We Fight Dragons (Volume 1, Chapter 5) 'Round 2'
Jam wasn’t allowed to hang out with his friends before school. He was allowed to leave the house after breakfast with just enough time to make it to class, and he was the last to arrive. He slapped hands with Tobes after he sat down.
For the morning-lesson they continued their study of Angles, bringing in the ‘Sine Rule’, springs, and the representation of elastic movement in art.
Jam had to wait until Break to talk with the others about yesterday. They’d all been in trouble for going to the city without telling anyone, but no one else had been grounded like Jam.
The others wanted to talk about two things. The fight, and the girl. In that order.
‘What the heck happened,’ Zach was the most incredulous. ‘One day you break your hand on a board, then next day you are breaking that… anyone get his name?’
‘Niles.’
‘Yeah, and I don’t think he was a wimp. He was a big guy. But you…’ Zach was lost for words.
‘…got bigger?’ Oli suggested.
‘Don’t exaggerate,’ Tobes said trying to sound sensible. ‘But… you certainly went mental on him.’
‘I’m not exaggerating. He got bigger!’ Oli appealed to Zach and Rollo, ‘You saw it, didn’t you?’
‘Um, kinda. But I thought he was just standing up to that bully, if you know what I mean.’ said Rollo. Zach nodded along.
‘I can’t just get bigger. That’s ridiculous!’
Zach had an idea. ‘You know, I read about a case where this woman lifted this car off her baby. Super-strength. Maybe that’s what a happened?’
This gave then food-for-thought, which lead to a pause in the conversation as they each tried to work out what it meant. It was Oli who broke the silence. ‘Maybe Jam has the hots for that girl who got pushed? She got hurt, and that’s when he got angry. Oooow, so Jam has a girlfriend!’
All of a sudden the boys wanted to know more about that.
‘Her name is Zar. Maybe it’s Zara or something. She goes to school in the city.’ Sadly, Jam realised that was all that he knew about her.
‘Fancy her?’ asked Tobes.
‘I dunno. Maybe,’ Jam had to admit an interest, even if it started because she had shown an interest in talking to him.
The others spent the rest of Break and Lunch, teasing him about Zar. It both annoyed Jam, and made it hard to stop thinking about her. As the day wore on, more and more he had the feeling that he had to go back to the city. At the end of lunch he’d had enough of the teasing, and he hatched a plan.
On Wednesdays after Lunch they always did a Science experiment, and if they finished early then they were allowed to leave school early. As much as Jam enjoyed Science, he rushed through everything, finishing first, although he had handed in a very sloppy report.
He didn’t wait around for the others. He ran to the train station, hid his backpack under a hedge, and within ten minutes was on his way to the city again.
The city schools were just getting out when he arrived. He hurried to the seat where he’d met the girls and the fight had happened. No one was there, so he sat down and waited.
He was scanning the crowd, but was so fixated on watching faces that he failed to notice someone slide along the wall behind him, until they sucker-punched him in the side of the head, sending him sprawling onto the floor.
His head spun. It was difficult to focus. Blinking to clear his vision, he saw Niles coming at him, ready to kick him.
The roaring in his ears came back, more furious than before. He made a snarling noise which caused Niles to flinch and momentarily halt his attack. Jam felt like he could tear the bigger boy apart!
Somehow his Mum’s face cut through the red haze that had descended on him, and he heard his Dad’s voice.
You don’t know how to control your own strength.
It was true. He didn’t know what was happening to him, but he knew that if he gave into the rage then he was going to do something terrible. Something that could not be undone. It would be bad for Niles, but it would be worse for him, and his whole family.
As he stood up he drew in a deep breath, and calmed himself.
‘Okay. I kicked you pretty hard yesterday. Probably harder than I should have. So, I guess you owe me one.’ He chose not to mention the sucker punch, because clearly that had not been enough for Niles. ‘My friends are in the newsagent, so this is your only chance. I’ll give you one free hit.’
Niles looked at him confused.
‘But after that, it’s over! Got it? Agreed?’
Niles looked around, in case anyone was about to sucker punch him in turn. ‘Anywhere?’
‘Anywhere. Above the belt.’
Niles accepted the invitation. He stepped forward warily at first, and then too casually as he closed the distance. ‘You know what? If you really want me to-’ He sent a vicious punch at Jam’s face.
Jam saw the blow coming like the world was suddenly in slow motion, and had to clamp down on his rage. He didn’t flinch, and the blow hit him square in the mouth, cutting his lips on his teeth. He tasted blood. It was shocking, but had enough wits to step back to avoid any further blows.
He spat blood on the station tiles. ‘That’s it. We are done.’
Just then Nile’s friends appeared from the street entrance, and with a cry they broke into a run towards the pair.
Jam knew when to rabbit. Niles tried to grab him, but Jam pushed off and literally bounded away while Niles waited for his mates to join him. He didn’t know if he could outrun the bigger boys, so he looked for somewhere to hide. He saw the toilets, but they looked like a dead end. The same with the newsagent.
He ran in the opposite direction to where he wanted to go. He saw a giant paper-recycling bin on wheels, pushed it out slightly from the wall it was next to, and slid behind it. He focused on the approaching clammer of half a dozen school shoes on the tiles, which ran past, and continued in the direction he’d been going.
He counted to ten, then slunk out and ran the opposite direction on his tip toes. There was a risk that Niles knew what school he went to and would be waiting at his platform, if Zar had told him.
Apparently she hadn’t. He ducked into the train and kept out of sight until it was clear of the station. He inspected his reflection in a train window. His nose looked a bit crooked, like it was broken or dislocated. Taking a deep breath, he held it between his palms and moved it back into the correct position. It stung like fire, as if someone had shoved a nail up his nose, but the pain started to calm down after a minute.
His clothing was more of a problem. His shirt was spotted with blood. Even though he knew it was his blood it was still an alarming sight. He had been thoroughly trashed, but had it been worth it? How wondered if Niles understood anything about fairness.
Back in Blacken Green he picked up his bag from its hiding place, and trudged home. His parents were already there, so there was nothing to do except confess and silently accept the medical attentions of Mum as she cleaned him up and checked his nose.
For the first time that he could remember, his mother and father disagreed on what was important. Mum was relieved that he was home safe, and disappointed that he had lied. However, although Dad was disappointed, more than anything else he was happy that Jam had kept control. Jam saw his parents exchange the looks that said they would talk about this later on in private.
He had been grounded before. But now it was total-grounding. A whole week, and a weekend, of nothing except home and school. Also, he had to do the dishes after each dinner.
For the end-of-the-day he admitted to his parents that even though he didn’t actually do it, he had really wanted to attack Niles and it had not been easy to hold back, but what they had said to him yesterday had helped.
That night he lay in his bed, just able to hear Mum and Dad discussing the best way to handle what was happening. As the lights went out that the evening his Dad knocked on his open door.
‘How’s the nose, son?’
Jam held his nose between his thumb and forefinger and gave it a wiggle. ‘Feels fine, I guess.' He fidgeted for a moment, unsure how to explain what was going through his head. ‘Dad, I don’t know why I wanted to go to the city so bad. But I know what that feeling is now. I promise I will never do it again.’
His father smiled. ‘Never, is a long a time.’ Dad sat on the side of his bed and looked at the floor as he wrestled with his thoughts. ‘You know I’m not disappointed that you held back... or that you let yourself get hit... I’m happy that he kept control. That you did what you decided to do. In fact, I’m amazed that you could.’
‘Really?’
‘Oh, yeah. When I was your age I got into lots of fights, before I met Freya. And a few more afterwards,’ he mused. ‘But that’s a story for another time. Get some sleep, son.’
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