The Fight

“I remember...,” Michael said, as the man in front of him wiped the blood from his mouth. It was the end of the day and they could only hear the ventilation in the pipes and the hum of the monitors that will still open on that floor. David was still able to stand, but he knew that he needed his chair.

“Yeah, I remember. How could I forget?”

Michael thought about Gus.

*

It was a very long time ago, but Michael would always remember the scene. He hated that cafeteria, but at least he could sit with his friends and not have to worry about being slapped around and chased by bullies too thick to do their own homework. And it was a good day. He had just received his grades on a project he had worked on in his chemistry class, and it was the highest mark in their level. Mr. Scoline said that he could probably qualify for an award from the school board by the end of the year (unusual for a junior, but still possible). He was smiling all the way to the cafeteria as everyone gathered at their tables.

“What are you so happy about?”

Gus, as usual, was there first and already eating something from the servers (how did he get here so fast, thought Michael).

“Got my grades. Got some good news about my work.”

“As usual.” Gus seemed more interested in his French fries.

“Right, and I could an award for it…”

“Told ya. They want you to get your stuff out there and sold to the military…”

“Military? Please, it’s just…”

And that was exactly when they heard it.

“NERDTOWN!”

Even the jocks turned to that noise. David was somehow popular enough to have no trouble with them, even without playing a sport or wearing one of their letterman jackets. Michael wondered about reputations. Gus stopped eating.

“Shit.”

“Just wait.”

David was heading right toward them. At least he was alone this time.

“Nerdtown in the caf! Got your project in and the lovefest is on!”

“David…”

Michael almost forgot David was in their class. He always sat in the back and could not ever participate in any of the discussions or projects. Mr. Scoline tried to have him moved to a different group – smart move, if done in private, Michael thought – but that could not work in a grade and school that was so crowded. And David knew it. He would sometimes just sit with his phone and then have to be woken up when the bell rang (strange how he barely heard it; Michael was very curious about this). And here he was.

“Shut it! Nerd of the year…”

“Okay.” Gus went back to eating. “You obviously want something and are doing this in front of the entire…caf for a reason. Get it out.”

People were staring. The same jocks who heard David’s shout were staring. Other nerds, grateful for the lack of attention, were staring. The monitor put on duty when she wanted to eat lunch in her office was staring. The silence grew as they all waited for David’s response.

And his stomach rebelled.

Gus was not the fastest man in the world; neither was Michael, but he did not get any of the contents of David’s stomach on his clothes or shoes. The other students tried not to laugh at this, but they all failed, including the jocks and the monitors who heard the noise across several tables. No one moved to help the kid who was now on his knees in his own sick.

“Jesus…damnit…”

“Fucking hell! I knew that you had a response…”

Gus made Michael and a few others close by laugh even harder. And this was not appreciated by David. He tried to stand and slipped in his own sickness.

“Damn… What the hell did I eat?”

“Your project?”

Gus was enjoying himself now. Michael had known him since they were both the only nerds they knew in elementary school. They had some problems with certain kids, but that had all passed when they went to the same high school and most of the “problem students” did not get into the same level. That was a break. And maybe Gus thought that his luck would continue, like it always had.

“You are so funny, fatso. A real funny man.”

“I try.” Gus ate another French fry, enjoying the attention.

“Real funny. Let’s see how funny you are after school.”

David stood up, turned and walked out of the cafeteria. No one said a word.

Michael picked up his lunch and moved a bit down the table.

“Can’t believe he just…”

“Screw him.” Gus saw that the cleaners were heading their way.

“He said, ‘after school’. He said that.”

“And like I haven’t heard that before? Like so what? Let him come.”

“He’s a freak, Gus. You don’t know what he is willing to do to you.”

“Oh, darling. My mother doesn’t care that much. I’ll be fine. Just have to find another way out of this place. No big deal.”

The cleaners, unsure of what happened, thought that Gus was the one who caused them to show up and have this in front of them on their lunch break. Michael was going to explain things, but his friend was already up and heading out.

“See you in class.”

Gus took a different entrance out of the cafeteria. At least he had a plan.

*

“Some great plan.”

They were still in the room, and Michael was not about to leave now that David remembered who he was and why he was there.

“I was sick that day.”

“You were sick all year. Maybe you were born sick. They were all saying the same thing when they found out what you did to him. And they could never make it really stick, could they?”

The hum of the air conditioner was the only answer.

“You understand what is going to happen now, right, David? You know that I cannot forgive you? You fight with him and now you fight with me.”

David jumped up and took at swing at Michael, but slipped over his own feet and hit the desk.

“Again and again. You really do not understand how to do this. We have to fight.”

David rubbed his now swollen jaw.

“You…are the crazy one.”

Michael kicked him in the shin, dropping him to the ground again.

“No one’s here. No one to tell on me.”

“Camera…”

“Please. Don’t you think that I took them out? Don’t you realize that I spent a lot of time figuring out what you did after school? Reformatory and then a work program for you but Gus…” Michael kicked David in the ribs.

“Not…me.” David was moaning.

“Seriously…don’t do this. Just don’t…”

“Gus…started it. I did not want to fight him. Just wouldn’t…shut up about it. Kept saying I was useless and was gonna be a nobody forever. It was all an accident. Just…he kept going…”

Michael knew that he had passed out, but he was not leaving. If he was right, the cleaners would be done on the first floor by now and would be heading up in about thirty minutes. That meant that he would be caught in an office on the other side of the country trying to end the actions of a minor office worker who was going to bankrupt his company (the virus he already downloaded on the computer would confirm this). But he still wondered about Gus. He never got his fight.