward my face.
"Oh crap—" My thoughts filled with surprise and confusion. I turned my head to the side to avoid a direct hit to my face so I wouldn't break my nose.
Crash-! Thud-
The world spun as the soccer ball struck me. Darkness enveloped me as my eyes blurred while I braced for impact.
[End of chapter]