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The boy stood outside his house.
He didn’t want to go in, he had seen the car and knew his father was home. It was always bad to go in when he would be alone with his father.
Maybe it would be safe, maybe he would be passed out on the sofa, drunk at 4pm and red-faced as he slumped.
Maybe.
But he knew the odds on that so he went walking. He walked a lot, especially after school. Nowhere in particular, just anywhere it was quiet and he could sit and think.
He thought a lot about things, and thought more than a 13yr old should do about serious things.
Today had been bad at school, worse than usual.
He was fat, and a lot of people think that being fat means you're stupid. Just as they assume being pretty means a girl is stupid, but we know how wrong that is don't we?
He could tell you all about things you wouldn't expect from a kid - the workings of the solar system, supernovas and the essence of the universe.
He had been measured once and his intelligence was off the scale.
For his age, he could be more interesting and amusing that those 3 times his age.
Of course, in this world that doesn't count for a thing when it's 6am and you're laying there with liquid fire in your gut because you know you have to go to school in 3hrs where it will all start again.
At 13 he understood people a lot more than someone that age should do.
He knew about spite and hate. He knew about fear and self-loathing. He knew that unless you were part of "the crowd" then you were singled out and taken to the extreme.
He couldn't tell anyone about this, nobody cared. His father? The only time he heard anything from his father were threats and the reasons why he was so useless at everything.
His mother? She was quiet and worked all the hours she could, just to keep out of the way.
He didn't blame her, as soon as he could, he would get out too. But for now he was trapped.
Teachers? They thought he was stupid and always made him the butt of jokes in class.
Someone got an answer wrong? They were ovbiously being affected by the fat kid.
He didn't bother to show them that he knew more than anyone else. What was the point?
Today, just after register, the biggest kid in the class told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was going to "kick his a**e" after school in the car-park.
Everyone heard and the news spread through the school like a fire in a bone-dry forest.
Usually they just slammed his books out of his hands, or threw his bag onto a roof.
One time, after games, they hid his towel and had great fun at him standing there naked.
They laughed and made jokes but he just ignored them, he went away somewhere else for a while until they grew bored and left him.
Lunchtime now.
He stayed in his homeroom and stared out of the window. Some kids walked past and pointed at him "That's the one yeah, after school".
He didn't know what to do.
Run? If he did that then they would eat him whole and make the remaining years worse than they were.
He laughed, worse?
How could it be worse?
Tell his dad? The last time he tried to talk to his dad, he ended up being held against the stove hotplate until his ear stuck.
Dad was worried for a bit, took him to casualty and made up some story about him falling.
The nurses didn't believe him and 3 days later someone came to the house.
They took him outside and asked him all sorts of questions about his father.
"Did he drink?" "Did he ever hit/touch you?".
He didn't say anything to them, it would only make things worse.
They left and for a couple of weeks, things were ok at home.
Nobody's idea of Little House on The Prairie, but at least he went a whole week without cowering in a corner trying to protect his head.
He liked video games.
They allowed him to be someone else for a while.
He fought battles and conquered worlds, killed terrorists and made lives for his Sims. Those were good times.
He wrote a lot too, stupid words he crossed out because they embarassed him to read back later on.
They were just words, attempts to vocalise something inside of him.
He knew, if given a chance, that he could be a good friend to someone.
They would laugh and talk, swap games and go places.
He knew other people did these things, but it seemed to elude him.
Women? Forget it pal, not a part of his world.
He saw them when he sat and thought. They walked past arm in arm and laughed about things.
Would that ever be him? Could someone ever not think he was stupid and clumsy? Would they ever not laugh because he couldn't play football?
He had a lot to give, but it just seemed so hard to make contact.
So he went inside himself a lot, lived lives of smiles and laughing and people that called round for him.
But he always came out to face how things were.
He never cried though, he was bigger than that. He used to, but that weak and for girls and his dad made sure he didn't cry anymore.
That's not what men did. Cissy's cried, men just got on with life.
It is now almost 3pm and he knows what is coming up.
If he faces this kid in a fight, he will get beaten. It's not that he couldn't fight, he just never tried to. He took the slaps and the footballs kicked at him and laughed with them, because that's how you were supposed to respond isn't it? Show them it doesn't affect you?
Maybe they would realise how dumb they were being and would stop?
Not yet.
He couldn't run away though, that made him worse than the stupd fat kid.
No, he knew what would happen then and however bad he felt now? It would be a million times worse.
No, he would face this kid and a teacher would get involved in a few seconds.
That's how fights went, not like the movies. Fast, ugly and always got stopped.
He'd take a few lumps but that was nothing new. If it wasn't them it was at home.
Bruises go, bones heal - big deal, be a man.
He pushed through the ring of kids.
They were wide-eyed and grinning, pointing at him.
Their faces were shiny and they looked like christmas had come.
He understood why, he understood a great deal more than most kids.
They weren't glad he was going to get kicked, they were glad it wasn't them.
Cowards, but drawing strength from each other.
And in the middle was the kid - the challenger.
The boy stood there and waited for the first punch to land. Maybe 10 seconds and it would get stopped. He could protect his head pretty good by now.
The big kid had a stupid, lazy smile as he stood there grinding his fists into his palms.
Something bubbled in the kid's brain - a vague notion of something.
The big kid advanced, grinning and nodding to the jeering crowd all eager to see someone else get pounded.
The world seemed to shift in the kid's eye.
Instead of the big kid, it was his dad screaming at him for leaving his magazine on the kitchen table.
The sounds around him faded, no more could he hear the screams and chants of the kids.
Silence.
His dad striking him for spilling tea on the side. His dad's stupid tea he made him make anyway.
Silence.
His father coming into his room at night, reeking of whiskey and hate.
Silence.
And now the big kid swam back into focus, almost upon him, walking with a lazy arrogance.
Something clicked in the kid's head and he attacked.
By the time the teacher managed to push through the crowd, he saw the fat kid sitting on the big kid's chest, driving his head into the unforgiving asphalt of the car-park.
The kids weren't screaming anymore, they looked scared.
One had slipped in the blood and left a kalaedoscope footprint away from the feral, chanting pack.
The teacher hauled the fat kid off eventually and by the time the ambulance came, the fat kid had become silent.
He didn't respond to voices or the light the paramedic shone in his eyes.
The teacher had always though the fat kid was strange and if this didn't prove it, well nothing did.
I mean, attacking another kid like that? Probably killing him?
On the way home the teacher shrugged to himself, kids these days lacked discipline. He wouldn't be surprised if the parent's were to blame.
Kids eh?
He didn’t want to go in, he had seen the car and knew his father was home. It was always bad to go in when he would be alone with his father.
Maybe it would be safe, maybe he would be passed out on the sofa, drunk at 4pm and red-faced as he slumped.
Maybe.
But he knew the odds on that so he went walking. He walked a lot, especially after school. Nowhere in particular, just anywhere it was quiet and he could sit and think.
He thought a lot about things, and thought more than a 13yr old should do about serious things.
Today had been bad at school, worse than usual.
He was fat, and a lot of people think that being fat means you're stupid. Just as they assume being pretty means a girl is stupid, but we know how wrong that is don't we?
He could tell you all about things you wouldn't expect from a kid - the workings of the solar system, supernovas and the essence of the universe.
He had been measured once and his intelligence was off the scale.
For his age, he could be more interesting and amusing that those 3 times his age.
Of course, in this world that doesn't count for a thing when it's 6am and you're laying there with liquid fire in your gut because you know you have to go to school in 3hrs where it will all start again.
At 13 he understood people a lot more than someone that age should do.
He knew about spite and hate. He knew about fear and self-loathing. He knew that unless you were part of "the crowd" then you were singled out and taken to the extreme.
He couldn't tell anyone about this, nobody cared. His father? The only time he heard anything from his father were threats and the reasons why he was so useless at everything.
His mother? She was quiet and worked all the hours she could, just to keep out of the way.
He didn't blame her, as soon as he could, he would get out too. But for now he was trapped.
Teachers? They thought he was stupid and always made him the butt of jokes in class.
Someone got an answer wrong? They were ovbiously being affected by the fat kid.
He didn't bother to show them that he knew more than anyone else. What was the point?
Today, just after register, the biggest kid in the class told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was going to "kick his a**e" after school in the car-park.
Everyone heard and the news spread through the school like a fire in a bone-dry forest.
Usually they just slammed his books out of his hands, or threw his bag onto a roof.
One time, after games, they hid his towel and had great fun at him standing there naked.
They laughed and made jokes but he just ignored them, he went away somewhere else for a while until they grew bored and left him.
Lunchtime now.
He stayed in his homeroom and stared out of the window. Some kids walked past and pointed at him "That's the one yeah, after school".
He didn't know what to do.
Run? If he did that then they would eat him whole and make the remaining years worse than they were.
He laughed, worse?
How could it be worse?
Tell his dad? The last time he tried to talk to his dad, he ended up being held against the stove hotplate until his ear stuck.
Dad was worried for a bit, took him to casualty and made up some story about him falling.
The nurses didn't believe him and 3 days later someone came to the house.
They took him outside and asked him all sorts of questions about his father.
"Did he drink?" "Did he ever hit/touch you?".
He didn't say anything to them, it would only make things worse.
They left and for a couple of weeks, things were ok at home.
Nobody's idea of Little House on The Prairie, but at least he went a whole week without cowering in a corner trying to protect his head.
He liked video games.
They allowed him to be someone else for a while.
He fought battles and conquered worlds, killed terrorists and made lives for his Sims. Those were good times.
He wrote a lot too, stupid words he crossed out because they embarassed him to read back later on.
They were just words, attempts to vocalise something inside of him.
He knew, if given a chance, that he could be a good friend to someone.
They would laugh and talk, swap games and go places.
He knew other people did these things, but it seemed to elude him.
Women? Forget it pal, not a part of his world.
He saw them when he sat and thought. They walked past arm in arm and laughed about things.
Would that ever be him? Could someone ever not think he was stupid and clumsy? Would they ever not laugh because he couldn't play football?
He had a lot to give, but it just seemed so hard to make contact.
So he went inside himself a lot, lived lives of smiles and laughing and people that called round for him.
But he always came out to face how things were.
He never cried though, he was bigger than that. He used to, but that weak and for girls and his dad made sure he didn't cry anymore.
That's not what men did. Cissy's cried, men just got on with life.
It is now almost 3pm and he knows what is coming up.
If he faces this kid in a fight, he will get beaten. It's not that he couldn't fight, he just never tried to. He took the slaps and the footballs kicked at him and laughed with them, because that's how you were supposed to respond isn't it? Show them it doesn't affect you?
Maybe they would realise how dumb they were being and would stop?
Not yet.
He couldn't run away though, that made him worse than the stupd fat kid.
No, he knew what would happen then and however bad he felt now? It would be a million times worse.
No, he would face this kid and a teacher would get involved in a few seconds.
That's how fights went, not like the movies. Fast, ugly and always got stopped.
He'd take a few lumps but that was nothing new. If it wasn't them it was at home.
Bruises go, bones heal - big deal, be a man.
He pushed through the ring of kids.
They were wide-eyed and grinning, pointing at him.
Their faces were shiny and they looked like christmas had come.
He understood why, he understood a great deal more than most kids.
They weren't glad he was going to get kicked, they were glad it wasn't them.
Cowards, but drawing strength from each other.
And in the middle was the kid - the challenger.
The boy stood there and waited for the first punch to land. Maybe 10 seconds and it would get stopped. He could protect his head pretty good by now.
The big kid had a stupid, lazy smile as he stood there grinding his fists into his palms.
Something bubbled in the kid's brain - a vague notion of something.
The big kid advanced, grinning and nodding to the jeering crowd all eager to see someone else get pounded.
The world seemed to shift in the kid's eye.
Instead of the big kid, it was his dad screaming at him for leaving his magazine on the kitchen table.
The sounds around him faded, no more could he hear the screams and chants of the kids.
Silence.
His dad striking him for spilling tea on the side. His dad's stupid tea he made him make anyway.
Silence.
His father coming into his room at night, reeking of whiskey and hate.
Silence.
And now the big kid swam back into focus, almost upon him, walking with a lazy arrogance.
Something clicked in the kid's head and he attacked.
By the time the teacher managed to push through the crowd, he saw the fat kid sitting on the big kid's chest, driving his head into the unforgiving asphalt of the car-park.
The kids weren't screaming anymore, they looked scared.
One had slipped in the blood and left a kalaedoscope footprint away from the feral, chanting pack.
The teacher hauled the fat kid off eventually and by the time the ambulance came, the fat kid had become silent.
He didn't respond to voices or the light the paramedic shone in his eyes.
The teacher had always though the fat kid was strange and if this didn't prove it, well nothing did.
I mean, attacking another kid like that? Probably killing him?
On the way home the teacher shrugged to himself, kids these days lacked discipline. He wouldn't be surprised if the parent's were to blame.
Kids eh?
Page:
Grix Thraves wrote:
> I have no intention of knowing you, because you're a mong.
>
> And I can say that without being angry in the least.
--------
Sorry, I can't be a "mong", because I'm not an ugly girl
And you obviously have a lot of pent up anger, were you bullied or ignored like the kid in this story?
> I have no intention of knowing you, because you're a mong.
>
> And I can say that without being angry in the least.
--------
Sorry, I can't be a "mong", because I'm not an ugly girl
And you obviously have a lot of pent up anger, were you bullied or ignored like the kid in this story?
The reaction of the teacher is so very, very real. There are so many people in thw world that just don't understand others, living in their own little bubble of what they 'know'.
Anyway, excellent post Goatboy. I did read it several days ago, but I tend not to get around to replying to these things. They tend to make me want to think, rather than write.
Anyway, excellent post Goatboy. I did read it several days ago, but I tend not to get around to replying to these things. They tend to make me want to think, rather than write.
MoJoJoJo wrote:
"I'm different now. I'm the calmest person I know"
"So that's why you kick off at people on these forums? If you knew me, *I'd* be the calmest person you know"
I have no intention of knowing you, because you're a mong.
And I can say that without being angry in the least.
"I'm different now. I'm the calmest person I know"
"So that's why you kick off at people on these forums? If you knew me, *I'd* be the calmest person you know"
I have no intention of knowing you, because you're a mong.
And I can say that without being angry in the least.
Nice Work! Write us another one, would you!
*Phew*
Wow. That was the best read in good long while.
Wow. That was the best read in good long while.
"I'm different now. I'm the calmest person I know"
So that's why you kick off at people on these forums? If you knew me, *I'd* be the calmest person you know
So that's why you kick off at people on these forums? If you knew me, *I'd* be the calmest person you know
Wow this won?
Cheers SR and thanks for the comments guys.
Appreciated
Cheers SR and thanks for the comments guys.
Appreciated
Sweeper Bros wrote:
> Tut Tut!!!! Too long. Should of posted it in the LONG, interesting and
> amusing storys forum. But wait, it wasn't funny, interesting BUT it
> was long.... very very long!!!
No he shouldent have he won a GAD for it which i am happy he won it is the best post i have seen for a long while. Congrats on the GAD.
> Tut Tut!!!! Too long. Should of posted it in the LONG, interesting and
> amusing storys forum. But wait, it wasn't funny, interesting BUT it
> was long.... very very long!!!
No he shouldent have he won a GAD for it which i am happy he won it is the best post i have seen for a long while. Congrats on the GAD.
Good story, lot of heart in it
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