A Hero in Shining Armor

T-3 Days to Incident

#At school - morning

The sun woke up the next morning with its yellowish and glowing brightness. After the morning assembly, Tom came back to his classroom. He was still hurting from the torture yesterday. “I can’t go through that again. When will it end?” Pig and Snake were still not in the class room. He quickly checked to be sure. “Ah! Maybe they aren’t coming today? What a relief!” It was the math class. The teacher came right after the chime.

"Today we will study the basics of trigonometry." She started. Usually, her class was interesting. Tom loved mathematics. However, due to constant pain, he couldn’t focus properly on the lecture. He couldn’t even sit straight.

"There! Mr. Thomas! Do we have a problem?"

"No, ma’am!"

"Then why aren’t you sitting straight?"

As if some funny shit happened, a few students laughed.

"Who laughed? You!!! What is so funny?" She caught one of the boys stealing a laugh. He froze. The teacher was quick to hand out punishments.

"No, I mean, ma’am! Thomas fought with some students yesterday. Maybe he’s hurting from that."

“What!! I fought? You son of a bitch!” Tom’s inner voice roared.

"Mr. Thomas! To the front!"

Tom quickly rose to his feet and protested. "Ma’am! That’s a lie!"

"So, you didn’t fight."

"That’s correct, ma’am. I didn’t fight."

"Why are you hurt?"

Tom couldn’t say a word about the bullies. Revealing the truth would only hurt him more.

"Why are you silent?" She looked at the class. "Those who say Tom fought, raise your hand." All except a few raised their hands.

Tom was thundered at this despicable display of shameless ostracization. “These bastards saw the whole thing, and they are still blaming it on me?”

"No, ma’am! I didn’t fight, ma’am!"

"Mr. Thomas! To the front, I said."

Tom looked at the whole classroom and their shameless faces once again with eyes of disgust and then complied with the teacher’s order.

"Now, face the wall and raise your hands above your head. Stand there until the class ends."

Tom again looked at those shamelessly laughing faces, then turned to face the wall and raised his hands over his head. He could still hear the laughter.

"Silence!" The teacher slammed the heavy mathematics book on the table, and the whole class fell silent. He couldn’t believe his eyes! “They saw the whole thing. They were so reluctant to show sympathy yesterday, but they were so quick to falsely accuse me of fighting. When did I ever fight?” His mind went numb from the unfairness of the whole situation.

The class resumed. Suddenly the backdoor slammed open, and like the heroic knights they were, Martin and Elister entered. They were so high in their gossip that they failed to notice the teacher.

"Mr. Martin and Mr. Elister! To the front this instant!"

They jolted at the sudden, sharp command and looked forward. The only thing that attracted their attention was Tom standing facing the wall. They immediately decided that it was all Tom’s fault! As they stood beside Tom, Martin hissed, "Today is the day you die, TomAass. You snitched on us, didn’t you?" The teacher shouted again, "Silence!"

Tom got scared and violently shook his head in denial, but it was futile. Martin glared at Tom. They decided not to accept that they came right in the middle of the session and paraded brazenly into the classroom. So, now, it was all Tom’s fault for the humiliation they were suffering in front of the whole class.

The eventful mathematics class ended after another forty or so minutes. Tom was sweating from fear. When the teacher left, Martin instantly grabbed Tom by the ear and said, "This snitching bastard! You told the teacher, didn’t you?"

"I wasn't me! I said nothing!"

"Audacious punk! Have you forfeited your life?"

"I’m telling you, I never opened my mouth!"

However, Tom’s weak comebacks were too weak and non-violent for Martin and Snake to hear. They needed someone to pin the cause of their humiliation, and Tom was the best option available. They began their routine torture of Tom. As if it were a Charlie Chaplin show, the whole class laughed and enjoyed it.

The consecutive torturous day was breaking Tom little by little. His pride as a human being was hurt. The humiliation made him forfeit his trust in humanity. He decided to turn his soul away from these shameless two-legged animals. Even the most docile girl was laughing at him. His blackhole-like sorrow slowly imploded into a pea-sized rage, which he failed to notice at that time. It was burning hotter than a white star inside. He clenched his teeth and decided not to show any fear or weakness against this tyranny and to take all the beating and endure it all.

*********

#Same day - morning

Cacey’s day wasn't going well either. The girl gang began their ‘rumor and gossip’ tactic. She felt a sudden change in the vibe. Something was off. Slowly, boys and girls started to grow a bit more distant than usual. Often, words like attention-seeking slut or whore wafted to her ears. The sideways glancing, the whispers, and how they abruptly stop the moment she looks toward the source appeared very obvious to Cacey. “They were talking trash about me!” She felt extremely insecure and started to panic.

Sometimes it is better to see who your adversary is. You can plan your defense. However, when you don’t know, everything becomes unclear, especially for a girl like Cacey. She began to feel uneasy and foreboding of something worse. Symptoms of a panic attack were evident: shallow and quick breathing, a faster heartbeat, lightheadedness, and sweating. Cacey turned paler and felt perched. Drinking water made her feel the need for the restroom. And that was where the physical show began.

Cacey entered an empty bathroom. She tried to calm down, entering the stall. Although the pressure made her come this far, suddenly the need disappeared. She tried the lion’s breathing technique to reduce her panic. She was almost there…

Suddenly, from above, through the opening of the stall, buckets of dirty water came down, drenching her wet. She had to wear the official summer shirt, which was thinner than the winter dress. Now, the fine lines of her undergarments were showing. Her panic immediately went tenfold. Tears appeared amid a faint giggling sound from outside. Suddenly, someone shouted from outside the bathroom, "Teacher! Here! Someone is bullying in the girl’s bathroom!"

Cacey heard the giggling stop and a set of footsteps hurriedly running away, but she couldn't go out now, not in this situation! She broke down and started weeping, which sounded like the lament of a ghost at midnight.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the stall door. Cacey heard a male whispering, "Hey! You there? Alright?" The owner of the voice hung a set of fresh male gym dresses from the stall’s door frame. "Use these. I don't know if they will fit you. Consider my debt paid." She heard quick footsteps leaving the girl’s bathroom.

Cacey was flabbergasted at the sudden act of benevolence. Her savior took a great risk by helping her. If he were to be caught in here, he would become a pervert and would forever be tainted. She felt grateful. This wasn't like those boys who followed her around and left her alone when she needed help the most. The owner of the voice was definitely a hero who appeared at a dire moment. Cacey accepted the gifts with gratitude. “The dress isn’t a perfect fit, but it’s an absolute blessing,” Cacey thought. However, she didn’t understand what the boy meant by paying back his debt. “Who was he?” She felt an unimaginable fascination for that unknown, mysterious boy. For the first time in her life, that boy made her feel like a girl.

Cacey failed to notice the embroidered name on the hem of the dress: TB.