Chapter 0

I walked down the path away from school. The heat hit me instantly then. It was a good thing I took off layers before getting out. Jacket on the shoulder, I scratched my head, trying to distract myself from everything. My hair felt rough. Soon enough, it became the only thing I was thinking of as I tried to rake off the sebum with my fingers. I stopped at a cross section. Waiting, I looked down at my nails. The tip of my nails were faintly oily. I should take a shower once I get home. I also noticed that they were getting quite long. I should cut them after taking a shower, I guess. I brought my head back up to cross the road.

I decided to take a longer path today, because I was getting bored of my normal path. Even if I was sweating from the heat,  the area was oddly cool and calm. Some students here and there, but that was about it. The path grew slimmer as nature crept from both sides. Trees, roots, flowers, weeds, surprisingly green grass. With the state of the world, this place seemed like paradise—though short-lived. The shade casted by trees wavered with the incessant breeze. Has a tree ever been completely still? Probably not. I thought again. That would make sense. Nothing truly stays static in nature.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The sun was now over my head. Grass patches became less scarce as I entered park territory. In front of me was an elevated cobblestone passage over a lake—probably man-made for the park ambiance. Large slabs of polished stone cut the passage in half, acting as benches for tired passersby. I was a passerby. I was also tired. May as well. I sat.

I had a great view of the blue sky and waters. Clear and clean. This place really was paradise. Swimming ducks, quivering fish, people’s shoes. People’s shoes? Students crossed my view and brought me back to reality. This place was apparently quite popular, infested with students. Most of them had my uniform. I didn’t really like seeing that white dress shirt with black pants or black skirt. It just rubbed me the wrong way. I shouldn’t be seeing school outside of school.

I rubbed my eyes, in thought. I peeked through my fingers to see an arm raised up, finger pointed. I followed the finger back to its owner to find a girl sitting to my left. Black skirt. White dress shirt. She attended my school, surely. I’ve never seen her before. That made sense knowing my asocial nature. I checked where she was pointing. It was another girl, seated on the edge of the passage. Were her feet dipped in the lake? I couldn’t tell from where I was sitting.

  “She’s a bitch.”

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There are life changing events that make you drift away from the life you used to live. Yet the clouds keep drifting. I think that I might’ve been in one of those life changing events, but I don’t know. The ground beneath us keeps moving. Everyone’s lives keep moving. Yet nothing happens. At the end of the day, there is always another. Tomorrow may be different, but it’s always the same.