SUSPENDED.

Bobby rode his yellow bike through the community of Bandera, with his gray messenger-bag on, heading back home after what had happened at school with him punching Joshua in the face. Even though Laura explained everything that had happened...it still didn't change the outcome.

...

Both Bobby and Laura sat in chairs in principal Sanford's office in front of his desk that he was sitting at in a rolling-chair. Earlier, while Sanford was escorting Bobby down the hall, Laura ran after them, caught up with them, and informed Sanford she had something important to share with him. Principal Sanford agreed to hear what she had to say, but only if they discussed it back at his office, which she agreed to do, then all three of them went to his office to get this manner straightened and to hear what Laura had to say.

"So, Laura, what brings you in today?" Principal Sanford asked.

Laura just looked at the principal. He didn't seem to have a lot of genuine in his voice, but he would once Laura told him everything that's been going on with Bobby. "I'm here because i want to explain what you walked in on down the hall between Bobby, Andrey and his friends. It's not what you think. They were picking on Bobby, then Andrey dared him to punch him and he threw a punch, Andrey dodged it, and Joshua took the punch. That's what happened. And this isn't the first time they've done this either. According to Bobby, Andrey and his friends have been bullying him since the first grade in elementary school when he was 5 years old. But nothing was ever done about it. But this isn't elementary school, this is middle school. Something has to be done about these guys.

All was quiet in principal Sanford's office for a few minutes before he responded. "Listen, Laura and Bobby...this is a tough age for you guys. I know that. I was a kid too one day, believe it or not." He said before chuckling lightly.

The principal's light chuckle began to make Bobby's blood boil. He knew where this was going.

"You kids have a hard enough time at this age just trying to fit in. Everyone has their own personality and not all of them are going to be combatable. Of course we discourage rough-housing...but it's going to happen. Like they say, "Kids will be kids"." Principal Sanford said.

"But this isn't just some sort of rough-housing. This is targeted assault." Laura said.

"Enough!" Principal Sanford snapped. "Bobby, you're suspended for the rest of the day. I'll call your Dad and let him know what happened."

"What?!" Laura gasped as she stood up. "But that's not-"

"Get to class, Laura." Principal Sanford said, cutting Laura off.

"But-"

"Enough, Laura." Principal Sanford said, cutting Laura off again. "I've written the time on your pass and you better not get to class long after that time. Now go."

Laura was absolutely shocked.

Bobby wasn't shocked, but this was right where he began to lose faith in the school system all together. This man before him and Laura-a principal of a school-was just informed of some 5-year bullying...and he just blew off as nothing. He wouldn't protect Bobby either. But that did not surprise him. The elementary school didn't do anything to stop Andrey and his friends from terrorizing him. Why should this school be any different?

Oh, how he resented Andrey. He was real strong and muscular, unlike most 10-year olds. He worked out, played sports and was great at all of them. He was decent-looking and he was the most popular kid in school. But all of that wasn't good enough for him. No. He still felt the need to be a bully. Instead of using all of the many, many gifts he was given in life to help or inspire others, he decided he would torture others for his own pleasure. Once again, Andrey had managed to avoid getting into trouble. Not that the golden child, Andrey, could actually get into trouble. He had the best facade Bobby had ever seen. Convincing all the teachers he was such a sweet boy. This, despite the fact that he had been in and out of juvenile detention centers for various crimes since the age of 7. Regardless...he was good at sports and he was a hunk at 10 years old. Either of those-especially both-are the formula for getting through school easy, regardless of one's behavior. It was pretty sad how true that actually was. And these days, school officials talked about how serious of an issue bullying was. And yet...nothing seemed to ever change. Always raising awareness...never taking action.

Bobby stood up, Laura got her pass off Sanford's desk, and he and her left out of principal Sanford's office.

...

And that was how it all went down.

Laura told the principal about Andrey and his goons bullying Bobby, her claims were dismissed, she was sent to class and he was suspended from school for the rest of the day, as if nothing happened. For some reason, Bobby could tell that angered Laura more than anything. And angered him too, if he was honest with himself. How in the world was it okay that someone completely innocent could be treated in such a way and then just have to walk off and accept it? He never did anything wrong to Andrey and his friends. He didn't instigate anything. He was given a bad hand in life. He should've been helped out by the other kids because of it, not tortured. He may have been willing to accept what happened to him...but Laura wasn't. She decided she had to take action. She didn't care what possible backlash there might be. She went to the principal and she told him everything. She knew that Andrey and his goons were going to get into a lot of trouble and they deserved it.

But after Laura explained the situation, the principal just wrote it off as a "Kids will be kids" mentality. Every time she tried to speak, the principal interjected. Everything she said, he passed it off one way or another, eventually informing Bobby he was suspended for the rest of the day and ordered Laura to get to class. She tried to continue, but again, he stopped her, letting her know he wrote the time on her pass and she better not get to class long after that time. Bobby knew Laura was shocked. She probably lost faith in the school system like he had. The principal of the school was just informed of five years of bullying...and he just blew it off as nothing. This school wouldn't protect Bobby either. Remember how schools raise awareness for bullying, but fail to take action? Well, this was when he first began to learn of this.

Bobby then thought back on his early childhood and what it was like. He'd always been looked at as a nice kid. The patient, timid, caring guy. And would like to believe all of that to be true. But honestly...a lot of that could also be due to the fact that he'd never had a lot of confidence since his mother's death. He was 10 years old now, going on to 11 this year. And this lack of confidence had given him a lot of problems throughout his life so far. It was like the other kids at school could sense it. Kids can be so cruel. When he was younger, he suffered a lot in elementary school. He can distinctly remember when he first began dreading having to go to school. It was in first grade. He then thought back to the awful things Andrey and his friends said about his Dad.

"Stop picking on me."

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

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

"Ooh, i'm shaking."

"And i'm trembling."

Hearing those insults were nothing new to Bobby. He had heard it all before. He could remember having to listen to Andrey, his goons and the other kids in elementary school tease him about his bad home-life. He was labeled the poor kid at school. The kid of the town drunk. It was no secret that his father was an alcoholic, the whole town knew. It was impossible to keep a secret in a town as small as Bandera. And yet nothing was ever done about it. No one offered any help, no legal action was taken to remove Bobby from his father's custody...nothing. While it wasn't against the law for a person to be an alcoholic, it was illegal to be one when having a child in their care.

Long story short, this information about his Dad eventually found it's way to elementary school when he was 5 years old. Kids can be so cruel. Because of Bobby's unfortunate home-life, he instantly became a target to the other kids, originating with Andrey and his goons. Most of the bullying Bobby received came in the form of generic insults from Andrey, his goons and the other kids. They made fun of his home-life, said his Dad didn't have a decent job, made fun of how he and his Dad lived in an RV, came up with various crazy stories why Bobby and his Dad were poor, told him that his father drank because he hated having him for a son. It went on and on. It always bothered him a lot. He didn't like the fact that he and his Dad had become the butt of the kids' jokes. It really hurt his feelings.

No one could see what his bad home-life and the bullying at school were doing to him. Once a happy and playful kid was now withdrawn a few weeks later. He really didn't have any friends. At this point, now in middle school, kids were starting to form groups or clicks. And he wasn't part of any of it. But if that wasn't bad enough...the other kids-especially Andrey and his goons-had to go out of their way to torment him. At this point, at 10 years old, he got it. The death of his mother and his father becoming an alcoholic had grown him up real fast, and as a result, he knew things that most kids his age didn't know. Kids were insecure. They're looking for the approval of their peers. They're trying to impress them. They're trying to be the cool kids that the other ones look up to. But almost always comes back to them not feeling good enough about themselves to begin with. Of course as a young kid in elementary school...he didn't know this. And neither did the other kids. Everyone seemed to think the bullies were the cool kids. They were the popular kids. The ones with power, the leaders. But in reality...they were none of those things. If only kids knew what they were doing. If only they knew what kind of damage bullying had on other kids. He meant this in a nice way, but...kids are just kind of stupid. He just graduated elementary school last year...and looking back, he and the other kids were just dumb and naive to what the real world was.

His mind then snapped back to his suspension. He wasn't worried about his Dad finding out about it, since he would likely be too drunk to care. With any luck, he wouldn't be home today when he got there either. Although he had been banned from school the rest of the day, there were a couple of up-sides to it. He didn't have to worry about being chased by Andrey and his goons and he didn't have any homework.

That was something to be thankful for.

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