BULLIED.

Bobby walked through the Bandera Middle School hallway full of kids, wearing a gray sleeveless undershirt, blue pants, black laceless slip-on sneakers with white trims. After getting dressed for school, he headed downstairs to the kitchen and fixed breakfast and a glass of orange juice for himself. Just as he had suspected, his father hadn't come home. But that was no shock to him, since his Dad had stayed gone a lot in the past whenever he was out drinking. After eating his breakfast and drinking his orange juice, Bobby headed back upstairs to the bathroom where he brushed his teeth, rinsed his mouth out with mouth-wash, washed his face, retrieved his messenger-bag from his room, then headed out for school on his bike, which he had fetched from the backyard of his house.

During his biking to school, as well as during first class and snack-break, Bobby had constantly been thinking about his dream of the Asian woman, and was still thinking about it even now as he walked the school hallway. Who was that woman? Why had he dreamed about her? He hadn't even thought about her, much less knew her. But how was that possible? How was it possible for him to dream about someone he'd never met before? Why was her body glowing white? And how was she able to talk to him in his mind?

Just then, Mark ran up behind Bobby, with Andre and Joshua and slammed him into the lockers.

"Hey!" Bobby said.

"Good morning, Bring." Mark said.

"Or should we say it's a good morning for us?" Andre said.

"It sure is. Because we get to finish what we started yesterday." Joshua added.

"Hello, Mark...Andre...Josh. Nice to see you too." Bobby said.

"Running away from a fight?" Mark said, referring to yesterday when Bobby gave him and the other three bullies the slip.

"What are you, 5?" Andre asked.

"Actually, i was once upon a time. But...you three already know that, don't you?" Bobby said.

"It's hard to fight a group when you're a muscless wimp. Right, Bring?" Joshua said.

"Let me go." Bobby said as he struggled to break free of Mark's grasp, to no avail. Which was no surprise to him, since Mark was a hard muscle machine for someone who was only 11 years old.

"You gave us the slip yesterday after school." Mark said.

"Yeah, i know, i was there." Bobby said.

"What a wuss." Andre said.

"Let go of me." Bobby said as he struggled against Mark, which proved to be futile once again.

"Make me." Mark said.

"Mark...i mean it. Get your hands off me." Bobby said.

"Or what?" Mark asked.

"He'll wuss all over you." Andre teased.

"Hey, cut it out." Bobby said.

"The teasing or holding you up against the lockers?" Mark asked.

"You got somewhere to be?" Joshua asked.

"Stop." Bobby said.

"What the world is wrong with you guys?" Andrey asked as he walked up to the group. "You know you can't go after Bring."

Bobby stared at Andrey, stunned. Was he really standing up for him against his friends for once? Could he have changed for the better over night? It sounded too good to be true.

"Not without me." Andrey said.

"(Sighs)." Bobby sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. He should've known. Andrey only wanted to get in on the action.

Andrey smiled evilly.

Mark then released Bobby and he, Andre and Joshua backed up a foot.

"So..." Andrey began as he walked up to Bobby. "we meet again, Bring. I must say, i really missed pounding you yesterday after school...chicken."

"Hahahaha!" Mark, Andre and Joshua laughed.

"It's not funny." Bobby said.

"Sure it is." Andrey said.

"Stop picking on me." Bobby said.

"Or what? You'll call your drunk Daddy and have him come down here and beat us up?" Andrey said.

"Yeah, right. What's he gonna do? Breathe his alcoholic breath all over us?" Mark joked.

"Ooh, i'm shaking." Andre said.

"And i'm trembling." Joshua added.

"Hahahahahaha!" Andrey, Mark, Andre and Joshua laughed.

"Guys." Bobby said, but the bullies just kept laughing. "Stop."

"Come on." Andrey said. "Your Dad's not really a drunk. It just gives you an excuse to make people feel sorry for you."

"Cut it out." Bobby said.

"Make me, Bring." Andrey said as he grabbed Bobby and slammed him into the lockers. "Go ahead."

"Hey! Let him go!" Came a female voice.

Andrey and the other three bullies turned to see 10-year old Laura Milton. The new kid from Minnesota, who transferred here a week ago. She had brown hair in two braided pony-tails that went past her shoulders, freckles on her face, brown eyes, and she wore a red-pinkish 1800s long sleeve, knee-length farm dress, black stockings that covered her whole legs, and black ankle-length boots with black laces. She kind of looked like Laura Ingalls from LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. Her outburst got also got the attention of all of the other kids in the hallway.

"What'd you say, country girl?" Andrey asked.

"I said let him go." Laura repeated.

Andrey looked back at Bobby. "What's wrong? You gonna let your girlfriend do all your talkin' for ya?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Bobby said.

"I'm not his girlfriend!" Laura added. "I just don't like seeing someone get picked on, that's all."

"Do you have anymore girls coming to your rescue, Bring?" Andrey asked.

"Laura is not here to rescue me." Bobby said.

"She's here threatening us on your behalf." Mark said.

"Leave me alone." Bobby said, attempting to leave, only to be slammed back up against the lockers by Andrey.

"Or what?" Andrey asked before letting go of Bobby. "What are you gonna do? Hit me?" He asked. "Do it." He said, stepping back a foot. "I dare you."

"Give him one, Bobby. Give him a fist to the face." Laura said.

Bobby faced Andrey and they stared at each other for a moment. All his school life here in Bandera...since the first grade of elementary school...Bobby had been bullied by Andrey and his thugs...for five years. And yet in all that time, he had never fought back against any of them, much less Andrey. But they weren't in elementary school anymore. They were in middle school. He wasn't a little kid anymore, he was 10 years old. And it was time for him to let Andrey and his goons know that they couldn't pick on him anymore. Without hesitation...Bobby threw a punch at Andrey, only for the bully to dodge it and for Joshua to take the punch to the face instead.

"What's going on here?" Principal Rick Sanford asked as he arrived on the scene, with his hair being black and his eyes being brown.

"I don't know, Bobby just flipped out and punched Josh for no reason." Andrey said.

"That's not true!" Bobby said.

"Joshua looked at Bobby with a sad expression on his face, with his right hand on his right cheek where Bobby had punched him.

"Don't lie, Bobby. You'll just make it worse." Mark said.

"Yeah." Andre added.

"Let's go." Principal Sanford said as he took Bobby by the right arm and escorted him off to his office.

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