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Scribe
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 61
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A Day In Blue Tights
A Day In Blue Tights
By Evega
When I was fourteen years old, I wasn't a religious or spiritual kid. In fact, I was somewhat of an agnostic. I wasn't one of those kids who walks around proclaiming that he's atheist, I just simply didn't see any reason to believe in a god. I usually kept my beliefs secret, though. Then again, I kept most things to myself back then.
I was a freshman in high school, in a small rural town in New York state. I guess you could say I was more or less a nerd. You know, short, scrawny, messy blond hair, glasses, braces, the works. I got straight As in my classes and was the kind of kid that lit up when the teacher announced a pop quiz. Not to mention that my little freshman self was in a lot of sophomore and junior classes, and acing them. I was the perfect target for bullies, and, of course, they figured that out within the first few weeks of school.
I was also a big reader. Most of us- nerds- were. But, instead of reading The Lord Of The Rings or Star Wars novels, I was a huge comic book reader. I read the monthly comic books, the graphic novels, the full novelizations, everything I could find. I even had a whole wall of bookshelves in my room that housed nothing but comic books and action figures.
Superman was my favorite. How could he not be? The ideal superhero, with high morals and ideas of justice that he never broke or strayed away from. He never killed, and only fought when he needed to defeat evil. He was pure power, pure passion, pure strength, courage, honestly, everything a kid like me could ever want to be. So I always found myself sitting, reading, wrapped up in the pages of Superman comics. It was my escape from the world where I was picked on every day. It was my escape into a world where I, reading as Superman, was invincible.
Like I said, when I was fourteen years old, I didn't necessarily believe in any god. But that changed very quickly, in one day. It may not even have been God that did it. It may have been a freak accident, a natural occurrence, or maybe even some force from space. But whoever did it, I thank them. Not a day goes by in my life now when I don't remember that one day when I was a freshmen in high school. It was a Friday morning, and everything had started off normal. Of course, as soon as I went through the front doors to my school I realized that the day wasn't going to be normal.
His name was Cliff. He was a big kid, and a sophomore, one year above me in grade. Of course, he was about three years older than me in age. He wasn't the brightest kid around, and it was public knowledge that he was failing just about all his classes. Whether it was deliberate or not, this kid was going to be kicked out of school. So, of course, he figured that he'll have as much fun as he can before the quarter ends and his grades get him expelled.
And his idea of having fun often involved me and his fist.
Cliff stood directly in front of me, in the way of the main school lobby and the hall where my locker was. On each side, he was flanked by one of his lackeys. They were just like him- ugly, stupid, and reeking of smoke. The three of them were hitting each other and pointing at some girl across the hall. They stopped it when they saw me come in and grinned.
I don't know why they always singled me out. I mean, there were tons of other nerds in the school. But for some reason, I was their choice. They saw me come in and they each grinned. I could tell that they hadn't been expecting me to show up, even though I come through this door every morning. It must have been a nice little surprise for them.
"Anthony Trout," Cliff purred menacingly, coming over to me. "If it isn't the little faggot." He chuckled like an idiot. "Huh hu huh hu!"
I tried to ignore him, and kept on walking. The three of them began following me, at a very short distance. They kept stepping on the backs of my shoes and kicking at my ankles, and occaisionally shoved my back. Somehow, I ignored it all and kept walking. It was a regular routine. Not necessarily daily, but I had gotten used to this two or three times a week. It had never been in the morning before, though. It was usually on the walk to or from lunch. I walked past my locker. I didn't want them to know where it was.
I reached the end of the hall and turned with it, heading toward the lunch room. The crowds of students were thinning out. Maybe I would be able to lose Cliff and his friends in the cafeteria, where I knew there would be a huge crowd. But as I turned the corner, I felt one of them hook his foot around the front of my shin. My momentum carried me over and I staggered, and I felt Cliff push his huge body into my back, forcing me downwards. One of them pulled my arms back as I fell, leaving me to fall flat on my face.
But instead, I somehow tucked my head under and landed rolling, pulling the bully who was holding my arms. I finnished my roll and stood up, turning to face them. They were laughing and pointing at the one that I had knocked down.
"Faggot. Whatcha lookin' at?" Cliff asked, suddenly noticing that I was facing them.
I knew I shouldn't have faced them. I knew I should have just accepted my good fortune and walked away. I could have made it to the cafeteria and hung out there until the bell rang. I could have, and I knew I should have. But I didn't. I felt some strange feeling inside me- confidence. I had just rolled out of being tripped, and had knocked one of them down. I stood still with my fists clenched at my sides, my eyes burning into Cliff's. He repeated himself. I said nothing, but slowly slid my backpack off my shoulders and leaned it against the wall. I could feel my adrenaline pumping. There were three of them, huge and experienced. Then there was little me, all by myself and without even a single karate lesson.
But as the seven or eight people in the hallway began to realize that a fight was starting, they began to crown around. And then I knew. I could do it. I could finish this. They would never mess with little Anthony Trout again.
Cliff bellowed like an animal, and with an indecipherable yell he jumped forward at me, swinging his massive arms. I took a step back, and his swings missed by centimeters. His cronies joined in, and the three of them swung at me- unsuccessfully- with their fists and arms. I was dodging their punches. Dodging! Weaving in and out with speed and agility that I had never knew I had. They couldn't hit me! I felt like I was flying. I felt like Superman!
Superman!
I whipped my leg, slamming my heel into one of their stomachs. Hard. The bully grunted and fell over, grabbing at his belly. In a flash, I kicked him again on the side of the head. He screamed, and fell down to his side. I saw him crawling away toward the crowd of people as Cliff and the other one glared at. Their expressions were heard to read. I saw a mix of fury, hatred, awe...and fear.
It felt amazing. I was pumped. I had single-handedly beaten one of them. I could handle the other two. In the back of my mind, I knew that there would be consequences. But the rest of my mind, the logical parts, the instinct parts, the emotion parts, all knew that it was time to deal justice.
My eyes narrowed threateningly. The two of them lunged. I stepped to the side, feeling the breeze as Cliff's fist missed my face. He hunched over from his momentum, and I ripped up my knee to connect solidly with his stomach. He growled and coughed, and I slammed by hand, palm down and open, on the back of his head, forcing his face toward the ground.
Then I finally heard the shouts and screams. I felt a pair of rough hands pulling me off of him. I knew who it was. I knew what it was.
They were breaking up the fight. I picked up my bag and slowly followed the teacher away from the scene and toward the front office. As I walked, head bent down and silent, I could feel my super strength fading. That physical rush of power, that magical energy, was going away. When we finally got to the principal's office, I sat in my chair, looking at the floor, quietly accepting my punishment and lectures. My mother was called to pick me up. I was suspended for three weeks.
But when I got back they didn't bother me anymore.
I know what I did was wrong. I know it was bad, and I know I could have handled it in a different way. But ever since then, I have tried to move with that kind of speed. I have tried to hit with that kind of force. I have gotten into one or two fights since then, in my adult life. But never have I achieved that level of skill and power. It truly was as if I had turned into Superman for a day. It was magical, I have no doubt. I was meant to fight them back. I was meant to show them that I wouldn't take it any more.
I still don't exactly know what happened that day. But ever since then, even though no longer have that concrete power, I have had this feeling that someone was up there, watching out for me. From the heavens, from space, or even Superman up in the sky. I know that I will never have to be alone again.
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Okay, if you've read Judith's Reply, another short story by me, you will probably notice a lot of similarities. Don't exactly know why. Guess I just like this kind of story.
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Evega Karr
Email evegak@gmail.com
MSN: evega@dev-empire.net
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it was very descriptive and well... over all good!!
