Xander shot up in bed, horrified from the flashback of his past. The nightmares came infrequently but they still existed, nightmares reminding him of his terrible past, flashbacks of what people used to do to him. He dashed to the blue room, hastily injecting his veins to reassure himself that that Xander no longer existed. He was new Xander, sexy, powerful Xander. The flashback fueled his anger, causing him to increase his dosage just this once. Immediately, he felt better. Xander sighed against the wall, sensing the drugs pulsating through his body, strengthening him and perfecting his physical features. He wiped sweat from his brow and grinned at his handsome reflection.
He arrived at work with 2 boxes of donuts, motivating his coworkers. They thanked him and he smiled back, admiring their eagerness to work. Then he hid in his office, analyzing trends regarding tensile strength, stress, and torsion of the medical tubes, using statistics to develop a method of improvement. He peered at drawings of different tubes and handed them over to mechanical engineers in the business, commanding them to recreate the drawings in Solidworks and 3D print them. Then Xander flipped through his emails, searching for customer comments on his product.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Xander called, sitting upright in his chair and closing his laptop.
A customer walked in and shook Xander's hand. He had a content easygoing aura and a happy smile.
"How can I help you?" Xander asked.
"First I wanted to thank you for your product. I am a doctor and the medical tubes you make have really assisted my patients."
Xander nodded, basking in the flattery.
"However, I wanted to ask if you could change some things. The outer diameter is a little too large—could you shorten it by a thousandth of an inch maybe? And the material needs to be a tad stronger. Some of my patients move around a lot and could tear the tube. I would really appreciate if you could look into those changes."
Xander jotted down the man's comments.
The man thanked Xander for his time then rose to leave. But before he rose, he leaned forward, a friendly look of recognition spreading across his face. "Xander, is that you?" he asked excitedly.
Xander looked up from his notes and nodded slowly.
"Wow..." the man breathed, still smiling. "You look so different. I almost didn't recognize you! You look like you've been working out a lot and just happier altogether and...wow." He took a step back, his gaze sweeping over Xander. "It's good to see you, buddy."
"I'm sorry...do I know you?"
The man chuckled lightheartedly. "You don't remember?" he asked. "It's me, Brandon."
YOU ARE READING
The Real Bully
General FictionAs a child, Xander sees his bullies as people who gained strength from feeding off his weaknesses. As an adult, Xander aspires to turn the tables on his past bullies, steal power from them. But his idea of stealing power is very different from his b...
