Image created by me using Canva
I came into the hall, it's my second day here in Raven's Middle High and at such my first time seeing such clear acts of brutality. A boy with glasses was getting beat up in the middle of the hall. "Pretty sad, isn't it?" I see Jean, my first friend and senior in the school was also watching the spectacle.
"What happened?" I asked, "Why are they beating him?" He regarded me and smiled sadistically. "For the Jocks, sometimes there's no reason for such violence, they're beating him because they can."
"That's..... That's not fair, it certainly isn't right." I managed to say. It all seemed so strange to me.
"Middle School isn't fair Leah. I hear High School is even worse." I couldn't imagine what would be worse than this.
After a few minutes, it seemed the Jocks were through with him, I walked towards the victim and it was a scary sight, he's face was mushed up and books sprawled around the floor. Students and teachers who walked past averted their eyes. I knelt down towards him.
"Leah?" Jean called out. After helping him to pack his books, he replied. "Thank you." It sounded weird until I realized his lips is torn too.
"Why did they do this?" I asked. He looked up at me, silent. As though he couldn't see me. "I dunno, I was just walking and then I think one of them tripped me so I fell and spilled some juice on one of their female friends dress. I tried apologizing and before I knew what was happening, they hit me." He said all that then nursed his swollen cheek.
"You should go check that out in the nurse office." Jean finally said. The boy looked shocked as though he just regarded him.
"I know" he answered. Then he dragged himself up and limped in the direction of the nurses office.
"Leah what are you doing?" I heard Jean's voice calling me but I wasn't listening. I walked towards the cafeteria and scanned the tables. I found my targets and began walking.
"Leah?" Jean said nervously at the door of the cafeteria. I ignored him and continued walking towards the Jock's table. They were making a racket and laughing loosely as though they didn't just traumatize and possibly ruin a kids life.
They noticed me standing in front of them and they kept quiet. "Ermmm... Can I help you?" A blonde girl with a mean eye drawled at me.
All of a sudden, it felt like the whole cafeteria became silent, all eyes were on me. Then another girl on their table broke the silence. "Aren't you that girl who went to talk to Willy?"
"Who's Willy?" I asked her back. "The boy that got beat up" she answered. Then I realized I didn't ask of his name. The first girl then said " If you want to ask about Willy? Ask him."
She pointed at me. Just then I realized someone was at my back.
I turned and shrank away, He was huge my mind said.
"Who're you?" He asked with a voice that seemed to deep for a Middle schooler. I looked around and saw that everyone in the cafeteria was looking at me, I tried speaking.
"I'm..... I..." I stammered "Oh look, she's shaking in her boots." the blonde girl pointed out. I realized I was shaking, I looked around and saw that I've created quite a scene.
Jean was walking towards me when the boy asked again. "Who are you?"
In that moment I remembered one saying I read; Confidence isn't something you have, it's something you wield. Confidence is a tool.
I looked at him square in the eye, adjusted my posture and took a deep breath, then I spoke in the most threatening tone I could muster. "My name doesn't matter, what matters is what you did and it wasn't nice.
The whole room was silent, even the blond girl was silent, then Jean dragged me away.
"How could you say that?" He screamed. He was looking at me as though I'm some psycho or something "Listen Jean, it's not that hard. I simply just walked up to him and told him, he's not being nice. What's the big whoop?" I lied
He looked at me confused, "The big whoop is the fact that you scolded David." "Scolding is a bit of a harsh word..." I began but he cut me off waving his hand hysterically "Nobody talks like that to David, even the teachers are scared of him."
I started laughing which made him look at me even more perplexed "I'm sorry.." I managed to blurt out, still laughing at him.
"Leah, I don't think you understand the seriousness of this matter." He said walking towards his class. Actually I don't know how I'm laughing after that. My nerves were killing me.
After I recovered from my laughing fit, I ran to catch up to him. "Jean alright I'm sorry." I said amidst giggles.
"It's just the way your arms were waving around, it was just like all those wavey men at the restaurants." " I don't care about your laughter Leah, I just think you should be more careful."
I was touched by how much he cared about my welfare " I was a bit scared talking to him, but I read somewhere that Confidence is a tool." He looked at me and said " Well I hope you can wield that tool well because your certainly on David's black book now."
"With how time consuming it is beating people up, I doubt he has time to check his books." I said with a sarcastic tone, he chuckled and went into his class.