Not So Confident

"Yi Fan, wake up! It's time to go to school!" Xiao Ming shouted, shaking Yi Fan's arm.

Xiao Ming was already showered and dressed in his uniform. He couldn't believe the seemingly cold-blooded Yi Fan would be in his room, messily drooling on a pillow.

"H-huh...? Go away, Mom." Yi Fan mumbled.

"Yi Fan, you really need to wake up." Xiao Ming sighed. "You won't be able to shower—"

Yi Fan's ears perked up at the mention of showering, and he quickly jolted up. Yi Fan's abrupt awakening caused Yi Fan to smack Xiao Ming right in his face. Post impact, the two boys awkwardly covered their faces with their hands in pain. They squeaked out agonizing mumbles as they rolled around like logs.

"Urg, why did you do that?" Xiao Ming scolded. "Anyways, go get showered. We don't have much time."

Xiao Ming exited the room while grumbling about the pain, and Yi Fan rubbed the back of his sore head. He slowly picked up his uniform and went to the bathroom. Showering was a very mediating and peaceful experience, allowing you to start your day with a fresh outlook. Yi Fan thought long and hard about when he would call the police, but he was still hesitant. Perhaps after he went to school and saw Yi Fei would he be able to gather the courage to fight against The Man.

"Wait... I'm going to school?" Yi Fan thought out loud.

"Hey, you done? My mom's calling us to eat breakfast," Xiao Ming tactfully knocked on the door.

Yi Fan frantically opened the door without even a towel to cover himself.

"Xiao Ming, I can't go to school!" Yi Fan said. "Yi Fei would see me!"

"Yi Fei?" Xiao Ming took a long second to register the name in his mind. "Yi Fei!"

It was such an obvious problem that neither Xiao Ming and Yi Fan had thought about. If Yi Fan's parents had reported him missing or he met Yi Fei at school, Yi Fan would only go back to the same situation he tried to escape from. The only solution would be Yi Fan staying at his home, but Xiao Ming's mom would definitely not let him. But if Xiao Ming explained...

"It's okay. I'll talk to Mom," Xiao Ming reassured him. "But... put on some clothes. I'm not that close to you."

Yi Fan suddenly blushed at realizing that he was completely exposed and slammed the door closed. He berated himself as he changed into his clothes from yesterday, shaking his head at every moment.

Afterward, he slowly headed downstairs to eat breakfast. There were already plates of scrambled eggs and ham at the table, but no one had sat down yet. Near the kitchen, Xiao Ming approached his mom who was busy texting on her phone.

"Mom, I need to talk to you," Xiao Ming cautiously said. "You know how I wasn't really doing a math project with my friend?"

"Uhuh, doesn't take a brain to figure." His mom replied.

Yi Fan stopped in his tracks. They were talking about him.

"Yeah, so my friend, Yi Fan, actually came over because he ran away from home. He needed somewhere to spend the night and if he went back home, his abusive dad would beat him up." Xiao Ming explained. "I know we're going to school soon, but Yi Fan can't. If he goes, then he will be forced to go back home to his abusive dad. We're planning to call the police about it soon, but for now... can he stay at home with you while I go to school? Just for a few days please until we call the—"

"No." She interrupted. "Your little friend should go and stay at a police station. Not here. Not in my house."

"But he's being abused by his father!" Xiao Ming angrily argued. "Don't you have any sympathy?"

"I don't," Xiao Ming's mom frowned. "I don't have any. Get him out of here. I don't want to see his face again, got it?"

"But he's my friend!" Xiao Ming complained. "You don't understand!"

Yi Fan felt sick, his head was turning into mush. Slowly, his ears started to zone out and his eyes dropped to the shiny marble floor, quietly tearing up. Lo and behold, there was truly no one he could trust in this world. His tiny fists tightened up, then a weary grunt naturally came out of his mouth.

Then, he hastily ran out the door, not even looking back. Only bitter silence and salty tears followed his footsteps onto the cruel streets.

--

It was already 12 o'clock. With no aim or direction, Yi Fan just walked on and on. His stomach audibly rumbled, notifying Yi Fan of his d.e.s.i.r.e to eat. But he ignored it, and just kept walking.

'Should I go... home?' Yi Fan thought. 'No, I can't. The Man would kill me alive.'

Yi Fan looked up towards the sun, its bright glimmer happily ruining his eyes. It wanted you to keep staring and staring at it until the world became completely dark. Yi Fan chuckled, it was broad daylight so why was the road in front of him so bleak?

Yi Fan continued to stare at the sun with no end. Perhaps he just wanted to feel pain. Perhaps he just wanted something to do. His angled face reflected the sun off his cheek, a small glimpse of a rainbow appearing. He slowly closed his murky eyes, fatefully submitting to the sun. In its warmth, Yi Fan felt like he was in paradise.

Rightfully, he didn't notice the speeding car approaching at all. The driver was drunk despite it still being the day and was crying over breaking up with his girlfriend. He couldn't see the small child standing in the middle of the road as he poured out his emotions in the car.

"Why did Mei Mei leave me for another guy?!" He slammed on the gas padel. "A f**king douchebag! For a f**king douchebag?! She's a s.l.u.t godda—"