It could be his nerves or the bad atmosphere, but the scent in the principal's office was even more reminiscent of that of an ancient tomb than it had been a few hours ago. ''When I heard the report, I could simply not believe it! A fight, on your first day at school! Two, even! Two!'' Doctor Crabblesnitch' face looked even more contracted than usual as he initiated the scolding. ''Have you lost your mind, boy?!'' Shay was trying not to sigh. He had to be tactful. Please him, tell him what he needs to hear. ''Sir, with all due respect...'' So far, so good. ''If I could get a word or two in to the extent of my defense...'' He was starting to sound even more refined than Crabblesnitch himself.
Funny, considering the fact that he had just finished beating someone up.
''I expect a very good explanation from you, mister Bonham!'' Crabblesnitch folded his hands, and looked very serious. Not that he ever looked like he was about to have a laugh, the gesture simply added to his general air of 'Please note that I am a very important and serious man'. Shay hesitated. What would be the best line of rebuttal here?
''The first fight was directly out of self defense. He attacked ME, sir! I swear! Anyone can confirm that.'' Shay looked at Crabblesnitch, expecting a reaction. The principal could only spare a nod. ''We'll see about that, then. But you cannot use that excuse to explain the second skirmish, Bonham.'' He was right, that didn't quite apply. Not directly, anyway.
''Sir, if I may! He was harassing my sister and then proceeded to kick me!''
Crabblesnitch didn't buy it. ''Only after YOU assaulted him! Out of spite, I assume!''
Shay shook his head. ''I only told him to keep his distance from my sister!''
Crabblesnitch leaned forward slightly. ''And he didn't. But violence is NOT an appropriate response! That isn't the Bullworth way, boy!'' Was he kidding? That's the epitome of Bullworth!
''Nor is harassing younger boys or girls, though!'' Shay said.
''Don't get wise with me, boy! Take some responsibility and face your punishment!'' Crabblesnitch lightly struck his desk. Classic rhetoric. Shay sighed. It was true, he didn't have a strong case when it came to the second fight.
''I'm taking responsibility for my actions, sir. I only expect Wade to do the same thing.''
Crabblesnitch squinted. ''Would you question my sense of justice? I will punish everyone involved accordingly!'' Shay didn't question Crabblesnitch' sense of justice. Not its absence, that is. Crabblesnitch returned to his original position, and his brow became slightly less furrowed. ''Since it is only the beginning of your time here, I will not allow any friction between you and your fellow students, or the staff. That is why I will limit myself to a warning this time. But heed it well, boy! Next time, you will be in grave trouble!'' Why did he assume that there would be a next time?
Shay nodded. ''Thank you, sir.'' Crabblesnitch was clearly enjoying his role as the just ruler. ''Off you go, now. Do not disappoint me, Bonham!''
The fresh air felt great. A late summer breeze blew through his hair and filled his lungs with fresh oxygen. A natural remedy against stress, which Shay had plenty of. How was he going to cope with all of this? With the way things were, he was sure to get into a fight every day. He went from being an awkward pacifist to being a notorious brawler in a matter of one morning. Now all that was left to do was get stuck in prison for a few months, and he'd have a complete imagine going! He could have kept gloomthinking until sundown, but his sibling dragged him out with her soothing voice. ''Oy!'' Alice waved at him, so he waved back and approached her. ''That took him a while! Did you bribe him with a qui-'' Shay wouldn't have it.
''I did not! He spent the whole time lecturing me, thank you very much!... I got away with a clean record, though. Just for today, anyway.'' Alice smiled. ''Lucky bird! You sure you didn't bribe him?'' Shay shook his head and ran his hand through his own hair. ''A lucky bird, not a ducky, mind you!'' Alice shrugged. ''You'll have to bribe him next time. Rawwww.''
Shay looked a tiny bit upset. ''What's gotten into you all of a sudden?! Are these cavemen rubbing off on you or something?'' Alice was about to exploit Shay's way of phrasing it when they heard hesitant footsteps approach them. It was none other than the victim from before, Pink Shirt, in the flesh. ''Ummm...'' Dazzling eloquence. ''... I wanted to thank you guys. You know, for sticking up for me before.'' Alice gave him a worried look upon seeing him. ''Oh, yeah, of course! People can't just bully other people, I can't stand it when shit like that happens. Are you okay?''
The boy nodded. ''Y-Yeah, yeah! I'm fine! You were in time!'' He looked at Alice nervously, and then awkwardly turned to Shay. ''You beat him up pretty good! I mean, I don't like violence but Wade kind of... He's been bullying me for a while so...''
''No worries, I get it! We had a score to settle as well.'' Shay patted the boy on the arm,whereupon the latter flinched. Both Shay and Alice noticed that, and the boy looked embarrassed. ''... So, I'm Pete! I'm the head boy.'' Not a loved one at that, that much was clear.
''Alice.'' Alice smiled at Pete, and Shay gave Pete a faint smirk as well.
''Shay. I'm the back alley brawler.'' Pete smiled back, and a short silence followed.
Pete was kind of an awkward fellow, but that was fine with Shay. Alice couldn't possibly mind either, because if she did, she wouldn't like hanging out with her brother so much. ''... So, have you guys been shown around yet?'' Quite a bold social move. Perhaps Shay had underestimated him. Either way, he shook his head. Alice rolled with her eyes. ''I was going to get a tour, but then we ran into that asshole...'' Pete rubbed his head. ''W-Well, I could show you guys around then! We'll just have to avoid the bullies, h-ha ha...'' Alice frowned. ''There's more of them?''
Pete sighed. ''Loads more... C'mon, let's go!'' He took off and awkwardly half-gestured them to follow.
After a little while, he stopped and looked at a parking lot.
''So, this is where Wade and his gang hang out. You should not go there... Ever.''
He shuddered. Apparently, he was a little too familiar with the risks.
Shay shrugged. ''Don't know what I'd want on a dirty parking lot anyway.''
Pete rubbed his head. ''W-Well, it's one of the only places you can put your bike...''
Luckily, neither Shay nor Alice owned one of those.
They moved on to a crossroad section with a fountain in the middle. Shay thought it looked quite nice, but the fountain wasn't particularly well sculpted.
Pete pointed at a rather imposing building to the left. ''That's Harrington House.'' he said.
''The preps hang out here.'' Shay looked at a few well-dressed kids who were talking to one another. He could hear the exaggerated British accents from where he was standing,
which was quite far away. Alice smirked. ''Maybe we should give them a taste of Irish supremacy, huh?'' Shay shrugged. To be honest, he always liked England better.
Of course, he'd never mention that to his family. ''I'm afraid I'm gonna need more beer for that, lassie.'' Shay feigned an accent, which went very well. After all, he'd spent all his life hearing it. Pete laughed a little. ''I wouldn't try talking to them at all, though. They're jerks.''
Shay and Alice could understand why Pete thought that. Pretentious types weren't their favourite people anyway. ''And on the other side, we've got the grease monkeys. They're the complete opposite. They're obsessed with bikes, too.'' Shay peeped into the gate from a distance and saw a few scruffy kids in leather jackets. ''Kinky.'' he said. Pete looked at him. ''W-What?'' Shay chuckled and shrugged. Pete, seemingly having understood the joke now, looked flustered. ''D-Don't insult their looks! They get mad real easy!'' Shay shrugged. ''Wade got mad real easy too!'' Alice looked at her brother. Was Shay trying to look tough, or was he just joking? ''You're not gonna fight anyone, are you, little brother?'' she said with a stern look in her eyes. Shay looked surprised. ''Goodness no! Enough of that!'' That'll do, she thought. He had to look out for her brother here. Thankfully, Shay always listened to her. Of course, he had better reasons not to fight anyone. After all, being a good kid was a priority now that he'd been warned. In the meantime, Pete had led them towards what was apparently the gymnasium, as the sign indicated. ''This is where all the jocks hang out.'' Obviously!
Shay nodded. ''So, there's a whole gym here, eh?'' Pete gave Shay a frightened look.
''You're not thinking of going in there, are you?'' Shay nodded.
''Why wouldn't I?'' Pete looked at the Jocks who were playing basketball. Some of them were glaring at the trio. ''...They're really aggressive and they don't let anyone on their turf.''
Shay sighed. ''Are you serious? What is this, a bloody war zone?! I can't park a bike, go into my dorm or exercise. What's going on in this school?'' Pete sighed. ''It's the cliques. They're totally crazy! They-They bully everyone, they attack each other, skip class...'' Alice shook her head. ''Why isn't anyone fixing that?!'' Pete shrugged. ''I've been trying to get the principal to stop this, but he doesn't even think it's a problem!
I don't think he knows how bad it is...'' Shay heard a familiar voice behind him. ''That old man's a stinking phoney!'' It was the bald kid from before. ''Oh, Jimmy!'' Pete greeted Jimmy, who joined the three of them. He almost immediately turned towards Alice, whom he wasn't familiar with yet. ''Hello there!...I'm Jimmy! Who're you?'' Alice looked at Jimmy.
Was he trying to be seductive? As if. '' , my name's Alice.''
She tried to kind of smile at Jimmy. If Pete liked him, he couldn't be that bad...
At least not a bully. Shay gave Jimmy a nod and a smile. Apparently, they'd already met. Jimmy looked at Shay. ''Another fight, huh?'' Shay nodded. ''Aye, another.''
''You had a talk with that phoney too?'' Shay nodded again. ''Thoroughly boring.''
''What'd you say?'' Shay tilted his head. ''I sort of went with it. Told him I'd behave.''
Jimmy snorted. ''Shoulda told him what for. This place is a mess.'' Shay nodded. ''A pit of violence and madness.'' ''And bullies!'' Alice added.
An unfamiliar voice sounded behind them. ''Oh, yeah! Bullworth's such a scary place!
Boo hoo hoo, grow some balls, newbies!'' A boy with a fade cut and a green sweater approached them. He looked rather smug, and something about him gave off a bit of a... Deranged vibe. He also had a scar above his right eye, which added to the ''Dangerous'' look he was sporting. He grinned a wolfish grin at Petey and slapped him on the shoulder rather hard. ''Oooooh, Petey! Way to hang out with the loser, new kids!'' He laughed at his own joke and looked at Shay and Alice. ''Fuck off, Gary.'' Jimmy grumbled, his arms crossed. Gary made a dramatic gesture.
''Oh, Jimbo, please! Don't be so mean! You hurt my feelings! All I'm trying to do is to make these newbies feel at hooome!'' Jimmy sighed and rubbed his temple.
''Whatever. Don't be a dick, man.'' Shay had no idea what to say. Was this Gary kid trying to get on his nerves? He did make him feel very uncomfortable...
Alice seemed uncomfortable too, and she was about to tell Gary off for being a bully. Not a good start. ''Soooo, new kid!'' Gary came closer to Shay. Too close. ''You stayed in the belly for long, didn't you?'' Gary chuckled as he looked at Shay.
True, Shay was rather tall. ''It is a pleasure indeed.'' Shay nodded.
''Witty too, huh?'' ''What the hell is your problem?!'' Alice couldn't stand seeing her brother like that. He was obviously a little scared of Gary. At least, she could tell. Gary held both his hands up and backed away. ''Whoa-hoa... Dangerous...''
He laughed in a way that really annoyed Alice. ''I will be if you keep bothering us!''
Gary had a go at imitating Alice's light accent. ''Oh please, so scarr'd!''
More laughing. Jimmy had enough. ''What do you want, anyway?!''
Gary clapped his hands a single time. ''Uh, well... The school?''
''Get real, Gary.'' Jimmy was really losing his patience. His body language made that obvious. ''No, really! I want the school! I want US to have the school!
But it's not ours yet. First, we gotta take those losers down!''
Jimmy sighed. ''Not more of this! Fuck that!'' Gary got animated.
''Listen, James! This matters! If you take on those bullies, Russell's gonna know there's a bad kid in town!'' Shay butted in this time. ''Wait, wait. What's this about bullies and Russell?'' Gary looked amused now. ''Oh, curious, are we? Good! See, this guy knows what's up, Jimbo. See, I made a plan to take over the school, but to do that,
we need to take Russell's gang down. Russell's that big doofus who kicked your ass this morning, by the way. Hah hah!'' Gary saw that? Shay didn't think it was funny.
''I know Russell all too well. But how're you gonna take him down?!''
Gary laughed. ''Slow down, big boy! First, his gang's gotta get messy!...
Look, these nerd kids got trouble with the bullies. If we help them out, we'll be able to teach them a lesson!'' Shay didn't know what to say. He'd just met the guy, and now he's explaining him some sort of evil master plan to take over the school?
What kind of weird ambition is that? Standing up against bullies wasn't a weird ambition, though. Gary saw Shay's attitude change when he mentioned taking down Russell, and decided to press the point a little more. ''Come on, man...''
Gary looked at Shay. ''These guys were messing with you, AND your sister!
Are you gonna let them keep doing that? Because they WILL, my friend,
until somebody shuts them up!'' Shay knew that was true. They were after him and Alice now.
''... What about Crabblesnitch? He's going to flay me if I get into another fight!''
Gary laughed. ''You think that guy has authority...?'' Shay didn't like how smug Gary looked and wasn't sure if he did think that Crabblesnitch had any authority.
''... Look. The thing is: the prefects are the only strong link. If they catch you, it's trouble.
But if they don't... Nobody's gonna care!'' Shay couldn't believe it.
''Aren't they going to report it?'' Gary laughed. ''Report what? Every little thing?''
To be honest, it did make sense. If the staff was vigilant, there wouldn't be so much trouble all the time. Alice didn't approve at all, though. ''What're you trying to talk him into? That Russell's gonna kill us all!'' Gary shook his head. ''Russel's not even around, sassy lady!
So, relax... I've planned this.'' He smirked again. Jimmy had been listening as well, but didn't seem to care much. Alice was about to say something, when they got disturbed again.
This time, it was a fat boy with glasses and a green sweater. He hobbled towards them awkwardly and spoke to Gary in a wimpy voice: ''G-Gary! Are you going to help them? They're gonna get hurt!'' The latter laughed and looked at Shay and Jimmy. ''Well, boys... Are you up for it?'' Shay nodded. ''Alright.'' Alice grabbed his arm. ''What? No! You're mad!'' Shay looked at Alice. ''I'm not going to live in a boarding school full of bullies.
You don't like bullying either, do you? Somebody's gotta change it! Maybe this school'll be kind of fun without them! We could have a normal life here after all!''
Alice wasn't buying it. ''Tchh... What're you, a war hero? C'mon, this is just asking for trouble!''
''You heard what he just said! Getting caught is trouble!'' Shay was actually determined.
He felt about making the decision to stand up against bullies, and he was going to see this one through. Jimmy stood besides Shay and smirked at Alice.
''Hey, don't worry! I'll keep an eye on him. He's not getting hurt.'' Alice knew what Jimmy was doing: he was trying to get her favour. With things as they were, she might benefit from playing along. After all, Shay was dead set on teaching the bullies a lesson, and him having at least some protection made her feel slightly better. Besides, she wouldn't mind seeing the bullies crash and burn... ''Alright, fine. Go ahead! But I'm going too!''
Shay flinched. ''Urgh! What?! But-'' Alice shook her head. ''But nothing! I'm coming with you, little brother!'' There. Now he was 100% safe!
Meanwhile, the nerdy boy was panicking and Gary was chuckling contently.
His estimations were correct. He'd pulled all the right strings.
His plan was working.