I couldn’t just stand there as they forced the kid to eat sand. As soon as they saw me step out of the shadows, one of the little shitstains looked up, tugged on his friend’s hoodie, and backed away.

Two against one is never fair. Worse when you’re pounding on someone so much smaller. Both bullies put their hoods up, as if I hadn’t already seen their faces, then ran their chubby asses out of the playground and into the tree line.

“You hurt?” I squatted next to the whimpering kid, careful not to get my khakis sandy.

He spat sand, then sat up. “I’m all right. Thank you, Mr. Aaron.”

I sighed with the disappointment I’d been holding in. To be honest, I’d watched for a little too long. I’d hoped against hope that he’d fight back, for the sake of his dignity if nothing else. But the boy just kept taking it. They'd pushed him to the ground without him even trying to push back or run.

“What’s your name?” I asked. I’d seen the kid around. A fourth grader, I think. I didn’t teach below sixth grade, so hadn’t had the chance to learn his name.

“Roy,” he wheezed out, then coughed more sand.

“Roy.” I rubbed sand out of his blond locks. “Well, Roy, I’m going to report those boys to the principal. Just this once. But next time, you have to stand up for yourself. When you become an adult like me, there’ll be no one to fight your battles. Just you.”

His shoulders tensed. “Please don’t tell, Mr. Aaron. Just let it be.”

“Why?”

“Carter’s dad is a manager at the place my dad works. If you tell the principal and Carter gets in trouble, his dad is gonna make my dad’s life hell. Maybe even get him fired.”

Shit. It was more complicated than I realized. Poor kid. He blew his nose, and shiny grains came shooting out.

“Okay.” I zipped my mouth. “I won’t say anything. But promise me you’ll fight back next time. And if you’re outnumbered, that you’ll run.” I helped Roy to his feet.

He dusted himself off. “I don’t know. They’re really scary.”

“There’s far scarier out there than those runts. Trust me.”

The school bell rang. Next period would start in five minutes. That meant I had to be in class, ready to teach twenty bored teenagers how negative integers worked.

“Thank you again, Mr. Aaron. My big brother was in your class last year. He said you were his favorite. Now I see why.”

True. I was the cool teacher. I usually let benign infractions slide, and tried to make class upbeat and fun whenever I could.

“Get to class, now. And don’t forget what I said.”

Roy hurried into the school building. I stared at the bulbous clouds for a moment and sighed once more with disappointment. Even in a position of authority, I couldn’t make life better for the kid. This world was just too complex. There was always a bigger, meaner fish. And even if you wanted to become better, stronger, more in control, it was often impossible, no matter how hard you worked.

Ugh. I stuck my fingers in the corners of my mouth and forced a smile. Better not to show my negativity to my students. Though I wasn’t a believer in the good of this world, I wanted them to be.

 

I went to the teacher’s lounge after class. Catherine was there, chatting gregariously with the new PE teacher by the coffee machine. So many hand motions. I stared at Catherine a little too long because I knew she wouldn’t notice. When my gaze made its way down to her shapely ass, which curved perfectly against the fabric of her skirt, I felt a healthy prickle of shame, then cleared my throat to alert her of my presence.

“Remy!” she said as if she hadn’t seen me in ages. “Are you coaching boy’s soccer this year?”

I forgot I’d volunteered for that. Soccer wasn’t exactly a popular sport in this town, so I’d probably be teaching a bunch of football rejects. Couldn’t be too hard.

I scratched my back. “Yeah. Why?”

Catherine twirled a strand of her amber hair. “Nothing,” she said musically. “I think you’ll look good in a soccer uniform.”

I felt my cheeks warm. That was a compliment, wasn’t it? Or was she just being nice? “Thanks.” I scratched my back some more as I searched for a workplace-appropriate response. “Are you coaching anything in the spring?”

“You know, I really wanted to coach girl’s volleyball. But my husband needs me around the house more. So maybe next year.”

Oh, right. She had a husband. So she was just being nice when she’d complimented me. “Well, come by soccer practice some time. You know how these kids are. I could always use the help.”

She beamed at that. “Deal!” Then she turned and walked out of the room. I stopped myself from staring at her swaying hips, lest the new PE teacher, who was slurping coffee and had gotten some creamer on his mustache, notice.

 

With all my classes over, I made my way to my car at the edge of the parking lot. Would every day be like this? Stuck. Wishing for things that were just out of reach.

I wouldn’t say my life was bad. But it was disappointing. I pushed the key into the ignition and turned it. My car bellowed like a smoker coughing up a lung. Took me three more tries to get it to start. I didn’t have money to spare to get the engine checked out. All I could do was hope it wouldn’t die on me.

Traffic was light on the commute home – a pleasant surprise. As I turned a corner after a row of houses, I spotted another surprise. A woman with fiery red hair stood at a crosswalk. She wore a black hat shaped like a traffic cone. Her black miniskirt exposed such thick thighs, and her black stockings reached up beyond her knees. An airy, purple scarf was draped around her neck, one end falling toward her generous cleavage, in the middle of which was a single rose, resting softly on her round breasts.

I slowed my car to let her pass and rubbed my eyes. But she just stood at the crosswalk. Halloween was months ago, so what was she doing wearing that? Not that I didn’t love it – it wasn’t everyday I got to see a sexy witch on the commute home.

I waited another ten seconds for her to pass. But instead of doing so, she closed her eyes, held up her open palms, and began reciting something. Wait… was this weirdo sexy witch casting a spell?

I kept my eyes on her. Beep beep. I looked in the rearview mirror at the slime green Accord that had just pulled up behind me. Its headlights flickered. I pressed the pedal and continued driving home, giving the witch one final glance as I passed her.

She seemed young. A more than pleasant face, too. Pale skin, freckles on her cheeks, red bangs. The kind of cute girl I would’ve asked out in college without a second thought, when I was more hopeful about where my life would go.

After a few more turns, I was about five minutes from my house. Stopped at a traffic light and peered out my window at the local McDonald’s, its drive through full. I looked up at the sky, just above the setting sun. Streaks of red and orange bathed the laden clouds.

A shimmering speck burst through one of the clouds. As it neared, it resembled a fiery baseball. And it was coming toward me.

Whatever it was, it slammed into my windshield at a speed I could scarcely comprehend. The last thing I felt before blacking out was my own flesh burning.

 

In my dream, I saw a man sipping coffee at breakfast while his son slurped Fruity Loops and his skinny wife, clad in an apron, handed him the newspaper.

The headline read Local Teacher Dies in Freak Meteor Strike. A picture of me with a fake, open smile adorned the page, a curry stain above my shirt pocket. It was taken the day I began my teaching job.

 

Soon, all of that faded out. I floated in the void. Words appeared, imprinted on my vision.

 

MIRROR SHARD EFFECT ACTIVATED

 

NAME: Remy Aaron

SEX: Male

HOME PLANET: Terra Sol

HOME PLANET SPECIAL ABILITY: Soulbond Offensive Power Multiplication 5x

 

SOUL REVIVAL: Initializing….

 

COMPLETE

 

System Pantheon: Deep Ones

 

Soul Level: 7

Strength: 1

Intelligence: 1

Agility: 1

Endurance 1

Vigor: 1

Mind: 1

Luck: 1

 

Soulcores Required for Next Level: STAT INFUSION LOCKED

 

WORLD MIRROR DESTINATION: Lumaria Lumis