The Finish Line
Tyler went down the wrong hall again, a mistake he often made. Unfortunately, this would be his last. He does this everyday, not because he can't remember where it is he needs to go, but he does this on purpose. This hall contains all he needs, everything he's ever wanted, but he can't get to it. He can get so close, but it will always be out of reach. If only it weren't for those bullies. They block him from getting to his desired destination every day. They are very persistent on keeping him away from that hall. But this isn't news to Tyler, he already knows all of this. Despite the usual beat-downs and insults to his face, he himself is also very persistent on going down that hall. It almost like he never learns, and they love it. Tyler is by no means stupid, in fact fifty percent of what he does everyday is studying. But as smart as he is, he's also stubborn, unwilling to quit even when he knows he probably should.
He walked down the hall further than he did yesterday, but as expected, a blue ball of energy flew right into him at high speeds, which caused him to halt. This was no voluntary halt, no, he was forced to stop. Not by something physical or some sort of invisible barrier. This was magic. Everyone had magic, or mana, which allowed them to use all kinds of magic. One of his bullies has the ability to stop your brain from sending signals to certain parts of the body, only limbs of course. If he had the power to make the brain stop sending signals to the heart, Tyler would be dead by now. Instead, in Tyler's moment of vulnerability, they'll throw him on the floor, kick him, punch him, spit on him. They'll do everything to torture him, and he can't stop it, he doesn't have any powers. The teachers don't do anything about it either. The most they'll do is put them into detention, but what's that going to do? It's just another reason to stay away from class. They also suspend these students every so often, but if they do this too much, that'll hurt their reputation, same goes for expulsion. They wouldn't dare hurt their own reputation. They have too much to lose, they are the number one school in the country after all. But why would he keep going down the same hall everyday, even if it would cost him immense pain? He did this because he had a dream. He wanted to get to the end of the hallway, to find what he's always wanted. But it seems he will never achieve this, which is a sad reality.
After his beating for the day, he gets back up and walks to class, the bullies watching him walk away. He sits down and looks at his desk to see all the new insults written on it. Today was quiz day. No one likes quizzes, not even Tyler, but despite his distaste for it, he would always ace it, but today was different. Today, he just didn't feel like trying, he just wanted to rest for once, letting himself go. The only reason he would ace his quizzes is because it gives him some semblance of control over what he does, but what's the point? He doesn't have the power to protect himself, or to even hurt others. Getting 100% scores on his quizzes and test was the only power, or advantage he had over anyone, but he didn't want that anymore. It was just another weight on his back, and he was too weak to carry it.
In the corner of his eye, he could see a girl copying off of someone. She isn't very smart, and she usually copies off of him, but he wasn't doing anything today, so she really had no other choice but to copy off of someone else. She leans over in her chair a lot, making it very obvious of what she's doing. She often got in trouble for doing this, but she'd do it anyway.
Usually he'd turn in his paper as soon as he's done, but sometimes, he'd sit there, and wait for her to finish copying him. She is the only person that makes him feel wanted or needed, although he understands that she's just using him as a means to an end, but now it didn't really matter to him. He was indifferent, at peace in a way.
When Tyler walked to the front of the classroom to turn his empty paper in, someone quickly moved their leg out in front of him. He tripped and everyone laughed at him. Tyler got up, pulling his glasses off and checking them for broken pieces and scratches. He turned his paper in and walked back to his desk. Someone threw a crumpled paper at him, which was probably the quiz. He sat back down and just sat there, quietly. He just looked through the window, enjoying the scenery. The girl who copied off of him was still giggling when he sat back down. She then got up and turned her paper in.
This girl had blond hair, and wore a ponytail. She had bright blue eyes, and they were as blue as the ocean. She also wore a pink jacket at all times, it didn't matter if it was hot or cold, she always wore that jacket. Underneath was the mandatory school uniform, a short sleeved shirt and a skirt. Tyler has never had a crush in his life, nor has he ever been in any sort of relationship with anyone. "Friendships weigh you down." Is what he'd tell himself, but he was actually just trying to give an excuse to not interact with anyone. But this girl was beautiful, one of the best looking in the school. If there was one person he'd choose to have a crush on, or be friends with (it didn't really matter to him), it would be her. She's never mean or rude to him. She doesn't bully or harass him, although she does laugh along with everyone else at his expense. Plus she's pretty. All in all, she's a win-win in his eyes. But Tyler no longer wanted relationships. They would only make his final decision even harder.
Anyway, all this bullying and harassment would go on until he leaves the school. Everyone is more focused on going home than making his life a living hell. Tyler got to his apartment, where he lives with his parents. As soon as he entered, he saw his parents were arguing as per usual. He went straight to his room and pulled out a textbook. He put it on his desk, but he never did anything in it. He just opened it and stared at the first page for a while.
He heard the sound of glass breaking, and furniture falling over. His parents were still fighting. He opened his door and walked into the living room to see his parents wrestling on the floor, glass bottles scattered across the floor, and furniture was flipped over. He walked to the kitchen where he found the landline phone that was built into the wall. He grabbed it and dialed "911," but he didn't say anything when the dispatcher picked up. He went back to his room and went to his window. He looked down to the streets below. Tyler's room was was five stories high. He opened his window, and carefully put his head out and closed his eyes. The air was cold, and refreshing. He took one leg and put it out of the window, and the other followed soon after. He carefully sat on his window seal, looking down at the deserted street below, no cars or people to be found. He closed his eyes and felt the wind on his face. It felt so nice, it almost reminded him of flying through the air. But he wasn't.
He was falling.
Written by: HorrorsUnknown