Big Fight in FortReal

Spider: The Bullied

In chemistry class, it was common to segment class time into lecturing and experimental work.  The lecturing part, for some students who cared, meant copying the information from the blackboard.  For others, it was a sleeping session.  The practical work segment brought noise and harassment to Low-quarts.  Naturally, harassment was served to Spider who was a Low-quarts.  He was quite smart.  Some would say he was the brightest in Knowledge High and had a peculiarity that was deadly.  He was slightly overweight with long over reaching arms and legs.  His arms and legs were thin and completely non-proportional to the trunk of his body and hence the nickname - Spider stuck.  However, most of the harassment came his way because of his exceptional intelligence.  He couldn’t but answer teacher’s questions quickly and profoundly.  Simply, Spider was just too intelligent to hide his intelligence.  He once synthesized why Low-quarts’ boys end up with no girlfriends.  In an essay, he wrote: “so why are there no girls for the Low-quarts' boys?  Theoretically, there should be as many Low-quarts' girls as boys.  Same quarts' rules apply to both sexes but why there aren’t enough Low-quarts girls for their counterparts.  Indeed, there are as many Low-quarts girls as there are boys, but the malfunction occurs at the higher level of the quarts' scale.  The Bigtimers on average have more than one girlfriend, and that shifts the supply curve and leaves boys in the middle of the quarts’ scale competing for Low-quarts girls leaving Low-quarts boys with no girls.”

Spider understood well that negative quarts kept tallying up even if you are at down-bottom.  However, he couldn’t but express himself freely, and that was his sin.  Spider’s continuing episodes of thoughtful thinking brought him more harassment, more negative quarts, and further dug himself in the hole.  The chemistry teacher only exacerbated the situation by assigning Spider the role of Teacher Assistant; this assignment brought him into continuous contact with the pupils where he was harassed periodically.  Mark stayed away from harassing Spider as long as it didn’t affect his quarts.  Instances when Spider really slipped and done clumsy acts or made intelligent comments, the class as a whole mocked him and laughter ignited:  Mark could not afford to be, out of sync, out of the crowd, and risk losing quarts so he joined the carnage.

This time, the mockery was more intense, given the presence of Momento who can sanction quarts on the go:  The presence of a Bigtimer rendered everyone active and ready for quart picking.  Especially, the rising quarts who were always ready to show off their feathers given a chance presented itself.  One of the rising quarts, or the Risers as they were known, Mario, snatched Spider’s school bag and started throwing the objects inside of it, one after another, while the chemistry teacher shouted, from his comfortable desk, 'stop that,' and resumed the work of marking papers.  Then, Spider’s portable chess board, hidden well into one of the inside pockets of the bag, got thrown. The chess pieces dispersed in the air and landed in countless of locations.  Some of them seeped between the wall and the back of closets that housed chemistry sets; some fell into the washing sink; one fell back inside his bag; one fell inside a funnel, and some fell on the ground.  Spider ran out of the class while the students laughed fiercely mocking his hurried run (when you are a Low-quarts, even the most basic of gestures can bring about mockery).  Momento looked at Mark and said, 'see this why I don't like attending classes.'  All of a sudden, the intercom sounded calling for Mark to go and see the school counselor.  All the kids were surprised. They all thought Mario would be called as he was the chief instigator.   Mark didn't question: such things were quarts' catchers.  He left class and headed to Ryan's office.

In the office, Mark entered to find Spider sitting on one of the chairs in front of Ryan’s desk.  ‘Where’s Ryan,’ Mark asked.

‘The janitor came bye and asked to speak to him privately.  He should be back soon,’ Spider replied.

‘Man, what happened was horrible.  They’re jerks.’

‘Man I don’t mind the Bigtimers so much.  You can easily avoid them but the Risers – they’re a nightmare – they’re everywhere.  They are always looking to snatch Quarts.  They’re so horrible.’

‘I understand.’

‘You don’t.  You are a Quasi – that’s like the next best thing to being a Bigtimer.’

‘But my situation is always iffy. If it weren’t for my cousin, I would’ve never dreamed of that.’

Ryan returned to the office. ‘Spider, you can get back to class.  I’ll see what I can do.’  As soon as Spider left, the first words that came out of Ryan's mouth, ‘I trust in you Mark that you can do something to help Abby.’  Mark shrugged his shoulders. 

‘I mean Spider.  For God sake, I can't even use his real name,' he said in frustration.  'Spider is having suicidal thoughts; he needs help.  You must help him,’ Ryan pleaded.  'I asked you before, but this time, I'm urging you.  He is starting to rationalize the irrational,' Ryan concluded.  Mark knew well the trade-off to be had: one between the Quarts and doing the right thing.  What should he do: help and defy the magnificent power of the Quarts?  Or do nothing and be prepared for a long guilt trip sponsored by Ryan.  He should do the right thing: help Spider - do what even the good old Gallviant traditions say.  But then, the Quarts just won't forgive.  Ryan left him with a tough task.

Ryan, who was a volunteer working as a counselor at Knowledge High, took an oath long ago to help high school students; an oath, which he religiously enforced.  He fathered so many high school kids through the toughest periods of their lives.  He experienced calamities of great magnitude but remained faithful to helping kids. Ryan was probably one of the few Gallviants that lived in the Northside by choice.  He held many well-paid jobs in the Southside but decided, by choice, to live in the Northside, and worked as a volunteer at Knowledge High.   Whenever he ran short money, he headed to the Southside and worked small jobs to earn some money.  He had a peculiar gift of being able to make money quickly.  Time and time again, he would disappear for few months and then come back with money.  Money was important to him because it allowed him to volunteer at Knowledge High, which was his real raison d’etre.