The School Bully

I. Book Boyfriends

I wish I had a boyfriend.

I snapped my book shut and cupped my chin with my open palm, my elbow on the desk. With a dreamy sigh, I began to daydream about the future love of my life.

Again.

He was going to be exactly like one of my numerous book boyfriends, I thought with another sigh. He had to be handsome and tall. He had to be funny, nice and kind of shy. He had to laugh at my jokes, no matter how stupid they were. He had to treat me well. He had to tell me I'm beautiful, even though I was not. 

And he had to stay with me and love me and only me forever.

I knew it was silly of me to love guys from fictional stories. But there was nothing better than falling in love with a fictional character and imagining that the girl he was falling in love with was me. If I could, I'd barter my soul for a chance to have a guy just like my countless book boyfriends. The problem was the choosing. 

Oh, well. 

I had already decided to figure that one out later if I ever got the chance.

Boys in books were infinitely better, not that I ever had a boyfriend. I just knew it.

Smiling faintly, I looked at the cover and at the man gracing it. The male protagonist in this book was just my type. Handsome, funny, sensitive and kind. The female protagonist never had a chance. Imagining him as my real-life boyfriend made me giggle quietly in my seat.

Heck, if someone had noticed they'd probably think I was insane.

This was what daydreams were for, to be anything but sane, realistic and pessimistic. It should be against daydreaming laws for someone to be negative. And I was far from being negative when I daydreamed.

"Did you hear what happened last night?"

I jerked my head up, the worry in the voice cutting through my thoughts. My classmates were huddled together in the middle of the classroom, all of them absorbed with the discussion. I tilted my head towards them and began to eavesdrop.

"I heard he beat up someone last night."

"Who?"

"Dwayne Williams, a senior."

"What? The vice-captain of the football team? That's so fucked up!"

"He won't tell the authorities who did it, though. But I'm fucking sure it was him."

"It's definitely him. Who would beat someone up with no reason?"

I shivered surreptitiously as I registered the subject of the discussion. No wonder they all looked like someone killed their puppies. They were talking about him. Goose bumps began to rise along my arms and I rubbed my hands over them.

My dream boyfriend would definitely, definitely not be him.

Who were they talking about?

They were talking about the infamous Leon Gage.

I shivered once more. I couldn't even think about him without shaking or my heart beating furiously, not because I was crushing on the guy, but because just the mere mention of his name terrified the heck out of me.

I haven't even seen the guy and yet, because of all the rumors circulating around school, I was already wishing I'd never, ever lay my eyes on him. Because according to them, if your eyes meet with his even for a second, you are dead.

Dead.

It was not an exaggeration because if you become his target, you might as well be dead.