Chapter 6

Scarlet Thunder

Talim returned home that day. Her mom was mad.

"Where have you been? You're late." Lidi said.

"Mom, I can explain. My…" She started to cry.

"Oh, you are such a drama queen."

"No, they kept me after school. They… They took pictures of me. They held me down, naked." Talim said.

Talim's mom didn't believe her.

"Go to your room and study." She said.

/\A/\A\/V\/V

The next day, Talim didn't want to go to school. When her alarm went off, she didn't get up. Even her bird, Alun knew something was wrong. He chirped at Talim, hoping that she'd move.

"I'll feed you later." She mumbled.

A few more minutes went by. Lidi barged into her room.

"Talim, why aren't you up?" She said.

"I feel sick."

Lidi put her hand on Talim's forehead.

"You don't feel sick to me." She said.

"No, I feel awful. I don't want to go to school." Talim said.

Her mom yanked her out of bed.

"You're going to school."

After Talim took a shower and changed, she went straight for the door. She planned on hiding in the park instead of going to school.

"Where are you going? You didn't eat breakfast." Lidi said.

"I'm not hungry." Talim said.

Lidi followed Talim out the door.

"I'll drive you today." She said.

Talim reluctantly went into the car. It was as if her mom knew that she planned on skipping school that day.

While in the car, Lidi spoke to her daughter.

"So, what is it? A test? A boy? Why don't you want to go to school today?" She said.

"Bullies." Talim said.

Lidi let out a chuckle.

"Talim, bullies are weak. Just stand up to them and they'll crumble." Lidi said.

"Okay, Mom." Talim said without a hint of enthusiasm.

Lidi pulled up to the school to drop her daughter off.

"Be good, okay? Learn a lot. Oh, and don't forget: I love you." She said.

"I love you to, Mom." Talim said.

She left the car and walked into school.

Almost immediately, Talim was greeted by Mina.

"Hey there, porn star."

Talim tried to ignore her.

"I put your photos up online. Some perv is probably jacking off to them right now." Mina said.

Talim continued to ignore her. She walked to her first class, trying not to think about what Mina said.

Later on in the day, when it was lunch, Talim ate alone. She noticed Amy sitting with Ivy, Cassandra, and Sophitia. She faced away from them. She couldn't stand to see her former friend as an enemy. She started to take a bite out of her soy burger, until she saw Mina sit down next to her.

"Hey there, Talim. Let's hang out." She said.

Talim was silent. She started to get up to leave, until Mina grabbed her by the arm.

"That wasn't a choice. Now let's have lunch together so we don't have to be alone." Mina said.

Talim sat back down. Her heart was racing. She wasn't sure if she could enjoy her school lunch if she was sitting next to a bully.

"Your photo got some real upvotes on reddit, Talim. They think that you're a real hottie." Mina said.

Talim was starting to get angry.

"Hot?" Talim growled.

"Oh yeah. You got all kinds of comments, like 'Chicks With Dicks For The Win' and 'Fap, Fap, Fap'. They loved you!"

Talim remembered what her mother told her, that bullies crumbled if she could stand up to them.

"It's time to take a stand." Talim thought.

With anger as her strength and no pride to lose, Talim grabbed a fistful of mashed potatoes in her hands. Mina wasn't sure what she was looking at until it was too late.
"Fuck you, Mina!"

She flung the chunk of steaming hot potatoes at Mina's face. It was a direct hit. Mina screamed. The gravy was burning her eyes. Talim smiled.

"You want more, bitch? Huh?"

She stood up and grabbed Mina by the hair. Many students in the lunchroom watched. Raphael seemed to be enjoying this.

"Catfight!" He said.

Talim yanked on Mina's hair. She grumbled obscenities that didn't make sense. She could feel blood rushing to her face as she beat Mina. Tears even streamed down her face, she was so mad.

"I'll kill you. I'll kill you!" Talim shouted.

She wound up to hit Mina in the face, until she felt something in her stomach, shaking. It was nauseating, like someone was jostling her insides and kicking them. She let go of Mina and held her gut in pain. Mina stood up. She wiped the mashed potatoes and gravy off of her face and smiled. There was a red stun gun in her hand, one that she pulled out of her purse.

"Talim, say hello to Scarlet Thunder."

Talim tried to get back up. Her stomach hurt, but not enough to stop her. She threw a punch at Mina, but her opponent was too quick. She ducked and shocked Talim again, this time in the groin. Mina zapped her directly in the penis. She screeched in pain and fell down. A boy watching even called out, "You go, Mina. Zap that fool!"

Mina rolled Talim's shirt up so that she could see her tummy.

"I hope you liked that burger. You'll be tasting it again."

She zapped Talim, right on her stomach. The pain was too much for her. She felt like her insides were being squeezed and shaken by a monster. She threw up, all over herself. The whole lunchroom erupted in sound and fury.

"Eew!"

Mina readied herself for the finishing move. She turned Talim around and reached underneath her shorts. She was going for it, the classic bullying technique, the atomic wedgie. The lunchroom even began to chant.

"Wedgie! Wedgie! Wedgie!"

Mina pulled up on Talim's underwear. She yanked it hard, as hard as she could.

"Does it hurt, porn star?" Mina taunted.

Talim could feel her underwear digging into both sets of her genitals. She tried to struggle free, until Mina dropped her. The lunchroom was silent. It was the assistant principal. She was not pleased. Mina pointed to her victim.

"She started it! She threw potatoes in my face!"

"I don't care who did what. You're both getting ISS."

ISS: In School Suspension.

It was a penalty where students had to sit in a room for half a day and do homework. If they were out of homework, they were given more assignments to keep them busy. Talim got up.

"No! She was bullying me! I was standing up for myself!" She protested.

"I don't care. You two were fighting, so you both get the penalty."

"I shouldn't be punished! I…" The assistant principal cut her off.

"I don't care about your self-respect or whatever. The rules are the rules."

Talim sighed, feeling utterly defeated. She readjusted her underwear, wiped the vomit off of her face, and sat down.