Social Pariah

SHADOWS

 As the days passed, Lucas felt emptier than a glass with no water inside. It was still hard for him to let go of the fact that he wasn't always right. "Why is it so hard for us people to just accept this?" he asked himself, feeling more frustrated and bitter.

Forcing himself to look as though he was having the time of his life made him feel worse than ever. Even Namya could tell that something was bothering him. As usual, Lucas waved Namya off and told her that he's fine and just got into a bad mood. Namya didn't believe him but she just shrugged it off and nodded at him.

This made him feel slightly angry at Namya for acting as if she didn't care. He was expecting for her to comfort him and pester him more about what happened. Then, he might have told her about what he's feeling. Sadly, he wasn't right again. This just made him feel gloomier as the class ended.

"Why couldn't people act a little more caring? Why are they always so ruthless?" he muttered to himself.

As Lucas's shift ended at the art museum, he felt a little bit relieved of being able to take his mind off of things and being able to focus first on art, his passion. Art had been his only connection to a world inside his mind that he had always wanted to live in. His imagination let him feel calmer and more relaxed everyday. Still, his thoughts began to bother him again as he reached his house.

"Lucas, don't tell me you're going to skip dinner again," said her mother.

Lucas scowled. "I have a lot of school projects I missed plus I still have to study for a test tomorrow."

"You still have to eat, Lucas!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger at the table. "Your brain won't work without food."

"Well, it is bloody working now, isn't it?" replied Lucas as he rolled his eyes; his mood became more sour. He left his mother gaping at him and slammed the door as he went inside his bedroom. His fists clenched and he felt that his face was on fire. He didn't want to fight with his stepmother anymore. He was tired of all the shouting and tired of all the nagging and he knew that he couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to leave the house more than anything. He wanted to leave everything behind him... but he couldn't.

Lucas couldn't leave his friends. He couldn't leave his old life. He couldn't let go of the past and he didn't know how he would even move on. It was just a simple thing: learning the truth. The truth hurts and the pain that Lucas felt was so hard to tolerate anymore.

"Why is life so hard?" he groaned, kicking the table next to his bed.

Lucas turned off the lights and the only thing that he could see was his shadow. And in that moment, he realized something. He was just like the shadow, only seen in the dark. When the light came, the shadow would disappear and so would he. He was willing to do anything to be seen but he doubted that he would succeed because when the light comes, he would disappear in a flash.

"Just like a shadow," he whispered.