Page 23 of Nineteen Letters

I’d never experienced anger like I did in that moment. I had no idea how, but Larry Wilson was going to pay for what he’d done to you.

Manoeuvring you over to the large bench seat by the wall, I sat you down. “Do you like ham, cheese and lettuce?” I asked you.

“Yes,” you sniffled, wiping the tears from your face.

After unwrapping my sandwich, I passed half to you. You were lucky it was a Monday; my mum always bought meat from the deli on Sundays. It usually only lasted until midweek, so the rest of the days all I got was boring old Vegemite.

Once we’d finished eating, I walked you back to your friends before going in search of ‘The Looter’. I was running on pure adrenaline. A clear-thinking Braxton wouldn’t have even entertained the idea of taking on the school giant, but that’s what seeing you upset did to me.

I briefly rethought my plan the moment I was standing in front of him. He was almost as wide as he was tall and towered over me. But then I remembered your tear-stained face, and that was enough to give me the courage to take him on.

I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath before I spoke. “Why did you steal Jemma’s lunch?” I asked.

He laughed and pushed me in the chest, making me stumble. “Get out of my face, loser,” he growled, and something inside me snapped.

Lunging at him, I threw my arms around his waist, ramming my shoulder into his stomach. The adrenaline coursing through my veins made me feel invincible.

I heard the loud gasps from the other students when Larry landed on the muddy ground with a thud. I was now on top of him. A few kids chanted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”, and it didn’t take long for a large crowd to gather.

My eyes briefly locked with his, and the anger I could see reflecting back at me, only spurred me on further. He was probably going to gobble me up, just like he had your lunch, but I wasn’t going down without a fight.

When he tried to wriggle out from underneath me, I pulled him into a headlock. I was actually surprised by my own strength.

“You like stealing food from little girls?” I said as I reached for a handful of mud. The moment he opened his mouth to speak, I shoved the mud into his gob. The more he tried to protest, the more mud I forced into his mouth.

“Get off me,” he said in a muffled cry, as tears leaked from his eyes. He wasn’t so tough now.

“Not until you swallow it.”

I’d never done anything so mean before, but he had this coming.

The crowd started to point and laugh as ‘The Looter’ struggled to swallow the mud in his mouth. A part of me felt sorry for him, but the pain he had inflicted on the other students over the years far outweighed what washappening to him in that moment. I always knew it would only be a matter of time before he pushed someone too far. I just never thought that someone would be me.

“Hey, break this up.” The teacher on playground duty grabbed hold of the back of my shirt, pulling me to my feet. “Go to the principal’s office immediately!”

I knew I was in big trouble, but it was worth it. To this day, I still remember the awe on people’s faces as I stood tall and walked away from the scene, ready to receive my punishment. For those few minutes, I felt like the king of the world.

Because this was a first offence for me, the school didn’t contact my parents. I did, however, receive lunchtime detention for the rest of the week. It was a small price to pay. After that day he never picked on you again.

I’ll never forget the feeling I got when I left the classroom after my first day of detention, because I found you in the corridor just outside my lunchtime prison, sitting on the floor by the wall with your legs crossed. You looked so lost and sad.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as I helped you to your feet.

“It’s my fault you’re in trouble.”

“No, it’s not, Jem. You didn’t make him eat mud.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

“Yes. I started all of this, it’s only fair that I do the detention too.” You took a step towards me, getting up on the tips of your toes to plant a soft kiss on my cheek. “I’ll never forget what you did for me, Brax.”

I’m pretty sure that’s the exact moment I fell in love with you. It was evident that you cared about me, and you have no idea how much I needed someone like you in my life. It was comforting to know that you had my back, just like I had yours.

We became inseparable after that day. I had only taken the risk to protect you, and had no idea I would come out the other end as the school legend. I would’ve done it again in a heartbeat for you, Jem. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.

That day our bond was cemented in stone forever.