Heartbeat

In a seemingly monochromatic world, as every scenery seemed to fade in a weird transition in Ethan's imagination, where no one stood out in the colors of black and grey, and everyone he knew seemed to be as dull as how he saw youth, Ethan would always ponder why he even existed in such an environment. The pessimistic teen sat by the second row in the far right, where he was directly beside the window. He was a very insignificant character in a class, a sore thumb, a black sheep, and an elephant in a room, for his negativity stood out like a celebrity. He rested on his right arm, which was somehow glued on the ledges of the window, as he loathed the entire universe inside his mind.

In a glimpse he had gotten back his senses, and realized the fact that he never really stood out in his own world, and that no one will ever do, or so he thought. His unfazed and drowsy expression matched the current weather, and his melancholic aura was similar to the dull colors of his year-old uniform, its color on the lines between dusty grey and yellowish white, and from outside through the open windows of the corridor of the fourth floor of the building, and into the classroom he was in, the wind breeze would constantly blow, drastically boosting his desire to leave the class. The unyielding sound of raindrops landing on the ground echoed through the barren corridors, and into every room. The class was yet to start, and the teacher had barely arrived, yet everyone was already in a slumberous mood.

The silence from his head and the usual ringing from his ears dissipated as he heard a subtle disturbance from his left. His seatmate, Vinzent, had yawned, and therefore Ethan's consciousness was back in his class again. As the progressing events occurred, Ethan had considered himself lucky enough to be beside the window, in which, conveniently, his mind would usually fly elsewhere.

"Circulatory system......." The teacher had spoken, and everyone reverted from drowsiness to attentiveness.

And those were the only words that entered Ethan's mind before he casually let out a sigh and gazed outside. There was nothing remarkable to behold from his point of view from the window, yet he always insisted on looking outside. This behavior of his was due to the fact the he had already learned the lesson from long ago, and not that he wanted to neglect his studies. He had a pretty good reason, and he thought he could invest that time into something productive.

"But nothing productive ever happens at school."

"It has always been the same topics."

"I don't even think I'll make it past 20 years old. Well, in the end, life's just a boring chapter in an endless story that no one knows who the writer is."

"We're just being tested how strong our memories are." He complained, although only in his mind.

Ethan sighed, as he further convinced himself not to listen. He thought that the school's teaching system keeps repeating per level and only a few information are added. It was somehow a loop, and Ethan thought that he will never learn how taxes are paid, and he will never learn how to buy a house or get a job, but all that he knows of and all that they are taught about is that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, and that was all that was viable for Ethan to even give his attention in thinking of it. Then again, the lessons repeat in a spiral manner, as assessed by Ethan, and the cool high school life he had thought of had long been shattered. He never got to experience how high school was in the shows or in the popular television series, and instead, he experienced the reoccurring reality show of tiresome lessons and bland people in his 9th grade. He hoped for an exhilarating year of topics, like universal paradoxes and time loops, yet all he got was utter disappointment.

"And that's why reality sucks." He complained to himself once more.

He sighed again, while his head still rested on his right arm, this time, he thought of his second reason not to listen: