Right after waking up, Alex is now curled up in a small bathroom, taking a shower as best as he can despite the limited space he has.
After finishing his shower, Alex gets dressed in a large black tank top, comfortable sweatpants, and sandals.
He casually begins walking toward the dining room and finds two women already eating. One of them is a girl of around 14 years old, with blonde hair and about 5.5 ft (5.5 ft) tall, a childlike body with little development in feminine features, and a face with blue eyes that could easily make some Hollywood actresses feel ashamed. She wears a school uniform with a short skirt, a dress shirt, and detailed pink and gold sneakers that don't really match the uniform.
The other woman, clearly more mature, has black hair and a large chest. She eats calmly with a certain elegance, giving off an air of maturity and confidence. She wears a well-made suit, though not one that looks expensive, and has dark eyes. She doesn't seem to be over 40 years old and is about 5.6 ft (5.6 ft) tall. When she sees Alex arriving, she lets out a smile.
"Alex, dear, you're going to be late. And why aren't you wearing your new school uniform?"
Hearing the words "new school," Alex seems to shiver and makes a displeased face as he says:
"So, Mom, that's actually what I wanted to talk about. I know I got that scholarship and all for being the first person to pass with a perfect score, but I was thinking about going to a different school, you know… one that's less expensive."
Hearing this, Nora (Alex's mother) looks at her son with a certain understanding, but soon sighs and speaks.
Sigh
"Look, Alex, I understand that you don't want to go because of your appearance, especially since your scholarship covers everything. But it's okay, my son. If anything happens, just call me and I'll take care of it. You don't need to be afraid."
After that, Trix looks at Alex and says with disdain:
"A man your size running to mommy… how masculine. I'm sure women love a mama's boy."
"Get lost, aquarium dwarf."
Trix looks at him for a moment before saying:
"Did you seriously just say aquarium dwarf?"
"Don't start."
Seeing the argument between the siblings, Nora decides to put an end to it.
"Trix, stop bothering your brother and go get ready for school. And you, young man, go put on your uniform. It cost a fortune—I'm taking you to school myself."
Hearing this, Alex and Trix go quiet. Trix goes back to eating, while Alex starts heading back to his room to put on his school uniform.
Arriving in his room and taking the uniform out of the closet, a Brooklyn Visions Academy uniform appears. It had been completely modified to withstand Alex's body, which, even with regular but not intense exercise, borders on perfection.
Putting on his uniform, Alex returns to the kitchen with a law book in one of his four arms, seeing that his sister had already left and his mother was almost done eating.
He goes to the table and starts making two sandwiches at the same time while reading the book.
Seeing the way her son is handling three tasks at once, Nora quietly laughs at how focused Alex is.
Even when Alex was born and his father left her right after finding out about the second pregnancy, and even when doctors said it would be better to put him in an orphanage, she never once considered abandoning her son.
Noticing how his mother was staring at him so intently, Alex becomes embarrassed, and after finishing the two sandwiches, he hurriedly tosses them into the second mouth on his belly before saying:
"I'm ready."
Hearing that, Nora snaps out of her brief trance of past memories, stands up, and grabs her keys.
"Let's go."
....
A few minutes later, in the car, as Alex is almost arriving at school, Nora glances at him from the corner of her eye and says:
"Dear, no matter what happens, I'll always be by your side. You're not wrong for being born like this, okay? You're just a little more special, and the people who don't like you are just jealous."
Alex gives a small smile. His mother has said this hundreds of times, but the worst part is that it never helps. There will always be situations where a group of people will label him as a villain and chase him until he manages to escape or gets caught and beaten.
'That's the problem with being a damn Epsilon-class mutant. Not even having any kind of power or anything like that—he just has extra arms, eyes, and another mouth, and that's it.'
Sigh
He thinks this and lets out a sigh of pure frustration.
Shortly after, the two arrive at school, and Alex steps out of the car, startling everyone around him. The parents begin to look at him with fear, and even the students start to quicken their pace.
If he weren't wearing the school uniform, they would probably be shouting "mutant attack," because his appearance—even without showing the mouth on his belly—already gives off a sense of discomfort and danger.
If he didn't have the best grades ever seen by the school, he probably wouldn't even be allowed to step foot in front of the place.
Looking around only makes Alex more nervous, so he just quickens his pace and enters the school.
With his size, he has to duck to get through the entrance door, just like with almost every door that exists.
Inside the school, everyone seems excited—teenagers talking, meeting each other, and so on—but when Alex steps into the hallway, everyone simply looks at him in fear, and the once lively corridor becomes completely silent.
This doesn't make Alex extremely nervous, but it pushes him to walk faster, hoping that at least they'll ignore him once he enters the classroom.
Entering the classroom, Alex sees a desk much larger than the others at the back of the room, with his name on it.
Surprised, he walks over and sits down with ease, without any difficulty—which is a miracle, since in many schools he attended, he often had to sit on the floor.
'At least something good about this rich-people choice.'
Seeing that class hasn't started yet, Alex pulls out his law book and begins reading quietly.
As time passes, more and more people enter, all becoming startled by him, and as a result, no one sits near him.
Most likely, only the unlucky ones who arrive last will take the seats next to him or in front of him.
But something catches Alex's attention—a very beautiful blonde girl wearing headphones, focused. When she enters, she looks at him, but not with fear—only surprise, which quickly fades and is replaced by a neutral expression.
She looks for a place but realizes that, unfortunately, only two seats are left—one next to Alex and the other in front of him.
Alex is sitting by the window, so he doesn't pay much attention to her. He's looking outside at a bird's nest on top of a tree near the window beside him.
When the girl sits in front of him, he notices her but chooses to ignore it. Even though she's very beautiful, he unfortunately doesn't have much courage to get involved with anyone.
"Alex's life at this moment is simply about trying very hard not to get lynched. Any relationship that might appear could either be a trap set by an anti-mutant group or put the girl in danger, so Alex has abandoned love for now, at least.
Seeing that nothing interesting is going to happen, Alex pulls out his law book and starts reading without concern.
Shortly after he begins reading, the bell rings and someone runs into the classroom—clearly a typical nerd: a polo shirt, neatly combed hair, thick bottle-bottom glasses, and a skinny build. He starts desperately looking for a place to sit before the teacher comes in and scolds him.
Without even noticing who was sitting next to him, he sits down and begins panting from exhaustion, sweat covering his forehead.
Seeing this, Alex, being naturally kind, extends a cloth handkerchief from his uniform to the boy.
"Here, wipe yourself off."
Without looking up, the boy accepts the handkerchief and wipes his face. But when he finishes, he notices it's a bit too big—more like a face towel—and turns to see who lent it to him, his face freezing halfway through his thanks.
"Tha—"
'Damn, here comes the scream of fear… shit.'
Alex thought, but what came next left him completely speechless.
"THAT'S SO COOL!"
The boy exclaims, a strange sparkle in his eyes, and immediately starts a barrage of questions.
"Can you read two books at the same time with four eyes? Those arms are awesome—do they have super strength? Or can they multiply? No—can you control them all at once and do multiple things at the same time?"
Seeing someone who doesn't run away or feel afraid of him, Alex freezes. It's the first person to talk to him without disdain or fear—he just thinks Alex is cool—and that completely short-circuits his brain.
The nerd sees Alex's reaction and misunderstands it, quickly speaking again.
"Ah, sorry! I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Peter Parker. What's your name? And sorry for the weird questions—it's just that I've never seen someone as big as you, or like you."
Seeing Peter's reaction, Alex quickly introduces himself as well.
"Ah, sorry… my name is Alex O'Neill. Nice to meet you, I guess."
Alex extends a hand to Peter, who, without hesitation, accepts it and shakes Alex's hand with a certain happiness, despite the obvious difference in size between their hands.
Seeing this, Alex smiles with genuine happiness, because he has never had anyone truly accept his handshake without being "forced" for some reason. So this alone was already a big moment for him.
But soon, both of them fall silent, neither knowing what to say. Since both are social outcasts, the silence only makes everything more awkward—and oddly funny—so they remain quiet until the teacher arrives.
The class goes well without any problems, and Alex realizes that Peter, the boy sitting next to him, is quite intelligent—though Alex had already expected that from his classic nerdy appearance.
There's also the girl in front of him, who is also very intelligent, managing to solve every problem the teacher writes on the board.
Of course, Alex knew every answer that appeared during the lesson, but as someone who prefers to stay as far away from attention as possible, he didn't say a single word.
A short time later, the lunch bell rings, causing everyone to get up and head to the cafeteria.
Alex stands up and looks at Peter, who is carrying a paper bag with his lunch. Gathering some courage, Alex speaks:
"Want to go to lunch together?" 2x
Both of them say it almost at the same time, making them fall silent at the same moment before speaking again.
"Ah, sure." 2x
Realizing that continuing like that would only make things more awkward, the girl sitting in front of Alex speaks up:
"Hey, are you two going to the cafeteria together or not? Let's go."
She stands up and starts heading toward the classroom exit, glancing back at them. The two look at each other and then begin to follow her.
Some time later, in the cafeteria—
"So, my name is Gwen Stacy, and I already know both of your names, because I swear your introductions were the most embarrassing thing I've ever been forced to witness in my entire life."
The two, embarrassed, simply look away while eating.
"But aside from that, I'm curious, Alex. You have two eyes and two arms—do you also have two—"
"HEY, HEY, HEY, that's kind of personal to ask him, don't you think, Gwen?"
Gwen looks at him with a disgusted expression and says:
"What are you thinking, you pervert? I was going to ask if he also has two mouths or another pair of ears, you creep."
"Hey, you were the one starting to talk about his body in a weird way."
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT WHEN YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED THAT QUESTIONNAIRE IN CLASS!"
Seeing the likely argument about to escalate, Alex answers:
"Look, I don't have another pair of ears, but I do have another mouth."
Alex replies without embarrassment. His mother taught him from a young age to never feel ashamed of his body—it was just a little different. And besides, this was his first conversation with other people that didn't involve fear from one side.
"WOW, WHERE? SHOW US NOW."
"HEY, you weird nerd, stop asking to see other people's bodies."
"No problem, Gwen… as long as you two can handle seeing it."
Hearing this, the two step closer without fear, and Alex lifts his shirt just enough for them to see the large mouth on his belly.
"Wow, that's so cool." 2x
They both say the same thing, even if in different tones.
"Alex, can you talk with that thing?"
Hearing that question, Alex covers his main mouth, and the mouth on his belly begins to speak with a slightly deeper voice:
"Of course, it just sounds a bit weirder."
"WOAH!" 2x
The two are shocked and immediately start firing question after question until the classes resume.
___________________
"Back again to say that I still want to release another chapter today, but it might be a bit difficult because of my job. I'll try, though. And for anyone wondering, I'm a cook, so it's a bit hard to write during my few seconds of free time.
So thank you for reading this chapter, and I hope you're enjoying this beginning. If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my writing, I'd really appreciate it—and I'm always grateful for any constructive feedback you can give me.