He was 5 and already wondering why his parents would send him to a cheap public school, instead of a nice private one he knew they could afford.
Or at least that’s what he thought on his first day of Kindergarten.
He remembered his mom and dad talking about it during dinner. Eugene didnt understand much about what his parents spoke about. He just knew like most dinners it was about work, and money.
There were about 10 kids in his class. Most of their names he did not care to pay attention to. The teacher had given them all papers and crayons, and his art was much more important than their names.
At the end of the day neither his mom nor dad picked him up. But they were busy with work. So it was okay.
They would spend time with him after work.
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He made a friend today. His name was Issac. They hung out during recess, and Eugene found that it was much more fun than hanging out with Issac than hanging out with himself.
When he got home he told the nanny all about Issac and how much fun he had that day.
And the next day Issac introduced him to the rest of his classmates, and although they weren’t as fun as Issac he still played with them.
Art became boring, and sometimes the teacher would ask why he stopped but he never gave an answer.
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Issac didnt come on the first day of 1st grade.
Dad had dropped him off telling Eugene to be the best of his class.
Which he always tried to be.
He wanted his parents to be proud of him.
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Peter was perfect. He always seemed like the smartest in the room. He always got along with the other kids. And his Aunt and Uncle always dropped him off and his Uncle always picked him up from school every day.
Eugene wasn’t. He always struggled with reading. Nobody talked to him. And his parents never bothered to drop him off and pick him up from school.
Why did Peter get to be perfect?
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Flash. It started as a class joke. What the teacher would call him since he was always the first to answer questions.
Other students called him Flash a joke or a fun nickname.
His parents called him Eugene when they were disappointed in him.
Eugene called himself Flash.
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His parents got divorced.
His father left. He took the nanny with him after Mother cursed her out. Father took all of his stuff with him as well.
And for the first time, the house felt empty.
Mother never came home any earlier than 2am.
For the first time, the house seemed to have a personality.
The smell of alcohol was sweet, and putrid.
Empty bottles and shots littered in the kitchen, office, and private living room.
No longer having homecooked meals and leftovers to eat, the trash began to fill itself with fast-food bags and containers. A new greasy filth building up.
And for the first time, Flash had more to do at home than just homework.
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He started falling low on his grades.
Words jumbled together as he struggled to understand what the sentence on the paper asked of him.
His ELA teacher Ms. Blanch had recommended to get it checked out with a doctor, but Mother always refused.
Always telling him to just try harder and to stop making excuses.
So he did try harder. Ignoring the way the letters would move around the paper.
He stopped bringing the subject up, and as his grades got better Ms. Blanch stopped asking questions.
He had to be perfect.
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People payed attention to you if you were loud.
People payed attention to you if you put yourself out there.
People payed attention to you if you mean.
It was bad attention yes.
But people payed attention to Flash Thompson.
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Midtown School of Science and Technology.
The school was above average. People who went there had futures. Had plans. They were smart.
It cost more to go there.
It was just the kind of school 5-year-old Eugene would expect himself to go to.
It was the kind of school his mom expected him to be smart enough to go to.
He had to be smart enough to go there.
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Peter ended up in all his classes including the Robotics Club and Decathalon. It was annoying. He was annoying.
Flash resented Peter.
Peter and his goofy idiot friend Ned.
Compared to Flash and his gaggle of “friends”. It just wasnt the same.
It was stupid. Flash had to be better than Peter.
He was better than Peter.
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There was a schedule change.
Flash had art now. And his class was free of annoying Peter.
He told his Mother about it. She seemed annoyed that he was now taking this idiotic class.
He didnt tell her that he wanted to take art. He did she would’ve said something about how art is for girls, and he wouldn’t be able to make a successful future with art.
So he took the class to his Mother’s dismay.
His one favorite class.
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Mother had to go to court today. When she came home she was wasted and he had to help her up to the bedroom.
The next day he woke up to a sleek black limo outside the house.
Msr. Burnham has custody over him every weekend.
His Dad .
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Peter didn’t come to school at all that week.
He heard that Peter had gotten sick.
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Spider-Man on youtube is cool.