Okay so this is one of my better essays I wrote that I like. I was slightly inspired by 'The Outsiders' by S.E. Hinton to write the story and the names are from 'Magyk' by Angie Sage. Enjoy ;)

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© Flandre 2011

Any resemblance to any person whether living or dead is purely coincidential

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It all started last week. Rhodri and I were happily chatting about the CCA we just joined-Hockey.

“…and the ball shot between his legs and I got the first point!”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he nodded excitedly, “and…”

We were one of the last few students in the school as we had helped the coach put all the balls and hockey sticks away.

As we walked through a deserted corridor, I was suddenly shoved violently on the back and fell face first onto the floor.

“Oi!” Rhodri shouted as he was pushed too. Angrily, I looked around to see who the hooligans were, and the string of angry words I was about to shout died on my lips.

It was Simon and Daniel, the two most notorious bullies in the school. Infamous for beating up students and teachers alike, breaking bones and teeth with muscles of steel, and getting expelled so many times that I had lost count.

I looked at Rhodri, his face was pale and beads of sweat were starting to form on his neck. He looked at me too, wide-eyed. I knew I was not looking any better than him.

“Aren’t you s…supposed to b…be expelled?” I squeaked, my teeth chattering.

They looked at each other and laughed. “Yeah, but we’re back, and we’re going to throw a welcome party,” Simon sneered, and the two of them started cracking their knuckles.

I could picture myself, getting beaten to death, lying in a pool of blood, my bones all broken and splintered…

“Go,” a shaky whisper broke my reverie.

“Huh?” I asked, puzzled, then it dawned on me. He could not possibly be thinking…

“Go!” Rhodri suddenly cried, jumped to his feet, and hurled his bag towards the bullies. I just sat there rooted to the spot. A look of disbelief crossed the two bullies’ faces. Nobody, Nobody, was ever stupid enough to try and fight them.

Rhodri sighed in frustration and dragged me to my feet. Then he sighed again and pushed me away. “Run,” he said and smiled sadly. My senses clicked into place and I started to run like the devil was after me. It was the look on his face. The look of sad resignation to his fate.

Behind me, the last words I heard were Rhodri’s. “I don’t care if I can’t win,” he said, “but I’m still gonna fight you…” before all the sounds were lost to the wind whistling past me.

I had no idea where I was running to but I kept on running until a drop of water fell onto my head, and another, and another… I patted the spot and looked at the water. It was red, crimson red, dark red… I stopped abruptly, Bloody red. The first thing I saw was the bag of hockey sticks. I fumbled with the zip and ripped the bag open. I grabbed a hockey stick and ran upstairs, back to the not so deserted corridor. Panic flooded my mind as I ran back.

Simon and Daniel were too busy punching and kicking Rhodri, shouting vulgarities and laughing to notice me creeping up from behind them. My heart was palpitating wildly and I saw that I had clenched the stick so hard that my knuckles had turned white.

Step by step, I edged towards the bullies and with a cry, I swung the stick as hard as I could and knocked Simon on the neck. The bullies suddenly stopped what they were doing. Daniel turned around and looked at me fiercely.

Time seemed to stop then.

Then suddenly, Simon collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap. Daniel looked at him, then at me. And the most unexpected thing happened. He ran off.

And time resumed. I looked at Rhodri. He looked bad. Very bad. He was sprawled on the floor, arm twisted at an awkward angle and was covered in cuts, scratches, bruises and most of all, blood was everywhere. However, he was still breathing, it was shallow, but he was still breathing.

I knelt next to him and reassured him that everything was going to be okay, taking out my hand phone with my clammy hands and dialing 995…

Rhodri was sent to the hospital and is still recovering at home, and after being questioned by the police, I could go home too. Simon and Daniel however, were sent to a boys’ home.

From that day onwards, Rhodri and I became even better friends and I knew that I could count on him, and I knew that he could count on me too.