Pathetic

In the blink of an eye the weekend arrived.

The Sun was shinning and there were no clouds in the sky.

The weather report told us today's peak temperature was 32 degrees, so there was no doubt this would be one of those hellish days, but a bit of heat wouldn't stop us from going to the park, no, actually it was way better to do the tests on a weather like this than any raining day.

I entered grandpa's truck followed by May and adjusted both our seat belts.

Grandpa's truck was quite big, not only it had two seat rows in it's cabin, it also had a enough space to transport a Titan on it's cargo bed.

"Everything ready?"

"Yeah!"

Grandpa turned on the truck and the three of us felt the seat vibrate as the oil motor started to run.

While weather was pretty hot but the blowing wind added a refreshing feeling, relieving a bit of the heat. Unfortunately there was no such wind blowing inside the truck, so it felt pretty much like a sauna, making us all covered in sweat in a matter of seconds after getting inside.

Feeling the heat Little May couldn't help but protest in a pleading voice.

"Can I open the window?"

"Don't. Have a little patience. The aircon will start working in just a moment..."

Before grandpa had the chance to answer I answered instead, making me the villain in the story. Luckily my role ended soon as the aircon started blowing cold air it didn't take more than a few minutes to turn that hellish heat into a refreshing paradise.

May turned on the radio and by the time the third music finished playing we had already arrived at the park.

Opening the door and feeling the heat coming from outside made me wish to give up and stay inside the truck, but we had a lot of work to do today so I couldn't waste all day lazing around.

"Ho! Look who we have here! It's Dilan!!! How come you are still alive, you old fossil?"

"Ha ha! Look who is talking, you old vampire! I am actually impressed that you finally left your garage to visit the world outside!"

As I looked around I saw grandpa was already greeting his old friend on the other side of the truck. Not wishing to be rude I quickly dragged May over to present myself.

"Hello Mr. Dilan! It's good to see you are in good health!"

"H-hello..."

"Joel? My god, look at you, you are already all grown up! And this little one is May, right? I see she is getting prettier and prettier. Maybe I should present my grandson to her, before she is taken away."

Hearing this, May hid behind me with an embarrassed face.

We exchanged some small talk before arriving at the main subject, the test of my Titan on the park.

As we mention it, Dilan assured that he had already reserved the area and we could start anytime, and because he could see how eager I was, he even invited us there right now.

The four of us entered the truck again and Dilan led us to the reserved area. The area was as big as a soccer field and was surrounded by a tape division.

The people around us watched us curiously as we entered the area with the truck.

Getting off again, I took out the Truck's load cover from the Titan, revealing to the public.

"Oh!! It's a Titan!"

"Wow! Look's strange!"

"Why are they bringing a Titan here!?"

"Is there a portal around??"

While Titans were a relatively common sight now a days, it was still odd for one to appear in a place without a portal, making people uncomfortable about the safety of the park. Noticing the situation Dilan stepped in and started to assure the people around.

"Everybody! Attention please! Don't worry. There are no portals here. The Titan is here just to run a few tests in an open space. But please, for your safety, stay behind the tape."

As people heard that most of the suspicious was blown away, but a few people still decided to leave the place just to be sure.

"Sorry for ruining your business, Mr. Dilan."

"Oh, don't worry. They already payed the entrance fee, so no matter if they leave or not, it's no problem to me."

Hearing his answer, I couldn't help but let out a helpless smile.

"Hey son, stop dazing around and help this old man take out your toy from the truck!"

"Sure grandpa!"

--//--

After taking out the Titan, grandpa and Dilan went to take a walk to do some business talk, meanwhile May started setting up our picnic and I reviewed my Titan's condition prior the test, that's when I heard an annoying voice from behind me.

"Ho ho ho ho! Look who we have here! It's the King of Losers, Joel himself!"

I tried my best to ignore the assholes who had just arrived behind me, praying they would think they misunderstood and leave me alone. Unfortunately that didn't happen as a hand suddenly grabbed my hair, forcing me to turn my head.

"Hey Loser! Since when do you have the guts to ignore me!?"

"What? Robert, is it you? Sorry, I was too busy and didn't notice your voice."

The gorilla holding me was named Theodore, 2.2 meters high, 100 kg, arms thicker than my legs and intelligence lower than a dog.

As for the rich young master who was calling to me, his name was Robert Goldsmith. Athletic, smart and rich, he would be quite the perfect guy if his personality wasn't a shit.

The duo were the famous bullies from school. They loved to pick on the weak and poor students, having fun ridiculing them or beating them up. I was just another one of their targets, not their favorite, but the one they would pick if the better options were not there.

As much as I would love to punch them, there was no way I could win, and even if I could, his background could send me to jail with a single call, so all I could do was endure it.

Why do I think that? No, you got it wrong, I don't think that, I KNOW that.

At the start of the year there was a scholarship student named Mike who tried to stop Robert's bullying his friend. Mike was strong, he was able to K.O. that huge Theodore with a single high kick and immobilized Robert locking his arms. Soon later the teacher was called and the three of them were taken to the principal's office. Nobody knows what happened in that office, but everybody knows what happened the next day as it appeared in the night news report.

[5:00 in the morning, the police suddenly knocked at Mike's door. They said they had to search the boy's room and invaded the room before Mike could even understand what was happening. Inside they "found" 2kg of cocaine below his bed, so he was directly apprehended by the police moments later while still in his pajamas.]

To anyone who knew the boy, it was obvious he was innocent. That guy was the perfect example of a healthy athletic student, there was no way he was on drugs! But even so, what power did we have to act against the law? At this moment all of us felt completely powerless.

After this Mike never came back to school and his present status is completely unknown. Some rumors say he was send to a rehabilitation facility, others say he went directly to jail, no matter what since that day nobody dared to raise their head in Robert's presence, fearing being the next one to have their future destroyed.

Well, enough about this, back to the problem in hand.

"A few days out of school and you are already forgetting your place, huh? Ted, show him his place!"

Theodore didn't waste a second and gave me a punch in the belly, making me fall on my knees.

"Good! That's better! When you see me next time, remember to stay in your knees!"

(Fucking bastard! One day I will make you regret all this shit you have done!)

"Now, let's get down to business. I see you have a big toy with you..."

"Eh?"

(No way! What kind of cursed luck is this!? How do I stop him now?? Beat me up all you want but leave my Titan out of this mess!!!)

"You see, I bought a new toy last week, but playing with static targets is no fun, how about you humor me instead?"

"Humor you?"

"Yeah! Let's have a match! Your Titan against mine! A brutal match of Titan vs Titan!"

(Titan vs Titan my ass! How could my handmade Titan compare to any professional Titan you own?)

"But sir there is no way my little toy would ever be a match against your Titan..."

"Obviously not! But it will be fun to destroy it little by little while you try to run away!"

"..."

When he says his bad intentions so forwardly, how the hell am I supposed to answer him!? Taking my silent as agreement, he continued.

"Prepare your toy for a match tonight at the school grounds! Be there at midnight! If you don't appear, I don't need to tell you what will happen, right?"

"B-but sir! The school is closed because of the portal! How am I supposed to go there!?"

"That's your problem, not mine. But if the guards stop you, just tell the guards it's my order and I doubt they will dare to move... that is, if they want to keep their jobs."

(Fuck! I knew he had connections to the police, but this guy is treating them like his own slaves!)

Having no choice but to curse my own luck, I stared at their back with resigned eyes as they left.

Noticing my peculiar state May, who had just finished setting the food, walked up to me.

"Big Bro?"

"Oh, it's nothing May... yeah, it's...nothing..."

As I tried denying with all my strength, my emotions exploded giving birth to countless tears that fell from my eyes.

"Big Bro!? Are you okay!? Does it hurt anywhere!? Big Bro!!"

Scared by the sight of me crying, May embraced me while calling my name.

Feeling her little hands holding me I couldn't help but feel even worse.

(Why am I so weak? Why am I so coward? Why am I so... pathetic?)