Elliot Grayson hated stepping out of the black town car in front of Northbridge Academy. The campus sprawled like a private kingdom—towering buildings, manicured lawns, students who wore confidence as effortlessly as designer shoes. For most kids, it was intimidating. For a fifteen-year-old who had lost his left leg in a sailing accident two years earlier, it felt like walking into an arena where everyone came to stare.
His father, billionaire property tycoon Richard Grayson, believed the school’s reputation would “make him stronger.” But strength was hard to find when whispers followed Elliot the second his crutches touched stone.
“There goes the three-legged table.”
“More machine than human.”
“Relax, his dad can afford upgrades.”
Elliot kept his head down and focused on one thing: reach homeroom. Just don’t stop.
That was when it happened.
Blake Morrison, a senior and the school’s golden quarterback, stuck out his foot. Elliot pitched forward, crashing onto the pavement as his books slid across the courtyard. Laughter erupted like it had been waiting for permission.
“Easy there,” Blake sneered. “Careful you don’t lose the other one.”
No one stepped in.
No one ever did.