Standing Tall

As a kid I always used to be the small fry, the runt, of every class. Puny and weighed like a feather, the school bullies would pick on us, all of us, who were of the same nature and description.

There was a time I remember, wen we used to have this rule during recess. I used to attend this Elementary school in Norco, Sierra Vista Elementary. The school at the time was gigantic to all of us students. I mean the school only held up to 6th grade, then from there it was middle/intermediate, which was located on the opposite side of town.

At the elementary school we had this one minute rule with the bell at recess. Once the bell rang, the mothers who volunteered to be guard duty for all of us kids at the time, would blow these whistles and everyone had to pause for 30 seconds. They would then blow the whistle agains and everyone had 30 seconds to run to their assigned lines to go back to their classes for studying. If you moved during the time you were suppose to pause, you got in trouble and was flagged with a warning and sent to a minor detention room, which was the library. However the librarian was awesome and always gave us cookies and juice and she would just talk about life with us, even though we were suppose to sit there and be quiet.

One day I was out there, had recess time with some of my friends I had at the moment, because from here on out I started to move to different schools. Brian was one of da boys, along with Josh, Michael, Isaac, Deborah, Lindsey, Heather, and Jennifer. We all grew up together from Kindergarten to 5th grade, before I left for another journey. Brian and I were kicking it at recess together and the bullies showed up. They started kicking the sand at us from the box we was at. They started pushing Brian around and got to a point of picking up sand and throwing it at us. I got pissed. I stood up from one knee, still kneeling on the other. The bell rang, and everyone froze. Everyone except me, my mind. I clenched a fist full of sand and waited with anticipation. The first whistle was blown, I counted down silently. 28….29….the second whistle blows, and I throw. I throw the largest ball of sand right in this bully’s face and yelled “RUN” at Brian. Zip zap like the Flash, Brain and I dusted it. The three bullies stood there still rubbing the sand off themselves, the one I hit in the face was still wiping his face. I was still running, still looking back every so often to see Brian, and to see the bullies. However, I didn’t see them anymore. I seen Brian get into his line, and he was fine. I chilled, knowing Brian was ok, while my heart beat was still at max speed similar to the Mach 5 of Speedracer. I saw my line to get into, and I gradually made it there, stopping to catch a breathe. Then....BAM! Right there at that exact moment I get speared on the left side of my body. The bully who I hit in the face basically ran, leaned out and flew. I seen him in an instance from my left peripheral. He glided through the air like butter on warm toasted bread being spread across, at me. That fool hit me so hard, I just gave way and got smeared across the asphalt. From there I just laid across the basketball court and just went into the feeble position rolling slightly from the pain of the hit. The bully gets up to his feet like nothing happen, walked over and kicked me once. Bruised and battered like a seafood platter served at Sizzlers, I just laid there after getting pronged by a foot to the side. The word punk echoed through my mind as a sat there feeling the kick after the body hit. My class mate looked over at me, Heather, and just stood there. She looked as though she wanted to ask me, but knowing me I had whole story to tell from all that just went down behind her while she stood there in line looking down at me. I got up. A tear shed from one eye, while twitching in pain with the other eye. I gradually got to a point where I could lift an arm up to say present as my name gets called to check in for attendance. Throughout life, even today, sarcasm has always been the gift that kept giving. Kinda like my talkative nature, except I dont think that is the gift everyone always wants from me.

Returning back to class, I remember Brian walking up to me saying, “Dude, you just took that hit for me? You are ballsy!” “Why would you do that?! You are insane.” I just shook my shoulders up as though the hit didn’t matter. I had no answer. I just wanted to make sure he was ok, even though I was walking dazed and confused. Finding my chair, I sat there, never really realizing what the term meant "to see stars" until knowning as the adrenhaline was still pulsating through my veins, my mind went into a galactic lightspeed, then slowly calmed down, and literally, I was seeing stars blinking all aroud me. Took a few deep breathes, found a comfort zone, sucked up the last struggle of a tear, looked around, and went back to the books and a normal routine of class as if nothing even happened.

I think from that point on, I wasn’t going to take anymore crap from anyone. I think that is where I started a whole new adventure with growing pains.