The Muddy Seed

The Muddy Seed
Written by Sue Raymond



I stood at the door, covered head to foot in mud. Standing there mud dripping off my hair down my nose then off on Mom’s clean kitchen floor, Mom stood over me arms crossed foot tapping with a stern look on her face. With a sigh she said, “Let’s have it.”
I took a deep breath and began, “Mom, it really started two weeks ago when this new kid, Kevin, started to school. Kevin came to our schoolroom with the principal. The principal introduced Kevin to the class. We all glanced at each other then back at Kevin. He was gigantic. He was a good foot taller than we were and built like a linebacker from the football team instead of one of us. He sized each one of us up with the meanest sneer on his face when his eyes fell on me making me shudder sliding down a little in my seat.
‘Class, please make Kevin feel welcome. He has just moved here with his family, so make an extra effort to make him welcome and part of your class,’ the principal informed us.
‘Kevin, you may take a seat in any of the empty seats,’ Mrs. Glass said.
Relief came over most of the class glancing around thankful there weren’t any empty seats near them. As Kevin looked around the room, he spotted the empty seat next to me. ‘Lord, please, oh please, do not let him set by me!’ I prayed.
I felt a shudder of helpless terror as Kevin slammed into the seat his elbow shooting into my ribs.
‘Move over creep,’ Kevin mumbled under his breath just loud enough for me to hear.
I slid over as far as I could without falling out of the seat. The more I wiggled over, the more Kevin leaned in taking over that space. Soon I was hanging halfway out of my seat. Boy, I thankful when the bell rang for lunch it was my turn to be first in line and today they were serving my favorite dessert, fudge brownie delight. I had been waiting all month for that dessert and to top it off, I was going to be the first to sink my teeth into that sweet delicious concoction.
‘What are you doing in my space, worm?’ Kevin snarled giving me a quick shove sliding into MY FIRST PLACE SPOT!
Mrs. Glass turned around, ‘Well, how nice of you to allow Kevin to be first in line. Thank you so very much,’ she told me.
‘You’re welcome,’ I mumbled sliding back in line behind Kevin’s hulking body.
Kevin took as long as he could getting his tray and silverware. He picked up one plate of food then put it back looking at another. AND, of course, he took the biggest piece of fudge brownie delight there was cut almost twice the size of any of the others. I sadly took one of the smaller pieces starting to look for a place to sit down and enjoy my lunch. All of a sudden, my foot caught on something and … slam… down I went crashing to the floor on top of my lunch. I looked back to see Kevin’s foot slid back under the lunch table. ‘You need to be more careful punk,’ Kevin jeered bending down pulling my shoestring loose.
Mrs. Glass hurried over to us, ‘What happened boys?’
‘Oh everything is all right. He just tripped over his shoe string,’ Kevin explained sweetly.
‘Well okay, go to the restroom cleaning the food off your clothes and please make sure your shoe strings are tied tightly this time,’ Mrs. Glass cautioned me.
‘But…but,’ I stammered. I stopped in mid sentence when Kevin shot a glare of warning at me. ‘Yes ma’am,’ was all I could get out retying my shoe.
By the time I got back, lunchtime was almost over and all they had left for dessert was a sugar cookie. I sat down starting to eat looking over at Kevin. He grinned widely his teeth covered with the chewy gooey fudge brownie delight that was supposed to be mine.
The rest of the day, I felt miserable. He cheated me out of my fudge brownie my clothes stiff with my spilled lunch and of course Kevin slamming me in the side every chance he got.
When I got home, Gramma was there watching Tinie. She helped me change and we washed my clothes. I told her all about what Kevin had done to me. She quietly listened to me nodding sympathetically when I told her about how mean Kevin was treating me and how he caused me to miss my favorite dessert.
Gramma took me on her lap saying, ‘It sounds like Kevin must really be a sad little boy. That must be why he would strike out at a perfect stranger. You should think about how lonely you might feel if we moved to a place where you didn’t know anyone …especially if you looked different than the other children like Kevin do.’
I agreed to most of what Gramma said except it seems Kevin purely enjoyed every moment torturing me. It didn’t seem like he wanted to be friends at all.
‘I know it will be hard to be nice to someone who is a bully, however, remember violence will only cause more problems for the one who is doing it. It will isolate them from the rest of the children and no one will want to be their friend. Kevin might never be nice to you nevertheless, don’t allow the way Kevin acts control what you know is the right thing to do.’
‘Okay Gramma, I’ll try,’ I said, however I wondered if Gramma knew what she was wanting me to open myself up to.
I tried with all my might to be nice to Kevin. When he didn’t have a pencil, I offered him one of mine. He grabbed all my pencils claiming they were his I had taken them when he wasn’t looking. All I had left was just a stub of a pencil to try to write with the rest of the day. When I started to tell Mrs. Glass, Kevin jabbed me hard in the side sneering under his breath he would pound me to a pulp if I said anything. He stomped on my toes when I held the door open for the class. He squirted water all over me at the water fountain then laughed yelling to everyone I wet my pants. He slammed the desk lid down on my fingers telling Mrs. Glass I shoved him making him lose his balance dropping the lid accidentally hitting my fingers. When I included him in our basketball game, he slammed the ball into my stomach so hard it knocked the wind out of me. Yesterday, Mrs. Glass caught him tripping me as I walked by him. He had to spend all recess in the office. After recess, we were coming back to class Kevin bent down hissing in my ear, ‘Kiss your life good-by, you little creep because after school I’m going to cream you for getting me in trouble.’
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. The rest of the day, I spent dreading the last bell leaving me in the clutches of Kevin. Minute by minute the time clicked by. Time for the last bell was getting closer and closer. It seemed like Kevin kept getting larger and larger … meaner and meaner. Each slam and jab he gave me got harder and harder. I prayed I would be quick as lightening to get out the door away from the clutches of Kevin’s fists. As the bell started to ring, my books were in my desk, I slung my book bag over my shoulder and all that was left in the classroom when the bell finished ringing was the streaks from my tennis shoes on the floor. I jetted out through the doors into the street. Kevin burst through the doors in full pursuit. I heard him yell jumping on his bike, ‘Now you die! You little scum bag! I’m going to mow you down!’
I ran as fast as I could. My heart was pounding in my ears. I could hear Kevin getting closer and closer bearing down on me. As I rounded the corner to the alley is a short cut for home, Kevin launched himself off his bike onto my back. We went crashing face first into the pavement. Kevin’s bike went careening into the wall with a loud crashing sound. Kevin glared over at his bike keeping me pinned face first on the alley pavement.
‘Oh man, now you’re really going to die. Look at my bike. It took me six months to save up enough money for that bike. See what you did?’ Kevin screamed yanking me to my feet.
Just as Kevin reared back with his fist to land his first blow, sirens and red flashing lights went off. At the end of the alley was a police car. The door opened out came a massive foot with a booming stomping on the pavement. Kevin’s face paled his grip loosened on me as the police officer’s massive bulk emerged from the car. Kevin released me dropping me to the ground. I could hardly believe my eyes when I looked at the officer. It was Uncle Brian. I am save. Now Kevin would get his!
Uncle Brian would make sure Kevin would stop messing with me. Kevin slowly moved back as Uncle Brian came over helping me up. He brushed my clothes off asking if I was all right. He looked at Kevin booming, ‘Don’t you move one inch!’
Uncle Brian took me placing me in the front seat of the car then walked back to Kevin. Kevin looked very tiny and pale in comparison to Uncle Brian’s 6’ 6” tall massive frame.
‘What seems to be the problem between you and my nephew?’ Uncle Brian loomed over Kevin.
‘See what he did to my bike. And he got me into trouble at school because of his clumsiness,’ Kevin stammered.
‘That’s not what Mrs. Glass said happened. She told his grandmother and she relayed to me you have been harassing my nephew since the first day you came to school. What I see, is a young man who refuses to take responsibility for his own actions trying to blame others for his own shortcomings. I saw you jump off your bike at full speed without any thought of what would happen. Now your bike is in pretty bad shape because of it,’ Uncle Brian went over picking the bike up as if the bike was light as a feather with no effort at all.
Kevin was now shaking down to his toes, ‘Wha…what are you going to do to me?’
‘Nothing, it looks like you’ll need a ride home. Go get in the car while I put your bike in the trunk,’ Uncle Brian said quietly.
Kevin edged slowly over to the car while Uncle Brian put his bike in the trunk. Uncle Brian came around the back of the car opening the front door telling Kevin to get in RIGHT BESIDE ME! What was Uncle Brian thinking placing my worst enemy right next to me? For the first time, Kevin didn’t slam into me. He kept his eyes glued to Uncle Brian as he climbed in the squad car. We rode in silence as Uncle Brian backed the car into the street and took off.
Uncle Brian stopped at the bike repair shop; both Kevin and I stared with our mouths hanging open as Uncle Brian took Kevin’s bike out of the trunk and into the shop. He came out after several minutes getting back into the car handing Kevin a repair slip with PAID IN FULL stamped on it.
Kevin looked at the slip of paper then at Uncle Brian asking with a small sneer on his face, ‘What’s this, a bribe to leave your nephew alone?’
‘No, there are no strings attached.’
What was Uncle Brian up to? He was supposed to be my buddy and here he was giving free rein to my enemy to slaughter me. He just placed a sign on my back, OPEN HUNTING SEASON!
We arrived at Kevin’s house and Uncle Brian escorted Kevin to the door to assure Kevin’s parents he wasn’t in trouble explaining about the bike accident. Uncle Brian told them he helped Kevin get his bike to the repair shop making sure he got home safely. Kevin’s parents thanked Uncle Brian and we were on our way again.
When we were a couple of blocks from Kevin’s house, I exploded, ‘Uncle Brian how could you? You sided with me enemy. He’s going to make my life a total disaster. You’re big enough to take on ten Kevins all at once!’
Uncle Brian pulled the car over to the curb shutting off the engine. Oh boy, I thought, I’m going to get now it for yelling at him. However, Uncle Brian turned cupping my chin in his big hands softly asking, ‘Why would it be okay for me to bully Kevin because of my size and it isn’t okay for Kevin to bully you? You see, we must not allow someone else to dictate how we are to react toward him or her when they are cruel to us. Remember Jesus prayed to God to forgive those who had beaten lied and crucified Him because they allowed Satan to tell them what to do. He didn’t allow Satan’s influence over others to control Him. Because He forgave a thief and had compassion for those who wronged Him, a soldier came to believe in Him.
‘So, when someone is cruel to us it doesn’t give us the right to be cruel back to them for what they have done. We are to show kindness to them praying God will forgive them for what they have done to us calling them to be one of His children. Sometimes they listen to God and change and sometimes not. Do you want to pray for Kevin?’
‘Well … well, okay,’ I replied after a while. After we prayed for Kevin and asked God to help me show kindness to Kevin, I didn’t feel so bad and Uncle Brian drove me on home.
Well, today at school when I came into the classroom Kevin was already at our seat. When I sat down I didn’t get the usual slam, however, he still sneered at me. He didn’t really bother me much at all. After school I was walking home, I heard, ‘Hey punk, where do you think you are going? Hey, I’m talking to you!’
I turned around expecting to see Kevin but instead it was two other kids almost the size of Kevin. I prayed, ‘Lord, don’t I have enough problems with Kevin? Now I’ve got TWO more just like him.’
I ran as fast as I could, however they caught me. They started shoving me back and forth between them then they spied a big mud puddle left by the rain last night. They smiled at each other with an evil twinkle in their eyes, one said, ‘Let’s put the little piglet back in his mud wallow.’
They grabbed me by the arms and the ankles swinging me as I wiggled trying to free myself, ‘One two three!’ and splat!
The muddy water came up around me like; it was going to swallow me whole. I sat up spitting and sputtering. They stood at the edge ready to push me back in as I crawled out of the mud when we heard someone shout, ‘Leave him alone, he’s mine.’
We turned and there was …Kevin! The guys looked at each other then at Kevin and took off leaving me at the mercy of Kevin the terrible.
Kevin circled me sizing me up I guess to figure out just the right place to push me back in the mud puddle. He stopped circling me, and I took a deep breath getting prepared for another mud bath. I closed my eyes standing still as a soldier but nothing happened. After a while, I peeked with one eye. Yeah, he was still there glaring right at me. I opened my other eye staring back at him. I don’t know how long we stood there. It seemed like forever. Then all of a sudden, he turned away from me barking back over his shoulder, ‘You’re not worth my time or the hassle.’ and he left me standing there looking dumb founded covered with mud.
“And … that’s how it happened Mom, honest. That’s what happened.”
Mom looked down at me smiling shaking her head, “God sure uses strange ways to reach people even mud coved little boys. Thank God for showers and washing machines,” laughing making a trail of newspaper for me to walk on to the bathroom.