Chapter 5
Cato smirks as he sees me coming by at school. "Hey loser." he taunts. "Where did you get that black eye from?" "I tried to avoid a car on my bike and I went into a lamp post." I lie, not wanting to make things more complicated. Cato and his goons start laughing and chuckling. He laughs so hard that he holds his stomach in mock ecstasy and hangs on to one of his pals for support. In time, Cato and his friends begin whooping and howling as a spasm of laughter hits them, that everyone in the locker halls looks at them strangely. I have no idea that I am that good at making jokes and anecdotes.
"Seriously, Abel." Cato chokes. "Man, that was a very good lie. A very good one. Who in this whole school doesn't know that you live with a f%^king momma that bits you like a piece of crap and sent your bro to boot camp?"
Lightning hits me in a flash. "What?" I sputter with disbelief, totally caught out of the blue. Cato grins and pats me on the shoulder. "Trust me, I don't hire moles for nothing. Lionel here was delivering pizza on his bike pass your house and saw everything unfold." He points to a sly-looking thin teen who winks at me. I catch the smell of cigarettes in his breath. "Lionel saw your momma whacking your pap like a bitch, and then your bro, and next she tried to strangle you rougher than a WWE superstar! Oh my!" he chuckled. "And your girlfriend came along with her dad and she was screaming like a poor whore who has had her knickers stolen..."
"Enough!" I demand, my eyes blazing.
"Cool it, man. All the ladies do that especially when their men are being beaten up. And it's natural. I would scream if my gal were on fire too. I guess after that, the law totally was so f%$ked up that your mum got out! She's gonna whack your ass so hard that it'll fall off. Besides," his smile turns lecherous. "maybe your momma will make sure that you won't have a Father's Day to look forward to. How disappointing for your girlfriend."
By then everything had peeked to the maximum. I couldn't take it any longer. "Stop it!" I shout so loudly that everyone around us stop in their tracks and start crowding in to see the argument. "If you say another thing about my mum, my family or whoever else, I'll-"
"You'll what, hah? Tell a teacher? Please, you are not in preschool. If you call yourself a man and you yourself are, meet me at the basketball court today at recess and we'll see if you have the balls to protect your girlfriend." Cato's face is flushed with anger at being challenged so openly in his territory, but he still has that smile which means no good. His goons turn to the crowd and announces, "Sorry, no fight now. But later, we'll have it!" The general school populace cheers and gibbers with excitement.
The morning classes are miserable. Everyone seem to avoid me as if I had committed murder. Whenever I move from one class to another, I see Cato glancing at me, giving me a teasing look. I feel like punching him in the face, but I tell myself that aggression is not my personality. Tom and Samantha look distressed at my situation, but I know that I will not fight just to save my reputation. That would not be very men will only fight with words.I make up my mind to report it before things get out of hand.
But the moment I step into the locker halls, a crowd of rough kids burst in roaring. They grab me before I can say 'gangsterism' and force me out to the basketball court where Cato stands waiting. I don't see any recess monitors so panic rushes through my veins. All I see about me are rowdy bad kids who don't care about right and wrong, and Cato's goons who heat up the fire of excitement by urging Cato on.
"Trash him!"
"He's challenging you! Beat him!"
"He's a piece of junk. Don't worry Cato!"
"Don't look like a scared mouse, Abel." Cato smirks. "The teachers are in a staff meeting and we will be uninterrupted. Are you going to show that you are a man, or do i have to remind you how pussy you are, having a f%^ked up mother?"
"No, I'm not going to fight with you." I say adamantly. "What's your problem anyway? Why do you want to pick a fight?"
"Because you tried to show that you're the boss. Because you are a self-righteous bitch. I'll give you a little motivation."
Two of his biggest and baddest goons turn up, one dragging a dazed Tom and the other struggling with a terrified Samantha. "No!" she screams. "Don't fight him!"
I am speechless. These guys really want a fight. But I will do as Samantha says. I won't fight.
"Fine." Cato's fist flies into Tom's face as the poor boy is ensnared in the arms of the nine-feet tall gangster. I can only stand there helplessly as Cato's fists fly and my best friend groans with pain until blood drips to the ground. I feel sickened by such an act of violence. But still...
"No, I won't. A real man does not fight with his fists, but with words. And your words are not even words, but curses and foul insults. That shows you are a coward and a real coward you are, a half-man." I say angrily. Cato stares at me in disbelief for ten seconds. Then he yells, "You want to be a man with words? I'll show you how it is to be a man." He swings his fist at me, but I dodge it to the excitement of the onlookers. I dodge a quick swipe and another. But I am knocked to the ground by an unexpected kick. I get up to my feet, nursing a bruise on my right arm. Another punch comes in, but I dodge it just in time for his fist to mistakenly land on the nearest bystander's face. As she crumples to the ground, Cato swears under his breath and grabs the chair a goon of his hands him. My eyes widen as he throws the chair at me. I leap out of the way and watch it sail past my head at the thin sly fellow who betrayed me. The piece of furniture breaks into two as it makes contact with his body, invoking the screams of the female audience and the applause of the males. Tom not included.
I thank my lucky stars that I am still alive. Then it must have gone to Cato's head that there is no use throwing punches at me as he strides over to Samantha and says, "Let her go." I know it is not for a good reason, so I say, "What do you want? What are you going to do?"
"This." Cato smiles so broadly that his face is about to break any time and grabs Samantha so roughly by the hair that she squeals with pain. To my horror and the euphoria of the others, he kisses her full on the lips and my rage overtakes me, overwhelming my conscience and my morals. I fly for him, screaming with rage and knock a surprised Cato down. His goons race in to protect their force, but with some powerful inhuman energy in me, I beat them off by myself and even grab another chair to bring it smashing on a gang member of his who goes out like a light. I turn on Cato and a kick to my face sends me staggering back, but I don't go down. My nose is bleeding from that hit from a dark-skinned goon and my clothes are torn. I feel aching and bruised, but my mind is not on those. Images of Tom being tortured by useless fellows and Samantha kissed by a bastard play repeatedly in my head, fueling all the hate and anger. I have had never felt such madness even at home with an abusive mum.
"Come on! I like your spirit! Do your worst." Cato jeers me on. I charge at him and I feel his fists embed themselves in my chest. But anger is only too good as adrenaline as I attack him with might I never knew I possessed. His smile disappears, only to be replaced by shock and surprise. I push him to the ground, sit on him and pummel him like hell. My fists never stop even when I feel blood on them. I batter him until I hear him whimpering and gasping for air. I would not have stopped, if not for Tom and Samantha pulling me away from Cato.
"What on earth is going on?" a teacher shrieks as she dashes in. She gasps with astonishment and horror at the sight of my bleeding fists and the bruised Cato. I can only look down on the ground and contemplate on my fate as a vicious child.