Juza seems around elementary age, maybe a little older. He's bigger than this other boy who shares the scene with him.
They stand at the top of the steps. The bully keeps talking and talking, trying to get a rise out of him. Juza's desperately trying to ignore this boy's goading. He doesn't want to fight.
Finally something the bully says becomes clear as crystal, "Want me to get your little brother first?"
Juza's expression shifts from somebody who wants nothing to do with this to pissed. He clenches his fist and glares at this bully. This bully who was standing right at the edge of the stairs and falls straight down them.
The bully wails and wails and a teacher comes running up.
The memory cuts out and comes back in the principal's office. Juza's mother is bowing her head to the bully's parents. The other kid broke a bone.
Juza doesn't have a single scratch on him, and the bully said it was his fault. Of course the teachers believed it was a one-sided fight. It wasn't the bully's fault at all, according to these adults.
His mother listens to what the teachers and the parents say, her hand gripping Juza's and shaking the whole time. Juza notices and his expression shifts into something ashamed and frustrated. This was his fault, he hated himself for hurting her, he hated the bully's parents for not understanding. He shakes off his mother's hand and runs.
Inciting Incident
They stand at the top of the steps. The bully keeps talking and talking, trying to get a rise out of him. Juza's desperately trying to ignore this boy's goading. He doesn't want to fight.
Finally something the bully says becomes clear as crystal, "Want me to get your little brother first?"
Juza's expression shifts from somebody who wants nothing to do with this to pissed. He clenches his fist and glares at this bully. This bully who was standing right at the edge of the stairs and falls straight down them.
The bully wails and wails and a teacher comes running up.
The memory cuts out and comes back in the principal's office. Juza's mother is bowing her head to the bully's parents. The other kid broke a bone.
Juza doesn't have a single scratch on him, and the bully said it was his fault. Of course the teachers believed it was a one-sided fight. It wasn't the bully's fault at all, according to these adults.
His mother listens to what the teachers and the parents say, her hand gripping Juza's and shaking the whole time. Juza notices and his expression shifts into something ashamed and frustrated. This was his fault, he hated himself for hurting her, he hated the bully's parents for not understanding. He shakes off his mother's hand and runs.