Big Red in her Hood

The only Decent Thing

"There," she said, pointing to the figure moving past some way in front of them. 

"Get him." The two girls beside her crawled out of the shadows and ran after the boy. She smiled, he didn't stand a chance. And, more importantly, they needed the win. Within seconds, one of the two girls had caught up with the boy. She pulled him then rugby tackled him to the ground. He fell with a saddening crash.

"Time to shine," she whispered. She put up the hood of her blood red coat became the commander as she walked into light. The boy scurried across the floor at the sight of her. She smiled, this was going to be too easy. The first thing the boy on the floor noticed, the first thing that anyone noticed, was her size. She was big and she was tall. And, against her lackeys, the bully stood out like a giant. She wore a stone-like gaze on her face which she turned towards him. He looked away. Too easy.

She looked him up and down. He was wearing an oversized blazer, shirt and tie, a Year Seven, she thought. He was wearing her school uniform, but that was alright, seeing as she had changed before and she didn't recognise the boy.

"Hi," she smiled. "I see you've met my friends." Sweat rolled down, the boy's face.

"My name is Big Red. And...," she walked closer to him.

"What do you want?" he said. The girl raised her eyebrows, then glanced at her friend on one side, then on the other. They all laughed that sick bully laugh.

"Sorry, I thought it was obvious," she smiled her sweet smile again. He still had that young innocence written on his face. She bent down to him and raised her hand. That was easy to fix.

She lifted her hand higher and swung. The contact sounded like a firework as the noise echoed throughout the estate. And, like a firework, the noise left the Year Seven speechless. Silently, she watched as his lip quivered and tears drifted from his eyes. She stood up and joined her friends. As long as he cried quietly, she didn't care.

Now that she was no longer blocking the rays from the one flickering light on the block, she could see the boy's face. It was red and blotchy, but, it was also bumpy and scared. She squinted. All of his face, neck and parts of his arms were covered in these folds and creases. Intrigued, she ran her finger along his flinching skin. He had been burned.

"You know the drill, give it to me." The girl turned to her friends, "Fried Chicken." They sniggered behind her. He sure did look like it with his scared light brown skin. Damn, she was smart. Fried Chicken began panting loudly.

"Oh, come on. No one who looks like you needs a watch." More sniggers. She smiled a toothy smile, placing her hands on her hips. The girl looked into the Year Seven's quaking eyes as he removed his watch. One of the girls tugged her slightly. She turned and listened. Further away, she could hear voices. She swallowed. They needed to hurry up.

"Hand me it to me and any money that you may have," she snarled. The Fried Chicken looked up at her as if he may actually soil his pants. She took a step towards him. The boy physically cowered in front of her.

He presented a ten pound note. She stared at it, what that it? She stared hard at the boy, there had to be more.

"Those are nice shoes," she said. His trainers, like the rest of his clothes, were brand new. The bully began untying, this could make up for the lack of produce.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind." She tied the laces like a slingshot and threw them over her shoulder. She considered giving them to one of the girls to hold but, that was too risky.