"Bad luck, Seth!" his friends told him.
He cursed, and was out of the game so early on.
In despair, he pushed his bike and it went shattering on the ground. He dumped it there in the woods and he made his reluctant trek home on foot, not even caring what the others are doing. There was no more point. He was out. He was probably disqualified due to the bike. That bike was cursed! It had to be. Seth wouldn't miss it. The bike was nothing but trouble and it kept falling to pieces anyway. Its chain would keep coming off. The handlebars would become stiff. The seat came off a few times. It always looked rusty.
He returned home, to his parents and younger sister. They were all watching TV and eating noodles with chicken burgers. He wasn't hungry. He went upstairs to his room and slammed the door, angry that nothing was going his way. That bike let him down and ruined his life. He couldn't have fun with it. He didn't want it.The bike can rot in the woods.
Later, he argued with his parents over the missing bike. His father said "I bought it for your 17th birthday, and you should be grateful!".
Seth told him of his anguish and how the bike was poorly made, but soon it became clear that his father purchased the bike from the internet for just a fiver. It wasn't the bike anymore, but the deciept and lies of his parents, making him think the bike was the most expensive present.
He wanted to leave. He was 19 years old now and already working in a garage part time, while paying towards his keep there. He wanted to start fresh and live away from his parents. He always wanted to live on his own. Then he remembered the old man called Mr Thantos who invited him to attend the Obsidion School.
Seth thought about it for a few hours, and later that night, he decided not to bother going. That place was dirty, full of stinking bins and gangs anyway. He could think of nothing worse than going to the pit of the Backwater. Seth had a weird dream that he was playing Bikeball and all of his teammates were creatures with sharp teeth and red eyes. It woke him up in a sweat. It was so dark. The moon shone. What time was it? He looked at his luminous clock and it was only 2 in the morning.
Seth decided to return to sleep, when he could hear noises coming from outside. He could hear his father snoring in the other room, or was it his mother? He thought it might be a cat. Then he heard the sound of footsteps. He sat up in bed, wondering what it was. He went over to the window and pulled the curtain aside.
Outside it was quite dark, because the street lamps were failed. One of them was blinking on and off. The Backwater was the most neglected part of town that the local authorities never spend money on. But in the yard, which was surrounded by a tall 6ft fence and some hedges growing snugly against the wooden posts, the little shed, and the the lawn. At the back of the yard near the gate was the refuse bin, with no sign of any cats. But the moon sparkled on something there. He focused, and saw a shape. He lost his breathe when he saw that it was his bike!
He pulled on his trousers and shoes, then went downstairs. Seth went out into the yard and ran across the wet lawn, to find that it was indeed his bike. It seemed in worse shape than it had been when he dumped it in the woods. It looked battered, as if an elephants walked on it. Maybe one of his buddies brought it over, but at two in the morning?
He opened the gate and rushed out into the alley behind it, to catch a glimpse of a hooded man in the distance, using a walking cane to assist him. That was no dount Mr Thantos.
Seth wondered, "What does he want"?
(,,, to be continued)
Story written by Rayne
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