"Well here we are." Iria said smoothing out her uniform. She and Catherine wore a navy blue skirt, white blouse, and a maroon jacket with the school crest on the lower left pocket. They both wore white knee-high stockings and black Mary Janes.
"Wait for me to pick you up, okay?" Iria said looking at her brother. Quatre nodded. "My school's just down the street, so I won't take too long to get here." She smiled. "Bye kiddo." Iria kissed Quatre's forehead.
"If Richie gives you a hard time, tell me, and I'll sock him in the face." Catherine winked.
Quatre smiled. The two girls waved at him before heading off to their school.
"Bye..." Quatre whispered as he watched them. He pulled at the tie around his neck to lessen the irritation. His uniform was made up black pants, a white oxford shirt with a gray and blue tie, a gray pullover vest, and a blue jacket with the school's crest on the left chest pocket.
"Hey look! It's the dweeb!" Richie called out from somewhere. Quatre turned to see Richie, Trowa, and their friends standing in the front of the school. Quatre looked away and started walking towards his class.
"What's the matter, kid? Cat got your tongue?" another boy snickered.
"Nah. He's just gonna go somewhere to play with his dolls." A third boy called and the rest started laughing, except Trowa.
"Maybe you could go play with the girls like you did the other day, dweeb. I'm sure they'd let another girl play with them."
"Leave him alone, guys." Trowa whispered as Quatre continued to walk away. He looked at Quatre and couldn't help feel a little bad for the guy. But of course, he couldn't do anything about it.
* * *
"Good morning class."
"Good morning Miss Une!" The class said in unison.
"Well class, it seems to me that we've got a new student." Miss Une nudged Quatre to the front of the class. "Go on and tell everybody your name."
"My name is Quatre Winner."
"Well, Quatre, there's a seat for you in the corner over by the bookshelf." Miss Une said, pointing to the seat. Quatre quietly made his way to the back of the room.
"Well kids. Today we'll be practicing our multiplication tables. I'll call out someone's name, and you'll give me an answer. Is that understood?"
"Yes Miss Une."
"Cindy. 3x4."
"3x4 equals 12."
"Good. Teresa. 2x1."
"2x1 equals 2."
"Good, Teresa. Jimmy. 6x2"
"6x2 is-um. Er. 10?"
"Incorrect. Does someone know the answer?" Five hands shot up.
"Debby."
"6x2 is 12."
"Good Debby. Ralph. 7x9."
"7x9 is 56." Ralph said confidently. He flipped his black hair and smiled in triumph.
"Sorry. Wrong answer. Anyone who'd like to give it a try?" No one raised his or her hand. "Oh. Come on, kids. Someone knows the answer."
Quatre raised his hand, reluctantly.
"Yes, Quatre."
"7x9 is 63."
"Correct. Good job, Quatre."
Quatre blushed slightly. He looked to his right to see the boy named Ralph giving him a look of pure hatred.
* * *
The bell for recess rang and the students of Miss Une's class ran out of the room to go play with their friends from other classes. Quatre sighed and walked out the door. He stood just outside and watched as kids from first grade to fifth grade run all around the school.
"Well, look at what we have here, boys. A smarty pants." Quatre turned to see Ralph and four other boys walk up to him. "Hey kid. I don't appreciate you making me look like fool in class. I think I should teach you a lesson for that."
Quatre's eyes went wide before sprinting out onto the blacktop.
"Let's get him!" Ralph shouted. Ralph and his friends were right on Quatre's trail. Because his legs were much shorter, Ralph and his friends easily caught up to Quatre. One of them launched themselves at Quatre, causing him to hit the cement very hard.
"Hey Ralph! I got him! I got him, Ralph!" The kid called.
Ralph and the three others surrounded Quatre. Soon more of the kids surrounded Quatre to see Ralph's new victim.
"Looks like the new kid got in trouble with Ralph." Richie said to Trowa as they watched from the crowd.
"This'll teach you to make me look like a fool." Ralph walked up to Quatre, who was still on the ground. He flashed Quatre an evil grin before pulling his leg back and kicking Quatre in the stomach with great force. Trowa's jaw dropped but he didn't dare jump in. Ralph hovered over Quatre who was crying in pain as he clutched his stomach. Ralph pushed Quatre onto his back.
"This is to remind you not to do it again." He clenched his fist and struck Quatre across his jaw.
"Yard Duty! Scatter!" Someone yelled from the crowd.
The crowd dispersed and everyone continued what they were doing before. Ralph and his friends ran away but not before Ralph whispered "Tell on me and I'll finish this later" in Quatre's ear. Trowa stood in shock in front of Quatre.
"Come on Trowa. We'll get in trouble." Richie urged pulling Trowa away. Trowa turned, eyes still on Quatre. Quatre looked up and locked eyes with Trowa. Trowa could see the pain and agony in Quatre's eyes. He wished he could do something but soon Richie had pulled him out of Quatre's gaze.
"Jesus!" The yard duty called. Quatre looked up at the woman. "Don't worry. I'll take you to the nurse." She picked up Quatre and ran to the office and into the nurse's station.
* * *
Quatre waited patiently in the doctor's office. The school's nurse had called Quatre's father to take him to a doctor. Mr. Winner sent his long time assistant, Rashid, to escort Quatre.
"You've very lucky, Quatre." The doctor said as he looked at some X-rays. "None of your ribs are broken and none of your internal organs are damaged. You'll have a bruise on your stomach and jaw, but it'll clear up in time."
Quatre nodded holding an ice pack to his cheek.
"I'll have to prescribe some pain-killers, for you. Try not to do anything that requires too much movement of your stomach. And try not to get in any more fights, young man. Got that?"
"I'll try..."
"Atta boy." The doctor turned to leave as Rashid came into the room. The doctor handed Rashid the prescription and walked down the hallway to see another patient.
"How are you feeling, Quatre?" Rashid asked, placing a huge hand on Quatre's shoulder.
Quatre shrugged. "Better, I guess."
"Come on. I'll take you back to school."
"I don't wanna go back there, Rashid. I wanna go home..."
"I know you do. But there's no one to watch you. Your sister won't be home until 2:30 and I must return to the office. I'm sorry, kiddo."
Quatre sighed and hopped off the doctor's chair. Rashid led Quatre to the pharmacy to pick up the pills before returning him to school.
"Want me to walk you to class, Quatre?"
"No thanks. I think I can manage."
"All right. Take care of yourself, okay?"
"Okay."
Quatre climbed out of the car, pulled his backpack over his shoulders, and watched Rashid drive off.
Quatre sighed. 'I don't wanna go back to class...' Quatre thought. One hour of school was left and the last place that Quatre wanted to be was in the same room as Ralph.
Making sure no one spotted him, Quatre cautiously walked behind a row of classrooms at the back of the school. Opposite the classrooms were massive trees, blocked off by a long fence and shrubs. Quatre noticed a small gap in the fence and managed to squeeze through to see an open area where he could stay for the remaining hour. Quatre took off his backpack and sat on a low branch.
'I hope no one knows that this is here...' Quatre opened his backpack and pulled out his uneaten lunch. He took a bite out his turkey sandwich his sister prepared from him in the morning and looked around. The area seemed completely deserted. Overgrown grass grew along the fence and dead leaves were scattered throughout the area. It seemed that the school was placed at the edge of a small forest. Quatre pulled out his Strawberry Kiwi Caprisun and took a sip. He finished his lunch on the branch and shoved his trash back into his pack.
"Wonder what's here..." Quatre mumbled to himself, looking deeper into the forest. He hopped off the branch and started to explore the area. 'I'll be back in time...' Quatre left his backpack where it was and ran into the forest. He ran alongside the fence so he could find his way back easily. The area was completely surrounded by the fence with an exception to the open side facing the river. The side facing the school had a few playground balls that had been lost over the years. At another side, a small portion of the fence had collapsed, though the opening was hidden behind a line of towering shrubs.
Quatre had nearly finished walking around the whole area when he heard the school bell in the distance. He hurried over to the tree where his backpack waited against the tree. The voices of students chatting amongst each other were heard beyond the fence. Quatre peeked through the fence before stepping through. The coast was clear and Quatre hurried to the front of the school to wait for Iria.
"Hey, dweeb!"
Quatre sighed and looked down.
"Dweeb! I'm talkin' to you!" Richie called.
Quatre ignored him and looked around to see if Iria was coming for him.
"That's it..." Richie growled. He started to walk over to Quatre when an arm came and pulled him back. "What the heck?!"
"I said leave him alone." Trowa said, calmly.
"But-"
"But nothing."
"Why are you protecting him, Trowa?"
"You saw what Ralph did earlier. Give him a break."
Richie cocked an eyebrow at Trowa but didn't dare go against his word. Trowa may not be the leader, but he was still very intimidating. Richie hoped that he would never get on Trowa's bad side.
"Let's go." Trowa commanded, releasing Richie from his hold. The two began walking in the direction of their homes.
Soon Iria and Catherine arrived, arm in arm. They were laughing about something Quatre didn't know. Iria glanced at Quatre and her face instantly fell. Catherine looked at Quatre and the same thing happened to her. The girls hurried over to Quatre, worry in their eyes.
"What happened, Quatre?" Iria said, taking Quatre's face in her hands.
"Did Richie do this to you? Where's the little twerp? I'll pound him to the ground." Catherine growled, cracking her knuckles.
"It wasn't Richie. Stop." Quatre complained, pulling out of Iria's hold. "I'm fine. Rashid took me to the doctor already."
"Rashid? Who's Rashid?" Catherine asked, the pounding long forgotten.
"Rashid came to California with us. He's dad's assistant and our sitter, sometimes. He moved into an apartment in the city."
"Oh..."
"Can we go now?" Quatre said, pulling on Iria's jacket.
"Sure."
The three started walked towards their homes. The girls were soon lost in a conversation of which of the N*SYNC boys was the cutest. Quatre listened and followed closely behind Iria.
'God, I hope I don't have to go through this everyday...' Quatre thought. 'I don't think I'll live to see fifth grade...' Quatre sighed in resignation, his head dropping to see the sidewalk beneath his feet.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but a psychotic imagination and a shaky writing hand.