Day 1

     If there was one thing Alice couldn’t stand, it was watching someone getting beaten to a pulp by bullies. If she could, she would rush into the group of gangly, well dressed tyrants and pummel them with their own expensive and incredibly stylish book bags. Unfortunately, she was also someone who was more comfortable curled up in the safety of a library than in the midst of an intimidating bunch of bullies. She winced as the group’s ringleader, Billy Flynn, punched the boy in the face. Even from where she was sitting Alice could see his playful smirk as Billy grabbed his victim by the collar of his shirt and dragged him back before he could escape. The crowd around him was laughing and nudging each other, shouting encouragement to their superior. Alice glanced around the quiet library to see if anyone was watching the scene unfold outside, but she only saw people absorbed in their own piles of books, plus one librarian who was too busy scolding the younger children on the proper management of books to notice. The high-schooler fidgeted in her chair and looked over to her friend, Heather, who instead of diligently writing her part of the project, was currently occupied with filing her colorful nails and studying the male population of the room.

“Heather!” Alice hissed and tossed her pencil across the table. It bounced off her friend’s shoulder, and Heather sighed as she leaned on her elbow.

“What?”

Alice looked back at the group still huddled outside and fidgeted in her seat. “Billy’s showing off to his posse again.”

Heather followed her friend’s gaze with interest. “Who’s he beating up this time? Oh, I haven’t seen that kid before, he’s kind of cute.”

Alice glared at her and continued to watch the scene anxiously.

“Nobody ever stops him,” she said. “Why doesn’t anyone ever stand up to that…that…” She ended her sentence with a huff and pushed back in her chair. It made a screeching noise that echoed throughout the library as she stood up and made her way to the exit with a look of determination. Someone grabbed her arm, and she turned around to see Heather’s concerned face.

“You can’t just go out there, you’ll be walking right into the warzone! They’ll finish that guy off and snap you like a twig!”

“Someone’s got to do something!” she said, exasperated. Yanking her arm from Heather’s grasp she marched to the exit and slammed the door open, causing several people to glance up and the librarian to stare disapprovingly.   

     “Wait, Alice, hold up! I’m coming!” Heather cried, leaping out of her seat with a loud screech of the legs across the floor. Much to the horror of the librarian, the dark skinned girl shoved her way through the rows of tables, not bothering to notice any of patrons occupying seats in her path. By the time Heather caught up with her friend, Alice had reached the circle of school boys.

     As Alice approached, the fight was already dying down, with the somewhat scrawny, dark-haired kid whimpering on the ground,  and Billy giving final kicks as his friends laughed. Her blood boiled at the sight and before she knew it, she shoved her way into the inner circle. The snickering died down as the group slowly registered her appearance. Billy turned his gaze from his prey to her small frame with an arrogant smile. The anger she experienced seconds before died in a rush, like ice being poured down her back. She was such an idiot! How did she think for a second that she could go up against the most influential bully in school? She wet her lips, her mouth suddenly feeling as dry as a desert.

     “Leave him alone Billy,” she said, trying to sound stern but her voice trembled audibly, squeaking at the mention of his name. She winced. Leave it to her amazing public speaking skills to ruin her ambitious interruption of the fight. She was totally dead. Billy stared at her, then broke into loud, obnoxious laughing, nearly doubling over. It took him a more than a few seconds to compose himself, and by the time he stopped snickering the rest of his gang had joined in, with Alice standing in the center uncomfortably.

     “Who do you think you are, a “champion of the people”, or something?" Billy finally answered, mocking her with the phrase. Alice glared at him, but said nothing. He snorted,” Whatever, this was getting boring anyway. Come on guys.” He starting walking away, but not before giving the boy on the ground one last kick. 

     As they walked away, Alice kneeled by the injured boy. “Hey, are you ok?” She asked, reaching out to help him up. Suddenly, he slapped her hand away and stumbled to his feet.

    “What’s your deal?” Heather asked, walking over to the two. “My friend just saved your sorry butt.” He spat out some blood and glared at Alice with a look full of hatred, then spun around and began to run. “Wait a minute, you’ll hurt yourself even more!” She yelled at his back, but he didn’t seem to notice. Heather grimaced, “Ungrateful jerk, that’s what you get for helping a dumb boy.” Alice sighed, and continued to watch the scrawny figure disappear down the street. Unknown to her, a figure was watching her in the forest beyond the school fence. It smiled, and blended back into the shadows of the trees.