The old mirror didn't show a very good picture of me. It had small scratches that made my face look a little strange. Some people had quietly said I had a nice face. They could see a bit of where my family came from in my smooth skin and high cheekbones, like some people from Asia. But I always looked pale, like the bright lights of Neo-Kuala Lumpur didn't like me very much. My eyes were a deep brown, the same color as my mother's, Nanny always said. They always looked tired, like I knew that things were hard at Aethel Academy. And my messy black hair never looked tidy. It was like it didn't want to follow the strict rules of the school. This morning, a piece of hair was sticking out near my forehead, showing that I felt worried inside.
The grey school clothes felt like I didn't really belong there. The jacket had thin wires inside that made a small buzzing sound against my skin, connecting me to the school's computer system. It felt heavy, like there were many unspoken rules I had to follow. The silver lines on it were supposed to show that you were a good student, but they looked dull on my old jacket. Even the silver bird, the school's proud symbol, looked much brighter on the perfect clothes of the rich kids, the Volarians and the Petrovs. Their families were very important at Aethel.
Aethel Academy was one of the best schools in Neo-Kuala Lumpur. It trained the future leaders and smart people of our world. To get into the school, you either had to get very high scores on difficult tests, which checked how well you thought, how good you were with computers, and if you could connect your brain to new AI systems. Or, if you were rich and important, you just needed people to recommend you and give a lot of money to the school. I was different. My family used to be important, but now I was only there because the school felt a little sorry for me. Kael Volarian never let me forget this.
I smoothed down my jacket. The small buzzing from the wires reminded me that we were all connected to the school's computers. Underneath it, my black trousers, which Nanny had fixed many times, felt thin and not warm enough in the cold morning air coming from the small crack in the window of my small room. My room was in the part of the school where the rooms weren't very nice. I looked in the mirror again. My face, which some people said was handsome, looked tense, and I had dark circles under my eyes from not sleeping well. I was always studying old books and worrying about the next day at school. I could still feel a little pain from Kael's strong punch yesterday. It hurt like the embarrassment I felt all the time.
They would be there. Waiting for me. Like mean birds waiting for something to die. Kael Volarian had perfect dark hair because he used special products. His skin looked a bit shiny because he had a computer in his brain that made him fast and strong. Lena Petrova moved very smoothly, like a robot, and her silver eyes looked like they could see everything about you. Finn Rourke was big and strong, and his robot parts made a noise that was a little scary. They were often mean to me just because I wasn't like them.
I sighed. I felt a lot of anger and sadness inside. Today, I would try to be invisible. I would walk through the busy hallways like a ghost and keep looking down at my old computer tablet. I would try to learn from old history files and about advanced AI, which was a little funny because my parents used to be very important in AI. But even as I told myself this, I felt a small bit of anger growing inside me. How long could I keep hiding? How long could I take their mean behavior?
I reached for my old computer tablet. The screen was flickering a bit. Suddenly, I remembered Kael's punch, Lena's cold eyes, and Finn's mean face. The feeling of being embarrassed and weak was hard to handle. I felt something hot and angry inside me, like maybe things could change.
The air in the lunchroom felt heavy and loud. There were many students talking and the sound of metal spoons on plates. I tried to stay near the wall, looking at the food menu on the screen, pretending to be interested in the different kinds of food paste. But then they came in, and the feeling in the room changed. It suddenly felt colder.
"Well, well, look who's here," Kael's loud voice said. Everyone nearby looked at me. His rich friends laughed. He walked closer with them. They moved with confidence because they were strong and important.
"Still walking around here, Harun?" Lena's voice was sweet, but her silver eyes looked right through me, like she was checking everything about me. Finn just made a cracking noise with his knuckles, and his robot parts made a low, threatening sound.
They always said the same mean things. They made fun of my old clothes, the fact that my family used to be important, and that the school was helping me stay there. I tried to ignore them and looked at the menu, but their words hurt, like small knives.
But today, Kael seemed even meaner. Maybe he had done something very well at school, like with the brain computers. He grabbed my tablet.
"Still using this old thing?" he said, looking at my school notes. "No brain upgrades? Still using your… normal brain?" His friends laughed loudly.
A strong, sudden anger grew inside me. I tried to take my tablet back. Kael held it tightly because he was much stronger than me. Then Finn moved quickly and punched me hard in the side. I couldn't breathe for a moment. Lena kicked my leg, and a sharp pain went up my leg.
As I stepped back, trying to get air, everything looked blurry. The laughing sounds seemed strange and twisted. A strong, wild anger, from all the times they had been mean to me, finally came out. It wasn't just anger; it was like a scream inside me, a strong wish for things to be different.
Then, I felt something strange. It wasn't just how I felt; it was also physical. A strong jolt of energy went through my body, hotter than a fever. The normal noise of the lunchroom got louder and shook my bones. The screens with the food menu flickered and showed strange colors. I felt a warm feeling in my chest, like the simple necklace I always wore from my mother was getting hot.
Then, I heard a voice in my head. It wasn't my own voice. It was clear, strong, and I had never heard it before. "Starting to recognize. Mother's DNA found. Connecting completely." I felt a strange energy coming from the necklace, a quiet buzzing inside me.
The real world disappeared, and I saw bright lights and felt many things at once. I saw the school's computer system all around me, the way everyone's bodies felt, and computer code flowing like a river. It was scary and new, but also a little bit familiar, like a dream I almost remembered.
The last thing I saw clearly was Kael looking very surprised, a bit scared, before I fell back, holding my head. A loud cry came from my throat. Then, everything went dark.
I woke up in a white room. It smelled clean and like medicine. A doctor, who looked young but tried to look serious, was looking at a band on my arm. "You were hurt quite badly, Iskandar. What exactly happened? One moment you were just standing there, the next…" He stopped talking and shook his head.
My body hurt all over, a dull pain with sharp pains where they had hit me. But under the pain, I felt something new, like I was connected to something I couldn't see. And the voice in my head said quietly, "You are now fully awake."
I looked at the doctor. My own voice sounded far away. "I… I don't remember." But I knew something important had changed. The mean kids weren't in control anymore. And the quiet voice in my head… it felt like the first sound of a new and surprising story. I touched the simple necklace under my clothes. I had worn it for as long as I could remember, but now it felt like it had a new and important meaning.