None the Worse ✓

32) 'Realizing Bullying Is Fun' And Other Moments That Often Happen In...

32) 'Realizing Bullying Is Fun' And Other Moments That Often Happen In All-Boys Schools But Not As Often Among Socially Dead Nerds

A lot of things could happen over the course of a break. It was the perfect opportunity to cut off all your hair, buy a whole closet of new clothes, and return to school a changed man. In Ben's case, this usually meant finding an opportunity to use a new word he'd learned during his free days, like rambunctious, which was perfectly applicable to anything Heston ever did. But when the squad was only half a squad there was no telling what would be revealed upon their arrival.

The most surprising thing was that Heston had not brought something to school that could be taken from him when brought out at inappropriate times again. Messiah hadn't done anything spectacular other than some kind of experiment to see how long he could go without drinking anything until his parents forced him to drink a liter of water, which made him throw up and swear he'd try again when he moved out.

But what they really wanted to know was what their ex-members had been up to. It would have been so easy if they'd had social media and posted about their Thanksgiving dinners.

Could that be considered stalking? But then again, even their Discord group was dead. Martin had been the one to bring the most activity to it, but had been banned because he was annoying. Heston's memes were worse and had allegedly caused Pi to run away screaming when his mother took out a belt (they were on a voice call). Other than that... nothing. Martin had been in possession of a few social media accounts for a while until he realized his classmates weren't forgetting to accept his friend requests (they just blocked him).

Social media were for popular people. And furries.

Which reminded him, did Thijmen have those? Probably. The mental picture of Thijmen taking a selfie was too much for Benjamin's poor mind, and so he focused on the task at hand: rescuing the squad.

Rescuing The Squad.

"Rescuing the squad," he whispered.

Heston said, "Day three. Benjamin is already talking alone. The future is bleak."

"Heston, shut up," hissed Messiah.

This would be easier if they weren't huddled in a corner, stalking Martin again. Actually, the very last thing Ben expected to do was to stalk him, especially while wearing a Pikachu mask.

Martin was alone.

He was always alone, so this wasn't a novelty. Nobody had really thought of what to do once they'd detected him. That's where the problem lay. Could they use Thijmen again?

"Let's use Thijmen again."

Since Messiah and Heston couldn't come up with a better plan, they agreed upon Benjamin's, and together, they went in search of the Dutch boy. In a few weeks, lunch break had become the time when they carried out missions of great importance. So far, they had been relatively successful—if one could call an incomplete friend group a success—but this would be the start of a new era. This would be the moment where the squad reunited again with a stronger, more powerful bond as they beat up an—

"Ah."

Messiah and Heston stopped walking. "What is it, Ben?" asked the former.

Benjamin's eyes were wide. "I'm a genius."

"What."

"I. Am. A. Genius."

Heston said, "Day three. Benjamin is already hallucinating."