The writing prompt was Courage. We had 25 minutes to write.
A Splash of Courage
It was said that bravery is not the absence of fear, it’s feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
I was young and somewhat shy. No one looked up to me, no one thought me brave. I was a little pipsqueak. I was only allowed to hang out with the group because I was easy. Easy to get along with, compliant to others’ wishes, and didn’t stand out.
I would like to say that all changed in sixth grade.
It was lunchtime. The option at lunch was to either go to the lunchroom and eat with everyone there, including adult supervision. If the weather was nice, we could go out to the school courtyard and play while we ate our lunch. Or if we were really lucky, we could leave the school grounds and go down to Junior’s Corner and pick up a sandwich and a drink to have for lunch, as long as we were in a group and were back to school in time for class.
That last option was exactly what was decided upon on that particular day. It was a Tuesday, better known in that school as assembly day. That meant that not only did the boys have to wear ties, which was the norm every day except in September and June, but we had to wear a white shirt and tie day.
That group of boys went off to Junior’s Corner. I didn’t have money for lunch, but I did bring my own. I was satisfied just to be allowed to tag along.
On the way back, our group ran into another group of boys, not from our school. That other group was not friendly. Their members didn’t like public school sissies, which is what they thought we were.
They started bullying us around, calling us all sorts of names. One of them went up to my friend, Philip, looked him up and down, and said, “That’s a nice sandwich you got there. I think it would look much better on the ground.” The bully, knocked the sandwich out of Phillip’s hand onto the ground, “And I think your prissy shirt would look much better with a touch of color in it,” whereby the bully took some of the soda he was drinking and poured it on Philip’s shirt.
Phillip began to cry as the bully boys laughed and went on their way to Junior’s Corner.
I didn’t hesitate; I asked Phillip if he could borrow the soda he still had in his hand. Phillip didn’t want it anymore; he was too upset, so he gave it to me.
Without hesitation, I chased down the bully group, and as I got close to them, I singled out the one who had messed up Phillip’s shirt, took the soda can in my hand, and splashed it onto the bully’s clothing.
There’s one thing to be courageous and brave, and there is another to be stupid. I was not stupid. I quickly dropped the can, turned around, and ran back to my friends. I wasn’t quick enough to reach them before the bully caught up with me and punched me on the side of my body. I was still moving, so it was more of a glancing blow.
I made it back to my group of friends. The bully, on his own, and with me back with my friends, chose not to continue to follow and punch me again. He returned to his own troop of misfits.
All my friends were shocked that I would do such a thing. I’m guessing they looked at me a little differently after that; however, I must say, from that day on, they continued to treat me the same way they always had, just a short kid that would hang around them.
