The captivating sound of the rain lightly tapped against the window of his room, Russel sits quietly in the dark, laying in bed, watching as the droplets of rain slowly trickle down the gutter through his window. His face scrunched up, and his bloodshot eyes that tell you he hasn't slept.
"Russell!!" Russel jumps out of his bed with a start. Fear and worry plastered all over his face. The stomps and screams of his mother coming up the stairs, all he wishes he could do is hide under the covers of his warm and comfortable bedding, but he knows what's coming.
It's the end of the first quarter of his fourth year in highschool, and the deadline for all assignments is tomorrow, and he is running on straight F's with zeroes all over his gradebook. It is quite apparent how furious his mother would be if he gets kicked out and has to transfer again...
"Russel, why the hell haven't you answered me?" His mother swings open the door and strides through the doorway, her fury instantly heating up the room. "I got another damn call from your principal saying you haven't done a damn thing in any of your classes in a month. You TOLD me you caught up, not to worry about it almost every day! So why the hell am I still dealing with these calls!? I do everything for you, and yet we have this conversation almost every week! I try, and I try. Yet I can't force you to do your work, but you still lie about it. I don't have that power left in me after all these years. And you still tell me you get your work done. For what? Do you even care about your life anymore? You tell me th-"
"SHUT UP!" commands Russell, swiftly cutting off his mother. "You always use that against me! Yes, you tried years ago! and I was good, I was doing good. Then you just ASSUME I'm fine afterwards. And your attention, ALL of your attention, swings right back to my brother and sister. Leaving me to fend for myself until SOMEONE explains to you that something is wrong with me. All you care about is whether or not what I do affects you. Yet you do your best to cater to whatever my siblings ask of you. Then maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't end up flunking out again. Ever thought of that? Ever thought maybe if I got all that attention I could be like the other two?"
Silence descends upon the room following Russell's rant, and he stares straight into his mother's eyes. His mother clearly furious. After half a minute has gone by, Russel finally breaks the silence, tears forming in his eyes. "All I ask of you, all I have ever asked, is to be treated the same. Yet, here we are, yelling back and forth again. I hate it. So why? Just why?"
"Do NOT guilt trip me Russell. It is YOU who is failing out of school. Not me, not your father, not your siblings, YOU. So do not turn this on me. You have no idea how much I care for all of you. How much I do behind the scenes for you. You are fed, you are clothed, and you are able to go to school. That is more than a lot of people your age have. Yet, what do you do with it? You sit here, sitting in your own sorrow and filth, doing nothing with your life even after eighteen years." His mother, flushed red from anger, and a hint of sadness in her eyes, turns to the door to leave. "Russell, get out of the house. I don't want to see you at all today. This is my house, and you are ruining it with your self pity. Come back when you are ready to to fix your actions." And with that, his mother stomps out of the room, leaving behind Russell to take in what just happened.
"Was... Was I just kicked.. out?" Tears slowly trickle down Russell's cheek, as he realizes that he might have finally pushed his luck too far. Pushed too far to get the attention he wanted...
Thump
Russell falls to his knees, as fear, sadness, and hatred begin to well up in his stomach. As he sits there, peering at his open door into the dark abyss his mother just went into.
An unknown amount of time had passed until Russell was finally able to gather his bearings and slowly stumble back to his feet, wobbling as he continues to process his current situation. Wiping his tears away, he walks into the darkness past his door, into that abyss.
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Flash
Blinded by the sudden white light of lightning, Russell barely stays standing. Continuing down the corridor of his house towards the front door.
Booooom
The sound of thunder perveates through the entire house hold, shaking the very foundations as Russell makes it to the laundry room, his face regaining slight coloring after his argument. He looks around, finding his pure black sneakers he's had for years. He slips them on, still snug around his feet, he grabs his car keys as he opens the door to the garage. Turning on the light, there lies Stacy, his one and only, his best friend. His beautiful, bright red truck. And one of the only good things he still has.
Opening up the garage, Russell is immediately drenched in the rain, blinded by the light of lightning flashing in the distance. With a sigh, he opens up the door to his truck, hops in, and starts her up, and drives into the storm.
Sometimes, even if I have to sacrafice how well we are able to live, how well I eat... I just wish I could be more. I'm not as smart as my sister, I'm not as athletic as my brother, and I might not be as outgoing and have as many friends as the both of them, it's just... I don't want to be like them. I don't want to exist because of them. I want to be able to make a name for myself without having to use the names of my family. I want to be Russell Hansen. I don't want to be "Little Hansen" anymore. I'm Russell for fucks sake. I'm me. I'm not them. So stop trying to compare me to them!
As Russell continues to drive, the storm rages on. The tapping of rain from earlier has turned to splashes, the lightning flashing, the thunder roaring, Russell begins to panic.
"Shit, what the hell? Wasn't today supposed to be sunny anyway?"
BOOOOOOOOOOOM
Lightning slams into a tree directly infront of Russell's truck, as he swerves to avoid the now falling tree. "Shit! Are those headlights? Don't tell me someone else is coming, Crap!"
Honnnnnnnnnk
"Pay attention! Shit... Who the hell drives so fast in weather like this?"
Russell swerves his car, sliding through the soaking wet road as Stacy roars to a stop, The hood of his car smashed by the fallen tree, inches away from falling directly on top of Russell. The windshield shattering into shards of glass as the car's airbag flares up, and smashes into Russell's nose with a crack.
With ringing ears, and blood dripping down his face, the taste of iron filling his mouth, Russell turns to the left to see the oncoming vehicle through his shaky eyes fly off the side of the rode, barrel rolling down the hill.
His vision blurry, shaking in fear, Russell struggles to open the door of his truck, and stumbles out, falling onto the cold and wet gravel road. Attempting to stand up, Russell's knee immediately buckling out from under him, as he tumbles back to the ground. Looking down to his leg, Russell sees his leg, red with crimson blood, shards of glass sticking at least an inch deep into his skin each, directly under his knee cap.
Screaming in pain, Russell rolls to his side, spitting out a mouthfull of blood onto the gravel. Rolling himself onto his back, Russell peers into the clouds, rain pelting his skin. Every drop like a needle sliding straight through his skin straight into his blood stream. His vision shaky, he tries to figure out what to do.
Coughing out another mouth full of blood, tears begin to once again fill up his vision. Remembering back to the conversation he had with his mom, he can't help but think as darkness begins to fill up the sides of his vision, "is that really the last thing I am gonna say to her? Was I in the right? Was she in the Right?".
Lightning flashes in the sky, as Russell's eyes turn to slits, trying to hold his vision and stay awake as long as he can, his vision slowly fading to darkness.
Flash
Right as Russell is about to lose consciousness the whole world seems to flash white. Russell's eyes abrutly open, vision completely white for several seconds.Words begin to fill into Russell's mind as his confusion reaches its peak.
Welcome to The System, planet Earth.
Size of Earth: Grade E
Mana Density Potential: Grade B
Planet size insufficient...
Initializing twin planet protocol...
Searching for appropriate twin...
Planet Jupiter selected
Size of Jupiter: Grade B
Mana Density Potential: Grade E
Combination Commencing...
Thank you for your patience, humans of Earth. Your planet will now be combined with your twin planet, Jupiter. During this combination, all human residents of Planet Earth will be teleported to our System Tutorial. Good Luck.
*Cough* "What the hell...? The hell is that supposed to me-"
With another flash of white light, Russell, along with all the humans on Earth, vanished.