BULLY

I didn't know his name, but I immediately felt like I knew him. He appeared so small, so weak, so short. In reality, he was only a few inches shorter than me. His hair was blonde, and his skin was pale. I've never had a younger brother, but if I did, I imagine he would be of similar complexion and demeanor.

When I looked at him, I only saw innocence. I felt immediately protective of him, wanting to hide him from the harms of this wretched school.  Over the past three years, I've seen kids like him get torn apart. I was lucky enough to dodge the brunt of the bullying during my time at Carmel, but not everyone was so lucky.

It all started on Friday. Fridays, strangely enough, were never a relief for kids who didn't fit in at my school. When they should be celebrating the end of the week and making big Friday night plans, the geeks of my school were cowering in the D-3 hallway, avoiding Bruno and his group of lowlife, big-muscled jerks.

On this particular Friday, I was sitting on a bench in the school cafeteria. The young boy was sitting not very far from me, hunched over, grabbing his knees. Small black ear buds were positioned tightly in his ears, and his eyes were shut so tightly that he didn't see Bruno's opened-face hand coming quickly at his shoulder. The small boy's head made a small thud as it hit against the ground.

A small whimper was all the boy let me out as the left ear bud slipped onto the concrete floor.

"Get up, you little piece of cow dung," Bruno's voice boomed. I could feel my heart beat escalating, my calf muscles tightening. My fight-or-flight sense had always pointed towards flight. Truthfully, I had never even pushed a person. Let alone do what I was going to do next.

I stood up as Bruno's fist landed on the small boy's face.  I wasn't sure if the small boy made a sound, as I could only hear my heartbeat. I clutched my lunch in my hands, tighter and tighter. I could feel my chicken sandwich tightly in my hands. Even now, I am not sure why I did this, but it was the only thing I could think to do.

The mayonnaise was everywhere. It covered his brown eyes, it covered his black button, and it dripped onto the jeans of his victim. It could not, however, cover his rage.

I expected to feel pain. I expected him to jump up and run towards me and unleash the fury that I was sure he was feeling. I wanted to scream, to run, or to cry. But I just stood there, watching Bruno as he wiped the mayonnaise from my chicken sandwich back into his greasy hair, stared at me with a small mouth, and straightened his posture.  He began moving slowly, his eyes never breaking my stare, and he moved towards the south hall. I was stunned as he walked through the door into the hallway without speaking, without screaming, without any threatening gestures.

It wasn't until later that evening that I began to understand.  I glanced at the clock, reading 3:26. It was only 4 more minutes until the bell would ring, and I would meet my destiny. These were the shortest 4 minutes of my life as I begged the clock to pause. As the bell rang, I wanted to cry.

But then, something amazing happened. I exited the classroom slowly, hearing chanting and jeering the second I opened the door. There, in the A-2 hallway, stood hundreds if not thousands of students I've probably overlooked -- what everyone referred to as nerds and dweebs and losers.  They were jumping up and down, cheering my name, shouting and waving.  I wasn't sure what they were doing, but their excitement riled me up, and before I knew it, I was jumping and clapping at them.

I saw the small boy, running towards me. He was faster than I imagined. He ended his sprint with his arms wrapped around me, pulling me down to speak to me. He whispered in my ear, "Thank you, beautiful girl. You have saved me. You have saved us all."

The crowd wrapped around me, edging me towards the gym. I was so excited to see what awaits me..... a party? a toast? a single congratulations? What could I expect?

I entered to see the entire school waiting on the bleachers. I had never seen such a large gathering of people at Carmel. I was honored for this to be me.

The small boy edged me towards the center of the gym. A small red circle was drawn at the center. It looked as though it was written with a liquid. For a brief second, I thought it might was ketchup, and how odd it was to see a condiment used as paint. I looked up  and glanced at the crowd. And that's when I saw him, standing in the shadows of the far east side. I caught Bruno's glance and I knew what I was standing in. This circle was not drawn from ketchup. It was drawn from blood.

I jumped when I heard the speaker squeak on. It wasn't a voice I recognized right away. I could no longer hear my heartbeat. I could no longer hear the crowd. I could only hear this intercom, speaking my fate.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for joining with us today. Today is a special day for the day of the little man. It is today that will define us, today that was help us grow. It is today that will change the course of your lives.

"But it is not without remorse that we hold this event. We realize that in the course of our lives, we have experienced much hurt. We have been bullied, we have been hit. We have been beat down, beat up, and beat sideways. But today, we no longer have to live in fear.  As we have struck a deal!"

The crowd jeered at this. My mind raced to understand. What deal was being made?

"It has been 25 years since our last deal was made. And we were able to live without fear for so long. But, within recent years, the bullies have not been satiated. Their desire for hurting has grown. Their desire for death has grown. Their desire for SACRIFICE has grown."

Again, the crowd jeered. My stomach began to spin. I glanced down at the blood. I wondered whose it was.

"And now, to perform the sacrifice, the man who've we all come to despise. Let's give it up for Bruno!"

The crowd went wild. My eyes darted towards the shadows to see tall, burly Bruno emerging, coming at me with the same fury that I had witnessed earlier that day.

The intercom clicked back on. "Let us remember why we are here today. These bullies have hurt us, have made us feel little. Today, we will give them what they want. Today, we will no longer live in fear. With this sacrifice, we will be free!"

My eyes darted around. Bruno was approaching fast. I wanted to know what was going on. Was I the sacrifice?

The intercom boomed. "Let us now proceed."

The roaring of the crowd came to a halt. Bruno approached me, stopping near inches from me. He slowly put his hands on my shoulder, a slight grin appearing on his lips.  My eyes did not leave his. I could not breathe. Bruno slowly clenched his fist, making my shoulders ache. My face became tight. He spun me around, and whispered. He was barely speaking loud enough for me to hear, but I was sure of what he said.

"Jackie," he whispered. "I'm going to punch you in the back of the head so hard that you will die."

I felt my hands clench as the words register. I felt my breath become rapid and loud. I tried to will myself to move. I tried to will myself to fight. Hell, I tried to will myself to run. But, I could not. I was frozen, immobilized by fear.

As I glanced up to see the crowd screaming with joy, I felt his fist collide into my head, shattering my skull slowly. Time nearly stood still as I fell, closer and closer to the gymnasium floor. As my face smashed into the small red circle on the ground, I felt every drip of my blood flush out. 

The crowd went wild as I died.
I was a sacrifice.