When Charlie opened his eyes, he felt like a man. A boy no longer. By the time he threw himself out of bed, he felt like he was floating. Like he could glide out the window and over town. In the past, the first day of school had been a bit like a lurking predator. It leered at him from the end of summer, slavering jaws awaiting the moment they could lunge on his sense of enjoyment. But this morning was different. It was the dividing line between everything that came before, and everything that would come after.

  He dressed quickly, out of his bedroom and halfway down the stairs by the time his dad was warning him about the time- he’d almost missed the bus again. The faint murmur of conversation hit him all the way at their door- they weren’t being nearly as quiet as they thought they were. Charlie darted down the hall, covering the distance in half the time he did normally. At the top of the stairs, he he caught the end of the conversation.

  “He’s getting quite tall, isn’t he?” His mother asked, a twinge of worry in her voice. He could hear his father loudly slurp coffee.

  “He’s just…strong for his age.” His father said it almost sternly. Some pride bubbled up in his chest at the compliment.

  Charlie took the steps three at a time as he dropped to the first floor, each step creaking its protest as he thundered into the dining room and slid into his seat.

  “Charlie, we’ve already discussed stomping in the house.” His father chided from behind his newspaper. Charlie muttered a meek apology and quickly set to pouring some cereal.

  It was a fast meal, spoon splashing milk about like a drowning swimmer tosses water. By the end of the meal, Charlie was out the door so fast his father didn’t even get the chance to scold him for bending his spoon.

  Half tugging his jacket on, half stumbling down the gravel drive, Charlie bolted towards the bus stop. The bus would be there any second, and he knew his father wouldn’t be happy to drive him. Charlie tore over the gravel under the shade of the old oak trees flanking the road. Picking up speed, the world passed him in a blur. Each step threatened to throw him down the road. The whole world seemed fresher, more intense. The colors were brighter, the scents were intense. Dewy grass and wet wood. He could even smell the stalks of corn swaying behind him. The sun was warmer on his skin, and the morning breeze somehow chillier, more real. When he closed his eyes, wind whipping in his hair, he could almost pretend he was flying.

  Charlie ran straight into a tree.

  Tyler’s laughing roused him from the tree-imposed nap. As Charlie’s eyes fought their way open, Carly’s face filled his view.

  “Good Lord, are you alright?” She gasped.

  “He was like a bullet!” Tyler howled. “Just….WHAM!” He slammed his fist into his palm, face going red with laughter.

  “Why were you running with your eyes closed?” Carly frowned.

  Charlie didn’t answer, rolling back to his feet. He’d been expecting the sudden flare of pain, but he didn’t really hurt. He’d somehow avoided bruising himself.

  “You moron!” Tyler wiped his eyes, still laughing. Carly shot a glare back at their friend.

  “Earth to dingus.” Tyler waved his hand in front of Charlie’s face. “Did the crash break you?”

  “No, I was just….I dunno.” Charlie shrugged, looking down the road for the bus. “I was pretty fast, wasn’t I?” Charlie asked.

  “Faster than last year, definitely.” Tyler nodded. Carly rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the pink-streaked morning sky.

  The bus wailed as it lumbered around the corner at the far end of the road.

  As they moved through the center aisle of the bus, Tyler and Carly ignored the people to either side of them. Charlie stepped over someone’s extended leg as they tried to trip him, and ducked under a backpack that was thrown at someone in a seat to his left. He hated how rowdy people got on the bus.

  “Hey Shitmore!” He heard over the near-deafening chatter around him.

  Carly’s Cousin, Frank, was back. He’d been on an extended hunting trip with their grandfather, and Charlie had been praying it’d stay that way.

  Frank slammed varsity jacketed silver arm into Charlie’s back, sending him partway onto the half-sleeping form of Sean McConners.

  “Watch it…” He mumbled blearily, half-heartedly pushing Charlie off him as he fell back asleep.

  “Quit screwin around!” The bus driver shouted, and she hit the gas. The whole bus lurched forward as Tyler and Carly grabbed the nearest seat to them, shooting Charlie a sympathetic glance as he squeezed into the seat next to the sleeping form of Sean McConner, a high-schooler who always smelled somewhat like a skunk.

  Frank kept glancing over at Charlie as they closed in on the school.

  Just a few weeks back, someone had tried to burn the only Burger King in Sterling Falls down. Frank’s ex girlfriend worked there, and rumor had it he was trying to catch her on the night shift. There wasn’t any real evidence for the claim, but Frank sure had got out of town awfully quick after it happened. Lucky for Lucy, the Fire Department caught it before it got out of hand. He was talking to a few of his lackeys, these nimrods who seemed to follow him everywhere just to hype him up. They had an admiration for their captain that, to Charlie, bordered on obsession. But they were clearly talking about him. One of them would glance at him, say something, then they’d laugh. Then someone else would make some kind of comment.

  Charlie had met plenty of nice jocks in his time at Sterling Prep, but Frank was not one of those. It was like he aspired to every meathead stereotype that had ever been put to pen. Charlie wondered if he ever read a book. Frank and his family attended the local Church each Sunday, just like Charlie’s, but he’d been on the wrong end of Frank’s fists too many times for Charlie to really consider him a ‘fellow’ Christian.

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  “If I was a bit taller, he’d never mess with me again. Once I hit my growth spurt, he’s done for. “ Charlie silently prayed that he would be granted the strength to stand up to Frank. He found himself eavesdropping now, able to pick out Frank’s voice again.

  “Little freak follows her everywhere.”

  His heart froze in his chest. There was only one person he could be talking about, it was Carly. Charlie supposed he was a bit like a stress ball to Frank, because every time something went wrong in Frank’s life Charlie could be sure that he’d take it out on him. After all, being so small and scrawny as Charlie was, what was he going to do about it? He couldn’t just let Frank push him around. He hadn’t known he’d be meeting one of his best friends when she was assigned as his math tutor last year. There weren’t many people who talked to him.

  “You’re a man now!” He told himself. “A man doesn’t take disrespect.” He heard himself mutter.

  “What?” Sean groggily asked, rolling over to face the window.

  “Nothing!” Charlie shut himself up, turning his attention towards the front windshield of the bus. He was getting off track, he tried to pick Frank’s voice out of the ambient noise of conversation.

  He heard Earl, one of Frank’s boys, speak.

  “He’s kinda little though.”

  “So? Little creep needs to be put in his place!” Frank replied.

  “What do I do? What would Superman do?” Charlie wondered. Well, Superman would probably stand up for himself, wouldn’t he? He wouldn’t let a bully push him around- but Superman was Kryptonian and Charlie was barely five foot tall. As he pondered this dilemma, the bus suddenly came to a shuddering stop. They had made it to the school.

  Sterling Hills Preparatory School was a very wide, very short, very gray building. The bricks were gray, the shingles of the rooftop were bleached a gray-ish color. The windows were dusty, and when the painters had painted the school they hadn’t properly masked the windows, leaving them faintly misted with gray speckles. The interior was a bit better looking, with flowers and hills and trees painted on the interior walls, but Charlie always felt a bit like he was walking into a county jail every time he got to school.

  Charlie wasn’t sure how he managed it, but when the bus stopped he was somehow up and almost to the front of the line before Frank and Earl were out of their seats. He couldn’t allow them to get out first, he just didn’t want to give them the chance to do anything to get ahold of him. Not yet. The first day was almost always a half-day, just to figure out whos classes you’d have in what order. Charlie weaved between the kids moving off the buses and to the school, managing to get through the doors and into the lunch room in just under three minutes. He was faster now. Maybe he should try out for the track team?

  Though he’d felt a little bad about leaving his friends behind, Charlie eventually started to think it was the right idea. Everything was so loud inside the school. It was like the hundreds of voices of the children were bouncing off of the walls, getting louder and louder, hammering into his skull. It felt like his ears were full of the sound, and Charlie found himself hiding in a bathroom stall after a short amount of time. He had his schedule, he knew where each class was, and he was sure they’d understand if he explained he was just feeling a little sick.

  The colors were so bright and the sounds so loud that he had to close his eyes and cover his ears. Even his breaths sounded thunderous inside his skull, though he was doing his best to breathe quietly. A part of him was still somewhat worried that Frank was going to enter the bathroom at any second and drag him out for a beating. Charlie wasn’t quite sure what sickness he was coming down with. While he was trying to think of something, he heard the door swing open. Someone was whistling.The sound needled into his ear drums, and he involuntarily made a noise. Covering his mouth, Charlie wanted to hit himself.

  Frank’s voice.

  “That you, Shitmore?” He asked. He kicked in the first stall as Charlie heard someone step in and lock the door. It might’ve been Earl, but he wasn’t sure. The door of the second stall slammed inwards with the force of a gunshot. Frank had quite the arm, he was the Quarterback of the Lancers after all.

  “Make this easier on all of us!” He laughed as he stopped outside the third stall. Charlie lunged forward, pressing through the door and sending Frank a few steps back.

  “Woah!” He laughed, spinning out of Charlie’s way with a smug grin. “Stronger than you look, Shitmore.”

  “WHITMORE!” Charlie shouted.

  Frank punched him in the stomach before he even really had time to think about how much he regretted saying that.

  One more to the stomach, then a knee to finish his little combo. Before Charlie could move, both of Frank’s hands clapped over his head. Frank dragged the boy, kicking and wailing into the stall. Charlie did manage to make one brief moment of eye-contact with Earl. Earl looked away.

  Am I really going to drown in a toilet? Charlie wondered, as Frank forced his face into the toilet water. At least it had been flushed. The toilet seat slammed into his back once, twice, a third time, and he felt it break on the fourth.

  “Oh, shit.” Frank said, suddenly not sounding quite as happy. “Fuck.” Charlie was somewhat grateful when Frank hauled him out of the toilet and cast him to the ground, because he wasn’t strong enough to do it himself. His shoulders hurt too much.

  “This was you.” Frank said. “You don’t tell anyone I was even here. Who would they believe? The weird little creepo stalker? Everyone knows what you really are.” Frank said. Charlie coughed up some water, and managed a nod.

  Frank scoffed, kicking him once more in the side.

  “You’re a worm, Shitmore. A worm.” Frank shook his head as he left. For a brief moment, Earl was alone with Charlie.

  “Hey. I…I uh….Sorry man...”

  He left.

  Charlie was glad, because he finally felt safe enough to cry.