1 An abnormal day

Chapter: 1

"An abnormal day"

On a bright and sunny morning in the city of Venington. An adult man named Zen parked his cruiser bike near a small fast food restaurant in the middle of a driveway. Zen grabbed a yellow uniform with a red badge out of his bike and began wearing his new clothes.

After Zen was done, he immediately entered his workplace through the backdoor. Cold air greeted his feet. subsequently, our protagonist gave a "Morning" before closing the door. Replying to their senior, one of them nodded their head and the other greeted back.

Zen reached the counter and started his day.

***

In a supernatural society, powers take the form of a crystal. Limited in nature, these crystals birthed an imbalance between the rich and the poor. This imbalance has gotten so bad that daily riots and rebellions have broken out. To put an end to the conflict, the government had to distribute these crystals evenly.

People who absorb these crystals can obtain an attribute or special ability. For example, the ability to shoot fire out of your hands or create ice shards out of nothing. Additionally, the ability to literally make coffee out of your fingers.

These power crystals would turn into a specific color before being absorbed. These colors represent the fundamental strength of each attribute/special ability. In ascending order, blue is the weakest and red is the strongest.

Attributes don't change unless an individual is gifted. Those gifted are called abnormals.

When Zen and millions more came to get their power crystals, Zen shattered his. Breaking the crystals from touch is the most common symptom of being an abnormal. Other than that, being an abnormal is like entering the lottery. It is all or nothing.

Because no colors appear when a crystal shatters, tests are conducted to measure the strength and attribute of an abnormal. Like many, Zen was tested by the government and unsurprisingly received nothing. To be honest, Zen hated himself at first, but eventually, he got over it and found a job. He even managed to make friends along the way.

After Zen has been working here for a few years, he grew to dislike his job. His job forces him to quit what he enjoys doing and turned him into an NPC, repeating the same line of text every time someone walks into the restaurant. His life has no upsides or downsides, It is stuck on a plateau.

***

While on his way to work, Zen saw a billboard promoting a liquid that 'had been proven' to give attributes. The phrase 'For abnormals and all' caught his attention. Deep down, Zen knew these cheap scams targeted feeble abnormals like him, but he couldn't look away.

Whilst not focusing on the road, Zen suddenly crashed his bike into an expensive, red motorcycle. At the same time, a force field shrouded the vehicle and pushed him back. As Zen slammed his entire body onto the sidewalk, He thought, "What the fuck!"

As Zen got up, he was met with the motorcycle's owner, who looked like a stunning model with crimson hair. When the crash happened, this gorgeous woman was chatting with her friends so all of them turned to him. Instead of helping him, they stood there in shock.

"fuck, my bad," Zen said as he dusted himself.

"What a loser," one of them whispered.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the red-haired girl spoke, "What the hell were you doing?"

To Zen, she sounded condescending. Her mannerism screamed his inferiority and Zen despises it. "look, It was an accident. There was no property damage. How about we just let this slide?"

There was a slight pause before the girl propped Zen's bike up. Her assistance was unusual, as a moment ago she looked at him like a sidewalk newspaper ready to be stepped on.

"I guess I was wrong," Zen thought before thanking her. As soon as he got on his bike and was ready to leave, he noticed the bike's wheels are deflated. Zen always keeps them inflated and does frequent checkups so this was a peculiar case.

Checking the wheels, Zen found holes to no surprise. It was at this moment that his thoughts aligned, "What a bitch." Knowing full well he can't do anything in this situation, Zen dragged his bike to the restaurant in shame.

Zen checked in for today. He worked from morning to evening, taking rest only in the afternoon. Despite working all the time, Zen's pay is still abysmal. He's only making ends meet without leaving any money left to save.

When night falls, Zen went to a ramen shop. Having worked all day, he loves to come here every now and then. Each time he walked through the door, this place breathed life into him, replenishing his spent energy. Zen took a seat and smiled.

"Can I have the Tonkotsu ramen with pork chasu and fish cakes?"

After enjoying his dinner, Zen brought his bike to a mechanic named John. Also working to make ends meet, John is a man who is slightly older than Zen. Tinkering with a little contraption, John didn't notice Zen entering his shop.

"Yo!" Zen shouted

There was the sound of a metal bit popping out of its place. John looked up and exasperated, "Can you not?"

"Sorry about that," Zen lifted his bike inside, "But I need this repaired by tonight, is it possible?"

Looking at the bike, John was confused, "How'd get two holes in there?"

"There were these hoes, " Zen accused, "They shanked it real good."

"I'm surprised you didn't notice," John laughed

"Fuck man, they did it in an instant. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"I guess you have a point," John gestured for Zen to bring the bike to him. As a cripple, John's movements are limited and he needs his customers to help him.

Subsequently, Zen paid for the repair and John went to work. The mechanic fired up his machine and began painting the wheels with a type of fluid. He then dried it and slapped a piece of plastic to cover the holes. Next, he put the bike in the machine, and voila, it is fixed.

"Take better care of it," John said as he was checking if there were any more damages. Zen, on the other hand, didn't reply. After he was handed his bike, Zen gave a nod of approval.

"Thanks again, John."

While riding home, Zen pondered. The life he has lived so far has been nothing but getting butt-raped by other people. The girl from this morning was no exception. As he thought, a high-class person such as herself will never lend him a helping hand.

"I fucking hate this world," Zen clenched his teeth, "This life, this stupid job."

Zen reminisced about the past. He remembered very clearly someone telling him to 'accept what the world will give him, no matter the hurt, and it would make him stronger'. Having decent morality, he partly agreed to it; even though, he wants to burn it all away.

"How long are you planning to keep this up?" A voice spoke to him.

After reaching his apartment, Zen clawed his face, "Quiet, I don't want your opinion!"

"You know I'm never truly gone," The voice dared, "You knew but you're trying to repress it."

Struggling to keep his composure, Zen looks at his palms. There's blood painting his pale skin. He blinks and the blood disappeared, "despite all that, why aren't you fucking unhappy?"

"I want to live for a change. That's your happiness."

"Never..."

***

The next day, while Zen was on his way to work, he noticed the red-haired girl from yesterday. Seeing a puddle nearby, Zen's thoughts were suddenly filled with mischief. Subsequently, he told himself not to do it as the act of taking revenge was childish.

"You bore me," the voice came out of nowhere; normally, it wouldn't appear until nighttime. For an instant, Zen blacked out for a few seconds before waking up to see himself being chased by a muddied girl.

Zen was terrified.