Casey and Me

When is too far, too far?

It was a day just like any other. I got up, showered, dressed, had breakfast, and set off to school in the pouring rain, just as I'd done pretty much all my life. 

But even though I didn't know it at the time, today was going to be very different. And it all started when I got to school to find that my favourite maths teacher, Miss Twelvetrees, had called in sick thanks to the flu currently going around. That meant poor Mr Rodriguez, who knew absolutely nothing about maths, had to take over. His way of dealing with it; put on some old TV shows and leave us to our own devices. This gave most of the class the perfect opportunity to goof off. I, on the other hand, decided it was a good time to finally get my essay finished so Mrs  Smyth wouldn't have my hide for turning in another late piece of work.

Naturally, this gave someone else a perfect opportunity of their own. Jade Mertens was easily one of the most popular girls in school. And the meanest. Most of the students had learned to either ignore her or give her a wide berth, and when she got no reaction out of them, she moved on to another hapless target. I was her latest and longest-lasting victim, simply because I was the "odd one out", so to speak. I liked reading, and was very into crafty things. No one else seemed to mind, but Jade did, and I was soon the target of endless mean-spirited pranks. I never fought back, because my dad had taught me that the best reaction was no reaction. This only served to piss Jade off even more, and the pranks ramped up to covert assault; "accidental" trippings, elbow shoves, shoulder checks, and the like. But again, I gave her no reaction. So far as I was concerned, she was just venting out her own insecurities, and getting a massive power trip out of inflicting torment on someone who really didn't wish her harm in the slightest. 

Today, however, Jade was really bound and determined to get a rise out of me. How? 

I'm just going to say it involved a pencil. Which she then used to poke me. Repeatedly. I ignored her and focused on the TV, which got her angry. The other students watched nervously and whispered amongst themselves, while Mr Rodriguez did his best to try and defuse the situation. Only, his method of defusing involved gently asking Jade if she could please stop poking me with the pencil, as it was clearly distressing me. It wasn't - it was more of a nuisance than anything else - but his method wasn't really working. Since he was such an ineffective disciplinarian, all it did was get Jade to increase her efforts. 

And then she went too far. 

By the time the red fog cleared from my vision, Jade was on the floor, clutching at a broken nose. I was also on the floor, curled up in agony, sobbing as one student held a handkerchief to my left eye, while another was holding my hand, allowing me to grip on as tightly as I wanted. More students were giving Jade the third degree, while Mr Rodriguez finally showed some backbone and practically tossed her out of the classroom once she was able to stand. 

And that was how we wound up in the principal's office at the end of the day. Jade's nose had been bandaged up, and she glared at me in pure hatred. I was in too much pain to care - the pencil she had used to try and poke me in the eye lay snapped in two on the principal's desk, and by the time the last witness had trudged out, he gave Jade a glare so cold it could've frozen Krakatoa twice over. 

"You're very lucky you didn't cause her to lose sight in her eye," he said sternly. "I'd say a broken nose is a very light punishment."

"I'm going to sue!" Jade cried.

"I know the name of a good attorney," I muttered sarcastically. Mr Nyman sighed. 

"I've rung for your mother," he said to me, his tone gentler. "Go and wait in the sick bay. As for you," he added, turning back on Jade, "you're going to wish it was only a broken nose you were dealing with!"

I scurried out of the office and over to the sick bay, and about ten minutes later, Mum came stalking in, eyes blazing. "Where is she?" she demanded. 

"In Mr Nyman's office, getting a spectacular telling off," I said. I managed a grin. "Her mum's pissed, but her dad is furious." Mr Mertens had a very loud voice for such a short man, and he was using some really choice words. Jade was probably going to be feeling very sorry for herself by the time her dad was through. Mr Mertens had lost an eye in a workplace accident through sheer carelessness on the part of his coworker; to hear that his daughter had attempted something of this nature, all to get a rise out of me, had hit way too close to home for him to brush it off as yet another "silly bitch-fight. 

Mum nodded curtly. "I've got some words of my own for her," she said angrily, running a gentle hand through my hair. "But given the shouting I heard when I got here, I don't think my contribution is going to help."

"Probably not," I agreed, wincing as I stood. My eye really was starting to sting. "Can we stop in at the doctor's on the way home?"

"I booked an appointment as soon as I got the call from the school," Mum assured me, taking my elbow as I swayed, reaction having finally set in now that the adrenaline rush was over. "She was able to squeeze you in after someone else cancelled, so that's a lucky break for us."

I sighed in relief. "Thank God."

I had less cause to thank God, though, when Jade shrieked after us as we made our way to the carpark. "I'm going to kill you next time!" she yelled. 

I turned and flipped her the bird. "Go hang," I called back. Then I turned my back on her and followed Mum out to the car. "Good grief," I muttered, once we were safely in the Mini and heading down the road. "She just can't let it go, can she?"

"I'd say she lost a privilege or three," Mum agreed, before slamming on the brakes as an idiot in a Volvo cut us off. Mum laid on the horn and dropped a beautiful f-bomb as the embarrassed driver realised their mistake and moved over to the slip lane - just in time to cut off another driver, who gave them another good dose of angry honking. I glanced back over my shoulder and laughed. 

"Looks like she's lost some already," I said. "That's Jade's BMW, and her dad's driving. Guess who's in the back seat?"

Sure enough, Jade had already lost her learner driver privileges - and since her parents were still paying her car off, she was liable to lose that as well. Mum snorted as the light turned green, allowing us to get on our way. "Serves her right," she said. "I wonder how long it will be before we get a second-hand BMW as compensation?"

"Provided the tires aren't slashed," I quipped, and this gave us both a good laugh.