Chocolate Robin by Bradley Robert;

Author:Bradley, Robert;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Published: 2019-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14: The Second Day at School

As Fred thought it might, the bullying started even before he reached the school. A group of boys from a different class had heard about what had gone on the day before and wanted to join in the fun. It started when one of them shouted out, “Look there’s Smiffeeee!”

Fred did his Chocolate Robin imitation and pretended not to have heard.

“It’s Smifffeeeee, teacher’s pet,” called another.

“Bit of a dog at football,” cried a third.

Hearing the word ‘dog’ he turned towards his friend but Chocolate Robin was no longer next to him. Fred looked around but couldn’t see him. In a strange way, this pleased him. It was better the bullies didn’t know they were together in case they started being nasty towards him as well.

Once inside the school gates, the bullies from his class came towards him. Caught as he was between the two groups, he felt helpless. It was then that an idea came to him. If he could play one group off against the other, it would give him a bit of a breathing space.

He remembered having the same problem at his previous school, and what he’d done then had given him the time he needed to become accepted; and the bullying eventually stopped. Perhaps it would work again?

Joe, the leader of the bullies in Fred’s class, came over to him and as he did, so the bullies in the other group backed off.

Good, thought Fred, that tells me Joe’s group is the stronger.

‘Made any more sweets have you?’

“Don’t you mean stolen them, Joe?” said Bill, thrusting his face forward.

“Yes I have,” said Fred, ’but there’s not time to get them out now, the bell’s just gone. Tell you what, why don’t I dish them out at break time?"

The expression ‘saved by the bell’ refers to boxing when one of the fighters is in trouble and the sound of the bell at the end of a round gives him a minute’s break to recover. Fred felt he’d been ‘saved by the bell’.

He’d tried to make his voice sound calm when he spoke, but deep down he was far from that. He wanted to give the impression they should trust him and be patient. He’d stood upright to his full height and noticed that he was probably the tallest of the group. But for whatever reason, what he’d said appeared to work, for everyone turned and filed into class without another word passing.

“I’ve got you a desk, Fred,” said the teacher, calling him by his Christian name for the first time, “but I’m afraid there’s no chair. You’ll have to use mine for now.”

“Teacher’s pet, teacher’s pet,” shouted one the boys who was not a member of the gang of bullies but he quickly shut up when Joe turned round and said something to him.

Fred kept his head down throughout the morning and concentrated on the work set. But he wasn’t doing his school work all the time; he was also busily preparing himself for what he’d planned next.

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