In first grade, the seeds which would lead to his eventual destruction were planted.
He excelled in almost every thing his teachers tested him on. Whether it was being the quickest to finish a "greater than crocodile coloring worksheet" or spelling the most words right, he excelled. He was leagues above the rest of the class, save for a little girl named Anna.
Anna could memorize things more quickly and didn't have to study as much — yet she was strange and mean. She was almost always irritated and refused to talk to anyone, instead burying herself in math equations and the like. She was often asked what was wrong with her, but anyone who dared to ask was met with silence.
He could remember the countless times his mother pushed him to be better than Anna. She was supportive of his progress, but it didn't matter, because Anna was always better. When he attended second grade classes while in first grade, his mother was proud, but that quickly faded after she learned that Anna was also under the same program.
And yet … even with all their competitiveness, his parents hyped him up to be one of the best. He was one of the "gifted kids'', a special child that they often bragged about. Whenever his mother would boast about her great parenting in relation to his smarts, he felt a sense of pride.