The New Kid - Part 1
#1 of The New Kid
Mark Simmons was a bully. No one doubted that the black bear was. As a matter of fact, not only was Mark a bully, but he would rightly be labeled the bully of the seventh grade. Tall, muscular, and with an imposing frame, Mark and his lackeys Nick Fulton and Dylan Malloy terrorized everyone they pleased. Mark didn't discriminate against anyone; he hated them all. Jocks, nerds, teachers, the school lunch ladies--everyone was fair game to him. At Waterloo Middle School, you either tried to stay the hell out of his way, or you were going to be in for a painful existence; even the principal was praying for the day that Mark graduated to high school, or simply decided that academics weren't his thing and quit.
It was on a particular day in March that Mark, Nick and Dylan were in the boy's restroom not far from their homeroom smoking cigarettes like they did every morning. The three bears loved it. No one dared go near the place in the morning; that was the trio's office. Once, when a poor, ignorant bastard told the principal that Mark and his friends were smoking on school grounds, he was quickly taught a lesson by Mark. With Dylan and Nick holding the poor bastard down, Mark proceeded to put out a lit cigarette on his arms. Mark covered the kid's mouth as he screamed from the terrible pain of burning tobacco being extinguished on his forearm. Tossing the butt into a nearby toilet, Mark told the kid that this was just a friendly reminder that the kid needed to know his place. Next time, there would be more cigarettes, and they'd be shoved in places that were guaranteed to cause far more pain one's forearm. Wisely, the poor, ignorant bastard shut his mouth and allowed Mark and his pals a wide berth. That was the way of things here.
On that March morning, as Mark, Nick and Dylan smoked half a pack of Marlboro's between them before homeroom started at 8:15. Mark, slicking his long black hair back as he took note of his features; his face betrayed his age, looking much older than he actually was. Growing up picking fights with everyone that got in his way or rubbed him the wrong way; Mark had seen his share of punches, cuts, bruises and all types of lacerations. Undaunted by his wounds, the head bully of Waterloo wore his battle scars with a twisted sense of pride. To mark, it was just a sign that he was the school's ultimate bad ass.
Dylan and Nick were finishing their last cigarettes before it was time to leave. Nick, short, stocky with pudgy face and cruel, animal eyes looked at his cell phone. It was now 8:07, almost time to go. He slipped his half a pack of Marlboro's back in his pocket, wishing to save some for lunch when he knew he'd have a strong craving for another nicotine fix. Dylan, tall, lanky with greasy, unkempt hair wore a Cannibal Corpse t-shirt showing zombies eviscerating humans in the most grotesque methods possible. Normally, the administration would have been quick to label such attire "inappropriate for a safe school environment", but the last time that they'd challenged the trio's taste in clothing, Mr. Connor, the school principal, found his tires slashed and sugar in his gas tank. The school lacked the proper funds for outside surveillance equipment, so there was no way to definitively prove that Mark and his two thugs were responsible for the incident, but everyone knew damn well it was them. Mr. Connor decided that he was fine with whatever the three decided to wear to school, fully aware that if he were to again voice his opposition that the young sociopath was likely to escalate his misdeeds.
"Hey," said Nick as he tossed his cigarette in the toilet and flushed it down. "I heard we got some knew kid in homeroom today."
"Got any idea what he looks like?" asked Dylan, who was busy taking a leak at the urinal.
"Nope," admitted Nick. "Heard he was a rabbit, though."
Mark shook his head, still admiring himself in the mirror above the sink. "Doesn't matter, we'll be sure to give him the old Waterloo welcome; won't we?"
Nick and Dylan snickered sadistically. The "Waterloo Welcome" was the trio's little way of letting any new kid in the school know who really ran the place. If the new kid was cool enough, the three would let the new kid be, telling him that they might call on him for a favor later on in exchange for their protection. If the new kid showed any sign of resistance--daring to challenge the trio's authority--they were given the treatment with Mark's Doc Martins all over their body. Nobody ever had to be told twice to remember their place. Mark stopped staring at himself, got his book bag and lead the way to homeroom.
Mark, Nick and Dylan sat in the back of homeroom. Their they could get a proper view of everything that went on in their domain. Mrs. Polaski, the sixty-something, morbidly obese, short badger homeroom teacher with waddled to the front of the classroom. Her thirty-odd years of teaching, stress, heavy smoking and her secret drinking problem had taken its toll on the woman, who counted down not just the years--which happened to be two--but also the very days until she could retire and collect her pension. Panting, she cursed under her breath. It was the same thing every year; the kids seemed to get worse. Louder, dumber, more disrespectful and more apt to violence than their parents' generation, Mrs. Polaski was ready to throw in the towel.
Catching her breath, she addressed the class in her grating, nasal voice. "Alright everyone, we have a new student in homeroom today. I want you all to welcome Julius Carter to Waterloo Middle School."
Just then, a short, thin rabbit boy with russet bron fur walked in. Mark and his two thugs were sure to pay close attention to their next victim. Julius, dressed in black slacks with a white button up shirt and black bow tie. Around his eyes were thick frame glassed that appeared to have Coca-Cola bottles for lenses. As Julius quietly made his way to the front of the classroom, Mark rubbed his filthy hands together, just thinking about how much fun it was going to be to give this scrawny turd a good ass-whipping. He looked over to Nick on his left and Dylan on his right; both silently nodding and grinning sadistically. They were certainly on the same page with their leader.
Julius, much shorter than anyone else--even the girls for that matter--stood front in center before the class. A thin smile could be seen on the pasty, freckled face of Julius. Mark watched the small kid with disgust. Again, the arch bully of Waterloo Middle School rubbed his paws together, just waiting for the opportunity to show Julius who was really in charge. Mrs. Polaski asked Julius if he felt like telling the class anything about himself, but only if he felt comfortable doing so. Julius nodded, politely agreeing to the request.
"I just moved here from Washington State. I'm a very serious student of science and math. I don't know anybody in school yet, but I'm really hoping we can all be friends."
Everyone in the class, still half asleep, just sat there with their elbows propping up their sleepy heads; all except for Mark, Nick and Dylan who took the opportunity to laugh at the suggestion that they wanted to be friends with a pussy like him. Mrs. Polaski had the words "shut up, boys" in her mouth, but thinking better of it, swallowed her correction. She was no different than anyone else in school--not wanting for a second to piss off the unholy trinity of Waterloo Middle School. Sighing, she asked Julius to take a seat as she found her own seat as well. Julius, still smiling, went near the back of the classroom. Mark watched with sheer delight as the new kid took the best seat in the house; right in front of his.
With the children's first actual class not starting until 8:35, Mrs. Polaski allowed the class to talk amongst themselves. She excused herself, saying that she needed to go see the principal about some matter. Mark and his buddies knew better; the old hag was off to the teachers' lounge to having her morning shot of Absolut Vodka. The three boys often broke into the teachers' lounge where they help themselves to her choice of poison. Mrs. Polaski never mentioned a word of it to the administration. Hell, she didn't want to get fired and lose her pension and benefits this close to retirement. She had even worked out an arrangement with the thugs. She'd occasionally buy them their own bottle--their choice of course--with the understanding that they would leave her alone. A mutually beneficial arrangement for both parties for sure.
Mark smirked as he watched the unsuspecting Julius simply sit quietly at his desk like the good little boy that his mommy had certainly raised him to be. Mark looked back and forth to his pals, who had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing. Mark, ever the unpredictable one, was never short on imaginative ways to torment the new kid. Crouching down on his desk like some big jungle cat, Mark crumbled up a piece of paper from his notebook, took aim, and flicked the large paper ball at Julius head. Without even turning around, Julius swung his hand back and caught the paper ball. Stunned by the quick reflexes of the ginger kid, Mark looked back and forth at Nick and Dylan, puzzled at how someone--especially a little geek like Julius--could be that swift. With his first attempt at showing his dominance thwarted by the ginger, Mark gritted his teeth defiantly. No little prick like this Julius was going to make a fool of him! He tapped Julius on the shoulder.
"Hey faggot, who do you think you are?"
Julius snapped his head around. Julius opened his mouth, revealing cruel, wolf-like fangs to the three punks. Mark shrieked in horror, pointing at Julius. The other kids in the classroom--who wisely moved away from Mark, Nick and Dylan, stopped talking immediately, completely shocked by Mark's uncharacteristic reaction. The head bully of Waterloo's paw quivered as he shouted accusations at Julius.
"He's--some kind of--freak! Look at his mouth!"
All at once, the kids rushed to see what he was babbling about. Julius turned to face them. He opened his mouth, revealing only pearly white teeth teeth of a healthy thirteen year old boy. If being scared shitless by the little freak wasn't enough, Mark was now treated to the various insults that were being launched at him.
"Jesus, lay off the drugs Mark!"
"Yeah, they're fryin' your brain, man!"
Regaining some of his former courage, Mark closed his eyes, shook his head and rubbed at his eyes before he opened them once more. Having been made the butt of an unintended joke, Mark got tapped Julius on the shoulder again. The geeky, diminutive rabbit boy turned once again to face his would-be antagonist, only this time Mark saw the same normal pearly-white teeth that the other seventh graders had spotted.
"I'm sorry if I startled you. I hope we can still be friends, Mark," said in a sly, disingenuous voice.
Mark, Nick and Dylan went back to their desks. All of them felt some sense of unease about this new kid. What was so weird to them was that this rabbit kid, a very small kid, seemed to show them no fear at all, and everyone was afraid of the three of them thirty seconds after they encountered the trio. Mark, kept looking at Julius'; one part of him hoping that he'd be able to smash Julius head in later in the day, the other part of him hoping that he wouldn't witness the bizarre spectacle again.
The bell rang for their first period class. The students got out of their chairs. Mark, Nick and Dylan watched as Julius walked by them, smiling cruelly. The three bears shuddered, wondering just what in the hell the tiny rabbit was really up to.
Julius looked back at the three bears as he walked out the classroom. "I know we're going to be very, very good friends, guys."