A painful lesson – a bully’s story
It was indeed a painful lesson for me.
I was the notorious school bully. My friends and I would
usually go around picking on smaller built individuals. We would beat them to a
pulp and found satisfaction in doing so. I radiated such an aura of menace that
everyone stayed an arm’s length away from me. Little did I know what was in
store for me …
It was dismissal.
Pupils were rushing forward to their parents and domestic
helpers at the school gates like bullets from a revolver upon school dismissal.
Exuberance bubbled among the pupils as they walked back home eagerly. To my
friends and I, it was just another bullying session once again. Without
hesitation, I set my almond-shaped eyes on Jamie.
Jamie was an effeminate bespectacled classmate of mine.
As small as a dwarf, he was a kind, tousle-haired boy who always helped other
people in need. Why must he much more perfect than me? IQ perfect, EQ perfect,
you name it. The jealousy I bore against him had literally consumed me. As
such, he inevitably became my victim.
Forcing Jamie against a whitewashed wall, I said in my
deep baritone voice, “Did you have a nice walk?” Apprehension swirled around
Jamie like winter chill, he turned into a clipped-tongue stutter. “What … what”
Before he could even complete his sentence, I slammed his head against the wall
and threw his spectacles in the direction of my friend, Jonathan. I then
whispered quietly into Jamie’s ear, “Give me all your money, or – “
Just then, a familiar stentorian voice drifted towards my
ears, interrupting my speech.
“Matthew, what are you doing?” it screamed out. Dropping
Jamie with a thunderous thud, I turned my head to face the person who had
uttered those words. On doing so, I stood rooted to the ground, all pale and
unmoving like an alabaster statue. Instinctively, I looked back, only to see
Jonathan and the others flee like gold medal Olympians. As hapless as a baby, I
could only watch the discipline master approach me like a stormtrooper …
I am now in the principal’s office, awaiting helplessly
for an almost certain doom. A pang of pain gripped my heart as tears and sobs
bemoaned my olive face. Oh, the regret! Oh the sorrow. The reality of my
deplorable situation hit me like a sledgehammer as I caught a glimpse of the
principal’s cane.
It was indeed a painful lesson for me, one which I should
remember for many years to come.
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