What Daniel Did Wrong
/Here’s your rewrite—leaner, sharper, meaner—more Palahniuk in its brutality and rhythm:
Scythe, Prodigy, Cross, and the Ghost
By Jack Thomas
Daniel’s eyes slam shut as the sun tears through cheap white shades, slicing into his retinas.
He’s just a kid. A regular kid. He wants to be a regular kid. But this school won’t make it easy.
Sophomore year. New place. New people. Ghost mode.
For weeks, he stays in the background. Just another nameless nobody.
Then—
“My friends call me Scythe.”
The first real words spoken to Daniel by someone who isn’t grading his homework.
“You new?”
Daniel’s the kind of shy that doesn’t last. You get past the introverted phase, and he won’t shut the fuck up.
Scythe is funny. Quirky. Good-hearted. Someone you want to be around. And Daniel wants to be around. He’s never had friends like this.
But Scythe doesn’t come alone.
Enter Cross and Prodigy.
Two opposites. Two extremes.
Prodigy? Star athlete. School genius. He’s the guy the 4.0 students worship and the one every jock secretly resents. Teachers love him. Girls love him. Effortless. Perfect. Untouchable.
Cross? The other kind of genius. The criminal kind. Illegal street racing. A band. A temper. Knows exactly how far he can push a punch before it’s attempted murder. Doesn’t give a shit about anything except winning.
Prodigy welcomes Daniel. Open arms. Cross?
Cross sizes him up and finds him worthless.
“I don’t like you,” Cross says. “You’re a coward. A waste of oxygen. A mistake.”
Daniel flinches.
“I don’t need a reason to hate you. My reality. My rules.”
And yet—Daniel keeps coming back.
He gets humiliated. Insulted. Dragged through the dirt.
And somehow? He gets used to it.
It’s like he forces himself into Stockholm Syndrome. Eventually, he forgets the difference between Prodigy’s respect and Cross’s contempt.
“I’ll screw you over,” Cross warns. “For fun. Just to see what happens.”
Daniel laughs it off.
Scythe has a crush.
Her name’s Katherine.
Daniel sees her and suddenly, he’s got a crush too.
Scythe hasn’t made a move. Daniel does.
He confesses. She rejects.
So Scythe confesses next.
She doesn’t say no.
She says she needs time.
Daniel gets bitter.
Scythe begs him to back off. Just give it a chance. Just let him have this.
Daniel says okay.
But he doesn’t mean it.
Cross? Cross sees the whole thing like a game.
“Take the girl, ditch the loser, be happy. Simple.”
Prodigy? Prodigy tries to be diplomatic.
“If it makes you happy, go for it. Just be honest about it.”
So Daniel goes for it.
Starts acting like Cross.
Starts pushing boundaries.
Starts doing what he wants—consequences be damned.
At lunch, he grabs Katherine and kisses her.
Across the room, Scythe watches.
Katherine kisses back.
Then she pushes Daniel away.
“This doesn’t mean I want to date you.”
Scythe pulls her aside.
“What the fuck was that?”
“We’re not together,” she says. “I don’t owe you anything.”
Scythe just nods.
Later, he tells Cross what happened.
Cross grins.
“I got this.”
Over the next few weeks, Cross manipulates everything.
He tells Katherine that Daniel is into her. That he’s serious. That he’s the real deal.
And with Scythe gone, she turns to Daniel.
Daniel doesn’t see the setup.
Doesn’t see Cross playing the long game.
Katherine and Daniel? They’re together now.
Just like Cross wanted.
Then Cross makes his next move.
He invites Katherine over. Just once.
A little flirting. A little touching. A little more.
He takes pictures.
Records audio.
And when she leaves, he posts a photo online.
Her, in his bed. Barely dressed.
Daniel sees it. Snaps.
Storms over to Cross’s house.
“You fucking piece of shit—”
Cross shrugs.
“Told you I didn’t like you.”
Daniel turns to Scythe. Begs for some kind of understanding.
Scythe just shakes his head.
“I saw what you did.”
Daniel turns to Prodigy.
“I don’t want you around either.”
And just like that—Daniel is nobody again.
Back to where he started.
A ghost.
“I’m never wrong,” Cross tells Prodigy and Scythe.
Scythe nods. “I see.”
Prodigy sighs. “I see.”
Cross smirks.
“Now I just need to go fuck that douche’s mom.”