"My life is a Joke, isn't it?", I thought as the school bell rang. As usual as they could, they uttered one word, "Hey!". "Trash..." I mumbled under my breath. "Haru! We wanted..." I know what they wanted.
Before they could finish, I said,"I don't have the money. Let me off the hook until I get some."As I had no friends in the class, I was one of the easiest targets for bullying. This made me prone to bullying. But common things like this is nothing. Some of my personal stuff like Books, wallet, pen case, lunch, etc. are sometimes stolen. Money extortion is common to an outcast, especially to me. Since I am in a Juvenile correction center, bullying is outright ignored.As one of them rise their fist, I clench my face for the coming impact. As the punch is thrown with the help of my nose, I redirect it to my cheek and act as they hit my nose. "Ahhh!!!" I groan in a surprised yet painful manner. "Take that! Friends should help each other."After the school finishes, I go do the odd jobs for the teachers. Mostly Smuggling contraband. "Trash..." I mumble as I smuggle a Package to a teacher. A classic Shochu. I buy it from a "Friend" outside and sell them to either a teacher or a student. It gets me around 40 bucks (Yen) per smuggle and I do 3–4 times per day. After my delivery comes to the end, I break into my own room to avoid guards. Next morning I call my mother to hear her wailing about her husband A.K.A. My father who left her and that how useless I am as a son.Meiko...I feel liberated as soon as I hear her voice, she calls me once in a while. Before this all happened, and I was not someone this low. I fell in love... I knew she loved me too. Our families were close. But after my father had gone missing, everything came down the spiral. My mother's heart problems resurfaced. To survive, I had to rely on unconventional ways like stealing and smuggling. I had to quit school as I could not afford it. I started looking for jobs. From the start of the day to its end, I worked. The only relief I felt was when I saw her. After I was caught stealing and smuggling illegal substances, I was sent here. Her family broke ties with mine and distanced me and her."Haru, You haven't called me in a long time.," She said."Well, I thought it was your time to call me.," I replied. "Honestly, how could someone like her exist?", I thought."I wanted to talk about your mother." The question I hate. The only words from her which ruins my mood. The mother who let herself fold in the pressure and made her own son to steal for to live. Whenever she asks It, I change the subject. She, too, does not force that subject as She knows my relationship with my mom.The next day is the rinse and repeat of the previous day. I relied only on the relief given by Mei. But that too ended after a few months as her parents found out. "Now, why do I have to live?"I asked Myself as I stood atop the railing looking down from the rooftop as I reminisced the good old days. Then I remembered one of my father's hobby product. A manga about a person dying and being reincarnated."Well, let's check if it's true, shall we?"