The first day of school had arrived for Jeremy. During Marlon's first year with the family he had raised Jeremy's confidence. Jeremy was able to introduce himself to his classmates.
"My name is Jeremy, pleasure to meet you! " Jeremy stuttered.
Everyone was nice to him and friendly, apart from the group of boys in the class back corner. It was Charles and his friends,they would turn out to be a thorn in the backside for Jeremy. They were a bunch of privileged boys raised by their elitist parents. They hated people from the South, they thought of them as a group of pathetic rodents. It was a mindset passed down since the 2nd war. The boys laughed at Jeremy.
"You're from the South right?" Charles asked.
Jeremy was hesitant to answer, he knew what they thought about southerners, yet he answered.
Jeremy was a small child, Charles stood up to Jeremy and pushed him to the ground. Charles told him southerners were rats. The teacher smirked. Southerners were easy to spot because they all had a square engraved in their skin from birth.
They started scratching and playing around with the mark on his skin, Jeremy was made fairly uncomfortable. Jeremy would continue to feel this way for the next 5 years. Everyday he was teased and mocked. On Jeremy's 10th birthday, Marlon picked him up on his travel Eagle. He was very excited to see Jeremy. Until he noticed the bruises on Jeremy . He asked Jeremy how he got the bruises, Jeremy shrugged. So Marlon took a detour and took Jeremy to an underground brawl
. They had arrived. Underground brawls usually took place in dirty, and bloody places near the bottom of the North. They were watching a very tense knockout match, where the first person to be knocked out loses.
Marlon asked, "You see how they are fighting?"
Jeremy looked carefully. He was frightened but he had noticed how they were fighting.
Jeremy replied, "Yes, they're with drive and passion, right?"
Marlon laughed quietly. He had forgotten what the innocence of a child looked like. Marlon replied, " Yes, but they're fighting for their lives. They don't enjoy it. They don't want to fight like this. They've been forced into situations like this."
Jeremy hesitated for a second before taking in the information.
Marlon added, " People can kick you, hit you, tease you call you names, but don't let anyone disrespect your principles. Okay? "
Jeremy nodded in agreement. They went out for dinner to the closest fast food shop, The Tiger Grill. It was a rundown shop. But it was the cheapest shop in the North. They ordered the Tiger's Kebab. They laughed the night away. The following day, Jeremy went to school. It was a sports day. The sports day was very important because the 3 winners of each gender will compete in the Galactic Games, a universal event in honour of the fallen Space Force, Space Force was a group of Galactic Soldiers that Marlon had a history with. . Jeremy had been training with Marlon for the past 2 months, they both knew it was tomorrow but Marlon didn't want to put pressure on Jeremy so he didn't bring it up.
Jeremy's parents and Marlon had flown him out to school. When they arrived, his parents wished him the best of luck. Jeremy smiled nervously at them before going to Marlon for advice. Marlon told him that he should go out there, have fun and most importantly that it's okay to lose, but it's not okay to lose to fear. Jeremy looked confused, he thought it was strange advice to be giving to a 7 year old child.
"Lose to fear?" Jeremy replied.
"Fear will almost always control your actions, control your emotions and control the decisions you make. I've seen it ruin people and I've seen it uplift people." Marlon replied.
Jeremy thought about it. Marlon told him it's his choice to choose how it will affect him,whilst reminding him he is very young. Finally, Jeremy entered the sports hall. It was a massive arena with many pitches available for the different amount of events available. The teacher announced to the class their first event. She stepped up on to the podium to announce the event.
" The first event was Cycling."
It was held within a massive cyclodrome. The children were given a choice with a selection of bikes. The order of selection was based on class. Clearly, Charles and his friends were first taking the best and most efficient bikes. Leaving Jeremy at the end, with a bike that had a flat tyre and a rusting frame. Charles shared a glance with Jeremy it was clear there would be no love lost between them. Seemed to be an unkempt hatred towards Jeremy. This hatred started to brew within Jeremy. They got into their starting positions.
"Ready.. Set... GO..." The teacher announced.
Who will win? Who will lose? Who will cry? Who will laugh? Why is Jeremy the way that he is now?
What happened between Jeremy and Marlon? It would be a long and hard road for Charles, Jeremy and Marlon. But it's destination would be worth the wait.