Chapter Two
A Bully?

Mr Manson was already waiting for them when they trudged into the classroom Tuesday morning. He watched them taking their places, noting that every person had remembered to bring their folders.
"Homework out." He said. "Put your names at the top and pass it to the front." He took a bundle of papers from Suzie and put them on his desk. "Right I want you to read chapter 7 in your textbooks, make notes and then answer the questions at the end."
"Sam." Phil whispered. "I forgot my textbook, can I share yours?"
"Er yeah." She said her heart pounding. She found the right page and put it in the middle of them.

"Phil where's your homework? I have everyone else's but yours." Mr Manson asked.
"Well ... You see ... Erm ... I did do it, but I ... I left it at home ... By accident." He said.
"Oh really. And where's your textbook? I suppose you left that at home too?"
"No sir, that's Phil's textbook. I forgot mine and he was sharing his with me." Sam said suddenly.
"Oh … Well you both have detention after school today. Come here at 3.00." Mr Manson sat at his desk.
"You didn't have to do that." Phil whispered.
"You would have been in even worse trouble if I hadn't." She said simply.
"Thanks." He whispered. She smiled at him before getting back to her work, her insides doing somersaults.

"I worry about you sometimes sweetheart." Jo said. "Why'd you get him out of trouble? It's his own fault if he doesn't bring his stuff."
"I know but …" Sam began.
"But you fancy the pants off of him." Jo interrupted.
"Joanne!"
"What? It's true."
"Is not." Sam replied.
"So why'd you do it?"
"Well … I … I've never had detention before. And you're always telling me to try new things. So I thought I'd see what detention is like." Sam replied, knowing how pathetic she sounded.
"And I suppose it's nothing to do with the fact that you get to spend a whole hour and a half with Hunter?" Jo winked. "Just don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Sam sat alone at lunch, stabbing the pasta on her plate with her fork, staring at the chair opposite her.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" A voice asked.
"No, go ahead." She said.
"Thanks." Stuart replied. She smiled faintly. "That was really mean, Manson giving you detention just for forgetting your textbook. I mean, that Phil, he forgets his homework and you both get the same punishment." She didn't reply.
"Do you like it here?" She asked, changing the subject.
"It's ok, better than my old school. I used to get bullied, that's why I left. It's people like him that make my life a misery." He said, watching Phil as he pulling someone up so that he could sit in his place.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"He walks around acting like he owns the place and everyone in it." Stuart began. "There's always someone like him at every school."
"Maybe if you got to know him …." Sam suggested.
"He only speaks to me if I'm in his way or he wants to copy my homework." Sam looked over at Phil; she wanted to prove Stuart wrong.
"I should get going. I'm going to go to the library, get some homework done." He said, standing up. "I'll see you around."