"If we get bad marks, we'll beat you up so badly." Kurt, the tall fourteen-year-old threatened, shoving his papers into Al's arms.
"My brother wouldn't let you, he could beat both of you up," Al blurted out, wishing he hadn't. Both boys sniggered.
"Not with arms and legs like that," sniggered the bulky one, Peter, who was also fourteen.
"Yeah," Kurt sneered, "He's also the shortest person I've ever seen.
Before Al knew what he was doing, he grabbed Kurt's shoulders and slammed him against the wall. It wasn't the type of thing that Al never did and he was shocked at his own actions. It was Ed who usually overreacted in situations like this, when people commented about his height, whether they were just pointing it out, teasing or purposely insulting him.
"Don't call my brother short!" Al snapped, his voice shaking slightly.
"Get off me," Yelled Kurt, punching Al in the stomach. Al fell to the floor.
"You're not going to tell your brother anything, unless you're a baby," Peter snapped.
"I'll tell a teacher then." Instantly, Al realised that wasn't really the right thing to be saying. He was expecting to be hit again, or have another insult thrown at him. Instead, the two boys looked at each other and laughed.
"Like they'll care."
Al sniffed, burying his face in his pillow, trying not to cry. His stomach was still stinging and his back ached from falling on the hard ground. He hoped all their answers were correct. He didn't want Ed to get hurt. Al was pretty sure that they wouldn't really go near Ed, but he was worried anyway. Why was he so scared? A few mean kids at school, he had certainly faced a lot, lot worse in the past few years. He shut his eyes tight, trying not to think about it.
"Tag! You're it!" Winry yelled, slapping Al on the shoulder.
"Ow," Al moaned, rubbing his arm.
Winry and Ed ran off, giggling. Al began to chase after them as fast as his legs could carry him. They were way faster than him. They turned around, running backwards as Al slowed to a stop, panting and gasping for breath.
"Come on Al," Ed grinned.
"You'll never catch us if you keep stopping," Winry cried, slowing to a jog, quickly glancing around to make sure she wasn't going to run into anybody.
"You two are faster than me," Al sighed.
"Al, you always say that," said Ed.
"You're getting much faster, you'll just have to try harder," smiled Winry.
Al nodded. Taking one last breath, he began to run again. Surprised at his quick recovery, Ed and Winry sped off again.
Al whimpered. "Winry…mother…"
"Good morning," Ed grinned as Al plodded into the kitchen.
"Morning," Al mumbled, avoiding Ed's gaze, and sitting down with a thump on his chair. He stared blankly at the piece of soggy buttered bread on the plate in front of him.
"Are you gonna eat?" Ed asked. "I know it's not really much of a breakfast…you can have another slice if you like."
Al shook his head and began nibbling on the corner of the slice in front of him.
How about I get some eggs today?" Suggested Ed.
Al looked up, concentrating on the window rather that looking straight at Ed and just shrugged.
"I don't mind Brother."
"You seemed a bit tense last night. Were you ok, at school? With your homework?"
"Everything's fine," Al replied quickly.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Ok then," Ed said, shrugging.
Al turned his attention back to his mushy piece of bread. It tasted really strange. Ed almost always managed to find a way to make food taste terrible.
"I don't want to rush you, but you're going to have to leave soon, or you'll be late," Ed said after a few minutes of silence. Al froze. He knew he had to go back, but somehow, he was hoping he wouldn't have to. This was ridiculous. He'd just give them their work and ignore them for the rest of the day. They'd soon leave him alone.
"Yes," Al said, feeling a bit more cheerful, "Goodbye Brother."
"Bye Al," Ed said.
Al walked into the almost empty classroom. Students weren't really supposed to be the in the building before the bell rang unless the weather was bad, but the teachers weren't really going to stop them. Taking a deep breath, Al walked over to where Peter and Kurt sat, lazily leaning back in their chairs so that they were tipped back, the chairs balancing on its back legs.
"Here you go," Al murmured, awkwardly walking over and putting the sheets of paper on the desk. Kurt just nodded. Al turned to leave but his foot banged against something and he stumbled forward, landing face-first on the hard wooden floor. Peter and Kurt glanced at each other, not making any attempt to hide their laughter. Al felt his face burning, but he desperately tried to calm himself down. Just ignore them, ignore them, he reminded himself. Making sure that nobody else had their feet in his path, Al hurried outside.
