Silent Rage
By Nomar Knight
A quiet storm raged inside me. Students laughed at my expense. I wanted to get up off my knees and punch Carlos in his face. Instead, I begged him to leave me alone.
“Kiss my boot!”
He had six inches and fifty pounds on me and from that angle he seemed like an ogre.
“It was an accident.”
A red circle formed above his right eye. Blood-filled cheeks confirmed that I was seconds away from getting pummeled.
He tossed the dodge ball in the air and caught it without taking his vicious glare off me.
“You threw this ball at my face on purpose.”
I raised my hands, begging for mercy.
He growled, “I should make you eat this.”
I laughed. As soon as his expression changed to utter shock, I grabbed my stomach and almost keeled over. I couldn't stop laughing.
“Jerome, I fail to see what’s so funny.”
Students circled around us. I heard one of them wonder aloud if Carlos was going to let me get away with making him look like a fool.
Carlos slammed the ball on my head. “That’s it! You’re dead!”
He pounced on me, rolling me on my backside. He grabbed my shirt, formed a fat fist and threw a punch at my face. I moved my head away and was relieved when he missed. The floor wasn't kind to Carlos. The sound of his knuckles striking concrete, then instant bone crunching was quickly followed with loud howling.
“That sounded painful.” I gathered enough courage to push him off me.
The students chanted, “Kill him! Kill him!”
Tears filled the bully’s cheeks. Meanwhile, I got back on my knees, cackling with delight.
Carlos tried to hit me with his other hand and nipped my nose. He screamed, “Somebody hold him for me!”
One of his cronies grabbed the back of my shoulders. I spun and squeezed his testicles. With the second bully’s howling another fit of laughter consumed me. The crowd grew quiet.
Somehow, my emotions were scrambled. On instinct, I took off my belt and rapped it around Carlos’ neck. Using my weight, I crouched over him, laughing as his face turned blue.
A student yelled, “Someone get Jerome off him.”
Another added, “The crazy guy is going to kill him.”
Just as the big guy’s body stopped thrashing, my head got hit with something and I no longer was in the schoolyard.
When I regained consciousness, a paramedic was applying a cold compress on my head.
“What happened?”
The school’s principal, Mr. Gordon, said, “You hit Carlos with a dodge ball in his eye and he beat the daylights out of you.”
“Did I kill him?”
“Hardly, the students said Carlos beat you good while you kissed his boot.”
I checked my pants and saw my belt was still strapped in place.
“Jerome, I called your mother. I’m suspending you for three days. Now stay out of trouble.”
I thought about exacting my vengeance upon my return. I pictured slicing Carlos’ throat with a knife and laughed and laughed.
© Copyright Nomar Knight 2015. All rights reserved.
A Knight Chills Flash Fiction Presentation.
