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and my backpack was gone. I had my life in that backpack! The more I

tried to fit in, the worse it got. Was I destined to be an outcast and a

geek all my life? That‟s what it felt like. I didn‟t want to grow up, change

or have to handle life if it was going to be this way. I just wanted to curl

up and die.

Weird: strange
Destined: future developed as per a predestined plan

Outcast: a person rejected by society
Geek: an unfashionable or socially inept person

Zan went to school the next day. It was a Monday. At the time of the fire,

he was wearing the dress that he wore to the church on Sundays. He

was not wearing his shoes. He had removed them and kicked them off

when he sat to do his homework. They were burnt in the fire too. So,

Zan borrowed tennis shoes from his aunt. He did not want to go to

school. But his mother forced him to go. He was embarrassed because

his clothes were unusual, he did not have his bag, books and homework.

He thought that God wanted that he should live like a person who was

different from others and did not fit well in the society. Zan was so upset

that he wished to die.

I walked around school like a zombie. Everything felt surreal, and I

wasn‟t sure what was going to happen. All the security I had known,

from my old school, my friends, my house and my cat had all been

ripped away.

Zombie: a dull and apathetic person

Surreal: unreal, strange, bizarre
Ripped away: torn apart

Zan walked around the school like a dull, lifeless person. He felt

insecure as all his belongings, his old school, old friends, pet cat and his

house had been snatched from him.