SCHOOL GANGS

I pressed my back to the old park fence, clutching my bag pack like a shield. Three older boys circled me. l could tell that they were lower sixes from Hamilton High. They wore a different uniform - khaki shirts, shorts and black blazers. Not from my school and very NOT friendly. Their laughter was cold and rehearsed.

"Are you really gonna cry?"One of them sneered, pushing me with his flat palm.

I didn't respond. I just stared at the wet concrete hoping they'd get bored.

To my disappointment, they didn't.

"Are you dumb?say something jerk."

Jerk? That was the last word that could be used to describe me. They were the jerks here. Anyone could tell by the lame grins on their faces.

The rain bucketed down the bituminous concrete of the city park, chumming steadily on the rusted metal slide and empty swing sets. I bit my lower lip. There was a musky taste in my mouth. I knew it was fear. I was shaking like a stripper and l loathed myself for it.

"I'm not gonna run."l declared, in a steady voice belying the ice that gripped my spine.

"Whoops - see that? You already gave goosebumps."said the taller one in a mocking tone. "Do you intend to scare us punk?"

"Looks like the squirrel has finally gathered its nuts." Another one snorted.

I grinned with false confidence."Squirrels bite too you know?" I said.

The second boy leaned in, his breath foul with whatever he'd eaten. I swear l could smell it in the rain. "Squirrels and rats irritate me, they need to be exterminated."

"Sorry to disappoint you but extermination won't work on this squirrel." I wrapped my hands tightly on the strapes of my bag without taking my eyes off theirs.

"You tryna act tuff?" Asked the tall boy.

"Maybe." I retorted.

A cold silence hung in the air. Long enough for the rain to fill it.

"Now we are really going to violate you."Said the third boy who'd been quiet until now.

I twitched my lips as my heat pounded heavily, like a hundred goldpanners who'd just discovered gold.

The tallest boy, who happened to be also the meanest of the three, stepped closer with flaring nostrils. He narrowed his eyes and gave me a very cocky stare.

"I'm gonna help you shut up." He said folding his hands into two large fists. He sent his hand flying through the raindrops. I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact, along with the pain of course. It never landed.

I opened my eyes to see a gloved hand deliberately wrapping around the tall boy's wrist. Someone new had arrived at the scene. The tall boy twisted in panic and pain as the stranger tightened his grip. We'd been hyper fixed on our intense battle of words to notice the stranger approaching.

The stranger was fairly tall, not like the other boy though. I could see a chiseled jawline and sharp, brown - hawk like eyes. He stood with a confident demeanor. He wore a black coat. "Batman." I thought. No, something else.

The taller boy was helplessly struggling to free himself from the stranger's grip. He managed to pull it off and stepped back. He opened his mouth to speak but hesitated, then decided not to, like a wounded rabbit sensing a bloodhound.

There was something intimidating about the stranger. Not only were his eyes hawk like, they also laughed. The kind of laughter that basks in violence. l could sense a raging storm in his calmness.

"It's very lowly and cowardly - ganging up on one boy." Said the stranger in very disturbing icy tone. It was cold, like water turning into ice.

We all just stared at the stranger. The three boys in uncertainty or fear perhaps, and me in relief. Calling me a punk was uncalled for, I didn't like it, not by a long shot. But if he'd help me kick some arse, I wouldn't mind.

" Scum keeps piling up."The tallest boy said, finally summoning the courage speak up.

"Three to one is a nice ratio."The stranger said. "It's also good for exercise."

"You talk tuff- but are you?" The tall boy retorted.

"You're about to find out, l beat cowardly scum like you for sport." Again that frosty tone.

I could smell the dampness of the tall boy's shirt, the faint smell of deodorant trying to mask sweat.

The tall boy moved fast, slightly slipping from the wet grass. His fist was almost invisible, it was hard to follow. To my surprise, the stranger dodged, grabbed the boy's arm and used it's momentum to throw him into a muddy puddle.

The next one swung at the stranger. The stranger side stepped and met him with a sharp jab to the stomach. The boy staggered and gasped. The impact came with a sound, the kind that you only hear when twigs break. I think l was listening to breaking ribs.

The last boy hesitated, probably contemplating whether to get his arse handed to him like his comrades, or run. He picked the latter. The tall boy struggled to his feet, dazed - collected his friend who was clutching his stomach and slunk away into the rain muttering curses.

The stranger watched them go, then turned and started walking without saying a word to me. I found my step beside him. He walked on the edge of the sidewalk like a quiet commando. I looked up at him, curious.

"I appreciate the help-."I started, my voice croaky. I hated it from the very bottom of my heart. Why did it have to sound like that? "Those dudes would've pulverized me if you hadn't -."

The stranger said nothing. The city hall loomed in the distance like an ancient titan.

"How do you move like that man - how did you dodge that punch. You'd karate or something bro?"

Bro ignored me and kept on walking. He veered slightly off the main path, cutting through the bent grass and pulled out a gum from his coat's pocket, through it into his mouth and continued walking.

"You're gotta believe me when I say you are Batman bro - best believe me. You pulled outta nowhere and started kicking arse!"

The stranger finally borrowed me his attention, but just for a few seconds. "Not only do you over exaggerate, you also don't know how to shut up."

"I'm just grateful, really - I'm not used to thanking people. I'm tryna figure out how to do it." l replied.

He shrugged, turning back. "Then don't." He kept a serious face, set his lips in a line that rarely curved into anything that was close to a smile.

In another life he could have been a soldier. But In this one, he was something far from predictable and far from least dangerous.

We reached the city hall. The rain had turned into a thin mist. Despite the weather, people were not shy of the rain. The City hall was buzzing. Umbrellas and raincoats everywhere, people running business as usual.

The tension between me and the stranger had bled out, one step at a time."This is where we part." Said I, as if I was sad that we were getting divorced.

Bro turned, looked at me and gave me a nefarious smile. It was evil indeed. "If the devil really walked amongst us he'd be this guy."I thought.

"See you around." The stranger said, then walked down a street. I stood there watching him disappear into the crowd. He walked like a shadow in daylight. Calm and collected, very unamusing too. He was impossible to ignore.

He'd saved me, sure. But something was definitely off. I was very sure that he hadn't saved me out of the goodness of his heart. It felt calculated, like I was some piece in a game I didn't yet see.

I was sure of one thing though. This stranger was dangerous. Not just dangerous, but Double O seven dangerous.

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