Life Imitates Art

Part 1 - One Punch? Man!

I'm just trying to study. I just want to work hard and keep progressing towards my future goals, however unclear they may be at the minute. I'm just looking to succeed in life. But these people won't let me.

Hi. My name is Max. I'm a 15-year-old boy attending an all-boys school on the wishes and at the request of my mother and father. For the most part, I see school as a place to work, learn and improve. Personal growth is always the aim whenever I set foot inside the woodland-lined building that is the school. I've no time for friends – not that I would want any in this sorry place anyways.

Unfortunately, my longing to be an outsider that is simply ignored transforms into the reality where I am the scorned one. I don't need to see a world where every one of my peers approaches me and starts some riveting conversation. But I do want to be left alone whenever I'm here. And it's not a wish that is often granted. I couldn't even tell you what I ever did to upset people, nor can I point to specific habitual behaviour that occurs as a result. I know that I sometimes end up with people's rubbish in my hood or having my tie stolen from me or my personal book embarrassingly looked through. They see my drawings and scoff. Not for how bad they are – I like to think I'm actually pretty good at art. Instead, it's the subject of the drawings at which they chuckle.

For years now, it's been a girl that has been the object of my inspiration. And no, she isn't real. The first time I saw this fictional female in an anime I was watching, I was taken aback by her beauty. It's not that I want to have sex with the drawing. I just admire the way that she had been designed so perfectly. Her golden hair was styled into immaculate pigtails, her face had just the right amount of glitter added in and the outfit was a masterpiece. Since then, more anime characters caught my attention in the safe-for-work sort of context. So, yes, the characters that inspire me most of all are these women and girls. There seems to be so much more design choice and character variation with them than I have ever witnessed with guys in manga. But try giving this very logical explanation to a group of horny teenage boys.

"Hey freak. What drawing's giving you a hard-on today?" One of the brutes notices that my sketchbook is clutched tightly into my chest. Every other book normally stays in my bag, but I like to sketch during lunchtimes.

"You know that's not why I draw them, Bryn." But the rugby-playing "hard-man" is never going to get that through his thick skull which grows more and more damaged as he continues to smash it into the heads of others in the name of "fun" and "sport".

"Just look around you. You're so out of place here. It's not even funny. People pick on you and berate you and mock you because we know you will never ever do anything about it. You're too timid and shy to try and stand up to a rugby player like me, and you're far too weak to do anything about it... even if I were to do this!" Bryn makes a play for my book but only manages to rip a page away as I do my best to turn my back and shield it from harm. I'd rather he hit me than take my bible of illustrations. Unfortunately enough for me, the page he has ripped out happens to be the one I have been working on most recently – the single most embarrassing and ridicule-provoking piece of paper in the precious plotting pad. The only upside (I suppose) being that he didn't manage to remove one of the finished works from its sacred place.

"Maxine Moonlight? Is this your latest fake crush?" I'm a little surprised he could even read the name correctly. He motions over for his mates to have a look at it. I doubt he's looking for second opinions on the artistic technique. They find few things funnier than the idea that I want to have passionate intercourse with anime girls. To an extent, I can understand why they would think that. But it's simply not the case, not that they'll ever believe that.

"I don't know, Bryn. I think it may be even worse and weirder. The sick little geek is now seeing himself as one of those weirdo anime girls."

"Oh! Maxine is very close to Max after all." Points for effort there, Einstein. "So you've decided to just give up on being a guy altogether? You're going to live in this fantasy world as one of these jailbait creeps?"