Chapter 1
My dad was the one who named me Stuart, and on the other hand, my mom wants my name to be Ryan or John. I wish mom’s wish came true. I always hated that name, so I made people call me Stu for some reason. I had other names in high school like asslicker, donut head, virgin Stuart little and many more. You could probably imagine how I look in high school
I Am that one nerdy guy that no one talks or hangs out with. I can’t count how many kids bullied me but I can count how many didn’t. That was two years ago. I graduated highschool at the age eighteen with ninety six percent in science. I never had a dream of what I should become, so dad picked one for me.
Navy, A Navy officer. Because dad somehow found out that the marine jobs consists of salary and most of his friends' sons are in the marine too.
At the age nineteen, I finished the joint entrance exam with eighty five percent and after a month I applied for the International marine time office in Chennai, Tamil nadu, India. Pretty sure I will get in, No other guys have gotten nearly at eighty percent in JEE. It's kind of a hard exam in India.
It's been two years since I've done my studies, Now I'm just keeping my ass at home. Don’t feel like going outside, and I have no one looking for me outside.
My mom entered my room and said the same thing she has been asking me for the last six months.
“Are you going out today?”
“No mom, I got a shitload of work”
“Stuart, language”
“Sorry mom, and What did I say about my name?”
“Oh, grow up Stu, It's twenty years and why are you still holding on to it?” she asked while handing me the coffee
“Thanks mom, you can leave now” I said with a smile and turned neutral right after she left. She stopped at the door and turned back
“Oh, you got mail. Better check it, might be from the collage”
Oh boy, they mailed me so soon?. I Hope I won’t get selected. I kept praying that I don’t wanna get selected while walking towards the hall. Dad was reading the newspaper on the couch, and I slowly went near the table. There I see an yellowish white envelope
To Stuart McDonnell
“Please don’t be selected, please don’t be. please” I kept murmuring to myself. I slowly opened the envelope and found a card inside, I couldn't read much lines from inside but all I see is
You have been selected!
Oh my god, please don’t be what I thought it was. I slowly pulled the card out, squinting my eyes.
“Is it from college?”
Dad screamed, I shivered because for me, It was a jumpscare. Dad’s shouting made the card from my hand fly away and landed between me and my dad.
He notices it too, and places the newspaper slowly at the table. He can’t look at that, If he saw that, then my fate is sealed. I can’t go to a marine college, I'm much more than that.
Then he suddenly got up from the couch and walked near the card, But I ran towards it. Then he kept running too. But as they say, You can’t beat your father.
He took the card and I hit my head with my hands. He looked at the card reading all the lines. After he is done, he looked at me and handed it over and said “Well as you wish”
I took the card from him and read out loud
Congratulations!. You have been selected as one of our contest winners!
Now Pack your things and get ready to be amazed because.. YOU ARE GOING TO
TAJ MAHAL, AGRA!
One of the seven wonders!
Oh, I Am shocked and confused at the same time. Oh, now I remember. Yesterday, I got a coupon from one of the chips I brought. Guess They found me.
“So you are going out huh!” My mom said from the back.
I don’t know how much she has been near me but all I know is that she is happy. She kept saying that I should do this.
“You have been here for a long time, I think It's time that you explore the world, meet new people, Have fun!” she said
I started “Mom, you know how I'm with people”
She stopped me and said “ Or how they are to you. Every person has their own weakness, Stu, you know what yours is?”
“What? people?”I asked and she replied
“No, it's you. Stuart is your problem. Get over with yourself, You will soon understand others”
That's it, she straight up left after she said that. Wonder what she meant by that? Get over with myself? how is that possible even metaphorically?.
“Well don’t expect me to go now, The plane leaves tomorrow evening at seven.”
It was ten at night and I went inside my room. I saw my guitar leaning in the corner, so I took it to play something.
Every time I take my guitar, I remember my sisters. I have three big sisters, they are actually my cousins. I usually play many fingerstyle songs to them when I was sixteen. Now we are not really staying in touch.
Because my older sister got married three years ago, then the middle sister got a new job and moved on with it, and my younger sister and I are the same age. We barely even call each other, that too on some special occasions. I don’t know, I feel like they are forgetting me or something. There were some missed calls from them, but I hesitated to call them. I just put on headphones and layed on the bed, listening to the ‘Boulevard of Broken dreams’ song by Green Day.
I started watching the anime ‘One Piece’ yesterday. The episode count blewed my mind.
I almost forgot that the ticket was inside my hand this entire time.
I slowly opened my arms and the ticket was all squished out. I straightened it and kept staring at it.
All my life I've been waiting for a moment that everyone would see me. That I won’t be just a regular guy. That I want to make a change to this world. But It won’t come true if I join the marine. I slowly closed my eyes when the chorus came
'My shadow’s the only one that walks behind me
My shallow heart’s the only thing that’s blessing
sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me
Till then, I walk alone..'
YOU ARE READING
Stuart's on the Run!- Volume I
Science FictionTwo strangers accidentally gets involved in a money theft case. Now they need to work together to clear their names off the record
