"No school today?" I ask mom, mentally praying that they won't close the school.

Mom shrugged and stared at the window. It was raining and super cold.

Summer vacation had ended yesterday and I was eager to get back to school. I wanted to see my friends and my crush.

Yes, I have a crush which is super embarrassing for me being a sixteen year old and all.

Madison Pines was my crush and the most beautiful girl in school. Maybe the whole town. But strangely she didn't have a boyfriend.

I remember someone saying that she wasn't ready for that shit.

My annoying, Barbie loving, braces in her teeth, nine years old, step-sister, Natalie screamed from the stairwell.

'"Yay!!!!" She yelled like a monkey. "No school today, one more day of summer!" She then raised her index and little finger, the way rock band fans do and shredded and invisible guitar.

Mom laughed, I wasn't amused at all. I still wondered why kids hated school so much. Schools are our future, it's hard to believe that only my kind admire the great institution for receiving good and quality education.

My glasses slide off my nose and I carefully put it back in place. Yes, I know what you're thinking. I'm a Nerd.

I didn't see anything bad being a Nerd. Only that we're the main and favourite target for bullies.

But I didn't worry much about the bullies. I only cared about the finer things in life.

Like Biology, movies, comics and Madison.

"Eat" Mom was telling my second step sister, Patricia. She was six years old. She was the youngest in our new family and had developed a few seizures when she was an infant. Fortunately for her they had ceased.

At least that's what Derek told me. Speaking of Derek, he just happened to burst into the house and his raincoat glistened with raindrops.

Derek is my stepdad, although mom always tells me to call him 'Dad'. As long as I lived I knew that I would never call Derek my dad.  He looked like a wet grizzly bear.

I still couldn't see why mom fell in love with Derek, he was clumsier than a clumsy oaf.

"Okay," Derek coughed."I got the truck up and running. I figure I can take Chad to school with it"

Mom gave him a worrying look, "Are you sure?. There might be a flash flood or something. I heard one happened in Blake valley and that's only a couple of miles away from here"

Mom was right, a flash flood happened a few years back before we moved here. People said that our town was affected but the damage wasn't as much as the one in Blake valley.

The name of our town is Stanley Falls, named after the founder Stanley Anchor who founded the town back in 1944.

There's a huge statue of him in the park, he looked like a nice man. I heard he died in 1985, and you guessed it. He died the way most politicians died.

Assasination.

"It's going to be fine," Derek said. "Come on Chad"

Mom still looked worried, she was so overprotective. "Fine, but be careful Chad"

She stood up and kissed Derek. "Don't forget to buy Natalie's guinea pigs."

Derek nodded."How many again?"

"Six!" Natalie yelled.

"Six, you got it kid," Derek said." What are you do doing with six guinea pigs anyway? You gonna slaughter them?" He chuckled foolishly at his joke.

I sighed, I didn't want to ride with Derek. We might have an accident.

Mom is the principal at Natalie's school, so Natalie will be following her.

"Bye Chad!!!" Mom said as I followed Derek outside. "I hoped you packed your inhaler"

Oh shit!!

My inhaler, I forgot it in my room. And I'm an asthmatic dude.

"Be right back!" I tell Derek.

"C'mon kid I don't have all day!!" Derek yells.

I rolled my eyes dashing to my room.

Our house was a bungalow so my room wasn't that far.

I pulled my door open and opened my drawer beside my bed.

Inside was my inhaler and I stowed into my bag.

Just as I was about to leave, my eyes caught the picture of my dad and I in the drawer.

I picked it up and stared, my dad was wearing his glasses and holding mom, while I was sitting on a small plastic chair.

I always thought that I looked like dad when I was wearing glasses.

"Chad!!!"

I ignore the asshole called Derek. I continued to stare at the picture and then realized that I was running late.

I dropped the picture and dashed away.

Natalie stared at me. "What took you long?" I ignored her. Since mom married Derek last summer, I've been trying to pretend that I didn't live with a stepfamily. We had changed our last names from Unger to Jackman.

Derek had his radio tuned into the local radio station where a man was reporting the news.

"...where the mayor of Blake valley has completed the Blake dam and assured that there will be no flash floods again" The newsman on the radio sounded bored, like most news reporters sounds.

The rain was heavy, and each drop against the windshield felt like a bullet smashing the glass.

"So? Ready for school?" Derek asks.

I pretend to be sleeping since I figured out that one can't tell if I'm sleeping while wearing glasses.

Derek nudges me and I blink  "what?" I say half annoyed.

"You were sleeping son"

"What did you just call me?"

"Son,"

I lose control, "Heck I'm not your son okay!!"

Derek looks sad. "Chad I'm just trying to make our new family special okay, I know we may not go along but...."

But I don't listen. I'm thinking of my dad.

Four years ago, in 2015. My mom found out that my dad was a sorcerer. He was using black magic and had mastered it and no one noticed through the 18 years that they had married.

Mom freaked out and wanted to take me away.

I, on the other hand, was thrilled. My dad knew magic!! I wanted him to teach me some magic tricks and then maybe I can perform and get cash.

But no, my mom said that magic was connected to the Devil.

My mom is a die-hard Christian, which would explain why she divorced dad after dad had begged that he would stop.

I remember like it was yesterday.

Mom had packed up my luggage and dragged me out to the car, dad pulled mom begging her to understand why he did what he did.

Mom yanked his hand away and screamed at dad, our neighbours came to intervene and mom then told them that our dad was working with Satan.

As young as I was I knew that it was a lie, dad was a fucking sorcerer. He didn't work with the devil. I think.

Derek was steering the truck around the corner. The road was already waterlogged. The water looked to be ankle high and was rushing along the street.

I sighed, this town wasn't that perfect and all. After mom left dad we moved from Grand Junction in Colorado to Stanley Falls in Utah.

Last year mom met Derek and for some reason that even Einstein wouldn't understand, they fell in love.

I didn't know much of Derek's backstory but all I know is that he's from a town in Wisconsin and moved to Utah when his wife was killed in a bus explosion.

Lightning lit up the dark sky and thunder rumbled.

I removed my glasses to clean them, there wasn't much air in the truck. Derek's truck's air conditioning had damaged and we had to roll up the window almost to the top to prevent the rain from wetting us.

"You okay?" Derek asks me.

I stare at him, I didn't think of replying him but after a while, I said, "Yeah,"

Our town was the smallest town I've ever seen, with a population of about 905. I basically knew everyone here.

We passed the church and I knew we were already close to school since the church and school were located in the same block.

I grabbed my backpack and got ready to disembark. Derek parked close to the front doors of our school where other kids were running into the school to avoid the harsh cold rain.

Principal Roy stood at the front wearing a raincoat and yelling at students. He was a young man and it was weird for a young man like him to be a principal.

"Have a nice day," Derek tells me smiling.

I throw him a fake smile and walk into the school. Derek and I had this awkward kind of step father- step son relationship. But I'm pretty sure you've figured that out.

I didn't wear a raincoat or bring an umbrella which kind of felt awkward.

I met up with my pal, Jason. Jason and I were super different and weren't meant to be friends.

Jason was a complete idiot, truth talk by the way. He was a dawdler and likes to joke all the time, he's also the class comedian. He didn't think about girls and stuff. He also loved comics and movies and that's why he's my best friend.

No one in school actually gives time for superheroes and movies, which is odd since we're in an age of movies.

"Hey man!" Jason cried and playfully slapped my shoulder. Only he did it so hard that my glasses flew off my face.

It landed on the floor.
"Come on man," I tell Jason as I bent down to pick it up.

I picked it up and set it firmly on my nose and glared at Jason.

Jason laughed and slapped my arm.

I slapped my forehead.

"Excuse me," someone said from behind. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

I turn around to admit Vice-principal Damien.

"Sorry sir," I say and Jason and I walk along the hallway.

Our high school had a population of 86 but the hallways were still crowded as the national Mall on the fourth of July.

I got to my locker which was beside Jason's. I opened the lock and threw my backpack inside.

"So Chad," Jason says leaning on his locker. "Have you thought about registering me into the club?"

I cringed. When I was a freshman here,  I joined a club called ' The  Science And Math club' or as we liked to call it The SAM club.

Our supervising teacher, Mr Hubert had held an election at the end of my freshman year to decide who will be the president for the sophomore year, and somehow I was nominated and then won.

Ever since then, Jason's been trying to get me into entering him into the club.

The thing is that Jason didn't actually fit the club, he was a jokester and the club was all about seriousness which Jason was never good at.

"I'll think about it," I say.

Jason laughs. "Come on Chad, this is our sophomore year man! When our friendship matters the most"

"Uh, isn't that supposed to be in our senior year," I say.

Before Jason could say anything, an announcement was made stating that it was time for homeroom.

"Got to go take a leak," Jason said and waved goodbye and dashed away. I laughed and shook my head seeing that Jason hadn't changed one bit.

Kids grumbled and walked to the hall.

I spotted Madison and her best friend, Alexa walking down the hallway. She tilted her head to my direction and winked.

Of course, that didn't happen. Just my stupid imagination.

Fredrick Anchor, the great-grandson of our founder, Stanley Anchor walked up to me while I was staring at Madison as she walked down the hallway. It was pretty weird that the great grandson of a prominent man was a bully.

"What are you looking at?" He asks mockingly.

I sighed, Frederick was the top Billy in our school maybe because he's the only one.

His main reason for becoming a bully is to wipe out Nerds. For some reason, I actually find this motivation really cool.

He could just become a bad guy and try to kill all the nerds. He said that Nerds don't deserve a right to be nerds and don't fit in society.

"You think Madison would ever throw a glance at you," Frederick bursts into maniacal laughter.

I don't know why, but I crack wise. "Yeah, but has she ever looked at you?"

Frederick stopped laughing and glared at me. Passers-by stared and wondered what Frederick would do. No one ever dared to go up against him. That's why there aren't any other bullies.

"What did you say?" He asks, stepping closer.

I shook my head wishing that I could teleport to class.

He grinned and cracked his knuckles, "Chad you just made my day"

"Alright, get out of here, no time for dilly-dallying" VP Damien barked.

Frederick groaned and walked away and turned his head running his hand against his neck signifying that I was dead meat.

Everyone dispersed from the hallway as VP Damien threw stern glances.

"Thanks, sir," I awkwardly tell VP Damien he knew that I was one of the most bullied kids in school and didn't even give a damn.

"You're welcome," He said grimly. "And what are you waiting for?"

I realized that the hallway was completely empty,  I chuckled nervously but VP Damien  just raised an eyebrow.

I turned and walked away. I felt that something wasn't right with the vice principal. He seemed weird, I've only seen him with just one facial expression. And he seems to enjoy punishing students and handing out detention slips.

To me, Damien was the real principal, not Roy.

I just sighed and I ran to catch up with the other students.

This is gonna be one hell of a semester.

I didn't know how right I was when I said that.