Immediately Forgettable

Chapter 2

The signs were there early on, but I didn't see it coming. Home life was fine — I was the apple of my mother's eye. She thought I could do anything I sent my mind to, and, foolishly, I bought into it.

Then I went to elementary school where I was mixed in with other children. I held my own in those early years, being somewhat smart and quick to grasp on to basic concepts. By fifth grade I was known as one of the top five "smart kids" in school, which, socially anyway, was good for some bullying and not much else.

Mind you I wasn't the smartest in the school — even then I couldn't hit the top of the list. I had a few talents that singled me out in grammar school. I was fairly smart, could draw decently, and knew every plotline of all the major comic books. However, with each successive year I lost part of what set me apart.

Half of the elementary schools in the district combined when it came time for seventh grade and junior high school. Suddenly there were dozens of kids who were smarter and more talented than me. Knowledge of comic book plots now earned ridicule, and, even in this arena, there were plenty of kids more knowledgeable than me.

I think this is the point where I started to disappear.

Like the X-Men comic books where the mutant's powers manifest themselves in puberty, my forgettability kicked in around 13 years old, although it would take a little longer to become immediate.

These were the years where kids were finding what they were best at and doing it. I wasn't as good as the other artists, didn't fully envelop myself in pop culture like the geeks did, and wasn't a full-fledged 12-hour a day gamer. I touched all the worlds, but not enough to fit in.

By high school people were walking into me in the hallways. A lot. If they said anything, it was usually a mumbled, "Sorry, didn't see you there." Most often it was an annoyed grunt followed by a shove.

I began college with solid grades and an unsigned yearbook.

The college years sailed along like everything else in my life — uneventfully. Lots of people pass through college invisibly, so I didn't feel that out of place. I took to writing, although didn't excel at it, and got some stories published in the school paper. Since my words were more visible than me, I saw this as a good career choice.

Once out of college, I applied for and got a job as assistant editor for a trade publication for the farming community named Farm Technology Monthly, or FTM for short. We provide our 25,000 readers with information on the latest gadgets available to make their rural lives easier — new combine harvesters, milking machines, egg warmers, irrigation machines, that kind of stuff.

It's not the most exciting gig, but it lets me write and edit and function in the real world despite my mutant ability. I'm actually pretty good at it, and now, after a few years, I'm editor of the mag.

So much for the backstory -- now let me tell you how I learned how to use my powers.