The Students
Judy was one of the tallest students in her 7th
grade class. While it’s not unusual for girls to get their growth earlier than
boys at that age, Judy had gotten hers earlier than most. The other students in
her class would tend to use adjectives such as tall, pretty, or even large
words such as statuesque to describe her. But her close friends, who knew her well,
would use such descriptors as kind, friendly, or loving – words which focused
on her personality instead of her physical attributes. She had only been in this school since last
spring, but she already had several close friends.
Paul was one of the few students who was taller than
Judy. But his was not a result of early growth – rather he was taller because
he was older than all the others in the class. He had been held back twice
already because he was a poor student. But he used his size as a way of
bullying other students. His fellow classmates were generally afraid of him.
At the other end of the height spectrum was Thomas. If
you were acquainted with his family, you would conclude that he was likely to
be taller than most eventually, but he was a late starter and for now was the
smallest in his class. However, what he lacked in height he made up for in his
intelligence and he was generally well liked.
The Confrontation
It was the first day of school after the Christmas
break, so perhaps Paul was tired of visiting relatives for the past two weeks
and being the “little kid” compared to all his relatives. But whatever the
reason, he was trying to reestablish his position. When he saw Judy at her
locker at lunchtime, he came up behind her and put his arm on the adjoining
locker – effectively blocking her in with the open locker door on one side and
his arm on the other. Speaking loud enough for the other students in the area
to hear as well, he said to Judy, “Hi there, beautiful, how’d you like to be my
girl this year?”
Judy had no desire for such a relationship, but she
didn’t want to give a totally negative reply, so she just said simply, “Please
leave me alone.” Refusing to be rebuffed, Paul reiterated, “Aw, come on, we’d make
such a great tall couple.” Judy responded again by telling Paul, “No thank you.”
Thomas had his locker right across the hall. Although
he didn’t want to get involved, he could sense Judy’s discomfort. So he crossed
the hall, and, coming up behind Paul, said, “You heard the lady, Paul, please
leave her alone.” Paul turned his head and, having to look down at Thomas who
was a good foot shorter than he was, said, “Get lost, shrimp!”
Not one to be put off so easily, Thomas repeated, “Please
leave her alone.” Paul’s response was to turn toward Thomas and give him a push,
saying, “Pick on someone your own size!” He then turned back toward Judy.
Once recovered from that push, Thomas again crossed
the hall and tapped Paul on the back. When Paul turned to face him again,
Timothy swung a fist toward Paul. Being so much shorter, his punch connected
with Paul below the belt. Paul immediately collapsed, holding his abdomen, and
groaning. Freed from being pinned against the locker, Judy stepped over the
groaning Paul. She briefly turned and said to him, “Yes, Paul, pick on someone
your own size!”
The Aftermath
There were a number of whispered conversations all
that afternoon. Judy’s friends all wanted to talk to her and get her
perspective on what had happened. Paul’s former followers, who were never
really friends, kept saying in his direction, “Pick on someone your own size,
Paul.” Thomas heard a continual whisper of “Nice job, Thomas!”
The teachers, none of whom had happened to witness the
actual event after lunchtime, were silently happy that Paul had been put in his
place as school regulations prevented them from any physical encounter with a
student. But their response of closer scrutiny of Paul for the rest of the
school year ensured that he was no longer able to collect a gathering of
followers and be the bully that he had previously been.
At the end of the school day, Thomas was a little
surprised when Judy came up to him at his locker and said bluntly to him, “I’d
like to have you as a protector, would you be willing to walk me home?” And so,
to the sigh of many other girls in the hall at the time, Thomas did so – the first
of many such walks together.
