Bullies
Varian pedaled down the streets of Old Corona, happy to be testing out his latest invention. He wobbled a bit, and steering was harder than it looked, but the design was good and Varian was very proud of his bicycle.
"Hey, brainiac, whaddya got there?" someone sneered.
Varian skidded to a stop, his heart thumping wildly as he recognized the voice belonging to David, son of Burt the carpenter, and the meanest of the town bullies.
"I-it's a bicycle, a two wheeled pedal powered transport-" Varian began.
"It looks stupid, just like you." David spat.
'How can I be stupid and a brainiac?' Varian wondered fleetingly.
"Hey, look at me when I'm talking, nerd." David instructed.
Varian turned to face David and his bullying friends Tom and Micheal. They were all at least a head taller than Varian, and a good 70 pounds or more heavier than he was.
"I got a bone to pick with you, twerp." David said, pounding his fists together.
"...Is this because I beat you in the spelling bee?" Varian asked nervously.
David's face flushed. "No! Nobody cares about that!" he snapped.
"If nobody cares, then why is there a trophy with my name on it?" Varian reasoned.
"Shut up!" David barked. "Just for that, we're gonna take the rocks we were gonna throw at a hornet's nest and throw 'em at you."
Varian, knowing it was pointless to resist or argue, merely stood there as the older boys pelted him with rocks. With any luck, that would be all they did.
"You're such a dork, always working those stupid goggles. Can you even see out of them?" David snatched the goggles off Varian's head.
"Hey, give those back!" Varian found his voice at perhaps the most inopportune time.
"Whoops. I dropped them." David said as he threw the goggles to the ground and stomped on them with his foot. Varian winced at the sound of glass shattering.
"Aww, is the baby sad I broke something?" David sneered.
"He is! He's crying!" Tom pointed out gleefully.
Varian blinked back tears. "I am not!" he insisted.
"Shut up, baby." David growled. He shoved Varian in the chest, nearly knocking the boy down.
"If I see you again this week, I'm gonna beat you even worse." he threatened.
Varian nodded, knowing full well that there would be church and town meeting day this week, when he would be forced to see David again and presumably face more beatings.
"Yeah, we'll beat the crud outta you!" Michael vowed.
"So get outta here, you little dork. And don't tell anyone about this!" David ordered.
What could Varian say? Quirin and Burt were friends, but Burt would never admit his son was capable of any wrongdoing. And when it came down to a grownup's word against Varian's, Quirin inevitably and unfortunately sided with the adults.
So Varian picked up his broken goggles and wheeled his bicycle home in silence, wishing he could invent something that would make his detractors go away, or at least forget about bothering him once in a while.
"Varian!" Quirin was waiting at the door. He took one look at his battered son and was full of fatherly concern. "What happened?!" he asked.
"I- I fell off my bicycle." Varian mumbled.
Quirin frowned. "I knew that thing was dangerous. Come on, let's get you bandaged up." he offered. Varian nodded gratefully, happy that home was safe at least.
THE END
I hate bullies and they're pretty much everywhere. It's especially awful when you're a kid and you're getting picked on by people 5 or 6 years older than you. Sorry, Varian.