Broken Pride & Broken Nose

This burns to look at the screen, or to move my fingers, but I want to jot this down while it’s fresh in my mind.

It was supposed to be the Winter Social tonight at the High School. I’ve been looking forward to this social all school year. The one dance where no one is supposed to bring dates, and it’s the one time of the year I have enjoyed, because there’s no real pressure when it comes to the girls. I just don’t feel like the nerd I probably am. We live close enough to the school to walk, so that just what I did. I bundled up and trekked across the Jr. High football field, which is connected to our school and then up to the gym.

…and ran into David Bauer and his goons.

Tony is a kid, a year or so younger than me, who for some reason, hates my guts. I’ve never done anything to him. Never called him a name. Stay clear of him at all times. But it gets worse. His dad also happens to be our landlord. He’s a large weight lifter and a successful business man. Dad did a lot of work for him when he was alive, but Mr. Bauer always looked down on my father, openly mocking him in front of others when he thought my dad wasn’t listening. But I heard him. I hear him when he gets rude to my mother, now that dad’s passed away. A real winner.

David didn’t fall too far from the tree. He has a talent for sports and he’s pretty tough I guess, but where he excels is gathering jocks around him. He’s never alone. I’ve been cornered half a dozen times over the last year, always getting a good punch in the stomach or a fist in the nose. Tonight was different.

David and a dozen friends were hanging out on the field, drinking.

There’s no real way adults can monitor this place, several paths leading along the sides of the school property, tons of brush and trees, hills and a large creek to the east of the field. Plenty of places to hide and simply move just out of a parents view. Regardless, David and his buddies had been drinking a lot by the time they saw me and apparently decided it would be fun to have at me.

I never noticed the first fist, but it jarred my head and I lost my balance, stumbling back, to where I was hit from behind and my muscles exploded in pain. My back tensed so hard it was difficult to breathe and I threw my head back, only to hear David laugh and hit me in the stomach again.

All the air left my lungs. I’ve never been hit so hard and I fell flat on my face into the mud. My new slacks and white shirt I had saved up for, to wear just to this dance, were soaked in brown sludge mixed with snow.

I don’t know how long they kicked me, because I blacked out after the few blows to the head. I woke up in Evan car. Everything hurt. When I tried to look at myself in the mirror, Evan put his hand on mine and told me to wait. His hands were cut badly and bleeding. He took me to the hospital, where my mom was waiting. They split my head in several places and kicked me so hard in the face, they broke my nose and split my lip up to my nose.

I don’t have any broken bones, but I feel like I’ve been through a meat grinder.

Looks like it’s going to be a long weekend, so I’m going to take some time off from the blog.

Just wish I knew what I did to make everyone so angry at me that they want to pound my face in all the time.

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