Chapter 8

End Of Shift

The final bell of the day rang, and the students filed out of the classrooms, along the corridors, and out of the doors. EJ, Josh, and Liam exited through the rear of the academy, and made their way along the walkway with a number of other students. As they walked under the Westway, they could hear the traffic roaring above them. To their right, hockey practice was in progress on the pitches, and to their left was the sports building. Not a good place for a coward to stage an ambush, as he could be seen.

They climbed the metal steps, and walked along the footbridge over the rail tracks. This would be a slightly better location for an ambush, EJ thought, but it was a bit enclosed, and only two ways out if anything went wrong. No, it would be somewhere where a coward could easily make his escape. They descended the steps onto the pavement on Westbourne Park Villas, and went around the railings and the old, gnarled tree, to cross over the road and into Westbourne Park Passage, a narrow alley between the houses. It wasn't overlooked down there, and a coward could run to the other end, or run out and go either way down Westbourne Park Villas, or back over the footbridge.

'Hey, funny man?' Price called from behind them. 'You ready to make me laugh?'

EJ turned to face him. The colour drained from Josh and Liam's faces. 'You don't have to do this, Darren,' EJ told him.

['Son . . . Is everything alright?'] his father thought in his head. He had detected EJ's raised stress level.

['Yeah. It's that bully from lunchtime. I think he wants to make an example of me,'] EJ thought back.

[You're not gonna fight him are ya?'] Rose thought worriedly.

['No Mum. I'm goin' to talk to him . . . like Dad would.']

He remembered things his father had told him about resolving conflicts. It was all about communication. 'We could talk, get to know each other. There are usually more things which bring people together than there are that force them apart.'

['Good lad,'] John thought. ['Stay sharp.']

['Thanks Dad. See you at home.']

'You made me look like a fool in the dining hall. I can't let that go,' Price told him.

'You did a pretty good job of that on your own,' EJ replied, and then pulled a face. Damn, he didn't mean to say that out loud. He'd also inherited his father's runaway gob.

'Right. That does it,' Price said, raising his fists.

'If you're sure,' EJ said sadly. He took off his backpack and handed it out to his friends, while staring at Price. Josh took it off him, and EJ then took off his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. He put the tie in his blazer pocket, before slipping the blazer off his shoulders and holding that out as well. When Liam took the blazer, EJ stepped forward. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, brought his hands up in front of his face with the palms down, and pushed his hands downwards as he breathed out. When he opened his eyes, Darren Price had the first twinge of doubt.

'I'm not going to fight you,' EJ told him.

'That's a shame,' Price replied. 'Cos I'm gonna knock the crap out of you.'

EJ spread his arms in invitation. 'Knock yourself out . . . Literally.'

Price lunged forwards, throwing a right hook at EJ's head. EJ was perceiving time in slow motion now, easily ducking and weaving to the side. Price literally spun in a circle with the force of the missed punch, and fell against the wall. EJ calmly moved around and stood with his back to the opposite wall. 'We could still talk.'

'You won't be able to talk when I've finished with you,' Price said, and took a step forward. He threw a jab, and missed. He threw another jab, and missed again. This kid seemed to move impossibly fast. It was as though he knew what was coming before Price did. In frustration, he threw a barrage of punches at EJ's head, hoping one would make contact. EJ raised his hands, and made contact with Price's wrists. His hands then weaved around like a pair of cobra snakes, deflecting and controlling Price's attacks. It was like a scene from the Matrix.

A crowd had gathered either side of them in the narrow passage, and those at the front had their phones out, videoing the encounter. This stuff was pure gold, and would go viral when they posted it online. Price was visibly tiring and out of breath, when he barked a command at his thugs.

'Don't just stand there, grab 'im an' hold 'im still so I can hit 'im,' he told them.

The thugs had been watching the encounter, and they'd seen what EJ could do; and he hadn't even thrown a punch yet! What was he capable of if he went on the attack they wondered. But they knew what Price would do if they didn't do as he said, so they hesitantly closed in on EJ, and then suddenly lunged from each side to grab his upper arms, hoping they would take him by surprise. The problem with that plan was that they weren't coordinated, and the one on EJ's left moved slightly ahead of the one to his right.

From EJ's perception of time, he felt two hands starting to grip his left upper arm. He turned on the spot to face the thug, which moved his right arm out of the reach of the second thug. He didn't stop there however, and continued to spin on the spot, taking the hapless thug, who still had a grip on his arm, with him. The thug stumbled forwards, off balance, and with a push to his lower back, crashed into the second thug, sending them tumbling to the floor. Still in slow motion, he felt the arms of the third thug trying to grab him in a bear hug from behind. Before the hands could link together and complete the hug, EJ raised his elbows outwards, lifting the thug's arms in front of him. He grabbed the wrists and took a long step back with his right leg; leaned over his left leg, pulled the arms forwards, and sent the thug into a forward somersault, where he ended up on his back, on top of the other two thugs.

What the crowd saw were two thugs grab EJ's arms. They saw him pirouette, sending the one thug crashing into the other. They saw a third thug grab him from behind, only for him to do a forward somersault and end up on the top of the pile. It was over in a second, and the crowd erupted into cheering and applause, with whoops and whistles of appreciation. Josh and Liam stood there, open mouthed.

'I didn't know he could do any of that,' Liam said.

'Is he for real?' Josh asked.

EJ faced Price and held out his hand. Price still had his fists raised, although it was now more in a defensive posture than an aggressive one. 'My dad says it takes more courage not to fight, than it does to fight.'

Price hesitantly lowered his fists. 'Easy to say when yer dad's Jackie Chan.'

EJ laughed. 'Yeah . . . Sorry about that. What do you say?'

Throughout his life, Price had always been larger than children of his own age, and was completely unaware of how he was perceived, and how his peers actually saw him. He thought he was well liked, not realising it was a result of fear-based manipulation, and people being too afraid to speak up. He'd had a difficult upbringing, with strict parents who used physical punishments to discipline him. This had resulted in low self esteem and aggressive behaviour, which led to a lack of communication skills, and the feeling that he needed to defend himself all the time. He'd seen threats and insults everywhere he looked, and in his eyes, everyone else was asking for it. He'd learnt to lash out as a defence mechanism, and then seek out "weaker" victims to bolster his own sense of superiority.

And now, standing in front of him, was someone who was younger than him, smaller than him, and not afraid of him. Price had expected to dominate this upstart and teach him a lesson, show him who's boss. The kid had even told him he wasn't going to fight back. It should have been easy. But it hadn't been. Without raising a hand against him, this kid had beaten him, and the crowd had cheered him for doing it.

For the first time in his life, Darren Price started to realise that he wasn't as popular as he thought he was. That he wasn't superior to the younger, smaller kids, not this one anyway. What should he do, carry on fighting to see if he could teach this kid a lesson? He thought there was a strong chance that if the kid fought back, he'd get seriously injured, or even worse, seriously humiliated. Or, should he accept the offer of friendship, and learn the lesson of knowing when to call it quits?

The thing that influenced his choice the most, was the sound which echoed in his ears and cut him to the quick. The sound of the crowd cheering the little guy. Was he really the bad guy? He'd always thought of himself as just "Darren", the gentle giant who everyone agreed with when he said or did anything. It was a shock to find out you weren't the person you thought you were. He shook the offered hand, and got a pleasant surprise when the crowd cheered again.

'I guess we got off on the wrong foot,' Darren said, and then said an unfamiliar word. 'Sorry.'

'I could have been less sarcastic. I get that from my dad . . . Sorry,' EJ replied.

'I don't even know yer name,' Darren realised.

'Eyulf, but everyone calls me EJ.'

'Eyulf? Where's that from?' Darren queried.

'It's Norwegian,' EJ explained. 'It means lucky wolf.'

Darren started to laugh, and saw the puzzled look on EJ's face. 'I was tryin' to fight a wolf. No wonder I didn't stand a chance.'

It was the end of the Watch, and Rose was handing over to White Watch Supervisor, Geoff Harper.

'An interesting watch then?' Geoff said, looking at the handover notes on the tablet PC.

'Yeah, an alien egg fallin' from the sky, rats eatin' anythin' that moves, and an energy spike from the Cardiff Rift. We've put a priority filter on social media posts in and around Grantham,' Rose told him. 'St Albans Constabulary have set an automatic flag for any exsanguination incidents due to the possible plasmavore attack. The body of the victim is on its way back to Hertfordshire county mortuary.'

Rose paused in thought. It was something she never had to dwell on when she travelled in her old universe. They just used to save as many people as they could, beat the bad guys, and move on. Now, she thought about the family of the victim, the funeral, and how they would try to come to terms with the sudden, unexpected murder of a loved one.

'Right. We'll keep an eye on those then.'

'Oh, and Angel had a baby son this mornin',' Rose said with a smile. 'They've been discharged and are at home.'

'Great news,' Geoff said with a grin. 'I'll announce that in the briefing. He saw John enter the Standby Room. ' Off you go then, and enjoy your days off.'

'Thanks Geoff, will do.'

She walked over to John, and they made their way over to the TARDIS. John used his phone to instruct the Delorean to drive itself back to Notting Hill, as Rose unlocked the door and let them in. As they walked up the ramp to the control console, Rose's phone rang. She took it out of her jacket pocket and looked at the display. It was the Westminster Academy.

'Hello, this is Rose Smith.'

['Good afternoon, Misses. Smith. This is Alan Thompson, the headmaster at the Westminster Academy,'] a deep and resonant voice said. It was a voice which carried a rich timbre that commanded attention without being overbearing. There was a certain warmth to the voice which conveyed empathy and understanding.

Rose looked at John who was watching her with a questioning raised eyebrow. "EJ's headmaster," she mouthed. 'Good afternoon, Mr. Thompson. How can I help you?'

['I'm calling to discuss a rather concerning incident involving your son, Eyulf,'] he began. ['It appears there was an altercation with another student, Darren Price. A video of the incident has surfaced and is circulating on social media. I believe we need to address this matter promptly.']

'Oh dear. An altercation you say?' said Rose, feigning innocence. 'What exactly happened?'

['According to the video, it looks like EJ and Darren were involved in some sort of confrontation.']

'Y'mean they were fightin'?'

['Not exactly,'] Thompson said. ['From what I can see, Eyulf appears to be trying to avoid any physicality, but Darren is clearly attempting to instigate a fight.']

'That sounds like EJ. We've always taught him to avoid violence and resolve conflicts peacefully,' Rose informed him with a smile at her husband

['Eventually though, Darren's friends get involved . . .']

Rose was concerned now. EJ never mentioned a gang. 'They ganged up on him? Is he alright?'

['He's fine Misses Smith. I'm not sure how, but Eyulf managed to handle the situation without throwing a single punch.']

'Ah, yes. EJ is very skilled in the passive martial arts. He gets that from his father.'

['Hmm, quite so. However, the video still presents a concerning image. It reflects poorly on the academy, especially given our strict anti-bullying policies. Parents have already started calling, worried about the environment here.']

'I can see how that would be a concern, Mr. Thompson. But from what you're describin', EJ wasn't the aggressor. He was defendin' himself and diffusin' the situation,' Rose told him.

['While that may be true, the fact remains that this incident has garnered a lot of attention. We need to discuss how to proceed, both in terms of addressing the involved students and reassuring the other parents about our commitment to maintaining a safe environment.']

Rose could see where he was coming from. In her job, she was always aware of how Torchwood came over on the television program. 'Of course. What steps do you propose we take?'

['First, I think it's important we meet in person to review the video together and discuss EJ's version of events. I'd also like to hear from Darren and his parents to get a full picture of what happened. We need to ensure that both boys understand the impact of their actions, even if unintentional.']

Rose felt that was unfair as EJ had been an innocent party in all of this, but she bit her tongue, and would have her say at the meeting. 'That sounds reasonable. When would be a good time for this meetin'?'

['Would tomorrow afternoon work for you? Say, around 3 PM when classes have finished?']

'I'm off shift tomorrow, but I'll just check with my husband . . . he's got a meetin' with the new president,' Rose told him. She put the call on mute. 'What time does Jack want ya in tomorrow for the president's visit?'

'It's in the morning, so I should be done for lunch,' John replied.

She took the phone off mute. 'Yes, that should be fine.'

['Excellent. I appreciate your cooperation, Misses. Smith. It's important that we handle this matter delicately and set a positive example for the students.']

'Absolutely. Thank you for bringin' this to our attention, Mister. Thompson. I assure you, we will be there tomorrow.'

['Thank you, Misses. Smith. I look forward to resolving this matter together. Have a good day.']

'You too, Mr. Thompson. Goodbye.'

['Goodbye.']