LadyStoneheart23- Nope.
Legion- Okay… Are you sure you’re ready for this?
LadyStoneheart23- Born ready.
Legion- When I was eight years old I was bullied at school. It was bad. Really bad. I have no idea why these guys chose me. Well, I do, kind of. I was the poor kid. The runt of the school. At that time, I was an easy target.
Anyway, this one day, the teacher asked me to take a message to the head. I left the classroom and didn’t think anything of it. I gave the note to the head teacher’s secretary and when I was heading back to class I got yanked across the hallway and pulled into the boys’ toilets. They must’ve seen me walk past their classroom and they managed to get out of the room to hunt me down. They weren’t in the same class as me, you see. They were a few years older.
My heart was in my throat reading and I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt him.
Legion – They started to hit me, knocked me to the floor and got a few kicks in. It was nothing new. They did this most days. But this time, the main one straddled my lap and forced my shirt up. They’d been doing woodwork and they’d sneaked a craft knife out of the classroom. The second guy pinned me down as the main one spat in my face then told me he was gonna give me a mark I’d never forget. He said he hoped I’d bleed to death as he pushed the knife into my stomach and started to carve something.
It was his initial.
He laughed while he did it too.
I lay there trying to kick and thrash them off me, but I wasn’t strong enough. The pain from the knife made me shiver and sweat and I swear I was close to blacking out that day. Fucker even punched me after ‘cos I’d bled too much and it got on his uniform.
They swapped roles and then the other one got to work, slicing me up. Then they laughed at what their initials were, after they’d branded them on me. I didn’t understand what they were on about at the time, but they told me it was something my mum was good at.
I could barely read through the tears. This was his moment of power? What the hell was this?
LadyStoneheart23- I don’t know what to say. Didn’t a teacher help you?
Legion- No. I stayed in the toilets for ages but they never noticed I hadn’t gone back to class. The blood was everywhere, but I used paper towels to try and stop it. I didn’t want anyone to find out. Not even my friends.
LadyStoneheart23- How did this make you feel powerful?
Legion- Because once the bleeding died down I went out, changed into my P.E kit so the teacher wouldn’t see the blood, and then I found both of their lunch boxes on a trolley in the hallway.
LadyStoneheart23- And?
Legion- And I pissed all over their lunch and then watched them eat it in the playground, scrunching up their faces ‘cos their sandwiches were soggy and smelt off. Best fucking feeling ever. Apart from when the cuts stung me when I tried to laugh. That part was shit.
My heart was breaking for this boy. He thought he’d got the upper hand even though they’d maimed him like that. Probably scarred him for life.
LadyStoneheart23- I wish I could go back in time and help you. Those bullies sound like the biggest pieces of shit to ever walk the earth. If you’d been at my school I’d have stepped up to stop it.
The screen went silent again.
LadyStoneheart23- Did the scars fade? It wasn’t too deep was it?
Legion- It’s still there, I can feel it. But you can’t see it now. I had a tattoo to cover it up as soon as I was old enough to get in the artist’s chair. Well…until I got a fake I.D. to get me an appointment.
LadyStoneheart23- What tattoo did you get?
Legion- A lion. Its not just any lion though. It’s a lion wearing a headdress. Kinda symbolises who’s the chief now.
LadyStoneheart23- I love it. Now that is power. I’m so sorry you had to go through that though. You’re one of life’s fighters too. Obviously, you always have been.
Can I ask you one more question? Say no if you don’t want to answer.
Legion- Hit me with it, little warrior.
LadyStoneheart23- What were the initials they carved?
The cursor flickered and dots danced about to tell me he was writing.
Legion- B and J. Get it, BJ? They thought it was fucking funny to carve that into me. I had no clue what it even meant at the time.
LadyStoneheart23- Fuck. I’m so sorry.
Legion- Don’t feel sorry for me, little warrior. I’ve had my day. It’s all good. Life throws these things at us to test us. Only the strong survive. Me and you, we’re strong. You hear me? You are a fucking warrior. And whatever happens, you will survive.
LadyStoneheart23- I will knowing I have people like you on my side.
Legion- Always. Whatever you need, I will always be here.
And I wholeheartedly believed him too. He’d been there every time I’d needed him.
He had never let me down.
I spent the next few days avoiding any contact with the outside world unless it was through the chatroom. I didn’t want to go out and risk seeing that man. I wasn’t prepared. Not mentally, anyway. I knew I couldn’t avoid him forever, and I didn’t feel totally safe in my own home after the last few flower messages I’d received. But in my room, there was only me and whoever I wanted to invite in.
That was usually Legion.
He’d opened up to me so much more since telling me about the attack in the school bathroom. Turned out he’d been a target for those bullies for years, and he barely left his house growing up. If he did leave to get something for his nan from the shop, they usually found him, and they’d beat the shit out of him. It was always unfair odds too; him on his own and them in a gang. He said he learnt to socialise online or on the rare occasion that his nan allowed it, he went to a friend’s house to play on his PlayStation. He was one of the lucky ones. He had a few close friends that he trusted, and they tried their best to look after him. But it wasn’t until his twelfth birthday that things started to change for him.
He had a set of dumbbells bought for him as a birthday present. He’d told his friends he wanted to get fitter; stronger, and they’d clubbed together to buy them. He told me how he used them every day and night religiously to build himself up. Then, when he was old enough to get a paper-round he used the extra cash to pay for entry to a local gym and used their equipment. The bullies laid off him once he’d created enough muscles to overpower them. He’d grown taller too. See, that’s the thing with bullies. They always target the weaker, smaller ones. It makes them feel big to have power over someone like that, but once they meet a tougher opponent, they crumble. Bullies are cowards hiding behind a front of fake strength. When all is said and done, they are nothing. I told Legion as much and he agreed.