Dionte

Growing up without knowing my real parents, I found myself bouncing between different foster homes. I did a lot of mischievous things—stealing, lying, cheating on tests, and pranking other kids. One day, at a park, I noticed a kid playing alone in the sandpit.

I approached him, wanting his shovel. "Hey there, what's your name?"

"David," he replied softly, shoveling away.

"Okay, want to make a bet?"

"Sure, what's the bet?" he asked, looking up at me.

I showed him my clenched fist. "If you can guess what I have in my hand, I'll give it to you. If not, I'll take your shovel."

"Okay, you have nothing."

"Wrong, I have a ball." After taking his shovel, he held me firmly in place. He was strangely strong. "Let's go again."

"Okay, let's play with marbles," I said, taking some out to set them up.

"Um, those are rocks," he said, confused.

"No, no, this is how we'll play," I said, digging a hole to show him. "You'll have to use these small marbles to hit the big one into the hole. If you win, I'll give you your shovel back, but if I win, I'll take a dollar."

He took out a dollar. "Okay, sure."

I demonstrated the marble-flicking technique, my hand poised expertly. When David mimicked the flick, the small marble shattered into pieces, and the larger marble went flying, hitting a nearby window. David's expression shifted from concentration to sadness as he realized what he had done.

In that moment, a mischievous idea crept into my mind. I saw an opportunity to use his remarkable strength to my advantage. I found new ways to showcase his abilities while potentially benefiting myself. Despite his tension about the situation, I couldn't help but see this as a chance to turn a game into a profit.

Over time, as we spent more time together scamming kids, a pit bull came out of nowhere and attacked me. I ran for a while until David showed up and smacked the dog away. I ended up staying by his side for a long time, trying to repay my debt.

Eventually, we stopped pranking and scamming. I wanted to hang out with him more, and over time, he forced me to study, improving my grades. Time flew by, and we ended up in the same high school. Despite my initial intentions, our friendship grew stronger, and David became a positive influence in my life. I stopped being a troublemaker; I wanted to be like him.

During our first year in high school, I noticed David seemed upset. "Hey bro, what's wrong?"

"I have a new neighbor, and it's a girl. I've kind of gotten a crush on her."

"No way you can fall in love that fast." I chuckled.

But David looked serious. "I think I did."

"Alright then, if you want, let's go meet this girl."

"No, no, no, no, we can't do that."

"We can and we will. We'll go after school."

"But …"

"No buts, only if they feel good."

After school, we went to this girl's house, but nobody answered. He sighed with relief, but I held him still. After a while, Emma opened the door. David looked too nervous to speak, so I spoke up. "Hey there, we noticed you just moved in, and we were wondering if you'd like to hang out with us."

She was as nervous as David was, and at the time, I found it cute. "No … thank you," she said softly.

"Are you sure? Come on, we'll have a blast. We can show you all the best places to hang out."

"I'm sure."

"Okay, you'll be missing out."

As days went by, I kept persisting, and she eventually caved in. We hung out a lot, to the point where David felt more comfortable. Over time, they became friends, leaving me behind. One day, we butted heads. I wanted to hang out here, and she wanted to hang out there.

"I don't see why we can't just all hang out together," I said, frustrated.

Emma glanced at David, silently seeking his support. "I just think it would be more fun to explore new places," she replied gently.

David shifted uncomfortably, caught in the middle. "I mean, I've always hung out with you."

"But you're my friend. I want to have fun being with you. I mean, come on, you were always closed off till I came along," I said in a sad tone.

"Well, now I'm here we can have fun doing something else besides playing games all day. Doesn't it get boring?"

"Well yeah but …"

"Look, enough. I'm taking David to go do something else."

Despite feeling hurt, I knew I had grown to rely on David's friendship. As the years passed, our dynamics shifted, and we began taking turns hanging out. One day, I saw a look of terror in David's eye, but I didn't want to trouble him. He would open up when he felt ready to talk about it. In class, I heard he collapsed, and I ran out to see him being carried by a security guard. I wanted to go with him, but I was told to get back to class.

After class, I ran into Emma, and we talked about what happened. This time, she was asking for my help. I felt annoyed, but I agreed. During lunch, I was surprised to see that David was still here. We talked for a moment, after which he went to get lunch. After a while, I heard screaming, and everyone ran for their lives. I stayed and looked around, only to spot a creature fighting David.

David was punched through walls, and the creature followed. Stupidly, I went after them, the building behind me crumbling. I wanted to do something, I wanted to help, but I was scared. I was weak, way weaker than David.

When I saw Emma running to hide underneath the bleachers, I wanted to run up to her, but the cracks forming made me stumble and fall multiple times. Before she fell unconscious, I caught up to her.

The creature ended up dropping David, and someone came out of nowhere and punched the creature hard. As soon as they were out of my sight, I ran up to David, trying to wake him up. When he did, he tensed up, looking towards Emma. I saw some blood but it wasn't hers. He screamed, making me flinch and stumble backward. He ran towards the creature, and a fight ensued, sending waves of devastation. It was as though David was flying, punching and kicking. David got the upper hand, landing a solid hit to the creature, sending it crashing into the ground. A big piece of debris flew at me, knocking me out. I don't know what happened after the fight, or if it carried on for a while longer.