Titanium

Prologue

        Caitlin hated walking down the school halls at the end of the day. There were always people discussing their after-school plans, which Caitlin never made because she didn’t have any friends. It’s not like she was a loser, she just never got around to it.

    Caitlin was a very intelligent student, but usually got bullied for that. Many of her fellow students didn’t value being smart, which was a necessary skill. They thought of intelligence as something unusual and something that should be made fun of. Caitlin also was a very good reader. In 7th grade, most children's reading levels were a mid 60, but Caitlin’s was almost an 80. She was in all the advanced classes except chemistry, which almost no one was good at, and biology, which grossed her out.

    Her last class of the day was math, so she was going to have to get a heavy textbook out of her locker. As Caitlin approached her locker, she spotted Gabriel, the 8th grade bully. He was leaning against his locker, which was unfortunately next to hers, having a conversation with his cronies, Derek and Jason. Derek noticed her going to her locker and elbowed Gabriel to get his attention. He pointed his head in Caitlin’s direction, causing Gabriel to spin around. He just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tease her!

    “Hey Caitlin!” Gabriel said evilly. “How’s your day going?”, he asked, a smirk growing on his face. Caitlin was furious, but an idea leaped into her mind. Just smile and say thank you- it will kill him…

    “Very good, Gabriel”, Caitlin replied, glancing over at him as she twisted her locker combination. It popped open. “Thank you ever so much for asking”, she said with a smile, grabbing her textbook. At the same time, she made direct eye contact with Gabriel. That, along with the comment, was a mistake.

    Gabriel slammed her locker door shut, and pushed Caitlin to the ground, and her textbook went flying through the air. “Hey”, Gabriel shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. “No one talks to me like that”, he roared. Everyone in the hall made a circle around them. Caitlin got up and brushed herself off, another idea blooming in her head.

    “Not even your Mommy”, she asked, in a baby voice, making everyone laugh. Gabriel muttered a swear under his breath.

    “That’s it you little…”, Gabriel never finished his threat, because he connected his fist with the side of her head. A loud crack echoed in the hallways, and another one as Caitlin’s head smashed into the floor. Everyone gasped, but no one dared confront Gabriel, except one person. The new kid.

The seventh grade boy pushed through the crowd and to Caitlin’s side. He grabbed her wrist to check for blood pressure, and after a second, he gently rested it on Caitlin’s stomach. She was breathing, she was just unconscious.

“What was that for”, he calmly asked Gabriel. He just shrugged.

“I didn’t like the way she was talking to me”, he plainly stated, and turned around. He walked away, with a smirk plastered on his face. Derek and Jason blindly followed him. The new kid watched as they walked away, and the crowd dispersed. He turned back to Caitlin.

“Time to get you to the nurse”, he muttered, a sad smile on his face.