Invisible

Virgil didn't consider himself worthy of popularity. However, it wouldn't exactly kill anyone to notice him just a little bit. He envied those around him who would receive a hug or a wave or even an "I love you."

However, over the years, he pieced together that he wasn't completely invisible. Sure, he didn't get a hug when he came home from school, but he did have moments of being visible when his parents got a phone call due to him getting wrapped up in bullshit that made him look like a fighter. Maybe he's not seen enough to be given an "I love you," but he's seen enough to be given chores when his parents remember they have a minion they didn't have to pay.

He decided to use it to his apparent invisibility to his advantage one evening. He packed up a bag full of essentials and snatched up his mom's credit card before he left. As he went to get cash from the card, he heard that his parents called the police for him. He rolled his eyes at the news as he was getting the cash. Once he put the card back through the mail slot of his house, he heard the muffled noises of his parents making up excuses to why they didn't need the officers anymore. Virgil knew they made enough that the amount of money he took would matter as little as he did.

He was able to get a GED, job, and affordable apartment, but his invisibility still lingered into early adulthood. It didn't take long for Virgil to notice that there were people around him who only interacted with him simply because they had to: his therapist, his co-workers, his landlord on occasion. Not once had see seen any of his peers interact with him willingly. Deity only knows why he thought he'd grow out of his invisibility once he'd make it from being a black sheep and scapegoat at home and school to being a young adult at a working job where he could fend for himself and be glad he wasn't a big spender at any place that wasn't Hot Topic.

There was a guy at work that Virgil thought seemed trusting and friendly, but seemed to ignore him during the rare chance he would be bold enough to try to befriend the guy. Another example of him being ignored unless it's convenient for someone else was dealing with his boss. Virgil knew that one of the shelves in the back room was weak and needed replacing before all the pans and then some come tumbling down, but his concerns fell on deaf ears whenever he took the opportunity to confront his boss about it. However, when the boss needed someone to do some task that no one else was able to work their way through, Virgil was immediately in his para-central vision. Every time the boss came to him, Virgil just went through with his orders and didn't dare to take advantage of his brief visibility to warn him about the shelf for fear that he would slowly become invisible again.

One day, Virgil was asked to take inventory of the back room. He complied, but knew there was an opportunity that awaited him. He stood by the old shelf as he was taking inventory. He grew to find out that there was another way for him to be visible besides just being needed for tasks or being reprimanded. As expected, the shelf collapsed and all the pans and then some fell on top of him followed by the wood from the shelf. He didn't know how injured he was, but he knew he steadily had less energy than before. Before he closed his eyes, he saw his boss and coworkers rush over to help him. Maybe he wouldn't know that his boss considered replacing the shelf if not for the hassle of moving everything to a new shelf and maybe he wouldn't know that the coworker he tried being friendly with thought he was too cute to approach without potential awkwardness, but at least he was acknowledged.