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Words failed me
It was just an ordinary school day. As it was break time I tore downstairs hitting and pushing everyone who came in my way. Well, after all I needed to keep up my reputation of being a bully.
Soon I found Arnold near the basket-ball court. He was too short to play basket-ball while I was usually the team leader in the game. This was a lovely chance to tease him and knock the life out of him. He went pale as he saw me draw near. I wondered why he was scared…wasn’t he used to such ordinary treatment from me? So I went up and gave him a good spanking.
The best thing about bullying was that no one could say much to stop me from behaving badly. I was doing well in my studies and this was all the teachers wanted from me. Somehow they didn’t care much about my attitude so long I kept getting the highest grades. Frankly speaking, maintaining grades was more difficult and important than bullying little children around. Arnold was physically and mentally weak. But it was easier to overpower him physically.
In the past years I had given Arnold much trouble. I remember one instance when I made him cry like hell. It was the last day of the first term and we had arranged a small game show just to entertain ourselves. After the function was over, we sat in the ground waiting for our parents to pick us. Only a few children were left in the school. Apart from myself there were mostly girls and some boys… one of whom was luckily Arnold. I picked up the bottle he was drinking. I glanced around, cautious that no ‘elder’ was around or worse still, Arnold’s father! The coast was clear.
I emptied the sticky liquid over his head. The other boys giggled and the girls were just too scared to move. They dared not step anywhere a mile around us. I banged the table and overturned his chair making him fall down forcefully. He jerked loose from my hold and tried to run off, crying. But I managed to holler out, “Hey you! Bring a new bottle of cola right here! Or else I’ll bang the life outta you like I just did with the table!” I glared at him threateningly. In a split second, he jammed a new cold drink in my hand and ran away. Probably thankful his father had come to pick him.
Weeks later, on result day I caught sight of him again. I peered at the list through the crowd; of course, my name was there at the top, gleaming as ever. Soon I received a hoard of hugs and congratulations from teachers and friends alike. I was about to go home when something unfamiliar touched my shoulder gently… I spun around, only to see Arnold smiling at me shyly. I raised my eyebrows questioningly, but before I could utter a word, he whispered, “Congrats horatio, keep shining forever but please be good to me, don’t beat me…” He handed me a flower and kept looking in my eyes for an answer.
He found it there… I felt my eyes slightly dripping with water. I bent down to the dear little boy who today taught me a lesson for life. I couldn’t believe my ears. Words failed me… I could only hug him which seemed to last for years, which was still less.
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