Left Behind

Chapter 8

A couple years passed since the event at school. Stanley was now eight years old, and a lot seemed to have happened for the child in the span of two years.

Stanley was still in school, but after the event that happened, things weren't the same. The other children stayed away from him, fearful that he might hurt them after what he did to Morris, even though Morris was the school bully and seemed to be more intimidating than him to the other children. The only kid who was still Stanley's friend was Ramona, and Stanley was grateful that she was still his friend. After the event at school, Stanley didn't like going to school anymore, but Ramona was what convinced him to keep going.

Stanley was a smart kid in his class, and his teacher understood that he was just different. His classmates weren't mean to him, but they kept their distance from him, save for Ramona. To make matters worse, in this school year, Dante and Morris were in his class.

After the event at school, Stanley refused to tell Lukas and Jesse that Morris and Dante were still bullying him. Morris could sense that there was something different about Stanley, and he often tried to intimidate him in an attempt to get him to attack him again. Dante still teased him, but there were times where he showed signs that he knew it was going too far.

Stanley didn't want to get into trouble again, and he certainly didn't want to hurt anyone. He learned to sit there and take it whenever Morris and Dante teased him. But to make sure Ramona didn't get hurt, he stayed away from her at recess. It upset her, but Stanley told her he didn't want to hurt her.

At home, it wasn't very different from school. Stanley kept to himself, whether he did his assignments or played by himself. He didn't really interact with Lukas or Jesse anymore, and now that Radar and Nell married, they were currently a few months in expecting a child. The two were busy lately, so Stanley didn't see them often either. The only one that Stanley still talked to was Lluna, for the llama seemed to understand him and he wasn't afraid of hurting her either. And to top it off, Ramona wasn't allowed to visit. Jesse and Lukas were more than happy to let her come over to play with Stanley, but it was Ramona's parents who seemed to not be okay with it. Stanley figured that they heard about what happened, and didn't want them to be friends anymore.

One Friday afternoon in the fall, school was almost over. Stanley's class was finishing their last assignment for the day. Stanley and Ramona were busy at their desks, practicing some math problems. From across the room, Morris and Dante were watching the two friends. Well, Morris seemed to be keeping his eyes on the group. Dante was busy trying to work on his math assignment, along with Morris's paper.

"Finish up, Dante! The bell's gonna ring any minute!" Morris hissed at Dante.

"I got it, Morris," said Dante.

Morris didn't see it, but Dante had a sad look on his face. He was a bit hurt that his friend was making him do the work for him.

"What are they up to?" Dante whispered.

"The freak is doing his work like a teacher's pet. That stupid girl is stupid enough to be the freak's friend. I don't get why though," whispered Morris.

"She has a name. Her name's Ramona," whispered Dante.

Morris gave him an angry glare. "I know that! What do you think I am? Stupid? I ain't stupid. And I'm certainly not a freak like Stanley," Morris snapped at him.

"I-I'm sorry," Dante stuttered.

The bell rang. Morris quickly snatched his paper from Dante so that he could pretend that he worked on it himself.