Bullied

Six

One of the first things I noticed was that Justin had grown in size too. He was now taller and all the chopping had made his arms thicker. Our eyes met and immediately I could tell one thing. Justin didn't like it. He looked away and got back inside, chopping some goat's guts out I assumed. Jake the butcher looked exhausted as if having a hangover but still welcomed me better than his son did.

"Hey, kid, haven't seen you in a while," he said and I nodded. We had met once before the incident at the school. Back when I told dad about Justin and he came with me to talk to them both. Dad and Jake had a small nice conversation and Jake did promise to talk to Justin. I'm still not sure if Jake fulfilled that promise or not.

"Yeah, I changed schools," I looked at Justin through the window which they used to take orders on the other side.

"I understand," he said. "I'm guessing the little prick had something to do with it," he looked back at his son, who then looked away.

"So, how's business going?" I tried to change the subject, hoping Fred would show up soon.

"Business is okay, I guess. Just hoping Justin handles it well when I'm gone."

"Let's hope he does," I nodded. "I'm actually new to shopping for dead animal parts so forgive me if I mistake a goat's kidney for its brain," I joked to lighten the mood, Jake let out a chuckle that said, haven't heard that one before. I could only imagine Fred's humor not working here.

"Sure, what are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for a kilo of meat," I said, after thinking for a while. Neither Fred or his uncle had clarified how much to buy, so I had to improvise.

"Thank you for being so specific," He grinned.

"You really haven't gone out much have you?" Justin asked, walking out. I had not expected him to talk, at least not yet.

"Not really," I shrugged. "I'm terrible at bargaining so I guess I'm going to be an easy target for you guys."

"What school are you in?" he asked, his tone surprisingly more casual than I was expecting to hear. I told him which school and he kept nodding. He looked at me and that was when I noticed something. He didn't look like the monster I remembered, if anything he was surprisingly polite. I guess having a job changes people.

"I hear it's a good school," Jake said. I sensed a little sadness in his voice when he said it. As if he missed his son being at school.

"It's okay. Too much homework though and not many pretty girls to look at," that made both of them smile a little. "You're doing okay?" I asked him.

"Other than school, everything is fine," His father said.

"He's not really missing out on much, trust me," I said, trying my best to keep things more lighthearted.

"I don't think so either, but my old man here does," Justin said and pointed at his father.

"Sorry if I'm a little old fashioned kid but I still think schools are very important for getting jobs," Jake said. Justin didn't say much to that.

"He can do other jobs that don't need a degree," I said. That peeked both of their attention. "Like writing a book or maybe being a cook," the unintentional rhyming of the words made me sound like a cartoon. Both father and son looked at each other and smiled. That's one way of making a good impression on your childhood bully and his father.

"He can barely spell all the months in a year, so writing a book is going to be a challenge," Jake joked. Justin sighed.

"How about being a cook then? Surely his knife skills will come in handy," both of them shared another glance, grinning as if it was a joke that only the two of them understood.

"I guess we can see more into that," Jake said. I relaxed more and more as all three of us got more comfortable talking to each other. It was for the best because with blood stained white robes and sharp knives all over the place, both these 6 feet giants looked menacing. Despite their overall gentle demeanor.

I failed back in school to properly communicate with Justin especially as I was closer to his arch nemesis but now it seemed a little too easy. Why hadn't it been this easy then? How was this guy such a ruthless bully back then? The question didn't matter though, as their smiles dropped instantly. The smile was instead replaced with annoyance.

Justin's eyes especially were full of hate, like back in the school days. I followed their gaze and saw what they were looking at. Fred was running in the shop's direction. The distaste in Justin's eyes was unmistakable and raw. His father also looked irritated, yet he forced a smile on when Fred got close enough.

"Sorry Nate I'm late," Fred said panting. "I brought this back," he had a shirt with him that had some cuts on it. Both of them looked at the shirt. Justin looked furious and so did his father. But whereas Justin's anger was directed at Fred, Jake's was at Justin, or at least it seemed that way.

They all waited for Fred to catch his breath and soon enough, he did. "I believe when I said I want these washed, I only meant washed and not redesigned. Your boy didn't pay much attention in class so he has a tough time understanding basic words," Fred threw the shirt at Justin's direction. It landed on his face and hid half of it. He took it on his hands, leaving bloody fingerprints all over it.

"I didn't do this," Justin tried to throw it back but his father caught his wrist. He took the shirt from Justin and examined it himself. "He's lying," Justin said, his voice quivering.

"Get inside, now," his father's voice didn't quiver, it ordered.

"But..."

"Inside I said. Now," Jake said and Justin nodded like a pet. Fred was unaffected by the whole thing and just smirked as if he was enjoying it. "I'm sorry about this," his father said to Fred. "I'll buy you a new one."

"I hope you keep that one away from him then," Fred kept the nasty smile on his face. "We're here for some liver," I felt uncomfortable again as Justin's father looked at me. I immediately wanted nothing more than to leave as soon as possible. The friendly warm banter that had existed just a minute ago got replaced with cold customer service.

Fred got his liver and we were on our way back to his room. On my way, I looked back at the place. Both father and son were arguing about something. They weren't loud enough to be heard but it still was still clear that they were upset. The argument ended instantly as other customers arrived.