A new life
The alarm rings, but Ron is already awake before it even starts ringing, so he turns it off. It had become something that happened every day. He would wake up before even his clock could, as if the clock was no longer useful.
Ron gets out of bed, folds his blanket, straightens the bedsheet, and heads straight to the washroom. He brushes his teeth and takes a shower. After getting out of the bathroom, he opens his wardrobe and pulls out his usual clothes.
“Ron, come downstairs. Your breakfast is ready!”
A call from his mother comes from downstairs.
“Coming!” Ron replies.
He steps downstairs, sits in his regular seat, and eats his cereal.
“So, when do your half-yearly exams start?” his mother asks.
Ron chews his food, and after swallowing, he answers, “The week after next.”
His mother nods.
“Well, I’m sure you’re prepared, right? This time, we want you to score 70+ in every subject, especially Maths.”
Ron simply nods and stands up after finishing his breakfast. He packs his bag and then walks toward the shoe rack. He picks out the usual pair of shoes he wears and waves at his mother.
“Bye, Mom.”
His mother waves back.
“Good luck, sweetie.”
Ron walks to school along the usual road. His hands are in his pockets, and his eyes are fixed on the footpath.
As always, he reaches school neither late nor early.
He walks toward his locker and puts his bag inside before heading straight to his first class. He takes his usual spot in the middle row, on the middle bench. He casually starts playing with the skin around his fingers until the teacher enters.
Every student, including Ron, gets up and wishes Mrs. Johnson together.
“Good morning, Mrs. Johnson.”
The teacher gestures for them to sit down.
During the lecture, some students answer questions, some get scolded, and a few are joked about. Meanwhile, Ron remains unnoticed, as if he doesn't even exist.
The lecture ends, and Ron moves toward his next class. The same thing happens during every other lecture.
Lunch time begins, and he goes to the cafeteria. He buys the usual burger from the counter and takes a seat at his regular table. He eats while scrolling through his phone, as always.
The break ends, and he starts walking toward his next class.
School ends at the usual time. Ron packs his things and walks out of the campus. He walks along the same road he took that morning, his hands still in his pockets and his eyes fixed on the footpath.
He opens the front door and steps inside.
“Welcome back, Ron! So, how was your day?”
His mother wipes her hands on her apron and asks warmly.
“The day went as it usually does.”
His mother nods and walks toward the kitchen.
“I’ve prepared your lunch. Wanna eat?”
“I’m full right now. Maybe later. I’m going to my room to get some rest.”
His mother nods understandingly.
Ron throws his bag onto the floor and falls onto his bed. He crosses his arms behind his head and stares at the ceiling.
“How boring my life is. It’s like it’s rotten. Always the same routine, the same shit every day. I wish just one unusual thing would happen in this life of normality.”
With those thoughts and several others about his future running through his mind, Ron eventually falls asleep.
---
The next morning, Ron wakes up with the help of his alarm.
He gets up and rubs his eyes.
“Why didn’t I wake up before the alarm rang today?”
He thinks about it for a moment but eventually shrugs it off.
He brushes his teeth, takes a bath, and does all the usual things he does every morning.
After having breakfast, he says goodbye to his mother and steps out of the house.
His hands are in his pockets, and his eyes are once again fixed on the footpath as he continues walking.
He is still thinking about the thoughts he had the previous night and doesn't realize that he has entered the road beside a construction site.
Suddenly, he hears a man's scream from above.
Ron looks up.
A huge chunk of concrete is falling straight toward him.
For a moment, Ron doesn't move. He doesn't even care what happens next.
But suddenly, his hand releases a flash of whitish-blue lightning.
The lightning crashes straight into the concrete block, causing it to break apart before it can reach him.
The man above screams, “Are you okay, boy?”
Ron doesn't answer immediately. He is too stunned by what just happened.
The man asks again, “Hey, boy! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Ron suddenly realizes where he is.
“Y-Yeah... I’m fine.”
He walks ahead, still thinking about what he had just done.
When he reaches school, he notices something else.
He pulls out his phone and looks at it.
It had been low on battery when he left home, but now it was fully charged.
Ron couldn't ignore it, but he didn't know how it had happened.
He attends all of his classes first. When school ends, he takes out his phone and texts his mother:
I’ll be out with my friends, so I’ll be back by evening.
He tucks his phone into his pocket.
Then he starts walking toward a secluded place near a river, underneath a bridge.
He picks up a stone and places it on his palm. He tries to generate the electric power again, but nothing happens.
He throws the stone away and strikes his right hand toward it as it flies through the air.
Nothing happens.
Ron thinks for a moment and revisits everything that happened earlier.
That's when he gets an idea.
He grabs a medium-sized rock—large enough to seriously injure him if it fell on him—and carries it up onto the bridge. He places it near the edge and uses a smaller stone to keep it from falling.
Then he goes back down and starts throwing stones at the rock.
After several attempts, one of the stones finally knocks the supporting stone out of place.
The large rock becomes unbalanced and falls.
It is heading straight toward Ron.
Once again, lightning bursts from his hands.
The rock crumbles into several small pieces before reaching him.
“Woah... so when I’m in a life-or-death situation, I can release these cool powers.”
He pauses.
“So... I’m a superhero?”
Ron continues thinking about his newfound abilities when suddenly, a voice comes from behind him.
“Hey, freak! What are you doing all alone here?”
Ron looks behind him.
He sees Mike, the class bully.
“What do you want, Mike?”
Mike smirks and steps closer.
“What do I want? Yesterday, you denied doing my work. Do you think you have enough power to say no to me, huh?”
Ron sighs.
“Look, Mike, I’m not in the mood to deal with your nonsense, so please leave me alone.”
Mike becomes furious and charges toward Ron.
He pounces on Ron, knocking him to the ground. Mike gets on top of him and starts throwing punches at his face.
“Take that! Take that! Take that, you wimp!”
Mike continues punching him.
But then he notices something.
Ron’s hand is flashing with whitish-blue lightning.
Before Mike can step back, Ron strikes him straight in the chest.
Mike is sent flying several meters backward.
Ron stands up while Mike struggles to get onto his elbow.
Ron looks at his palm.
Electricity is running across it.
“I-I can... now channel it.”
Meanwhile, Mike slowly gets back on his feet, still wincing in pain. He turns around and tries to run.
But before he can get away, Ron flashes straight in front of him, blocking his path.
Ron grabs his wrist.
“I dare you to tell anyone about this. You’ll be toasted. Am I clear?”
Mike frantically nods.
“Okay! Okay! Damn, I won’t tell anyone! Please, let me go!”
Ron nods and releases his wrist.
Mike immediately runs away.
Ron slowly lowers the current running through his body.
“So now I can control when to awaken this power and when not to.”
Ron suddenly realizes how late it has become.
He starts running toward his house.
But then he stops.
“Wait... I can run faster than this.”
Ron awakens his powers again.
In just a few seconds, he crosses several miles and reaches his house.
“I’m back, Mom!”
His mother is relaxing on the sofa while watching TV.
“Hey, sweetheart. How was your day?”
Ron walks toward the stairs.
“It was... different.”
He pauses and smiles softly.
“Honestly, it was great.”
Ron walks upstairs toward his room.
His mother looks at him with slight surprise, but she smiles as well.
