Superhero: It's My Life

Her brother, Jason Michaels didn't like me much. He thought I was a disgrace to the athletic department and many student-athletes shared the same sentiment. The guy's word carried a lot of clout on campus. He was a well-known wrestling champion as well as a popular guy here at CMU. He won the regional championship in the men's heavyweight division and was a state qualifier this year. There are a lot of jocks in the criminal justice program. I was in the company of young men and women who, while unable to legally drink, had their own fan clubs online. I was famous too, or rather, infamous. I didn't have a fan club. When I checked out my mail box on Facebook, there was always some guy or girl who e-mailed me a hate-filled message. There is an official We Hate Alexandros Pyrrhos Club. It's on MySpace as well as Facebook. How about that?

I don't have much luck with women. There are no superhero groupies that I'm aware of. I guess most women don't like the idea of dating a guy who, while a complete gentleman, simply could not be stopped by anything on God's green Earth if push came to shove. Not that I'm a bad guy but I guess that's on the back of their minds. My father warned me to steer clear of strange women. Powers or not, I was still a man and a vindictive woman can get a man in a lot of trouble. Mess him up in ways he could never imagine. I was in high school when the Duke Lacrosse players were falsely accused by that stripper broad and I remember the media circus that followed. A college man had to watch himself on campus these days. The smallest allegation of misconduct could lead to the destruction of your life. It's a harsh reality, folks. My father didn't raise any fool. Yeah, I know all that. So, when around the ladies on campus, I was polite but distant. Maybe someday I'd meet a wonderful woman who accepted me as I was and loved me. But I'm not holding my breath.

As for the guys on campus, I didn't have much luck with them either. Oh, CMU was crawling with hot guys. Black guys. White guys. Asian guys. Latin guys. So many studs, so little time. Unfortunately, most of them were straight. And most of the gay and bisexual ones wanted adventure, not monogamy. I found out the hard way when I embarked on an affair with Jake O'Bannon, the tall, green-eyed and raven-haired, fine-looking young Irishman who led the CMU men's varsity volleyball team to NCAA glory in the program's third year. I wasn't looking for a random sexual encounter with some guy. I wanted more than that. I remember the light that comes in my father's eyes whenever he talked about my mother. I guess that whether I'm dealing with a woman or a man as a potential romantic partner, I am looking for the deep connection my dad had with my mother. He loved her to death. And when she was told that having me might endanger her life, she chose my life over hers. She gave her life for the men in her life. I want that kind of love in my life. But it continues to elude me. I think I've got feelings for Devin. But he made it clear to me that we were just friends. Nothing more.

The lecture snapped me out of my reverie. The professor went on and I took notes about Sir Bernard Spilsbury, the Father of Modern Forensics. To be honest, my mind was elsewhere. I looked around the room, and suddenly I couldn't stand it anymore. The way everybody pretended not to look at me when I walked in. Such a bunch of hypocrites and sycophants. I suddenly felt a buzzing sensation in my pocket. No, it's not what you think. It's just my cell phone. It started blasting Linkin Park's "Numb", right in the middle of class. I quickly shut it down. That's what I get for letting Devin choose my ring tones. He was texting me. I smiled. I normally didn't skip class, but today was no normal day. I was fed up with the world treating me like crap and felt numb inside. Anything was better than this. I got up and walked out. Professor Garrett gave me a strange look, as did several classmates, but nobody stopped me.

I ran to the parking lot. Guess who was waiting for me? My main man Devin, sitting in the driver's seat of a fiery red convertible. Hot damn. I grinned and rushed to him. How in hell did he get this car? Devin told me to hop in and we drove away. Laughing, he told me that he had taken his father's car from the faculty parking lot. Did somebody say possible joyride? Devin bragged about how he didn't even leave his pops a note. I shrugged. That's awesome. Let's hit the road! We're going to make this a Boys Day Out. I asked Devin where we were going. He said he always wanted to see Cape Cod, but never had the chance. Oh, well. I clapped his shoulder. No time like the present. And thus, my best friend and hit the road. We went on the highway. Man, I cannot describe this to you. I'm in a brand-new red convertible on the highway with my best friend and we're going to the beach. It's times like these that I was grateful to be alive. Hanging out with Devin made me feel normal, whatever that is. And content. And you know what? I'm grateful for it. To hell with those who hate me for having powers. They are but one part of who I am. But normal people, with their innate bigotry will never understand that. To hell with them. It's my life, damn it!