The Ascension of the Invisible - ARC 1: The Boy Nobody Defended

Chapter 1-The Boy Nobody Defended42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZ3hjSBZSm

The first thing Alex Carter learned about school was that there were rules.

The second thing he learned was that some people were allowed to break them.

And the third—

The third was that teachers didn’t always notice.

Or perhaps they noticed and simply decided that noticing was enough.

“Alex.”

He kept walking.

“Alex Carter.”

He stopped.

Slowly.

He turned around.

Ryan Miller stood in the middle of the hallway with three of his friends behind him.

Ryan had the kind of face that made adults immediately trust him.

Clean haircut.

Straight posture.

Confident smile.

Perfect school uniform.

He looked like the sort of student teachers would choose to represent the school at an important ceremony.

He also happened to be the person Alex most wanted to avoid.

Ryan smiled.

“Why are you walking so fast?”

Alex glanced at the clock hanging above the hallway.

“I’m going to class.”

Ryan looked at his friends.

Then back at Alex.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Ryan nodded thoughtfully.

“That explains why you’re carrying books.”

One of his friends laughed.

Alex didn’t.

Ryan stepped closer.

“You know, Carter, you should smile more.”

Alex stared at him.

“Why?”

“So you don’t look so miserable.”

Another laugh.

Alex tightened his grip on his books.

He could already hear the warning bell.

Five minutes.

He just needed to get to class.

“Move,” Alex said quietly.

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“I said move.”

For a second, nobody spoke.

Ryan’s smile disappeared.

Alex immediately regretted saying it.

Not because he was wrong.

Because he knew what came next.

Ryan reached out and knocked the books from Alex’s hands.

They hit the floor.

Papers scattered across the hallway.

A mathematics notebook slid underneath a bench.

Alex stared at it.

Students walked around him.

Some looked.

Some whispered.

Nobody stopped.

Ryan bent down and picked up one of the papers.

He read it.

“Wow.”

Alex said nothing.

“You actually got a ninety-four.”

Ryan looked genuinely surprised.

“That’s annoying.”

He crumpled the paper.

Alex’s jaw tightened.

“Give it back.”

Ryan looked at him.

Then smiled.

“No.”

He dropped the crumpled paper onto the floor.

Alex could feel several people watching.

Someone whispered something.

Another person laughed.

Alex looked toward the classroom doors.

Still no teacher.

He bent down and began picking up his papers.

Ryan stepped on one.

Alex froze.

“Move your foot.”

Ryan looked down.

Then back up.

“Make me.”

There it was.

The moment.

The one Alex had experienced so many times that he could practically predict every second of it.

His heart started beating faster.

His palms became sweaty.

His mind told him to stand.

To push Ryan away.

To fight.

His body told him something else.

Don’t.

Alex looked at Ryan’s friends.

Three against one.

Then he looked down at his paper.

“Just give it back.”

Ryan laughed.

“That’s what I thought.”

He stepped away.

The bell rang.

Students started moving toward their classrooms.

Ryan patted Alex on the shoulder as he passed.

“Try not to cry this time.”

Alex waited until they were gone.

Then he picked up the last sheet of paper.

The corner was torn.

He stared at it.

Something inside him felt tired.

Not angry.

Not even sad.

Just tired.

He gathered his books.

And walked to class.

By lunchtime, the incident had already become old news.

That was how school worked.

Someone got embarrassed.

People laughed.

Someone else got embarrassed.

Everyone moved on.

Alex sat alone beneath a tree behind the science building.

His lunch was a sandwich his mother had made that morning.

He took one bite.

Chewed.

Stopped.

Looked at the sandwich.

“Mom really needs to stop putting tomatoes in these.”

He removed a tomato slice and dropped it onto the wrapper.

“Why do vegetables always look like they’re trying to ruin something?”

A voice came from behind him.

“You know tomatoes are good for you, right?”

Alex turned.

A boy stood there holding a bottle of water.

Marcus.

Alex knew him.

Not well.

They had shared a few classes, but they’d never really talked.

Marcus pointed at the tomato.

“You’re throwing away food?”

“It attacked me first.”

Marcus stared at him.

Then laughed.

Alex couldn’t help smiling.

“I’m serious.”

“Sure.”

Marcus sat down a few feet away.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Alex ate his sandwich.

Marcus opened his lunch.

Then Marcus looked at him.

“You okay?”

Alex shrugged.

“Yeah.”

“You don’t look okay.”

“I always look like this.”

Marcus considered that.

“Fair point.”

Alex laughed quietly.

It was brief.

But it felt good.

That was one thing Alex had always been good at.

Pretending he was fine.

Pretending things didn’t bother him.

Pretending he didn’t care when people whispered.

Pretending he didn’t hear the names.

It was easier than explaining.

That afternoon, Alex arrived home at 4:17.

He opened the front door.

“I’m home.”

“Kitchen!”

His mother’s voice.

Alex dropped his bag beside the stairs.

“Why does everyone always yell from another room?”

“Because if I walk upstairs every time I want to talk to you, I’ll have to charge you rent.”

Alex smiled.

He walked into the kitchen.

His mother stood at the counter preparing dinner.

She looked over her shoulder.

“How was school?”

Alex paused.

“Fine.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“That pause was suspicious.”

“What pause?”

“That one.”

“I didn’t do a pause.”

“You absolutely did.”

Alex opened the refrigerator.

His mother pointed at him.

“Don’t eat before dinner.”

“I was just looking.”

“You’ve been looking inside the refrigerator for three minutes.”

“Maybe something interesting happened.”

“It’s a refrigerator, Alex.”

He closed it.

“Nothing interesting.”

She smiled.

“Go change.”

Alex grabbed his bag.

As he left, his younger sister appeared in the doorway.

She looked at him.

Then at his shirt.

Then back at him.

“You have dirt on your sleeve.”

Alex looked down.

He did.

“Where did that come from?”

His sister shrugged.

“Probably from being a loser.”

Alex stared at her.

She smiled innocently.

Their mother turned around.

“Emily.”

“What?”

“Don’t insult your brother.”

Emily shrugged.

“I was helping.”

Alex laughed.

“You’re terrible.”

“I know.”

She walked away.

Alex followed her toward the stairs.

For a few seconds, school didn’t exist.

There was just home.

And somehow, that made everything feel a little lighter.

His bedroom was small.

A bed.

A desk.

A bookshelf.

A wardrobe that had seen better years.

On the wall were a few posters and an old photograph from when Alex was younger.

He picked up the photograph.

He was smiling.

No forced expression.

No guarded eyes.

Just a kid enjoying himself.

Alex stared at it for a moment.

Sometimes he wondered what had happened to that boy.

When had smiling become something he had to think about?

He put the photograph down.

Then looked at himself in the mirror.

Skinny.

Not weak enough to look sick.

Not strong enough to look intimidating.

Just ordinary.

His hair was messy.

His shoulders slouched slightly.

He turned sideways.

“Yeah.”

He frowned.

“Definitely ordinary.”

He poked his stomach.

Nothing.

He sighed.

“Excellent.”

He changed clothes and sat at his desk.

His mathematics book was still open.

He started doing homework.

For almost an hour, everything was quiet.

Then his phone buzzed.

A message.

Unknown number.

Alex stared at it.

You looked stupid today.

Another message arrived.

Ryan says you should stop acting tough.

Alex stared at the screen.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard.

He typed:

Okay.

Deleted it.

Typed:

Leave me alone.

Deleted it.

Finally, he turned the phone face down.

He tried to continue studying.

Five minutes later, he turned it over again.

Nothing.

He hated himself for checking.

The next morning was worse.

Ryan didn’t speak to him.

That was somehow worse.

Instead, he ignored Alex completely.

As if Alex wasn’t worth the effort.

That continued for three days.

Then a week.

Alex began to think maybe things were changing.

Maybe Ryan had gotten bored.

Maybe he had found someone else.

Maybe—

“Carter.”

Alex turned.

Ryan stood behind him.

A basketball was tucked under his arm.

“Come with me.”

Alex looked around.

“Why?”

Ryan smiled.

“You’ll see.”

Alex didn’t move.

Ryan’s expression changed.

“Come on.”

Alex followed.

They went behind the gym.

There were several students there.

A few of Ryan’s friends.

Two older students.

A couple of people Alex recognized from class.

His stomach tightened.

“What is this?”

Ryan tossed the basketball toward him.

Alex caught it.

Ryan pointed toward the hoop.

“Shoot.”

“What?”

“Shoot.”

Alex looked at the basket.

He wasn’t good at basketball.

Ryan knew that.

Alex threw the ball.

It hit the side of the backboard.

Everyone laughed.

Ryan clapped.

“Beautiful.”

Alex looked down.

“Can I go now?”

Ryan stepped closer.

“Why are you always so serious?”

Alex said nothing.

Ryan took the ball.

“You know what your problem is?”

Alex waited.

“You think you’re better than people.”

Alex almost laughed.

That was ridiculous.

Ryan continued.

“You think because you get good grades you’re special.”

“I never said that.”

“You don’t have to.”

Ryan shoved him.

Alex stumbled backward.

The laughter started again.

He looked around.

Nobody intervened.

Again.

Nobody intervened.

One of the older students said:

“Come on, man. Don’t make it a big deal.”

Alex looked at him.

He couldn’t tell whether that was supposed to help.

Ryan shoved him again.

Alex caught himself.

Something inside him finally snapped.

Not rage.

Something smaller.

Something quieter.

A thought.

Why am I letting him do this?

Alex looked at Ryan.

His hands curled into fists.

Ryan smiled.

“What’s wrong?”

Alex stepped forward.

For one second, Ryan looked surprised.

Then Alex swung.

It was a terrible punch.

Ryan moved his head.

Alex’s fist cut through empty air.

Ryan punched him in the stomach.

All the air left Alex’s lungs.

He dropped to his knees.

The laughter stopped.

Not because anyone felt sorry for him.

Because the fight was already over.

Ryan stood above him.

“You’re not a fighter, Carter.”

Alex struggled to breathe.

Ryan walked away.

His friends followed.

The others slowly dispersed.

Alex remained on the ground.

Alone.

Again.

That night, Alex couldn’t sleep.

He lay in bed staring at the ceiling.

His stomach still hurt.

His pride hurt more.

He replayed the fight again and again.

His punch.

Ryan dodging.

The punch to his stomach.

The ground.

The laughter.

He turned onto his side.

He hated Ryan.

But deep down, there was something worse.

He hated himself.

Not because he lost.

Because he’d spent years telling himself that one day he’d become stronger, stand up, and stop being afraid.

But “one day” had become a place where dreams went to die.

Alex sat up.

He looked toward the photograph on his wall.

The younger version of himself was still smiling.

Alex stared at him.

“You were better than me.”

He paused.

Then shook his head.

“No.”

He looked down at his hands.

“You were just happier.”

Silence filled the room.

Outside, a car passed.

Its headlights briefly crossed the ceiling.

Alex stood.

He walked to the mirror.

He looked at himself again.

For a long time.

Then he whispered:

“I need to change.”

The words sounded strange.

Almost stupid.

He said them again.

“I need to change.”

He didn’t know how.

He didn’t know how long it would take.

He didn’t know what he needed to become.

And he certainly didn’t know that, years later, people would look at him and struggle to connect the person standing in front of them with the boy in that mirror.

At that moment, Alex only knew one thing.

He was tired.

Tired of being afraid.

Tired of waiting.

Tired of hoping someone else would eventually step in.

Because nobody had.

Not today.

Not yesterday.

Not the day before.

Maybe nobody ever would.

Alex looked at his reflection one last time.

Then he turned off the light.

The room went dark.

But the thought remained.

If nobody was coming to save him...

then eventually, he would have to learn how to save himself.

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