Jonathan heaved a deep, exhausted sigh. He should have just stayed with his parents, went to his old school, spent time with his good old pals.
Instead, here he was, in a totally new and strange environment, alone.
Why did he think he would have a better life here in Redwood High? He should have just stayed in his hole. Another sigh escaped him.
He had tried making friends in the cafeteria during lunch break. But everyone just shooed him away. The nicest of the kids had ignored him politely. And he ended up sitting in one corner, all by himself.
School was almost over and Jonathan was walking through an area with less people and more trees. The cool breeze somehow made him feel at ease. As he walked with his hands tracing the railing that seperated the park with the pathway, he heard someone call out.
"Hey loser!"
He didn't remember his first name being 'loser'. So, he just kept on walking with his head hung low, secretely hoping that the boys, whoever they were, would just go away. Dealing with a bunch of bullies was not on his bucket list today. He has had enough for a day already.
"Hey you!" An arm pulled at his collar, bringing him down to the ground.
Jonathan hit his back on the railing and yelped.
Man, that hurt...
He looked up to see a blond guy and a bunch of other guys who stinked of trouble, behind him.
The sunlight that came through the trees behind the guy made him squint his eyes.
"Watcha staring at, a-hole? You wanna fight me?" The blond grimaced.
"I wonder why they let pricks like him in here. Now this place stinks of jerks" One of the guys said and kicked Jonathan's face, causing his glasses to fly away.
Jonathan didn't know what to do. He wasn't strong enough to fight them. The fact that they had a lotsa metal accessories on them wouldn't help either.
"Are you dumb or what? Speak!" Another kick to his shin and he winced.
"Dude, this jerk reminds me of another jerk.
Remember Zanders?"
"Yeah, all he does is read and stare. Heh" The blonde said, widening his eyes with his fingers for the last part and the others started to laugh.
Jonathan vaguely wondered who they were talking about. Anyhow, they were so enjoying dissing the guy, that they had forgotten about the poor little Jonathan at their feet.
"Hehe. I bet he runs to his mama everytime he is sad"
"Duude! That was dark!" Everyone erupted into laughter, momentarily appreciating the guy who "cracked the joke" with a pat on the shoulder.
Really, what was so funny about it in the first place?!
Jonathan couldn't see clearly without his glasses. Everything was a blur. And the excess sunlight didn't help either. But he noticed something behind the laughing group of boys.
They probably haven't noticed the presence of the guy behind them, having their eyes screwed shut from laughing too hard.
When the laughter died down and the blond looked down at Jonathan, he saw him staring past them.
"Whatcha looking at, you scum?" He lowered himself and gave Jonathan a tiny knock on his nose. It was a tiny knock, but it still hurt.
When Jonathan continued to gaze behind him, the blond turned around to see what's up.
He flinched back and Jonathan noticed everyone go visibly pale. "H-hey Addie!" The blond stuttered out and looked at his friends.
"You know, we were just joking before, really, didn't mean anything"
Jonathan could only make out a blurry image of the guy. He seemed like he had his backpack slung over one shoulder and a book on the other hand. He was glaring daggers at the boys who was stuttering infront of him.
And Jonathan couldn't really understand why he should be so hurt just because they said he might run to his mom when he's sad. Sure, he does that too. His mom is the only person who could comfort him when he is sad. So, what's the big deal?
He dragged himself closer to his glasses and shook off the dust off of it and put it on his nose, trying to get a better view of everything.
The other guys had already ran away and it was just him and the guy.
Jonathan gazed up at him and smiled.
He couldn't understand why he was staring down at him. He opened his mouth to mutter out a thanks, but the guy just walked away, clicking his tongue.
Now, that was rude!
Jonathan watched his retreating back in confusion.
He was sure about one thing, if it wasn't for the guy, those idiots would have still been picking on him, talking shit. And he didn't even get a chance to thank him. He really needed to make it upto him.
With that in mind, Jonathan rose from the ground, flinching a little at his aching back and started walking towards the exit of the school.