Butterflies and Hereos
an excerpt

Ryan’s suspicions were confirmed, there was no doubt about it - they were waiting for him. He took a deep breath and walked though the school gate.

“Keep walking, keep walking,” he muttered to himself.

Just the sound of his own voice made him feel more confident. If it wasn’t the start of school he could have run, like yesterday. Even though he was small for his age he was a really fast runner. They’d never catch him.

“Hey four-eyes,” Aden shouted at him.

Marc giggled.

Ryan tried to ignore them. He looked down at the playground, holding tightly to the straps of his rucksack and purposely strode toward the entrance.

“Nearly there, nearly there,” Ryan reassured himself.

Suddenly, Ryan was swung round by the sleeve of his blazer. Aden shoved him in the chest and he staggered backward. Marc pushed him in the back and he toppled forward. He could feel his temper bubbling inside him.

“Get off me!” Ryan yelled and waved his arms around like a windmill. He failed to make contact.

He could hear Aden and Marc jeering and laughing at his attempt to fight them off. They pushed and shoved at him some more, taunting him with names, “Skinny ribs, swot face, brainiac.”

Ryan was thrown around like a rag doll. People walked past as if nothing was happening. He might as well have been invisible. Arms still flaying, Aden knocked him sideways, his feet lost their footing and his head collided into the wall. Ryan felt dizzy. The playground was spinning. He could still hear the bullies shouting, “Skinny ribs, swot face, brainiac,” but, they sounded more distant, further away.

The bell rang and the taunting stopped. He clung to the rough bricks alone in the playground. He staggered through the door and into the corridor. He could hardly see where he was going, as he felt along the wall to the boy’s toilets. In the toilet he positioned himself so he could see the reflection of the back of his head in the mirror. There was a lump the size of a golf ball near the nape of his neck, slightly to the right. He wet a paper towel and held it to the bump. Slowly, the world came back into focus and he could hear the water running from the tap and gurgling down the plughole.

He splashed his face and quickly turned the tap off. He tucked himself in, straightened his tie and blazer and rushed to tutor group. The last thing he needed was to miss tutor and get a late mark.