Born To Fly

"...25!" I yelled, gritting my teeth as I rose the barbell with all my strength and placed it back on its handler, my muscles aching madly.

I lifted my back from the wet bench press and sat to take a breather as I breathed in and out heavily, my body and white round-neck t-shirt soaked in my sweat.

I looked down on the blue tiled floor, near the bench press, and grabbed the blue water bottle standing on the floor beside the black rubber kettle bar and dumbbell.

Flipping the head open, I poured the liquid inside my mouth, feeling almost instant relief as the milky liquid flowed down my throat into my stomach, filling me with energy.

I stood up from the bench press and almost wobbled backward due to the lack of strength in my legs but I stood firm and bent down to pick up the dumbbell and kettle bar, moving to the blue metal table on my right just next to the wide rack fixed on the white wall after leaving the bottle on the floor again.

I placed the pieces of equipment down with a muffled thud and turned, my back leaning on it in a relaxing position as I used my arm to wipe beads of sweat from my forehead, my eyes scanning the place.

I was inside the garage. It was a wide space with blue tiled flooring, white walls, and a relatively tall white ceiling lined with rectangular lights.

The walls were similarly lined with wide racks that stretched across its surface and on it, various tools were arranged categorically.

Two metal tables lay in front of them, and there were also tools on top of them. They also had small shelves below them.

My father's Jeep stood like a rock in the middle of the garage, the back facing the white entrance. And just in front of it was a movable bench press with a rubber barbell held on top of it.

The place had the mild scent of oil and gasoline, my sweat seemed to mix with the ambient smell of the place, giving it a distinct scent.

True to my father's words, he fixed up a setup for me and gave me his old dumbells, barbells, and kettle bars to use. So today, I did my first-morning workout and it was depressing as I expected it to be...

The weights my father gave me were too heavy for my present self but luckily, he had some eighty, and sixty pounds rubber barbells, dumbbells, and kettle bars I could use to build my foundation.

Even with those light weights, this body was struggling to do even three sets of the routine I had planned. The amount of breaks I had to factor in just to be able to finish a set wasn't encouraging.

But it was a start and with my weekday morning routine, my muscles were sufficiently stressed and so I would still be able to build up, even if it is slow.

The intense workouts that would drain and make me wish I was dead were scheduled on weekends since I didn't want to go to school looking like a zombie.

The final thing I needed was some protein supplements and electrolyte drinks, but that would be settled by tomorrow at the latest...

"I guess it's time for he—school." I mused out loud and sighed helplessly as I raised my head to glance at the analog clock fixed on top of the wall, just below the closed glass window obstructed by a tree branch. It read six thirty am.

Doing some light stretches that seemed to increase my aches, I took my soaking wet and stinking body through the door on my right and went into the house.

I passed through a mini-hallway located next to the storeroom and arrived in the living room. It was empty, the rays of the sun streaming into the room through the windows lighting up the place.

I stretched my head to check the kitchen and saw that no one was there also. My father should be out coming real soon...

I ascended the steps slowly, climbing each step at a time to prevent any strain in my mildly aching legs, and reached the second floor. I moved towards the washroom and just as I was about to enter, my eyes caught my father coming out of his room.

He was looking all prim and crisp with his ironed black suit covering his pressed white long-sleeved shirt with a red and black striped tie hanging from his collar, black trousers bound by a black leather belt, and polished black shoes that gleamed in the light.

His balding brown hair was combed and he had a silver watch on his left hand while he held his black suitcase with his right hand. He looked very much like a principal and I had to admit, the old man did have style.

Even from where I stood my nose could make out the strong cologne wafting from his body, the man smelled expensive. And with his striking blue eyes, his hard face, and his height which was probably six and half feet, he looked very much imposing.

He had his serious resting face on but when he saw me, his face immediately softened.

"Just finished your workout bud?" He asked as he pulled the door to a close with a click.

"Yeah, need to take a shower to get rid of my stink and hopefully the pain," I smiled at him." I'll be down with you in the kitchen in the sec."

"Alright, but hurry before we are late today. We have the game coming on and I don't want anyone using my tardiness as an excuse. Still, keep up the good work bud." He rose his hand and looked down at it, checking the time, and walked to tap me on the shoulders as a sign of encouragement, a smile on his face.

I nodded at him and he turned to climb down the stairs, his scent lingering around me, as I opened the door and walked into the bathroom, flicking the switch near the door to further light up the place.

After brushing my teeth and flossing, I had a quick shower to cool my body down and refreshen myself. With a towel wrapped around my waist, I walked out of the bathroom and walked into my bedroom.

The room was fairly dark since the balcony door and windows were closed, allowing only the smallest particles of light to filter in the room, but I was comfortable with that so I stepped to my wardrobes and fished out my clothes.

I quickly dressed after applying my deodorants, wearing a blue fashionable long-sleeved t-shirt, skinny black jeans, and a pair of blue-black hightop sneakers.

I walked to my desk and took out my bag from underneath it and grabbed my phone from the surface of my desk, on top of an opened Physics textbook.

Sliding the phone into my pocket, a thought came into my head so I withdrew the phone and switched it on, going to the messaging app. There were no new messages from Claire, just the old ones from last night. My eyes glanced through them.

Claire: Hi

.

Claire: Xander we need to talk about this...thing with Brody. I'm sure there's a misunderstanding.

.

Claire: So you're ignoring me now? Fine, if that's what you want. I guess I won't see you at school tomorrow...

I shook my head in disappointment and pocketed the phone. I still wasn't in the mood to deal with her teenage bullshit. Frankly, it was annoying.

If it wasn't that one of my flaws was my loyalty and that I was hella stubborn, I would've tried my best to ignore whatever was going to happen. But eh, that probably wouldn't happen either, my disgust for the guy was too strong to ignore at this point.

Hopefully, I'd catch the guy during the bonfire and get this whole saga all over with. There was no way I was going to waste any more time on a rapist. I had bigger things to think about...

Walking out of my room, I swiftly descended the stairs and entered the kitchen. My father was in his seat, reading his daily paper with an empty cereal bowl in front of him.

The box of cereal and milk was on the counter so I just took out a bowl from the kitchen rack and proceeded to prepare my breakfast.

Holding the bowl, I moved to the dining table and sat down in my seat, placing the bowl in front of me. I started eating shortly, enjoying the sweet taste of the flakes drenched in the milk.

"...Survivor of the burning train is now awake and fully recovered. And he is asking to see the one who saved his life. Based on his accounts, his hero was a blond-haired young man who essentially disappeared after pushing him out of the burning vehicle. Locals are now doing their best to find the mysterious person..."

I almost choked on my food as he read this out of the paper. He folded the paper down to look at me with a cocked eyebrow.

"Are you okay Son?" He asked with worry.

"...Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little surprised." I coughed out and squeezed a smile, my fingers grasping my spoon in the bowl.

Good luck to the local forces in finding the supposed 'Hero'...

"...If you say so. Today, school will end at two pm, because of the game, but I'll have to stick around and supervise. I trust you'll be able to come home by yourself?" He asked, his tone low.

"Yeah, of course. I'll be fine Dad, don't worry about me." I told him with a smile.

He nodded in understanding and checked his watch and then put the newspaper on the table, standing up as he grabbed his briefcase from the clean ground, "Alright then c'mon we have to go."

I downed the remainder of the milk from the bowl and followed suit after wiping my mouth with a napkin.

We left the kitchen and moved past the living room to enter the garage through the mini-hallway behind it.

My father moved to the driver's seat door and inserted his car key into the hole, opening it, while I moved to the garage entrance and pressed a button on the left side of it.

The garage door automatically started opening, the foot of it ascending to the top with a faint electronic noise.

I waited for my father to step into the vehicle, drive out of the garage, and then came out also after pressing the button again, making the raised metallic gate descend to a close.

I entered the car, buckled my seatbelts, and in no time, we were on the road heading towards the school, passing through the beautiful suburban neighborhood sprawling with two-story houses lined next to each other with considerable spaces between them.

We reached the school in about fifteen to twenty minutes amidst some other students, and my father drove inside, packing at his reserved place in the large parking lot full of a lot of cars.

Stepping down from the vehicle, I immediately noticed something was different. The whole place was noisier than usual and brimming with energy.

Banners with the school's mascot printed on them covered the school bus, the front of the main building, the entrance of the field, and even some of the side buildings.

Cheerleaders in their attires and players decked in their gears walked around leisurely and smiles were on a lot of students' faces as they walked around also. It was as if today was a special day designed to make everyone happy.

Today, was the match between the Wildcats, our school's football team and the, uhm whatever that school's name was, our so-called rivals. If everything goes well, they'd win and that would then lead to the bonfire celebration after school.

I could see the confidence and excitement in everyone's eyes and when I turned to glance at my father, I saw a faint smile on his face as he glanced around him.

Sometimes, I forgot how much Americans loved their sports...

I waved goodbye to my father and with my bag hanging from my shoulders on my back, I slipped my hands into my pockets and strode towards the main building.

The school would close early today because of the game and I sure as hell wasn't going to stay back at school to watch. I didn't like sports in general and American football was a very unappealing sport in every way, at least to me...

My father wouldn't be able to drive me home and my new car wouldn't be in my hands in two days at least so I'd have to walk home, as annoying as that sounded.

Luckily for me, I didn't have to. It was time I tested the full limit of my power and what is a better way of doing that if not by flying?

My lips curled into a deep smile as I thought of this and entered the crowded main hallway, heading to my first class of the day.

Hopefully, the school would end earlier...

•••

The siren rang, signaling the end of the school. My classmates eagerly stood up from their seats, some dragging theirs, and started walking out of the room, ignoring the teacher who noted something important on the board.

After noting what she wrote on the board, I grabbed my bag, slung it to my back, and walked out with them into the hallway as shouts and loud chatter drowned the whole place.

Navigating through the sea of zealous students who wanted to quickly walk out of the building to the stadium, I managed to come out.

"Woohoo! They are here folks. Let's go kick some ...ass!" Someone bellowed enthusiastically, pointing to an unfamiliar school bus parked in the parking lot, and almost immediately, most of the students echoed his cry and they all started moving towards the stadium.

I slithered out of the tide of students and walked to a secluded corner of the school, in between the main building and one of the nearby buildings.

I glanced around to make sure no one was around, or even remotely looking, and seeing no such thing, an excited smile spread across my face. I took out my phone to check the time and it was two five pm. Nodding, I slid the phone back into my pocket.

"...Let's fly." Immediately, I focused on my power, and in a second, the world around me shifted into the familiar colorless world, my feet hovering a few inches off the ground.

My time limit was nine to eleven minutes now and the average time my father's car used to move us from our house to the school was like seventeen minutes, fifteen if there was no traffic.

Meaning, if I wanted to fly from the school to my house before I puked my guts out, I needed to be four to five minutes faster than the car, since I would have no traffic in the air.

I didn't know my flight speed if I pushed myself, I only knew I could move as fast or faster than a speeding bicycle if I wanted. I guess I'd know today...

With a thought, I ascended gradually and paused when I reached the top of the main building.

Glancing around, I could see the entirety of the school and even across the school to the roads and other buildings near it, things were starting to look small...

I concentrated on ascending again and moved upwards but I stopped at about three to four meters above the rooftop, feeling it to be a suitable height. Things looked smaller now.

Turning to the general direction of my house, I nodded and let out a breath as I concentrated on forcing my weightless body to burst into speed after making sure my body was horizontally placed in the air. My body quickly sped up like a thrown spear...

"Woah!" I screamed excitedly as my body cut through the air like a bullet, moving out of the boundaries of the school, now above the two-lane road near it.

Strangely enough, I still had full control of my body's motion as I flew in a straight line. There was no problem with balance or anything of the sort, it was as if my body was naturally adapted to fly.

The only problem was, I couldn't feel any wind hitting my face or blowing back my hair like I'd seen in the movies. I felt no air or wind, no resistance or drag, and subsequently no breathing difficulties.

I thought I'd feel something exciting, like a rush from flying but sadly, there was nothing. It felt like I was walking through the air, only without any feet, or better yet it was like I was a gas.

The only interesting thing about all this was, looking down at the buildings and people below me, everything seemed so tiny and the scenes seemed to flash across my eyes as if I was in a speeding car driving past things.

Although there was no rush or wild energy running wild inside my body, it was still exhilarating to take in the full view of the town and appreciate its beauty.

Seeing how all the roads were arranged, all the buildings and trees were set up as if planned, and how the tiny humans and vehicles which almost looked like specks moved around, made me feel big, like I was on top of the world, a higher being, and that was what gave me the rush or high I was looking for.

I knew I wasn't supposed to let it get into my head but I indulged in that obstinate feeling and laughed.

"...Never thought I'd ever quote you Future, but life is good. And it would only get better..." I grinned and concentrated on speeding up again as I moved my body around in the sky leisurely, my arms attached to my sides.

I could swear I heard a whoom as my speed increased, the scenes below me flashing rapidly as I passed by different neighborhoods, roads, and streets, heading to my house.

A headache started budding in my head and I was starting to get tired as I passed by a familiar intersection and curved to my left, spinning over the lines of a power station even though I could just pass through it.

I reached the suburbs and as the headache multiplied, I sped up again and in no time, I reached my house.

I flew over the front of my house to the enclosed backyard and then flew through my balcony into my room as a splitting headache assaulted me.

The moment I reached my bed, I canceled my power and fell on it almost lifelessly, panting as my back dug into the soft fabric of my bed, a wide smile on my face.

"I made it and it only took..." I turned my head to look at the alarm clock and saw the time as two fifteen. "...Ten minutes. Damn, I'm fast." I chuckled and closed my eyes to relax as exhaustion spread all over my body like a virus.

I was definitely going to this again...no fucking doubt about it.