Strings ||M.C + A.I||

Chapter 1

No one in the world would ever waste their time spending with Michael Gordon Clifford,

or atleast that's what he thought.He never had friends,except for his stuffed lion Daniel if you consider that as a friend.But,as Michael thought,Daniel was the only companion he had through hard times since he was 5.He never had friends when he came to middle school because other kids doesn't like how weird he looks and how he always craddle a stuffed animal in his arms whenever he goes to school.It was hard for him at the first time but as years went by,he got used to it.

He's not very close with his parents too.The fact that they never listen to whatever he says makes him feel like nobody really understand him and they never care about him.It was very hard for him to feel like he's growing up with his parents being distant.But they're not.They all live under the same roof but he feels like it's been ages since they have talked.They never had the time to actually talk because whenever he come home from school,both of his parents are already gone for work and when it's weekend they go to either their relatives or business partner to catch up,and they never worry about Michael being left alone in their house.Sometimes,he even asked himself if they were his real parents.

There was one time in middle school when they were asked by their teacher to share their family background,Michael was praying that he wouldn't be called.He never had a time to talk with his family,let alone bond! so what was he going to say?!

I don't talk with my family because they don't care about me.

Nope.He can't say that.If they find out that even his parents doesn't give a shit about him.He'll be picked and laughed at in his entire middle school.

And just when he thought the teacher was going to dismiss the class after his classmate Jessica was done with her little speech about her family,a ruler was pointed to the very back of the class where Michael sat.He felt every pair of eyes looking at him as he gulped and slowly stood up.

He was very used to pretending to act like everything was okay when it's not so that's exactly what he did.He pulled of the biggest fake smile as he thought of what he would say.

"My parents work on a separate company" he stated as he internally asked himself if he got it correctly. "We are very close despite their tight schedule and we bond as much as we can" lie.
"and every weekend we go to our relatives to go camping because my grandparents live in the middle of the woods."he doesn't even know if his grandparents are still alive.Last time he checked,he couldn't even remember how they looked because he was just a baby when he last seen them.He doesn't even go to camping with his relatives because as always,his parents never let him go with them when they do so.Although he really wanted to but his parents never listen to whatever he says anyway so what's the point on telling them?

Little Michael has probably stopped talking as his thoughts swallowed him.He didn't even realize that a tear slipped from his eyelids until he heard fits of laugh around him.He snapped back to reality as he heard the whole class picking on him.

"wuss"

"aww,little Mikey's gonna cry"

"what's the matter freak?Did your stupid stuffed lion leave you too?"

He instantly wipe up his tears to show that he is not as vulnerable as they thought he is.But the next thing he heard made him shatter.

"Your mom doesn't even want to kiss you goodbye when she drops you off.I bet she regrets giving birth to a boy like you"

With that,Michael found himself dashing out of the classroom as he made his way out on the hallway heading to the comfort room.He went inside a cubicle and locked himself.Using his arms,he pulled his knees to his chest.The sound of his classmates' laugh rang through his head and images of them making disgusted faces flashed through his memory.He silently cried,praying to whoever was listening that everything would stop.