The Fugitive Grandma

Chapter 13 - The Fight

At school, Tim and Stan Maguire were rude to all the kids in the class, with one exception: Sabrina Santana. Tim, the more confident and talkative of the two brothers, was particularly smitten with the girl soccer star and tried many times to talk to her. All these attempts failed. Sabrina didn’t have the slightest interest in either of the twins.

After many rejections, Tim and Stan stopped trying to get Sabrina’s attention and fell back on their usual routine, picking on smaller boys and thinking up ways to make them look bad in class, as if this would make them more attractive by comparison. It was hardly a coincidence that Johnny, who was one of their primary targets, was on friendly terms with Sabrina.

The Monday after the shopping trip with Grandma Stella, Johnny sat alone during lunchtime, watching Sabrina at a table on the opposite side of the cafeteria. Surrounded by other girls from the soccer team, she was biting into a cheese sandwich and laughing about something.

Sabrina had recovered from the asthma attack on the field. Now she seemed as healthy as ever. In fact, in a game that weekend, she had scored four goals in a win over the visiting team from Montclair. When Sabrina and her friends finished lunch, she separated from the group and came over to Johnny’s table.

“You feeling better now?” he asked.

“Oh yes.” She held her backpack, with her inhaler and a box of powder tucked in a front pouch. “My doctor gave me a new medicine.”

“Good. I was worried maybe you couldn’t play anymore.”

Before Sabrina could respond, they were interrupted by the Maguire twins, who approached Johnny from behind once again. The boys stood on either side of Johnny, clamping their hands on each of his shoulders. Tim sneered as his fingers sank into Johnny’s arm. The brothers directed their attention to Sabrina, as if Johnny wasn’t worth addressing.

“What are you doing talking to this guy?”

“You don’t want to hang around him. He’s a sissy.”

“Why don’t you guys shut up and mind your own business?” Johnny said.

“Leave us alone,” Sabrina instructed the twins.

Tim pulled Johnny’s shoulder, twisting him around so they faced each other. “This guy is a loser, Sabrina. We saw him at the supermarket the other day with his granny. Johnny’s just a little baby. Isn’t that right? He can’t go anywhere without his grandma.”

Johnny’s face flushed crimson with rage.

Tim smiled, realizing he’d succeeded in drawing a raw response from Johnny in front of the girl. “It’s true. Johnny is helpless without his grandma.”

“She has to brush his teeth and tie his shoes,” Stan taunted.

“She has to tuck him into bed at night,” Tim added.

“Shut up,” Johnny repeated. “Leave us alone.”

“Let’s just move away,” Sabrina added, touching his hand and rising from her stool at the table.

Tim laughed and slapped Johnny across the back with his other hand. “Did you see that old beat-up car his grandma drives?”

“The whole family’s a bunch of losers. That’s why the mom ran away. She couldn’t stand being with losers all the time.”

Suddenly, Johnny’s body was a blur of motion. He lunged off his seat and tackled Tim head-on, swinging his arms and punching wildly as they spilled onto the floor. Sabrina ran across the cafeteria for help.

Stan hunched over and tried to grab Johnny, but couldn’t get a grip on the wriggling body beneath him. Still stooped over, Stan took a poorly planned swing at Johnny that accidentally hit Tim in the eye. Johnny yanked Stan’s outstretched arm and pulled him down to the floor.

The three boys continued wrestling until the two brothers finally overpowered Johnny. Then Stan held Johnny’s arms down while Tim pounded him in the face and stomach.

The next thing Johnny remembered was Sabrina bringing in a teacher to break up the fight. The teacher pulled the twins away and Johnny lay flat on his back, looking through swollen eyes at the fluorescent lights on the cafeteria ceiling until he passed out.

Copyright 2013 Dmitri Ragano