I prayed silently in my mind, “Please don’t let him
see me.” I was walking, heads down slowly along the pavement. He turned around,
finger pointing at me and shouted in a very angry voice, “Hey, loser kid!” And
I stopped. I should have run. I didn’t.
He has plenty of friends in school. I have none.
He’s the head of the gang. I am the nerd kid. Everyone follows him. They picked
on me. Every single day he’ll ask me for ‘pocket’ money. I barely made my
morning break at school with what my parents gave me. Some days I didn't eat
because I had to pay off that fat bully. Looking back, I wondered how I ever went
throughout the year with him threatening to beat me every day.
It’s unfortunate that we were from the same class. That
means he’s always around and I can’t get away. Being a bully means he had control
over me. He made me finish his homework. I have no problem with that; after all
it was easy for me, I am the smart one. During school all he did was joking
around, talking about football and where to get the coolest and trendiest
attire around town. People always laughed at his jokes and he does have a
charming smile that could melt a girl’s heart. I didn’t have any friend, if you
exclude the one sitting next to me in class. And I thought it was alright, as
long as I’m still breathing and well.
We lived in the same neighbourhood and our parents
barely knew each other. His house is the biggest one here. He always talked
about his parents. To the countries they went and the exotic stuffs they bought
for him. Though every time I walked by his house it’s always dark and quiet.
Maybe they didn’t like bright lights, I thought.
When he walked towards me, I instinctively reached
into my pocket, grabbing, or really just feeling the money my mom just gave me.
He smirked and opened his palm. “Can you spare me today?” I suddenly blurted. I
swear I didn’t know where that came from. His face reddened “JUST GIVE ME THE MONEY
OR I”LL BEAT YOU TO PULP!” I heard some coins hitting the pavements when I
shoved all the money I’ve been holding in my pocket but I didn’t turn around
until I reached the front gate of the school, breathless.
Nothing happened for the rest of the day. He ignored
me and I heard he planned to go out with his friends later tonight. Not that I
really wanted to know but his voice filled through the whole class. We went to
the same tuition around our neighbourhood. He rarely attends the class though.
He preferred to linger around smoking and playing with his smartphone with his
friends. It was just like any other night.
Except that I didn’t plan to get home early that
night. My stomach played truant on me and I had to skip tuition. He’s at his
usual spot alone going through his phone. I walked along the lamp posts that
lead to my row of houses. There are a
few cats and dogs. Typical night really, except..
“GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME!” He screamed at the top of
his lung. I instantly turned my head. There were three guys. All wore identical
black t-shirts with jeans and each had red cloth around their wrists. Two were
holding him. The other one stands in
front of him. Holding his neck,
tight. I can see he’s struggling, he
can’t breathe. The guy didn’t let go of his grip instead he laughs, like a
maniac.
I was there. Watching silently the unravelling of
the event. The thought of running away didn’t cross my mind. I was transfixed.
I didn’t know why. He’s clearly in trouble. He definitely needed help. “Should
I help him?”
I took my phone and quickly dialled in the local
police number. Luckily I saved them and it connected straight to the station. I
was standing in between lamp posts so the light didn’t fell directly on me. I
guess that concealed me from their attention. Or that they don’t actually care
even if anyone is watching.
The guy in front kicked him repeatedly. You can see
his face lose breath faster than he can inhale. He gasped for air. The two guys
holding him tighten their grip. I walked as fast as my trembling legs would let
me. You should imagine being at my place. I wasn’t the bully. I’m not one with
the biggest muscle. One look and you know I can’t harm anyone physically. But I
went. Until to this day whenever I reflected back I still can’t be sure what
made me walk towards him that night instead of the opposite.
They all turned towards me. Our eyes met. With him I
mean. I can see the fear and the hopelessness in his eyes. You don’t usually
see that kind of resigned look just by being beaten alone. Something tells me
there could be more than meet the eyes. “What do you want kid?” The kicker
asked in his high-pitched voice. His yellow-stained teeth couldn’t take the
attention from his big scar on his forehead. This guy is no joke. My legs
trembled.
“Hah, this is your friend?” His eyes looked straight
into my eyes. I was hesitant. Actually I’m too scared to answer. “Well well,
looks like he wants to help, eh?” “URGH!” Another kick went straight to his
stomach. He slumped. His head looking down and I thought I saw blood trickling
down his mouth. I summoned all the courage I had and screamed “Stop it!” I went
straight to him.
He laughed while he side-stepped me and bring me to
the ground, one-handed. Ugh, I shouldn’t have stayed. I shouldn’t have
confronted them. And why the hell did I went for him? Seriously, I really am
out of my character. What have I been thinking? Do I stand any chance against
three guys? I can’t even protect my lunch money for God sake. And here I am
kissing the ground, feeling numb on my lips, actually tried saving one who
starved me just this morning.
The siren saved us that night. The guys managed to
run away but were taken into custody the day after. They were from the local
loan shark gang. Apparently all the kids from the tuition heard about the commotion
and nobody went to help. He was badly injured and had to spend the night at the
hospital. I went straight home. I didn’t tell my parents what I did. In fact, I
was in a daze for a few days and didn’t attend school. I needed to recover. I
thought about him. Hopefully his parents came and saw to him.
I was walking my usual path to the school. Humming
some song I barely remember last night. It was a cool morning. The sun was
blocked by the thick fog. I welcomed the respite from the heat. He was waiting
for me. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised at the sight of him. I reluctantly
grabbed the money in my pocket, “I don’t want your money” he said. “What?” I
asked. He replied “I’m not here to take your money, keep it.” You can sort of
sense that he’s not looking for trouble. He’s not wearing his usual angry look.
The bruises from the event are still visible on his face. “What do you want
then?” I finally asked.
We sat that morning on the moist grass, our gaze
were looking beyond the green field in front of us. At first he told me the
reason why those men came looking for him. They were after his parents. It
wasn’t known (yet) that his parents went away to other countries to avoid these
men. Eventually they got the details of their son and started harassing him.
That was when he started to skip tuition.
The event went on throughout the morning. He told me
with shoulder hunched down. It was like it’s holding a burden that no one can
see. On his parents’ negligence and their problems with the loan sharks, the
need to survive while the parents went away, and how he ended up turning into a
bully. That morning he opened up to me. No I don’t know why he told me. Yes I
did help him sort of with the men. I guess he needed someone he can trust.
Maybe I gave him reason to trust me. It came pouring out. I listened silently,
nodding here and there. I didn’t ask anything. I knew he needed to talk.
At the end of it he cried. He cried because he
needed to, he cried because he’s sorry. Sorry for all the things he did to me.
Sorry for the pain he caused. I stood there and did nothing. How would I know
how to react then? I’m literally a 14 year old kid who still lives in my
imaginary bubble oblivious to the harsh reality. I never had anyone shared
their life story with me. And I never had to deal with anyone crying except my
little baby nephew that occasionally came for a visit.
You see, the start of a friendship could come from
anywhere. For me it started that foggy morning. We shared something beyond what
we can explain that time. Over the years, while growing up together I would
like to pin that down to trust and hope. We both trusted no one and we both
hoped for something better. I realized things could turn drastically different
if I walked away that night. I’m glad I didn’t. Turns out, it was a start of a
wonderful and lifelong friendship.
-aki-
as written in 21/9/14
REFLECTION:
The story was written with simple and short
sentences to gets across the message directly to the reader. It creates more impact and forces the reader
to speed up and less time to ponder instead continues reading. The main theme
is friendship although it isn’t apparent until the last few paragraphs.
It was hard to start at first but after a few
readings I get some inspirations on how to approach and create the ‘atmosphere’
I wanted to convey. I used a first person narrative and deliberately left out
any names to further give the sense how ‘close’ the reader is with the story.
