Eternal Battlegrounds

The Mysterious Package

EVEN BEFORE HE WAS PROCLAIMED A BOOKWORM BY HIS CLASSMATES, Antonio preferred to not rely on anyone but himself.

Whether it was something related to curriculum or co-curricular activities, he aced them all. Every teenager around his age has a thing for inferiority complex but, the case with him was 180 degrees.

He was suffering from a rare disease called superiority complex. He saw his classmates as nothing but trash that will only waste his time.

"Wake up, Kid. You are pretty much dead this time." someone called out in a harsh tone which interrupted Antonio's little nap.

Rubbing his eyes, Antonio turned to face the professor who was staring directly into his eyes. Anger was clearly visible on his wrinkled face.

Meeting the sharp gaze of the professor, Antonio snapped. "What do you want from me; didn't I already answer the question you asked earlier?"

Seeing the reaction of Antonio, the professor rubbed his forehead and calmly said, "You know, Antonio. This rudeness and arrogance will one day become the cause of your annihilation."

Holding his shoulders, the professor continued." I am telling you once and it's upon you to mark my words or not. You shouldn't consider yourself perfect; it will only lead you to imperfection and destroy you."

Antonio pushed the professor a little and got up from his seat. "Whatever Old man, I don't care. If my superiority destroys me, I would love to die being superior instead of stooping low to save myself."

Commenting casually, he picked up his bag and strolled out of the classroom.

Antonio Weiss was a seventeen years old teenager who just enrolled in the College of Dunmouth by acing in all the subjects. He was tall, around 5'11 ft. His skin has a wheatish complexion, he has straight trimmed black hair which was oiled and combed in a way that enhanced his beauty further. In one way, he was the role model for a perfect teen. But, at the same time, some of his traits tend to taint his overall personality.

After the death of his parents, he preferred to live a silent and peaceful life. He doesn't like to meddle in others' matters. Everyone around him either addressed him as a bookworm and arrogant or silent and gloomy, but Antonio didn't care a bit.

Gazing at the sky, Antonio whispered to himself. "I know, I haven't been living the way you wanted me to. But, I don't see anything without you. To be precise, I miss you both."

Wiping the tears that flowed down his cheeks, he continued. " Everyone calls me a bookworm, a person with arrogance, shady, gloomy, and silent. But, not even one of them tried to know the reason for this behavior."

Antonio took a deep breath before looking at the house that stood before him. The house was nothing like the new ones that were constructed these days. An old house with leaking ceilings and creaking wooden floors, walls decorated with rusty old paintings and cobwebs covering them, this was the house which was inhabited by the Weiss family for a decade now.

There wasn't any furniture since Antonio had to sell all of it for taking the scholarship examination for entering the College of Dunmouth. He remembered the days when he was a hardcore gamer and had many friends, but as the years passed, Antonio was left alone in this whole world. And in the last six months, he saw the deaths of his parents; he was left with no one but himself.

Antonio opened the door to his room that was on the first floor. He placed the bag on the floor beside a wooden table and grabbed the photo frame that was kept on the table. Looking at the photo, he said. "I wish, you both were with me on my seventeenth birthday. I never cherished the moments, I spent with you. I am sorry for that, I should have done it."