That time I got rejected three times on the same day!

Chapter 23

It was some time before I was ready to leave. The tears had flowed freely, running off my raincoat like water of a ducks back. There was a deep hole in my heart, a void. I didn't know how I would stand up, how I would keep on living. I just wanted to lie down and die. Then I remembered Vicky. Her worried expression when I didn't arrive to pick her up, standing alone at the public bus stop, trying to cross the big high way on her own. The state of my life was one thing, looking after my sister quite another. I had a duty as a brother. My legs were weak, part from the beating, but mostly from my emotional distress. The raincoat was hot, the grey jumper was hot. I took them off. The cool wind felt nice, different. I picked myself off the floor.

Vicky was waiting for me in front of her class. All the lower grades were on the first floor. When she saw me she gasped.

"What happened to you Henry?" she said.

My eyes were red and my face was covered in band-aids. There were no bruises on my arms, just red marks.

"Nothing," I replied.

She placed her hands on her hips, like mother.

"This is not nothing!" she cried.

I started walking.

"Let's just go okay."

She ran after me.

"Tell me!" she said.

I really wasn't in the mood to talk. Hopefully if I didn't say anything she would just stop asking.

The public bus stop wasn't that far away, less than a kilometre. We went out the western gate and walked down the side of the school. In the mornings we wouldn't bother to go the pedestrian crossing, but when walking to the public bus stop it was faster and safer to use it. The light was red. I grabbed Vicky's hand.

"What happened?" she asked again.

I sighed.

"I got beaten up."

"And why are you crying?" she said.

"Because something bad happened."

She was quiet for a moment.

"Oh," she replied.

I smiled. Vicky always made me smile; there was something about her childlike innocence and manner. I heard the rhythmic beat of the pedestrian crossing and saw the green man. We crossed quickly. We were about to cross the second street after the first block when Vicky cried out. I looked down and saw the remains of a shattered apple.

To our left were a group of boys. I counted them quickly, 10 in total. I recognised Joshua, who was holding another apple, and next to him was a dark haired boy. It was Derrick's brother, the one I had thrown in the car park all those months ago. Vicky started cry and my anger started rising. Throwing things at me was one thing, hurting my sister... quite another. All the boys were laughing. I pulled Vicky behind me, covering her with my body. Joshua pitched the next apple. It was aimed straight at me. With my right hand I reached out and plucked it from the air. I used to play cricket so it was not hard to catch the poorly thrown ball. I could barely contain my rage.

"What do you want," I said, controlling myself as much as I could.

Derrick's brother stepped forward.

"Revenge," he said in a poisonous tone. "For beating me up, for throwing things at my friends, for breaking my brother's wrist. My brother was going to be a champion. The Karate nationals are coming up and he can't go now—because of you."

I stepped forward, raised my hand and dropped the apple for dramatic effect. Ten against one weren't good odds. In fact I knew I was going to lose. Vicky came around in front of me and spread her arms.

"Stop hurting my brother," she cried.

The boys were laughing. Somebody else threw another apple at her. I pushed Vicky aside and it exploded on the back of my bag.

"That's it," I said, "run back to school Vicky." She looked up at me with frightened eyes. I smiled reassuringly. Another apple hit me in the leg. I pushed Vicky with both arms and dropped my bag, turning to face them.