Cornelius slightly frowned as he popped another cheese puff into his mouth. Looked like no one was going to show up after all, just as he feared. Next thing he knew, there would be bullies at the school as soon as he popped in the next day. Great, now he started having a flashback to the older days...
- - - - -
Cornelius sat in the corner of the bathroom on his lonesome, his friends had just left his hometown for good. He sat alone not because he wanted to, but because he had no one to sit with. He silently ate his lunch, he still had 20 minutes until he had to go back to the classroom. He was about to finish up when a few sixth graders walked in, acting all edgy as you would expect, then they turned around and looked at Cornelius in the corner, one of them entering a stall.
"Aw... is the wittle baby all sad and alone? Does he need his mommy and a blankey? We don't like looking at crybabies around here, so you either get out, or we tear your eyes out so you don't ever make eye contact again. You have five seconds."
He was terrified... he was 6, what was he gonna do against 5 sixth graders? He shivered as he stood up with his lunch and ran. One of the boys blocked the door as he tried to run away, the leader giving a small and sarcastic "oops". He spilled his applesauce on one of their shoes, and they glared at him.
"You little piece of shit! I just got these! Oh, we were going to be easy on you, but now? You're going to wish you never even breathed near us! And after this, you probably won't get to ever again!"
One of them grabbed him by the neck and threw him against the door of a stall. He whimpered as he hit both the door and the ground. He tried to get up, but one of them stomped on his back, and another kicked him in the side of his head. He was terrified, he didn't want to move, nor could he, as he was picked up again. One of the kids had just finished doing their business in the next stall over, and he was brought into the same stall. They shoved his head into the same toilet they had just gone in, and no, they didn't flush. When he came up, he was coughing madly, and was tossed against the wall before they finally left. He cried so hard, his face was covered in almost every possible human fluid imaginable. After a few hours, a resource officer found him lying in a stall, almost unresponsive. He looked at him for a few moments... and just left the bathroom without a word, and didn't report what they saw. When he got home, Cornelius' mom was furious, but not at the ones who beat him up. She was mad at him for not standing up for himself. She forced him outside, no dinner for the night, and he had to sleep outside. This was the absolute worst, nothing compared... he just cried more as he passed out...
- - - - -
Cornelius shook his head, he hated remembering those times, they were points of how low he was. When he discovered his powers... that was for another flashback. He only started working on becoming a hero so people couldn't be treated like he was. He wouldn't rest until everyone could just... chill... and be friendly... so he could have friends to call his own...