Warrior (working title) by Shannon Jade Middleton (best reads .TXT) 📕

When I woke up that day I wasn’t expecting to get expelled from my high school. I was in my last year and not very far off taking my GCSE exams and leaving. I had nothing planned for when I left, I had applied for college but I don’t even remembered which course I had picked, it was one that my teacher thought I’d be good at so I just wrote it down and sent it.

When I got to school that morning it felt like any other day, I went to my form room to get signed in first thing, then got ushered into the hall for an assembly and then broke through the crowd of students to get to my first class. I managed to make it to all four lessons before lunch and then managed to buy and eat my lunch before the event happened.

A little year 7 kid walked past me, his big glasses covering half of his face and his messy hair hanging over his eyes. He held some of his school books in his arms as he walked past me. I didn’t think anything of it until I heard a thud behind me. When I turned around I saw the kid on his stomach on the floor and his books in front of him scattered in every direction. A boy from my year, Jack; whom was well known as a bully stood over him having obviously tripped him up. “Where are you going Matthew? To the library to do your homework? Such a nerd.” He said in a mocking tone. I personally saw nothing wrong with people doing there homework in the library at lunch, it meant more time to do other things at home. Matthew simply nodded and tried to get up, only making it to his knees before he was pushed back down by Jack. By this point I had already begun walking towards the scene. I couldn’t stand by and see the blatant bullying continue.

It’s something that I could never stand. I always tried to stand up for the kids being bullied; well as well as I could. Sometimes it was difficult. But this was a battle that I knew I could win because I had had lots of run ins with Jack and he knew what the repercussions would be for his actions.

“Hey Jack!” I greeted casually with a smile on my face. His face visually paled and I laughed a little inside, not letting it show. “What are you talking to Matthew about? Were you just helping him to pick up his books?” Jack scowled at me and this time I let the laugh slip. His eyes grew dark and his expression turned sour, but it made him look funny because of the way his ginger eyebrows were scrunching above his angry looking brown eyes. “What do you want Ajax? Why can’t you just let me have some fun?” I made a curious expression as I picked up a few of Matthews books and helped him stand up, “I was just walking by when I heard Matthew here fall and drop his books, now he has them back he can get going on his merry way.” I looked at Matthew who looked a little shaken up, but overall ok. He nodded to me in thanks and took off in the direction he had originally been going.

“I thought I warned you last time I caught you bullying some innocent little kid, although last time they were at least in year nine, Matthew is only in year seven, how can he defend himself again you?” I asked with genuine curiosity, I wanted to hear his reply.

“He can’t, that’s the point. What’s your problem anyway? I was just having fun.” He stated with a growing grin on his face. Someone needed to wipe that grin off of his face. And in that moment I decided that that person would be me. After all, I had warned him last time I caught him that I would knock him down a peg or 6. And so I did.

He didn’t even see my fist coming as it hit him square in the nose. He deserved it. As his nose began gushing blood a crowd began to form around us. Now I wasn’t one to encourage violence, I would much rather insult someone and throw in some yo mamma jokes; but Jack deserved it.

Jack tried to hit me back, but with blood gushing from his nose he barely scraped my jaw and I pushed him with only a small force and he fell down hard on his behind. I decided to just leave him, there was no point hurting him more because I would just get in trouble. But Jack didn’t see it that way. As I turned around and began walking away he must have stood up and made his way over to me because soon enough he grabbed my shoulder and as I turned around he punched me in the jaw; hard. It hurt like a mother trucker, but before it even registered what I was doing I had punched him at least twice as hard square in his face and he was collapsing to the floor.

At the same time the crowd was being separated and a swarm of teachers were taking over the corridor sending the crowd to the lunchroom and library as they tried to bring order back to the scene. I got dragged away and to a teacher’s office. I don’t even remember which one. I was in a daze; I didn’t know that I could punch that hard and I had no idea what came over me. It was like I wasn’t even in my own body.

Teachers shouted at me, my mum was called and the final verdict was that I would be expelled but not much of it registered in my brain as I was sent home and my mum decided against talking to me the whole time we were in the car, which truthfully was only 10 minutes, but seemed like an hour.

When we got home my mum walked in and went straight to the living room. I decided not to test her patience and to follow her in.

She was surprisingly calm as I took a seat near her and looked down at my feet. I had finally come out of my daze and begun to realise that the situation I was in wasn’t good.

“Why did you do that Ajax?” She asked. I didn’t know how to respond at first because she used my full name. My mum hadn’t called me anything but AJ since I was about 7 and ate all the biscuits she had been saving for our mummy-son movie night.

“He was being a bully again,” I started, but before she could interject I continued “He’s always picking on people younger than him. Last week it was a year 9 kid the week before that was a year 8, and I warned him and warned him and he keeps doing it. Today was a year 7 kid called Matthew, and he’s tiny mum, like really tiny, he couldn’t stand up for himself against someone his own age, never mind someone in my year.” I let out a breath before mum began to speak.

“Ok. I understand. That doesn’t mean that what you did was right. It definitely wasn’t and you’re grounded for a week, the only thing you will be doing is eating, sleeping and chores. You will have extra chores for the week because you will be at home while I’m at work mister.” She finished and stood up and left the room leaving no room for arguments as she went to get the laptop from her room to try to get another school to let me in.

Mum wasn’t joking when she said that I’d have extra chores. Every day that week when I woke up there would be a new list folded over the TV screen so that I would definitely see it.

On the first day of my expulsion I had to clean the kitchen, including cleaning out the fridge and reorganising some of the cupboards that were getting over filled. I got my speaker out and plugged my iPod in (I had begged for her to let me keep it for when I was doing chores because she had taken my phone and every other electronic device that I own. She finally relented when she realised that it only had music on it and I would do a better job of all of the chores if I had it on.) After spending 10 minutes picking a suitable playlist I got to work. It took all day, but I was actually proud of myself when I had finished. The surfaces were clean; the inside of all of the cupboards had been cleaned. I had emptied every single cupboard using the hall way floor as space for storage of all of the plates, pans, food and random stuff that I found in them. I them washed up everything in the kitchen and dried it, putting everything into the clean cupboards and reorganising where necessary, After this I cleaned out the fridge and got rid of any out of date, or questionable looking food then I cleaned the floor and took the rubbish out. I don’t think the kitchen had ever been that clean before. I don’t think mum had either as she nearly cried when she saw the amazing job I had done.

On the second day I had to clean the entire living room including clearing out the cupboard that we kept random things in- you know what cupboard I mean, everyone has one. I did an awesome job of that as well; after creating a new awesome playlist on my iPod of couse.

Day three and I was stuck with the job of cleaning my bedroom, which again took all day. I decided to do a proper job of it and cleaned under the bed, around the bed, cleared out my wardrobe and drawers as well. I even cleaned the window. I put all of the clothes that didn’t fit or that I never wore into a bag as well as some old shoes and some random books and old toys that I found. I decided that I might as well take them to the charity shop. So that was day four. Thankfully a Friday, and mum was a teacher so she didn’t work on weekends, which meant I would only have my standard chores like washing up after tea, and I wouldn’t have to spend any more time deep cleaning the house. Although mum seemed happier now that the house was clean and there was less stuff in random places.

Over the week mum had found a new school for me to attend. It was about the same distance away from my house as my old school, but in the opposite direction. They weren’t willing to accept me because of my expulsion, but they relented when mum told