He put his arm over his face as his eyes protested against the light. But maybe it wasn't just the light from the window. Maybe it was the one seeping out from him that he always tried so hard to keep in, for he knew the light would bring in the eyes. But he was a monster, people weren't supposed to see. He wanted to protect the world from this monster. Most importantly, he wanted to protect... himself.
He let out an exasperated groan before sitting up on his bed. He blinked a few times trying to process the morning.
"River, come down! We're getting late", his father shouted from downstairs. "Coming, dad", he murmured before throwing the blanket that was covering him onto the crumbled pages on the floor— pieces of him, he didn't want the daylight to witness.
He glanced about his room briefly before leaving and closing the door behind him. "Geez, slow down Riv. You walk like a monster", his sister jokingly said, mocking him for coming down the stairs aggressively. He just rolled his eyes before getting on with preparing himself for school.
River was a 17 year old highschool student, who lived with his parents and his younger sister, Heather who was 11. He was a quiet teenager who used to sit at the back of the class with his only friend, Horace who was much different but very similar in an inexplicable way.
"Nightmares again?" Horace asked as he pushed on to River's shoulder with his own gently, not knowing any other way to lighten up the mood. River just sighed and leaned back on his desk looking up at the dusty ceiling fan, which made a slight creaky noise. He zoned out as the sound of other students talking and shouting became blurry.
Horace reached out to touch River's shoulder in an attempt to somehow comfort him. But before he could, the teacher entered the class, making the students go quiet.
River leaned forward on the desk, putting his weight on the desk, while the weight of his thoughts still burdened him. He blankly stared at the book not really paying attention.
***
After the class ended, Horace stretched his arms and stood up. "Ahh I'd rather die than sit in another one of Mr Andrew's class." River just laughed a little before closing the book.
"You up for chess later?" Horace asked.
"No, I gotta study" said River
"You've been gone lately, we miss having you in the club you know" said Horace wanting River to join, knowing that he could use an escape.
"Maybe tomorrow" River whispered with no emotion.
The rest of the day went by as usual, as the students whined about Mr Andrew's physics lectures, some were complaining about the homework, while the others were excited about the talent show next week.
Occassionally some kids would ask River for help. He was a straight-A student or so he was programmed to be. His dad was a famous researcher with several papers to his name. He wanted River to keep up the legacy, which he did. River loved physics and although the students hated Mr Andrew, he didn't. He never saw him as the grumpy old man yapping about Gravity and Electrostatics, like the other students. He knew him since he was a kid; his Dad had introduced him to Mr Andrew back when he gauged that he was into physics. Mr Andrew was more of a father to him than his actual father. He was the only one who understood him. He was the only one who had read some of the crumbled pages.