Chapter 1 -The Private Hideout
This is a story about something avid people can relate to. It happened about a decade ago. At that time, people didn't care if you have the newest iPhone, iPad or tablet. The only obsolete gadgets they had were the handheld jukeboxes worth less than a thousand dollars, colorless cellphones with free antennas and of course, a DVD player with an inability to play all sorts of video games. In those days, in a certain part of America, there was once a boy. In his life, he never got the chance to hold firsthand a real Nikon camera or a cellphone as big as a bar of soap. He lived a scarce life, but not as scarce as what you expect it to be. He was young, but not too young. He was a teenager, a high school student specifically. Luckily, he was enabled to go to school and become educated for his future. He was the son of a professor in his school.
One lowly Friday afternoon, he, Dan Kennedy, was staying at the back of their school library building. That place was some kind of outdoor reservoir for trash, dried leaves, weeds, unwanted bushes, burnt papers and all kinds of worthless junks. But even so, Dan treated it as his own private hideout where he would do his homework, read novels or even play chess -- all these by himself, since of course, no one else could lay hold of the stench of the trashy place except for him alone. Now at that time, after three o'clock in the afternoon, he remained in their school, in his private hideout. He didn't want to go home yet. He didn't want to see the face of his father who just recently scolded him inside the campus because of his failing Chemistry grade. He once thought about spending the night in his hideout and not going home, but the word 'snakes' also did bother him. The thought of what recently happened between him and his father bothered him a lot, considering that he was the only family he had. His mom died long ago, and he doesn't have a brother or a sister. Despite the fact that he was a sixteen-year-old boy (who has already passed puberty), tears didn't stop falling from his eyes. He was skulked in his filthy hideout, crying softly. If you were there, you couldn't have heard him since his cries were all so soft. If you went closer to him, you would have thought that they were only chattering mice. He didn't cover his face, for he knew that no one would see him, since no one but him would go there. At times, students would go there, but they can never stay there as long as Dan can. For a moment there, excluding Dan's soft cries and the noise of the wind, there was dead silence. If you were a new comer in that place, you would know that you should run away because some hideous ghosts might appear right in front of you (except that it was daytime). Dan thought about the possible outcomes of him going back home. What would father do to me once he sees me, he thought. I bet he would shout at me again, like what he did to me this morning in front of four to five random students. I was humiliated, just because that shabby old teacher, Mrs. Stewart failed me.
Once more, he let out a burst of soft cries (that is, if 'burst' can be the right word used). A couple of tears fell from his eyes as his thoughts continued to wring his heart. He clasped his hands and sobbed some more. He didn't notice the serenity around him, since his soul was verily bothered by his emotions. He wiped the tears off of his face using one hand. If you were there looking at him, you wouldn't have known that he was crying all along, though his heart was very much heavy. His eyes became red, but you would have only thought that he just woke up from a nice, long sleep. And again, he thought about the unrighteous deed his father had done to him. The more he thinks about it, the more his heart becomes heavy, and the less his tears become obvious (that's weird if you come to think about it). "I wish Stewart never became my teacher," he muttered softly to himself. If he was a different person, he would have shouted it to the whole place, knowing that no one else can hear him from there. "I wish Chemistry never became a subject, I wish dad never became my dad and moreover, I wish I never --"
His last words were left unfinished, after he heard a strange sound somewhat like that of a snake's hissing. His mouth was shut because of fear. He knew that he was about to face something he had long expected, but thought wouldn't exist in that area, ever. He thought wrong. He tried his best to keep quiet and perfectly still. He moved not a single strand of his hair. He listened to the frightful sound not far from his location. His hands were shaking, and he was trembling in too much fear. I knew hiding out of here was a bad idea, he thought to himself. He then forgot about why he was crying . If you were to look at him, you wouldn't have thought that he was crying just recently. Fear has overtaken his emotions.
