You Can't Hurt Me

Time to right a wrong

Race's nerves since... the incident have been on crack shoved into a hamster wheel. He's lost his ability to speak without stuttering, he's gotten more impulsive, but worst of all he just feels terrified, all the time now. Noises are freaking him out and he's started to hang in the back of the group to avoid his noisy friends.

He really just wants to go home and cry, but instead he's gonna give a presentation on the Civil War in Snyders classroom.

To be frank the project sucked and was barley worthy of a C at best, but when Race had tried to work on it he started crying and couldn't calm down so he ended up writing it the morning of.

"Antonio Higgins," called Snyders whiny voice.

Race swallowed and stood up, his hands vibrating so he stuffed one of them in his pocket.

"The... the... erm... the civil war was... uh... was a very trying... trying... trying time and... I... uh... and it... and it was..." Race squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed. What was wrong with him? He's always been an excellent public speaker. But as he was speaking, all he could do was hear, see Oscars body go down. Did he kill him? Did he kill a man? Was he going to get taken away?

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Snyders hand found his back.

"Keep going," he snipped.

Race cleared his throat, "people... people were uh... people were divided, the... uh... United States was split in two... slavery had... slavery had broken everyone... everyone apart."

Snyders hand slipped down to his lower back.

"The... the south was... was worried... about... about uh... the uh..."

Snyders hand slipped down farther, too far.

Race gasped, the entire class snapped up.

"I tell y'a Race, if anyone ever touches y'a, you smack the living life outa them."

His heart raced and he swung his hand and slapped Snyder straight across his disgusting crooked face.

The class fell silent, everyone holding their breaths in anticipation.

And then Snyder swung his hand back and punched Race straight in the face breaking his nose.

Race shrieked and fell down. His vision blacking out as tears sprung up. He snapped his head to look at him fearfully before scrambling out the door.

"Principal!" He screamed, his throat horse. He looked back and Snyder plus the entire class was following him. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Where was the office, where was the office, where was the office.

"Mr Higgins?" Called a confused voice behind a door marked "Principal Pulitzer."

Race shoved the door open, locking it behind them.

"Sir, you have to fire him-" the door burst open, Snyder holding keys.

"This boy slapped me across the face!" He grabbed Race by his collar.

"Because you touched me!" Race shouted back.

"Both of you sit down!" Pulitzer shouted, "children, you have a free period. Everyone leaves expect for Mr. Higgins, Mr. Snyder, and Mr. DaSalvia!"

Albert walked forward and sat down next to Race.

"Now, Antonio, explain to me what happened."

"I... I was trying to present and... uh... I was having a hard time without... uh... stuttering and well... Snyder put his hand on my back and dipped it low and uh... y'know."