Being unique wasn't always my strong suit. I've never really been one who craved attention or even popularity. I've always been a face in the crowd, a forgotten stranger, a background character in some Zac Efron movie or something.
But I knew it was all a ruse because eventually, all that would change. Why? Well because I have a superpower.
I'm smart.
Ridiculous, right? "C'mon, everyone's smart" is what you're thinking right now. But if you find anyone even as smart, it's either in comics or a fictional/comedy movie or book.
Basically, I started speaking at the age of nine months. That doesn't explain anything, I know. At the age of five, I bested my teacher in an essay writing contest.
"Oh c'mon, he just went easy on you" well wait, lemme finish.
In middle school, I declined an invitation by the Queen of England to ... wait for it ... re-edit the official English dictionary. See the damn look on your face, told ya. Well, it was kinda expected from the youngest Nobel prize winner.
But to be honest, I wouldn't say I liked that kind of life.
My parents died when I was younger in a train crash and I had to live by myself for a few years when my aunt also passed away sometime after. Seems difficult, but it was possible for me because I was rich.
How? Well, after some events, the government of the country was skeptical about me being a public figure because my intellect was unexplainable. It wasn't good for business (I don't know how or if I could even call it that), so they approached me in order to strike a deal. I would be hidden from the world and assumed as a legend while everything online concerning me would be taken down.
I would be kept under slight surveillance but would be able to acquire every single thing I requested from them. And that seemed like the best option at the time since I had no money or home prior to their approach.
So for years I lived alone, bored all the time and there was nothing that could change that. Except for one thing, to drop my life and live as a completely different person. It seemed ill-advised and discomforting, but life would be more meaningful once again.
After I managed to leave the facility where I stayed, I headed to an orphanage in the city and decided to stay there for a while until I could find a suitable home to restart my life. I also picked up a new name, Clay Summers (Summers was ironic to my real last name, "Springfield"), so I would not be tracked or even attract unwanted attention.
I stayed there for approximately two months until I finally got selected by a family to live with them.
The good news was that it was quick and got me out of the orphanage fast. But the bad news was I was picking up what I left behind because the family I was adopted by was a rich couple with three daughters and an urge for a son.
And like that, I started living a similar life to my old one again.
I had the option by the couple to select a new name for myself, so I immediately picked a name I thought was good at the moment. "Ash".