I've met a lot of people in my life. Upon meeting me, most of them had described me as arrogant; someone believing they are inherently better or more capable than others. And they weren't wrong.

But that wouldn't stop me.

Entering high school at fourteen was one of the very many things I bragged about - starting in tenth grade, no less. My intellect was well beyond my years. I'd take every quiz and test and aced them all, finding myself drawn to astrophysics and software engineering. Every other student within the school loathed me, but I didn't let that bother me too much.

I'd often wondered why my father had even kept me in public school. After all, I was just as smart as him, if not smarter. I'd invented many things as a boy, created each of them from a scrap piece of metal and a battery. I was going places.

Of course, just as the thought occurred, an image of my father flashed through my mind's eye and I frowned. Suddenly disinterested, I leaned back in my chair at the desk, losing my place in the book I'd been reading. Just thinking about my father put a sour taste in my mouth.

Everyone expected me to follow in my father's footsteps. "You'll create great things together!" they'd say. Sure, we could. However, at the moment, I absolutely resented my father. That wasn't to say I was no longer interested in robotics; far from it. Of course I still had an interest. Just know that I'm destined for bigger things; better things.

The sound of the teacher getting up out of her chair broke me out of my trance. I glanced up in time to see the projection board at the front light up, a giant smile on the teacher's face. With a deadpan look, I leaned my arm on the desktop and propped up my head with a deep sigh. I can only imagine what she's going to suggest we watch.

The teacher, Ms. Miyuki, clapped her hands together, drawing the attention of the rest of the class. "Alright, students, I know we're all eager to get back home, but as per tradition with the beginning of the school year, the Ministry of Science requests that we play their educational video."

"Tch."

The students surrounding me turned back with a glare. I glanced at them all out of the corner of my eye, not realizing I'd made a noise. However, I didn't regret it.

Ms. Miyuki's stare sharpened as she turned to me. "Mr. Tenma," she warned.

I sighed dejectedly, closing my book and turning my full, undivided attention to the front, leaning forward a little too eagerly.

With a sigh, she turned back to the projection, clicking the remote in her hand. The room dimmed and the speakers started to play a cheesy tune.

My overly eager look faded and was quickly replaced with boredom. Absently, the words from the video echoed in my ears; words I'd heard too many times to count. I began mouthing the words mockingly, making faces at the screen.

"Metro City," the narrator of the video boomed. "One of the most technologically advanced cities in the world." The video began showing the life of the city, panning through several shots of parks, streets, and buildings from both Level One and Two. "The city serves as a thriving center of innovation, with state-of-the-art facilities, including laboratories, research institutes, and factories producing cutting edge inventions."

I rolled my eyes. While it was true Metro City was a beautiful sight to see, both inside and out, the same couldn't be said of Level Three. Full of abandoned buildings and robot scrap, the base level of the city was a cesspool of poverty and disease. Some of the level was even underground; hundreds of tunnels throughout Mount Sofia, inhabited by God knows what. My face betrayed my thoughts, lip curling in disgust.

Of course the video completely skipped over Level Three. No one, including myself, wanted to see homeless people killing each other for scraps of garbage.

The video continued to drone on, and my face drooped within my hand as my eyes fluttered closed. If this went on any longer, I'd surely fall asleep.

An idea flew into my head then, a mischievous grin settling onto my face. Glancing around the room, I swiftly reached into my bag and grabbed my laptop. If the Ministry of Science was hellbent on making sure we watched this video every year, then I'd be damn sure to make it one to remember.

Setting my laptop on my lap under my desk, I opened it, making sure the screen's brightness was the lowest possible. I opened several programs, my eyes darting between boxes as I set to work. My fingers blurred on the keyboard, lines of code appearing in a black box.

"Leading this revolutionary vision is the Minister of Science, Dr. Umataro Tenma."

My head snapped up and I stared evenly at the face on the screen. There he was in all his glory - my father. His long dark brown beard and beak-like nose took up the whole resolution, it seemed. Taking my anger and putting it towards my task at hand, I continued on.

Almost finished.

"Thanks to the labor of our robot handymen, life in Metro City is-is b-brigh-ter than ev-ev-ev-ev…"

The sound continued to repeat as the screen pixelated and warped. The class began to stir following the disruption, and I slightly closed my laptop's screen. The grin on my face widened in satisfaction. This would be good.

"What in the world?" The teacher looked up, bemused. She looked down at the remote and frantically pressed a few buttons, hoping one of them would work.

The room went black. There were a couple yelps of surprise.

"Well, howdy!" a voice with a very southern drawl exclaimed from the front. A blue hologram appeared at the front of the room, hopping into frame. Every one of the students' faces were drawn to the unexpected manifestation of the entity.

A very pixelated hologram of my father's face appeared next to the cowboy. He looks over at it and leans on it with one arm. "So you think this guy's a prodigy, do you?" The cowboy scoffed and waved his hand in dismissal. "Please. He's a genius, sure, but one cannot overlook the irony of his vanity." The cowboy laughed before adding, "The guy can't even tie his own shoe!"

A picture of my father's poorly tied shoes appeared next to him. The hologram chortled at that and slapped his knee. At this, some kids bubble with laughter. However, most of them are silent. Some are even bold as to look back at me with a frown.

Well, that's not quite the reaction I expected. I closed my laptop discreetly and moved to place it back in my bag when -

The teacher's hand slammed on top of my desk. I jumped, eyes wide, nearly tossing my laptop from my hand. When did she get there? I hadn't even noticed she'd left the front of the room!

Her blue eyes were seething, seemingly glowing in the little light there was. "Principal's office, Mr. Tenma. Now," she demanded.

Scowling, I shoved my laptop back in my bag, stood and hoisted it onto my shoulder. The eyes of every student were burning into me as I made for the exit. They'll all see. They need to. I can't be the only one who sees my father for who he really is.

As I left the classroom, the school bell resounded through the halls as I grumpily journeyed to the principal's office. Almost immediately, students of every size and shape swarmed the halls as they made their way to their lockers and exits. Their chatter reverberated in my ears like mad bees, my annoyance skyrocketing.

I finally arrived at my destination, letting out a huff as I sat on the small bench outside. My bag fell with a soft thwump as it slipped from my shoulder, but I paid it no mind.

My eyes remained glued to the vinyl in front of me. My skin crawled with embarrassment as the stares of passing students scrutinized me, like peeling back the layers of an onion. After a moment I began fidgeting, playing with the strap of my bag between my legs, running my thumb along the seam.

Where did it all go wrong? Why had I become the way I did? Was it truly all just rebellion, or was there something deeper? Some other meaning to why I was acting out in the way I was? My mind raced uncontrollably, swiftly enveloping me in sadness.

I let my strap fall as I grabbed for the hat on my head. Pulling it in front of me, I looked down at it. A flood of memories poured into my mind - memories of my mother, back when everything was more simple; happier. Moisture welled at the edges of my eyes.

The door beside me opened, and the vice principal - a silver robot with small, beady green eyes - rolled out. It looked down at me with an affirmative beep. "Principal Kisaragi will see you now."

My eyes burned as I stood, and I hastily wiped my sleeve across my face. Grabbing my bag and placing my hat back on my head, I entered the office. The door closed behind me, and the vice principal rolled away to the corner of the room where it stood, its hands resting clasped together in front of it. Reluctantly, I positioned myself in front of the principal's desk, avoiding eye contact. The fear of not being able to hold back my tears threatened to overwhelm me.

Principal Kisaragi looked up after a moment. "Ah, Toby. Please have a seat," he said simply, motioning to the chair in front of his desk. And I did.

The silence dragged on for what seemed like hours before he finally let out a deep breath. I looked up briefly to see his mustache hairs flow outward. His fingers were laced together as he stared into my eyes. I averted my gaze, fixing my eyes to his desk.

"So we both know what brought you in here today," he began. "Now, let's explain why you thought this would be a good idea, hm?"

I began to zone out, not because I wasn't listening, but because I didn't know what to say. The principal's hand enters my line of sight. I looked up at him, and he seemed to notice my desperate look. His eyes softened.

"Not only disrupting the class, but hacking…" He sighed, wiping a hand across his face. "Toby...help me understand. You were one of our model students-"

"Were?" I echoed, aggravated. "I still am!"

"We can't continue to hold high hopes for you when each of your actions forces us to second-guess," he voiced sternly. "I've known you for years, Toby, and it's beyond me what could have driven you to behave in this manner. This is not who you are."

I scoffed quietly, rolling my eyes. Deep down, I acknowledged the truth in his words. Part of me wanted to agree with him; to just stop and start over. But it would never happen, not while my father was the way he was - all caught up in grief; believing that the only thing that could satiate his depression was to keep working.

I must've had a thoughtful expression on my face as the principal added, "Has something happened at home?"

He struck it right on the cord. My eyes remained fixed to the desk as my thoughts bubbled, yet my voice remained trapped. Could I really confide in him? What could he even do about it?

The principal sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I can't help you if you won't talk to me, Toby."

I'm trying! I wanted to scream. I couldn't find my voice. It seemed as though whenever I was provoked was when it decided to rear its ugly head. And when it did, all that came out was anger and a sense of betrayal.

"Do I need to set up a meeting with your father?"

"Good luck with that," I scoffed. "He has such a tight schedule, you won't be able to even get him on the phone for a few weeks, if that."

The principal smirked. "Ah, it seems I got an answer out of you after all. So this is about your father."

He was so smug! Even though he managed to extract something from me, it felt like nothing substantial had truly surfaced. My hands clenched into tight fists in my lap as I turned my gaze away from him. Then, something inside of me released and my fists gradually uncurled, my body loosening its tension.

"I'm nothing but a burden to him…" I whispered under my breath.

"No, you're not," the principal responded, shaking his head. "You know your father loves you."

If that was love, then I would gladly eat my shoe.

"Then why doesn't he act like it?" I snapped, my eyes threatening tears once more as they bore into the principal's own. Upon seeing my expression, Principal Kisaragi flinched as if stung. "He does nothing for me!"

"Toby-"

I stood abruptly, the chair screeching against the vinyl. "Don't pretend to know me, because you don't. You don't know a damn thing!"

I ran.

As I reached the front door of the school, slowing to a halt, anger began to swell within me. There was no one around, everyone had already left. I punched the door once with all of my strength, screaming in anguish. Then again. And again.

Blinded to the pain, tears finally streamed down my face.