First Day at School

John’s face hit the playground and a muddy boot pressed down on the back of his head, grinding his cheek into the wet tarmac.

‘New, are you?’ a voice snarled from behind.

John lay trapped, silent, and seething. He had not seen the gang of lads lurking just inside the school gate waiting to pounce.

‘Lost your voice, then?’ another voice sneered.

Memories flooded back of the time he had been forced to move house and change schools after his parents’ divorce. He had been mercilessly teased and bullied for being the ‘newbie’.

The familiar feelings of fear, anger, and humiliation now welled up inside him.

‘Cat got your tongue?’ a third voice taunted.

John was aware of a crowd gathering, laughing, chanting, sensing blood. Now someone was pinning his legs down. Unable to move or call for help, he resigned himself to the inevitable beating.

 ‘Alright, break it up!’ a man’s voice boomed over the noise of the crowd. John recognized the voice as belonging to the Headmaster who he’d met on a visit to the school. In an instant John was released and his assailants disappeared into the crowd.

‘You alright, Stevenson? John, isn’t it? Sorry about that. Some of our older lads can be a little boisterous. Is that the bell? Come on now, boys, inside.’

John got up, wiped himself down, rubbed his cheek, and hurried off to teach his first class.