The last couple of weeks of school were completely miserable. Bruno managed to corner me a few more times, and the girls in class taunted me constantly for having Karen McTree's germs... They even accused me of kissing her! As if. I could barely get out of bed some mornings. My stomach bothered me constantly. My one goal in life was to get through the end of school with all limbs intact. I counted the days, the hours, the minutes...
Mrs. Greenley knew things weren't easy for me and she did her best to try to make things easier... sending me out of the class a lot for one thing or another; to bang the erasers or take the milk money down ot the office or a million other things. She had pretty much given up, just like I had, any hope of hitting on some magic way of making the other kids accept me. It looked like I was going to be, forever, Izly the geek, Izly the jerky kid who didn't like ice cream -- Islington the Martian, as Teddy Whitetip was calling me.
And then one day just before the end of school, Teddy suddenly changed completely. During lunch he came up to me and he said, "Hey, Iz... The guys and me have been watching you, and we think you're gettng a raw deal from Bruno."
I bit into my sandwich and answered rudely with my mouth full, "...Yeah?"
"Yeah. Come on over and eat with us," said Teddy, and he got up and waved me over to their table.
My heart sang! Finally! Finally some friends! Maybe the summer would be okay! I sat down with Teddy and his little gang and they all seemed to welcome me.
Bruno skulked into the lunchroom at the far end and my instinctive fear of him raised the fur on the scruff of my neck. Teddy leaned forward conspiriatorially, as if we were planning to rob a bank or something, and the cops had just walked in. "He's a jerk, isn't he?" he told me.
"Yeah," I nodded, watching Bruno out of the corner of my eye. The bully plunked himself down on a bench at the far side of the room by himself and started eating out of a thermos.
"The thing to do is to get back at him," said one of Teddy's friends from the other grade four class.
"Yeah!" Teddy hissed. "You gotta get back at him!"
"How?" I shrugged. "He's bigger than me."
"So you don't get even with him using your muscles, but your head!" Teddy urged me.
I blinked at him. "What are you talking about?"
Teddy took what was left of my lunch and shoved it in my lunchbag. "Come on," he said, "we'll show you..."
A couple of minutes later we were standing in the gravelly walkway behind the school. Most kids from the north end of town passed by here every day. Teddy and I and a couple of his gang stood there, facing the clean, red brick wall of the back of the school.
"You think Bruno's a jerk, right?" Teddy asked me.
"Well, sure I do," I snorted boldly.
Teddy reached into his pocket, and pulled out a long, white piece of chalk he had obviously takend out of the classroom. "Then tell everybody!" He handed the chalk to me.
I looked at it. "But he'll know," I objected.
Teddy looked exasperated. "How is he gonna know? What, is a he a handwriting expert? Come on, everyone thinks he's a jerk! Why would he automatically guess it was you who wrote it?"
I thought about it. I had to admit, it was a good point. But on the other hand, I knew I had never done anything to make Bruno mad at me; he just was. At least I knew I was in the right. If I did this, then he had every right to be mad at me. "I don't think--"
"You're chicken, huh?" Teddy sneered. "That's too bad. There's no room for chickens in our gang, is there, guys?"
Teddy's friends agreed, there was no room for chickens.
I didn't want to lose their respect; I wanted so much to be one of them. "Okay," I said, "but keep an eye out for Bruno, alright?"
"Sure thing, pal!" Teddy smiled. "In fact, we'll spread out to make sure he doesn't come, and warn you if he does..."
I smiled. "Great!"
"Go to it," Teddy urged, and he and his friends moved away to cover me from Bruno's intrusion.
"Bruno Basso is a jerk," I said to myself. "Bruno Basso is a jerk," I repeated softly, as I moved the whtie chalk slowly across the face of the building, white dust cascading away as the letter formed, tall and neat and clearly visible even from the woods behind us. I chuckled, nervous and excited! Revenge was sweet, just like they always said...
There was a sudden rough grab at my shoulder, and I was spun around. Bruno, chin jutting, had a hold of me by my shirt, and was eyeing the letters "BRUNO BASSO IS A J" on the wall. The message was not quite finished, but anyone with half a brain could have guessed the rest, even Bruno. His eyes fell to my paw where the chalk still waited, ready to finish the message.
Teddy Whitetip was standing behind Bruno. "Told you he was insulting you, Bruno!" Teddy smiled.
My heart broke, and my mouth dropped open. "But it was Teddy's--"
"Don't let him fool you," Teddy cried. "Punch him out!"
Bruno snarled and pulled his fist back to do just that when one of the teachers suddenly appeared from around the corner. Never in my life had I been so happy to see a teacher!
The teacher stood there, hands on his hips. Bruno, lips pursed, eyebrows raised, and tail drooping, instinctively let go of me. The teacher said, "Just what is going on here...?"
Bruno swallowed and pointed feebly at the wall. The teacher glanced at the grafitti I'd been writing, and then at the chalk, still in my paw. It was then I realized that I was still in trouble, only now it was at an official level.
The teacher said, "I assume you're Bruno..." Bruno nodded. The teacher turned to me. "and you are?"
"Islington," I gulped.
"Islington. Islington and Bruno..." The teacher eyed Teddy and some of the other boys, but decided, evidently, that they were mere bystanders, and left them alone. If only he knew! I thought! Teddy had caused it all! "Well, Islington and Bruno, I'd like you to come with me. We have a little trip to make to the principal's office..."
The teacher waited for Bruno and I to start walking, and followed behind us, to keep an eye on us. Bruno watched me out of the corner of his eye, his gaze murderous and narrow. I wanted to tell him what had really happened, but I knew I'd only get us in more trouble, so I decided I'd tell it all in the office, and then he'd know. As we rounded the corner I caught sight of Karen McTree, watching us. I realized with a sudden shock that it was likely that Karen was the one who had brought the teacher, and saved me from being beaten to a pulp! I hardly knew what to say as I passed her -- but of course, I could say nothing at the moment anyway...
As it turned out, the teacher decided he wasn't going to "give you boys a chance to talk and get your stories straight" and he separated us. Bruno and I each saw the principal separately and my chance to tell Bruno how Teddy had started it all was lost! I knew he'd be roaming around looking for me now, ready to settle the score, and I had to do some of my most creative dodging just to get to and from school safely over the last few days of classes. I saw Karen every one of those days, of course, but somehow I never could quite muster the courage to go up to her and say thanks. But our eyes met once or twice, and I think she knew.
Then it was over. Classes ended. My report
card was good enough to pass me into grade five and keep me from being yelled at at home,
which is all a kid can really expect out of life. Now, a long, lonely summer stretched out
before me in all directions.