tackling bullies

I walked into the school building, dreading every single step I took into it. I pushed the big and heavy school gate open and looked at the school compound I was once mesmerized with. Not because of the way it was beautified but because of its size.

I walked slowly into the classroom as I came to school early. Luckily for me, no one in my class had arrived yet so I had some alone time to myself.

I dragged my locker to the back of the class and put Chiamaka's locker where mine once was.

"If only I had done this earlier my locket would still be intact" I thought, sadly.

I had initially planned to bring out my JSS 1 and JSS 2 books to read for my junior WAEC but I dropped that and instead began to think of how to solve my bullying problem.

I knew I was a shy person, I was always a shy person but somewhere Inside me, I thought myself as tough and confident. That was until I had to face bullying problems.

I had almost forgot the school had a guidance counselor and she was in school that morning already.

I walked up to her office and knocked gently on the door.

"Come in!" I heard her say.

The school's guidance counselor was a lady who looked like she was in her early thirties.

She, apparently, lived in California for a few years and returned back to Nigeria to help her sick mother in the village and for some reason, her mother forbade her from going back to America, so she stayed and now she's our school's guidance counselor, so I heard.

"Good morning ma, sorry for disturbing you by this time" I said, as I gradually walked inside.

"No, no. It's alright. Is there a problem?" She asked me.

"Umm, ma, how do does a person stop others from bullying him/her and stand up for his/herself despite being shy... Hypothetically speaking, that is" I said.

She nodded and said "Well, first off, some bullies weren't always bullies. Some, on the other hand, always bullied and intimidated others because it's become a habit of theirs. Their just naturally rude, violent and whatever, based on their home training. Those bullies who weren't always how they are now were products of broken homes maybe, physical assaults and many more. Some might feel insecure and have low self-esteem but don't want anyone to know that so instead they start acting tough and making people feel intimidated and scared of them, you must not let them get to you."

She paused for a while, looking at me. I nodded for her to continue.

"If someone tries to bully you know that they're looking for a reaction from you. Show them that you're not scared and just ignore them, it doesn't mean you have to be rude though. Secondly, you can simply just tell them to stop in a bold and confident voice. I know what you might be thinking.. it's easier said than done"

Wow! That was actually what I was thinking.

"When they see your courage and confidence, they'll back off, trust me, because they'll notice that none of the threats they make would work on you. Also, always move around with friends because bullies often target kids who are alone or socially isolated and avoid bully hot spots, by that I mean the places bullies tend to hang out alot. If the bullying gets physical be sure to keep your eye on the exit and use it when the opportunity presents itself or attract attention. And if the person, hypothetically speaking, is shy. . . Then I guess the person just has to try to gain some confidence. Look them in the eye and stand upright, don't shake, you can still breath, just don't show them any sign of fear. Then maybe you can say something like, you'll report the person/people to a teacher, parent, any adult that's around. I hope what I said helped.". She said, giving a warm smile.

"Thank you soo much ma. You make an excellent guidance counselor." I said and walked off to my class.

I stepped in, took a deep breath and changed my locker and Chiamaka's again. This time there were two students in class; Stella and Zane.

He's such a good student, he's punctual.

I brought out another book my parents newly bought for me, The Broken Membrane by Felicia .O. Eze and began to read it.

Few seconds later, I noticed Zane standing beside me and just.. watching me. At first, I tried to ignore it. I fancied him watching me at the beginning but I began to feel uncomfortable.

"Zane do you need anything?" I asked.

I waited for his reply but he just stood there looking at me and not moving at all. I think he was frozen. He looked cute though.

"Zane?" I said. He still didn't move.

"Stella!!! Zane's frozen. He's not moving." I said, panicking. She raised a brow at me and walked casually towards us. Then, she shook Zane and pinched him a few times.

He moved again and blinked several times.

"What happened?" Stella asked.

"Umm, nothing" He said.

"Ya sure?" I asked tilting my head to the side.

He looked at me for a moment and looked down at the ground looking slightly embarrassed.

I sat back down and continued to read my book, but something inside me really didn't want to read that book at the moment. I wanted to speak to Zane.

"Do you read?" I asked. He tilted his head and raised a brow at me.

"I mean, do you like reading books?"

"Yeah, a lot". He said, looking at the ground again.

"Can you draw an anime superhero girl wearing all black with pink and purple hair?" I asked, smiling wildly. He nodded and brought out a sketch book.

"You're going to draw it now?" He nodded.

He sat down beside me and silently drew what I told him to. Few minutes later when it was almost time for the morning assembly to begin, Kemi walked in.

"Guy how far". He said, giving Zane a high five.

"Hi Tega". He said turning to me. He greeted Stella as well and dropped his bag on his seat.

"Wow! That drawing's fine sha, but I can draw better than that". Kemi smirked.

While Kemi continued to talk about his amazing gift of art to Zane and Stella, I actually thought about what the guidance counselor had told me.

"Tega can I tell you something". Kemi said to me, looking serious. I nodded and he annoyingly, dragged me downstairs and to the back of the school which has become a place to talk about private things or just be alone.

"Can you stop doing that?!" I said in frustration.

"I can tell you I would but I can't promise you that. I prefer keeping things interesting". He smirked.

How is dragging a person interesting!!

"Anyways, after what happened to your locket and how Chiamaka has decided to pick on you, I've decided to be your personal bodyguard. In school that is". He said, with all seriousness. I giggled.

"What about Lunch breaks, wouldn't you play football?" I asked.

"Yeah, sometimes I won't and other times, I'll tell Zane to watch you". He smirked. I eyeballed him up and down.

"Since when did you and Zane become so close that he takes your place of protecting me. It's wierd". Despite the fact that I totally meant what I said, I still would love Zane to be with for sometime.

"It isn't, to me. He knows what he's supposed to do already. I told him. If he fails to protect you, I'll deal with him". Kemi smirked, but this time, devilishly.

It made me cringe. Deal with him? Zane's too cute and quiet to be dealt with.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I could see Chiamaka, from the side of my eyes, storming towards me. She looked furious and I wasn't the least surprised.

"Hey Zane". She said, waving at Zane and when we were ear to ear she whispered "You're trying me, Tega. I can see what you want. The fight is on, after school". She smirked.

"Do you know what you remind me of? You remind me of Romeo in PJ masks, he's such a cute villian in my own opinion and he always tells the PJ masks that he's gonna take over the world and get rid of them, but he never does. Trust me, despite him being a 6 or 7 year old fictional character and you being 15+ and actually existing, he's has more sense than you". I said, smirking this time.

She looked at me angrily, screamed and stormed off. Zane and Daniel looked at me in confusion and I just shrugged.

I turned behind me and saw Rosemary speaking to Kemi about how many shoes she've worn and how she literally had a golden spoon in her hand when she came out of her mum's womb, he looked bored.

Poor Kemi!

I tapped him slightly on his shoulder. He looked at me and smiled.

"What's up". He said.

"I stood up to Chiamaka today". I beamed. "And now she's gonna turn me to toast after school".

He chuckled a bit "Don't worry, I'll take care of that. Just don't leave the class without me or Zane after school". I nodded cheerfully, feeling relieved.

The rest of school was as normal as it could ever be. During lunch break, the principal had instructed the JSS 3 and SS 3 class to her office. I walked together with Zane and KC, while Kemi spoke with his guy friends behind us.

"I called you all here to let you know that we'll be starting after school lessons every Tuesdays and Fridays from 2:00 PM your initial closing time to 4:00 PM to get you prepared for your junior WAEC. I want good results so the earlier we start, the better" She sounds like my Dad.

When she was through talking for most of our break time she let us out of her office.

I need to inform my dad about this, he told me I have lessons on those two days by 3:00 PM.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I sat down on my seat, waiting for Kemi as he was putting some books into his school bag.

Chiamaka was sitting anxiously in her seat, perhaps waiting for me to be alone. Kemi, Zane, Chiamaka and I were the only students still upstairs.

"Tega, come. Can you lend me any text book in the bigger locker outside the class". She said. I looked at her skeptically, she's never spoken nicely to me and I knew something was up.

"No, ask someone else". I said, not minding how I sounded as I walked towards Kemi.

Few minutes later, we were still in class. It felt like Kemi was deliberately delaying us. Soon the weather changed and it looked like it was about to rain.

"Kemi, let's go" I told him.

We all ran down the stairs in a hurry, except Chiamaka who was behind us. Zane and Kemi were already downstairs waiting for me.

Suddenly, I felt hands pulling me backwards, I tried to run away but they were stronger than I was.

I was about to scream but someone covered my mouth. I began to panic. I couldn't see the people dragging me because another hand covered my eyes. It was both frustrating and frightening.

Someone, Anyone.. HELP!!