CHAPTER 1: THE BIGGEST KID
Morning arrived long before the first school bell.
The corridors echoed with hurried footsteps.
Students rushed between classrooms.
Teachers balanced stacks of papers.
Someone laughed.
Someone argued.
Someone ran far too fast around a corner.
It was just another ordinary day.
Until—
Crash.
A tower of textbooks scattered across the hallway.
Pages slid across the polished floor.
Pencils rolled beneath lockers.
A first-year student froze in place.
"Oh..."
"I'm sorry..."
Nobody stopped.
Students simply walked around the mess.
Some sighed impatiently.
Others stepped over the books without a second glance.
Then...
A large shadow fell across the floor.
The younger boy slowly looked up.
The tallest student in the hallway stood before him.
Broad shoulders.
A heavy school bag hanging from one arm.
Hands almost twice the size of everyone else's.
The first-year instinctively stepped backward.
"...S-Sorry."
The older boy blinked.
"...For what?"
Without another word...
He knelt.
One by one...
He gathered every book.
Every loose page.
Every pencil.
Even the ruler that had rolled beneath a bench.
When he finished...
He carefully stacked everything back into the younger student's arms.
"There."
The smaller boy stared.
"...Thank you."
The older student smiled.
"No problem."
As he walked away...
Two girls whispered nearby.
"That's Rook."
"The huge one?"
"I thought he'd be scary."
"He kind of is..."
"...Until he starts talking."
The bell rang.
The classroom buzzed with conversation.
Rook ducked slightly as he entered.
Even after months in the same room...
He still almost hit the top of the doorway.
Several classmates laughed.
"Watch your head again?"
Rook rubbed the back of his neck.
"...One day I'll remember."
"You've said that all year."
"I know."
The teacher entered carrying a stack of attendance sheets.
She glanced around the room.
"These desks need moving."
Before anyone stood...
Rook was already lifting two at once.
One teacher joked from the doorway,
"Careful."
"If you keep helping us..."
"We'll start charging you as another member of staff."
The class laughed.
Rook laughed louder than anyone.
Lunch arrived.
Students flooded into the courtyard.
Groups formed beneath trees.
Friends traded snacks.
Someone chased a football across the field.
Rook sat beneath the oldest oak tree.
As always...
His lunchbox was much larger than everyone else's.
One classmate walked over.
"You actually going to eat all that?"
Rook opened the lid.
His eyes widened.
"...Mum packed too much again."
Without hesitation...
He divided everything into smaller portions.
"Here."
"You like these."
"And you..."
"You always steal my juice anyway."
"I do not."
"You literally have yesterday."
"...Fair point."
Soon...
Half the lunchbox belonged to everyone else.
Rook happily ate what remained.
One student laughed.
"You know..."
"One day you'll finally keep your own lunch."
Rook shrugged.
"It tastes better when everyone's eating."
The final lesson ended.
Students hurried toward the exits.
The teacher struggled to carry a pile of folding chairs into the storage room.
Before she could ask—
Rook quietly took the entire stack.
"I've got them."
"They're heavy."
"So am I."
The teacher laughed despite herself.
"I suppose that's true."
Outside...
Children raced toward home.
Some walked.
Others cycled.
A familiar voice called from across the road.
"Rook!"
He turned.
An elderly woman struggled with two overflowing grocery bags.
Rook hurried over.
"I can carry those."
"Oh no, dear..."
"I couldn't ask—"
"You didn't."
He gently lifted both bags.
She smiled warmly.
"You're too kind."
Rook simply shrugged.
"My mum says carrying things is the only talent I've got."
The woman laughed.
"I think she's forgotten your biggest one."
"And what's that?"
"You make people feel safe."
For just a second...
Rook fell unusually quiet.
Then he smiled.
"I hope so."
That evening...
The front door opened.
"I'm home!"
The smell of fresh stew drifted from the kitchen.
His mother leaned around the doorway.
"Welcome back."
"How many lunches did you give away today?"
Rook froze.
"...How do you always know?"
She pointed at the half-empty lunchbox.
"Because you came home hungry."
He laughed sheepishly.
"...Maybe one or two."
She folded her arms.
"One or two?"
"...Five."
She sighed dramatically.
"I'm feeding the entire school at this rate."
Rook scratched his cheek.
"They seemed happy."
His mother couldn't help smiling.
"...Then I suppose it was worth it."
That night...
Rain tapped softly against the bedroom window.
Rook lay awake staring at the ceiling.
He thought about the elderly woman.
Her words echoed quietly inside his mind.
"You make people feel safe."
A small smile crossed his face.
If he could spend every day doing that...
Then maybe...
Being the biggest kid in school wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Outside...
The rain continued to fall.
Unnoticed...
One desk in tomorrow's classroom...
Would remain empty.
