Recess: Almost Grown Up

Middle School Hell

5 years ago (Keep in mind that elementary school consisted of grades k-6 at the time, Randall is in 7th grade in this flashback)

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The main hall of Blue Ridge Middle School (I came up with that on the spot lol) was crowded with students and Randall was among them. His mom had to move the family to a different city due to work-related issues. She didn't want to move Randall away from Third Street until he graduated. Normally this would sadden him and he was sad about leaving Ms. Finster behind. Who would help keep track of all the kids? Would she be alright on her own? Those thoughts kept replaying in the back of his mind but he reminded himself that he needed a fresh start. Ms. Finster could take care of herself and since he's not out of state, he could probably visit her on weekends. Now that he moved to a school where nobody knew him this could be his shot at making friends. This was his chance to get on the teacher's good side. This was his chance to dig up fresh dirt on different soil. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the person in front of him. The two bumped into each other.

"Hey, watch where you're going" Randall snapped

"What'd you say to me?" Randall looked up and this person was way taller and older than him. He had messy blond hair and wore a white shirt and jeans that couldn't stay on his waist. His face was scrunched up in a look of anger. Who was this little shrimp that thought he could tell him what to do? The bigger male grabbed Randall by the collar and lifted him. This would normally scare the shit out of anyone but due to Spinelli always threatening to beat him up, this was nothing.

"You think you're so tough? The teachers will see you." This caused the older male to laugh

"I'll let you in on something new kid, the teachers could care less what goes on here. Look," He motioned his head in a direction where there was a female teacher who could see the both of them. When he looked in her direction she quickly turned away in fear. "The name's Kevin and I think I'll have fun with you this year." Kevin smiled and it was an evil one. 

"You won't get away with this-" 

Before Randall could finish his sentence Kevin's fist connected to his face. It was a hard hit. The force sent Randall to the ground causing all of his papers to scatter all over the floor, and everyone looked in their direction. As soon as they saw Randall clutching his face they all scattered to get away from the scene. Kevin Stevens was the school bully. Even the principal himself wouldn't dare upset him. His parents were very well known in the city, hell his dad was the manager of a big company. The school superintendents have tried to take action by suspending him but as soon as he comes back he causes more trouble. Once they even tried to expel him but his parents helped him get away with it by bribing his victim's parents with compensation. Also because nobody wanted to upset the person whose dad could tear down this whole school no one ever tried to stop him. Of course, this treatment and his parent's lack of discipline caused Kevin to become a spoiled brat. 

Randall was stunned, he was too shocked to even recognize the pain in his left cheek. Sure Spinelli had threatened him before but she never actually beat him up, not without getting in trouble. Now he just became the prey of a dangerous predator. Before Kevin could do anything else the bell rang signaling for everyone to go to their classes. He looked at one of Randall's papers that happened to have his name and schedule.

"Look's like we'll be seeing each other a lot, Randall" Kevin dropped his paper and left. As Randall was frantically picking up all his scattered papers someone gathered the rest and gave them to him. When he looked up, he saw an older female with a staff name tag. She offered him a helping hand.

"I'm so sorry, nobody in this school ever wants to stand up to that bully. I'm the new counselor Ms. Paige. I came out as soon as I saw you on the floor." Ms. Paige took out a sheet of paper and began scribbling on it. She then handed it to Randall. "It's a hall pass, you should go to the nurse's office and get an ice pack." Randall thanked the woman and went to the nurse's office. When she saw the bruise on Randall's cheek, she knew that Kevin was responsible. She gave Randall an ice pack and a pass for his teachers. When Randall entered the classroom all eyes were on him. The teacher then looked at his cheek and didn't question anything about it.

"You're Randall Weems yes?" The boy nodded his head. "Welcome to Blue Ridge, your seat is over there." Randall went to his seat and tried his hardest to blend in but the bruise wasn't helping. Still, as hard as it was he made it through the first period. When he went to his second period class the teacher allowed them to sit anywhere. When the classroom was full the teacher was about to close the door when a familiar face pushed the teacher out of the way.

"Watch it"

"I'm sorry about that Mr. Stevens." The teacher said frightened. Randall immediately looked away. Maybe if he looked away Kevin wouldn't notice him. There were 2 empty seats in the class and one of them was behind Randall. However, luck did not seem to be on his side as Kevin noticed Randall when he walked through the doorway. Randall squeezed his eyes shut and was praying that Kevin would choose the other seat but he heard walking and a thump behind him. 

"Hey Randall, can I call you Randy?" Randall was too scared to say no so he slowly sat up and nodded. "You have gym next right?" Again Randall nodded, to which Kevin chuckled. During class, Kevin would flick Randall's head, throw crumbled paper at him, call him names, and use his back as a punching bag. Somehow Randall also made it through the second period. The rest of the day was hell on earth. In the gym, the coach made the kids play dodgeball and thankfully Kevin and Randall were on the same team but that didn't stop him from trying to also hit Randall. Oh, those poor kids that Kevin gave a black eye to. Thankfully, Randall only had 2 classes with Kevin but he wasn't playing when he said he would see Randall a lot. When Randall excused himself to use the restroom guess who was there with him? That day Randall experienced his first swirlie. When school was over he was worried thinking what he would tell his mom. He wanted so badly to tell her but the teachers being scared to do anything to Kevin made him zip his lip. When Randall got home and his mother saw him boy did she freak out.

"Honey, what happened to you?!"

"I-I got hit with a dodgeball" Randall lied.

"Well be careful next time okay?" She kissed him on the head. 

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Over the school year, Randall constantly kept trying to avoid Kevin but it was like fate had a way of bringing the two together. Somehow he kept finding the right excuses to tell his mom. Randall would sometimes fake being sick to avoid running into Kevin but his mom soon saw right through him. When she asked him to tell her what happened Randall broke down. After telling his mom about Kevin down to every last detail she was pissed. She marched right down to the school and argued with the principal. That seemed to wake him up and the school decided to finally take action.

 The superintendents had collectively come up with the proposition to expel Kevin once and for all. It was a tough process. Most of the victims of Kevin were too scared to speak out, others wanted to finally get the justice they deserved. His parents were not happy and wondered why the school would do this to their poor child. However when their parents heard testimonies from everyone that Kevin bullied they tried to bribe them all but nobody was having it. In the end, they were able to expel Kevin. Randall was praised as a hero in the school but deep down he knew. Even though he was free of Kevin, he would no longer be the same.