Kansnubra Island: (HARRY POTTER) Inspired

CHAPTER 1

Rain fell in buckets over the small town of Kastreen's Pick. The wind roared as lightning flashes cleared the night, followed by echoing thunder.

Garley was returning from his school, Braghton, under his father's old umbrella. The streets were deserted as he made his way home. On that specific day, he felt more relaxed than usual. He hardly thought that Victor and his friends would face the torrential rain just to get to him. Little did he know, he was deeply mistaken.

Garley was a skinny boy. He was sixteen, with dark brown eyes. His black hair was thick and straight, just like his father's.

His clothes were simple, some of them patched because his family couldn't always afford to buy him new ones. The way he dressed was why he was the laughingstock of his school's tough guys. They stalked him, and many times assaulted him physically. All his life he had been the unpopular guy. Besides his ragged clothes and frail body, his grades were low in almost every subject, which was just one more reason to make fun of him. His only friends were Juan, who was bullied just as much as he was, and Peter, who was tall and wore big glasses. Garley couldn't handle the injustices against him anymore. He needed to find a way out of that school, to get away from those arrogant boys. But at the moment, he could not think of a way out.

"Guys, he's right over there!" someone shouted from a distance in a deep voice.

Scared, Garley looked down the street and saw five punks wearing yellow plastic raincoats. It was Victor and his group, and they were walking towards him.

His fear intensified as they drew closer, but Garley inexplicably felt a mad desire to face them. He couldn't run away forever. He gathered a bit of courage and waited. But there were so many, and he was alone. What chance did he have against that gang of delinquents?

He thought of running away, but it was too late. They were too close. "Check his clothes, guys! Were they your grandpa's, idiot?" Victor said, laughing. He was a tall, dark-skinned, and corpulent boy. He had wavy and wild hair and his voice was calm and grand.

"That's none of your business, Victor," answered Garley, hiding one hand in his jeans pocket. "Why don't you face me alone, Victor? Do you really need these cannibals? Maybe, you are just as much of a coward as you think I am."

"Coward?" Victor shouted, his eyes fiery with rage as the rain ran down his face. "You never learn, do you? You're the most pathetic student in all of Braghton High. I think we need to remind you who's the boss!"

They all advanced towards Garley, all of them were big and muscular young men.

Garley had no choice. He threw his umbrella in the air and ran off. He felt his heart beating fast, and the wind was crushing against his face, blurring his vision. He was running away again. But at that time, in light of the situation, it was the right thing to do. It would have been madness trying to fight them by himself. He would have just gotten more scars in the process.

While running, he looked over his shoulders and noticed that the yellow mass was falling behind. He was good with running; he could run faster than anyone could. He ducked into a dark, deserted alley and hid inside a trash can.

He was drenched and shivering from the cold. He wouldn't be able to stay there much longer. After a few minutes, he couldn't wait anymore. He felt humiliated and furious with himself. He was sick and tired of running away. Even if he got beaten, he would rather lose with honor than running away like a coward—as he always had done before.

He took a deep breath of the cold air and walked slowly towards the sidewalk.

To his relief, there was no sign of his pursuers. Apparently, he had misled them, but there was no way to be sure. Maybe he would meet them again further down the road. But he couldn't stand around in the storm, so he ran home, staying alert to any sign of danger.