The Bully Plan

Chapter Eight: The Absensce

EIGHT: The Absence

Darcy walked into the school a little later than usual. His parents had slept in and nobody woke him up. He was tired. He walked up to the place where his group usually hung out in the morning. He walked into the big gate of Grant High and straight down the path that avoided all of the student seating areas, including the eighth graders who had poplars as well who bullied him. He was extremely afraid of the events that might occur that afternoon. After school he would be pummelled. He walked through the double-door entrance of the school library and walked into the so-called reading area which not many students read in. Darcy looked around the room, then at his watch. They should be here by now. The only person here was Tabitha. “Hi Tabitha. Where is everybody else?” asked Darcy.

“I got a message this morning. The only people in our group coming today is us. We are screwed.” Said Tabitha with her rare defeated tone. Darcy did not say anything. He hung his head low and walked over to the seat adjacent to Tabitha. He lowered his head even further and rested it onto the desk. He gave a long and sorrowful sigh. Then finally breaking the silence, Tabitha asked, “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know Tabitha. I honestly don’t know.” Said Darcy with a defeated tone. He lifted his head up and placed both hands neatly on his thighs and said, “I guess we should quickly run out of the school to risk further beating.”

“You mean we run? Like Cowards?” Tabitha asked.

“Basically.” Said Darcy, sooner than he thought those words   would come out. Tabitha crossed her eyebrows making her look more wise then Darcy had ever cared to think about her as. A bruised up Castielle walked into the room groaning. “Hello,” he said with strain, making it seem like talking was a super-natural strength.

“No offence but you look very crappy.” Blurted out Tabitha. Castielle looked at her with a shocked face for a few seconds, and then the look disappeared almost as soon as it came.

“Yeah,” sighed Castielle.

Jake paced towards Parish. He would beat him up first. He grabbed him from behind, encasing him in a head-lock and threw him to the ground. “Ouch! What the hell man?” Parish uttered as he hit the ground. Jake sent a kick into Parishes legs and then a few more into the ribs. Parish clawed at Jakes legs like a pitiful child and stunned Jake enough to get back to his feet. Parish sent a speeding fist into Jakes face but Jake was faster and blocked it with his fore-arm. “Ouch!” shrieked Jake as another fist hit him in the back of the head. He turned around to see Sage behind him and Daelyn standing and smiling next to a pole a few metres away. Several more fists hit Jake and he was on the ground. Jake saw one last fist fly towards him and the world around him darkened.

Jessica Erwin was home-schooled. Until today. Her mother had given up on teaching and had sent her to Grant High School. She walked through the front gates using her phone as a mirror to check if she looked right. Her sandy blonde hair was tied in a tight pony tail with a thin side fringe down the side. She walked past a small office building lined with hedges. When she had the interview for entering the school the principal had recommended she stayed in the library until she makes some concrete friends to rely on. She had taken the advice to her centre and navigated herself by asking directions towards the library. She saw a set of double doors with a sign above that said “Resource Centre.” Fancy name for a library, she thought. She pushed on the double doors, felt silly after reading sign above the handle that said “Pull.” She entered and walked into a section of the Library that only had a few people inside it. She sat down silently. One of the girls at a near-by table turned to her and said, “Hello. You knew here?” she asked. Jessica nodded her head.

“Don’t be shy. Come and sit with us. My name is Tabitha,” she said gesturing towards a chair, “This is Darcy and Castielle.” Jessica stayed silent as she strolled over to seat.