The Bully

The Bully

“What are you doing in here?” snarled Ralph. “I thought I told you never to use this bathroom again!”

“You can’t tell me not to use a bathroom. This is my school too.” Jimmy said adamantly.

“Oh, I can and I did. You’re gonna pay now.” He grinned at Jimmy menacingly. His entourage of idiots were cheering behind him. Tommy who barely could add and Billy who struggled to remember his alphabet. All three were some real winners. But unfortunately they did have muscle and that muscle was known to hurt when it collided with your stomach. Jimmy steeled himself for the punch as Ralph came toward him, casting a shadow from the bathroom light as he did. 

“I am going to beat you to a pulp!” Ralph snarled. 

Jimmy cringed, squeezed his eyes tight and pressed himself hard against the wall. Ralph let out a growl as he reared back and swung. There was a loud smacking sound and then Ralph yelled loudly in pain. His groupies eyes went wide as they realized Ralph had punched the wall. Not because he missed Jimmy but because Jimmy just wasn’t there any longer. It was like he had just disappeared! Tommy and Billy began frantically looking around as Ralph held his throbbing hand and fought back tears. 

Ralph suddenly realizing why he had punched the wall began turning around and around looking for Jimmy, his hurting hand laid limply in his other hand. “Where did he go?” Ralph roared. 

“I don’t know…” Tommy said, a little unsure. 

“It’s like he just….disappeared.” Billy said with disbelief in his voice. 

“People don’t just disappear, you morons!” Ralph bellowed. “I’m going to find him and when I do, he’s gonna pay for what he made me do!” And with that he stormed out of the bathroom, Tommy and Billy close behind. 

“What in the world..?” Jimmy whispered. He looked around, turned and looked at the wall. How? How did Ralph miss him? How come they didn’t see him standing right there? He reached out and touched the wall, then turned and looked at the door, confusion splayed across his face. He grabbed his backpack from the floor and walked to the door. He gave it a slight push and peeked outside. Walking out into the now empty hallway as he heard the tardy bell ring. He looked up and down the hall. He didn’t see Ralph or his minions. He started at a jog to get to class hoping his teacher wasn’t too mad at him for being late. 

After class he met up with his best friend Alex. They walked home from school together every day. He told him about what had happened in the bathroom. 

“You mean he just missed you and punched the wall?” Alex asked, one eyebrow cocked in disbelief. 

“Yeah, and then they all acted like I wasn’t there. I was standing right there, right where he punched but somehow none of them could see me.”

“I don’t understand.” Alex said.

“I know. Me either.”

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Jimmy stood on the sidewalk looking up at the front door of the school nervously. Ralph’s hand would still be sore from it’s collision with the wall the day before. His need for revenge would still be great. 

Maybe I should just go home, Jimmy thought. Give him a few days to calm down. He knew his mom would be furious with him for skipping school so with a sigh and a shrug to lift his backpack further up on his shoulder, he headed in. 

First and second period went off without a hitch, no sign of Ralph or the other two. That all changed while heading to third period. Jimmy had held out as long as he could before running straight to the bathroom. He opened the door and smacked into someone on the other side. 

Crap! That’s my luck! Thought Jimmy as he ran smack into Ralph. 

“What are you doing, Loser? Haven’t seen you all day. I think it’s time we take care of a little business.” 

“Ralph I just have to pee. I didn’t come in here put up with you. Let me by!” 

“And what if I don’t? You gonna pee your pants like a little baby?” He chuckled. 

“Ralph, come on. Let me by!” Jimmy sounded way more confident then he felt. What if Ralph really did make him pee his pants? 

Ralph backed him into a corner. “I think I owe you a punch in the gut. I don’t know what you did before but it’s gonna cost you. I think I might hit you twice to make up for it. That’s fair, don’t you think?”

“Stop it! Come on man, just let me by!”

Jimmy could feel the fear building up in him. If Ralph punched him even once he knew he would end up peeing his pants. He had to go so bad already! At least his breakfast was digested so he may not puke after. He could see Ralph clenching his fists. Jimmy braced himself again, holding his bladder as hard as he could, the phrase “Just don’t pee, just don’t pee” repeating itself over and over in his head. Ralph let out a yell and swung. 

“Aaagghhhh….what the crap?” Ralph yelled, holding his hand again. This time the tears actually came down. He had hit the wall again. How? Jimmy looked from Ralph to the wall. What in the world? Ralph was hopping around, holding his hand and yelling in pain.

The door swung open and there stood Mr. Mitchen. 

“Ralph, what are you yelling about?”

“My hand, it hurts!” Ralph gave the teacher a dirty look.

“What happened to it?”

“I was trying to punch...I mean I swung around and hit it on the wall.” Ralph’s eyes were frantically searching the bathroom as he spoke. 

“We’ll go down to the nurses station and she’ll give you some ice. You need to be more careful. Come on.” 

Ralph followed Mr. Mitchen out the door pausing to look over his shoulder and scan the bathroom once more, confusion written on his face. 

Jimmy waited until the door closed before letting out his breath. What had just happened? It was like they couldn’t see him again. Like he was invisible. Could that even be possible? 

No, no way, thought Jimmy. It just couldn’t be. He raced into the stall, relieved to finally be able to pee, then raced to class. Alex sat one desk over from him. Jimmy scribbled him a note and while the teacher was turned, tossed it on his desk. Alex opened it immediately and read:

Come to my house after school? Ralph cornered me again and IT happened again.

Jimmy glanced at Alex who sat with his jaw dropped. He mouthed the word “Again?” and Jimmy nodded. Alex folded up the note and gave Jimmy a thumbs up.

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Jimmy was sitting in his room trying to focus on his homework when Alex came running in. 

“Dude! What do you think happened?”

“Shhh! Don’t be so loud. My mom is right downstairs.” Jimmy got up and closed his door while Alex plopped on his bed. Jimmy sat back down in his desk chair and turned to face Alex. 

“I don’t know. It’s really weird because the first time it was Ralph, Tommy and Billy and none of them could see me, even though I was standing right there, right where I had been when Ralph swung. This time I was standing the same way but when Mr. Mitchen came in he didn’t acknowledge I was there either. He never looked my way or spoke to me, just to Ralph and then walked him out. It was like I was invisible. Do you think that’s actually possible? I feel like I’m losing my mind!”

“I mean, it does sound crazy but at the same time....”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Jimmy said, letting out a sigh.

“Well, if that is what happened then we need to find out why. Both times you were with Ralph and he was about to punch your lights out. Do you think because you were scared, it caused you to do that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

“There’s only one way to find out. Let’s go to Ralph’s house!”

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Jimmy hated to admit it, but he thought Alex was right. He had to test the theory. But what if it didn’t work? What if he actually got punched this time? His stomach started hurting just thinking about it. He and Alex were standing on Ralph’s porch. Neither one was brave enough to ring the doorbell yet. Suddenly the door opened and there stood Ralph’s mom. 

“Oh, hello boys. Are you looking for Ralphie? He’s out back in the yard. Just go around the side there.” 

They thanked her and headed around. Ralph was in the detached garage in the backyard, his bike turned upside down, wrench in hand. 

“What are you worms doing here?” Ralph said, slightly bewildered. 

Alex, feeling brave and more than curious to see if their theory was correct, looked Ralph square in the eye.

“We’re here to tell you that Jimmy isn’t scared of you. You’re just a big bully and he’s not going to take it anymore!” Alex prayed his voice sounded as confident as he was wanting it to. 

“Oh, really?” Ralph said, that familiar snarl creeping up to his face. He walked over to Jimmy, towering over him. “We’ll see about that!” He brought his arm back, fist tight and swung. He missed, causing him to spin around and trip on his own foot. He landed with a hard smack on the driveway. 

Alex’s mouth dropped open. Jimmy really was gone. Just vanished into thin air. 

“Jimmy? Jimmy!” Alex called turning in circles looking for his friend. 

Ralph slowly stood up and with the usual confused face, began to look around for Jimmy. 

“How? How did he do that? Where did he go?”

“I don’t know. It’s like he just vanished into thin air!” Alex said, excitedly.

“That’s impossible! People don’t do that!” 

“Apparently, Jimmy does!” He met Ralph’s eyes and saw the same amazement he felt reflecting back at him. And with that he laughed and took off. He knew Jimmy would be following him and laughing himself. He raced back to Jimmy’s bedroom, flung himself on the bed and watched as the bedroom door shut itself. Seconds later, Jimmy materialized in front of him, a huge grin plastered on his face. 

“Did you see Ralph’s face? It was hysterical!”

“I know! I know! He tried to punch you and ended up face first in the dirt!” Both boys erupted into a fit of laughter that caused their sides to ache. 

The whole rest of the afternoon was spent in much the same manner, recounting what had happened and ending up in fits of laughter all over again. Once Alex was back home, Jimmy was lying on his bed, exhausted. Thoughts still floated through his head but the two that kept coming back were “How?” and “What now?” It didn’t take long before he drifted off to sleep. 

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Jimmy walked into the corner store with the five dollar bill his mom gave him tucked into his pocket. She had sent him to pick up a loaf of bread for the sandwiches she wanted to make for lunch. It was a usually laid back Saturday. He had slept in and his mom had made pancakes for breakfast. Dad was mowing the front lawn while mom got the clothes off the line in the back before he could end up covering them in grass clippings. Mr. Bill was behind the counter as usual and nodded hello to him as he came in and headed for the bread aisle. Halfway there he stopped, a new lego magazine had caught his attention. The cover story was of the Lego convention that was happening in a few months. He wished so much that his dad would take him. Fingers crossed, he thought.  

“Well, lookie here. The big nerd reading about other big nerds?”

Jimmy looked up and saw Ralph sneering at him. Crap, he thought as he groaned and rolled his eyes. Not now. Can’t he just leave me alone? 

Ralph came toward him, a menacing look on his face. 

“Ralph! Where are you?” a loud voice thundered. A hulk of a man came around the corner sporting the same bright red hair as Ralph. Jimmy saw Ralph wince as the man came up behind him. “I told you to get the bread and get to the counter. No loli-gagging!” The man growled at him. He reached out and gave Ralph a swat on the back of the head. Ralph ducked but caught it anyway. 

“Ok, ok. I was just getting it!” He ran the rest of the way down the aisle and grabbed the bread, running back by Jimmy to get to the register. Ralph gave him a strange look, a mix between a threat and embarrassment. 

Jimmy picked up his own bread and slowly made his way to the counter, giving Ralph and his dad enough time to leave the store. As he was heading out he could see them loading the groceries into the car, his dad’s face red as he was yelling at him. Ralph actually looked like he might cry. Jimmy turned away from them and headed home feeling bad for him.

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The thought of Ralph’s face in the store flashed through Jimmy’s mind all through the day. He had never seen him look that way. It was weird. Ralph’s behavior somehow made more sense now. He was still mean as a rattlesnake though. 

The next day Jimmy found himself outside of Ralph’s house, standing with his bike staring up at the front door. Laying his bike on its side he walked up and rang the bell. Ralph’s mother answered the door again and said Ralph was in his room, to go on up. When Jimmy walked into the room Ralph was in his bean bag chair playing video games. He looked up at Jimmy surprised. Jimmy walked over and picked up the other controller and sat down in the other chair beside him.

“Sign me in?” 

Ralph hit the button and the screen split in two. For the next hour neither spoke unless it was to egg each other on. 

Just when they were deciding if they wanted to start another game Ralph’s father came home. He entered the house loudly, yelling and slamming things. Ralph’s mom could be heard pleading with him to keep his voice down that Ralphie had a friend over. 

“A friend?” his father yelled. “He doesn’t need to have a friend over here. What the boy needs to do is his homework and to mow the yard, that’s what he needs to do! Lazy good for nothing!” He thundered down the hallway heading toward the bedroom. A look of panic crosses Ralph’s face as his dad throws stubbles in. The stink of his alcohol made Jimmy want to gag. It was so strong! His dad is continuing to yell even as Ralph jumps up and shuts off the game and the tv. His dad barely glances Jimmy’s way. 

“I told you to get your homework and chores done son, and you’re in here doing what? Playing video games?”

Ralph’s mom is standing in the door. 

“Why don’t you come with me honey? I’ll make a pot of coffee and warm you up some dinner. You’ll feel better in no time.”

“Feel better?” he bellows as he spins around to look at her. “Who said I was feeling bad? I just want the boy to listen for once in his worthless life!” He turns back around and glares at Ralph. He starts walking toward Ralph, pinning him against the wall, towering over him. Ralph begins to tremble as he presses himself against the wall. His dad rears back his arm to backhand Ralph. 

In an instant Jimmy is on his feet, racing toward Ralph. He jumps in between him and his dad, grabbing Ralph by the arm just as his dad swings.

And he misses, hitting the lamp on the table instead, sending it crashing to the floor. 

“What in the world?” his dad bellows as his mom lets out a scream. Jimmy had done it. He had not only gone invisible but had made Ralph invisible too. Only the two of them could see each other. Jimmy held onto Ralph’s arm and they raced out of the house, down the street toward Jimmy’s house. 

Once they were on the porch, Ralph began to laugh, a deep belly laugh of relief. 

“I can’t believe you did that, dude! That was awesome!” 

Jimmy grinned sheepishly, glad that he had been able to help him. He suddenly realized that this weird thing could be used to really help people. Jimmy could help those who couldn’t help themselves, maybe more kids like Ralph. The thought made him wonder but he knew he’d have to figure out more about it later. Right now Ralph was holding up his hand for a high five and Jimmy happily returned it. Both of them realized they had just become friends, friends that would have each other’s backs for years to come.