A Day in the Life of...

Posted on Sun May 16th, 2021 @ 7:24pm by Private Mattias Tonelly

Mission: The Factions
Location: Massapequa High School, Massapequa, Long Island, NY
Timeline: MD 0 / 1130 hours

Lunch time in the school cafeteria was always loud and festive, as the children who were there were enjoying both their hot lunches and spending time with their friends, talking about their day and complaining about their teachers.

Every table was full with boisterous teenagers. All except one. Off in a far, lonely corner, by the kitchen entrance and the garbage cans, was a table that held a single occupant. Mattias sat quietly, as usual. No one ever wanted to sit with him, nor was he ever invited to join another table.

So, every day, he sat here, eating his bagged lunch, as his parents didnt have enough money to allow him to buy food from the taco and pizza vendor that had stalls in the cafeteria. Most of the time, his lunch consisted of a peanut butter and strawberry preserve sandwich, a piece of fruit and a thermos of milk.

As he ate his lunch, he wrote in his notebook, writing stories where he, as the hero, would constantly battles the villian and, aftera factuon, ends up winning and saving the world and getting the girl.

Suddenly, someone big walked by behind jim and hipchecked the chair he was sitting in. "Hey, watch it, dork!" Came an angry voice .

Mattias closed his eyes and sighed. Apparently today would not be a good day. Turning in his seat, he looked up and up, into the angry eyes of one of the linebackers from the varsity football team. "I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-sorry." He struggled to speak with hiis stutter. He knew exactly what was coming next.

"Awww," the larger senior feigned concern, then mocked Mattias. "D-d-d-does th-th-th-the d-d-d-dork have a s-s--s-stuttering problem?"

"N-n-n-no,' he replied weakly.

"You calling me a liar!" The senior started to haul back and punch Mattias, but was watned by a fellow player that a teacher was about to enter the cafeteria. Glaring down at Mattias, the senior glared at him. "See you after school, freak!"

After the football player left, the rest of the cafeteria slowly went back the duscussions rhey were already having, dusappointes that tgere wasnt a fight for them to watch.

Mattias tried to calm down. He ciuld feel his heart beating fast, andd then noticed that he had been clenching his fists. What good would he have done against that brute? Slowly, he turned back to his lunch and notebook, now dreasing the end of the school day.

===Three Hours Later===

School had let out and Mattias was walk ing home, so far feeling relief that the threat was never followed through. And thats when he heard the loud pickup truck that he knew beloged to the senior. He stopped walking and slowly turned to look at his foe. As soon as he did, the truck peeled out and raced pasted Mattias, turning down a side road.

Again. Mattias felt a wave of relief flood over him again. Thinking that he was going to make it home safe after all, he put his ear buds in and turned on one of the song lists on his android phone. He started to bounce on his feet as he began to hear his favorite songs.

He was so engrossed in jos music, that, after turning a corner, he failed to notice the pickup truck parked by a small, wooded park that he walks through to get home.

About twenty meters into the park, where the view from the street was nlocked by foliage, he was suddenly and viciously takled to the ground, his ear bud and glasses flew off his head. He also split his lip when his face hit the ground.

Though Mattias grunted when he was hit, he never cried out in pain. Slowly, he started to climb back to his feet. Only to be knocked down again. "I didnt tell you that you could get up!" The senior barked at him as he kicked Mattias in tbe ribs. There was a soft cracking sound from tbe impact, clearly indicating that a rib had been damaged.

Still, Mattias did not cry out.

"Oh, you're a tough guy, huh?" The senior reached down, grabbed Mattias by the hair on the back of his head and yanked him up to his feet. "Well? Let's go, tough guy." The senior taunted. "I'll give you one hit. You better make it good." He closed his eye and mockingly stuck out his chin.

Mattias could feel the rage building inside of him. He so desperately wanted to defend himself but, something inside always cowed him. "No." He said finally.

"No?" The senior spat back. "You're saying no to a free hit? Man, you are nothing but a chicken shit." He looked at Mattias with disgust. "You make me sick." He started to walk away, then stopped, "Hell with it." He turned back and began to viciously beat Mattias.

About twenty minutes later, a woman came by, walking her dog, and she happened upon Mattias' unconcious form. She immediatly called 9-1-1.


===TO BE CONTINUED===

Mattias Richardson
Unawakened