The Bully In My Backyard

Chapter 1: Monday Morning

"Hello, friend," he said, first thing on a Monday morning, his lips pulled far back to reveal sharp, pointy white teeth.

I sighed inwardly. "Hello," I mumbled, trying to shuffle past him with my head bent low. "I can't hear you!" He said, louder, widening his mocking grin. Who was I kidding? Of course it wouldn't work. "Hello," I said, slightly louder this time. At this point I was already getting sympathetic glances from the kids around. They kept walking, though. They knew better than to mess with Wally the Kid. Stupid name, yes, but nobody ever told him that to his face, and for good reason.

'Wally the Kid', as he called himself, was our town's resident gangster. At just seventeen- my age- he'd already built quite a notorious reputation for himself. Whether it was the stealing, the wild parties, the act of trashing cars and houses for fun, or general harassment, he was a dangerous guy. He'd been arrested several times, but he kept doing it.

It wasn't just his height- I was pretty tall for my age, and he had a good two inches on me. It wasn't just how strong he was- though he was, extremely. It was the general intense aura of danger and the very clear don't-fuck-with-me that he exuded that made people- even those years older- back off and leave him alone.

He had demonstrated his short temper and his athletic prowess on several occasions, including one memorable instance when a boy two years older had implied a connection between his chosen name and the robot Wall-E of the eponymous movie. Suffice to say, Wallace had NOT been pleased. He showed his appreciation by sending the boy to the hospital with a bloody nose, eleven other broken bones and various other injuries and bruising besides. After that, people left Wally well alone. If Wally took notice of you, you were screwed big-time.

Which brought me back to my current predicament. I was unfortunate enough to have been noticed by Wally, now I needed to appease him, and fast. "Is it my lunch money you want?" I asked, with more bravado than I felt. Call me chicken, but I had watched this guy take down people twice my size without even breaking a sweat. He grunted shortly as I shoved said money into his hands, seemingly about to say something. Before that could happen, though, the morning bell rang and I quickly made a beeline for my classroom, though not before glancing back to see him sneering after me. Phew! That had been a close call! Now I just hoped I could go back to flying under the radar and Wally would forget all about me.

Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.

                        ****