Carlos Garcia hates school. He hates every single thing about it. He hates the classes, which he isn't good at. He hates the teachers, who just think he is annoying and always give him detention. He hates the principal for giving him disappointed looks when he is kicked out of class for being loud. And he hates all the other students for making fun of him, all day long…
The only people he doesn't hate are his three best friends, Kendall, James and Logan. They spent the entire summer together, hanging out and having fun. But then that moment finally came, their last day off. The first day of the 6th grade starts today. Oh, how he despises Mondays. Those are the worst.
The moment his alarm clock goes off, he tries to hide underneath his blankets, hoping the day just flies by without school. But no such luck, because his mom comes in and forces him to get up. He tries to barricade himself in his bedroom, he tries to lock himself in the bathroom, he even tries to feign being sick. But it is no use. His parents make him go anyway. They ignore his protests and grumbling and send him and his glaring pout out the door, with a lunch pack safely placed inside his new backpack.
As he walks across the pavement, his friends quickly join him.
"Dude, I am so excited about today. I mean, it's the 6th grade, our final year of Middle School before moving on to Junior High. This is going to be the best year yet!" James Diamond excitedly yells. Carlos just sighs heavily and shuffles on.
"I know, right? And, the new hockey season starts today, too! I hope we get to be on the same team again!" Kendall Knight joins in.
Carlos rolls his eyes.
"Come on, dude. What's with the long face?" James asks him, placing his hands on his shoulders. Carlos shakes his head and keeps walking, his black hockey helmet bouncing with every step.
"What is with him? Why is he always so grumpy on our way to school?" Kendall wonders, when the Latino is out of earshot.
"Because, he hates school." Logan Mitchel simply explains.
"Well, I know that." Kendall exclaims. "But why does he hate it?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's because he's not really good at it." Logan states. "I mean, he doesn't have the best grades. Plus, he always gets in trouble in class for goofing off."
Carlos can hear his friends talking about him. But he doesn't feel like responding. They wouldn't understand. It's not like they have noticed anyway. They all have something they are good at and are liked for at school. Kendall is the star of the hockey team and will grow up to be the new Wayne Gretsky. All students love him for it and the coaches cheer him on. Logan is really smart, which the teachers love. Well, unless he is correcting them. He will grow up to be a doctor. And James has the looks. He is 'The Face' and the older he gets, the more handsome he becomes. All the girls are crazy about him already and he will be an awesome model someday.
But Carlos… Well, he is just the short Latino kid who wears a hockey helmet for no reason. He isn't smart, or particularly good looking or star in any sport. He is just crazy, can't sit still and has a permanent smile attached to his face, at least he would, if he wasn't being pushed around all day for being clueless about everything or just for being different.
The guys don't know. Nether do his parents. They don't need to know. He is fine. He is just waiting for the year to be over and they will go to Junior High, with new teachers, a new principle, new classes, hopefully new classmates, just new everything. He just has to take the teasing and comments for one more school year. Just one and it will all be over. He hopes.
As they make it to the school building, Carlos feels his stomach sink. Manny, the main bully of their school is standing on the staircase and flashes him a grin. He gulps, but starts to ascend anyway and walks past him. His friends are right behind him, laughing and greeting some fellow classmates when he feels it. That one foot shoved under his feet. He tries to keep his balance, but can't do it. In a second, everything goes in slow motion. He goes flying across the staircase, landing painfully on the steps.
Manny laughs out loud while others join in and shake their heads at his stupidity. Manny bumps fists with his friends, who point and laugh. Carlos glares at them as he tries to get up. Just then, two hands grab his arms and lift him upright. He looks up and sees Kendall with him. The blonde sends him a smile. He smiles back in gratitude.
"Dude, you should be more careful. You could have really hurt yourself." And his smile is gone. Even Kendall thinks he tripped himself. Because that is him, just clumsy Carlos. Kendall pats him on the back. "Come on, buddy, let's get our class schedules."
He watches as his friend hurries off in front of him, a huge grin on his face. Carlos just sighs and trudges after him. Logan and James are already waiting for them with their schedules in hand. They hand the guys theirs and they look through them right away.
"Awesome, I get to start with Math…" James unenthusiastically says.
"Hey, me too!" Kendall says. They high five.
"I've got AP Biology." Logan tells them. "But, I've got PE fourth period."
"So do we!" Kendall excitedly says as he compares his schedule with James.
"What about you, Carlos?" The boy looks up from his schedule to see the guys intently staring at him.
"Uh…" He starts as he looks at his classes again. Logan quickly grabs it from him. The three of them stare at it and their smiles fade.
"Dude, you're not in any of our classes." James points out. Carlos sadly looks at them.
"There has to be some kind of mistake. I mean, how s it even possible for you to have a completely different schedule than ours? They had to have put a lot of work in to make that happen." Logan tells him as he hands the boy his schedule back. He sadly stares at it again.
Kendall walks over and puts his arm around his shoulders. "Hey, don't worry about it. We'll figure this out and until then, we can still hang out during lunch." He tells his friend with an encouraging smile.
Carlos tries a small smile of his own. "Yeah." He softly agrees. Kendall squeezes the other two in for a group hug. They groan, but smile during their little ritual.
"Alright, let's get to class." Kendall announces and lets them go. Kendall and James head to their respective classes to the right, while Logan heads to the left and Carlos has to go up a staircase. He keeps his eyes on his schedule for the classroom while he goes off to find room 2.05 for History.
After a few minutes of walking around, he finds himself in an empty hallway and still no room 2.05. He sighs. This day could not have started better.
He keeps walking and nearly bumps into someone on his way.
"Sorry…" He mutters as he keeps going. He doesn't expect the hard shove from behind and it catches him off guard. He falls on the ground with a loud thud and lies there for a moment to catch his breath.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I do that?" he slowly looks up to find Ryan Jennings staring him down, a jock from the 8th grade. "What's a stupid 6th grader like you doing all the way over here? Should you be on the other side of our fence?" He sneers. Carlos tries not to let him get to him, but he feels the pain radiating through his skin.
"Mr. Jennings, aren't you late for class?" Carlos has never been so happy to hear his principal's voice.
"I was just grabbing an extra book, sir." Ryan tells the aged and stern looking man and holds up a book for evidence.
"Just get to class." The man says, keeping his hands on his back.
"Yes, sir." Ryan says as he runs off. Behind the principal's back he motions to Carlos that he is going down. Carlos watches with wide eyes and gulps.
"Mr. Garcia." The principal suddenly states. Carlos looks up with scared eyes.
"Mr. Caldwell, sir…" He stumbles.
"Don't tell me you are already up for detention." The man asks him.
"Uh, n-no, sir. I was just looking for my classr-room." He stutters. Mr. Caldwell looks at his schedule.
"Room 2.05 for History. Now that was always my favorite subject." The man muses as he starts to walk and motions for Carlos to follow. He quickly hurries after the man.
They walk shortly, while the principal tells him some boring story about his days in school. Carlos tunes it all out, he is already late and feeling more nervous by the second. After walking through two more hallways, the man stops in front of a door and knocks.
"Ms. Freeman, here's another student for you." Mr. Caldwell says as he opens the door and waits for Carlos to step in. Carlos can feel his face heating up from embarrassment. He's already late, he interrupted the class and now his entire class knows the principal escorted him to the classroom he couldn't find.
"Ah, Mr. Garcia. I've been expecting you." A younger, rather attractive woman sends him a warm smile and invites him in. He slowly walks inside with a nervous smile. He looks inside and tries to ignore how everyone whispers and snickers when they see him. "Take a seat." Ms. Freeman tells him.
"Behave, Mr. Garcia, I don't want you back in my office until at least 4th period today." Mr. Caldwell announces just as Carlos takes a seat in front of the class, since all other seats were taken. He feels like sinking into the ground after that comment, when the entire class busts up laughing.
"Settle down, people. Now, let's continue with page 15 of you History books." Ms. Freeman tells the class and everyone starts to work.
Three hours later, Carlos is shifting in his seat. 4th period… Only one more period to go before lunchtime. He looks at the clock and tries to pay attention at the same time. But Biology is just so boring… The other two periods were English and Math. English wasn't bad, the students ignored him and so did the teacher for that matter. But Math was a different story. It was Mrs. Wakeman who gave the class, his last favorite teacher. She hates his guts, he's sure of it. The guys never believed him, but they should have seen it now.
The minute he walked in, she had it in for him. She reserved a special seat for him in the front of the class, so he could pay attention, see the board better. But honestly, she just wanted to keep an eye on him. He knew that. Then, she kept asking him for the answers to the Math problems she explained. How was he supposed to know? He didn't understand any of it. But then of course, she knew that. She give him a look of disappointment and shake of her head with every wrong answer and in the end looked like she just gave up. The students just laughed at him and even shot paper at him whenever the old woman wasn't looking.
The minute the bell rang for the next class, he practically ran out the door, ignoring how the woman called his name. She probably wanted to talk to him again, let him know he needed to try harder. But he was trying his best, he just didn't get it. But he shoved those thoughts out of his head and decided to ask Logan later. He could help.
But now, during Biology, time was moving painfully slow. Thankfully, this class was taught by Mr. Hennessy, an older man, who just kept on writing things on the board while talking. No one pays attention in his class and Carlos was lucky to get a seat in the back, next to a window, so everyone just leaves him alone. He stares out the window, sighing at some 8th graders who are laughing at a joke. He finds himself smiling along, when a crayon hits him in the cheek. He looks up and sees Mr. Hennessy glaring at him and the entire class staring.
"What was so interesting out there, Mr. Garcia? Was it more interesting than the organs of a frog?" He asks with narrowed eyes.
"Uh… I uh…" Carlos stammers.
"Can anyone tell me what I just explained?" The man asks the rest of the class now. When no one answers he sighs. "Well then, why doesn't everyone write a ten page essay on frogs by tomorrow." He suggests and the entire class starts to protest heavily. "I want them on my desk tomorrow. You can all thank Mr. Garcia here for it." He announces. Carlos' eyes widen in shock.
All the students look at him with death glares, while he just holds up his hands in innocence. How did he just get blamed for this? Nobody was paying attention! He groans and places his head in his hands. He hates Mondays…
On their way out of the class, everyone makes sure to bump into Carlos and let him know how 'thankful' they are.
He shuffles to his locker. The moment he shoves his books and closes the door, he leans his head against it and closes his eyes.
"Well, Mr. Garcia, I am impressed." Mr. Caldwell's voice is heard right next to him, making him jump. He looks up with a surprised look towards his principal.
"S-sir?" He cautiously asks.
"It's the end of the 4th period and you have not been sent to my office yet. I guess this new schedule really is working out well for you." He casually mentions and starts to walk away. It suddenly dawns on Carlos what the man said and he rushes after him.
"Uh, excuse me, sir?" He calls after him and the man turns around. "What did you mean by that?"
"Hm? Oh, the new schedule. Yes, it was Mrs. Wakeman's idea. We had a meeting to discuss how to handle you this year and she suggested maybe you wouldn't be so distracted all the time if you weren't in class with your friends all the time. I guess she was right." He mentions with a smile. Carlos is dumbfounded. "Well, better hurry to your next class. Keep up the good work." The principal tells him as he walks away.
Carlos is frozen to the spot for a moment. They had a meeting about how to handle him? They purposely built a schedule for him to have class without his three friends? He grits his teeth and clenches his fists. Carlos rarely ever gets angry. Or actually, he doesn't remember when he's really been angry. But this day is getting worse and worse and his blood is slowly starting to boil.
Then in one swift moment, he is forcefully shoved into the lockers, knocking the wind out of him and hurting his back.
He watches as Manny walks by, laughing hard with his friends. "Keep your eyes in front of you, shrimp. Better get to class, you're stupid enough as it is." His friends all laugh, while Carlos glares and looks away.
"Aw, what's the matter? Forgot how to speak English? Maybe you should've just stayed on your side of the fence. It's not like anyone wants you here." Manny's friend Kyle sneers. Carlos closes his eyes and heads in the other direction, away from all their taunting. He feels so angry that he pushes a few people out of his way while rushing to his next class.
He sits in American History class with a permanent glare on his face. Kids around him whisper and even poke him, while he tries to keep control and counts to ten in his head. But soon, he has counted to ten a few too many times and when someone jabs him in the back with a pen, he turns around and right before he goes to say something:
"Mr. Garcia." Ms. Peak calls out with a friendly smile. It catches him off guard and he forgets his anger for the moment. "Would you mind reading the last bit on page 7 for us?"
The rest of the class students keep making fun of him, passing him notes with hateful lines.
'Heard what you did in Biology, loser.'
'What's with the stupid helmet? Is it protecting the single brain cell'
'It's no wonder no girl likes you, you're so butt ugly'
He crumples all the papers up and throws them away. The minute the bell rings, he rushes out the door and down the hall. He breathes heavily as he gets to a nearby bathroom and slams the door shut. He stands in front of the mirror and just stares at his nostrils flaring while he tries to calm down.
When the door opens again, he whips his head around.
"Well, well. If it isn't my favorite little Mexican 6th grader." Ryan Jennings sneers as he walks in with some of his jock friends. They walk towards him, but he keeps standing. "Oh, not afraid, huh? We'll have to do something about that." Ryan walks over and puts his arm around his shoulders. "Say, Carlitos, do you know what a Swirly is?"
Carlos feels his courage sinking to his shoes. Of course he knows what a Swirly is. Everyone does. He's never had one before, but he has heard of other having one. He stops walking and tries to get away from Ryan, but two of his friends quickly stop him and guard the door.
"Oh, boys, I believe he does know what it is. Well, let's have some fun." Ryan announces with a grin and they grab Carlos by his arms and drag him into a bathroom stall. He tries to put his feet on the ground to keep them from moving him, but they keep a tight grip on him.
They pull his arms back, take his helmet off and grab the back of his head.
"Keep your mouth closed." Before he can protest, they forcefully shove his head into the toilet bowl. After seconds, they pull him back up and he barely has time to gasp for air, before they shove him down again.
They do it three times before and then leave him sputtering and coughing on the floor, laughing as they head outside. He catches his breath for a moment and then shakily gets to his feet. Another guy inside just looks at him in shock and some sympathy, before leaving as well. Carlos sighs and grabs some paper towels to try and dry himself off.
He walks down the hallway slowly with his head down, helmet back in place. The memory of what just happened lingers in his mind and he feels the anger coming back. The anger for stupid 8th graders for making fun of him. The anger for the principal and the stupid teachers who pulled him away from his friends. And anger for his classmates, who made this entire Monday suck even worse than it usually does.
He heads for the cafeteria, blood slowly boiling again as he notices everyone staring and laughing at him.
"Carlos, over here!" He turns his head to find Kendall waving at him from a table on the side. He walks over with a small smile, relieved to finally see his friends again. But then familiar laughter is heard from the other side of the room. From the corner of his eye he sees Ryan Jennings and his friends laughing and pointing at him with the rest of the 8th grade. He just grits his teeth and heads for Kendall and James.
"Dude, what happened to you?" James asks as he sits down. "Your shirt looks wet."
"Uh, it's nothing, I splashed some water in my face and it landed on my shirt, I guess." Carlos explains. They don't look convinced, but don't push the subject.
"So, how were your classes today? I have this awesome new Math teacher, Mrs. Wakeman. She was so impressed with my Math solving skills, that she excused me from doing any homework this week." Kendall excitedly tells them. Carlos gives a fake smile.
"Yeah, I have her too. Awesome teacher…" Carlos says, lying through his teeth.
Then, some ruckus in the cafeteria has turned everyone's attention in one direction.
"What's going on over there?" James asks as he stands up and tries to see past the now gathering students.
"I don't know." Kendall says with a frown.
"Hey, where's Logie?" Carlos asks as he looks around.
"Hahaha, you guys have to see this… The 8th graders are covering the school nerd with yoghurt." One of their classmates mentions. The guys exchange worried glances and shoot out of their seats. They rush over to the gathering crowd.
"What's the matter, loser? Don't have enough yoghurt yet?" Ryan Jennings sneers. The guys' eyes widen when they see another packet of yoghurt being squeezed over Logan's already covered head and shoulders. The yoghurt is already sliding down his chest as he tries not to cry.
That is the last straw and something inside Carlos snaps. Everyone gasps as he stalks over to Ryan and taps him on the shoulder.
Ryan turns around and snickers. In one motion, Carlos draws back his fist and punches the 8th grader square in the face. He goes down right away.
More students start to gather and even Kendall and James stand there in shock at what just happened.
Ryan sits on the floor and holds his nose with both hands, blood already pouring through. His friends quickly head for the short Latino, who turns around with fists clenched, ready for a fight. Carlos lets out a battle cry and fends them all off with punches, kicks, whatever it takes while he defends himself and Logan.
In ten minutes, the entire school is standing in a circle, watching, while Carlos Garcia, the strange little Latino from the 6th grade with a helmet takes on the entire 8th grade and seems to be winning. When nearly all of them are on the floor, holding parts of their body in pain, Carlos is standing on top of their lunch table, eyes wild and dangerous, waiting for anyone else to dare and touch him or Logan.
But they stare at him in fear and soon, the remaining 8th graders hurry away. The other students watch them go and then turn back to Carlos with wide eyes. He looks at them challengingly, still breathing heavily.
Then suddenly, they break into a wild cheer, surprising Carlos. He feels his anger dying out and starts to grin with a blush creeping on his cheeks. Kendall and James look at him in shock too as they rush towards Logan. They shoot him proud smiles, looking very impressed as Carlos just keeps grinning.
"What is going on in here?" Mr. Caldwell's loud voice booms through the cafeteria, quieting everyone down. He pushes through the crowd and sighs when he sees Logan covered in yoghurt and Carlos grinning, while standing on a table in the middle of the room. "Why am I not surprised." He mentions and crosses his arms.
"Uh, sir, it wasn't Carlos. It was the 8th graders. They poured yoghurt over Logan Mitchell. We saw the whole thing." One student calls out.
"Really?" Mr. Caldwell asks in surprise as he looks at the four troublesome boys. They all nod, when Ryan Jennings gets up. He takes one look at Carlos and steps behind Mr. Caldwell with frightened eyes.
"It was him… He attacked us!" He yells out wildly, pointing at Carlos. Carlos just points to himself with feigned innocence.
"Who is us, Mr. Jennings?" The principal asks the boy, whose nose still bleeds ferociously.
"Me, the guys, the entire 8th grade. That guy is crazy, he attacked us from out of nowhere. He completely lost it…" He says with slight fear.
Mr. Caldwell raises his eyebrows. "You're telling me that a 6th grader, who is about the height of a 3rd grader, took on the entire 8th grade by himself?" He asks.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. He needs to be locked up somewhere, that guy is out of his mind!" Ryan tells the man, while keeping an eye on Carlos.
The principal looks around at everyone else, who shrug and act like they don't know what he's talking about. Ryan looks around.
"But it's true, that's what happened. You have to tell them!" Ryan calls out to hiw friends. But one glare from Carlos in their direction has them closing their mouths and scooting back in fear. "But, but, it's true, honest…"
"Mr. Jennings, I think we better get you to the nurse. I believe you may have hit your head when you hurt your nose." The principal says as he starts to pull Ryan with him and out of the cafeteria. Ryan protests and while he looks at Carlos, the Latino grins and waves at him. Then he makes a lunging motion and Ryan screams.
"Did you see that? He was about to attack me again!" Ryan starts, but the principal just drags him outside.
The bell rings and everyone starts to clear out. But they do clap Carlos on the back or give him thumbs up. Kendall helps Carlos step off of the table and also claps him on the back.
"Dude… What was that? I have never seen that side of you before. I mean, you just took on the entire 8th grade by yourself and scared them off." James tells him, clearly sounding impressed. Carlos smiles.
"I don't know. I guess I was just tired of all the teasing and stuff." The guys exchange glances.
"Teasing? You were being teased?" Kendall asks him in a worried tone. Carlos sighs.
"I'll fill you in later. Right now we should help Logan clean up." He suggests and walks to Logan's side. "Are you okay?" He asks and without a warning, he is pulled into a tight and very wet, hug.
"Thank you…" Logan whispers to him. He smiles and hugs the still covered in yoghurt boy back.
"No problem, dude…" He whispers back. As they pull back, Logan gasps when he sees his friend now also covered in yoghurt.
"Oh, I am so sorry…" He stammers. Carlos looks down and suddenly starts to laugh. Logan looks at him and starts to laugh as well.
The other guys don't get it, but when some yoghurt is suddenly flung into their faces, they too break out in laughter while starting a mini food fight.
In the end, they all get detention after the lunch lady catches them. They have to clean the cafeteria. But they laughed until they cried, so it doesn't matter to them. It was so worth it.
That night as they all get together at Logan's house for homework, Carlos finally fills them in on what has been going on at school. They get mad and vow to do something about it. But the next day, nothing needs to be done. The bullies from before are too scared to approach the unpredictable Carlos, since they are afraid his 'inner Hulk' will come out and beat them up. But the guys do head for the principal's office to explain how Carlos needs to be in their classes and how they can't be pulled apart like that. They're a family and families should always be together.
The man surprisingly gives in right away and changes Carlos' schedule. He even makes sure the boy doesn't end up in Mrs. Wakeman's class. He never tells them that he knows exactly what happened in the cafeteria the day before and how proud he is of the small boy for standing up the bullies everyone was afraid of.
Finally, school becomes somewhat fun as he is back with his brothers and they help him in class. They even try to help keep him out of trouble and pay attention in his classes. But it just results in all four boys ending up in Mr. Caldwell's office. The man just shakes his head in amusement. Some things will never change…
A/N So this was my take on bullying. It's a lot less dramatic I suppose than all the other stories on here. But I just wanted to bring a little bit of humor into it and show that it can help to stand up to those who hurt you. Of course violence is never the answer, so I don't recommend it.
To anyone who is being bullied, just remember this; you are a good person. These people are often just jealous or don't understand you. Please don't let them get to you. We are all human beings and if you give up, they will win. Don't give them the satisfaction and love yourself. We are all beautiful and unique and have to believe in ourselves. Stay strong
Love, Baxxie