A young man, probably in his late twenties, was walking up the stairs to his apartment, carrying two large takeout bags. His name was Alec Yakkaina. He had black, shaggy hair that was constantly falling into his eyes, pale skin, and dull, gray eyes, with no sign of the spark that was once there, all those years ago, that should have been there now. He was wearing an off-white shirt that had dulled from innumerable washes in all those years. He was also wearing baggy, gray sweatpants that were riddled with small holes and tears.
A question was bothering him, as a variation of it usually was. Why did they hate me so much? He thought, with this question, one of many, has been bothering him, no, haunting him for the last 14 years now, ever since the first... attack. This question was repeating itself constantly in his mind, as he fumbled for his keys with the bags in his hands. He unlocked and opened the door, walking through the frame. He slammed the door closed, and sighed, the mess overwhelming him and comforting him at the same time, as he stood, looking around his studio apartment.
There was a kitchen, rather small, but nevertheless was crowded with dirty dishes and utensils, empty jars and chip bags, soda cans and milk cartons, and stacks of pizza boxes. There was a couch pressed up against the wall, covered in wrinkled sheets with a pillow hanging off the side. The rest of the apartment was rather bare, except for a few posters of different animes and video games. In one corner there was a rather large desk. It had three monitors and wires, trailing off the back of the desk like vines, and snaked down to an outlet. On the desk there was a small mouse next to printouts stacked high, almost towering above the desk as a whole.
Alec hurried over to the desk and sat down, the chair giving a small groan of protest as it shifted to support his weight. He almost winced at the groan the chair gave, as he knew he was gaining weight from not having a healthy lifestyle while working on his project.
He turned on his monitors and quickly went to his email account. There were multiple emails from volunteers that all seemed to say the same thing: "Dear Mr. Yakkaina, I have the final assets that you needed to incorporate the newest elimination." Followed by a business name and address, whether it be an email address or a house address. Alec then sighed, realizing the emails meant that he would have to work on coding all the new assets provided for him into the game. New 3D models, new 2D art, and the list goes on and on. The newest elimination method involved getting your rival bad grades by hacking into the school computers, as the game is about eliminating competition for a prestigious college.
Hours later, which seemed to be innumerable and short at the same time, Alec had posted the newest build, a video explaining it all, and ate all of his takeout. He decided to go to bed, collapsing on the small couch. Though he didn't fall he sleep just yet. He had to come up with a new idea for an elimination method, to appease all those who loved the game so much. He thought of humiliation. This idea greeted him with a flashback.
Alec saw through the eyes of his teenage self. He was rather content with the stack of books in his hands and was walking through the hallways to his classroom, as he liked to be there 30 minutes before class. There was a girl behind him, as well as some of her, not friends, acquaintances.
The girl's name was Roxanne. Roxanne Zankokuna. She had messy blonde hair, icy blue eyes gleaming with hate, and a black coat over her school uniform. She had bandages on her arms and legs, with a scar on the side of her face. She was the epitome of danger at this school, and everyone knew that if she had a grudge against you, you wouldn't come out the same way after she was through with "dealing with it." The rumors were true. She had changed him. He still didn't know why Roxanne hated him, but her hating him caused his reputation to be destroyed, as anyone Roxanne hated, the rest of the school hated that person as well.
She pushed him over, his stack of books spilling everywhere. Roxanne started kicking him, laughing as she did. He could see the kicks, Roxanne's leg pulled back, and then swiftly striking him, in different places every time. First to his side, then to his chest, and finally, to his head. He looked up to see a person's phone out, and then tried to get up, but one of Roxanne's followers threw him to back on the ground, and Roxanne walked away, her followers close behind.
Alec's teenage self stood up shakily, collecting his books and stacking them up in his arms, and walked to his classroom, silently, with tears streaming down his face, the pain from the kicks causing him to shift his weight so his side didn't hurt as much. He entered the classroom and sat down at his desk, the forming bruises causing pain as his back touched the chair. His classmates were on their phones, looking up Alec's teenage self, and sniggering. Yet he was oblivious, as he was so engrossed in his book.
Fast forward to lunchtime and Alec is sitting alone in the courtyard, reading and eating his lunch. A group of girls was talking and throwing quick glances at him. He looked up, and heard them saying "Look at that kid over there, what a nerd, carrying a stack of books to his classroom an hour before the bell rings!" And "I bet he couldn't even beat a 3-year-old in a fight!" The group noticed Alec looking, and some narrowed their eyes at him. Alec was confused as to why they were talking about him when he remembered the person with their phone. Knowing that they must have recorded him and posted it on the Internet, he was terribly upset.
Alec came back from the flashback, sweating profusely. Maybe it isn't such a good idea. I don't have to have an idea right away. I think I should sleep on it to see what I come up with then. He then drifted off, twitching throughout his slumber.
The next day, Alec woke up. He continued to ponder the new elimination method throughout his breakfast and coffee, but couldn't come up with any new ideas that didn't involve a damaged reputation. He decided to go work on fixing bugs for the build he released last night. Checking his email, Alec was correct, and set forth into fixing bugs.
He eventually stumbled upon an email that made him think of an elimination method. Stalking your rival to find out a dark secret, and then exposing it to the whole school, diminishing the rival's reputation, and causing them to transfer schools, or worse. This idea then greeted him with a flashback.
Alec, again seeing through the eyes of his teenage self, walked through the gates of school, where he was immediately greeted by none other than Roxanne. She asked him "Are the rumors true nerd? You're adopted, aren't you?"
It's true, he was adopted. He was raised at an orphanage until he was 10 years old, in at which point he was adopted by his parents. Like he was going to tell it to Roxanne though. At which point, one of Roxanne's acquaintances punched him, causing him to collapse to the ground in pain, while Roxanne stood over him. "For every second you don't admit it's true, I'll kick you in the head. I wonder what that will do to that huge nerd brain of yours?
He stayed silent, with Roxanne swiftly striking him with a blow to the head. Why do they think it's so funny? Alec thought. He cried out in pain, which only caused Roxanne to kick him harder. At this point, he was starting to see stars, so he forced out a "Yes."
Roxanne grinned triumphantly, and then glanced over at one of her associates. ''Was it on?" She asked, and when they nodded at her in assent, holding up the voice recorder as proof, her smile widened even more. "Game over for you, nerd." Roxanne then turned away, and her associates followed close behind.
Alec just lay there, until five minutes before class started. He picked himself up, and walked away with a bad headache. From that day forward, he was bullied every day until he graduated...
He pulled himself out from the flashback. Alec was trembling and sweating buckets. Every time he thought back to his past, he had to take some time to recompose himself. But he had to go back to work. Alec continued sorting through his emails, fixing bugs there, emailing volunteers about new assignments here. Until he came across an email: "Dear Alec Yakkaina, I appreciate not just this game, but you. You have poured your heart and your soul into it, dedicated to make it a game that's worth playing. Giving up months that could turn into years of hard work and effort to keeping us entertained as long as possible. And I thank you for that. I hope you can give yourself a break at times though. You're only human, just like the rest of us. Thank you."
Alec gave a ghost of a smile, but he wasn't truly paying attention. He continued sorting through his emails. He read through email after email, slowly noticing a trend. All of the emails were thanking him for his hard work and dedication. Alec then noticed that he was deleting the emails... Why am I doing this? These emails are so kind and thoughtful, but I'm just deleting them, like they mean nothing to me... Roxanne truly changed me all those years ago. I just ignored the signs, tried to pretend like everything was normal. I will not let her influence me no longer. People appreciate me for what I do, and I can accept their praise, as I have worked hard to create a game to entertain them. My past will haunt me no more.