A Bully's Target
I had always been shy and reclusive, trying to keep my head down because I really didn’t want any trouble. But for some reason, trouble always seemed to find me. No matter how hard I tried.
My name is Nate Markum, a student of Carnal High School, and I’m eighteen years old. In the past, I was previously deemed a loser.
I was just your regular student nerd who stayed on his own, reading comic books and all that. This always made me a target for bullies, so from a very young age, I learned how to run very fast. But as you most likely noticed, I was deemed a loser. Not anymore.
This school year, my life changed drastically, and it all started when I began to date Roxana Vega, Roxy for short. She was easily the hottest girl in school, and all the boys wanted to be with her. Which was what made it so strange that she would choose to date me. A loser.
But then, being hitched to her changed my status overnight, and just like that, I wasn’t a loser anymore. I was the nerd who had somehow bagged a Latino baddie. And it was a thing I was proud of. It didn’t matter that boys were always hitting on her or always going to great lengths to get her attention. All I knew was that at the end of the day, I was the only one who could call her mine. And that made me the happiest nerd in the world.
Unfortunately, this would lead me down a rabbit hole I would be unable to pull myself out of. And it was majorly due to my big fuck-up!
The day my life changed, I was sitting in the bleachers watching the football match before me. The footballers were playing, running around the pitch, slamming into each other. I had only just finished running a science experiment for Roxy in the chemistry lab, and I was waiting for my results. So, to pass the time, I was watching the boys play.
They weren’t really playing; they were rehearsing for their next big game that was due to be held in a few weeks. There were about twelve of them on the pitch, all kitted up and running around as they went after the ball. When there was a good catch, they all whooped and cheered.
I recognized Damien; he was their captain and also the leader of the pack. A black young man with bulging muscles who loved to flex that he was stronger than just about everyone else in the school. I hated him because he was the main culprit in my court of bullies back then. He didn’t stop bullying me because of Roxy, though; unlike others, he simply stopped because he wanted to focus more on football. He then warned me to stay the fuck away from him.
I did as asked and stayed away, but seeing how we attended the same High School, that was difficult. But so far so good, we had been able to exist within each other’s orbits without resorting to violence, which to me was progress. But all that was about to change.
As the footballers ran across the field, Damien caught the ball, ran for a few feet, and then sent it flying to Salim, his best friend, who was also black. Salim ran across the length of the field, plowing down some players. He then leapt into the air and caught the ball. Midair, he spun and, in one fluid movement, threw the ball towards another teammate.
But he miscalculated terribly. The ball zipped through the air with great force, all the way across the pitch, straight towards me!
“What the fuck-” I didn’t even have the time to process the thought before I leapt off the bleacher and jumped out of the way, falling to the floor just in time to avoid the ball as it whizzed past me and slammed into the chair I was sitting on. If I had not made it out in time, the ball would have struck me either in the chest or on the face.
“What the fuck, Salim?!” I cried out as I surged to my feet. “You almost knocked my head clean off!”
“Hehe…” Salim laughed as he got back to his feet. “That was a powerful shot, right?”
“Toss the ball back, loser.” Damien said, “We need to get back to practice!”
“No, you need to apologize! I could have been hurt!”
“What the fuck did you just say? Apologize!!!” Damien stepped forward, but one of his teammates stopped him. I knew the guy; he was Theo. Another member of the squad who had bullied me with Damien and Salim.
“Hold up, D.” Theo said, “We gotta focus on the game, man! That’s what’s most important, not this loser. We can fuck his shit up later, but for now, we need to focus on victory!” Theo then turns to me, his voice loud so I can hear him from the pitch, “Toss the fucking ball, asshole!”
I felt a rage build up within me, then I grabbed the ball, my fingers tightening around it and securing a good grip. Then, pulling my hand as far as I could take it, I threw the ball, but not towards them. I threw it in the opposite direction of the position, just to make them run for it.
But just as the ball left my hands, I noticed that I had fucked up big time! The ball was hurtling through the air towards Kim, my classmate and friend. She was holding a bottle in her hand, and I knew at once that she was on her way to the lab and the bottle most likely contained chemical substances. Kim looked up just in time to see the ball, but she didn’t have any time to avoid it.
The ball slammed into her head, and she fell backward at once, the bottle slipping from her grip. I watched in horror as the bottle plummeted through the air and fell to the floor, shattering upon impact. The ball then fell into the pool of chemicals.
“No…” I groaned silently as I ran towards the accident. “Please don’t be what I think it is!”
When I got there, Kim was getting back to her feet.
“What the fuck were you thinking, throwing that ball at me? Are you insane?”
“I’m so sorry, it was a mistake. I did not mean to…” my voice trailed off as I looked at the chemical on the floor and shook my head. The ball had fallen into it, and now it was melting. It was as good as destroyed.
“No…”
I looked up, and sure enough, Damien and his entire team were running towards Kim and me.
I was in a lot of trouble.
