My name is Jason Steelborn. I never use my full name, it sounds ridiculous. My classmates used to mock me:
"Steelborn? What are you, born from steel?"
That's why I use my nickname "Jace".
I live alone . My father walked out on us when I was just a kid, and my mother… she died in a car accident. At first, it crushed me. The kind of pain that doesn't fade, just dulls with time. But years have passed, and now? It doesn't bother me as much.
My life is simple. Peaceful.
Every morning, I wake up, go to school, and get through the day. I'm not bad at studying, just average. But I'm decent at sports, which earns me a bit of recognition, not that I care. I don't pay much attention to my classmates, but Rihanna Kensington is different.
She's confident, intelligent, and admired by everyone. The class-rep and the top student. But whenever she sees me, something shifts in her expression. That usual sharp confidence fades, replaced by something else 'guilt'. Her gaze flinches away from mine, her lips press together like she wants to say something but can't.
I notice things like that. People call it intuition. I call it knowing how to read a face.
After school, I work part-time at Tina's Grocery Store. She was a close friend of my mother. When Mom passed, Tina took me in, gave me a job, and looked out for me. I owe her more than I can say.
At the Grocery Store
"Hey, Jace! How was school today?" Tina greets me with her usual energy.
"The same as always," I reply.
"Why am I not surprised?" she smirks. "Well, are you ready to work?"
"Yeah."
The shift is routine, stocking shelves, helping customers, handling the register. It's predictable. And I like that.
When I get home, I take a hot bath, letting the heat soak into my muscles. It's one of the few moments of the day where I truly relax. Then, I cook, eat, study a little, and go to bed.
It's a quiet life. A peaceful life. A perfect life.
Or at least, it should be.
But there's something missing, a gap I can't fill, no matter how hard I try. A feeling like something is reaching for me but can't quite touch me.
And then came that day.
A Shift in Fate
I wake up to an odd pain in my chest. Not sharp, not unbearable. Just... strange. Like something is growing inside me.
I ignore it and head to school.
That's when Rihanna Kensington does something she's never done before.
She approaches me.
Her hands tremble slightly. Her usually composed expression is laced with hesitation.
"I always wanted to tell him, but I never had the courage. But today… today I have to. If I don't, I may never get another chance. And this pain in my chest… something is growing."
"Jace, I need to talk to you."
I blink, caught off guard. "Okay… then talk."
She shakes her head. "Not here. It's not the right place."
"Then where?"
"Meet me on the rooftop after school."
And just like that, she turns and walks away.
I've always had this feeling, that she wanted to tell me something. I just never expected her to be so… nervous about it.
After school, I head to the rooftop. But no one is there.
Figures.
Why tell me to meet her if she wasn't going to show up? Guess I'll never understand girls.
I shake my head and head to work.
To be continued....