Bullies Best Friend
Emma L Saville
Copyright 2013 Emma L Saville
Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Prologue
The boy trembles and pulls the sheets even tighter around his head. He wishes he still believed he could really hide in his bed, like he did when he was small.
"SHUTUP! You stupid woman! I'm sick of hearing your whiny voice! Go do something useful for a change."
He hears the harsh scrape of the dining room chair on tile and then the unmistakable sound of shattering glass. His step-father curses loudly. Every muscle in the boy's body tenses and he prays, "Please don't come in.....please don't come in."
But his prayers are in vain as his door opens abruptly and light from the hallway floods in.
"Get up - you lazy, no-good brat. I spilled my drink and you'd better get out here and clean it up - NOW!"
The boy knows it is futile to ignore him, so he moves as quickly and quietly as he can, hoping this will appease the man. But still, as he tiptoes past, the familiar whack on the back of his head makes him giddy for a second.
His mother is on her hands and knees in the kitchen, mopping up the contents of a broken bottle. The boy joins her and they catch each other's eye over the mess. Her eyes are red and swollen and the look she gives him one of utter despair. He reaches out to touch her shoulder, but flinches as he hears the man curse again.
"That was the last one! Get yourself over to the store for a six-pack, woman."
His mother rises immediately saying, "Of course, honey." She attempts to smile at her son, but it is lost on him, and he mouths silently, "Why?"
Chapter 1
For the soul purpose of stopping his mother's nagging voice, Austin forces himself to crawl out from beneath the warmth and security of his covers and shuffle into the cold kitchen. His head is still fuzzy from sleep and he struggles to remember what day it is. Wow! Is it really only Tuesday? Her voice continues to drone on as he munches his cereal and his head slowly starts to clear.
"Don't forget you have basketball after school today and you'd better remember to get your make-up work done or your grade will go down and make sure you turn in the field trip permission slip to Mr. Thomas otherwise you won't be able to go and....Austin....are you listening to me?"
Raising his eyes impatiently, Austin wonders how she does that without taking a single breath. Oh yeah....the field trip. Well, at least that's something to look forward to. Despite many parents complaining about cost, it was decided the big field trip would proceed. The whole of eighth grade were going camping on an island in the Florida Keys for a weekend of fishing, snorkeling and campfires. What else could be more appealing for a bunch of rowdy adolescents?
The trip is still more than two months away though, and for now Austin's priority is to not miss the bus - again - the consequences of which are to have his two most prized possessions, his phone and skateboard, confiscated.
Grabbing his backpack and dashing out the door he yells, "I know, mom!" She's still screaming instructions as he jogs down the driveway and into the street, just as the bus pulls up.
Austin always feels a sense of relief that he has a couple of friends who ride the same bus. Matt and Nate are slouched in their seats about half way down, trying to hide their phones from grouchy Mr. Bill, who actually threw a girl's phone out of the window last year - no kidding! How he still has that job no-one can understand because he's about a hundred years old, deaf, blind, and confused. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but not much!
Nate sticks his leg into the aisle as Austin approaches - an old trick that he won't fall for (literally) again.
"Sup dudes?" Austin says as he claims the seat opposite. Instantly his phone vibrates in his pocket to tell him a text has been received. It's from Matt.....'chek out the new girl in the back shes hot and shes gonna be mine.'
Lowering himself further into his seat, Austin turns and peers through the gaps in the middle to see who he's talking about. A pretty blond girl is giggling confidently with the cool group. He smiles and texts back, 'yeah ok you couldn't get her even if you had a face transplant and a two pack which btw will never happen lol.'
This is the usual type of conversation for the three boys who have known each other since kindergarten. They are in the last year of middle school and then things will probably change. They will probably go their separate ways and drift apart like Austin's older sister and her friends did. But for now, they stick together and don't let anything or anyone come between them. At least Austin thinks that's how it is.
Chapter 2
Why does nothing ever stay the same? Life used to be easier. All Austin used to worry about was whether they were having meatloaf for dinner again, or when the new xbox game was coming out, or if he had any AA batteries for his controller.
He still worries about those things, but now there seems to be so much more to worry about; like who has a girlfriend, and who is invited to the party at the weekend. Life is becoming increasingly complicated - but because of social issues rather than school work. Everyone wants to fit in and be popular - not always an easy thing to accomplish.
All this is going through his head when he realizes Ms. Williams, his intensive math teacher, is waiting for him to answer what the order of operations is. He glances around the classroom in dismay as twenty-five pairs of eyes are fixed on him expectantly.
"Errr, sorry, can you repeat the question, please?" he stammers. There are some quiet chuckles from around the room and he can feel the heat rising into his cheeks.
"That's a demerit for you, young man. It's about time you start to pay attention in my classroom."
Wow! That's the third one this week and it's only Tuesday. Five demerits mean a detention and a detention means his phone is taken away AND he doesn't go fishing with dad on Sunday. He'd better get his act together.
Finally, the bell rings for lunch and the noise level instantly rises as everyone piles out of the classroom. His mom insists on packing his lunch every day because cafeteria food is 'unhealthy', so he has to make a detour to his locker to retrieve his lunchbox while the other kids head straight to the cafeteria. He despises doing this because he wants to sit next to Matt and Nate, but by the time he gets there all the good seats are usually taken and he ends up next to Large Lucas, whose breath smells like he ate road kill all night.
Austin fiddles with the combination lock as fast as he can, grabs his lunchbox, slams the locker closed and rushes out the door. WHAM! The breath is knocked out of him and he stumbles clumsily backwards. Quickly trying to regain his balance, he looks up to see who he collided with.....and almost falls over again. To his utmost horror, leering down at him is the one person Austin most does not want to see.
"Watch where you're going, idiot!" Mitchell growls. He pushes past Austin, scowling and knocking him hard with his shoulder. Austin glances behind him in total disbelief. What the heck is he doing at his school? Mitchell is swaggering toward a group of kids, flipping his perfect, glossy black hair as he goes. Austin realizes in that instant that he detests him more than he ever thoug
ht he did.
They'd run into each other a few times before at some of the local hangout spots, and for some unknown reason, Mitchell had always had it in for Austin. Once Mitchell started picking on him he must have realized how easy and enjoyable it was. Maybe Austin rises to the bait too easily or something.
Austin's one relief was that Mitchell went to a different school, so they only ran into each other if they were unfortunate enough to be at the same place at the same time. But now, here he was at HIS school! Could this day get any worse?
Chapter 3
On Tuesdays and Thursdays Austin plays basketball after school. It's usually quite enjoyable as a few of his friends are there, and it's a chance to blow off steam after sitting in the classroom all day. He's particularly looking forward to going today, because some of the girls usually hang around to cheer them on.
Last week, this girl Austin is especially interested in showed up and, he doesn't know if it was his imagination, but she seemed to cheer loudly every time he scored. He's had a secret crush on Mia for a while actually, but she's never given him the time of day before. Today, Austin is determined to strike up a conversation with her and see what happens.
So, his mood is gradually starting to lift as he heads toward the field, when he sees him. A huddle of kids are gathered around the bench, and sitting in the middle, arms hanging casually over the back of the bench and one foot up on the other knee, is Mitchell. Everyone's laughing at something he just said, including Mia, who's tossing her dark hair back as she grins at him. Austin hesitates. Should he turn around? He's tempted to but Nate suddenly spots him and waves and he knows he has no choice but to join them.
Austin feels his shoulders start to slouch and his confidence ebb away as he walks slowly closer. For some reason his heart is pounding, and he clenches his fists, yelling at himself silently - don't let this jerk get to you! This is my school and my territory and he is not going to take over all my friends!
Forcing his shoulders back and his head high, Austin joins the crowd, playfully slapping his friend, Hunter's, shoulder and saying, "Hey guys," as confidently as possible. Hunter turns and casually waves at Austin but his attention immediately reverts back to Mitchell. Austin attempts to catch Mia's eye, but she's engrossed in everything Mitchell is saying.
After a few minutes, coach arrives and the group starts warm-ups before everyone takes their positions. Austin plays terribly, dropping every ball and not making a single shot. He can hear Mitchell snicker every time and he's willing the ground to just swallow him up. When the whistle finally blows to indicate the end of the game, Austin doesn't stay for refreshments as usual, but leaves without acknowledging anyone.
At home later that evening, he wonders how it is that mothers seem to have a special emotion detector built into them. He thought he was doing a really good job of acting normally during dinner, but not long afterwards, here she comes into his room, a concerned look on her face.
"So....what's wrong?"
"Huh? Nothing's wrong," Austin mumbles. "I'm in the middle of a game." He doesn't make eye contact with her as he stares at the TV screen and frantically wiggles the buttons on the controller.
"Austin, I know when something's bothering you and I'm sure you'll feel better if you talk about it."
He lets out a huge sigh, figuring she's not going to let it go. "It's just that this kid I don't like showed up at my school today. No big deal."
But she persists. "Well, why don't you like him? Maybe you should give him a chance."
Wow - if only she knew. So, he attempts to explain. "No. I am not going to give him a chance. He hates my guts and I don't know why, and he's really popular and I'm not, and he makes me miserable."
Now it's her turn to sigh. "Well, there are usually two sides to every story, you know. Maybe he's jealous of you. Or maybe he has problems at home or something."
Austin seriously doubts he has problems at home. Mitchell always has the coolest, most expensive, name-brand clothes, the best skateboards, the newest phone and electronic gadgets, and the most friends. How could Mitchell possibly be jealous of him?
But, he wants his mom off his back so he just says, "Yeah, you're probably right." She kisses the top of his head and leaves his room. He throws himself on his bed and closes his eyes but Mitchell's leering face keeps appearing. Maybe this is all just a bad dream.
Chapter 4
Austin is in the most beautiful place in the world. He's sitting on some kind of golden throne in a large clearing in a tropical rain forest. There are the most unusual, exotic flowers all around the clearing in every color of the rainbow. Above him is a vast canopy of lush green trees and the sun is filtering through them, forming sparkling, golden rays. The rays seem to be illuminating him - as though he is the center of the universe.
All his friends are gathered around him, giving him their undivided attention and clinging onto every word he says. He's not sure what he's saying, but they are engrossed and every once in a while he must say something funny because they all burst out laughing.
Mia is there. She has her hand on Austin's shoulder and her head tilted to one side; her beautiful, dark hair cascading down her shoulders. She's staring at him intently, as though nothing could drag her away.
He is in his element. This is what life is all about; being important, wanted, the center of attention, nothing to worry about - complete and total happiness.
Suddenly, Austin notices the light around him starting to fade and the sun's shimmering rays are slowly retreating up into the trees. He glances upward, his smile faltering, and he shivers involuntarily as the leaves start to sway and the wind picks up.
Everyone around him has become silent and they are all staring at Austin expectantly. The happy atmosphere has vanished - like it's been lifted along with the sun's rays and has been replaced with a strange foreboding. No-one is smiling anymore. Austin frantically tries to think of something funny or reassuring to say but nothing happens and he opens and closes his mouth like a fish.
Some movement suddenly catches his eye at the far side of the clearing. Emerging through the tall foliage is a handsome boy with long, dark hair. The newcomer strides confidently towards the crowd and everyone instantly turns to look at him. There is a unified gasp as he approaches. He appears to be electrifying and they are drawn to him like a magnet. They leave Austin sitting in the throne, their backs turned to him, arms outstretched like zombies as they approach the stranger.
As Austin watches in dismay, he's vaguely aware that something is touching his arm. He instinctively tries to pull it up but it's stuck fast to the arm of the throne and, to his horror, he sees a thick, green vine growing and twisting like a snake. It's wrapping itself rapidly over his arms and legs, trapping him tightly in the stone chair.
The dark haired boy is now only a few feet away from him and, seeing the terror in Austin's face, he throws his head back and starts to laugh. The others, who are gathered around him, also start to laugh but it's a horrible, guttural sound, like that of banshees or some inhumane beings.
Slowly, they all turn towards Austin in unison and he flinches and pulls harder on the tethers as he sees their distorted faces. They are ghostly white; with cracked lips slightly parted and yellowed eyes that seem to stare into his soul. They shuffle awkwardly closer; arms outstretched, long curled nails reaching for him to pierce his skin.
Austin is shaking his head from side to side and pulling frantically at the restraints on his limbs. He lets out a deafening, high pitched scream as he sees the satisfied smile on the dark haired boy's perfect face.
"Austin! What the heck? You just woke me up and it's my day to sleep in!"
He's still shaking his head as he awakens to see Anna, his older sister, frowning over him. He groans and pulls the sheets back over his head in a desperate attempt to erase images of evil, yellow eyes.
Chapter 5
Austin tries to keep a low profile and stay out of Mitchell's way, and is starting to think thing
s will just blow over, when the weekend arrives. He manages not to get into any more trouble in class, so he's not grounded, and on the bus home on Friday, Matt, Nate and Austin decide to go to the mall that night. Matt informs them excitedly that he overheard the new, cute blond, Ashley, arranging to meet her friends there. Mia is one of her friends, so Austin is not against the idea. Maybe this will be his chance to get to know her better.
Austin's hair is just long enough again, (after dad insisted he get it cut) to stick out underneath the front of his snapback, just the way he likes it. He puts on his skinny jeans, new skate shoes, and sprays just a little too much cologne over his t-shirt. Nate's mom picks him up and the three friends arrive at the mall, young, free and ready for the weekend.
They head straight to the game room where there are a variety of quarter machines, racing and shooting games. When they're out of quarters, and starting to get hungry, they head to the food court for pizza. As they find a table, Matt notices the group of girls they've been looking for.
Austin is feeling relaxed and content, hanging with his buddies on a Friday night, eating pizza, and trying to catch Mia's eye. Finally she glances his way, smiles shyly and gives a small wave. Austin grins stupidly and gives an overly big wave back. He forces himself to relax and play it cool.
A couple of tables in the opposite direction is the 'dorks' table; a group of three kids from school, sipping milkshakes and looking slightly nervous. Large Lucas is one of them, as well as another kid named Ian, who is short and skinny, with glasses and a mass of curly hair - he's in Austin's reading class and is always very quiet. The third one Austin doesn't know that well, but he has bright red hair and a face full of freckles.
Matt suggests they go over to where the girls are gathered and Austin is just trying to muster up the courage to talk to Mia, when he sees Mitchell striding over towards them. His heart sinks and he drops back into his chair.
"Hey guys, how about we go to the game store to see if that new game came out yet?" he suggests to his friends.
"Nah, I know it's not out till next week. Hey, there's Mitch - come on, let's go over!"