A Collection of Stories

That Fight

"Stop fighting stale!"

My best friend's voice cuts through the air as the crowd roots for their respective fighter. I am next to him, in the front of all the havoc, with his camcorder targeting the scene of action. Sean Grayson lunges into his towering opponent with what I'd call the average strength most boys in my school possess. Sean then gets hurdled across the floor like an eight-pound sack of potatoes. Pitiful.

Pat shakes his head, ignoring the dark locks hanging in his eyes.

"Get up, man. You owe me a good fight."

Then,

"Don't forget you signed up for this!"

Honestly, I feel I would do better. Nah, I know I can. Ask anyone. And no, I'm not talking about those ridiculous cat fights girls are famous for (that kind of thing is beneath me). I'm talking about what I'm known for: powerful punches, speed takedowns, and a few good kicks... or what my buddy calls 'my brute strength'. He was never an advocate for violence and would try to solve his end through what he likes to call constructive conversations, (we all know that doesn't work in high school). This approach often earns him a black eye, a bloody nose, a busted lip, or a bruise the size of an egg on his forehead. So much for constructive convos, right?

Simone's a blue brain. He's top of his class in every given subject besides art and drama, and seldom, if ever, does he not show his brilliance, be it in speech or deed. It isn't every day that he'd use an adjective such as 'stale' to describe how someone fights; he simply means that his fighter is lacking the energy needed to make this fight interesting. A simple mistake we can pardon him for, he gets like that when really excited.

"Good, good, you got him, you got-No! Okay, now give him a blow to the jaw... Aww, man, you missed that... Now you gotta take one for the team... Ouch! I know that hurt..."

I know he's enjoying himself. His smiles, occasional laughs, the pumping of his clenched fists as if he were the one in the fight and not Sean Grayson, made that much clear; the wild gleam of excitement that burns in his ocean blue eyes is a plus.

"Oh, man, Sam, did you get that?!" he says, slapping me on the shoulder, leaving a stinging sensation. I did, but he doesn't wait for my answer before bringing his hands to his mouth and yelling, "You're making me look bad, Grayson! You're making me look bad, man."

"Shut up!" Sean yells back just before Maxwell Heffley punches him right above the belt. I cringe and feel sorry for him. Almost. This was his fault, anyway.

He had made some bet with Patrick (rookie mistake) which, if he lost, meant he'd have to pick a fight with the toughest boy in school. Idiot. We knew he'd lose-well, most of us did. But that's how it is when betting with my best friend. And I don't even remember what it was about. A guy thing, I guess.

"Rule number one in the need-to-know book of Patrick Simone," somebody said, "Never seal a bet with him because if he's willing to place one, be sure he'll win. And when he does, he'll sure as hell make you pay."

"Especially if he doesn't like you very much," a girl put in. "Just ask my brother, Lucas."

But neither this nor any other warnings could deter Sean, whose confidence sometimes falls back on plain stupidity. Gorgeous, bold, and yet a complete idiot!

And now he's paying the piper. And my best friend is that piper.

"Come on, man, get some! Get a couple of blows in before Principal Maddox gets here! Come on-Yeah! That's more like it! What-Whoa! Well, looks like that's the end of that. He's about to finish you now... Yep, there he goes." Max's deadly iron fist sends Patrick's man to the ground with a powerful thud.

"Hey!" says the principal, pushing his way through the chaos. "My office now! The rest of you get to class."

Pat half drags me along, which is usually in the reverse by the way, but I guess because of the excitement of the day, he's ready to take charge.

"You know you'll be facing detention for, like, the first time in your life, right?" I say. "Sean'll tell Maddox you put him up to it."

My buddy grins. "Yeah, I might do time which will, to my mom's horror, ruin my perfectly good George Washington record, but this," he waves the camcorder in my face, " is so worth it!" I laugh. It isn't everyday Patrick Simone is loose and fluid and willing to break a few rules, and I'm impressed. He's always been a good kid, and like most good kids he's had his share of bullies, still does. But today, seeing Grayson get his butt handed to him ignited a fire in him I've never seen before. I just hope he doesn't get out of hand.

But I had nothing to worry about.

He was his old quiet, logical thinking self the next day and almost every day after. He ended up in detention though, the principal having wrung the truth from his victim. But Simone never changed. And that fight, well, that never got old.

Again and again it resurfaces, making listeners laugh, Sean cringe, Heffley's ego swell, and Patrick smile. And in our last year, when we're all in our favourite hangout spot and conversation drifts to great, weird, or funny moments, no one forgets to mention that fight. Patrick says he still has the video and then we're laughing like tyrannical hyenas.

What can I say?

There are some things that only happen in high school.