Chapter 4 - The Blonde Boy

Chapter 4 – The Blonde Boy

You should make amends with you

If only for better health,

But if you really want to live

Why not try, and make yourself – Incubus, Make Yourself

Thomas Prince had not forgotten the two boys, nor would he. His time in seclusion had left him in a foul temper, and when he was liberated from his confinement into the corridors again he was looking for someone to release the pent up temper on. The squad had quickly fallen in line behind him as he haunted the west wing of the school, shoulder barging his way through crowds and tripping younger students, his preferred self-transportation.

Uniforms we compulsory at the school, dark trousers and white shirts for the boys, skirts opinioal for the girls. Navy and red stripes ties were part of the uniform, with an optional blazer. The Squad flouted the uniform rules in the small and petty ways the unimaginative will; trainers and untucked shirts, ties worn loose and dark jeans instead of the trousers request. They still blended into the mass of bodies that filled the corridors, claustrophobic and hospital white, the buzzing of the strip lighting audible throughout the day.

Prince patrolled the corridors as an alpha predator. His eyes scanned left to right, ignoring what had gone past him. His hands were clenched into fists and his jaw was set with the humourless grin of a shark. His body was primed for violence, muscles developed over years of physical sport and his aggression honed. He came across a girl in his year, Sophie Janson, who was alone. Like a pack of wolves surrounding the slowest sheep in the pack, the squad had cut off her retreat before she knew she would be needing it. With the speed of a viper and all of the associated compassion, Thomas grabbed Sophie’s wrist and span her round to face him.

“Alright big jugs Janson, lemme see if their real!” Without breaking his step, Prince forced Sophie roughly up against the lockers as the squad surrounded them sniggering. Lightning fast, one hand held her up against the locker, constricting her windpipe, the other grasping amateurishly at the buttons of her blazer.

Sophie gasped for air, the suddenness of the attack staggering. Automatically she brought her hands up to protect her face, and Prince pushed them up and behind her head with one swift moment. He pressed his body against hers, and made a show of taking a deep breath of her long curly hair.

Turning around grinning, he prepared to slide his hand up her blouse, to make sure his squad was watching his victory and her shame. His face was a fixed sardonic grin. He wasn’t attracted to this girl, just the need to dominate and shame her. As he looked at the squad to bask in their awe and adulation of his assault, he saw the familiar top knot bun of Saj Thapa. Immediately losing interest in the girl, he pushed her away and into the press of bodies surrounding them both, and lunged for Saj through the crowd.

Sophie shook herself free of the squad and fled to the nearest girl’s bathroom. Locking herself in the cubical, she collapsed and wept for a while until the panic she felt began to lift. The racing of her heart slowed, but where Prince grabbed her wrist felt unclean and corrupted. She was washed her hands and arms whilst thoughts of all the other girls Thomas Prince had attacked ran through her mind. A few girls who had gone to the teaching staff and even the police, and how those girls had suffered at the hands of the squad and the school and police weren’t able to do anything, and three hours later as everyone else was leaving for the day Sophie was still sitting in the bathroom and crying.

Saj had dimmed as he walked the corridor. It was now the default way he used to navigate the school, and he’d seen the wall of the squad facing inwards at just another of the daily beatings or assaults they dealt out. He didn’t look at the Squad, he didn’t try to stop them. He’d suffered at the hands of the Squad and he was a scary boy in a school with only one friend. He was no hero.

He felt badly for whoever was on the receiving end today, but it wasn’t him and because he was dimmed he was more concerned with getting past the Squad than anything else. At the forefront of his mind then and there was the desire to see through the day and get home to watch TV with his sister. He didn’t see Thomas Prince, he didn’t notice that Prince saw him, and he didn’t react quickly enough to get out of his reach after Prince lunged after him. Prince crashed through the Squad, sending two members, Ash and Linxy sprawling.

Prince grabbed Saj with two hands around the head. Moving into a headlock, Prince crowed, he’d not gotten hold of Saj like this in weeks and this excited him far more than what he’d done to Sophie Janson.

“How is my best mate then?” Punctuating every word with a jerk around the neck of Saj, choking him and preventing his escape. “Did you miss me?”

The members of the Squad picked up their fallen brethren, and circled around Prince. They were focused on him, looking eagerly at the new victim.

“Who’ve ya got there Princy?” taunted Ash, kicking at the legs of the unidentified victim. Prince spun round, dragging Saj around with him to face the squad. Grabbing the hair at the back of Saj’s head, Prince yanked backwards to show the squad his victim. “Who do you think? It’s my best mate, Mr fucking Magoo!”

He slapped Saj’s face which knocked his glasses off. Saj was desperately trying to go dim or escape from the vice like grip around his neck. His face and neck ached already and Prince seemed in the mood for this to escalate. The squad were focused on Prince, glancing at Saj and occasionally over their shoulders.

“Why is it you guys never tell me when this little shit coloured fat fuck is about?” Prince used his free hand to slap Saj in the gut whilst still holding his hair. “I don’t get it, you know this little wanker makes for the best fun!”

Prince stamped on Saj’s foot, and again slapped him across the face. Saj was gasping for air, tears flowing down his face. The squad weren’t interested in what happened to him, they just watched fervently for what Prince would do next, a congregation watching their minister at work. Prince grabbed Saj by either side of his checks with one large hand and squeezed forcing Saj’s lips to part in a bizarre and painful O shape. “Okay boys, let’s see how much spit a paki can swallow!”

The Squad advanced upon Saj, riled up by Prince and ready to try and impress him. Prince was basking in the adoration of his Squad whenk from nowhere, an unknown boy punched Prince in the side of the head and fled. In the confusion, Saj yanked his face and head clear and pushed Prince into the path of the suddenly rearing Squad. Bolting down the corridor, Saj and his rescuer’s speed would have surprised any who saw them, especially from one as flabby as Saj.

“Where did they just go?!” Prince stormed. The squad had caught their leader, but none of them had seen which direction Saj had run. “I’m going to fucking kill him!” Indicating the left hand flank of the squad he bellowed “You three check down there, if you find ‘em, text me!” as Prince flew down the corridor, a whirlwind of rage.

Saj and the rescuer dashed into the library, hoping against hope to find someone, anyone who could help them. Hysterically hunting between the shelves, the two boys found the library to be as empty as they could have possibly feared. The door crashed open and four members of the Squad Saj recognised as Ash, Hardy, Si and Deano stalked into the room. Saj instinctively try to go dim, praying the hunters wouldn’t find him, the fate of his rescuer forgotten for a second.

Saj looked up at the boy who’d saved him from Prince, who was anxiously trying to hide behind a display of a teenage fiction, his large form not quite blocked by the cardboard and his dirty blonde hair showed over the top. Saj was stood in the middle of the room, out in the open and trying to get dimmed and looking at this boy who was staring back in disbelief, mouthing to Saj to hide. Saj tried again to go dim, but the terrified boy behind the cut out could still plainly see him.

The squad were roaming from shelf to shelf, Deano had found a ruthless looking metal ruler and Si was arranging the keys between the fingers of his clenched right fist. Frozen to the spot, Saj knew that he would be seen as soon as they turned the corner. As soon as this ability to dim had come it’d gone, when the door burst open again. Saj silently thanked any and all of the gods before he heard the voice of who had joined them in the library.

“Well, where the fuck are they?”

It was Prince.

The arrival of their leader distracted the attention of Ash just before he saw Saj. Saj used the momentary distraction to dash towards the blonde kid who he was now thinking of as his saviour. He tried to hide behind the cardboard display as well, but it was a hiding place that would not hold up to even the briefest of investigations.

“WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY!?” Prince hollered at his squad, as he wrenched a shelf off the wall, books and DVDs cascading on to the floor. As the members of the squad moved back from their apoplectic chief, Prince threw a stool and cracked a window, bellowing the question again like a battle cry.

“WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY?”

“We reckon they ran in here, we’re just lookin’ for ‘em now.”

“Well keep fucking looking!”

There was a crash as a member of the Squad was pushed backwards into a cardboard display similar to the one Saj and his saviours were cowered behind. Books toppled and another five members of the squad menaced the stacks and shelves.

Holding their breath, Saj and his blonde saviour peered between books to see the members of the squad and Prince searching. Prince had a small dribble of blood running from his mouth, his face white with anger. The other members of the Squad each held in their hands something that would double as a weapon, rulers, protractors, a penknife, keys and a sharp rock. Saj again tried to go dim, but it was clear by the look of the boy next to him it hadn’t worked. Silent tears welled in his eyes, and the blonde boy who had saved Saj began to shake in fear.

The next minute Hardy and Si were at the other end of the stack, staring down towards the cardboard display the two boys were shrinking behind. The keys in Si’s fist caught the light, and Hardy had taken a length of chain used to hold his keys and wrapped them into make shift knuckle dusters.

Saj and the blonde boy shrank closer together, unable to take their eyes off the two thugs walking down the aisle with violence in their eyes. Half way down the aisle, Si’s eyes lighted on the cardboard display, the one line of defence Saj and the blonde boy had from them and nudged his friend in the ribs. When he had Hardy’s attention, they both homed in on the display, Saj desperately trying to hide whilst preparing to run. Closing his eyes, Saj heard the thud of the display being cast aside, followed by Princes voice some aisles down.

“You found them?”

Saj opened one eye, Si and Hardy had knocked the display to the floor as they walked past, stood there, staring at the collapsed display.

Staring, but not seeing the two boys.

“They ain’t here Prince, musta gone down into food tech.”

“Lets’ go!”

In an instant the squad were running from the room to continue the search.

Saj stared disbelieving at the blonde boy. There was no way that Si and Hardy could not have seen them unless they had dimmed. But Prince had seen him, so had this boy who had rescued him. The blonde boy exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself down.

“We better get out of here, find somewhere to lay low until those guys lose interest.”

Saj nodded, he didn’t trust his voice just yet. The thudding adrenaline that had been pumping through him left him feeling shaky and unsteady on his feet, dizzy and elated. He didn’t understand what was going on. He needed to find El and talk about what had happened.

With his hands on his knees, the blonde boy seemed to be trying to get his breath back. Saj took a good look at this boy he didn’t know. Tall, well-built but with a pinched and bookish face, the boy towered over Saj but Saj could tell this older boy was not like the Prince and the members of his violent squad. The blonde boy held his hand out and introduced himself.

“Arthur Killaine. Who’re you?”