On the 13th of August, a purple wolf was born prematurely, four months to be exact. His parents named him Digital, or "Digit" for short. The reason was because his father was a computer technician for a tech support company, and he was born on a month with a single digit. It was a miracle he was alive.
At a young age, Digit revealed to be highly skilled with computers, like his father. This led him to get his own laptop at age 5. He cherished it dearly along with his other prized possession, Snowflake.
Snowflake was a stuffed gray seal he'd had since he was born. The stuffed animal was somewhat like a security blanket.
Even though Digit had a few benefits, he also had many disadvantages. Due to his premature birth, he was very short for his age. While the average height for a 6-year-old Mobian is 2' 4", he was only 1' 11". Not to mention that wolves were taller than other species. He was very shy mainly because of this.
By fall, Digit started his first year at a public school. Slowly but surely, it was made clear to him that he was different. He soon realized that no one talked to him, played with him, or ate lunch with him. He was an outcast.
One day, he tried to change that. During recess, he noticed a group of kids playing kickball. After gaining enough confidence, he went up to them.
"Would it be possible if I played as well?" he asked kindly.
"No way!" responded one of the kids. "You're way too short and probably not strong enough!"
Hurt, Digit fled.
The ordeal didn't stop there. He was also a victim of verbal abuse. Digit was no longer happy, and rarely ever smiled anymore. He rarely ever talked as well. His parents were too busy with work that they never even noticed. After having enough, he went to his parents and explained what has been happening.
Shocked, his parents decided to pull him out of school and homeschool him instead. While this strategy worked, he was very lonely. He did nearly all the work himself while his mom, Faith had a new career which involved being at home. For about seven years, his life was like this. And finally, Faith started noticing this predicament, and talked it up with her husband.
"We could try public school again," suggested Keegan, Digit's dad.
"Even though he was bullied ruthlessly?" said Faith, Digit's mom.
"Maybe things will be different. They'll probably be more mature since it's 8th grade." said Keegan.
Unfortunately, things weren't different. Not only did they insult him, but they attacked him as well, and none of the teachers seemed to care!
One day, they went too far. While Digit was walking to his 3rd period, he was stopped by three others who seemed to tower over him.
"Hey, kid!" barked one of them. "Gimme your glasses."
Digit started to back up. "I- I don't want to, I need them to see. Now, if you'll excuse me, I nee-."
"Wrong answer!" he said cutting off Digit. He then punched him in the gut, bringing him to his knees. The boys started beating the poor wolf up. One impact was so hard, it knocked off his glasses.
One of the boys noticed his backpack and started to inspect it. "Hey, what's this stupid thing?" he said pulling out Snowflake.
"No! That's mine!" exclaimed Digit.
"What are you, a baby? This thing is trash!" he replied. He then ripped the stuffed animal with his strength and threw it away.
With one final blow, Digit collided into the lockers. The boys started to walk away while laughing. "Ha! I bet he's crying like the wimp he is!" one of the boys said. While walking, they stepped on the nearsighted wolf's glasses, shattering them.
Digit lied there, on the cold floor. While on the verge of tears, he thought about unanswered questions he had. "Why doesn't anyone like me? Why does everyone want to hurt me in some way? What did I do to be treated this way?" He then tried his hardest to get back up. It felt impossible due to all the aches and bruises he had. When he finally got back up, the tardy bell rang.
Walking back home after school that day felt endless.
"You're home late," said Faith. She was in the kitchen.
"I had trouble coming home. I'm going upstairs," he said.
After reaching his room, he closed his door and sat on his bed. He started to cry. He was never a sobber, he only wept silently. It sounded like sharp gasps. He cried because he hurt, not only physically, but emotionally. He felt alone.
A few minutes later, Faith came up to tell him that dinner was ready. She was shocked to see her lamenting son marked with bruises. After inspecting him, she noticed his black eye.
"Where are your glasses?" she asked.
"They were destroyed," he said.
"What happened?"
The young wolf then explained everything that happened while she listened.
"Thank you for telling me, I'll discuss it with your father," she then left the room.
Digit was expecting more than a thank you, but he didn't know what.
Later that night, she had a discussion with Keegan. "We need to put him in another school, preferably a private one. The bullying has increased rapidly, today he got his glasses broken. I would homeschool him again, but we can't afford it," she stated.
Keegan thought for a second. "Well, we could send him to the boarding school I went to, the Metropolis Academy. I enjoyed the classes, and I made some of my closest friends there," he finally said.
"Seeing that that is our only choice, I guess that'll work," said Faith.
Little did they know that their son was listening to their conversation upstairs. He finally limped back to his room and got into his bed.
While looking out his window, he noticed a shooting star.
"I know shooting stars are just meteors falling to the planet's atmosphere, but if they were real, I would make a wish. I would wish for someone, someone who is amiable to me, someone who I can be with frequently, someone who would understand me, someone who would encourage me, someone who would accept me for who I am despite my flaws. I guess I would ask for... a friend," he said to himself.
After that night, his life would change forever.