Standing Up To The Bullies

Mathias was quick in bringing out his wallet and he took all the money out of it and was about handing it over to the boy before Clara stopped him.

“ you would do no such thing! ” 

she said holding his hand and putting it down.

“ it's OK really, ” Mathias said obviously fearing what they would do to him or Clara.

“ No it's not OK, how can you give them all your money! And you guys should be ashamed of yourself bullying an innocent boy, ” Clara said boldly, not intimidated by them at all.

“ Do you know who you are messing with? ” The boy asked.

“ I don't give a damn who you are, you can be the president's son for all I care but that doesn't mean I will sit and watch you mistreat my friend, ”

Clara said and she could see a smile formed on Mathias face when she called him her friend.

“ Careful there little girl, no one talks to Steven like that and goes away unscathed, ” One of the huge boys warned.

Steven made a wicked smile “ don't worry boys she will find out the hard way....Let's go, ” 

he said staring hard at Clara for some seconds then at Mathias before leaving.

“ What have you done? ”

Mathias said, looking really scared.

“ I just saved your lunch money, ” Clara jokes.

“ No you just made things worse, they will surely beat me up now... And you are not safe yourself, ”

Mathias said and was suddenly in a hurry to leave.

“ Where are you going? ” Clara asked.

“ I have to get away from here, ” He said then left the class.

Clara looked confused, she actually thought she was helping him but it seems she just made things worse.

“ Where is the damn teacher when you need them, ” she said..

*

*

Meanwhile Adams had been watching all what was happening, how Clara had stood up to those bullies and he was quite impressed.

“ Who is that girl? ” 

he had asked his best friend Noah.

“ I don't know, nobody really knows she is new, she came in yesterday, ” Noah replied.

“ And she is already picking a fight? She must be in trouble, ” Ella, Adams girlfriend said clearly not a fan of Clara's.

“ I think she is brave, ” Adams said.

“ Or stupid, ” Noah stated.

“ I am going with stupid, ” Ella said smiling “ She has no idea what she has gotten herself into, nobody is stupid enough to pick a fight with Steven. ”

“ Except you happen to be Adams Bright of course, am I right? ” Noah joked and both boys shook hands in a laugh....

Clara turned in their direction and she saw Adams and his friends Laughing while looking at her and she concluded they were laughing at her and that made her feel uncomfortable, coupled with the fact that Adams' girlfriend was giving her a mean look.

She stood up and left the lab, heading straight to the female restroom, on her way to the restroom she came across some group of students laughing and taking pictures of something they found funny with their phone cameras.

Clara slowly walked to where they were and pushed herself to the front... Then she saw it.

“ Mathias! "

She called in shock.

Mathias had been pinned up to his locker and he had his pants ( trousers ) fallen from his waist, resting on his shoes.

He had a cut on his mouth and some bruises on his face, he looked like someone who just got run over by a train and Clara knew this got Steven written all over it,  she quickly tried to help him down while everyone else was just kept on laughing and taking pictures.

“ It's alright Mathias, I will get you down from there, ” she said to him and he was so weak to even give a reply.

“ What's wrong with you all!! ” Clara screamed facing them “ please help me get him down from here. ” she pleaded with them since it was proving an impossible task for her to do alone, but they just ignored her and continued taking pictures..

Then Anna and her friend Caleb came out from the crowd.

“ My God! Who did this to him? " Caleb asked and he quickly lent an assisting hand.

Anna also lent a helping hand and together they brought Mathias down.

The onlooking students murmured in disappointment that the fun was over and they gradually left the scene one after the other.

Caleb helped dress Mathias properly while Anna called Clara to one side.

“ What are you doing? ” She said to Clara.

“ What do you mean? ” Clara said, confused.

“ You know what am talking about, I told you to stay away from him he is no good, ” Anna said.

“ I can't believe you just said that, he is harmless, it's the rest of the students in this school that have a problem, how can they all just stand there laughing and watching as a human being suffers? That's barbaric and plain evil...look at him does he look dangerous to you, what's wrong if he talks about Vampires and werewolves all the time, I myself enjoy watching vampire movies and werewolves classic and I am sure almost everyone in this school talking bad about him does the same likewise. So tell me what does that make you all?... I will tell you, hypocrites! ”

Clara said in a really angry tone.

Then she looked at the far end of the hallway and there stood Steven smiling, his arms folded at his back and as usual he was with his dogs.

Clara wanted to charge at him and break his nose for what he did to Mathias but Anna held her back.

“ Be calm, I see now how foolish I have been for labelling someone a weirdo for liking the things I like only that I am scared and ashamed to admit it. He isn't weird neither is he dangerous but Steven is, he is really dangerous and you shouldn't pick a fight with him, you have seen what he can do so let's just quietly back down ” Anna said trying to reason with Clara.

But Clara was still very much angry.

 “ Coward!!!...you are a damn coward! Yes i'm talking to you Steven or what the hell your name is, ”

 She yelled in his direction.

Steven just kept on smiling which kept irritating Clara the more...

Clara has always been an activist against anti social behavior in her former school such as bullying, drug abuse and child abuse, she hates it so much when someone is being mistreated unfairly and she could do anything in her power to fight against anyone doing such.

“ You won't say anything will you? Jerk! Coward!! ” 

She screamed at him even more.

“ it's Okay Clara, ” Anna said, dragging her away.

“ What?! ” She barked at her.

“ Look around you, you are causing a scene, ” Anna whispered to her.

“ Really am the one coursing the scene here? What kind of people are in this school? ” she said then walked to meet Mathias who was sitting on the floor.

“ I am sorry Mathias this is all my fault, I didn't know he was such a jerk, ” Clara said.

“ ...you shouldn't.. have yelled.. at him, he will come after you, ” Mathias struggled to speak.

“ I am not scared of him,  ” Clara said.

Mathias laughed painfully “ you are brave I will hand that to you...but you should be careful,” he said.

They helped him to his feet and gently walked him to the school clinic....

*

*

After school hours.

“ Hello mom, when are you coming to pick me up? I have been waiting for a while now, ” Clara said in the phone.

“ Oh sweetheart, I am so sorry, please forgive me. I forgot to call you to inform you that I won't be coming to pick you up from school today. I am really busy at work, ” Dr Ellen said.

“ mom! you should have told me this earlier, I could have followed Anna in her mom's car, ” Clara said sounding disappointed.

“ I am sorry baby, don't be angry at mama you can take a cab or a train OK, I love you, ” she said.

“ You know I hate using the train, I will stop a cab, ” Clara said.

“ Alright sweetheart, I love you. ” 

“ Love you too, ” Clara muttered then the call ended....

Before she could see a cab she had to trek down a hilly road in between a forest of trees to get to the main road where she can get a cab, Clara knew she wasn't going to enjoy this one bit.

She braced herself and started the long and lonely trek down the hill.

she plugged in her ear phones, playing random songs from her phone playlist... 

Justin Bieber's ‘ Sorry.' started playing and Clara moved her head slowly to the beat of the song as she walked down the hilly road, her head facing down.

However as she walked something just kept telling her to raise her head up and when she did she saw one of Steven boys standing on the middle of the road, her heart skipped as she slowly stepped backwards and as she turned around she saw another of Steven's boys in that direction too.

And yet another one came out from one side of the forest and Steven himself came out from the other side.

“ Well, well, well, what do we have here? ” Steven said with an evil smile...