I glanced at my watch. The beating was almost over; There are just four minutes left until I can finally be done with these people and go to the comfort of my own home. After what felt like an eternity the bell rang and the boys lifted their hands from the back of my head. My face soared out of the dirty toilet water as I gasped for air. Laughing, the twelfth graders walked out of the bathroom shouting and cheering at what they had just done to me. I sat there on the cold floor gazing at the razor blade as if it had three heads. As I stood up and gazed into the mirror and saw what the boys really did to me. My entire left eye brow was missing and my forehead was bleeding from the failing with the other eye brow. Ashamed of myself, I slowly turned and walked towards my bus.

The whole way home, the kids on my bus starred at the mess on my face. Between ten and twenty minutes passed before my stop had come. I got off the bus as fast as I could because I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. Walking up my long rocky driveway, I sobbed and asked myself, what did I do to deserve this?

When I pushed open the old wooden door I saw my older brother Jason standing there with an angry expression on his face.
“What do you want now?” I asked with a slightly raised voice.
“What the hell happened to you?” The once angry look became a smile, and he began to chuckle at what had happened to me.
“You need to start fighting back Thomas, or they’ll never stop picking on you. You can’t help it that moms not here anymore, but there’s nothing anyone can do about it but you. Show them that you’re-“
“Shut up, you don’t know what this is like. Every day I go through this and I can’t fight back, you know that Jason!”
“I’ve had enough of your crap Thomas, we were brought up this way for a reason, and you need to start using that to your advantage. You can’t just let those kids just walk over you like this.” As soon as he finished his sentence I went right back out the door and I walked through my yard, past the tall trees of the forest that surround my house. Until my legs hurt, I walked on.


I finally came the only place where no one goes besides me, the only place I can truly be alone. I sat on the big rock in the middle of the creek thinking of my mother. Thinking of the fun we used to have in these woods, playing tag and fishing in the chilled water that rushes past my feet as I sit here now alone with no one. My dad’s always at work and Jason is never nice to me. He’s just as bad as those lousy kids at school.
As the sun began to set in the distance, I got off my rock and set off to walk home. When I made it into my front yard, I saw my dad's truck in the drive way. I excitedly ran as fast as I could with the remaining energy I had to the front door, only to be greeted by him walking out the door.
“Dad where are you going?”
“Buddy I gotta work late again tonight, I just stopped home to bring you and your brother some dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow morning Tommy.” He patted my on my head and with that, he closed the door behind him and left again to go back to work. I was so upset I ran upstairs to my bed and began to cry. He didn’t even notice what happened to my face. I sat on my bed until it was late and eventually I fell asleep.
I seemed to have slept pretty well, and I even woke up early the next morning before school. I took a shower and put on my clothes just like every other day, but something inside of me felt different. Instead of the emptiness and aloneness I felt yesterday have been overcome by hope and anger. The hope that life can and will get better and the anger towards myself for letting them do this to me for so long.
"Today is the day I show them who I really am", I said to myself over and over again as I walked down my driveway towards my bus. The twenty minute bus ride felt like five minutes but when the bus finally pulled up to the entrance of the school, I got off the bus confidently and walked into school.
When I was in front of the same bathroom I saw them all walking up together towards me. My palms were soaked in sweat. Before the first kid got one word out he was on the ground spewing blood from his nose. I didn't even see the second kid when he yelped in pain from my right elbow smashing against his eye. When I looked up I saw two kids on the ground , one ready to fight, and three still in shock from what just happened.
"I have had enough of your crap", I belted as I threw my fists at the other kid in a fighting stance. Hitting him multiple times in the stomach and chest, he went down screaming in pain. As I looked at the last three kids standing one of them started shouting.
"Thomas stop it, were here to apologize; not to hurt you anymore." The kid to the right of him stuck his hand out towards me. Surprised I took a second before shaking his hand. We helped the kids up from the floor and I apologized for hurting them. They forgave me and they became my new and only friends. Maybe there is a such thing as hope.