Oliver trudged through the halls in search of his math classroom. When he found it, he made sure to beeline straight for the back row. If Mr. Portendorfer didnt know he had a new student, maybe the math teacher wouldnt either. Perhaps he could be invisible for the next hour.

To Olivers relief it worked. He sat, silent and anonymous, throughout the whole class, like an algebra-obsessed ghost. But even that didnt feel like the best solution to his problems, Oliver thought. Being unnoticed was just as bad as being publicly humiliated. It made him feel insignificant.

The bell rang again. It was lunch, so Oliver followed his map down to the hall. If the playground had been intimidating it was nothing compared to the lunchroom. Here, the kids were like wild animals. Their raucous voices echoed off the walls, making the noise even more unbearable. Oliver bowed his head and hurried toward the queue.

Smack. Suddenly, he slammed into a large, foreboding body. Slowly, Oliver raised his gaze.

To his surprise, it was Chriss face he was staring into. On either side of him, in a sort of arrow formation, were three boys and one girl all scowling the same scowl. Cronies was the word that sprang to Olivers mind.

Youve made friends already? Oliver said, trying not to sound surprised.

Chris narrowed his eyes. Not all of us are antisocial loser freaks, he said.

Oliver realized then that this wasnt going to be a pleasant interaction with his brother. But then, it never was.

Chris looked over at his new cronies. This is my pipsqueak brother, Oliver, he announced. Then he let out a belly laugh. He sleeps in the alcove.

His new bully friends started to laugh too.

Hes available for swirlies, wedgies, headlocks, and my personal favorite, Chris continued. He grabbed Oliver, and pressed his knuckles into his head. Noogies.

Oliver wriggled and thrashed in Chriss grasp. Locked in the horrible, painful headlock, Oliver remembered his powers from yesterday, the moment hed broken the table leg and sent potatoes into Chriss lap. If he only knew how hed summoned those powers he could do it now and break free. But he had no idea how hed done it. All hed done was visualize in his minds eye the table breaking, the plastic soldier flying through the air. Was that all it took? His imagination?

He attempted it now, picturing himself wrestling free from Chris. But it was no good. With Chriss new friends all watching on, laughing with glee, he was just too tuned into the reality of his humiliation to shift his mind to his imagination.