Elle's fictional prose

Derek's introductory scene (13+)

Derek grabbed the fist that sixteen year old Amy had aimed for his face and twisted her arm up behind her back, just as a tinny rendition of Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ sounded from one of the pockets on his cargo pants. His temporary loss of concentration was all that Amy needed to seize the opportunity to knee him in the groin.

The air rushed out of Derek as he sank to his knees on the hardwood floor of the gymnasium. It was long moments before he could focus on anything beyond the pain radiating through his body and slowly sights and sounds started to return to him. He realized Amy was wringing her hands nervously in front of him.

“Are you a’right? Say something!” she pleaded.

Derek heard a masculine voice answer her. “Of course he’s not a’right! You just kneed him the goolies!”

“Maybe we should go get some help?” came a tentative suggestion from behind him.

Dear god, somehow he had to regain control of the situation. “I’m….” The breath stuttered out of him before he could finish the sentence. He tried again. “I’m fine. Just….give me a minute.”

“You want I should get you some ice, boss?” Derek recognized the voice of seventeen year old Mike that time and couldn’t help but wince at both the poor grammar and the appellation. He had told Mike repeatedly to just call him Dare like all the other youths at Hackney Youth Centre in London’s Northeast did.

“Give me a hand up, Mike,” he requested, knowing the youth was broad enough and burly enough to take his weight. He leaned on the arm that was offered and finally gained his feet. His height placed him an inch over six feet, and while he felt dwarfed by Mike beside him, he stood a good head above Amy’s penitent figure.

“I’m so sorry!”

Derek saw the glint of tears in her eyes and tried to think quickly through the lingering pain. “Amy, you did the right thing. Honest. If you’re assaulted and your attacker loses concentration, however momentary, your hesitation could cost you your life. You must not hesitate.” He spoke the last sentence slowly, trying to emphasise each word. “As you can see, a knee to the groin will gain you significant time. I only hope that if you are ever in this situation, you’ll run as fast as you can instead of making sure your attacker is okay.” He heard a chuckle from the group, and finally found his smile. “You did good, Amy.” He lifted a hand and ran it through his short, dark brown hair. “Right. Let’s change it up for a bit. I want each of you to come up with one question to pose to the rest of the group. Something like... 'What’s the best thing you can yell in an emergency situation to gain attention?’”

“FIRE!” came the answering yell from the twelve teenagers listening. Derek grinned. It was nice to know some of his messages were getting though.

“Try to think of one you don’t know the answer to, and then we’ll answer them all as a group in a few minutes. I’ll be sitting down on that bench over there like the elderly man I am.” The teenagers laughed before each finding a space on the floor to ponder the task he’d given them. As he shuffled gingerly to the bench, Derek guessed that he probably did move like someone a lot older than his own thirty eight years.


Written 10 February 2013