Unprivileged

Chapter 5.

Ace's POV.

Science has it that Mondays are hated and disliked by the majority of the human population of earth. Everyone is grumpy and moody on a Monday morning, and frankly, I am no exception. I woke up feeling horrible and tired. I did not have a good slumber last night as I read until the rays of daylight started leaking through the curtains covering the window in my room, indicating that the sun was beginning to rise. That's what normally happens when you buy a book, especially one that you are particularly obsessed with. The Forth Book of Legends was something that I decided to be worth the sacrifice, and so, I did not have but two hours of sleep. I made quite the progress and went through a good hundred pages of the book, seeing that I certainly did not want Carrie to stick the ''Slow Reader'' label on my forehead again. 

I hope she's liking The Mayor. She took it with her and left me with Legends, after our book fetching promenade. Yesterday was .. fun. Carrie's company is always enjoyable. I'd take it over my loneliness anytime.

I force myself out of bed and into the shower. The warm water helps to wake me up as it washes away some of the tiredness I suffer in my neck and shoulder blades. I can never find an explanation for my ever lasting tiredness, it's just always there. I put my school uniform on, retrieve my backpack and head downstairs. An image is already forming in my mind of what it must look like in the kitchen right now: Mum is standing by the stove frying some eggs or otherwise pancakes, Rich is eating his baby food with his plastic, toy sized utensils and since dad is here, he's reading the newspaper while drinking coffee in his favourite mug. It's always the same. My family is a fan of monotony and repetition. The image quickly vanishes away as I go into the kitchen to find it empty.

"Well, isn't this a first?" I say under my breath and reach for an apple sitting on top of the counter. Apparently, they're all still asleep, which is kind of weird. No one sleeps after seven am in this house except me. At least I get away with not having breakfast today. I'm not feeling very hungry anyway.

On my bike, I make my way to school, thinking about nothing and everything all at once. I keep thinking about my life. How still and constant it is. Nothing ever happens out of the ordinary. Everything that's cool and exciting happens in the outside world, where I have never stepped a foot. Sometimes I think that I'm entitled to be the world's most confused, unimportant and useless teenager. And with that realization comes nothing but a great desire to get away from everyone and everything and pretend that I don't exist. 

What motivates me to actually walk into the school halls is the fact that there will be a lunch break today at some point and I am going to see Carrie. Preferably eat lunch while she tells me about the well made plot of The Mayor, or so as I hope, and I tell her about the shocking betrayal of Jack to the rest of the team. The bastard gave up on his friends and made a deal with Validy, who promised him a chance of reuniting with his dead girlfriend if he agreed to help her get the two remaining Legends.

I sit down on my usual seat as the teacher and the rest of the class make their way into the classroom. Recently, I can't help but notice that I'm developing a lack of interest towards school. Spanish bores me, Science makes me want to vomit and Maths only show my stupidity to be one of those problems that you just can't figure out how to solve. I've never felt so left behind in a class before. It takes me so much time and focus to understand the lesson and the extra explaining my teacher was trying to help me with after the bell rang and the whole class was dismissed.

"That is literally everything," my teacher says. "I don't believe something this easy shall get in your way!"

"Yeah," I pretend that I did understand whatever on earth that was all about, "totally! Thank you, Mr Roberts!" I thank him for the help and start making my way out of the classroom.