Mark came downstairs with a bag on his back. Originally, he would have had trouble deciding which books to bring, but thankfully he had found a printed timetable that told him what subjects he had that day and which class to go to.
"Mom, I'm heading to school," Mark told her as he was about to leave. He didn't care much about calling her Mom since he came from a culture where everyone was considered family.
Debbie, who was sitting at the dining counter reading a book, turned around. "Have breakfast first before you go."
Seeing the breakfast ready on the counter, Mark decided to sit across from her and began eating the sandwich she had made. He enjoyed it, never expecting it to taste this good.
He finished the sandwich in a few bites, then carried the plate to the sink to wash it. Right after that, he searched for water. He looked through the fridge and only found a bottle of orange juice.
He poured himself a glass and drank it down, then washed that too. Before leaving for school, he spoke without looking back.
"Bye." Mark began putting on his outdoor shoes.
"Bye," Debbie replied. She added, "Be careful out there."
"Alright." Mark waved at his mother and left for school. He closed the door and walked away from home, but now the only problem was figuring out where the school was located.
As he looked around, he spotted a savior. The mailman was putting mail into a mailbox on the other side of the road, minding his own business. Mark quickly ran over to the man and asked, "Do you know where the nearby school is?"
The mailman looked a bit confused but still gave him directions. Mark thanked him and followed the instructions, relieved that he hadn't been completely cooked by not knowing where to go.
When he got near the school, plenty of students were walking in the same direction. He began looking around, searching for someone recognizable, but he didn't find anyone. As he entered the school building, he headed straight for his class, following the school map posted on the wall.
When he arrived, he asked a student where he was supposed to sit. The student looked confused but still pointed to a seat.
"Thanks, bro."
As he took his seat, he began observing every other student in the class. Then a new classmate entered and called out to Mark with a smile on his face.
"Mark, you got here earlier this time."
Mark began thinking about who the guy in front of him was. He knew this guy was the original Mark's friend, but he didn't remember his name at all. With that in mind, he decided to just relax and act casual.
"Yeah, I got up early today."
. . . .
Time passed, and the school day finally ended with the ringing of the bell. Mark's face was full of annoyance as he came out of the building. Relief washed over him because he had been struggling with everything: the classes, the subjects, and the friends. He quickly left the school grounds because he couldn't stand it anymore.
'Now I remember why I hate school.' The only reason school had ever been fun was because of friends. Without them, this whole place was unbearable.
"Mark!" William called out to him, panting as he tried to catch up. It was hard because Mark had been walking really fast.
Mark turned around and looked at William.
William then asked, "Mark, a few of us are gonna go hang out at Shenanigans tonight. Do you want to tag along?"
"I'm busy. I've got something to do today," Mark said, making excuses to avoid hanging out since he had far more important things to handle.
"Oh, you've got a shift today, right? My bad, I forgot you have a job. See you soon then." William raised his hand for a second to bid him farewell.
Mark's face shifted slightly when William mentioned he had a job, but he didn't react much. He replied by raising his hand briefly too, bidding him farewell.
But Mark didn't head back home. He walked to a place where people couldn't see him, ducking into an alleyway as he began testing his powers. He tried flying by jumping, but nothing really worked. He even tried punching the wall.
"Ah, shi—" That really hurt his hand. He shook it out and thought to himself, 'How far am I in the timeline?'
As he counted the dates in his head, he got his answer. He tilted his head, confused. "I'm seventeen. If my calculation isn't wrong, I should be unlocking my powers around this time."
'Maybe it's not time yet. But I don't want to accidentally awaken my powers in front of my parents.' Mark worried about that scenario becoming real, as it would raise a lot of issues he didn't want to deal with. 'If Omni-Man finds out I've got powers, he'll try to conquer the planet.'
Mark began tapping the ground repeatedly and holding his chin as he thought about what he should do next. Every choice had consequences. He sighed, unsure of what path to take since there were multiple ways to handle this problem.
"Ah, this is hard," Mark muttered. The choice he made would put him on a path he couldn't change.
Mark headed out of the alleyway and started walking home. On the way there, he passed a park full of kids and spotted an empty swing. He decided to sit down and began rocking back and forth.
As he was thinking about his future, one of the kids came up to him. "Old man, you're already old. Let us kids play with the swing."
Mark was taken aback. "Whoa, what's your problem?"
"You're the problem. That's why your parents are dead. Dead as hell," the kid taunted him.
Mark got agitated easily. "If you don't stop bothering me, I'll beat your ass." He unknowingly gripped the chain of the swing really tight.
Hearing that threat, the kid backed off before flashing two middle fingers at Mark.
"Motherfu—" Mark cursed under his breath as he got up from the swing. Then both chains on either side of the swing snapped and fell apart.
Mark turned around, surprised by the sound. He stared at the broken swing, shocked. It took him a second to realize what had really happened.
'I've awakened my powers.' Mark smirked. His earlier frustration vanished and was replaced with excitement. They had finally come. He had been worried it would take a while before they kicked in.