The day is just the same as any other day, meaning to say it went terribly. As you amble down the concrete sidewalks of the New York metropolis, the events of today replay relentlessly in your head. All the insults hurled at you, the fists bashing your scrawny body, and the heartless expressions of those trying to ignore the scene scorn your mind. The memories serve as a breaking point as your knees buckle in and tears flow down your eyes. You don’t want to do this anymore. You don’t want to go through another day of pure torment in a school you don’t even want to go to.

Suddenly, your mind seems to snap as all thoughts hush in an instant. What if… you changed? What if you became someone who couldn’t be bullied, someone that could even get along with the popular girls in school. You lift yourself back up off of the ground as the thought continues swirling in your mind. If you were to change, it would definitely be hard work, but it would be worth it no doubt. You’d be free of those bastards who bully you non-stop. You’d actually gain the attention of those around you. You’d live a better life. With a new sense of determination festering within you, you deviate from your route back home and search for places to start building muscle and learning self-defense.

During the following year, you train non-stop with the sole focus of becoming better. Unlike those in your school who became strong through mindless fun, you become strong with discipline and intentionality. Day after day, the sensation of fatigued muscles fill your body, but you don’t quit. Nothing will stop you from achieving that vision you had as you broke down on the sidewalk. Nothing.

***

A full year passed since your solitary breakdown. It’s easy to tell you’re a vastly different person compared to the one you were before. The last time one of your bullies tried to beat you up, you sent him to the hospital for a month. Even now, parts of his face don’t look the same, not that you particularly care. Your sudden change garnered the attention of many of your classmates, and eventually, the attention of the entire school. Thanks to the reputation you created, the four cheerleaders, Alice, Emma, Victoria, and Claire, began talking to you. At first, the friendliness coming from the most popular girls from school left you paralyzed. Though, it wasn’t long before you felt comfortable calling them your friends.

Now, with these four as your only true friends, you step outside of the school, heading to the usual hang out spot by one of the potted trees. There, you find them under the shadow of the oak tree, sheltered from the blistering rays of the sun. Moving closer to them, they appear to be talking about some sort of vacation. You waltz into the group, “Hey! What are you girls talking about?”

Alice turns to you with a smile, "James! We were just talking about our trip!"