Just A Nobody

INTERSECTION

I was looking at the computer screen, focusing on the game we were playing.

"What's with your assist, bro? Stop being a noob and play it

seriously," I snapped, my tone laced with irritation.

"Our tower was destroyed again," I added.

"Chill, bro. It's just a game. What got into you?" the person on the other line said.

"Yeah, bro. Is something up?" the other exclaimed.

"None of your business, I hissed, abruptly leaving the game right away without saying anything to my gaming buddies.

After what happened in the alley, I started immersing myself in video games, staying at home, imprisoning myself inside the four walls of my tiny rental room, and drowning myself in playing video games.

Because it's the only time I can forget everything and fight for myself.

The gaming world became my refuge, a digital sanctuary where I could shed the weight of the real world and immerse myself in a realm where I had control. In a virtual space where I wasn't the weak boy who couldn't defend himself. I was a formidable force, a warrior with the strength to withstand anything.

Through video games,

I am stronger.

I have the courage and strength to fight back.

To protect myself and to escape all the individuals that made me like this.

These people that I am playing with? I haven't seen them in person; I've only met them online, and we started playing.

I am sure that if they meet me in person.

They'd all treat me the same.

Helpless, weakling, and a nobody.

In people's eyes, I'm merely a weak little boy.

My whole life, I've been bullied.

Recently, I encountered the worst of all the experiences I had.

I can't help but think about the whole scenario again.

I dropped my body on the bed with the feeling of heaviness in my chest.

I stared blankly at the unpainted ceiling when everything flashed back.

It all began within the walls of the school, where I became the prey of relentless torment. They hurled insults, snatched my lunch money, physically shoved me, and subjected me to a flurry of things thrown in my direction. However, the apex of my anguish happened in the gym's varsity headquarters.

In that humiliating moment, I can still vividly recall the mocking expressions etched across their faces as they stripped me of my dignity. Helplessly barefooted and vulnerable, I stood before them, a victim of their cruelty.

Naively, I had wished the bullying would remain confined within the school's perimeters. But reality is harsh in other moments, destroying that illusion.

The memory of the alley played in a loop in my mind, a haunting reel of the events that had transpired. The cold, damp walls closing in on me, the harsh laughter echoing in the narrow space. Their taunts, and glare as they took what little dignity I had left.

The sense of being repeatedly pushed on the muddy pavements came rushing back, staining my once clean white uniform. It mirrored the filth of their personalities, a reminder of the cruelty that had tainted my daily existence.

That stranger in the park that I bumped into while trying to escape my bullies. He looked at me with a pity in his eyes because of how I looked. I hated it to the point that it haunts me whenever I close my eyes.