This is a fictional short story that I first drafted a year ago. It is told from the point of view of Ty, a “tough” kid, who got more than he bargained for when he picked on Quince, a “quiet” kid. Ty didn’t consider himself a bully, so was shocked at how things escalated physically after he called Quince a name. This name calling had been an instinctive reaction to Quince’s negative body language towards him, rather than a singling out of Quince for abuse.

The story was a quick attempt to explore possible complications to the narrative of the innocent victim taking physical revenge on an evil bully. I also thought it would be interesting to tell the story twice – firstly from the point of view of Ty, and then secondly from the point of view of Quince (see next post).

Ty’s Story

Ty saw the quiet kid look at him briefly, then turn away and pull a face. Quince had never engaged with him, never even smiled. Ty couldn’t help himself… “Why are you so ugly?” he muttered at the kid. He had said exactly the same thing to his brother this morning – he hadn’t really meant it, but his brother had annoyed him and they had ended up fighting… which was actually a fun thing for both of them. Did he want to fight with this kid? It hadn’t occurred to him. It just bugged him that the kid seemed to see him as less than nothing, as having zero value. Quince was with his friend, who was normally very quiet as well. But for once, the friend spoke up… He said, “Don’t mess with this guy, he does jiu-jitsu”.

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