Leaving the Shell

Prologue

"Max! You have sauce all over your face! Disgusting child." My temporary mother had criticized me. I wished that I was back in my previous body. In that body I was able to be a kid, I would go to the park with my parents, laugh, play, get dirty, and just have fun. But then I woke up there, the exact opposite of that dreamy place. In fact I had known from the minute that this mom screamed for me to wake up, that this was going to be another version of hell.

I was eating my breakfast with my new family, but this family didn't feel warm and loving, this family felt like a prison, filled with people who had stone hearts. I wasn't allowed to play outside because of my allergies to pollen, I wasn't allowed my favourite breakfast,pancakes, because it was too unhealthy. And now I couldn't eat a single bite of unseasoned egg and salsa without these so-called parents judging me for how disgraceful I was.

"Just when I thought we taught you manners, you go and throw them out the window. No wonder why you don't have any friends." That hit me hard, even though I knew I wasn't a terrible child, I still felt terrible. I had only been in that body for only a few moments, and I swear I could feel my heart flaking away, piece by piece. Part of me also knew that the reason why this kid had no friends was because of these "perfect" parents.

My father stood up abruptly, "you don't have any more time to finish that, go get ready for school." I was half thankful that I was done eating this bland breakfast, but partly worried for what was awaiting for me at school. Walking into my room, I quickly got changed so as to not disappoint my already disappointed mother. I had settled on a baby blue golf shirt and some regular jeans. I gently ran my hands down my shirt to get rid of any wrinkles. Satisfied, I left my room. As I left, I was met with a pair of horrified eyes. What had I done this time? Before I knew it, I felt my left cheek blaze with fire. Had my mom just slapped me? I felt my eyes brim with tears.I didn't ask for this life, I didn't ask to wake up here. Those were the only things I could think about.

I had forgotten about reality for a moment, but I was quickly pulled right back into it when mother had spoken. "I don't know what kind of rebellion you're trying to pull, but it must stop. I can do far more than just slap you!" She continued, "I thought I tried to raise you to be a model child, but to no avail. Put on your uniform and when you come out of your room, I expect a good boy to come out." That was it. That was my breaking point. I ran into my room with tears continuously racing down my cheeks. I slammed the door behind me and mentally screamed at myself. I didn't deserve this.

I knew I had to calm down quickly or else I was going to face even more wrath. Once I had calmed down, I slipped into my school uniform and left my room. I didn't care if my eyes were still puffy from crying, 'maybe, just maybe,' I had thought, 'it'll make her regret her decision. That certainly wasn't the case, my mother was waiting for me in the bathroom and she hollered me over. "We are running late, brush your teeth as I do your hair." It felt like a command more than anything else. I nodded my head stiffly and turned towards the mirror. I hadn't really had a chance to properly see myself quite yet. My appearance didn't surprise me though, I looked like a standard nine year old boy, or I had at least assumed that I was nine, since that's been the age of my previous bodies. I got started on brushing my teeth as I examined this new body in more detail. I would say that my most noticeable feature was my silky, curly hair, it looked quite nice. For a child that I predicted didn't have a very free and wild life, he had rather cool hair. I didn't have much time to pride over my hair, because all of a sudden, the lively curls were soon slicked back with gel. The one thing that I liked, gone. I had a feeling that was going to be the running theme in this household.

As soon as I was finished in the bathroom, I went to the entryway, there my dad had, what seemed to be, my backpack in his hand, ready to go. "We need to leave now or you'll be late." I couldn't register any emotion coming from him, but it had felt a little more loving than the raging beast I was about to leave behind. I just nodded my head again, I felt like it was a crime to speak here. As I exited the house I looked behind myself to bid my mother farewell, only to be met with a door in my face.