At the canteen, Alex saw some of his friends. He rushed toward their table, but before he could even reach it, one of the bullies blocked his way and shoved him. Alex fell to the ground.
"Where do you think you're going, huh? Are you blind? Can't you see I'm standing here? You just bumped into me!" one of the bullies said. His name was Ben.
"I'm sorry. I promise I won't do that again," Alex replied.
The bully approached Alex and slapped him across the face. Alex touched his cheek, feeling the sting. Deep down, his heart burned with anger. He wanted to get up and punch the bully, but he couldn't. He didn't know how to fight.
Then Ben called his friends over and ordered them to kick Alex.
"Who do you think you are? You're just a cowardly nerd who can't fight back!" Ben sneered.
Just then, a school prefect arrived and pushed the bullies away from Alex.
"Stop it, you bullies!" the prefect shouted.
"What the hell do you want? I'm just teaching this guy a lesson. He bumped into me!" Ben snapped.
The prefect helped Alex up and warned the bullies to leave or face punishment.
"Are you okay?" the prefect asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Alex replied, his body trembling.
"My name is James," the prefect said, reaching out his hand.
"I'm Alex," he replied, shaking his hand.
After school, Alex walked home. On the way, he noticed a poster about a boxing class at Xander Gym. A feeling sparked inside him—he wanted to join. He wanted to take revenge on the bully.
But before putting his plan into action, he decided to go home first. Just as he stepped through the front door, he saw his mother sitting in the living room, waiting for him.