School Days

V gave Mike a friendly punch. He too lived in the same boarding house as V but got up the latest. He would always be the last one to reach the bus. Still he was the friendliest guy she knew in the boarding school. Also he knew her secret, that she wasn’t a boy. Of course they never told Ma. V didn’t want Mike to be kicked out from the boarding house.

Pinkerton just shook his head as though he was too old for such childishness.

“Hey don’t hit the commentator,” Mike protested and continued.

“This could be a real problem if everyone else in the Rotterford thinks you are a boy. For one, the school was full pre-adolescence boys. Age in which boys considered girls as anything but gross. Unfortunately V enjoyed playing dolls with the neighbourhood girls secretly, but not secretly enough. A group of schoolmates had happen to pass by. One known as Broncho Bates or Bully Bates. What happen after that was a barrage of water balloons, screaming girls and a restriction order from various parents to never let V play with their daughters ever again.

One cannot even begin to imagine what life in school was like after that for V,”

V gave a dirty look at Mike.

Mike gave a sheepish smile at her.

As the trio stepped into the school hallway an oval shape projectile came flying at Pinkerton like a hawk.

“Yes really it was not as bad,”

V and Mike watched helplessly as Pinkerton fell backwards.

When Pinkerton’s world began to stop spinning they heard a very annoying laugh which to V sounded like an ape’s mating call.

“Oh no,” Mike moaned.

“Broncho Bates,” V sighed.

Bates who in person not only laughed but looked like a gorilla only with an uglier haircut came bounding up to V pretending to apologies. Sometimes V wondered if he was the smaller relative of the Kongos. Behind him his goons were chuckling.

“Looked what the circus dropped in. A girly duo and the nerdy sidekick. So these are the standard circus freaks of today, huh ?,”

He brush his hideously straight bowl cut fringe and pretended to feel sorry for hitting Pinkerton.

“Ooh sorry about that. I meant to make it a soft past but I guess you weren’t man enough to catch it, were you Pinkerton, or should I say Pink Princess and her sidekick Viviana. How you two girls doing,”

Once again V heard the sound of an ape choking.

V would have considered being called Viviana compliment if it wasn’t Bates who said it.

“Leave us alone,” V stood in front of Bates blocking him from moving towards the Mike who was helping Pinkerton off the floor.

She heard Mike gulped down. He realized how small V was compared to the massive frame of Bates.

Pinkerton may not be the most likeable but V had principles. Always stand up for the weak.

She had to stall time to make sure the other two had time to get up and run.

Pinkerton left eye was already showing signs of a nasty bruising.

Bates snorted in front of V’s face blowing up the small fringe on her forehead.

Up close Bates smelled like pickles wrap up in three day old gym socks.

“Don’t you shower ?,” V asked unflinchingly although her eyes fluttering from the overwhelming rancid smell.

As usual Bates had a slight problem with V’s ability to have a backbone when it came to facing up with him. There was more conversation now then punching.

Bates lifted his arm and gave the underside a whiff.

“What you don’t like the smell. Too bad for you cause this is the smell of a real men not the strawberry scents you girlies give off,” Bates once again gave out another ape like chuckle. His goon squad joined in.

“Ha, ha, very funny. Keep laughing Bates. You sound more human already. Maybe one day you will learn how to walk up right,” V shot back at Bates.

If there was one thing she had over the boys was she was wittier than the Bates and the boys.

Bates stare blankly for a while trying to understand what V meant. It must have been hard because it took a while for him to return the threat.

“Careful, noodle arms. Just because you are one of those Un-powered doesn’t mean you get to be treated special. I still can hit you, you know,”

V bit her lip at the Un-powered comment. It stung a lot.

Unpowered meant exactly what she feared, having no ability at all.

Apparently attacking someone who had no abilities was a taboo.

Unfortunately Bates, the so called other person besides V who did not have super powers but still was a super jerk. It meant he could hit her and get away with it.

What he called in others a handicap he hypocritically considered it on himself to be a privileged. Unlike V, he used his so called in ability as some kind of immunity to be a bully. He was the bully.

No one wants to hurt a powerless even other stronger bullies and besides that Bates always gave to every councillor he had been sent to the same excuse. He had no super powers and had the inability to cope so his violence was excusable way to express himself according to his parents.

Knowing that, he pushed everyone around with the excuse of an inferior complex.

“Hah well too bad cause your just like me,” V shot back with a sound of spite.

Suddenly V felt a sharp tug at her collar. Bates had grabbed V by her scruff. His fist was raised for an attack. For a moment V mind went blank from the unexpected move.

But as much as she hated to admit it Ma’s eccentric training started to kick in.

Dealing with bullies, V knew very well there were times to stand up to them and when it was time to run.