I was never one to let others be able to decipher my emotions. That is why anytime I got bullied or harassed, I put on a calm front. This was due to two rules I lived by: 1. Never let your enemies see you at your lowest with tears in your eyes. 2. Never succumb to any difficult situation, but rather toughen yourself and learn how to deal with it. However, an incident changed the trajectory of my life, and compromised my relationship with those two golden rules.
That day, it was normal, just like any other Friday. Back at school, I was given a hearty 'farewell' by the school jock, Nathan, who dumped me into the trashcan. After making sure that everyone had left, I got out of the dumpster, wiped my clothes clean, sighed and then rode out of the school grounds on my bike. It was rather late, and I knew what was to happen to me if I didn't get home early again. Back at home, I was treated no differently than how I was in the school. My parents had three kids, my two brothers and I. They all treat me as if I was invisible, that is until they need my help with some task or the other.
As I passed by houses and buildings, the skies started to darken. I tried to go as fast as I possibly could but this was a rather old bike that once belonged to my elder brother Jerry. He passed it on to me disdainfully, what I assumed was his act of 'kindness'. As I pedaled on, I felt something inside my bag vibrate. Coming to a halt, I took out my cell and answered the call.
"Boy, where are you?", I heard the angry voice of my father on the other side. I sighed, fiddling with my rubber band and answered him with an unfeeling voice.
"I'm on my way, dad". I heard the snort of Jerry at the other end, and also what seemed to be my mother rambling on about something, most likely me.
"Well you better hurry boy. Those dishes ain't gonna wash themselves", my father said before disconnecting the call. I heard a loud roll of thunder and soon enough rain started to pour. Just my luck! I looked ahead of me and realized that I still had quite the distance to cover, but it was risky to go on in the rain. From the corner of my eyes I located a small alley before me. Its darkness would have warded off anyone and yet something about it seemed to call out to me, made me want to submit, made me feel like it was no ordinary alley, and in the next minutes I was going to find out why.