The next day, I woke up earlier than usual, too excited to keep sleeping. I had my usual breakfast with cereals and milk and then enthusiastically prepared myself in a hurry. My mother didn’t miss noticing my strange behaviour.

“You look very excited today, Hayden. Are you going on a school trip today?” she asked, smiling at me.

“Well...” I couldn’t tell her the truth: I had to invent something very quickly before I’d miss the bus. “No, no...our science teacher will show us his...pet lizard. Yes, he has a lizard. And I like...lizards, you know...” Effectively, I had showed interest in reptiles a pair of times: once they brought me to Regent’s Park Zoo and I was more interested in the Komodo dragons and all the snakes than anything else. But that isn’t important right now: the important thing was to give her a credible excuse. I don’t even remember if my teacher had actually a lizard or not.

“Ooooh, really? What’s its name?”

“I don’t know, he said it’s going to be a surprise...oh, the bus is here!”

“Have a good day, honey!”

I literally ran out of the kitchen and towards the bus stop. As I sat in the bus, however, worry finally started to hit me. The possibilities that my revenge would go very bad were far from low, and I knew it. I began scratching myself nervously through all the ride.

Once inside class, it was impossible for me to listen to any of the lessons. The teachers’ words became a buzz in my ears among the chaos that was my brain. Why was time passing so slowly? Would I keep control of my hate? I didn’t know three hours could be so long, even considering they were school hours! I had a mission to d-

“Mr Darce, will you stop scratching yourself?”

This time I heard my teacher’s voice perfectly. Everyone else was looking at me and whispering between themselves insinuations about my hygiene. I began sweating coldly, and that didn’t help their impression. Undoubtedly, that would be today’s bullies topic: two of them sat just two benches behind me.

Then finally playtime came. All the nervousness and impatience of those hours vanished, replaced by a cold determination. I got out of the building...

“Hey Hayden!”

“Oh...hi, John.” John was one of my few ‘friends’, a guy with glasses that loved fantasy books, with whom I would sometimes trade my comics. “What’s there?”

“I wanted you to show this book I got yesterday,” he said, “maybe you would like this one? I know it isn't your favourite kind of story but...”

“That’s Ok, what’s about?” Ugh. Of all moments, he had to come to me now. I faked some mild interest, just not to ruin one of my few good relationships at school.

“Well, the title is Lou-hi-kay-…Lou-hi-key-r-ma...oh whatever, it’s impossible to pronounce, But I read the first seven chapters and it’s a cool story.”

“I see.” Stories with knights and dragons and things like those weren’t my cup of tea: I was more of a sci-fi guy. But it didn’t matter, whatever kind of book he had to show me: I grew up with impatience in the very moment he showed me the book cover. I hadn’t waited all those hours to talk about some mediocre books.

“Sorry John, can you show it to me later? I have to do something.”

“What is?”

“Just...something.”

I left my friend, and resumed walking to the playground, where Richard and Zack were already there, waiting for me. I smiled.

“Hey, look who’s there!” Richard shouted.

“Look? Hadn’t you realized he was coming from the smell? I could sniff him from that tree!” Zack added.

“Ugh! Can’t your parents even afford to have a shower at your home?”

“You guys should have seen how sweaty he was this morning! I swear the chair was all sticky from slime!”

“Yeah, he scratched himself all day! Might have lice, stay away from him!”

I kept smiling, keeping getting closer to them.

“What’s up, chicken?” Richard said. “want to play with us? Go, take the ball!”

He threw the football that was between his feet to my direction, the most violently possible. It hit my chest; I staggered for some seconds, but neither the pain nor their laughs stopped me. I made further steps.

“You’re trying to look like a thug?” Another one, called Brian, said. “We all know you spend your time crying!”

This hurt me a bit, for it had been true. But not any more.

“You may be the next doing so,” I said, plainly.

“Ooooooh, how scary! Run for your lives, you all!”

“Fear me, for I am the weeping smelly chicken!”

This was the necessary amount of names I needed. The hate inside me was now burning at the right dose. Best of all, I felt in control. I didn’t perceive within myself the wish to be able to set them down, like I used to. The hate I felt wasn’t produced by their mean words, but it was the same feeling that had been repeatedly rising up in the last months. It was my new state of mind.

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“That’s right. You must fear me.”

Finally, I felt the familiar warmth in my hands. I raised them, showing the fireballs in front of my tormentors’ eyes, so that they could see it wasn’t a mirage. They were hot, fierce and menacing. I rotated my arms, pretending to be ready to throw them.

The bullies became petrified. They were motionless, like in a state of shock, like if they couldn’t believe how dangerous that smelly chicken actually was. I could literally see the single sweat drops running from their heads to their chins. Eventually, they found the force to make two steps back.

“Is this a joke, Darce?” Zack barked.

That was interesting. When has it been the last time they called me by my real name?, I thought, laughing mentally. His trembling voice made everything more enjoyable.

“It isn’t...” the other one said, pointing at me with his shaking finger. “I can see the smoke coming from them...”

With that, I slowly walked towards their position, keeping the fireballs pointed at them. It was at that moment that those pathetic beings fled in fear.

My mission was done. I had taken my revenge.

It was then that I realized what was happening around me.

All the children were looking at me. They were no less scared than the bullies I had just terrorized. Everyone had just witnessed the whole scene.

“Hayden...what was that?” John cried, in the middle of the crowd.

My breath became short. Dozens and dozens of eyes were judging me with their accusatory looks. My sense of pride vanished. Although the warmth in my hands had gone, I didn’t dare watch them.

I was in deep trouble.

Suddenly, the bell finally announced the end of playtime. My schoolmates, who normally would do their best to remain those two extra minutes, raced to get back to class. Had I tried to get back with them, they would have run.

I tried to convince myself I didn’t care at all. I was a solitary child anyway, so why bother? All I needed in my life was Darrell and my parents. Sure, maybe John wouldn’t talk to me any more, but for me, he was only someone to spend time with in the morning.

But that wasn’t true. My first emotion was fear. I was going to face consequences for sure, and it was hard to foresee which ones. Plus, the accusatory looks of the children, the way they were terrorized by me, didn’t feel good. Not at all.

I walked in the school corridors in complete loneliness. I was just about to open my class’ door, when someone touched my shoulder. I turned my back. It was my English teacher.

“The headmaster wants to talk with you, Mr Darce,” she announced.

“Why?” I said, trembling.

“I think you know why. Follow me.”

Yes, I was in very deep trouble. Those bullies had gone blurting everything out. I should have seen that coming: how stupid was I?

The corridors felt much longer than normal. What had they told the teachers, exactly? Had anyone else reported what happened too? What had they said? Had they mentioned the fireballs, or something else? And if they’d mentioned them, did the teachers believe their story?

I would discover all the answers now. We had arrived. My teacher opened the door.

“Mr Darce for you,” she said ceremoniously.

“Thank you, Miss Wallace,” the headmaster, a thin, bald man, said. “Please sit down.”

I obeyed. The headmaster looked at me for some moments, like for studying me. I couldn’t even perceive if I was sweating or not.

“So Mr Darce, I was informed you threatened two of your schoolmates during playtime.”

“I...” I gasped, making an effort to make words come out of my mouth. “I didn’t do anything.”

Banal. Too banal. But that was the best my mind was able to produce.

The headmaster assumed a more concerned look. “They have said that you walked towards them and then you did something, but I didn’t understand very well what you did exactly. They said you threatened to set them on fire, or something similar. Is this true?”

“It...it isn’t,” I blabbed.

The headmaster didn’t look impressed at all.

“The testimonies are not on your side, Mr Darce. Everyone confirmed us you told your two schoolmates something like ‘you must fear me’, and then they fled.”

I lost any capacity to speak. I was an open book.

“However, now comes the absurd part. Some claim some sort of fireballs appeared in your hands and you moved them like for throwing them at your schoolmates.”

“Uh, what?” I said, making an effort to do the most credible surprised face possible.

“Fireballs.”

“How could I have made fireballs?”

“With a lighter, maybe,” he suggested.

“I don’t own one,” I protested.

“Then I suppose it isn't a problem if I ask you to empty your pockets.”

I did. As I knew, they were completely empty. The headmaster’s eyes made a full rotation.

“Well,” he said, scratching his head, “they may have seen something else. I don’t really know what to think.”

“So I’m free to get back to class?”

He breathed heavily. “No, Mr Darce. Whatever they’ve seen, I have no doubt that you threatened them, in some way or another.”

“But I didn’t...”

“It’s your word against a good number of witnesses. Also, you’ve been really nervous all the time I’ve talked to you.”

“Sir, I swear I didn’t do anything that involves fire!” I shouted.

“For now I believe you, because there’s not enough evidence, so I can’t really take any provisions by my side, but I must ask your teachers to put you in detention. As for me, I’ll have to inform your parents anyway.”

* * *

Once home, I spent that whole afternoon in my room, wishing desperately to meet Darrell. Not to seek comfort though, but to discuss with him. What was next, now that I did my mission? Had it been worth it, now that all the adults around me were against me? What were his plans?

But I wouldn’t meet him today. As I went back from school, my parents, who had received the headmaster’s call, were ready for action. At least one hour of awful discussion followed, in which I’d try to convince them I hadn’t done anything menacing, with the same success I had obtained with the headmaster.

But they had one more point.

“Hayden, I don’t know what’s happening to you, and I’m not even sure what you actually did today,” my dad said, “but I must confess it. Since you and Darrell have been going out together to those trips you’ve not been yourself.”

“W...what do you mean?”

“You’ve become colder. I mean, we know you’ve always wanted tranquillity, and that’s ok, although we wished you had more friends. But now you’re hardly ever talking and sometimes you don’t even answer us. I don’t even remember the last time you smiled, damn!”

“Dad is right, Hayden. We’ve always trusted Darrell because he’s our friend, but we must ask you–what do you two do exactly, when you’re out?”

No. I couldn’t tell them. They had to be the last ones to know it.

“We...we just hike together...he likes to bring me to nature places...”

“Is that the truth, Hayden?” Mum asked.

“Y...yes...” I blabbed.

My parents looked at each other, with doubtful faces. It was dad speaking again.

“I think it’s better if you two don’t do these trips together for at least a while. For this week, you won’t see him as a punishment, and also you’ll have to do housework after homework. After, I think it’s better if you two only limit yourselves to spend some time together in our house or in his one. I want the Hayden I know back. The Hayden I know wouldn’t have threatened a schoolmate, even if it was a bully.”

“But they tormented me!”

“Hayden, these problems are solved by talking to an adult, not taking matters into your own hands!”

“I did! I talked to you, and to all the teachers, but nothing happened!”

“We’ll find those little thugs’ parents and have a talk! I promise!”

“You’ve already said that a million times!”

“HAYDEN, ENOUGH!”

That was the end of our horrible conversation. I went out and closed myself in my room, covered with unhappiness. But not for the punishment or for the quarrel, but because that was the end of my training with Darrell, and maybe also my time with him. If I couldn’t have Darrell, then I really was completely lonely.

“Do your homework because I’ll check them in an hour!”

I opened my bag, thinking that at least my homework would make me think of other stuff.