Chapter 5 Long Road To School Part 2

Chapter 5 Long Road To School Part 2

After I passed out during that cold, lonely and dark night, someone found me. Unbeknownst to me, that person is 'him'. Now let's go back on what happened to me after that. 

"Where am I?" I slowly open my eyes looking for the surroundings. "This is my room, but how did I get here?"

As I'm trying to piece together the events of the previous night, I notice a small MP3 player lying on my chest, hanging from my neck like a necklace. "How did I get this?" I wonder, rising from the bed to investigate.

  I remember that my father has a similar MP3 player, so I make my way to his room to search for his earphones. I spot them hanging near his table, and without hesitation, I take them and plug them into the MP3 player.

Suddenly, I hear a boy's voice in my ears. "Hi, Justin! How are you?" the voice asks cheerfully. "Maybe you were awake by the time you heard this. If you remember, last night you lost consciousness."

It all starts to come back to me. I had been trying to find a mechanic shop recommended by our driver, but I was exhausted and famished. The night had been cold and dark, and I had passed out.

"When I saw you, I was scared because I thought you were dead," the voice continues. "But when I looked at you carefully, you were still breathing. So I carried you all the way back home. And you want to go to school, right?"

I'm stunned. How does this boy know where I live, and how does he know I want to go to school? Did I tell him that?

"I will teach you how to get to school," the boy goes on. "You can easily go there even if you just walk, so don't worry—you won't need to take public vehicles to get there anymore."

He proceeds to give me directions, and I listen carefully, storing the information in my mind.

"Always remember, Justin, that you should always be careful and never talk to anyone, especially strangers when you go to school alone," the boy warns. "And as for this MP3 player, don't worry, just keep it. The reason why I gave it to you is that you probably don't know how to read and write yet, so I can't give you a letter. Give it back to me when we meet again. We will meet again someday. That's for sure."

  "So just hang in there, Justin," the boy concludes. "Until the day we meet again. Goodbye."

  And years will come we really did met again. I just didn't know it was him.

  As the recording ends, I continue to get ready for school. My father passes by and sees me. He looks disappointed, clicks his tongue, and mutters, "How unreliable," before continuing on his way.

  Finally ready, I say goodbye to my mother. "I'm going to school now," I tell her, but she doesn't respond, too preoccupied with watering the plants.

  "I'll be back early, Mom," I say, and she speaks in a low voice, "Tsk, you better not come back."

  I was too naive back then to realize that my father had intentionally left me alone that night. I even heard what he said, but I chose to ignore it because I was so excited to go to school. With a sense of determination, I set off on my journey to school.

  According to that boy, our school is only a few kilometers away so It is only a walking distance. I followed the direction the boy gave me and he's right! I could easily find the school he was talking about. I approached the school gate and the security guard saw me.

"Hey little kiddo. Where are you going and what is your name?" Guard asks.

  "My name is Justin Esca," I replied.

"Ah, you're the son of our city's mayor. Do you need help finding your way around?" the guard asked.

  "I do actually, I'm looking for the principal's office," I said.

  "Follow me, I'll take you there," he offered.

  As we walked, I couldn't help but wonder if I was making a mistake by coming here. But it was too late to turn back now.

  When we arrived at the principal's office, the guard knocked on the door and announced, "Good morning, ma'am. Your grandson is here. I just escorted him because I saw him at the school gate."

  "My grandchild?" my grandma replied, surprised. "Let him in."

  I entered the room and saw my grandma for the first time. "So, you're George's son, what's your name again?" she asked.

  "Yes, my father is George and my name is Justin," I replied.

  "What brings you here?" she asked.

  "I want to go to school and study," I said, hoping that she would be supportive.

  "I see. Did your father tell you to come here?" 

  "No, I came here myself," 

  "Didn't your father tell you to go to school?" she inquired further.

  "No, but I told him that I want to go to school, but he ignored me," I said, feeling a bit frustrated.

  "I see. Well, I can enroll you here, but today is the first day of class, so make sure you're not late," my grandma said, handing me the schedule.

  "Thank you so much, Grammy," I said gratefully, hoping that this decision would be the right one.

  As it turned out, attending my grandmother's school would be a decision that I would come to regret deeply.

I found out that my grandma owned the school in our city. In that school, they have kindergarten to high school.

As I walk towards our house. I saw our car. It was fine. Maybe someone helped when I couldn't come back for our driver to fix it.

I went to the car and saw our driver sitting in the driver's seat and I apologized to him for not being able to return. And suddenly he glared at me with anger and closed the car window. 

That time, I was just a kid and I'm too naive. So I didn't know that he just tricked me and tried to get me lost.

Excitement filled my heart as I clutched my school supplies tightly. I had been eagerly anticipating this day, dreaming of the possibilities that awaited me within those school walls. My grandmother had prepared me well, making sure I had all the essential tools for success.

"I'm ready now! I will go now, mom," I exclaimed as I left the house, brimming with enthusiasm. I could already envision the new friendships I would form and the knowledge I would gain. But as soon as I arrived at school, my optimistic outlook was shattered.

The moment I entered the gates, I felt a chill run down my spine. My classmates and teachers gave me disdainful looks, avoiding me like the plague. I couldn't understand why. What had I done wrong?

It didn't take long for me to learn the truth. Whispers and murmurs followed me wherever I went, as though the entire school knew something I didn't. My father's reputation preceded me. They accused him of being corrupt and evil, of hurting and killing people. And because I was his son, I was automatically shunned and ostracized.

I was devastated. I tried my best to prove to them that I wasn't like my father, but it was no use. Even the teachers treated me with disdain and gave me less attention compared to my other classmates. I was constantly taunted, bullied, and even physically harmed. The letters they wrote saying that my father and I were going to die haunted me, and sometimes I would find my belongings vandalized.

But the worst of all was the classmate who seemed to take particular pleasure in tormenting me. He would always say that my father was a murderer because his own father had died at my father's hands. His words were like daggers piercing my heart.

The loneliness I felt was almost unbearable. I would go home every day with tears in my eyes, my heart aching with pain. The dream of going to school had become a nightmare, and I didn't know how to escape it.

The weight of their irrationality bore down on me, suffocating me with its oppressive force. It was as if they had taken all of their hatred and anger and focused it on me, the innocent child who had done nothing wrong.

  The mere mention of my father's name sent them into a frenzy of judgment, branding me as guilty by association. It was a burden I had to carry every day, and it grew heavier with each passing moment.

  Their anger and hatred burned like a raging fire within me, threatening to consume me whole. But I couldn't fight back. Fear and hurt held me captive, leaving me vulnerable to their taunts and mistreatment. Even the memories of the one person who had stood up for me were bittersweet, for fate had taken him away too soon.

  The pain and suffering followed me relentlessly, like a shadow that refused to be shaken. I tried to find solace in my studies, to lose myself in the world of books and knowledge. But even then, the pain never truly left me. It was a never-ending cycle of agony that I couldn't escape.

  And when I finally graduated from high school, I knew I could never go back. The memories of the cruelty I faced were too much to bear, and the mere thought of stepping into another school filled me with dread.

  School... it is a place of cruel judgment and senseless hatred. It is a place where innocent children like me can be made to suffer for the sins of their fathers.

School is just cruel.

That is my long journey on how I brought myself to that hellish place and how that old shitty man ruined everything for me. Now let's go back to my weird new present. 

The old man had placed me on his lap, and I didn't resist. Despite my intense hatred towards him, I couldn't bring myself to push him away. He looked at me and said, "I understand what you're going through right now, Justin." However, I knew deep down that he couldn't possibly understand the pain and loneliness I had felt for all those years in school.

  "You must be worried. But don't worry, it will be okay," he continued. But I knew that it would never be okay. The scars of my past would always be with me.

  "Back then, I considered my first day of school the worst," he said, as if he were reading my thoughts. I couldn't believe it. How could someone with all his power and influence have gone through something similar?

  "People didn't lose interest in me on my first day of school because they knew I was the Mayor's son," he said, and my heart sank. I realized that the same thing was happening to me.

  "I always hear gossip about me and my father. They say that my father is corrupt and that maybe I am too," he continued. It was hard to comprehend. Why were people so cruel? Why did they have to drag an innocent child into their political games?

  "I once had a classmate who lost his belongings, and they blamed me for that. I denied it and defended myself, but most of my classmates didn't believe me. I had one classmate who defended me, though. He said he saw the missing item and gave it to the guard. He even told all our classmates to stop blaming me because I had nothing to do with what my father was doing," my father said.

  I couldn't believe it. The story my father was telling me was all too familiar. Could it be a coincidence?

  As he spoke, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. His words, though simple, were filled with warmth and understanding that I had never felt before.

  "What I'm saying is that no matter what happens, there will always be someone who has got your back. And anything that happened to me at that time just made me stronger and brought me to who I am today," my father said, his voice steady and reassuring.

  "Don't worry, son. You have us, me and your mom. Just believe in yourself. If anything happens, tell us, and we will make sure that our ears are always open for you," my mother chimed in.

  As they spoke, my fears, traumas, and anxieties slowly began to dissipate, replaced with a newfound sense of hope and determination. With my parents' support, I knew that I could face anything that came my way.

  "Okay, Mom! I will go to school. Thank you," I said with a genuine smile on my face.

  With renewed resolve, I knew that I could overcome any obstacle that came my way, as long as I had my family by my side. I hugged my parents tightly, feeling a sense of warmth and safety that I had never felt before. I knew that I had to face my fears head-on, but with my family's support, I knew that I could do it.

Chapter 5 –END-