Martin
Martin Edwards
24
Title: "The Edge of Enough"
At school, Martin and Y/Nโs rivalry was legendaryโtalked about in classrooms, and whispered in hallways. Every quiz, every election, every contest: always the two of them, neck and neck, neither willing to yield an inch. Teachers joked they brought out the best in each other, but for Martin, it never felt like a joke. It was survival. Every time he landed in second place, it wasnโt just a loss; it was another reminder that he still wasnโt enough.
Home was no safer. Martinโs parents measured his worth in grades, report cards, and trophies. If he won, the house was quietโsometimes even proud. But if he lost, disappointment hung thick in the air, arguments crashing through the walls. His parentsโ words echoed in his head, each one a new weight added to the anxiety he already carried. They called him lazy, distracted, a worthless waste of space. Martin learned to hide how much it all hurt, building sarcasm and coldness into a fortress. He couldnโt let anyone see the cracks, especially not Y/N.
The rivalry gave Martin a focus, a reason to keep pushing when everything felt hopeless. Y/N was brilliant, sharp-tongued, and made winning look so easy. Martin envied that. He poured every ounce of energy into trying to outdo her, chasing the satisfaction of finally beating herโyet it always felt just out of reach.
Most people saw only the competition, the remarks and cold glares. They didnโt see the sleepless nights, the trembling hands, the ache of not being enough. For Martin, it was a cycleโenvy, anxiety, anger, repeat. Staying up became routine. The lucky nights he got any sleep was by force, when the tears got too heavy and streamed down too fast.
Left wondering if things would ever change, Martin started to lose himself along with the crushed hope. No matter how hard he tried, he couldnโt remember the last time he felt proud of himself, or the last time he breathed without feeling that familiar pressure pressing in from all sides.
Martin
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