The War Within

Chapter 1

     Jake is a fifteen-year-old boy that lives in a small town in Southern California. He wears black jeans, a dark blue polo shirt, casual all black sneakers, and an unzipped black hoodie that has a logo of a skeleton's head that's breathing out fire on the front. He keeps his hands in his pockets; head hung low, and hood over his head to conceal himself from others. Along with his apparel, he wears a pair of Skullcandy earbuds. They were black and white with the Skullcandy logo on each earbud. Jake frequently listens to his favorite music genre, death metal, when the headphones are plugged into his cell phone.

     As Jake was leaving his chemistry class at his school, Granada Hills Charter High, he found himself being harassed by a couple of members of the school's football team. They teased him about how he looked, and how his only friend was his pet dog. One of the boys pushed Jake against his locker, and another hit him upside the head. When Jake tried fending for himself, it only ended with him being beaten by every football player present. This was an average day for Jake. In a popularity hierarchy, Jake would be at the very bottom all by himself, but he prefers to be alone. He secludes himself from all of the other students, stutters when he talks sometimes, talks to himself in class, practices dark magic, and wishes death on those who irritate him. His ways and actions have caused students to label him as a freak. For as long as he could remember, Jake has always been this way, and sometimes questions why.

     Jake was on his way home from school. To avoid coming into contact with anyone, he took the long way and walked down the alleyway passage. He has never worn a backpack for school, and anything that was given to him, by his teachers, ended up in the trash can.

     The neighborhood Jake lived in was quiet and peaceful. You could hear a penny drop two blocks away. The only noise that anyone would hear would be the sounds of children playing, birds singing their harmonious songs, dogs barking, and car engines starting.

     Jake took an hour to finally reach his home. The house was small in size with two windows in the front, a white screen door, bricks that made up the bottom half of the house, and plastic wood that made up the upper half. His mother was already home; outside tending to her garden. She heard his footsteps then turned her head towards him, greeting him with a genuine smile.

        "Hi, sweetie." She said with her soothing voice. "How was your day at school?" He slightly looked up at her, revealing his dark blue eyes with a wave of burning anger living inside of them.

        "Don't call me that," Jake commanded with a slight growl. "It's not even your business anyway so stay out of it. " Her happy smile turned into a sympathetic frown as she stepped out of her garden and walked over to Jake. She lifted his chin up with her finger to get a better view of his face, and what she saw was no surprise to her. Jake had a bruise on his left cheek, a black right eye, a busted lip, and streaks of dry blood from his nostrils. His mother shook her head and stormed off towards the house.

        "I'm calling your father," she said sternly, "I keep telling him that you need to get out of that school..." The rest of her ranting was inaudible. 
Jake rolled his eyes and shook his head as well. "Here comes the start of a horrible evening."

     As Jake entered his home, he had noticed something unusual. There was a painting on the wall when someone would first step inside of the house. It was something that Jake had made in kindergarten before his behavior changed. The painting consisted of: his mother on the left with black hair, a white turtleneck shirt, his father on the right with a burgundy sweater, a gray cap, and thin, black glasses on, and lastly with Jake in between his two parents with a green jacket on. This painting was nowhere in sight. The painting itself made Jake smile inside. It reminded him of when he was truly happy, and no one picked on him. With this painting replaced with a sports team poster, Jake was on the verge of punching something, but he did the next best thing and went to his bedroom.