A New Dream

James pushed his glasses up as he leaned closer to obtain a better view of the injury.

"What happened?" he asked, clutching the young boy's leg as trails of blood slid ever so slowly down his bare skin.

"Max did it. He pushed me while I was running," The young boy admitted, biting his lip as tears began to fall from his cheeks.

"Sssh, don't cry," James cooed, wiping the tears off gently with his sleeve.

"They keep bullying me because I have no dad..." The young boy said, sniffling as James continued wiping his wet face. "They keep saying my mom is a...a bad word and that she's malandi and--"

"I'll have a word with Max," James promised. He took a first aid kit and began treating the wound.

"Ow!" The young boy screeched at the contact with the disinfecting wipes. He held onto James' shoulder and squeezed to combat the pain as he winced with every stroke.

"Sssh I'm almost done," James assured as he dropped the used wipes to his side and picked up a cotton ball. He gently placed it over the boy's knee and using his other hand, unwrapped a large bandaid which he eventually placed over the cotton ball.

James pressed the wrap to ensure it stuck before getting off his knees and pulling the boy into a light hug.

"I'll fix this, I promise. Bullying is wrong and I have no tolerance for it," he declared.

The boy smiled and wrapped his small arms around James. "Thank you, Mr. Reid." James lightly grinned and patted the small of his back.

Mr. James Reid, former musician and now music teacher with the goal to help others connect to the music the way he had as a child.

The young boy with him was one of his favorite students, Coby.

He had grown fond of the child due to not only his diligence and attentiveness in class, but because of how much he saw himself in him. There was a similar passion and drive, not to mention he caught on just as easily as James had as a child. Though what differed perhaps was maturity, the young boy was quieter and kinder than most children at that age. Unfortunately, his demeanor and family situation caused him to be a victim to numerous teasings.

James did his best in class to stop the bullying. After having yelled at Max and the other boys for picking on Coby, James naively assumed it had fully stopped due to them seemingly starting to behave. However, as he found, he was wrong. It continued on--just not in front of him.

It made him wonder if the other teachers took the initiative to cease the bullying.

James opened up one of his drawers and took out a small, stuff dog. Coby's eyes widened as James placed it in his arms.

"Puppy!" He cheered as he hugged it.

James chuckled and rubbed his back.

He was such a sweet kid and like other children--undeserving of the bullying. James let out a breath as he dialed the office. He made a promise and he intended to follow through with it.

--

Max ended up getting suspended for what he had been doing. The other teachers claimed to not have been aware, but James had a feeling they knew but did not care to do anything.

However, what intrigued James most was the conversation he overheard as Max and his parents left the office. His mom told him to not repeat everything that she said--which signaled to James where exactly Max had learned such degrading words like "whore" and "slut."