By first period, later that Friday morning, sleep was but a distant memory; Orion was exhausted with a capital 'e'. He didn't dare close his eyes for more than a couple of seconds, for fear of passing out and not awakening within the next century. It didn't matter what position he was in; sitting or standing, crouching or slouching, it was all the same. Pulling an all-nighter had seemed like a great idea whilst he skipped rocks, gorged himself on junk food, and exchanged spooky stories with his friend. Now, he believed that it was the biggest mistake he had ever made, one which Orion promised himself would never, ever repeat itself.

To make things worse, the first lesson of the day was P.E., his most hated subject.

Grumbling to himself about this and more, he slowly descended the stairs to the male locker-room. His heavy gym bag, which was twice his size and half his weight, trailed after him, producing a dry knocking sound, which rebounded off the walls and against his eardrums with every step.

Now, he found himself in the rectangular room with a blank expression stamped on his face. Rows upon rows of bottle-green lockers glared back at him from under fluorescent lights, cold and soulless.

Orion turned his head mechanically, using his almond eyes to scan the great forest of metal and plastic, which stretched out into infinity on either side of him. The sight was disorienting; for a moment, he was catapulted into a warped version of the woods, and goosebumps broke out along his skin. I'm just tired, Orion reassured himself, I'm not crazy.

He stood on the narrow path that ran beside the wall, parallel to the ones in-between the lockers. Which way did he usually go: left or right? He moved to go to the latter, but then stopped, swivelled on his heel, and trudged in the opposite direction. He stared at the red fire extinguisher as he dragged himself along; it was the only splotch of warmth in the room.

At the last row, he turned and waded through the lingering smell of Axe deodorant and sweaty socks. They made his nose wrinkle and his eyes water—many a time had he complained to the student council about this, asking them to take asthmatic kids like him into consideration, but as always, his reasonable requests were ignored. The repulsive smell was embedded in the ceiling, the floors, the lockers, essentially every nook and cranny imaginable. Orion sometimes thought of the males in his class like dogs, who used their body odour to mark their territory.

When the bell rang, Orion stopped, abruptly, and almost collapsed onto the path lining the opposite wall. He dropped his bag on the wooden bench underneath Locker 160, the one which had him further away from the rest of the hormonal teenagers. The dry thump released a thin layer of dust particles in the air, invading Orion's airways. After a horrific coughing fit, Orion collapsed on the bench and began pulling his shoes off.

He shouldn't have dawdled—soon there would be a stampede of buffaloes down the stairs—but Orion preferred to take his time when changing from his conservative button-up shirt and jeans to his shorts and wife-beater, which made him look even more skinny and pathetic than he already did.

As if on cue, the moment he lifted his bag into his locker loud voices began to tumble down the stairs. Guffawing, cursing, hooting; the circus arrived in town with a new show up their sleeve. Orion tried to ignore the ruckus as he bent over to pick up his shoes and stuffed them in a plastic bag. He wasn't anxious about their presence— the others never bothered venturing into the far ends of the locker-room, because that's where all the losers got changed, wallowing in their self-pity.

The 'cool kids' would concentrate their numbers, and idiocy, in the central row, which was fine by Orion. He only had to ensure that he kept his head as he walked past them to enter the gym; they could smell fear, especially when it was in their close proximity.

Orion snapped the lock shut and began making his way towards the exit, his inhaler in a death-grip by his side.

"Hey, loser!"

Orion's blood froze in his veins. Keep walking, don't turn around. I'm almost there.

He increased his pace, feeling beads of sweat already rolling down the sides of his face—all that was left to do was turn the corner, walk through the short corridor, and head up the stairs. Then, Orion would be safe under the watchful eye of the P.E teacher.

"I'm talking to you, runt!" The animalistic sounds continued, undisturbed. Orion feigned ignorance once again, but this time, rather than serving as a springboard to freedom, it was the bear trap that got him mauled.

One moment he was on his feet, the next he was sprawled across the floor.

"You do not ignore me when I talk, you hear me?"

A sudden kick in the side tore a shriek out of Orion, who was still coming to terms with what was happening. Why me...

"Get up!" Another kick. Brad was smart, he didn't strike where the bruises couldn't be hidden.

Orion was on his knees when two pairs of robust hands wrapped themselves around his upper arms. The taunting hadn't ceased for even a second, not even when Orion was heaved in between the lockers and thrown in the middle of the ring of fire.

"Where's your daddy, huh?"

"Not so tough anymore now that he ain't here."

"He thought he would get away with disrespecting Brad like that."

"Fucking chink. You're only smart because your parents beat your ass."

"He likes getting his ass beat, I mean, look at him. Fag."

The curses and slurs just kept on coming, each one harsher and more offensive than the last. The emotional pain almost surpassed the physical at this point; these were his classmates, the people Orion spent every single day with. They had never deigned him with so much of a side-eye and had served only as silent witnesses to his bullying. Orion had never done anything to make them hate him, so where was all this anger coming from?

He kept to himself to remain at peace, to avoid conflicts with the same people Barbara enjoyed gossiping about. It was never his attention to come across as pretentious—Orion had been raised with the notion of humility, it was an integral part of his culture.

If only a smidgen of courage remained from his short time in the forest...then he wouldn't hesitate to fight back, against the very people who saw him as nothing more than an asset or an object of entertainment. He was sick of being exploited, of the pain and suffering he was forced to endure. It wasn't fair. Why did he have to put up with a treatment he didn't deserve?

"Be more spontaneous...or maybe not spontaneous...more confident. In yourself and your actions."

Could he do that?

—:—

At recess, Orion marched straight to the front office, avoiding Barbara at all costs. He hadn't seen her at all that morning—the only classes they didn't share were P.E and English—which was a relief because he hadn't spoken a word after the incident. Barbara, who could read him like an open book, would've caught onto this immediately and pestered him with questions about his unusual behaviour. In turn, Orion would obstinately refuse to answer, but, eventually, give in to her demands, like always.

That is why, in the school hallways, he would duck behind another student if he caught a glimpse of her unruly hair and had opted for the longer path to the reception area; he just wasn't emotionally stable enough to engage in that banter with her. At least, not until he spoke to him.

Orion couldn't wait anymore. It had been over a month since he had last heard from Shen, two months since he had last seen him. His absence was taking a toll on Orion—life had changed for the worse—who needed some guidance from someone other than Barbara, for once.

He reached his destination slightly out of breath and tugging at the collar of his sweatshirt, a garment which he had donned the moment he had left the locker-room. It was stifling, and the material rubbed against his bruises, the discomfort breaking his concentration on the task ahead. If that wasn't enough, anxiety made him sweat bullets and paranoia prompted him to constantly glance around, ensuring that Brad and his minions were nowhere in sight.

Orion took a deep breath. The bundle of nerves in his stomach was taking the better of him; he needed a moment to think things over, to recollect his thoughts. He stepped away from the glass doors and took a seat on one of the chairs lining the wall, his backpack planted firmly in between his legs.

It's fine. They won't attack me in public, not with Carter lurking around.

A lightbulb appeared over Orion's head. All he had to do was befriend the guy and then...no. Carter hadn't made a very good impression on Orion—he was the type of guy his parents asked him to stay away from. He was part of the bad crowd, with the proof being his acquaintance with that Korean girl with the long pink hair and mismatched clothing. Carter also had a strange look to his grey eyes, like he knew something others didn't. Orion was desperate for help, but not that desperate.

Besides, he had to worry about his upcoming conversation with his brother. How would he breach the topic of bullying? How would he even be allowed on the phone with him in the first place?

A lady, with a steaming mug of coffee, walked passed Orion, throwing him a strange look.

I should really go. Remember: be spontaneous.

He hooked an arm underneath one of the straps and slowly rose to his feet. Overthinking would bring him nowhere—he had to act on his instincts and that's it.

Orion walked over to the glass doors and pushed them open, immediately garnering the attention of the reception, who had the phone receiver to her ear. She gave him a brief smile as he approached the front desk, but then resumed her conversation with a scowl. Orion rehearsed a zillion conversation starters while he waited, but no one could've predicted how smooth the lie would come out of his mouth.

"I forgot to pack my lunch today, and my phone ran out of credit, would it be okay for me to call my mom?" His insides were screaming, but he did a good job of hiding this with a blank face.

"Of course! What's your last name?" She pulled out a binder from a drawer and opened it to the first sleeve.

"Zhou. Orion Zhou."

The woman flipped to the end of the end and ran a finger down the list of names.

"Actually, I just remembered that Mom got a new cell phone, so she changed her number," Orion said quickly, right before her manicured nail landed on his name. His voice sounded a tone higher, he was sure of it. Death seemed like a good option just about then.

A confused expression crossed her face, but it disappeared underneath another smile.

Does she know that I'm lying?

"That's alright." She shoved the phone towards him and turned to type away at her computer.

With a smile, Orion quickly jabbed the numbers into the keypad. 

Yes, it's ringing!

Two rings in, Orion's excitement gave away to anxiety again. But on the fourth ring, Shen answered.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Hey!" Too much, tone it down. "I mean, hi, Sh—Mom! It's me, Orion." Please catch on, please.

"Orion? What...are you alright? Why is the number showing up as unknown?" His brother's voice danced into his ears, relaxing Orion instantly. He could be in the middle of a shoot-out and still be calm.

"My phone ran out of credit, so I'm calling you from the front desk. Listen, I forgot my lunch at home, could you come by and bring it over?"

"Uhm—"

"I need your help," Orion added, in Mandarin. The receptionist turned her head to look at him curiously—Orion shrugged and admitted that his mother didn't understand English very well. Another lie but the lady didn't have to know.

"What's going on? Did something—" Shen was interrupted mid-sentence by another voice, "Listen, I can't talk right now, I'm in the library. Can we talk later, maybe in a couple of hours?"

"No, Ah ma!" How could Shen say that in a time like this! Didn't he understand how crucial his advice was to Orion? "I don't have any credit on my phone or money on me for the cafeteria. I can't wait until after-school!" His sentences were a mixture of Mandarin and English.

"I'm sorry, O, but the librarian will kick me out if I keep talking."

"Can't you like—take a break for a couple of minutes? I'm sure Sue can handle the customers for a couple of minutes!"

"No, I have a class soon. Seriously, I've told you a thousand times not to call me while I'm in university. Whatever it is, it can wait until tonight—I'm free, so I'll call you."

Orion stood there, his mouth set in a thin line. Shen wouldn't call. That, he knew for a fact. He never had to— Orion was always the one that took the initiative to dial his number, and ask how he was doing. He didn't know whether the same thing rang true for his parents, but if it did, they never said anything about it.

It had taken Shen only a few months to change, to completely forget about his younger brother. I guess I'm not that important anymore.

"Okay," Orion said in a small voice, his heart crushed like cars in a dump. His jaw clenched, his tear ducts torrid As much as he wanted to cry, he physically couldn't bring himself to do so.

"Cool. Everything's going to be alright. Whatever it is, you'll get through it. You know I'll always be here for you, right?"

"Right."

His sincerity almost had Orion fooled into believing yet another empty promise. It's easy to live an illusion, a reality shaped by other people, and not attempt to seek the truth for oneself. Naivety is bliss. But Orion had inadvertently begun a journey of self-discovery from the moment he climbed out of his bedroom window, learning so much about himself and the world around him in only a couple of hours. What would he learn later that afternoon? The day after? A year from then? It was impossible for him to know, but now that the fire of curiosity had been lit, nothing could put it out. Not even his brother's hypocrisy.

Shen's goodbyes entered through one ear and exited through the other, as did the beeping signalling the end of the call.

"So did you get everything sorted?"

It took a moment for Orion to register that voice as belonging to the receptionist. He blinked out of his stupid and hung up with a sharp nod. "Yeah. She was a little mad about it at first, but with a little convincing, I got her to agree to come by right before lunch."

Yeah, right.