Playground Antics

Premise: VERY AU nonZA thing where Daryl and Beth are kids in elementary school...and then I add angst!

Genre: Friendship/Angst


He would have preferred the swirlie over this.

And even though he was of average height and of good weight, his "friends" were still bigger than him and had the strength to overpower him until he was forced into the trash can head down.

"Kiss the can, Daryl! Come on! Kiss the can!"

The game was simple, shove the loser kid, mainly Daryl, head first into the trash can as far as possible and not pull him out unless he willingly pressed his lips to garbage. The worst part of the game wasn't the likelihood of getting sick or the humiliation.

The worst part of the game was that it was Merle who had invented it.

Daryl, of course, had been his first test subject. But ever since Merle left school, Daryl was now forced to play the game with his "friends". Attacking the boys proved to be his undoing this time around. It had been several years since his mom died, but that still didn't stop the guys from making jokes. All it took was one kid asking if the fire burned all the fat off of her and Daryl made a failed attempt to wrestle him. His mom may have been quite obese, but that didn't mean she deserved to be insulted like that.

And of course, they were always playing the game behind the school bleachers, where the teachers wouldn't see them. It was the normal hangout for kids like him that came from poor families, were years behind their peers, and did nothing but roughhousing. "Flunkies" was the term other kids called them. And Daryl, was considered the meekest of the "flunkies". A 12-year-old 5th grader who had to take crap from everybody for everything.

All he could do for now was just get through it. Sometimes he caved in and kiss trash. Other times, he would hold out till recess ended and then the teachers would reprimand him for messing with school property when it wasn't his fault. Same old, same old. Today was a lucky day for him since the janitor did an early change of the garbage. But Daryl decided he wasn't going to give in...not this time.

The boys' game got interrupted when a kickball rolled into their area. They turned around to see a little girl with long blond hair chasing after the ball until it was finally in her hands. When she looked up, her eyes widened at the scene she was witnessing. The boys quickly pulled Daryl out hoping to play it cool. But the little girl caught on and she was turning towards the other side of the playground where the teachers would be.

"Sh*t!" The boys dropped Daryl on the ground. "That first-grader's gonna squeal!"

"Get 'er!"

Daryl was lucky his neck wasn't broken as he tried to pull himself together. Once he did, he saw his "friends" pull the girl by her hair back to the trash can.

"Stop it! Let me go!"

"You were gonna squeal on us. Now ya gotta play 'kiss the can'."

"No! Help!" The girl struggled with all her might to break her hair free from the boy that was painfully yanking at her. Her cries of distress would not be heard by the teachers since little kids like her were constantly screaming in play. But suddenly she was sent flying forward into the ground. Her hair was now free. She looked over and found Daryl beating the crap out of the boy.

This was enough to grab the whole playground's attention.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Kids were now gathering around the two boys and got even more exciting when nosebleeds started to happen. The fun ended quickly when the teachers came blowing their whistles and everyone was forced to disperse.

"Beth? Oh my god!" Daryl's classmate went over to the little girl who was now in tears. "What the hell did you do to my sister?"

"Didn't do nuthin'."

"I should be beating you!"

"Maggie, that's enough!" One of the teachers yelled. "I want all of you in the principal's office, now!"

For Daryl and the other boys, visiting the principal's office was nothing new, but little Beth, had been crying the whole way. Daryl figured, seeing that she was a first-grader, that this was the first time she had ever gotten in trouble like this before, which made it all the more sad given she didn't even do anything.

Maggie couldn't go with her like she wanted. So Beth continued to cry while the kids were being questioned about the incident. It was starting to drive Daryl nuts.

"Shuddup! It's all your fault, you know!"

Beth protested, "I didn't do anything!"

"Yeah ye did. You were gonna tell the teacher on 'em."

"I thought I was helping."

"Well if I hadn't been there, you woulda been kissin' garbage right now! Everyone knows yer not supposed ta squeal."

"But they were gonna hurt you."

"That ain't none of yer business what we do! Just learn to keep yer mouth shut next time!"

The principal then came into the waiting room with an older man. Beth immediately curled up in her seat in shame and fear. The man had to be Beth's father, to get that kind of response out of her. "Bethy, the principal tells me you had a little incident at recess today."

"Am I in trouble, daddy?"

"I hope not, sweetie. You just need to tell me what happened."

But Beth would not say anything. 'Sh*t,' Daryl thought. Was she really doing the whole not squealing thing now?

"Bethy, you need to say something."

"I can't...I...I...I"

'Dammit'. Daryl knew that if she didn't say anything soon, she could get in real trouble...all for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was gonna regret what he had to do. It would brand him a squealer forever. But he didn't have a choice in this particular case. "She didn't do nuthin'," he said.

"Hershel, this boy is Daryl Dixon," said the principal. "He was one of the kids involved in the incident."

"Ain't much of an incident," said Daryl. "Dumbasses were pullin' at 'er hair, so I punch 'em in the face."

"Dixon! Language!"

"Is that all?" asked Hershel. Beth nodded, though still a bit nervous.

The principal understood. "Okay Beth, you're free to go."

"Would you mind if I walked my daughter back to her classroom?"

"Not at all." Once Hershel and Beth were gone, it was just Daryl and the principal. "This was your final warning, Daryl. I'm sorry to tell you, you're going to be expelled for this. I'll have to call you father."

...

The bell rang signaling the end of school, and Maggie and Beth met out in the hallway. "I heard Daddy came today. You okay?"

Beth nodded.

"Hey, I knew you didn't do anything wrong. It's stupid Daryl. Good thing they're kicking him out."

"What do you mean?" Beth asked.

"He had to clear out his desk. He's getting expelled. Means he can't come back to school again."

They were walking by the main office and through the window, Beth could see Daryl sitting there with all his stuff packed in his worn-out backpack.

"Maggie, I haveta go to the office," said Beth. "I think I left something in there."

"Uh...really?" Maggie tried to open and peak into her sister's ladybug backpack. "You look like you got everything."

"I haveta go to the office, please!"

Maggie caved in. "Okay, fine. I'll be waiting outside."

Daryl was surprised to see Beth entering the office. "Maggie says you're leaving. Is that true?"

"Yeah? So?"

Beth looked like she was gonna cry again. Daryl didn't know if he could take that. "But you were trying to help me."

"Don't matter to these people," said Daryl. "I pissed them off enough."

"I'm sorry..."

"Why? You didn't do nuthin'."

"I know." She said wiping her eyes. "Did your daddy come?"

"Hadn't bothered showin' up," said Daryl.

"Are you gonna be in trouble with 'im?"

Daryl already knew the answer to that. Of course his dad was gonna be pissed. He knows his father was literally going to kick his ass worse than ever now that he had been expelled. But why tell her this? He was tired of seeing Beth upset.

"He'll get over it," he said.

Beth opened her ladybug backpack and pulled out a small ladybug plushie about the size of his hand. Damn, this kid had a thing for ladybugs, didn't she? "This is for you."

"Huh?"

Beth handed the bug to him. "You saved me today, Daryl. So you should have him. His name is Bumpy."

"Bumpy?!" Daryl attempted to reject the gift. He didn't want people thinking he stole it from her or anything. "I ain't takin' somethin' that's yours!"

"I have a lot more of them at home. Please take him. He'll like being with you."

Daryl finally surrendered and took the toy from her. "Whatever."

Beth shyly then headed over to the door. "Bye, Daryl. Thank you." He watched Beth leave with her sister down the hall.

...

Sure enough, Daryl's dad was not pleased about his expulsion. It would be the last time Daryl would ever sit in a classroom again. He had been deemed a lost cause by everyone, so it wasn't like he would be missed. He was tired of being one of the oldest students in elementary school anyway.

He thought for a brief moment of throwing the damn ladybug away but instead Daryl kept it tucked under his pillow so his family would never have to see it. But he would know it was there and sometimes he would pull it out to remind himself of the one good thing he ever had when he was in school and the one person in his childhood that came closest to being a true friend.