Alexander (Discontinued)

-1-

The little boy grasped his jacket tightly, agitated by the silence that followed the alleyway. Behind him were the lively roads; cheerful and vivid, but he still chose to follow the path ahead of him as he tried to prove to his heart that he was anything but a coward.

Feet numb from trying to sell the cheap hats on the icy streets since dawn, hands frozen from the cold, the boy clutched the excess hats tightly as he gaped at the dark scenario in front of him.

The pennies that he had collected clanked loudly in the pocket of his jacket with every step he took towards the looming danger.

The boy had a grim idea of what waited for him in the dark alley; he just kept on walking without any resounding fear.

His fear didn't reside in the darkness, silence or death; he was scared of being called all those unexplainable things that he wasn't.

His body shook with venom as he tried to shake away the thoughts of his worst nightmare; that was the first time he had been to a school; he hoped that it was also his last. It was a public institution for evacuees from across the world where he was nagged around for being white.

Alex had made up his mind about never going to a school; he'd end up being poor, but he wouldn't ever go to a school again.

He wasn't a coward he knew that. He was anything but a coward as he stepped forward into the dark, with no fear, no restraint, nothing, but a constant heartbeat. These alleys would give nightmares to valiant hunters, killers, adult, but Alex unrelentingly walked forward as if he retained that place.

His tingling body reacted to the source of warmth as he stepped deeper inside the alley; next came the sound of laughter. He shivered as the laughter reminded him of the bullies in school, but he shook his head and continued towards the warmth.

Taking a turn, he found men sitting beside a campfire, laughing and holding cards in their hands. There were four of them, and they sat in a circle around an old table. Their faces dimly lit by the fire, as they continued their chatter and playing. None of them noticed his presence until he stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Hello" He murmured, his voice rough from begging people to buy his cheap hats in the deadly season.

The men turned around abruptly, surprised as to who had disturbed them when no one dared step into these deadly alleys. Alex stood calmly gaping at the men who held cards in their hands, cradled in heavy clothing.

One of them stood up and smirked at the Alex before asking, "What are you doing here, little boy?"

"I am not a little boy" Alex fired back.

"Indeed" the other man spoke, and they all started laughing. Alex's chest bubbled with nervousness, one thing that he was scared of: people laughing at him.

"I shall leave if you don't want me here" Alex spoke and turned around to face the men.

"You can't leave now, little boy" his heart sank as the voice halted his return towards liveliness; he turned around to face the horrid men but still stood tall with arrogance in front of four ruthless assassins.

"So what can I do?" Alex asked calmly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Silence puddled between the four men as if they were silently contemplating about what to do with the little boy.

After a moment of silence, one of them offered, "Join us for a game, if you lose, you are dead; if you win, you leave with all this money."

Alex gulped and fortified his valor stepping forward towards the four men.

He knew that they would team up together and would cheat and defeat him, as they only invited him for little fun and then they would get rid of him.

"I will play," Alex said, confidently and one of the men brought a chair for him from behind.

Stepping forward, Alex was thankful for the men to invite him to the game, as the warmth of the fire cradled him. His eyes twinkled as he took in his surrounding, paying close attention to his opponents.

Alex was an expert at arbitrating people. He eyed his opponents and watched their every move, trying to look for any sign of nervousness or anything that could help him in the game.

There were four adult gamblers against a fifteen-year-old boy, but the thought never crossed the mind of Alex because his ego fully engulfed him.

One of the men offered Alex a cigarette, which he gratefully took.

Cards were distributed equally among the players; Alex paid more attention at looking at the expressions of his rivals than concentrating at the game. It wasn't hard for him to do so as he was said to be the lord of mind-reading, but he tried his best to conceal his expressions.

He got the first turn as an honor of being their guest that they would murder if he didn't pass this game. Alex threw three cards, bluffing on the first turn. An envisaged move, to let the men know that he was inexperienced and would lie throughout the game.

He was going to get caught on his first move; what he had planned.

The next man picked up his cards, his attempt at fooling them proved successful, inside he was twitching with happiness, but on the outside, he put on a face of sorrow of losing on the first move. The men smirked and handed back the cards to Alex, continuing with the game.

The game was played with deep concentration, at least by Alex while the other men relaxed, still thinking that he was inexperienced by his first move.

On the other hand, Alex noticed every move of every player, trying to look for any sign of a lie, truth or nervousness; anything that would help him with the game.

Alex doubted that they would let him live even if he won the game, but still, he played with utter concentration, with only a single thought: that even if he died, he would have the satisfaction of not giving up till the end of his life.

The game ended and the men were baffled at the victory of the little boy; they all stood up and applauded for him, but he still sat on the chair, presuming his demise, but the men had different plans. Alex was taken aback by surprise as they passed over the money to him. He collected the money but still waited for the strike of death to come any moment from now, but by the posture of the four men, they didn't seem like planning on killing him.

They stepped aside, giving him space to walk through. Still suspicious, Alex stood up, walking over to the end of the turn until a voice halted him in his steps.

"What's your name?" One of the men called out.

"Alexander" He replied, without even glancing back.

"You can always come to find us here" They offered.

Alexander nodded, before walking out of the gloomy alley; heading back to his home.

That was the last time he ever sold hats, last him he went home with less than a hundred dollars in his pockets, but that was the beginning of another life towards demise, the beginning of his factual future.

That's where it all started from.