1 Early is On-Time

It was a winter night in Letum, NJ. Icicles could been seen dangling from people's homes, waiting for their victims to appear. Crickets playing a melody as the night went on.

In a dim lit alley, a young boy walked past trash cans and street cats without a care. Whistling as he twirled his house keys in his hand. He was wearing a middle schooler's uniform and his backpack was blindingly white, impossibly spotless.

"I better hurry up or I'll miss my curfew, can't have Aunt Drea worrying."

The boy spoke aloud as his pace quickened.

A door opened to show a warm-looking apartment with the television on and a pleasant smell in the air. Fermenting from the kitchen, the scent led to an light-skinned lady with black hair wearing an apron, grey streaks ever so slight in her hair.

She turned to the direction of the boy with a soft smile on her face.

"Darwin, what time is it exactly?"

She spoke with a pinch of sarcasm in her voice while she cleaned herself up.

"It's 9:57 Aunt Drea! I'm on time!" His innocent smile off putting the mood. "I planned my time carefully today and didn't even have to run!"

Aunt Drea's face contorted into a wicked grin. The soup ladle contributing to the malice she gave off.

"Boy, no matter how many times I tell you, early is on time and on time is late. You may have arrived here before the curfew, but to impress this old lady you must be here fifteen minutes early at the latest." She playfully bonked him on the head as she directed him to the table to eat.

"Owie." Darwin rubbed his head while he ate.

Later that night, Darwin was on his bed reading a book about greek mythology. He'd always been a sucker for a good book with demigods fighting against the forces of evil.

In particular, his favorite hero was Hercules, or Heracles depending on the place the story was told. Darwin loved the immense strength and bravery Hercules would give off when fighting against Gaea's army.

His friends at school always questioned why he wouldn't play as much as the other kids in recess. He was embarrassed to admit being a nerd when it came to the Greeks.

While reading about the adventures of Perseus and imagining what it'd be like facing a serpent lady, he drifted off to sleep. The thought of heroes ever in his mind.

The next day at school, Darwin was in math class. They were learning about long division. Darwin was an excellent student and studied diligently. Mostly to avoid Aunt Drea's wrath. However, the process of long division always baffled him.

"Hey Brooks, you got any tips for the upcoming history class next period? I heard it was on the Greeks. You know all about them right?"

The voice came from a kid with blond hair and blue eyes, a cheap haircut hurting the looks going for him. He was leaning forward in his chair whispering to Darwin in a familiar fashion.

"Sure Jason, if you'll help me with math." He snickered back to the kid while passing him his notebook.

"Hey! You know I suck at math, but thanks for the notes. Oh, I overheard that we are playing dodgeball in PE. I'll try to get you on my team. Please don't suck this time, I do have a reputation to uphold."

Jason shot back at his friend, they fist bumped and turned back to the whiteboard. A poor soul was chosen to solve the problem. Darwin felt bad for the guy as he sent a silent prayer.

'Hope he studied. Ms. Larce's math problems can completely ruin someone's confidence.'

In the gym, two boys were choosing teammates. The two chose off the first few people quickly and swiftly. As if they had done this many times before. To Jason, sports came second-nature and he excelled at dodgeball.

After dwindling down the potential candidates, only three people were left. Darwin among them. He stood there awkwardly while staring at his feet.

'I know he likes to compete and he's popular. But, why does he have to hide that we're friends? I guess maybe he wants to play against me or something?'

The bigger boy out of the two choosing finally spoke up after weighing his options.

"Uh, I guess the black haired kid with the amber eyes, you're on our team."

Darwin's head perked up as he trudged over to the team opposing Jason. A grim look on his face. He was obviously not happy.

'Oh well, at least I wasn't dead last this time.'

The gym teacher ran over the rules as everyone took sides. She blew the whistle, starting the game.

"Hah hah, I will crush you fools!" A meaningless extra screamed as he chucked one of the rubber weapons, hitting a kid square between the eyes.

'Oh? He's pretty good. I don't mind an idiot like him as long as he's on my team.'

Darwin thought to himself as he hid in the back. He used his signature strategy of being one with the herd as he hid between his shields. As balls whizzed passed like bullets, classmates were taken out one-by-one.

'My team is obviously outmatched. This is so biased. They keep attacking in unison. Jason must be behind this.'

As Darwin started to formulate an idea as to why they were losing so bad, he was interrupted by a loud kid describing his appearance again. It was the big kid from before, he was the team's captain.

"What are you doing black hair?! Catch a ball to get us back in! You're the last one!"

Darwin blinked a few times before coming to the realization that only Jason and two kids stood before him and victory.

'This is my chance, I must catch a ball to get my teammates back in.'

Darwin readied himself in a horse stance that he'd seen in martial art movies as he kept his eyes on the balls being picked up. A kid with a shaved head cocked back his arm as he threw it right at Darwin.

Darwin flinched but somehow managed to grab hold of the ball. Glee littered his face.

'I-I caught it. I r-really caught it!'

Screams that could easily be mistaken as cheers were heard from behind. Darwin smiled ignorantly back at them. He looked forward to get ready to throw the ball before his vision turned to black.