In Time

-Nineteen-

7 April 2017, Friday

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Today I walked through the gates of Crestbridge High. In my Bermuda shorts. This was the first time I wore my shorts to school, ever since elementary school. The security guard stared a little too long at me as I passed the counter; I wasn't sure if it was because I was dressed too sloppily or because he was staring at my leg. I hoped it was the former, but I convinced myself that I didn't care even if it was the latter.

"Woah, are you Xavier's twin brother or something?" I felt a sharp slap on my back as I made my way to the hall for assembly. It was Aus.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm an only child by the way."

"Wow X, is your leg real?" Aus cupped a hand to his mouth in an overly-exaggerated manner. "I can't believe that I didn't know about it after so long! Are we really friends? Or are you secretly hiding a whole harem of girls away from my sight as well?" Aus sniggered.

I was glad that Aus was accepting and didn't treat me any differently from before. He could use a little more mind-cleansing though.

"Yeah, it's totally real, I was born with it, metal leg and all," I dripped sarcastically.

Then a serious look filled his eyes, which was rare for him.

"Hey X, you know all the times I called you a sissy during Physical Education for our 400m sprints? And all the times I humiliated you after you lost challenges to Jon and I? Sorry about that man. That wasn't cool," Aus hung his head.

I gave him the middle finger. "Alright bro, we are even now. Don't worry about it."

He grinned. "I would have liked to ask you what model you are using and its horsepower and all, but I realised that I don't know anything about prosthetics," Aus joked.

"Sure, I'm using the Rush LoPro foot currently. It has a low profile build and is good for achieving a smoother gait. It's adapted for all-terrain activity, is waterproof, has a smooth roll-over with high-energy return... it's okay, I'm just joking," I laughed at Aus' dumbfounded expression. "Let's talk about armour upgrades in DOTA instead."

We walked the rest of the way to the hall discussing about how armours affected algorithms for damage multipliers.

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"X, you sure are getting all the girls' attention today," Jon remarked. "Look at them all giggling from the next table!"

"Yeah, I'm stealing all the limelight and they've clean forgotten about the hunk like yourself," I deadpanned.

George choked on her food. "Please don't make me gag you two."

Typical George. She was always sports and video games and acted all bro around us, I would never have known that she carried a torch for Jon if not for the last timeline. This time I would make it work out between the two of them.

"X, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your leg?" George dropped the million-dollar question.

"Story time..." Jon complained.

I cleared my throat. "Long story short, I was born with a deformed left leg. It was amputated and here I am. No badass backstory like getting mauled in a shark fight or being ran over by a tractor or being mangled alive..."

"Ok X, you can stop now, I'm still eating," she glared at me.

"You were the one who asked him first!" Jon rebutted.