Isaac Robinson (Currently Being Edited)

Chapter 16

"Ooh, look! A butterfly." Blake cheered as he noticed some stupid butterfly and he started running after it.

I wasn't all that excited to go to the park with him but after letting me stay over at her house (at least right now), distracting this kid was the least I could do while she did her project.

"Hey, hey, hey hold up." I shouted behind him as I grabbed that kid's hand and brought him back at my side.

"You can't keep running off like that. It's really crazy out there in the streets, especially for children like you."

He pouted.

"But it gets really boring!" He whined. "Can't we go to the park? Pleaseeeee?" He pleaded.

I let out a sigh.

"Alright, but quit running ahead of me okay?"

He thought for a second before having a mischievous look on his face.

"Okay, but you'll have to chase me first!" He challenged, zooming away.

"What- Hey get back here!" I quickly sprinted after him.

Damn was that kid fast, unfortunately for him I was also pretty fast. I ran after him, practically racing him until we made it to the park.

I slowed down when we were almost there, since it wouldn't hurt to raise this kid's ego.

"I won!" He cheered loudly.

I shook my head as I caught up.

"Guess you did. And I thought I was the best runner, guess I was wrong." I mumbled, having a disappointed look in my face.

He smiled proudly before looking at the playground.

"Can we go to the playground?" He asked.

"Sure," I replied, following him to the playground where other kids around his age were.

I sat down on one of the benches there, looking down at my phone. I texted Jordan, one of my friends.

I was so engaged in our convo that I pretty much forgot about Blake until I looked back at him and I noticed a couple of slightly older looking kids picking on Blake.

"Hey you guys, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" I told them, walking over to the sandbox.

The boys looked at each other.

"Wow, he needs an older boy to defend him. How stupid." They taunted, Blake's eyes started to water.

"Ooh, look at that. He's crying like a girl."

I glared at them. Too bad I wasn't younger to be able to properly defend him.

"Leave him alone, or do I need to speak to your parents?" I warned 

"We didn't come with our parents, that's for babies like Blake." They jeered as they looked at Blake before stepping on some sandcastle he made.

"Hey!" I shouted.

The kids stuck out their tongues before walking away. I looked back at Blake before trying to soothe that poor kid.

"There, there." I comforted him calmly, patting his back awkwardly.

What? I'm no expert with kids.

"We'll build another sand castle okay? A way better and bigger one that you can probably live in." I exaggerated, in hopes of cheering the crying boy up.

Blake wiped his eyes. "Really?"

"You bet. Now forget about those kids. They're just assholes because they have nothing better to do other than belittle other kids."

Blake's smile dropped again.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "This isn't the first time you deal with mean kids.. Is it?" I questioned as I read his face. I could tell this wasn't the first time this poor kid has dealt with bullies.

Childhood memories flashed before my eyes as I thought about all the bullying I've dealt with myself when I was around his age.

"I know how you're feeling." I sighed quietly as I sat next to him.

He gave me a puzzled look. I chuckled quietly.

"I wasn't always this age, I was once your age too you know? I had it really hard your age, especially with all those fuckers at school. But you know how I dealt with them?"

"How?" The boy asked.

"By not taking their crap. There's no reason you should be taking anyone's crap."

"But.. They're bigger than me." Blake sniffled quietly. 

"So what? So what, Blake? That's no reason to be taking their crap. When kids are mean to you, you know what you need to do?"

"Tell a grownup?" Blake speculated.

I shook my head. "No, trust me. That's not always gonna work. You gotta have to take matters into your own hands at times."

"And how do I do that?" He questioned.  "They're not scared of me, they're right.. I am stupid."

"Don't ever repeat that kid. Because you aren't, understand? And just to show you, I'll help you with learning how to be tougher to scare the pants outta those kids. But for now, let's focus on building the sandcastle okay?"

He nodded, he seemed to feel at leaat a little better. I grabbed his pail before digging it under the sand, handing it to him so he can take it to a nearby fountain to add water to it.

Did the sandcastle really turn out as big as I claimed it to be? Maybe not, but it came out pretty decent.. Way better than what I imagined.

Maybe the sandcastle wasn't too big, but Blake loved it either way, and one things for sure, I was going to help transform this kid, so nobody would ever see him as an easy target to pick on again. From now on, they'll think twice before messing with Blake.

Too bad I had to experience the awful feelings of being bullied, but at least my first-handed experiences could be useful for once. This kid wasn't gonna put up with the crap I had to put up with for years.

Not with me around.