Quotes Mackenzie

Thursday

The next morning, Lindsey drops Bobby and Tyler off at the front entrance of the school.

"Tyler..." Lindsey says before Tyler fully leaves the car.

He pokes his head back in.

"Yeah, mom?" He asks.

"Don't forget what we talked about." Lindsey says seriously. "Let Bobby handle this."

Tyler quietly sighs.

"I know." He says.

"See you later." Lindsey says.

"Bye." Tyler says as he fully gets out of the car and shuts the door.

Instead of making his way to his 1st period class, Tyler follows Bobby to his. Bobby doesn't know though.

"Please don't let anything happen." Tyler whispers to himself as he trails behind Bobby in the crowded hallway.

A few seconds later, Darius and Trent walk around the corner at the opposite end of the hallway. They spot Bobby and menacingly approach him.

"Hey, Quotes!" Trent exclaims.

"Are you shitting me?" Tyler whispers to himself. "Not even in the building for a minute and he's already about to be picked on."

Bobby stops walking as Trent gets in his face.

"You think it's funny?" Trent asks angrily. "You think it's funny to have your stupid little buddy try to make a move on my girl?"

"I n...never-"

"Shut up, retard!" Trent interrupts Bobby.

"Son of a bitch." Tyler whispers angrily, fists clenched.

Trent pushes Bobby down.

"Fuck Bobby's method." Tyler says as he storms over.

Darius looks up to make sure teachers aren't coming when he sees Tyler.

"Uh, dude?" Darius says.

Trent looks up and sees Tyler too. They make eye contact.

"Uh, if you hurt us, I'll tell the principal." Darius nervously says.

"Fuck outta my way!" Tyler exclaims as he forcefully shoves Darius to the ground with one hand, and grabs hold of Trent's neck with the other.

Bobby stands up as Tyler pins Trent against a locker.

"YOU LIKE MAKING FUN OF PEOPLE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT?!" Tyler screams.

"AAHHHHH!" Trent squeals, completely petrified. "I'M SORRY!"

Darius stands up, but does nothing to stop Tyler. All he can do is look on in shock.

A teacher rushes over and gets Tyler away from Trent, powerfully gripping his arm.

"YOU'RE GOING TO THE OFFICE RIGHT NOW!" The teacher shouts to Tyler.

"YOU STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM BOBBY! YOU FUCK WITH HIM, I'LL FUCK YOU UP, YOU HEAR ME?!?!" Tyler screams to Trent as the teacher practically drags him to the office.

Seconds later, the hallway is dead silent.

"Get...get to class." Mrs. Murdoch calls out to everyone in the hall.

Everyone resumes walking to class, including Bobby. He looks at Trent, who's rubbing his neck.

"I...I'm sorry." Trent says quietly.

Bobby looks at him for a few seconds, then continues walking to class without saying a word.

Ten minutes later, as Lindsey is driving to her job...

Lindsey's phone rings, and she answers it.

"Hello?" She asks.

"Uh, hello. Are you Lindsey Mackenzie?" A voice asks.

"Yes. Why?" Lindsey asks.

"My name is Tony Jefferson. I'm the principal at your son Tyler's school." Tony answers. "There's been an incident."

"What? Is my son okay? What happened?" Lindsey asks worriedly.

"Your son physically harmed two students who were supposedly bullying your other son Bobby." Tony answers. "We need you to come down here."

"Oh, God." Lindsey says. "I'm on my way."

"Okay. We'll talk when you get here." Tony says.

"Goodbye." Lindsey says.

She hangs up the phone.

"Goddammit, Tyler." Lindsey says to herself as she turns her car around. "Of course he doesn't listen to me."

Fifteen minutes later...

Tony talks to Lindsey and Tyler in his office. Bobby had also been called down from speech class.

"Do you understand why you're in trouble, Tyler?" Tony asks.

"Of course I do." Tyler answers without hesitation. "I'm in trouble for defending my little brother."

"I assure you, Trent will be punished, and Darius might be as well." Tony says. "You're not in trouble for defending Bobby. You're in trouble for doing it the wrong way."

"What should I have done?" Tyler asks annoyedly. "Told on them and get them sent to the office where nothing will happen to them?"

"Tyler." Lindsey says, hoping to stop him from angering Tony.

"They may be suspended, Tyler." Tony says, raising his voice slightly.

"That does nothing." Tyler says. "They've been bullying Bobby for as long as I can remember. Every time they get caught or we speak up about it, they get suspended. As soon as they come back, they continue to harass Bobby."

"I see what you're getting at, Tyler, but in any case, you cannot use violence as a form of retaliation." Tony says.

"I can't use the only method that works?" Tyler asks confused. "Does this school district NOT care about bullied students?"

"Tyler!" Lindsey exclaims.

"How do you know that what you did worked?" Tony asks.

"Bobby told me that Trent apologized to him right after I got dragged away." Tyler answers. "You know what that means?"

"What does that mean?" Tony asks.

"It means Trent and Darius will never pick on Bobby again. They'll be too scared of me to do it." Tyler says as he looks at Lindsey. "Mom, you should be thanking me. I just solved the problem you thought would never end."

"How can I thank you for assaulting two sixth graders?!" Lindsey asks.

"Like this...thank you, Tyler." Tyler says.

Tony looks at Bobby.

"Did Trent apologize to you?" He asks.

Bobby nods his head.

Tony looks back at Tyler.

"Well, regardless of whether or not you think what you did was right, you will be punished." Tony says. "At minimum, you'll be suspended for a week. Darius and Trent's parents might also want to press charges."

"Throw me in jail for the rest of my life if you have to, I don't care. I did what HAD to be done, and because of that, Bobby will never be bullied again." Tyler says, trying but failing to hold back tears.

Bobby looks at Tyler and notices that he's crying.

"I don't care what happens to me. Bobby's bully problems are finally over. THAT is all I care about." Tyler says, his voice cracking.

Bobby stands up from his chair and hugs Tyler.

"I love y...you." Bobby says.

"I love you too, buddy." Tyler says back.

"Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Bobby says smiling.

Tyler chuckles.

"Pride of the Yankees...that's a good one." He says, also smiling.