One week.

  That’s how long it had been since the infirmary. Since that incident with Brandon. Since he was left behind everyone and was put 60, since he became the ghost within the freshman.

  Classes moved on without him.

  Power Control was a blur of failure. His instincts were too soft, too unsure—when others pushed limits, he barely touched his.

  In Combat Tactics, he flinched. He hesitated. His punches were bags of feathers against fists built like steel.

  He was paired with a girl from his class caled Elena for a 1v1.

  He didn’t land a hit.

  Jack couldn’t even use telekinesis, he got washed in matter of seconds

  Again, he was on the floor before he realized the match had started.

  Even his teacher a cold former hero, with military looks, started to have looks of pity.

  Lunchtime.

  Ava leaned on the table like it was her personal runway. Her jacket hung loose, yellow eyes glowing with lazy disinterest. Her laughter used to come like a stab—sharp, targeted. But lately, it felt more… unsure. Like she was poking a body that no longer responded.

  “Did you trip again, Jack?”

  “Or were you just practicing how to fall more gracefully this time?”

  No answer.

  Jack sat with Ethan, same seat every day, tray untouched, head low.

  Ethan used to clap back. Toss jokes. Be the noise to Jack’s silence. But now he watched more than he joked, his smile thinner, fingers always twitching like he wanted to do something but didn’t know how.

  “You good, man?”

  “Just talk to me, for real this time.”

  Jack gave him a shrug. And not the "I’m fine" kind.

  The "I don’t even know what I am anymore" kind.

  “I can’t even use my power properly, it’s like a blockage I’ve been feeling, the headaches haven’t helped either” Jack said while messing with the food on his tray.

  “You still have those headaches? Didn’t the nurse give you something for it” Ethan asked.

  Jack nodded.

  “It’s fine, I’m not hungry so feel free to eat if you want.” said Jack while getting up from his seat and slowly taking his leave from the cafeteria.

  Ava with an unusual somewhat concern look, turned to Ethan.

  “What's that about? Ghost boy seems more gloomy than normal.”

  “It’s been tuff form him, and maybe you should stop with your stupid jokes” Ethan proceeded to eat while giving no further attention to Ava.

  In Hero Ethics,

  Jack stared out the window as the instructor talked about the regulations of power usage during hostage scenarios.

  The sky looked vast. Empty.

  He wondered if falling would hurt less than staying.

  In Villain Psychology,

  he read ahead in silence.

  He now knew the final thoughts of the serial meta-sadist Kelev Harn.

  He knew the last words of The Black Whisper before she slaughtered her own brother.

  He knew the name of every child victim in The Harrowcase Massacre.

  And he knew what every one of them had in common:

  They were ignored before they were feared.

  He stopped responding to Ethan’s knocks at his door.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  He stopped showing up to study sessions.

  He stopped turning in assignments on time.

  He stopped… trying.

  Days passed and september was coming to an end, and this was all the same, it became a routine.

  Lily watched.

  From a distance at first.

  But her stare lingered longer now. The girl who used to read three books at a time now found herself rereading the same page when Jack walked into the library.

  She told herself it wasn’t concern. Just observation.

  Because that’s what she did—observe, calculate, analyze.

  But then why did she feel it twist in her chest when she saw him walk like the world was pressing down on his shoulders?

  Was it pitty? Like watching a wounded dog trying to survive on his last days before being put down.

  Ethan asked her directly one afternoon in the hallway:

  “You ever talk to him? Lately? I know you are not close, but I know you use to have small talks in the library”

  “No.”

  “I see” Ethan responded with a discouraged look.

  Maybe my friend is to far gone.

  .........

  The only place Jack ever went voluntarily was the infirmary.

  Not for check-ups.

  Just… to sit.

  He’d sit on the same cot. Not say anything.

  The nurse—Ms. Carrow, a fourth-year medic hero-in-training—eventually stopped asking why.

  Sometimes he bled from the nose.

  Or from the ears.

  Maybe a headache here and there.

  Sometimes his ears rang until the room spun.

  Once, he passed out in the hallway and woke up on that cot without remembering how he got there.

  But the nurse always said that his fine.

  He didn’t ask.

  He just acepted.

  Then came Friday.

  Normally on Fridays there were always parties, whether they were big ones or small ones, crazy events that took all night or just some meet and hang out time. This was because during the normal week, from the student's point of view, you were always interacting with people from your grade only, so this way all grades can hang out with one another.

  Everyone was buzzing about this one. There has been an evaluation on the academy and for the tenth year in a row, it was crowded the best in all of the country, it was a big deal. Dance, music, upperclassmen, some teachers. Even Lily had been handed three separate invites and decided to go.

  Ava, of course, was going. Probably already picking out an outfit that glowed in the dark.

  Ethan tried again.......tried to have someone else go.

  “Look, man, just come. You don’t even have to talk to anyone. Just be there. Come for me, if not for you. I think it will do good for you, just space out and let all the bad thoughts go away, just for the vibe, we’re a team, remember? Or at least we’re supposed to be one.......just come to the party Jack”

  Jack looked at him.

  There was no fire in his eyes.

  Just… glass.

  Cracked.

  Fragile.

  “I’m fine, Ethan” he said.

  Ethan didn’t believe him.

  Neither did Jack.

  “I’m sorry”

  “...” Ethan forced his mouth shut, there was no point in trying anymore, he has been trying, but there is a limit for everything.

  And he felt like it was really getting close to it, so he got up from the chair he was sitting in Jack’s room and left. Without saying one more word.

  What's the point of trying to help someone who doesn't want to be helped.

  That night.

  While music pulsed from the lower halls and laughter spilled into the corridors like echoes of a world he no longer belonged to, Jack was in the library.

  Alone.

  Always there.

  In the same table.

  Same corner.

  The ghost of the freshman.

  But he didn’t stay long, he felt something weird.

  The usual headache was coming back, so he decided to leave earlier than usual.

  He passed his reflection in the glass.

  Didn’t recognize the boy staring back.

  Hair a mess.

  Eyes with bags underneath from lack of sleep. Dead, almost colorless.

  Something was very wrong with him.

  His breathing was wrong.

  Shallow. Fast.

  His heart slammed against his ribs, beating so fast like it was trying to escape.

  He stumbled. Wompy. Clutched the wall of an outside building in the courtyard.

  He wants to walk but can’t.

  His vision is blurry.

  A high-pitched whine in his ears, so loud it made is brain start shaking.

  A headache so strong he felt like ripping out his hair.

  His thoughts were boiling over—like too many voices screaming at once in his mind.

  “You’ll never catch up.”

  “What are you even doing here?”

  “Even she looks at you with pity now.”

  “You’ll always be the weak one.”

  “Everyone sees it.”

  “You see it.”

  “I’m proud of you Jack......... “I’m proud of you”

  DRIP

  DRIP

  DRIP

  He looks down, and with the minimum vision he has, he sees it.

  BLOOD

  Jack is bleeding.

  From the nose. Ears. Eyes.

  He can’t see anymore.

  His panicking.

  Scared.

  Lost.

  Angry.

  He collapsed to his knees.

  His hand dug into his hair—tugging, pulling. The pressure in his skull felt like a scream building from within. His jaw clenched, mouth open—

  He screams.

  But the scream wasn’t from pain.

  It was release.

  Then—

  BOOM.

  ________

  Glass shattered.

  Metal groaned.

  Debris falling.

  The air warped.

  And somewhere behind him, the side of one of the main the buildings—two stories tall—destroyed, like a beast had punched its way out from inside.

  Debris rained across the courtyard. Lights flickered. Sirens stuttered to life.

  Jack sat frozen, blood dripping from his nose, from his eyes, his ears.

  His breathing slowed.

  Heart calmed down.

  No more headache or ringing.

  He didn’t move.

  He just… looked up at the destruction.

  Eyes wide.

  Hands shaking.

  ........

  “…I did that.”