Post by themascura on Feb 12, 2012 14:37:38 GMT -5
"So we meet again, Dragon." He intoned in his deepest, most gravely voice.
"Yeah. I'm getting kinda tired of kicking your-" He began in a slightly high pitched, more feminine voice.
"Is that a Krepta action figure?" A shadow fell across him, and the familiar, haughty voice of Tommy Bolusi interrupted his reverie. Alex looked up with a scowl, a thin lock of orange hair falling over his nose.
"Yeah?" He growled warningly, puffing out his thin chest, inviting little Tommy to make something of it.
"She's not a real hero, stupid! She's a criminal! And besides, that's the Martian she's fighting." Tommy looked down his too-thin, too-long nose at him and snorted, "I've thrown away better toys." He added. Alex flushed slowly from his chin to his forehead. He knew he was turning beet-red, but he couldn't help himself.
"That's a lie! They framed her!" He shot to his feet, curling his fingers into a fist.
"How do you know? No one ever proved that, did they? I think she's no better than... than... the Joker!" Tommy grinned triumphantly, proud of his ability to compare the cherished toy to the worst creature imaginable.
Alex felt his eyes start to burn. To his horror, the prickling behind his lids became a smooth heat down his cheeks. Tommy grinned even more widely as his foe began to cry. Alex sniffled loudly, raking his arm across his nose and silently ordering himself to stop crying. He wanted to hit Tommy, he really did, but Tommy was big for a fourth-grader, and he had friends... lots of them. To make matters worse, Alex didn't really have any friends of his own to help him in a fight.
So he sat still, letting Tommy laugh at him, letting himself cry... letting the regal little figurine down. It was a minor blessing when the bell rang and it was time to head back to class, but the embarrassment didn't fade, and neither did the feeling of regret.
The next day Alex left his little dragon at home on his pillow, sighing with regret. As he slouched out the door, head hung low, his dad noticed his somber march.
"What's the matter little guy? Hey, where's your Krepta?" His father got to his feet and walked over, hugging his only child.
"We're not allowed to bring our own toys to school anymore." Alex scrambled for an excuse. If his dad knew the real reason he was leaving the dragon figure behind he would tell him to buck up, take it anyway, and tell the teacher if the bullies were bothering him. His dad didn't really seem to remember what it was like to be a kid. Being a snitch was even worse than being weird.
"Really? Well, I guess it's to keep other kids from breaking them. It sucks, but maybe it's for the best, kid. We wouldn't want some other kid to accidentally break Krepta." His father mused, ruffling Alex's hair slowly. "Alright then, come on kid, let's get you to school." He announced.
Alex did his best to avoid conversation on the way to school. It wasn't too hard. There was a hard stone in the middle of his belly, growing and growing the closer they came to school. By the time he was standing in front of the building, it felt like he had eaten a fistful of rocks for breakfast.
"Hey weirdo!"
Alex couldn't believe his luck. Tommy was already going to start? He had just gotten to school! Disbelief aside, the little boy in all the latest fashions was indeed trotting in his direction. Alex's face fell even further, if that were possible.
"Hey! Did you bring your toy today? I brought my slingshot. We can see how well she really flies!" Tommy laughed. Instead of stopping in front of Alex, he zipped around him and yanked- hard- on his backpack. Alex stumbled and fell to the ground. Tommy cackled raucously, tugging the back off of his shoulders and tugging the zippers open while Alex lay, winded, on the ground.
"Here we go! I knew you'd bring it. You always do- sissy." To Alex's surprise and horror, Tommmy's fist emerged from his backpack clutching the red figurine. He had left that at home though!
"No-" He grunted, starting to get to his feet. Tommy ran back a few feet, fitting the dragon toy into his slingshot and taking aim at the sky.
"I bet I can hit the roof!" He boasted, pulling the band of the slingshot back as far as it would go. Alex scrambled as hard as he could, grasping at dirt, heaving himself to his feet.
Finally, somehow, his feet found traction. He launched at Tommy just as Tommy released the band. The red toy rocketed into the air, sparkling like a precious gem as it sped away into the sky. Alex screamed. His shoulder collided with Tommy's chest. Tommy went down like a sack of potatoes beneath him, but Alex didn't care. Krepta, his favorite toy, his personal hero, was gone! He rolled off of Tommy and got to his feet, squaring his shoulders. He had done it now. He could already see Tommy's biggest enforcer heading his way.
And then, something miraculous happened.
A glistening red missile streaked from the sky and smashed right into the face of the biggest bully. He fell to the ground howling in pain. Alex started running. Could it really have been? But Tommy had shot her toward the roof! As he reached the bully's side he felt a smile start to stretch across his face.
There, perfectly perched on the bully's face, green eyes glistening with humor and righteous rage, was his personal hero.
Krepta.
Tommy and his friends left Alex alone after that day. As for Alex, he discovered that when he stood up for himself, sometimes he would get help from unexpected places.
"Yeah. I'm getting kinda tired of kicking your-" He began in a slightly high pitched, more feminine voice.
"Is that a Krepta action figure?" A shadow fell across him, and the familiar, haughty voice of Tommy Bolusi interrupted his reverie. Alex looked up with a scowl, a thin lock of orange hair falling over his nose.
"Yeah?" He growled warningly, puffing out his thin chest, inviting little Tommy to make something of it.
"She's not a real hero, stupid! She's a criminal! And besides, that's the Martian she's fighting." Tommy looked down his too-thin, too-long nose at him and snorted, "I've thrown away better toys." He added. Alex flushed slowly from his chin to his forehead. He knew he was turning beet-red, but he couldn't help himself.
"That's a lie! They framed her!" He shot to his feet, curling his fingers into a fist.
"How do you know? No one ever proved that, did they? I think she's no better than... than... the Joker!" Tommy grinned triumphantly, proud of his ability to compare the cherished toy to the worst creature imaginable.
Alex felt his eyes start to burn. To his horror, the prickling behind his lids became a smooth heat down his cheeks. Tommy grinned even more widely as his foe began to cry. Alex sniffled loudly, raking his arm across his nose and silently ordering himself to stop crying. He wanted to hit Tommy, he really did, but Tommy was big for a fourth-grader, and he had friends... lots of them. To make matters worse, Alex didn't really have any friends of his own to help him in a fight.
So he sat still, letting Tommy laugh at him, letting himself cry... letting the regal little figurine down. It was a minor blessing when the bell rang and it was time to head back to class, but the embarrassment didn't fade, and neither did the feeling of regret.
The next day Alex left his little dragon at home on his pillow, sighing with regret. As he slouched out the door, head hung low, his dad noticed his somber march.
"What's the matter little guy? Hey, where's your Krepta?" His father got to his feet and walked over, hugging his only child.
"We're not allowed to bring our own toys to school anymore." Alex scrambled for an excuse. If his dad knew the real reason he was leaving the dragon figure behind he would tell him to buck up, take it anyway, and tell the teacher if the bullies were bothering him. His dad didn't really seem to remember what it was like to be a kid. Being a snitch was even worse than being weird.
"Really? Well, I guess it's to keep other kids from breaking them. It sucks, but maybe it's for the best, kid. We wouldn't want some other kid to accidentally break Krepta." His father mused, ruffling Alex's hair slowly. "Alright then, come on kid, let's get you to school." He announced.
Alex did his best to avoid conversation on the way to school. It wasn't too hard. There was a hard stone in the middle of his belly, growing and growing the closer they came to school. By the time he was standing in front of the building, it felt like he had eaten a fistful of rocks for breakfast.
"Hey weirdo!"
Alex couldn't believe his luck. Tommy was already going to start? He had just gotten to school! Disbelief aside, the little boy in all the latest fashions was indeed trotting in his direction. Alex's face fell even further, if that were possible.
"Hey! Did you bring your toy today? I brought my slingshot. We can see how well she really flies!" Tommy laughed. Instead of stopping in front of Alex, he zipped around him and yanked- hard- on his backpack. Alex stumbled and fell to the ground. Tommy cackled raucously, tugging the back off of his shoulders and tugging the zippers open while Alex lay, winded, on the ground.
"Here we go! I knew you'd bring it. You always do- sissy." To Alex's surprise and horror, Tommmy's fist emerged from his backpack clutching the red figurine. He had left that at home though!
"No-" He grunted, starting to get to his feet. Tommy ran back a few feet, fitting the dragon toy into his slingshot and taking aim at the sky.
"I bet I can hit the roof!" He boasted, pulling the band of the slingshot back as far as it would go. Alex scrambled as hard as he could, grasping at dirt, heaving himself to his feet.
Finally, somehow, his feet found traction. He launched at Tommy just as Tommy released the band. The red toy rocketed into the air, sparkling like a precious gem as it sped away into the sky. Alex screamed. His shoulder collided with Tommy's chest. Tommy went down like a sack of potatoes beneath him, but Alex didn't care. Krepta, his favorite toy, his personal hero, was gone! He rolled off of Tommy and got to his feet, squaring his shoulders. He had done it now. He could already see Tommy's biggest enforcer heading his way.
And then, something miraculous happened.
A glistening red missile streaked from the sky and smashed right into the face of the biggest bully. He fell to the ground howling in pain. Alex started running. Could it really have been? But Tommy had shot her toward the roof! As he reached the bully's side he felt a smile start to stretch across his face.
There, perfectly perched on the bully's face, green eyes glistening with humor and righteous rage, was his personal hero.
Krepta.
Tommy and his friends left Alex alone after that day. As for Alex, he discovered that when he stood up for himself, sometimes he would get help from unexpected places.