Sometimes I don't get you guys. I post a one shot that receives ten reviews. I post another one shot a few days later that receives at least 80 more views, yet I only get one review. That's just confusing. Can anyone explain this?
Apparently going around and saying you want to be a doctor when you're only eight years old is not the way to make friends. William Solace found this out the hard way. His first day at a new school turned into a nightmare when the bullies came looking for him, and teasing him for wanting to be a doctor. Make no mistake, Will tried to fight back, but only with his words, and that wasn't enough.
"We're just giving you good practice for when you grow up, right boys?" the ringleader sneered, turning to his two lackies.
Talk about a face only a mother could love. The boy in the front had ratty brown hair was tall for his age, but Will assumed that maybe he'd stayed back a grade, furthering his intimidation in size. His teeth showed when he smiled, suggesting he had no dental hygiene, or maybe no hygiene at all. His small squinty eyes were all too close to his nose, which was crooked, almost as though he had run into a pole repeatedly.
The first day Will returned home with a couple of bruises that were well hidden under his clothes. He refused to go to his mother and tell her what had happened, afraid of the increased bullying when they found out he was a tattle tale. Will was careful not to flinch too much as he moved around within view of his mother.
The second day wasn't much better. Will came home with a bloody nose, but he quickly ran upstairs and into the bathroom, washing all the evidence away. He soaking his shirt in water, hoping to get the blood out of it so his mother wouldn't notice.
The pattern continued. Every day he would return home with a new injury. Every day he would manage to hide it from his mother. This happened for two consecutive weeks before the pattern changed. There was another new boy in the class. A little dark haired kid with olive toned skin. He mumbled out a few words when the teacher asked him to share something about where he'd come from. The boy rapidly said something about Italy when the teacher motioned for him to keep going. Certain that she would get nothing else from the small boy, the teacher let him take his seat in the back of the room before starting her lesson.
That day, after class the bullies returned to Will the wannabe doctor.
"You ready for another bloody nose?" the ringleader asked, pulling his hands into fists.
Will's eyes cringed closed as he waited for the punch, but it never came. Cautiously, Will opened his eyes to find the little dark haired boy standing in between Will and the bully. The bully stared at the little boy incredulously, but the boy paid him no attention. He just looked up at Will through sheets of raven black hair.
"I'm new," he said quietly, "and I can't seem to find my way back to the buses. Would you mind helping?"
"Uhhhh…" Will fumbled for words, before realizing that this kid was giving him an out, "Sure. I'll show you."
For the first day since Will started school here, he went home without any new marks on his body. He also found out that the new boy, whose name was Nico, was on his bus.
The next day Nico interrupted again, once more, paying the bullies no mind, and claiming he couldn't find the bathrooms.
Nico showed up on the third day as well, but the bully's patience had finally run out.
"Look runt," the bully said, turning Nico to face him, "you can't just keep bursting into my prime punching time every day. So if I can't hit Doc over here, then I'm gonna punch the snot out of you."
Nico just looked at the bully blankly.
"I'm surprised you used the word bursting. I would've thought that it's too big for your vocabulary," Nico said, not at all intimidated but the bully's fist hanging in the air.
"That's it," the bully snarled, his fist coming down, right where Nico's face was.
But it never made impact. Nico ducked, and landed a solid punch right in the bully's stomach, causing him to keel over and gasp for breath. Lackey One came at Nico but received a swift kick to the family jewels and fell to his knees. Lackey Two managed to dodge Nico's first kick, but got a punch to the face and started gushing blood from his nose.
All three boys were down and incapacitated in a matter of minutes. However, the commotion had caused a teacher to come running, and soon Will and Nico were sitting in two plush chairs directly in front of the principal's desk.
They were scolded for the damage they had caused to those boys, even though Will hadn't done a single thing. They're parents were being called, along with the parents of the boys, and the principal had assured Nico and Will that they would both be spending at least a month in detention.
Will leaned over to Nico quietly.
"I can help patch you up later if you want," Will said softly.
This was his way of thanking Nico, despite the trouble he had gotten them both into. Nico sat there processing for a moment before he realized that he had made a new friend.
Nico offered Will a small smile which was quickly returned. They would be spending a lot of time together, and not just in detention.
Please review if you liked it. There are more stories on my profile page if you liked this one.
And I'll fade away until next time, just like a shadow.