The Play

Act 1 Scene 3, Robert King, played by Shawn, had just come home from a long arduous day. In school, he had been acting as the school bully amongst his gang of 'friends'. All of it was an act and he knew it himself. Ever since his mother had passed away when he was 12, Robert's father had become a jobless alcoholic. Living off unemployment benefits, the father and son did not have too good of a time at home, especially Robert. Many times, the boy would be beaten by his father for not complying to his wishes quickly enough.

"Get me a drink, you useless brat!" Robert's father shouted vehemently.

Robert, who was afraid of his father, would timidly grab a beer from the fridge for him. Ever since her mother's passing, Robert had become silent at home. Be it from the suppression from his parents or the fact that he had no one to communicate with at home, Robert never spoke. It was only at school that he would put up a front and hang around with the cool kids. He was afraid that he would become one of the bullied.

Yet, whenever he came home from a long day of school, Robert never felt better. He would cry silently to himself in the corner of his small room, afraid that his father make hear him whimpers and would come in and beat him again. He wanted change, but he was afraid to do so.

Act 1 Scene 4, Robert King and his gang of bullies had decided to follow along with their ring leader, Raymond and his girlfriend, Jacelyn to bully a female this time. Her name was Sarah Payne, a 15-year-old just like everyone else. The reason why Jacelyn wanted to bully her was over the simple reason that Sarah looked at her dirty. She wanted Sarah to suffer and get to know her place in the school. It was a disgusting reason and Robert felt grossed out over the entire session.

The way they did it this time was to spread rumours about how Sarah was the biggest slut in the school and how she had hooked up with numerous high schoolers all over the country. The girl had been ostracised and looked down upon on all fronts. Recently, they had even discovered bruises on Sarah's body. Rather than linking that to physical abuse, more rumours about Sarah being sexually harassed had spread around the school.

Witnessing all of this happen to that innocent girl, Robert finally gave up on all fronts and decided that this was not the way he wanted to go on in school.

Act 2 Scene 1, Robert King met up with Sarah Payne after school, wanting to inquire more about her. Of course, Sarah Payne did not want to open up to Robert, knowing that he was part of the group of bullies.

Robert King knew what went wrong and quickly kneeled down on both knees, his eyes were tearing up from guilt. "I'm sorry for everything that I have done to you. I know I should not have done it and I am not proud of it. I..I just want to make amends. I'm sorry."

The genuineness in Robert's words made it that Sarah decided to trust the boy. They shared between each other what had been going on in each other's lives. For Robert, he shared about his alcoholic father, while Sarah shared about his abusive parents. Realising that they both have similar stories, the both of them got closer with each other.

Robert, by the end of it, knew that he needed to confront his 'friend', Raymond and end things once and for all. He was afraid, but he knew this was needed to be done.

Act 2 Scene 3, Robert King confronted Raymond about how he was disgusted by the way he acted around others. He told him that he no longer wanted to be a part of this group anymore.

In a fit of rage, Raymond slammed Robert into the metal locker. With fire in his eyes, he threatened, "You know that I could easily make the rest of your school days into a miserable hell, correct? Do you expect me to just sit here and watch you scuttle along the corridors? You're pathetic just like the rest of those suckers! You know that?!"

Robert, on the other hand, was not intimidated by his words. The past few weeks spending time with Sarah, the boy realised that he needed to learn how to stand up for himself and not be a bystander. He had to do something about it and not just wait for it to end by itself.

Pulling away Raymond's hand off his own collar, Robert did not use force as a way to make a difference. He remained neutral as he turned and walked away from him. Turning around, Robert left a few parting words to the bully, "If you try anything again on anyone, you would not be facing me, but rather, the school authorities."

Act 2 Scene 4, angered by Robert's threat, Raymond and his group had taken Sarah along with them and had left a message for Robert to come alone to the location. It was easy to see where this was going. Robert obediently went along with it and came to the scene, where Sarah was standing with the rest of the bully helplessly. A string of slurs came out from Raymond and Jacelyn's mouth.

In the end, Robert proposed, "Let Sarah go. This is just between you and me."

"Alright." Raymond agreed to it.

"No!" Sarah shouted out in desperation, wanting for Robert to run too.

With everyone out of the way, it was just Robert and Raymond left. Rather than fighting with Raymond, Robert chose to take the punches to the face and kicks to his body. He did not fight back. When it was all over, Robert looked up at Raymond and spoke while blood came out of his mouth, "Do you feel better now? Are you satisfied with your actions? If not, hit me. Hit me more!"

The fire burning in Robert's eyes sent fear running into Raymond's body. The bully stopped it with Robert and left. Unbeknownst to him, the boy had the whole sequence filmed on camera and had given the footage over to the school authorities. In the end, the group of boys had been suspended, while Raymond was expelled. Robert and Sarah went on to confront their own problems at home with the help of others.