"Eli! Eli! Eli!"
The crowd of young boys no older than fifteen cheered.
I couldn't even remember how it happened, but one minute I was walking to school with little care in the world, and the next, I was facing our local school bully, Pinrod.
A small group of students surrounded us, cheering for me mostly, but that was only because they thought I would lose.
It was a mock cheer.
He has such a weird name. But because people were afraid, no one said anything.
I would have. Yet, it was not my thing to make fun of others nor point out the obvious.
Pinrod's eyes were burning with hatred.
Back then, I didn't understand what he was so angry about. But the other boys egged us on. Hence, I gave what everyone wanted.
Long story short, I went home that day with a bruised cheek and a warning. My mother lectured me for an hour straight after arriving home. She wanted my father to have a word with me too.
