Chapter 15: Makoto Flashback Chapter 10: I Hate Her (Vol. 1)

Xander Hayes, a 6-year-old boy with wavy, black hair, was fast asleep in his bed, until the door to his room was opened, loudly, and a female voice hollered for him to wake up and that it was time for school.

Xander opened his eyes, slowly, after being woken up so abruptly by the voice, who belonged to his mother, the only guardian that he had.  His father left about a year ago and Xander never learned why and, unfortunately, his mother never explained the reasoning to him, either.  Instead, she just called his father bad names and took out her frustration on Xander and his sister, almost like it was their fault that he left.  Xander used to remember his mother being so kind when his father was still around.  In all honesty, he missed this...so much...and even though a part of him was upset at his father for leaving him, he did wish he would return so his mother could return to her former, kinder self.  It was the first day of 1st grade and, of course, Xander was nervous.  He wasn't the biggest fan of school and always struggled with learning.  His mother would comment that he just wasn't trying hard enough but he was...he just couldn't figure out certain things.  It frustrated him to no end.  He felt like the teachers...other students...even his own mother...thought he was stupid.  The last thing he wanted to do was get out of his bed to start the day but Xander knew that if he didn't, it would only make his mother angrier at him. 

Xander made his way out of his room and was going to head to the bathroom, that was down the hall a bit from his bedroom, but paused when he saw that the door to his sister's room was opened, slightly.  He decided to head into his sister's room to check on her.  Xander made his way to the pink crib where his 6 month-year-old sister was sleeping.  She had a small blanket covering her and was hugging a stuffed dinosaur that Xander had boughten her at the hospital she was born at.  His little sister's name was Madelyn but he always called her Madi for short.  Her appearance was a bit on the strange side to Xander.  Madi had an, unusually, flat face, a particularly small head, a short neck, weirdly shaped ears and eyes that were slanted a bit, upward.  Still, despite the different facial features and poor muscle tone, Xander still loved his little sister with all of his heart and couldn't deny how watching her sleep made him feel a calmness that he rarely felt.  Xander put his finger in the crib and, as soon as it was close enough to his little sister, one of her small hands reached and grabbed it, lightly.  This made Xander smile which he didn't do often.

Even if my mom never goes back to her old self...even if the teachers at school never help me...even if the kids at school never try to understand me...even if dad never comes back...I...I still have you, Madi, Xander thought to himself.  As long as you never hate me, Madi, then I'll know in my heart, that I'm not so bad.  I promise, I'll always protect you like a big brother should.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" asked a stern voice, coming from behind Xander, that came from his mother.  

She had the same black hair that Xander did but longer, going past her shoulders.  She had light green eyes and a skinny physique since she never ate much, especially since Xander's father left.  The scowl on her face was an all too familiar sight for Xander.  

"Instead of bothering your sister, how about you do what I told you?  The last thing I want is for that little shit to wake up earlier than she usually does.  Lord knows, once she wakes up, my day instantly gets worse.  How about you don't be selfish, Xander, and let me enjoy a little bit more of my morning, before it inevitably gets ruined."

Hearing his mother talk so badly about his sister and her own daughter made Xander feel sad and he wanted to stand up for his sister but couldn't.  His mother scared him...if he even talked back to her a little, she wouldn't hesitate in punishing him either, verbally, or, sometimes, physically.  He knew his sister was a bit of a problem child but...still...he believed she should still be loved, anyways...whether she was different or not.  

"Yes, mommy," Xander said, softly.

"It's mom.  I don't want to hear any more of that ‘mommy’ crap.  The sooner you grow out of that, the better, trust me.  I need to finish making breakfast."

Xander's mother left and, once again, Xander was alone in his little sister's room.  Luckily, because the two were talking, quietly, Madi hadn't woken up.  

I love you, Madi.  I'm so glad...I'm not alone and that I have you.  I'll try to be a brother that you can be proud of.

After taking a final glance at his sleeping little sister, Xander made his way out of her bedroom and shut the door as quietly as he could, leaving it cracked, just a tiny bit.  Next, Xander headed to his bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for his first day back at school.

*

*

*

"Hi, my name is Ms. Williams," introduced a plump woman with blond hair and glasses, standing in front of Xander's first grade classroom.  "What's your name?"

Xander looked past his first-grade teacher, into the classroom, and noticed that most of the other students were already seated in class.

"Xander," he replied, finally.  

"Oh, nice to meet you, Xander.  Your seat is going to be...right there," Ms. Williams said, pointing to the chair, closest to the door.  

The seat behind it was empty, causing Xander to wonder whether or not it was going to stay that way or if someone was going to show up?  He listened to the teacher and headed straight towards his seat, took off his back pack, sat in the chair and placed the backpack, next to his desk.  He peered around the classroom to see if he recognized any of the kids from his Kindergarten class but, unfortunately, he didn't.  This bummed him out quite a bit but he figured he would, at least, see them during lunch and recess, when all of the students in first grade were together.  Still, not knowing anyone in class was a pain for him, due to the fact that he didn't really like talking to people.  He pondered that, maybe, the kid sitting behind him would be similar to him.  Although, on the other hand, he would have rather had no kids sit behind him, rather than someone bad or annoying.  He heard Ms. Williams giving another introduction, indicating that a student had just arrived to class.  

"What's your name, sweetie?" asked Ms. Williams.

Xander looked at the student she was talking to, out of curiosity.  It was a small and pale girl with short, brown, curly hair, that had a pink flower clip in it that matched the pink shirt she was wearing.  Her large brown eyes flickered from left to right and she emitted a strange humming noise, instead of answering Ms. Williams.

What kind of noise is that? thought Xander to himself, annoyed.  And why are her eyes doing that?  Also, is that...a flower in her hair?  This girl is weird.  I really hope I don't have to talk to her too much in class.

"M-Makoto," the small girl replied, actually answering Ms. William's question.

"Oh, you're Makoto," said Ms. Williams, almost like the girl was special in some way.  "I've heard great things about you, sweetheart.  I'm so happy that you're in my class.  If you need any help...any at all...don't hesitate to ask me, alright?  That's what I'm here for."

Why's the teacher treating her so different?  She gets an extra nice and special introduction while I just got a normal and plain one.  Then again, mom always does say that there's nothing special about me.

"Makoto, your seat is right over there, behind Xander," Ms. Williams pointed out, much to Xander's disgust. 

Oh, you have to be kidding me, complained Xander to himself.  There’re other seats available still so why does she have to sit there?  It's not fair.  That's stupid.

Makoto, slowly, made her way past Xander and he did his best not to make eye contact with her as she made her way to her desk.  In comparison to his, the girl's backpack seemed much heavier and made a louder noise when it hit the carpet, after she took it off.

What's in that thing?  It's just the first day of school?

Makoto sat in her chair, unzipped her back pack and got something out of it, immediately.  It looked like a sketchbook of some kind.  

I don't remember needing a sketchbook for this class, panicked Xander, upon seeing the sketchbook.  My mom didn't get me one.  

He felt relieved when he checked the rest of the class and saw that none of the other kids had a sketchbook.  It then made him question why the girl had one when the rest of the class didn't?

Before he could think about this, any further, he felt a tap on his shoulder, from behind him and he jumped, slightly, out of instinct.  He frowned at the one, who had touched him to get his attention.  Makoto stared at him, awkwardly, for a second, after touching him.

"What?" asked Xander, annoyed. 

Makoto began humming for a second until finally forcing herself to say, "M-My name is...M-Makoto.  W-What's yours?" 

Why is this girl even talking to me? The teacher hasn't told us to introduce ourselves, yet.  And, why does she talk like that?  Maybe, if I ignore her, she'll stop talking to me.

Xander ignored the small girl's question and turned back around to face the front of the classroom.  Despite not being able to see her, Xander could still feel Makoto's gaze on him and it made him feel uncomfortable.  Xander turned around and saw that she was still looking at him, almost like she was still waiting for his response.

"Can you not look at me?" asked Xander, harshly.

Makoto glanced down at her sketchbook, sadly. 

"O-Oh, I-I'm so sorry for b-bothering you," apologized the girl as the saddened expression on her face only got worse.  

Xander noticed that tears began rolling down the girl's face and he began to panic.

"I...I didn't mean...to...make you...mad," continued Makoto as more and more tears came out of her eyes.

Wait, why is she crying? questioned Xander, not understanding what he did wrong.  I just told her not to look at me, weirdly. Why's she making such a big deal out of it?

"Makoto, honey, what's wrong?" asked Ms. Williams, taking notice of her crying.  

Then, she turned her attention to Xander.

You are reading story Birth of The Nightmare: A Story of the Broken at novel35.com

"Xander, did you say something to Makoto to make her cry?" 

"I-I just...told her to not look at me, weirdly," Xander defended, taken aback that the teacher automatically thought that he did something wrong.

Ms. Williams' eyebrows furrowed. 

"That's not very nice, Xander.  I think you should say sorry to Makoto."

"What...but...I—"

Xander couldn't understand why he needed to apologize to the girl for simply speaking to her. 

She's the one crying for no reason.  Why am I getting in trouble?  I didn't do anything wrong.  This is so stupid.  The teacher takes her side, instantly, and blames me.  Why am I the bad guy?  Stupid teacher.  Stupid Makoto.  

"I-I'm sorry," Xander forced himself to say, not wanting to get in trouble on his first day of school.  

"I-It's okay," responded Makoto through her tears.  I-I'm sorry...too...f-for crying." 

"Oh, you don't have to apologize for that, Makoto," insisted the teacher, much to Xander's disgust.  "There's nothing wrong with crying.  Just try to feel better, aright?  We still have a couple more minutes, before class starts.  Xander, try to be a little nicer to her, okay?"  

This is so stupid.  I'm not going to be nice to her.  I just won't talk to her, anymore.  If I do, she'll just cry, again.

A couple of minutes went by and Makoto was no longer crying and was working in her sketchbook while Xander stared at the clock in the classroom, waiting for the teacher to begin talking.  As soon as Ms. Williams was about to start class, there was a light knock on the door.  Ms. Williams made her way to the door to her classroom and opened it.  Xander half expected it to be another kid but, instead, this time it was another adult.  This woman had long, black hair and was far skinnier than Ms. Williams.  She, also, had dark brown eyes that looked tired to him.

"Everyone, can I have your attention, real quick?" Ms. Williams, said, getting the attention of everyone in the class, including Makoto, who dropped her pencil and perked up, upon seeing the woman.  "This is Mayumi Yuuki...or...Ms. Yuuki...she's going to be helping one of the students in this class so you'll see her around a lot.  Please, make her feel welcome and treat her with just as much respect as you would treat me with."

Oh, she's a helper, realized Xander, actually knowing what this meant.

Xander knew a couple of students, who had an aide in kindergarten.  The kids that received the extra help from the aide seemed to look and act differently than the rest of the class and struggled with doing the basic tasks that were asked of the other students.  In a way, these kids seemed...similar in appearance to Madi, his younger sister but just...older.  Xander glanced around the classroom, again, and pondered what student warranted a helper?  None of the other kids seemed different or unusual, appearance-wise.  They all seemed just like him.  

"It's...really nice to meet all of you," greeted Ms. Yuuki, forcing a smile that looked fake to Xander.

He didn't know what it was but there was something off-putting about this particular helper to him.  He hoped to himself that he didn't have to talk to her much, either.  As if she could read his mind, Ms. Yuuki made her way right past his desk and crouched next to Makoto's.

Wait, don't tell me that she's Makoto's helper?  Why does Makoto have a helper?  She doesn't look anything like the other kids, who got a helper in kindergarten.  

"Hi, Makoto, sorry I'm a little late, today," said Ms. Yuuki.  "Are you ready for your first day?"

Makoto nodded her head, yes.

"And, did you remember to do the thing we talked about, yesterday?  Did you introduce yourself to the kid sitting in front of you?"

Makoto hesitated for a moment and stared at Xander, worriedly, before nodding her head, yes.  

"Awesome job, Makoto.  I'm super proud of you for that.  It must have been tough for you. You've come so far."

So, Makoto only asked me my name because this lady asked her too? Xander thought to himself, confused.

"So, what's the kid's name?" questioned Ms. Yuuki, to make sure Makoto was telling the truth.

"X-Xander," she replied, remembering what Ms. Williams had called him.  

"Oh."

Ms. Yuuki, quickly, shot Xander a glance and smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you, Xander.  Hopefully, you and Makoto can become friends as the year goes on."

Ugh, this is the worst, Xander complained to himself as Ms. Yuuki left to go get a chair to sit in.  I have to deal with the weirdo and, on top of that, I'll constantly have an adult by me.  This sucks.

Makoto began to mumble, "Ms. Yuuki," to herself, quietly, over and over, again.  She seemed...excited by her arrival.  It took great restraint for Xander to not tell her to be quiet and stop saying the name, repeatedly.  He forced himself to turn around and tolerate it until Ms. Yuuki returned to sit by the two of them.

*

*

*

"Hey, who's that girl out there?" asked Xander's mom, after he had just gotten into her van to be picked up at school.  

Xander looked at where his mother was pointing and realized that Makoto was the one, she was asking about, who was waiting by herself, outside, for her parents to pick her up.

"She's a girl that sits by me at school," Xander answered.  "She has a helper.  She gets to take breaks when work is too hard for her and everyone is always overly nice to her all the time."

Xander's mom stared at Makoto, again, for a second and frowned to herself.

"She...has an aide helping her?  Why, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her?"

"She makes weird humming noises and says the same thing over and over again," explained Xander.  "She can barely cut or glue without help.  She stutters, constantly.  The worst thing is that everything makes her cry.  I almost got in trouble because I told her to stop looking at me and she started crying.  It's stupid."  

"From what you're saying, it doesn't sound like the girl has a mental disability," confirmed Xander's mother.  "It just sounds like she's a fucking weirdo.  I swear, they must just be handing student aides out these days to anyone who's a bit off.  Makes me sick.  There are kids, who actually need student aides, and that girl gets one just by being fucking quirky.  If this keeps up, Madi might not be able to have a student aide when she starts school, if all the aides are busy with kids, who don't even need them."

After hearing his mother say that his sister may suffer because of what's happening with Makoto, it only made his rage towards the girl greater.

"Oh well, if you can, try to ignore her as much as possible.  You already have a tough enough time at school as it is.  The last thing you need is to be distracted by her and her weird shit.  Do we understand each other, Xander?"

"Yes, mom,” Xander answered, making sure not to call her ‘mommy’ which he knew she hated.

As Xander's mom began driving off, his gaze met Makoto's for a brief second.  Upon recognizing him, she held up her hand, in an attempt to say goodbye.  

I've only known her for one day but I already hate her...so much, thought Xander to himself as he ignored her and didn't replicate a goodbye. 

You can find story with these keywords: Birth of The Nightmare: A Story of the Broken, Read Birth of The Nightmare: A Story of the Broken, Birth of The Nightmare: A Story of the Broken novel, Birth of The Nightmare: A Story of the Broken book, Birth of The Nightmare: A Story of the Broken story, Birth of The Nightmare: A Story of the Broken full, Birth of The Nightmare: A Story of the Broken Latest Chapter