The Awakening: 19

The block was narrow, now on the hill itself. It was even ground. They still hadn't seen him but Simon saw them. Simon didn't look shocked. He kept walking toward the gate of his house. Cal was about to pass his gate with Meryl at his side, Cal's arm around her. With his fingers he curled her hair and Meryl looked as happy as could be chewing gum. Her braces were gone and she was the old Meryl again, pretty and popular. She was wearing make-up. Who had showed her how to put it on?

Billy watched, his eyes like the ones Simon had when he'd first met him, on fire. A block back, Billy saw on D street were Cal's friends from before. James and Louis were joking around, kicking at each other. In front of them Roy and Allen. Romano was in the front, leading, a dangerous boy with freckles, and wearing a large black leather jacket. He was Billy's height and size, except now Billy looked like a more fit version of Romano. And he was more pleasant on the face.

Simon came out of the gate. As if on cue, Meryl shoved him to one side, where Cal was. Cal got a good hold on him, a headlock.

"Let me go, let me go," Simon complained.

Billy sighed and walked up the block, wanting to be seen now. Meryl was with her back to him, pulling at Simon's hair. Was this his Meryl? This girl had apologized to his mother. He wasn't a bully anymore, Billy realized. And everything was happening too fast. He felt like Cal had stolen his cookie again. He could fight him and win but how did that bring Meryl back to him? Would he take her back now, knowing the trick they had played on him? It was Meryl, who he had kissed in the closet of her house because she thought it would be fun. It was Meryl, who had stopped him from fighting Romano over a spilled pudding. He saw the reasoning behind it afterwards but not during. When his pudding had spilled, he'd been the bully, mad and without remorse but that wasn't him anymore.

Despite his differences with Cal, Billy couldn't be the bully anymore. He'd made a decision about that, especially when he'd dealt with Mark. Mark had changed his mind or made it up for him. Similar to when he realized that good grades got him an allowance, he now realized that to not fight against the bullies would be an injustice. More importantly, a bully couldn't fight a bully, so he had made up his mind. He was no longer a bully.

"That looks fun," Billy said, surprising all three of them, "Mind if I do it to you?"

From the corner of his eye, Billy saw the friends from a block too far running at them.

"Billy," Meryl said, ducking under Cal's arm. She took his hand off her, "It's not like you think."

"Like I think?" Billy asked, "I thought I was a fish, isn't that what you were chanting?"

"That was a long time ago, Billy," Meryl said, her head bowed.

Was she ashamed of something? Good. She should be. Seeing that Cal had still not let go of Simon, Billy stepped up to him and grabbed Billy's hand and forcefully pulled him out of the headlock. Cal scratched Simon's cheek as he left. "Oww, oww!" Simon yelled.

Afterward, there were blood marks on his face. "Oh?" Billy asked, "Now you hurt my friends?" Billy went up to him and Cal was still shocked to see him, so he didn't move. Billy punched him in the gut. Cal went to his knees. "Notice how I don't kick you while you're down. Take it as a lesson. You shouldn't either. I came to call a truce but bullies seem to respond only one thing!"

"Cal!" Meryl cried, kneeling to protect him, it looked like, "But you are a bully!"

"No," Simon yelled out, "You will not call him that! You, of all people, he liked you and you treated him like this?"

"Come on, Simon," Billy said, dragging him away. A tear had started to form on Billy's face. To think, he'd been wanting to spend time with Meryl and she had betrayed him. He felt as if his heart were about to burst. That evil Meryl that Simon had known about all along. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked him, as they walked side by side. Part of him burned with anger but he had to put it aside for now.

"It would have hurt you," Simon said, "And that's not helping. We promised to help each other no matter what."

"What are you doing walking out of your house at this time? Do you see that--oh, shoot, they're coming after us. Run, Run!"
Billy and Simon ran through the neighborhood, down hill toward the school, just because it was easier to run downhill. The six of them gave chase. Meryl ran but she fell back a lot. Was any part of her real? Still addicted to Cal, as when he'd first saw her back in fourth grade. Billy had thought she'd changed.

It was inevitable that they catch up to them but Billy was hoping for luck or to see a police officer drive by. Nothing. The only thing that happened was that time, now his enemy, stripped the sun from the sky. They were in a semi-darkness, the background of the neighborhood shaded in a dark orange color. Simon was beginning to slow down, his smaller feet having to run twice as fast just to keep up. Billy was a fellow who wasn't used to running, so he was out of breath quickly.

At the bottom of the hill, they slowed down. They crossed the street and Billy leaned against it, breathing hard. He went down on his back, sitting. "Guess they got us," Billy said, "You ever get a black eye?"

"A black eye?" Simon asked, "You think that's all they want to do to us?"
Billy didn't really know what they would do to him but he couldn't run anymore. Also, he realized, that to not be the bully he had to stop fighting like one. Meryl may have been wrong to betray him but she had been right to call him a bully. He had, after all, taken advantage of Cal's weakness. At the corner where the intersection dead-ended at the school and the streets broke off in two directions, one toward the park and the other toward down town, the five boys stopped.

Romano's leather jacket was the first thing Billy saw from across the street. He was standing by the ice-cream shop. On the other side of the street, where Willy like to sit and help kids cross, James and Louis cracked a smile. They were surrounding them, so they wouldn't escape. Billy and Simon sat in front of the gates, eyeing them nervously.

"You got some kind of plan, right?"

"I think I can wing it," Billy said to him.

"And please tell me that translates to plan in bully talk," Simon said, looking from one side to the next.

Roy and Allen appeared behind Romano, who was just standing by the ice-cream shop, pounding his fist. Roy, on the other hand, was walking away from them. He was going home. Allen chased him and tried to talk him out of it but Roy waved a hand in front of his face with a frown and walked off. What had that been about? Roy had been among those chanting against Billy in the fourth grade. Billy watched them with sincere interest. It was almost more baffling than Meryl's betrayal.

Billy sighed, "Under the circumstances, I'm trying to remain rational and calm."

"How about getting angry and fighty like we need you to be," Simon said, watching Louis and James cross the street. They definitely looked eager. James had a smile on his face and Louis couldn't stop from laughing at James's side.

"Hey, Billy," James said, "You lost?"

Billy looked at the gates of the school. "Just thought about getting some afternoon lessons."

Just then, Romano appeared on the other side of them. Billy and Simon got up, now less winded. "Oh," Romano said, "We'll be doing some teaching all right."

"Fellas, fellas," Simon said, quickly, "Can't we learn to talk our way out of situations like these? Perhaps, you'll accept a bribe of some sort. Okay, okay, Billy's girl is yours, if you let us go."

Louis laughed but stopped himself as Cal, a foot taller than mostly all of them except Billy and Romano, pushed James and aside and approached. Then, Meryl, dressed in a purple skirt and purple top without her braces and her lips painted red, crossed the street. She didn't look as happy as when she'd been holding Cal's hand. Cal, on the other hand, was grinning.

"You guys ran from us," Cal said, "Normally, I would stand that for that. You can get away with a black eye or a bloody lip for something like that, you know." Louis and James laughed at this. Allen showed up right behind Romano and turned his back on them. He was the look out.

Billy looked stricken. He didn't want to see Simon get beat up. "Cal, look, I'm sorry for--?"

Cal raised a hand to shut him up. "Really? You're sorry. Let me think on it. Was it for trying to steal my girlfriend? Breaking my hand, perhaps? Or for that little display of whatever back there? Huh, which is it, fatboy?"

"For all three," Billy said, "But Simon has nothing to do with it."

"Who?"

"Simon," Billy said, pointing at the now trembling Simon.

"The kid? I had completely forgot about that one. Yea, sure, he can go."

Simon began to walk away but then Cal pushed him against the gates roughly. Simon hit the gate back first and fell on the ground.

"Simon!" Billy went to Simon's side.

"Ow, ow," Simon said, "I'm good, I'm good, just a little bruise. It's going to hurt like heck in the morning." Simon leaned against the gate in pain. He had a bruise on the side of his stomach where he'd hit the gate.

"Sorry," Cal said, "That was just, what did you say to me in the ice-cream shop? A mistake?"

Meryl had stood back watching the exchange and she now had both her hands on her face. "Cal, what are you doing?"

"Shut-it, Meryl. Go home."

"What are you going to do?" Meryl asked, looking concerned.

"What do you care? You just used the fat one for your own purposes, didn't you? You'll come to find that your father has moved the trophy case in your house because of a missing rookie card. It's what paid for my girl's outfit, isn't it, baby?"

Meryl cleared her throat. "I, it was a mistake, Billy. I didn't mean--?"

"Not necessary," Cal said, interrupting her, "Why do you need to explain anything to this fish? Remember, I got him good that time. He's not even a proper bully, defending wimps like that. Is he even one of us, why do we put up with it?"

"You follow the bully code, don't you?" Romano asked Cal. For a moment, they exchanged glances.

"He doesn't consider himself one of us, anymore. He said he doesn't kick people while they're down and that bullies only respond to one thing."

"I guess he's fair game now, then," Romano said, smiling.

Romano and Cal approached him, as he knelt down beside Simon. Billy's huge self could think of nothing else but to cover Simon. Bunched up in a corner, a darkness engulfed them both. Billy was shadowed by Cal, Louis, James and Romano, as they approached. Unfortunately, bullies did kick people while they were down. The blows came from all sides. First, the belly shots, which felt like burning coals running through his belly. One hit him so hard, it caused a tear to involuntarily come to his eye. Another shot got him on the tip of the elbow, as she moved his hand over Simon's body. "Stay calm," Billy whispered at Simon, who had no choice but to watch Billy get pounded on. Billy was with his back to them, covering Simon's body with his own.

Some voice yelled, "Stop! Stop it, Cal! You'll hurt them really bad that way! Don't! What are you doing!"
The boys laughed.

A boot caught Billy's ear and he stumbled aside, away from Simon. Then, they tried to kick at Simon, who was leaning against the gate already hurt from Cal's "accident." The pain took a few seconds to subsided but it stunned him long enough for a shoe to kick Simon in the stomach. Simon cried. "Ughhmm, uggmm, please, please," the tears welled up in his eyes. It was more horrible to watch his friend in pain than to be hit by the shoes.

What could Billy do to stop them? He had no weapons and all his good friends worked at a library. What would Francine do? Make these bullies tea?

Billy covered him again but this time, as another boot tried to kick him in the face, he caught the foot, and got up quickly, pushing the boot aside. "Aaaaaah!" He yelled. There were tears and anger in his eyes. The bullies broke their formation and Billy pushed Cal aside. "Enough!" He told Cal, who wanted to keep kicking at him. Billy let himself be kicked two more times, both kicks only by Cal, who was the only one still resisting him. Billy took the hits, on to his shin and one to his thigh, as he leaned down to pick up Billy, who lay whimpering on the ground. Then, Billy touched Cal on the shoulder and more calmly told him, "Enough."

"What's enough, huh?" Cal asked Billy, "That because of my broken arm I couldn't be the captain of the soccer team this year? That because of my broken arm I was made fun of, instead of being respected at school?"

"And who's fault is that?" Billy asked him back, his eyes still flaring, and he walked away limping now because that last kick had hurt him badly.

Cal and his friends walked behind him slowly, chasing after them at a walk.

"You think this is over?" Cal asked, no remorse showing in his face yet clearly Simon was hurt and crying.

"Stop it, stop it," Came the hoarse voice of Meryl, who was down on her knees on the other block being restricted by Allen. So much for their lookout.

Billy put Simon down. "Can you walk?"

Simon nodded at him and wiped away his tears with his sleeves. Billy didn't want to put the kid down but if they had to run, they would. At least they weren't surrounded anymore. Still, the band of bullies behind them didn't seem to be fading away. Instead, they were laughing.

"So, fish," Cal said, "I can expect you here for another beating tomorrow?"

Billy looked back at him. He said nothing to him. He had hurt him and his friends, and stolen a girl he'd cared about, yet Billy didn't see the reasoning. Even if his arm had been broken, Cal had healed. Billy didn't know if this was Cal's plan all along, to get him and Simon together for a session of beat downs but he was definitely not ready for a second one. His ear still throbbed from the pain and his stomach still burned at the sides. None of them had kicked his back, thankfully. One or two had got in kicks to the thighs but these were thankfully covered by the baseballs pads underneath which he'd had expected to have worn at work but work had not happened.

"Take her home," Cal ordered Allen.

"Fish, I'm talking to you. We're not done yet!"

"We're done," Billy said, looking back at him.

In his mind, the pain came back yet this time, he could do something about it. A large white light appeared in the darkness above his head. And there he thought he could grab a hold of the stars. He stretched out his hand.Suddenly, a void appeared like the one that spat out books but this was round and the size of Billy's body if not bigger. It appeared right in front of them. Simon walked into it by accident, so Billy had to go after him.

They were gone. The void closed as soon as Billy stepped into it.

Meryl, who was being led home by Allen, turned to look back and saw that Billy and Simon had vanished. She ran at Cal, who looked both shocked and upset. Meryl punched him on the face so hard, he took two steps back, "What have you done to them! What have you done!"