Porcelain Boys Shouldn't Run on Pavement, so Stay Inside Your Glass Castle

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The principal stood to his left, smiling reassuringly. They may have had a rocky start, but she supported him, despite the mischief and mayhem he caused. He had debated on dropping out, to forget the entire story and leave, never look back. Yet he took a deep breath, stepping onto the stage.

Looking out onto the crowd of people he barely knew. James, Arthur, Malcolm, Lousia, Tamari, Kaliegh.

He knew they didn't know him, not really. Rich, wealthy. That was the only connection. The crowd's smiles grew teeth, elongated into smiles of cruel words and taunts.

"Hello, my name is Thomas, but I prefer Tommy," his voice cracked awkwardly as he introduced himself.

He could feel his mother's scowl.

Swallowing the growing fear, his eyes landed on brown, red and blue ones, giving him smiles that screamed encouragement. Another deep breath.

"I guess I wrote something and the school liked it, cause I'm here to share it. So I just start...?" he glanced to his left, expression asking permission.

A bob of tousled hair, a nodded confirmation of his question.

"I've come to tell you about the story of a porcelain boy," he could see people laugh and chuckle, snickering at the ridiculous starting sentence.

'What an idiot.'

"On top of a hill that overlooks an intricate city, there stands a glass castle. It is not stained, nor tinted or frosted. It's clear and empty of colour, see through. Arrows and stones and gazes can pierce through the thin layer, for it is not bulletproof. It is made of glass, perched precariously over a city of stones and other sorts.

'Thomas, we aren't like everyone else. We have wealth, superior to all those below us.'

"Inside the glass castle, there lives a jackhammer and a pen and paper. They have a son, and he is made of porcelain. The porcelain boy grows inside these castle walls, learning and changing. The jackhammer and the pen keep him inside the glass castle, and so he watches through the clear windows, silently observing the city that lives its own life."

'What game are they playing Mum?' 'Ah, that's hide and go seek. Now go read your book's and finish your homework.'

He looked out into the crowd, saw hundreds of people watching him, confusion etched into their features. He continues.

"One day, the porcelain boy asks his parents, 'can I go outside, for I am lonely, and I wish to not be so.' For you see, the porcelain boy was the type of boy to not do well alone. His parents are busy, for they work, and there is no one to play with the porcelain boy. His parents, who the boy will tell anyone who asks, warn him that he should never wish to go to such a place.

'Public school, really? I thought you liked being homeschooled.' Eyes inspected his face, waiting for a reaction. 'I do. I want to meet people though, I want friends.'

"'My son,' the jackhammer warns, 'the outside world is full of dangers, little boy's made of porcelain so easy to break should never leave their glass castles to run about the pavement. If you trip and fall, you will crack. If you wish to leave, then we must teach you how to be strong.' The boy listens, and then turns to his mother. 'Every word you use, they will twist and bend to use it like a sword against you. Words can break porcelain too, if they are strong enough,' she tells him. The porcelain boy listens, and asks to learn.

'People will hurt you. They will use you for money, bleed you dry until you cannot give anymore.' 'Everyone?' 'Everyone.'

"The jackhammer teaches him that if he doesn't act tougher than the thin china he is made of, he will break. The jackhammer shows the porcelain boy how easy it is to crack, tapping him on the shoulder to show how dangerous the cracks can be. The jackhammer sets expectations for the porcelain boy, and if he fails to meet them, his father will show him what it feels like to crack over and over again."