The principal's office was cold.
Jed and his mother sat on the leather couch, facing the principal — and her son, David, who sat smugly by her side.
The principal began speaking with the calmness of a rehearsed lie.
> "Yes, my son admitted that he spat on the boy's food. But he apologized and offered to replace it. What happened next was unprovoked violence from Jed. He launched a punch, without warning, in front of witnesses."
Jed bit his tongue, his jaw clenched.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
> "His grades are just average. I'm afraid we can't tolerate this behavior. He will be expelled and transferred to another school immediately."
His mother didn't stay silent.
> "That's not true," she said firmly. "Jed was only trying to defend his friend. You're clearly leaving details out. His version of the story doesn't match yours at all."
But the principal's expression didn't change. She had made up her mind long before this meeting.
Jed sat quietly, his hands clenched into fists.
His mother turned to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.
> "It's okay, Jed. We'll find a better school. One that treats you with the respect you deserve."
He looked up at her. "Can I go outside? Just… want to take a last walk around the school."
The principal nodded dismissively.
His mother agreed with a soft smile. "Just don't take too long."
---
Jed didn't walk. He ran.
His heart pounded as he rushed through the halls, heading straight to the empty room where everything happened.
He searched every corner, desk, and crack in the floor, desperate.
> "Please… just let it be here."
But nothing.
Then—
A shadow appeared by the doorway.
David.
He held a red slip of paper between two fingers.
> "Looking for this?" he asked with a smirk.
Jed's eyes locked on it. "That's mine. Give it back."
> "Why should I?"
"Because I'm being expelled anyway. What do you gain by keeping it?"
David raised an eyebrow.
> "What is it, anyway? You're acting like it's gold."
"It's none of your business."
> "Then I'll keep it."
Jed didn't wait. He lunged forward, trying to snatch it from his hand.
David shoved him hard, and Jed's body hit the floor with a heavy thud.
Dazed but not giving up, Jed scrambled forward, crawling toward David's leg.
> "Just give it back!" he growled.
David raised his foot.
That's when Jed punched him — right in the groin.
David collapsed with a howl, dropping the paper.
Jed snatched it and bolted out of the room.
> "You won't get away with this!" David shouted after him.
---
Jed ran.
Through the school gates.
Through the quiet streets.
Until he reached the riverbank — his quiet place, his sanctuary.
He stood there, panting, gripping the red paper tightly.
> "What even is this?"
"Why did that old man give this to me?"
His heart felt heavy.
So much had happened — too much.
He felt like a burden to his mother. A disappointment. A ghost in a world that never wanted him.
Jed looked at the sky, cloudy and gray.
> "If this paper really does something… anything… now's the time."
He took a deep breath—
And tore it.
One long, slow rip.
Silence.
Nothing happened.
Jed waited. One second. Two.
He sighed and turned away, thinking he had been fooled.
Then—
The sound of the river… stopped.
He froze.
The wind halted.
Even the clouds in the sky stood still.
He turned his head, eyes wide.
> "What the…"
And then the ground beneath him… shifted.
Darkness crept out from under his feet.
A great pull, like gravity losing its mind.
Jed fell — down, down, down — into a vast, endless void.
Everything around him vanished.
Only the red paper floated beside him in slow motion — burning away, letter by letter.
> And thus… Jed's life, as he knew it, ended.