-POV: John-

        "Hey, John!" I heard someone yell.  I kept my hands in my pockets, and kept walking.  "Hey, John! Hey, punk! I'm talking to you!"

        "Please, just leave me alone." I thought, but, of course, they didn't.  I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I was spun around, finding myself face to face with my own personal slice of Hell, otherwise known as Jack.

        "Where do you think your going?" He snarled, his rancid breath assailing my nose, causing me to flinch.

        "Home." I said, monotone.

        Jack sneered, and turned to his two cronies, Carl and Jeff. "Home, he says. Can you believe this punk?" Jack says, causing his two henchmen to chuckle. Suddenly, Jack whirls around, grabs my shirt collar, and slams me into a locker, knocking the wind out of me.  "You arn't going anywhere, until I say you are going somewhere, geek." Jack snarled, and ripped the book out of my hand.  "The Reality Bug?" He sneers, reading the title.

        "Hey, that's mine, give it..." I was cut short by Jack slapping me across the face with the thick, hard cover book.  My glasses flew off my face, and I stumbled to the ground. 

        "Pathetic. Here's a reality check for ya, bookworm. Magic. Ain't. Real.  This is the real world, the only world, and in here, your only purpose is to serve as my personal punching bag." Jack said, sending a swift kick to my stomach for emphasis.

        Tears sprang to my eyes from the shock and pain. "No, no, no." I thought "Don't let them see, please don't let them see."

        But, or course, they saw.  "Aw, look, poor widdle baby is crying." Carl mocked.

        "Aw, does widdle baby want his mommy?" Jeff said. 

        I felt Jack's hand grab my hair, and he began to pull me up. "Ow. Ow. OW!" I said as more tears sprang into my eyes from the pain.

        "Listen to me, you pathetic little worm," Jack hissed in my ear, "Real men, don't cry."  He then bashed my head into the ground, causing me to see stars.  "See you tomorrow, cupcake." Jack snarled.  I tried to stand up, only to feel my book smashed into the back of my head, causing my head to once again collide with the hard stone ground.  I heard laughing as they walked away, tossing the book next to me.  I counted to ten, and after hearing no footsteps, I slowly got to my feet. I gathered my things, and slowly walked to the bathroom, fighting back tears.  I stared into the mirror, checking myself for damage. My right cheek was red from where he slapped me, and a bruise was already forming on my forehead.  I pulled up my shirt, and an angry bruise had already developed where Jack kicked me.  I wiped the tears from my eyes, and forced myself to stop crying.  I thought of an excuse to explain my injuries, and eventually just decided on that I tripped on the pavement path on my way to my mom's work, and hit my head, and my right cheek had gotten burned from the hot pavement.  As for the bruise on the back of my head, I just prayed that my short hair would cover it.  Wiping the last tear from my eyes, I walked out of the bathroom, and began to walk to the building where my mom worked, close to the Middle School, in which I was an 8th grader.    I walked into her office, and said, "Hi Mom." With as much happiness as I could muster.  She turned to me, smiling, which quickly vanished when she saw my face. 

        "Oh my god, sweetheart, what happened?" I gave her my excuse, and although she looked like she didn't believe me, she said "Alright, if your sure. I just looked at your grades, straight A's, as always, I'm so proud of you."

         I could tell she was trying to cheer me up, but the joy of straight A's had faded a couple years ago, but I smiled for my mom's sake, and said "That's great." 

        My mother wrapped me into a hug, and said "And what's even better is that you have a very special day tomorrow!"

        "Whats that?" I asked, despite already knowing the answer.

        "Your 13th birthday!" She exclaimed.  I smiled, thinking.  My birthday meant cake, gifts, and... a birthday beating from Jack.  Since it was my 13th, I had a sinking feeling he was going to make it 'extra special.' 

         I did my homework in my mother's office, and afterwards my mom dragged me to my sisters softball game.  My sister was two years younger than me, and we couldn't be more different.  She was a vegetarian, I was a carnivore. She was sporty, I was brainy. I loved video games and books, she hated them  both.  I loved fantasy and sci-fi, she loved realistic fiction, mystery, and suspense.  I loved fantasy, sci-fi, action and adventure movies, she loved romance, drama, and horror.  She was popular, I... wasn't. The number of things we shared in common were so few, I could count them on one hand.  1. We hated chores. 2. We both loved animals (her a little more than me). 3. We loved nature (me a little more than her). 4. We loved each other. 5. We couldn't stand each other.  I watched the game for a little while, until I told my mom I needed to go to the bathroom.   She nodded, and I went into the school. Unfortunately, this was an away game, so I had no idea where the bathroom was. After wondering the halls, I finally found the bathroom.  After relieving my bladder, I began to head towards the door. When I arrived, I saw a bald man struggling with a huge box, while trying to open the door.  I ran to help him, and opened the door, then helped him set the box down. 

        "Thank you." The man said, looking up to me.  He had a scar running down his left side of his face, just missing his ice blue eyes.  He looked... sad, like he had a sadness in heart that he couln't let go.  His eyes filled with worry when he saw me. 

"Are you alright?" He asked.  I nodded, giving him the same excuse I gave my mom.  He didn't buy it. At all.  "Don't lie to me.  I know the wounds of a beating when I see one.  Tell me what really happened."

        Somehow, the man's voice was both stern, and kind.  It felt as if he could take all of your problems away.  I sighed, and told him the whole story.  "Hmm, this Jack character, did you hit him back?"

        I shook my head, "No."

        "Why not, he deserved it, didn't he?"  The man said.

        I snorted "Maybe, but have you looked at me? I wouldn't stand a chance against him and his two thugs."

        The man looked at me for a moment, and said "I'm not so sure, I think you might surprise yourself.  Either way, lets say you were strong enough to deck all three of them with one punch.  Would you fight back then? I mean, it sounded like he deserved it."

        I sighed again "Maybe, but I don't want to hurt people.  Plus, if I hurt him, it would make me no better than he is."

        The man nodded, seemingly satisfied, and said "Fair enough.  Now, I'll just be on my way..." He said, leaning down to pick up the gigantic box of doom.

        "No, that's alright. Here, I'll help." I said, grabbing the box. 

        The bald man shook his head, "No, its really..." He was cut short by me lifting the box with a grunt of effort.  "...heavy." he finished, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.  The box was undoubtedly heavy, but I was stronger than I looked.

        "Where do you want it?" I said, and I followed the bald man to a room door, where he told me to set the box down, which I obliged.  "Have a good day." I said, turning to walk down the hall.

        "John, wait." The man said.  I turned back to him.  "You are a good person, keep doing good, and you will be rewarded, trust me."  I nodded, smiling a genuine smile.  "Also, don't worry about those bullies, you have a guardian angel looking out for you. I know it." The man said, his normally sad eyes shining for just a moment, and he winked at me. 

        I smiled, and said "Thank you."  I turned around, and began to walk back down the hall.  After a few moments, I turned around, meaning to ask him how he knew my name, but when I turned around, he and his box was gone.  Shrugging, I figured he had gone into his room.  His words echoed in my mind. "You've got a guardian angel looking out for you."  I sighed, and thought "If I have a guardian angel, where is he? Because tomorrow, I am going to need him."

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Well, what did you think of chapter one? I love feedback, please tell me what you think in the comments.  Thank you!