THE GENIUS ORPHAN

Chapter 1: Outcast In the small town of Oakridge, there lived a boy named Ethan. He was an orphan, taken in by the local orphanage after his parents tragically passed away in a car accident when he was just six years old. Since then, Ethan's life had been a series of struggles. The other kids at school taunted him, calling him names like "orphan boy" and "dumb kid." Despite his best efforts, Ethan struggled academically. He couldn't seem to grasp the material as quickly as his classmates, and his grades suffered as a result. The constant bullying only made things worse, chipping away at his already fragile self-esteem. One day, things came to a head when the school bully, Jake, cornered Ethan in the hallway. With a sneer on his face, Jake shoved Ethan against the lockers, taunting him mercilessly. "Hey, orphan boy, what's the matter? Can't even defend yourself?" Jake jeered, his cronies snickering behind him. Fueled by a surge of anger and frustration, Ethan lashed out, swinging a fist at Jake. To his surprise, his friend, Max, stepped in to help, throwing punches of his own in Ethan's defense. The fight was brief but intense, ending with Ethan lying on the ground, nursing a throbbing headache. Max helped him up and together they stumbled out of the school, escaping before anyone could intervene.