Moaning for Merriment

They keep telling me that going to school means I will be able to make something of myself. But all it has done so far is make me realize that people are cruel and mean, and don’t care about anyone but themselves in the long run. Looking at my smashed project it was hard to hold in the tears of frustration and anger. I was working harder than anyone else, in the hopes that being able to get out of this town. But they keep trying to drag me back down to their level. “Awww look guys! She’s gonna cry!” A group of guys came around the corner, their sports equipment in their hands. Smeared on the edges of the bats I could see paint from my ruined project.Their leader Scott smirked, his baseball bat resting on his shoulder. His inky black hair and olive sun-kissed skin, made all the other girls swoon. They treated him like a prince. All I knew him to be was a bully. And if there’s one thing I have learned to hate it’s bullies. It doesn’t matter how good someone looks if their insides are rotten. “No I am NOT going to cry…. But I will be informing the coach of what you’ve done!” I narrowed my eyes at them as I crossed my arms. “I don’t have to put up with the behavior that you’re choosing to engage in. Especially since there was no reason for you to bother me or my project!” I took a step back as one of them moved closer, his bat moving from rest at his shoulder to swinging in one of his hands. “You’re not going to be saying anything to anyone… Not anytime soon anyway.” He smirked his tone vicious as he smashed the bat down on my project again, sending gears, cogs and glass flying. “You’re going to be doing exactly what we tell you to do or we’ll destroy more than just your stupid project.” He swung the bat at me and I jumped backwards, ending up against the wall as the rest of the group circled around to hide the activity from anyone who might come into the halls. “I don’t have to listen to any of you!” Uncrossing my arms I brought my hands up into fists, setting myself up on defense, just in case they decided to go any further than just threatening me. “You have no right to destroy my things, and you have no authority to tell me what to do.” The bat swung again, coming to a halt as it hit the wall. But not only was it against the wall it was against the side of my neck. I shrunk down a bit in surprise. I don’t know why they’ve gotten so malicious of late, but they are getting nastier the closer we get to graduation. The bat wielder leaned in, his nose coming to rest against mine, his clear blue eyes glimmering with something I couldn’t really place. “You have nothing of your own. NOTHING in this building is yours and nothing in this town is yours either.” He laughed not a pleasant sound, the edges of it were slimy with his nasty behavior. “Besides, what do you think you’re going to do if you graduate?” I bit my bottom lip and took a deep breath, repositioning my fists. I wasn’t going to take the first swing but I wasn’t going to let them beat me to a pulp either. They’d done that enough over the years. The girls, the boys, some of the adults. But I healed and came back for more. I mentally joked to myself that I was a weed with very deep roots. “That’s none of your concern. I have a trust fund waiting for me to graduate. And when I turn 18 it’s mine and I can leave this place. I don’t have to come back!” “So full of yourself. You know as well as the rest of us do there is no trust fund. Your keepers have been feeding you those lines to make you think you can leave.” His voice went lower, and was almost a growl as he leaned in using the bat to keep me in place as he whispered “You’re never going to leave. You belong to us and the sooner you realize that the better.” His breath was hot and damp as the words brushed into me, and a shiver ran through my whole body. “I don’t belong to any of you!” My voice cracked as I spat my words at him. “I have no ties to any of you…” I let out a yelp as I felt his teeth sink into my earlobe. I used an arm to try and shove him away. “Not that you know of. But you shouldn’t be so dismissive of reality.” He snickered. The corners of his eyes turned up in evil amusement. “Just…stop already…” My tears started to creep from the corners of my eyes as I gave up. Fighting with them was futile. The rest of the guys erupted in cheers as he shifted back away and tapped the bat against my neck. Scotts eyes glimmered with malice as he swung it back up onto his own shoulder. “Stop complaining about us using your garbage for sport. Get used to it now.” He chuckled and led the rest of the boys away, as they all cackled like hyenas gleeful in his behavior. I, on the other hand, slid down along the wall, curling my arms around my knees as I buried my face into them, letting the tears flow. How was I supposed to make it out if this is what I had to fight against the rest of the year? It was going to be impossible to do if they kept ruining my work. At least the teachers had seen it before it got destroyed.