Ascar Wythers trudged through the school gates, his eyes fixed on the ground. He hated mornings like this, when the sun seemed too bright and the world too loud. It was as if everything was conspiring against him to make his day worse.
It had been a year since his dad passed away, but the pain still felt like an open wound. His mom, Katherine, had tried to be strong for him, but he could see the sadness in her eyes. They had both been struggling to cope with the loss.
Ascar's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of laughter and teasing. He looked up to see a group of kids from his school staring at him. They were a group of jocks who seemed to take great pleasure in making Ascar's life miserable.
"Hey, look at Wythers!" one of them jeered. "He's still crying about his daddy!"
Ascar felt a surge of anger and humiliation, but he knew better than to react. He had tried standing up to them before, but it only seemed to make things worse. So he did what he always did - he looked down, pretended he hadn't heard, and kept walking.
The rest of the day was a blur. Ascar went through the motions of attending classes, but his mind was elsewhere. He couldn't shake the feeling of sadness and loneliness that had been following him for months.
When the final bell rang, Ascar was relieved. He packed up his things and headed out of the school, eager to get home and escape the drama of the day.
As he walked, he noticed a strange sensation in the air. It was like a buzzing or a vibration, and it seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Ascar felt a shiver run down his spine as he wondered what it could be.
He pushed the thought aside and focused on getting home. When he arrived, his mom was in the kitchen, cooking dinner. She smiled when she saw him, but Ascar could see the tiredness in her eyes.
"Hey, sweetie," she said. "How was your day?"
Ascar shrugged, not wanting to talk about it. His mom nodded understandingly and handed him a glass of water.
"I'm making your favorite dinner," she said. "Chicken parmesan. Why don't you go do your homework while I finish cooking?"
Ascar nodded and headed to his room. As he sat down at his desk, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The strange sensation he had felt earlier was still lingering, and he couldn't help but wonder what it meant.
He tried to focus on his homework, but his mind kept wandering. He felt like he was stuck in a rut, like he was just going through the motions of life without any real purpose or direction.
Ascar sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was tired of feeling this way, tired of being sad and lonely all the time. He wanted to feel alive again, to feel like he had a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
But for now, he just didn't know how to make that happen.
Ascar's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his mom calling him for dinner. He got up and headed downstairs, feeling a sense of resignation wash over him. He knew that he had a long way to go before he could find happiness again, but for now, he was just taking things one day at a time.