By:Jerry

It was a beautiful day during the summertime, it was warm, the air was crisp and refreshing. The skyline was baby blue without a cloud in sight, the leaves of the trees a shade of green so deep they were almost black. Arrays of houses stood in front of my window, various birds perched on the branches and chirped in a singsong. It seemed like a perfect day, but I was beginning to dread mine. I started to dress and get ready for the school day. I quickly made my breakfast, I dumped cereal then, milk in my bowl. Then, I started to slurp it down, I heard a loud thump behind me. I turned to see what it could be and saw my mom coming down the stairs.

“Thomas it’s time go!” Mom shouted.

    “Okay,” I replied.

She handed me my backpack with my lunch and escorted me outside. As I rolled myself forward I covered ground until I  came to a halt where the bus picks me up. She stood beside me until the school bus was in view. Mom waved goodbye and went back into the house. The yellow and black markings of the bus were unmistakable and the gazes of the children out the window were as if they scorned me. The bus screeched to a stop in front of me and the door opened with a “creak”. The bus driver started to flick buttons and at the back of the bus sections of the walls of the bus slid apart and a ramp descended until it touched the pavement. I saw this happen too many times in my life. The bus driver’s name was Ray.

     The retired war vet was always nice to me, he served 6 years in the military and had gone in 3 years worths of a tour of duty, he had served in Afghanistan and other middle eastern countries. Ray was a well-decorated soldier and he knew hardship, his skin was tanned and his body was well built and sturdy. His brown hair was turning grey a clear sign of aging, his eyes were a shade of light brown and his face was well shaven. Ray pushed my wheelchair towards the contraption that allows me to board the bus, he strapped me in to ensure my safety and elevated me onto the bus.

I was born missing a leg and I always hated my lack of mobility. Our family was saving up money for a prosthetic leg, those contraptions weren’t cheap and cost somewhere in the ten thousand for a high-quality one. Mom said I was getting one next week and I can’t wait. The ride was a blur, I passed through suburban neighborhoods and an endless sea of greenery. When the bus arrived at my school all the other kids flooded out the bus door in a sea of colors. Ray flicked some buttons and the bus walls slid apart and descended me to pavement level. Ray walked down the bus steps and started to unbuckle everything and I was free. He patted me on the back “have a good day Thomas,” Ray said.

  “Thanks,” I replied as I rolled towards the front door.I spotted something, my worst fear Justin Jones. The 8th grader wore a smug smile on his face. His sandy blond hair was styled neatly and his electric blue eyes were evenly spaced apart. His sturdy jawline went well with his well defined facial features. His skin was tanned, it was as if he spent all his free time suntanning. He had a phone in hand and earbuds stuck out his ear, I cannot describe how wealthy this guy is. The kid was rich, he wore a new outfit every day, Air Jordan 1s on his feet and designer clothing. Justin was the popular kid around here, everyone in middle school knew him as the guy who threw house parties frequently. All the popular kids were invited, due to that everyone wanted to get on his good side to fit in with the crowd.

It was wasn’t because I was never was invited to his parties, but rather the tough guy act that he put every time he was near me to impress others. He’d grab and throw my school supplies, mimic my movements, tell some jokes about cripples and just torment my life. I saw a group of kids crowd around Justin, his friends I’d wager. Handshakes were exchanged and high fives were given, those were the pretenders. Those who suck up to Justin for a free entry to his parties.

   As I rolled into the school a hand suddenly pushed me forward, I attempted to halt but there was just too much force. I veered out of control, I almost hit a girl, who rushed to class. “Watch it!” The girl shouted, obviously annoyed.

“Sorry” I murmured under my breath. I spun around, sure enough, there was Justin Jones and his followers almost resembled a cult. Justin’s hand covered his mouth but his eyes were a telltale giveaway that he smiled behind that hand, while his followers giggled and whispered to each other. A teacher came into view, this is my chance, my hope for salvation I thought. “What's happening boys and girls?” A teacher asked.

“Oh nothing is happening, all just good fun,” Justin paused “Isn’t that right Thomas?” He questioned me in a tone that threatened me. “Nothing sir everything is fine,” I lied.

   “See it’s all good fun,” Justin said.

“Good to know and stay out of trouble kids.” He said.

   “Oh we will Mr. Brown,” Justin said in an innocent tone. With that, I just blew my chance of salvation. Well done Thomas, you really did yourself good by lying to someone who could have aided me I thought. I grit my teeth and rolled off I grabbed the keys to the elevator the principal had given to me when I first came here, years ago. I stuck it into the key slot and twisted and with a whoosh the doors opened. I rolled myself into the elevator, the air was damp and heavy the smell smelled like rust. I pressed a button that was assigned to the third floor, the button was dusty and it smudged my fingers with dust. A few seconds later the elevator opened with a ding and the door opened. I had arrived at the third floor I navigated around the halls, my first period was English and my teacher was Mr. Williams. Mr. Williams was a tall lean man with brown skin with black hair reduced to a short trim. Mr. Williams had black eyes and hard features, he was a nice man who took students seriously and learning even more.

    As I rolled into the class, I‘d drawn glances from everyone in the room, he taught a lesson about replacement words. I rolled myself to my desk and listened attentively to the lesson. Mr. Williams talked about how you should replace the word move with words like walk, run and other forms of movement.

This was concepts I’d already had known and Mr. Williams began to lose my attention.Some classes later it was lunch, as I entered the cafeteria without warning there was he was. Justin stood in front of me, I tensed expecting something to come. “Hey, Thomas wanna stand up and walk with me?”Justin asked me.

    “Huh-” I was cut off by his words.

    “Oh wait you can’t you even stand,” He laughed “Sike!” The whole cafeteria erupted in laughter. I hunch my shoulders and took the humiliation and rolled to an empty table, I sat alone. I knew this should be coming,  how could I been so foolish to take his bait I thought. It was moments like this where I no longer enjoyed school, I loved to learn as I wasn’t able to participate in athletics as most sports played in PHYS ED didn't accommodate wheelchairs. Knowledge was my sanctuary and was the thing I held dear to in school. With tyrants like Justin Jones, how was I to enjoy school? I thought as I brought out my lunch. I ate my peanut butter jelly sandwich packed by my mom, it tasted like home. The place I wished I was at right now. After lunch, I had waited till the last person had left including Justin, it was then I dared to exit the cafeteria. After lunch, the school was a blur all I could think about what had gone down during lunch. The embarrassment and the bait I just was so infuriated that this happens everyday