Ring! Ring! Ring!
The alarm sounded, signalling the end of school and for the seniors, the slow approach of the college entrance exams.
Students could be seen happily running around and chatting with their friends, making plans to go out, gossiping about somebody's boyfriend, or bragging about going on vacation to France this summer.
Classic highschooler things.
However, on the far end in a relatively deserted part of the school, a young boy could be seen standing under the eaves. The shadow cast by the building hid his face, but even then, one could tell that he wasn't any sort of beauty.
Contrary to all the bustle around him, he stood alone, watching the students slowly leave the compound.
As the sky began to darken and no more students could be seen wandering around, he exited the building and began to slowly make his way home.
---
Creak.
The door was pushed open, and the sounds of a baby crying quickly diffused into the air.
"Victor, is that you? Hurry, go check on your brother! He suddenly started crying," Mrs. Han exclaimed as she busied around the kitchen preparing dinner.
With a resigned sigh, Victor slowly made his way to the living room to check on his baby brother, who had already stopped crying and was in the arms of his dad, playing around.
"How was your day at school, Vicky?" asked Mr. Han as he played with the baby.
"It was alright," Victor replied with a voice just steady enough to pass.
In truth, it felt like walking through a world that didn't even notice he existed.
As he made his way to his room. The laughter of his dad and nagging of his mom echoed in the background.
This was his family- his father, Jacob Han; his stepmother, Rey-Terry Han; and his one year old baby brother, Alex. Let's not forget his stepsister Karina. At this time, she was probably in her room studying, since she'd be a senior next term.
He had lost his mother soon after his fifth birthday. After a few years of mourning and finding difficulty in both handling work and raising a kid, his father decided to remarry.
At eight years old, he met his new family members: Mrs. Rey-Terry Han and her daughter Karina Kenneth, who was now renamed Karina Han.
There was no Cinderella plot with an evil stepmother and siblings. On the contrary, Rey-Terry Han was a really good mother, and she raised both himself and Karina well.
In recent years, though, she had been in poor health, which had become even worse due to Alex's birth. Fortunately, it wasn't a cause for serious concern.
Plopping himself onto the bed, he began sighing again.
"After this, I just need to do well on the college entrance exams, go to a good college, get a job, a family, and live happily."
"That's how it works, right?"
He didn't believe it. But pretending gave his feet a reason to keep moving
Before he could continue sighing, a ping came from his phone.
As he checked it, it turned out to be an update from his friend group.
"Seriously," Victor groaned, while obediently opening social media to check. But what he saw only made his mood worse.
All of his friends planned to go on a trip to a Caribbean island next week, to celebrate their short break before the reality of the college entrance exams caved in.
The unfortunate part was that he knew he wouldn't be able to go. His family already had a lot of expenses due to the baby and also his stepsister's tuition.
There was no need to ask.
He was the only one not going.
Again.
Situations like this had happened many times since he enrolled in high school.
Unlike regular high schools, the one he attended was famous for its amazing educational quality. Most students who graduated went on to become leaders of the country in various areas. The tuition was absurdly high, and some people even joked that only the rich could afford a good education these days.
His parents had to tighten their belts to send both him and Karina there, so naturally, there was no money to engage in luxuries not pertaining to education.
There was a sinking feeling in his chest.
"That's right. It's always been like this... In the end, I'm the only one left out."
Victor had already grown used to it.
It was like a constant reminder from life, telling him that there was no place for him in their world. A pheasant couldn't become a swan no matter how hard he tried.
Sometimes he wondered if they only called him a friend to make fun of him...
"Victor, come downstairs, dinner's ready!" A shout from Mrs. Han interrupted his thoughts.
---
Stepping into the dining room, everyone was already seated and had begun eating without him. A slight chill swept through him unnoticeably.
"Look who finally decided to show up," his dad joked to liven up the atmosphere.
"He's almost an adult now, so it's natural that he has other things to do," Mrs. Han added.
Amidst the laughter, Karina elegantly finished her meal before retiring to her room, stating that she had to continue studying.
Seated at the table now were only Victor, his parents, and Alex who was being fed some creamed potatoes by Mrs. Han.
"That girl, she's finally grown up" Mr. Han commented.
"Grown up where?When she gets ready she still runs behind us calling mom and dad for every little thing" Mrs Han mused.
"Haha, better not let her hear you" Mr. Han smiled as he gently tickled little Alex.
"What nonsense are you doing? Let the child eat," Mrs. Han giggled. It was a light, genuine sound, the kind that used to be his too.
The jokes kept coming. The smiles. The banter. But all of it passed right through him, like he wasn't even there.
After ten more minutes of back and forth, Victor put down his fork and went back to his room leaving the trio of parents and child cheerfully dining together.
He simply couldn't bring himself to stay a second longer...
---
Urgh.
After taking a quick shower, Victor once again threw himself onto the bed, preparing to sleep.
He could still hear the sounds of laughter coming from his parents and Karina, who had gone downstairs again at some point.
An unusual agitation arose within him as he plugged in his headphones to block out the noise.
It still couldn't block out those nasty thoughts that had once again clung to him like dog skin plaster.
---
"You saw their faces, didn't you? Laughing. Smiling. Without you."
"You're just a burden they've learned to tolerate. Be grateful they don't say it out loud."
"Even your friends left you out again. That's not a coincidence. That's the truth leaking through."
---
Biting his lips, he took a sleeping pill from his bedside drawer and swallowed it.
The pill did its job.
Fifteen minutes later, his limbs gave out first. Then his eyes. But his thoughts kept screaming louder, and clearer right until the dark swallowed the noise, and him with it....
---