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Schoolyard Allegory
by cleaves Sunday, Jan 16 2005, 5:16am
international / prose/poetry / literature

Somewhere in an elementary school a schoolyard bully and his cowardly lackeys confronted an eleven-year-old boy and demanded money. The eleven-year-old had precious little money; he could not and would not accede to the demand. The bully decided to make a show of his displeasure and strength by belting the boy in the face. This event attracted the attention of all the other boys in the schoolyard (who had also been bullied.) A large crowd formed around the confrontation. The teachers in authority, for reasons known only to them, ignored the situation

The young lad was no match for the bully even though he was capable of defending himself. Though slightly hurt, he stood his ground (for reasons known only to him.) The bully became enraged because the lad did not cower when confronted, so he struck him again. This blow resulted in a nosebleed and some tears from the eyes. But the lad stood his ground. The onlookers watched passively but attentively. The bully, sensing that his ‘power’ was at stake, let loose a volley of blows which knocked the lad to the ground. The bully stood over the lad ranting and spitting and displaying a great measure of rage – but the lad regained his feet and stood again to face the bully. The other boys were amazed at this show of defiance and instinctively moved closer. The bully was furious; he launched another volley of blows that again knocked the lad to the ground – but this time the bully starting kicking the lad while he was down. Small groans and gasps could be heard from the crowd of boys.

The cowardly lackeys became uneasy. But the bully was far too involved with himself to notice anything – he continued to kick and rant until one of the onlookers said "leave him alone!" This remark distracted the bully from his assault. He glared into the crowd looking for the boy who made the remark. "Who said that?" he screamed, but no one replied; so he chose a boy who’s appearance he had never liked and started belting him.

Meanwhile, our lad (who was bleeding profusely) regained his feet and went after the bully. He grabbed his arm and quietly said "leave him alone." The bully turned and stared, confronting not only the eyes of our badly hurt lad, but all the boys he had previously bullied. The lackeys, sensing the inevitable, attempted to depart but were prevented by the crowd. The other lad the bully assaulted seized the opportunity and crouched behind the bully’s legs; it was an easy matter for our lad to push the bully off his feet. No sooner had he hit the ground (all) the other boys attacked. I would rather not describe what occurred next – but human nature being what it is, combined with the hatred the bully had engendered over the years, culminated in a severe beating – you can well imagine. The bully and his cowardly lackeys were hospitalised and did not return to that school. Our lad became a friend to all and peace returned to the schoolyard.

Footnote:
I had not mentioned that the teachers in authority did finally act. Preventative measures were implemented in order to avoid future calamities.


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