What have I done?

Chapter 3: Me speak English

"Come on, come on, we're losing him!"

"Work faster! Come on! Go go go! We can't let him die!"

"Don't worry. You'll be okay. Just hang in there..."

Darius was forced to endure the pain, the agony and the torture put through him by the bullies, until, finally, a few days later, something happened. Something extraordinary. A major event in his life, that, if it hadn't happened, I doubt he would still be alive today.

He was eating his lunch, on his own little table, alone as usual, not even a single bully to keep him company, when suddenly, someone came and sat down next to him. Darius couldn't help but drop his sandwich on the floor in shock, his mouth agape and full of what used to be a ham sandwich. Someone...sitting next to him? He couldn't comprehend it, because no one had ever sat next to him before and he had become used to a life of loneliness, so he wondered why that had suddenly changed.

The boy wore sellotaped glasses, a yellow shirt and tattered black trousers. When Darius thought about him again, after all this time, he realised he looked kind of nerdy. The boy sat still, emotionless, refusing to touch his food.

"Hey, kid," the boy murmured, ignoring the food laid in front of him. Darius didn't reply.

"So, I heard you might have some learning disabilities." Darius stayed silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Well, I'm willing to teach you. I can't stand watching you get bullied all the time just for that. You don't deserve it. You just weren't brought up correctly. Plus, I'm kind of irritated at your stupidity, so I might as well rid of that as quickly as possible, and I'm not afraid of any bullies. I've gotten used to them, they're not all that bad after a while." Naturally, Darius had absolutely no idea what the boy was talking about, so he replied the only way he knew how.

"Go away?" he replied confusedly.

The boy sighed. "I almost feel like giving up right now, because this is looking pretty hopeless, but I'm a resilient person, so I won't. You know what, I should probably stop using big words, and just stick with the basics. Whatever. My name is Kevin, and... oh gosh, this is going to be hard to explain." Darius began to take a sip from his water. "You know what, I'll see you after school, alright?" Darius simply stared. "Okay, I'll try to catch you after school. Right? Right." Kevin stood up with his food tray and walked away, leaving a confused Darius at the table, water dribbling uncontrollably from his mouth.

As Darius left the school that day with his bag on his back, homework and books torn apart by bullies as usual, Kevin ran up to him, breathless. Darius turned his head and looked at him in awe.

"Okay...okay..." Kevin took some more breaths, then pointed at the entrance to Aries Forest nearby, and gestured with his hand to follow. "Alright, follow." While Darius may not have understood basic English, he could at least understand basic body language, and so he followed.

When they reached the entrance, they continued into the forest and, after a couple minutes long walk, they reached a beaten down, wooden shack, that looked like it was ready to breathe it's last and fall to pieces. They entered, shutting the door behind them. Kevin sat down on a fragile wooden stool, and he gestured for Darius to do the same on the stool adjacent to his.

"Now, we're going to have to start with the most basic of the basics of the English language. So, that would mean starting off with greetings, such as hello and goodbye. So, listen carefully." Kevin waved at Darius. "Hello. He. Lo. Hello. Hello." Darius stared, looking slightly frightened, then he attempted to repeat.

"Hel - He - Hel...lo?"

"Yes, yes, we're getting there, we're getting there," replied Kevin, jumping up and down on his stool like an excited toddler. "Now, let's try again." Kevin waved again. "Hello."

"Hel - Hello."

"Hello."

"He...llo."

"Hello.

"Hello...Hello...Hello!"

"Yes, yes, you've got it!" said Kevin excitedly, and they both jumped on their seats, clapping and laughing uncontrollably. "Right...Right. Okay. Now, next is goodbye. Goodbye." Kevin made a fist with his hand and moved it side to side. "Goo. De. Bye."

"Goo. De. By - Bye."

"Okay, almost. Now, try to say it as a full word, without the gaps. Goodbye. Goodbye."

"Good...Good...Bye. Good...Goodbye. Bye. Good...bye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye."

"Oh my goodness! Yes! Wow, this is going wonderfully. You're doing much better then I expected, though I almost never want to hear the word goodbye ever -

"Goodbye."

Kevin chuckled and continued to teach him. They spent an hour in the shack, and it was 4:00 PM when they left. However, when Darius got home, his mother was there waiting.

"And just what do you think you're doing coming back this late?" she shouted grumpily. Kevin had anticipated this though, and had taught Darius some new words just for this occasion.

"I...I...I had to....to...had to...stay for..de - detention," Darius stuttered, barely managing to get the words out. His mother was astonished for a moment, before replying.

"Detention isn't good enough! You deserve the cane! I betcha that whatever you got in detention for, you deserved it. They must be doing something right at that stupid school though. You've finally got into your stupid noggin that you use your mouth to speak!" Mother walked off with a strut and a tut, Darius lucky to have avoided another beating with the cane.

Kevin continued to teach Darius for the next three years, for as long as they were still at Primary School. It took a long time, but Darius finally grasped and figured out the English language, his learning skills improving over time, and he learnt how to spell and pronounce words. He was taught the letters of the alphabet and how to write them, and he was also taught how to correctly respond to certain phrases, and when the best time was to say certain phrases, and how certain phrases brought with them certain inflections in a voice. When Darius had learnt the basic English language and everything he needed to know, Kevin began to teach him more complex English, such as large, drawn out words and homophones. Darius suddenly began to do much better at school in every subject, especially English, because now he could finally understand what everyone was saying, and it was all thanks to Kevin.

He finally had a friend, a good friend, a real friend, who he liked and enjoyed playing with and him the same. He was still being bullied, but he didn't care because now he finally had a friend in the world, someone who really cared about him, and he looked forward to their hour long sessions after school. But one thing he didn't realise was that he was about to earn a lot more respect around the school, even by the bullies, but unfortunately, to gain something, you have to lose something and Darius didn't realise that, but he was about to figure it out...