The more Matt watched, the more he was interested. He hadn’t realised just how much blood there was in the human body. He had known the numbers, approximately 1.5 gallons in the average human body, but it was different to see it with his own eyes. He picked up the knife that had been responsible for the wound, and threw in into the sink. Damned kitchen knife. It hit the steel and tumbled next to the drain.

The blood continued dripping from his hand and onto the grey tiles of the kitchen floor. He wandered over to the cupboard and took a small bandage from one of his mother’s first aid kits. She usually had them stationed around the house; small white kits filled with band-aids, tensor bandages, gauze, antibiotic ointment, and other basics.

Matt looked at the bandage for a little while before grabbing the two sides of the cover and tearing them apart, careful not to give either side of the bandage any imperfections. He then slowly pressed the gauze part of the bandage to the bleeding area on his thumb. The thick, slightly dried blood slowly soaked into the bandage as Matt wrapped the two adhesive sides around his bleeding finger.

He wrapped up the sandwich he had been making, and, after reluctantly receiving the daily kiss on the forehead by his mother, he left the house, and walked out onto the smooth black sidewalk. He made his way to the bus stop at the corner of the street and stepped onto the bus, then took a seat in the back of the empty bus, next to the window, and gazed out at the sky. The tall skyscrapers of the city passed by as the bus made its way through the city. The windows of the buildings reflected their surroundings and the soft cold light of the sun, filtered by pure white clouds that lined the entire sky.

The city had always been the same, for as long as Matt could remember. The same glass skyscrapers, the same grey sky, the same jet black asphalt. Nothing ever changed.

The bus pulled up at a stop and Matt got off. He crossed the park to his school, treading on the grass that covered the field. Sapphire St. Augustine grass, he thought. This was the type of grass that covered not only the field in this park, but almost all the parks in the city.

The school was a tall, imposing building, like many of the buildings in this city, made of mostly glass and metal supports, giving it a refined look. Two tall, metal columns framed the grand sliding doors that opened into a large foyer. Marble tiles lined the floors of the entrance and reflected the same cold sunlight that passed through the windows. Directly across from the sliding doors was a large desk. This was where students would go to get pardon slips if they were late to class, though this rarely happened. Behind the desk was another set of doors that lead to the principal’s office. This office was said to be grand and impressive, though not many students had had the chance to see it for themselves. The entrance was split into two hallways, one on each side of the reception desk. Matt stepped across the grand entrance and took the hallway to the right.