Oh where to start on stories such as these…

They already know what story is, you don't need to sound so vague.

And they asked for a story, specifically one of heroes.

Yes…. But do they know of the tragedy involved in these great tales of valor, and sacrifice?

"I know sacrifice, and I know valor, tell me of your most tragic story."

I had a feeling they would ask for that.

Obviously they would, now I believe we must get started.

This is the story of Tyler Hochberg.

The day started like any other, Tyler woke up, staring at his ceiling, and he slid off his bed and stretched, going over to his dresser to put on proper attire for school. Tyler looked atop his dresser at the model airplanes that lay there, gifts to him from his late mother, before she died in child birth.

*Knock Knock* "Tyler?"

"Yes dad?" Tyler responded.

"I'm off to work; can you lock up the house when you leave?"

"Of course, I do every morning."

James Hochberg walked down the hallway with the distinct sound of his cane, he wasn't old, he had suffered grievous wounds to the entire right side of his body, and while it has been years since it allegedly happened, he still hasn't healed fully. The weird part was that all of the damage was internal; there was no evidence of damage on the surface, which always made Tyler wonder how he acquired these wounds.

But Mr. Hochberg never explained in great detail, his eyes would always just fall and he'd dodge the subject. Despite secrets like this being between him and his son, he was still a great father, but Tyler felt the reason he wasn't told was because of a lack of trust, and this waned on his heart.

Tyler looked at the clock, and quickly got dressed, freshened up, and gathered his school supplies. Afterwards he left through the front door, and locked the door behind him, then made his way to his school. It was nothing special, just a public High-school, which he was attending his junior year.

"Why hello, Ty." Said an ominous voice.

I looked to the house closest to me, recognizing it, and the voice that came from it.

"Hey John." Tyler said.

"You know, you're no fun at all." He replied as he came out from behind a nearby bush.

He often tried to scare people, just to make them jump or whatever. But either way, he'd been friends with him for years, something Tyler never really had before. Just like Tyler, Jonathan Stewart had dyslexia and ADHD, which prohibited many learning abilities, which of course warranted judgment from others, but definitely more severely on Tyler.

John, after all, was a very popular student; he was their schools quarterback of all things. Among other popular kids and respected by virtually everyone, nobody really mentioned his disabilities except as a throwaway insult whenever playful banter broke out.

For Tyler it was a very different story, having no extracurricular activity to his name. He wasn't publicly shunned by the others, but he knew it was there. You see, he spent his spare time at a Jiu-Jitsu "Dojo", or practicing at his house. Why does he spend so much time there? He was bullied during his freshman year, always coming home with a bruise here or there.

Tyler finally had enough and practiced a grappling martial art, after only a few classes he finally stood up to his bully… And accidentally broke his arm. He got carried away, after so long of being attacked he finally had the upper hand, and pulled on his arm bar a little too hard.

Ever since he did Jiu-Jitsu he never stopped, he hadn't been so good at something in a while, and martial arts students won't judge you for having a hard time reading or never standing still. In fact, the latter was speculated to actually help him in fights.

"You're coming to the game later, right?" John asked. "It's against those filthy Leopards."

"Yeah certainly, I'll head over as soon as I'm done wi-"

"You and your Jiu-Jitsu, nobody has ever thought to fight you ever since you broke one of the biggest guys at schools arm, not to mention ended his chances at being a professional basketball player."

"I know… but I really enjoy being there, I feel like I finally have a talent, and people who won't judge me for my academics…. Lacking."

"Well… get there as soon as you can. We haven't had such a big game in a while."

It took all of five more minutes before we made it to school, and started the boring routines of it, not to mention stressful. It felt like hours before the lunch bell finally went off, but it did, and Tyler was ready to meet with John at the cafeteria. They didn't share any classes being that John was a senior, and Tyler was a junior.

Tyler made his way to the table they always sit at, and was surprised to see John there… with a girl. She was likely a cheer leader based off of her posture, and that would explain how they knew each other.

Tyler let out a deep sigh and looked around for another table to sit at, but he couldn't find one.

"Tyler!" John called out as he beckoned him over.

Tyler and John had a brief moment of a silent conversation.

"Really?" Tyler's face said.

"You know me!" John's smug face said.

Tyler sat down, awkwardly I might add. He wasn't used to the presence of a pretty girl, much less one that sat at the same table as him. Tyler was an introvert to be sure, and a reserved one at that.

"So this is Katie L- um… I totally forgot your last name, Katie." John said

"Lambert." She said, her voice was quite beautiful.

"Uh… hi, I'm Tyler" Tyler said as he held out his hand to shake hers

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow, then slowly shook his hand. Then she went back to her meal.

"Sorry, Tyler isn't exactly good at meeting people!" John said as he nudged him.

Probably for the best that he cracks a joke after that, makes it less awkward. Tyler thought.

"Anyway, I met her a couple days ago, and she's new around here so I was like 'Well, if you need someone to sit with at lunch, my friend Tyler and I are alone.' And I guess this is the first day she's taken me up on the offer." John explained. "I found out that she has dyslexia and ADHD as well! So we can be misfits together."

"If I'm a misfit, then why do I have to dodge so many guys trying to hit on me?" Katie said. "That's one of the only reasons I'm sitting here, is because you guys aren't desperate."

What's so funny is that Tyler could already feel his stomach churn; he was beginning to like her. But he kept convincing himself that he was going crazy and that it wasn't anything serious.

"And maybe because you get the privilege of sitting with the star quarterback." John said, with a fake boastful voice.

"Right, that's probably it." Katie replied in a sarcastic voice.

This semester was certainly going to be interesting.