"Muffinboy" Standing up to Bullies in High School

“Muffinboy”
By: Sadaf Sekandarpoor

Alone.I stride down the halls, trying to make limited eye contact with my fellow peers. I don’t have friends. I prefer not to have friends. One more week and I am out of this hell hole. It’s been a lengthy 5 years, but I’m almost there. I’ve never enjoyed high school. It's not that I’m doing poorly in high school it’s just that the idea of it annoys me. A prison for teens to go to for 5 years to learn unnessary material for our so called “future”.

I walked into the cafeteria and stared at the varieties of muffins. The cafeteria food wasn’t very pleasing but I always made sure I bought a muffin everyday. The muffins were slightly burnt around the edges and lacked in flavour. I picked up a blueberry muffin and payed the old lunch lady. They may not be the best chefs but they were nice.I wondered why they would work somewhere where they would get no respect, and have to be around these horrendous, hormone crazed teenagers.
I walked over to one of the ketchup stained tables to put my change in my backpack
“Hey Camtard or should I say Muffinboy,” a voice called out from the distance. Giggles spread through the cafeteria like a gross virus in the fall time. Daily routine. I kept my eyes locked on the floor. Three huge boys came up to me and began teasing and pushing me. John, Joe and Jamie. Three boys who clearly were full of steroids and weren’t the smartest of people, but they were very popular. Jamie grabbed my collar and pushed me against the vending machine. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. A fire started within me. I put it out with a heavy gulp. John and Joe stayed back. I could tell they weren’t as mean as Jamie, but to stay in power you must do things you are not comfortable to do.
“John, Joe and Jamie! Office right now!” A middle aged man with a short little grey goatee called out approaching us. The principle was a shorter than the average man and walked around the school as if he was hunting for someone to do something bad so he could take control. I didn’t mind him but, the other kids made fun of his weight. Jamie let go of me. I felt a sense of relief take over.
“Cameron, are you Okay? Son you really need to stop getting into drama with these boys,” he said concerned. I nodded as I waited tentatively for my mother to pick me up. I looked into the office, and once again saw three grizzly looking boys waiting for their punishment. Jamie noticed me and got up from his seat. He walked over to the window and mouthed the words “I’ll get you for this,” He snarled at me and I couldn’t help but smile. Him threatening me is probably just another snarky remark he’s going to make at me tomorrow, in front of all his friends. The thought of that made my smile fade away. I don’t like being bullied. No one does. I turned back and saw a rusty old Toyota Corolla rolling in. A pale lady with dark long hair honked. It startled me at first, but then I realized it was my mom. I almost jumped for joy.
I ran in and closed the squeaky door.
“Cameron again? Seriously?” she said disappointed. I just sat there in silence having nothing to say. I gazed at the glistening raindrops trickling down from above onto my dirt covered windshield. The rain got faster and all of a sudden the sky was lost of all color.

We arrived home. Today is Friday which meant my mom was going out to Victoria for a business conference, so I had the week by myself. My mom planted a soft kiss on my forehead before gently waving goodbye, and getting into the car. My house is 39 years old. My house is in a dark forest full of overgrown trees surrounding it, it is very quiet where I live. Sometimes, if you listen closely you can hear crickets chirping in the distance..The closest neighbors we have are two miles away. So we’re pretty isolated from everyone else. Me and my mom live alone. We like each others company. We don’t really need anyone else. She encourages me to get out there find a friend, find a girlfriend. I don’t see a point of that. I’m happy right now with my life, other than the raging delinquents that come after me everyday. I went up to my room to get a few minutes of shut eye. I gently laid down of my fleece sheets and snuggled up in my soft sheep fur blanket. I calmly shut my eyes and sealed them with relaxation and comfort.

I got up from my peaceful slumber and immediately turned on my console. I played Call of Duty for what felt like minutes but were really hours. Gaming helps me release unnecessary stress the boys cause me at school. I don’t stand up for myself just because I’m scared to. I’m scared of the outcome of what will happen once I stand up for myself. If I don’t open my mouth everything stays the normal. But is it really normal to be tormented everyday and told you’re less than what you are?
My eyes began to sting. I turned off my console and trudged my numb legs to the washroom. I splashed my face with cold water and suddenly felt awake. I looked into the mirror and saw a scrawny pale boy with big dark eyes and shiny dark hair staring back. I’m not an unattractive kid. Most girls admire me from a distance but never have the heart to actually come up to me and talk. I guess they don't want to ruin their reputations.
I thought of what it would look like to stand up to Jamie. I started to roleplay a scenario that might happen tomorrow.
I looked into the mirror corrected my posture and held my head up high.
“That’s it, I can’t take up anymore of your stupid insults and your stupid little pranks you play on me. I deserve to be treated with as much respect as anyone else. You are a horrible person and hurting me won’t get you anywhere in life. Do you understand how much pain you bring upon me. I am a human being and I will stand up for myself.” I smiled at myself after such an empowering speech. Seconds later, I heard the back door open and and heavy footsteps going towards the living room. My heart raced a million miles per second. My palms started to sweat and my body went cold. I quietly tiptoed down the stairs. I was a fine delinquent soft feather, slowly but surely making my way down without anyone noticing. The smell of cheap overpowering Axe came through just as I reached the bottom of the steps. I knew exactly who was here. It hit me like a bag of bricks.
“Why are you guys here?” I asked confused.
“Revenge. Because of you we have garbage duty for the next week,” Jamie replied.
“And what does that have to do with me, you guys harassed me. I didn’t tell you to come up to me and embarrass me infront of the school.” I said.
“Well we were bored too!” John laughed.
I let out a deep sigh and waited for the awkwardness to pass by. All of a sudden, I felt strong hands grab me and push me on a chair, a long bulky rope was tied around me and a bright flash blinded me.
“Haha! Smile loser! This is so totally going to get a thousand likes on Instagram. I’m going to caption it, Muffinboy gets himself into a pickle,” Jamie roared. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” Jamie asked. I smiled and looked down to the floor.
“Um, Jamie I don’t think they make pickle muffins,” Joe wearily said. I could tell John and Joe were frightened of Jamie and always made sure they didn’t say or do anything that made him upset. Jamie got up from the couch and walked over to me and paused. I felt a hot burning sensation on my cheek. I didn’t realize I was hurt until I saw Joe and John’s faces. They were as shocked as I was.
“Still think it’s funny,” Jamie said with a smirk.
This time the fire in me grew so large and there was no putting it out.
“You know what I’m done playing the poor little dude that wasn’t able to defend himself from an ogre looking guy, who doesn’t even know that pickles aren’t in muffins. Fine I’m Muffinboy, and you know what I’m fine with being the Muffinboy! Laugh all you want. You're not worth my time and if all you think I care you're very wrong. It’s quite the opposite actually. Now get out of my house! All of you. Now!” I yelled in fury. I was taken back from the words coming out of my mouth. I wasn’t holding back. Not this time. All three of the boys were baffled. The boys untied me and and headed for the door. Before leaving John and Joe looked back at me, apologized, and left.

Monday. The tedious weekend went by and all I could think about was what was going to happen at lunch. Classes went by very slow. I couldn’t help but stare at the clock.
One more minute. The bell rang. I got up and headed for the cafeteria. I bought my muffin, payed the lunch lady and waited. I saw John and Joe go into the cafeteria buy a muffin, pay the lunch lady, and shyly walk up to me. They smiled at me and said,
“We showed the principle the video and told him everything, Jamie is expelled. We’re sorry for everything we put you through.There’s four days of school left, why don’t we just try to at least be chill?” I thought about it.
“I don’t have friends. I prefer not to have friends but this time, I’ll make an exception,” I smiled. We walked over to one of the tables and began to talk. A girl with dark brown shiny hair, pale skin, and eyes as blue as the oceans of mexico strutted towards us. She was quite a sight. She confidently sat beside me, came close to my ear and whispered,
“I don’t think we’ve met yet, Muffinboy. I’m Eva.” Her minty breath sent a chill up my spine. My mouth dropped. I think I might have drooled too. Her fluttery eyelashes blew me away as she winked at me and walked away.

I take it back, highschool isn’t that bad.