Bully Story, part 1

Haha. They missed me. I have a minute.

9th grade. Big kid, kept back at least 2 yrs, always walked into State History class (last hour), bumping into people, knocking books on the floor, breaking pencils, ripping papers. The teacher always came in late, after his antics. Everybody just put up with the big greaser's crap.

Then one day I was standing at the back of the classroom, looking at some Science paper I'd just had returned with either an A or an F, unexpected either way, and I'm looking at the paper, and I hear the Bully come in.

He's in Special mode. I hear books crash to the floor. I hear people jostled. He grabs my paper out of my hands and rips it up. Without a look back on all these things, mind you. Goes on and knocks into somebody's desk.

That's when I snapped. This guy was a head taller than me, burly, and, well, I wasn't. But I went up behind him and slammed him chest-down on the top of a desk and held him there, flailing helplessly. (Kathy, girl who was in the desk, vacated swiftly.)

I just started speed-talking. Told him he does this every day and it has to stop. I listed his tricks and just emphasized that it had to stop. I told him I was going to let him up, then, but wouldn't fight him.

He, of course, was ranting and slavering, describing what he planned to do when I let him up. Honestly, I have no idea how I held him down except that my muses were Mania and Hysteria. Then I let him up.

His fists came up, my hands came up in the boxer's position Dad taught me, but palms open. I kept insisting I wouldn't fight him, while he was looking for an opening. While we squared off at the back of the class, the teacher came in and bade us seat ourselves.

"I'll get you after class, Mindful," he said. Yes, my exit route to the bus led past Behind The Cafeteria, where duels and beatings traditionally occurred.

So, at the bell, I had my books ready, and I high-tailed it out of the class, down the ramp, and onto the bus, with Bully in hot pursuit. "I'll get you tomorrow, Mindful," he cursed at me through the windows.

It was a long night. And a long day the next day, looking around every corner before turning, wary all day. Wary into the State History class. He wasn't there.

Then, of course, I knew he would be waiting for me after class, and I wasn't going to run this time. And after class, sure enough, there he was.

Oops, sorry, gotta go right now. Bye.