Alis was at that awkward age when children first started to realize differences amongst each other, and began to torment the truly awkward and different as surely as chickens in a coop will peck a different chick to death.
It was a pleasant spring day, and Alis was on her way to lessons in the nearby town as she had every day for some time now. Only now it was different; her nanny had to threaten her with that most dire of things—to tell Mom that she was being a baby—to get her to go into town now, to be amongst the other children. She would much rather stay at the Manor house far outside of town and away from all the people.
The other children had taken to making fun of her and Ronald….and some of the adults, she knew, talked about her behind their hands. Probably only respect or fear of her Mom kept them from speaking aloud.
She was made fun of because of how tall she was, and how skinny…..and her unruly mane of hair did not help any……she was taller than any boy her age, and taller than many older boy, and she was so awkward, always tripping over her own feet. Poor Ronald was made fun of because he was so small and a know-it-all…..and his thick spectacles did not help any, or his stutter.
Upon arrival at the grounds of the learning halls, Nanny left on errands and Alis was left to her own devices. She could see Ronald over on the side of a building reading one of his ever present books all alone, much like her, as none of the children invited her to play with them. She went to the edge of the grounds to watch and listen as she ate her apple…much as she had done every morning for this year so far.
She didn’t see the accident, but she saw the Scholars carry the girl with the skinned knee inside…..the adults gone seemed to be a signal to some of the older boys, and to Geoffrey, the biggest bully the children knew. They rushed around the side of the building and jumped on poor unsuspecting Ronald. In moments they had taken the boy’s spectacles and were playing monkey in the middle with them, all the while laying punches and insults on him.
Alis moved closer to watch along with the other children.
She gave Ronald credit….he didn’t begin to cry until he took one on the nose, and the blood flowed…..
One of the older boys then tripped the near blind lad, and all the children around her laughed as Ronald went face down into the mud.
Alis kept her temper and control until Geoffrey kicked Ronald in the ribs….hard.
She saw red, and next thing she knew she was on Geoffrey, hitting, kicking and yelling. Geoffrey yelling, in some real pain, for his accomplices to take the little bitch off him.
Arms took hold of her and threw her to the side, and tripping over her own two left feet she fell into the mud. As she tried to get up she took a kick in the side. Trying to suck air in again she was hauled to her feet, and found herself face to face with a very angry Geoffrey. He told his boys to hold her up. Then he landed a fist on her face, it almost immediately swelled up to cover her left eye….then another punch connecting hard…..tasting blood, Alis still stood on her feet….
With the rage and anger so great now, Alis burned cold, and a calm descended upon her. She spit a baby tooth that had already been loose into Geoffrey’s face, and then stomped on one of the boys feet and squirmed free to punch the other one holding her, hard in the face and then the gut sending him to his knees.
Now free, Alis focused her rage on the Bully and punched again and again driving Geoffrey to his knees and then to the ground as she fell down on top of him, driving her fists again and again into him. How long? She did not know….she kept at it until strong hands, adult hands pulled her off of the Bully.
She was dragged away from the fight and towards the Halls. As she was carried away by the Scholars she could see that her fight had drawn many adults over….all were talking and pointing at her.
She later overheard the adults at the school talking over what she had done….many wanted her punished bad, or sent away…but Nanny kept reminding them of her Mother, and that stopped all debate. Alis would wash the floors of the Hall for the next month, and when her Mom returned from her travels she would be told of what happened and compensation spoken of….especially if Geoffrey did not recover….which is what many of the doctors feared.
Alis learned during the day that she would never find a friend amongst her peers here ever again….the boys and girls were now not only making fun of her (not to her face ever again, however), but they feared her and that made it all worse.
She was all alone.
| Wednesday, October 1, 1997 |
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