The Paladin: A Teenage Superhero Story

Chapter 4

Monday

November 22nd

My alarm blared at a painfully high decibel in my ear as it did every other weekday. It was the only way to get me up at seven o'clock. After Samantha dropped me off the night prior I ate a crappy microwaveable dinner, did the homework I could no longer procrastinate on and went to bed. The weekend had been long, and painful, I just wanted to put it all in the rearview. It was a new week and, despite my exhaustion, I was excited. Today was the day I was going to meet with Mr. Romero at Tech-Sync and I was ecstatic. I knew my dad didn't want me working there, so I felt a little bit guilty. But going to the new headquarters of Tech-Sync and getting a personal tour from Alexander Romero was not an opportunity you passed up. I rolled out of bed, the shrapnel wounds and my back were still painful, but nothing a bit of Ibuprofen and some good ol' fashion grit couldn't get me past.

I went through my typical morning routine; grab some clothes, shower, shave, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush my teeth and then head off to school, making sure I don't wake anyone up on the way out. STCH was only about a mile from my house, so regardless of the weather, I walked to school. It was a particularly cold morning but this time I remembered to bring a jacket, so the chilly weather was negligible. I went through the interaction with Mr. Romero a hundred times in my head, making sure to iron out all the kinks before talking with him. It didn't take long to get to school. Time flew by when I was thinking about Tech-Sync. The buses had just pulled in and kids had started to file in through the main lobby as they made their way to homeroom. I maneuvered my way through the crowds, quickly dancing through trying to get to my homeroom as soon as I could.

"Uh oh! I smell bacon!" said a voice from behind me. I stopped. Had I kept moving, it would've just given me more problems. I turned around and lo and behold there was the trio of assholes themselves. Tyler Deckard, Max Williams, and Theo Julio looking like a veritable Neapolitan of douchebaggery (Tyler was Caucasian, Max was African American, and Theo was Latino). Tyler, the ringleader, headed the threesome as they stepped towards me, while their friends circled around, enticed by the bullying. "How's it going little pig? Haven't seen you in a bit?" he asked. Little pig, cute, that what they call your dick? Haha. Man I'm good I thought to myself, making sure to remember it for later. "I'm sure you heard about my suspension but luckily enough for me, Coach managed to work it down to probation. See, we got the Turkeybowl on Thursday versus Midtown and he can't afford to have his starting QB stuck on the sidelines. Anyway, I was wondering if you knew anything about that suspension? Principal Martin said that one of the students reported me for bullying and I just wanted to clear things up with them," he informed.

"You're barking up the wrong tree Deckard," I answered bluntly. It was true, I didn't report him, I didn't have the time to deal with him. I turned back around and kept walking but Tyler made his way around me with Theo and Max flanking me.

"See I don't think I am," he replied, shoving me into a locker. "I think you're the little scum fuck who turned me in," he shared, again, pushing me into the locker. Tyler was a sizable guy, so it didn't feel particularly pleasant being pushed around by him, especially when every time I hit the locker the edge jabbed into my shrapnel wound. "I think that little pig is a big rat," he accused. I clenched my fists, my knuckles turning white. Knock his teeth down his throat. He pushed me again. Stab him with your pen. Pushed again. Bash his head in with your textbook, that'll teach him. Pushed again. A full blown crowd started to form around us as Tyler proceeded to push me harder and harder into the locker, causing my violent tendencies to start to bubble to the surface. Don't be stupid, the rational part of my brain warned as it maintained control.

"Hey! Shouldn't you guys be going to homeroom?" chimed in Mr. Haynes. The crowd scattered except for a few of the students, one of which happened to be Alicia who had seen the whole thing.