Making Friends

Making Friends

The middle school hallway was so long, Tim could hardly see the end of it. Taking a deep breath, he focused his eyes straight ahead. He remembered from Orientation Day, that his locker was about halfway down. Looking neither left or right, he tried to look casual even though his heart felt like it would race right out of his chest.

At last he reached his locker. Fumbling in his back pack, he managed to locate his combination. While he was busy, he never noticed the group of boys that suddenly surrounded him.

“Hey kid,” the red haired kid in front said, “aren’t you that crybaby from the park?”

Tim had been afraid of something like this. He had met a group of kids in the park last week and was invited to join in a baseball game with them. The game hadn’t gone well for Tim, usually a pretty good ball player, he had seemed to have butter fingers in the field, then striking out miserably the only time he had a chance at bat. Two or three of the other kids had razzed him pretty badly after the game, mostly this very same red haired kid now standing in front of him. He hadn’t cried though, he did what his mother always told him to do in bad situations, he ignored them and ran home.

He knew it had been a stupid thing to do, but not knowing who or what was what, he had decided on caution. Now he knew he would pay for it, that was the way it always went in new towns.

“Buzz off,” Tim looked the kid straight in the eyes, “I don’t want any trouble.”

“Tough beans, crybaby,” the red haired kid snarled, “right after school, you and me, behind the gym!” Giving Tim a shove, the kid and his friends ambled off laughing.

Stroking the straight razor in his pocket, Tim sighed to himself. “Here we go again, Mom isn’t going to like having to move to another new town so soon..”

Written for flash at Writing Fiction

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