All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
Superman?
Author's note:
I wrote this story because I wanted to write a story about someone who helps others but also has a lot of pressure on them at the same time. Just like the character in the story, I want to help others, but with that you carry their problems with you and your own problems as well. Also it's easier to write this in the perspective of a little kid because they have a big imagination and usually don't understand serious issues, so they try to understand it in their own way.
There are villains and heros in this world and I’m a hero.
No one knows this of course. Why would they? Undercover for a reason. I even have my own secret lair. That’s where my team works. There’s my agents H2 and R3. I’m only telling you this because I can trust you I can’t trust a lot of people in this world. There are villains out there, bad ones.
“Breakfast!” my mom called out.
“Coming!” I yelled back in response, “Agent H2, I’ll be back. Keep searching,” I told him. As I was walking out the door of my secret lair, I pushed the button to make it look like a normal room, so no one asks questions. Yeah, a secret lair I know cool right? I was searching for a mission. Last week I saved my family from starving by getting food for them with my older brother Max. He’s like my sidekick. He has long brown hair, really long brown hair almost like Carl Grimes from The Walking Dead. One time I almost thought he was Carl and that we were already in the zombie apocalypse...I had a dream about that once too of course I saved the day with him and found a cure. Another thing about Max is that he always has a button down shirt with a tie on to look professional when he isn’t in his sidekick suit, I guess, but who wears ties?
“Samuel Dylan! What did I tell you about wearing that stupid dirty yellow cloth around your neck!” she said with a stern tone. I jumped back a bit then tried to recall what she said.
Finally remembering it I yelled back, “It’s not stupid!” We stared at each other for a moment as the wind was blowing by my cape, flowing as the sun came down upon me. A hero. The townspeople gathered around below us on the street ready for me to save the day. We charged at each other and-
“Samuel! You have to go before you’re late!” my mom shouted, but she doesn’t really care. “I’ll be home after work.” She finished as I walked out the door. She’s never home even when she says she is going to be. I don’t know what she does all that time. She doesn’t have work that late. She gets off of work at about five sometimes. I just think she doesn’t want to come home at all. When she is home, we have to pretend that she has always been home. It’s kind of weird when you think about it. It’s also kind of lonely here...Mom never home and Dad, when he’s home, he’s just drunk, so I’m the one who has to take care of him because Max is always with his girlfriend when Dad is over to get out of everything. Dad loves Maddy. It’s not fair, I thought as I was walking to the bus stop. The bus was headed towards villain city, and I got on and of course I have to be disguised so I put my cape into my bag and waited until we got there, staring out the window watching all the trees pass by.
We finally reached villain city, and we all go off the bus. It’s really big, and there are a bunch of people. I looked over at my locker and Steven, Chris, and Nate are standing there waiting for me, waiting in the spotlight. They all stood there watching, laughing as the wind blows from the window. Steven, Chris, and Nate were friends since pre-school or maybe even before that. They never separate. It’s like Chris and Nate live on the fact that Steven is alive. Chris is the sweetest out of all of them. He does whatever he’s told, and usually is the one to get picked on by Steven more. Nate is the smarter one. He wears glasses like klaus from a book we are reading in English. It’s one of my favorite books and he’s really quiet. Finally there is Steven. He’s the “girl getter” cool guy. He’s handsome not stupid but not smart either, the tough guy of the group. Any guy wants to be him.
I nervously walked to my locker not saying anything so I wouldn’t have to fight them. I put my cape in my locker quickly so no one would see it.
“Hey...” I decided to say after a while. My mom told me when I was little and she was actually home that I should be nice to the meanest of people.
“Who do you think you’re talking to!?” Steven said angrily as he crossed his arms and leaned on the lockers. Sadly Steven’s locker is right next to mine, but Nate’s and Chris’s lockers are across the school, so they have to carry everything with them since Steven won’t go to their locker with them. It scares me how loyal they are to Steven.
“I’m pretty sure I was talking to you..”
My brother once told me when I was little to be nice to people that are mean to you because it confuses them before my mom ever told me the other thing. I don’t know if Max got it from Mom when he was little or if he got it on his own, but I always remembered his words more than Mom’s.
“Whatever dork,” Steven said a bit frustrated as the bell rang. I was already late.Why run, am I right? I thought as I slowly walked to my first period class, which is my favorite class. First period I get to do nothing, but my job, which is to be a hero, because it’s English and we’re reading an awesome book. It’s The Series of Unfortunate Events. I got to the door and slowly creaked it open.
“Samuel? Why are you late?!” Mr.White said loudly in an aggressive tone.
“I...I...umm had trouble opening my locker,” I said nervously. The teacher scowled as I walked to my seat. I took out the book we were reading. It was a nice book, lots of adventures and my favorite character is Klaus. He reads a lot. He read his family’s whole library of books. I wish I had that many books. Mr.White started reading, “Violet was forced to be in the play with Count Olaf while Sunny was locked in a cage hanging out of the tower.” Then I quickly jumped off the top of the tower and swooped down and swiped the cage off the rope. As I was landing on the ground, quickly I snuck over to the stage. The play didn’t start yet. I still have time to rescue Violet before it’s too late, I thought. So I quickly went to the back of the stage. There were lots of scary people in costumes walking around.
“Violet..” I whispered as I saw her head look up. “I’m here to save you.” A bell started to ring. “Samuel...Samuel!” a voice said as I woke up.
“I...I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to...” I said to Mr. White as he started scowling at me, again.
“First you come in late. Then you fall asleep in my class. Samuel things aren’t looking great for you this year.” he started angrily but said calmly as he finished.
“I...I’m sorry Mr. White it.. it’ll never happen again” I said a little worried
“I’ll let you off easy this time samuel, don’t let it happen again” Mr. White replied.
“I was a hero..” I mumbled packing up my things and walking out the door. I went home that day a little uneasy, but it was a Friday, so I had the weekend to hang with Max, or well that’s what I thought.
I woke up the next afternoon.. yeah afternoon, I do like sleeping in on the weekends. I got out of bed and went down stairs.
“Hey Max, wanna play some videogames?” I asked walking to the living room
“No, Maddy is here. I’ll play with you tomorrow. Now go upstairs and play with your dolls or something,” he snapped. He always wants to impress his girlfriend when she’s over.
“They’re action figures” I mumbled walking back up to my room slowly. Wow I can’t believe he said that to me, I thought. “Hey agents H2 and R3, did you find anything?......no? Okay…” I walked over to my bed and laid down. It’s not fun to live in a world that I feel like I don’t belong in.
A few hours later, I felt a rage of anger come over me and stormed down stairs, “EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN JUST DITCH ME!!”
“Sam, calm down…” Max said getting up to walk over to me.
“NO IT’S NOT FAIR,” I yelled with some tears falling down my face. “YOU GET OUT OF HELPING DAD AND...pretending Mom is home and just everything. IT’S NOT FAIR!!” I screamed running back up stairs. I thought he was my sidekick. I told him everything, but I guess things change, people change. A few minutes later, I heard a knock at my door. It was clearly Max. Who else would it be?
“Come in...” I said looking down, but what I saw wasn’t the blue and white sneakers Max had. What I saw were pink flower flip flops. It wasn’t Max. It was Maddy, so I quickly put my large blanket over her head and pressed the secret button on my wall that makes the lair go away.
“And you want?” I said taking the blanket off her head slowly.
“To talk to you,” She said in a sweet tone and smiled. “ I saw what happened down stairs, and your brother is really sorry. I know you need him, but I need him too, and you aren’t a superhero like superman. You can’t fix or save everyone,” she said thinking she was saying something kind.
“Oh....I guess you’re right,” I said with one lone tear running down my face. “Tell him I said sorry I guess..”
“Okay I will,” she said sweetly again as she got up to leave and be with Max again.
“Close the door on your way out, ” I said weakly. “Superman? Superman...he is better than me,” I thought out loud as I heard a car pull up, and a few seconds later, the front door opened.
“Hey Max!!!! How….you,” my father said drunk, yelling and talking a bit faster than usual. I only heard bits and pieces of the conversation.
“Dad you okay?” Max said worried
“OKAY?! AM I OKAY!?!! I’m…”
“You have blood on your face…” Max said. I heard them move into the kitchen. Dad had blood on his face?... This is a new one even for him. In all the years he’s been doing this, he’s never been hurt or hurt anyone…
“WHERE’S SAMMY!??” Dad said walking to the stairs as if he actually cared where I was.
“NOT HERE!..” Max said loudly indicating I should leave before he finds me, but I couldn’t go anywhere. They were downstairs, and I was upstairs. Where would I go? “I think he stayed after school for something and will be home pretty soon,” I heard Max say as footsteps went up the stairs. I quickly hid under my bed just close enough to the edge where I wouldn’t be seen, but I could see out the bottom. Still, I had no way out.
Dad opened my door and said, eager to be a part of my life, “Well if h-he’s at school then shouldn’t I pick him up?” I started to cry a bit silently so no one would hear. This isn’t how a family is. This family needs a hero, and just like Maddy said, I’m not one...This family needs a real hero like Superman. Where’s Superman now? I looked over at the bottom of my dresser. My cape is just lying there. Why? Why am I not doing something? I watched as Max’s sneakers turned and started out the door, followed by my dad. Before they left I crawled out from under my bed. Everyone was staring at me waiting for me to say something about why I was under the bed or why I didn’t come out, but all I could say was, “Blood on your face?! What has this family turned into? This isn’t okay,” I said scared as I looked at Dad’s face, blood dripping off it like he got in a fight. He had a black eye. It was so hard to look at, but I did it anyway. Maddy was standing in the doorway. Not a hero, I thought. I was about to say more when.
“SAMMY, THERE YOU ARE! COME HERE! I’LL TAKE YOU OUT TO EAT,” he yelled again.
“No...Dad, he won’t, not until you clean up your act,” Max said trying to be the hero, but it’s already too late for that.
“Dad.. why do you have blood on your face?..” I asked, scared about what he was going to say or even do.
“None of your business boy! NOW GO TO BED!!” he said angrily.
“But..but it’s only 6:30,” I mumbled a bit scared.
“Did I ask what time it was boy?! No I said for you to go to bed! Now are you going to go, or do I have to make you?!” he said edging forward.
“No.. sir, I’ll go” I said. He had always liked being called sir. I think it’s because it makes him feel powerful, I thought as I laid in bed after he left my room. After a bit, I heard yelling then front door slam and footsteps up the stairs. Hopefully the person who left was Dad. I heard a knock on the door. Hesitantly I said, “Come in..”
The door opened. It was my brother Max
“Hey?...How are you?” he said trying to make me feel better. “You don’t have to go to bed yet. Maddy is making dinner downstairs. It’s pasta, your favorite.”
“Thanks Max,” I said kind of smiling
“You’re a hero, Sammy, but you should also sometimes be a normal boy. You don’t get to be a boy for too long. Enjoy it while you can. Make being a hero more of a hobby,” he said with a smile.
“You know you can be a hero too instead of just a sidekick, maybe just cut some of that hair of yours” I said laughing as we hugged.
“Maybe, Sammy, maybe,” he said, putting an arm around my shoulder as we walked down the stairs.
“Let’s go eat. Maddy is probably done cooking,” he smiled. Then I started smiling as we got up and walked down stairs.
“Maybe I can write a comic book,” I smiled at Max.
“Maybe,” he said. We finally reached the kitchen and sat down all together and started eating. Max asked me about my day, and Maddy said we needed to go to the store sometime soon. Hopefully I can go with her just incase the worst crime is committed, forgetting my favorite chips, but anyway what more could I need. They’re all safe. There's nothing more a hero could do.
Similar books
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This book has 0 comments.
