Hear Me Roar Part 3

Chapter 138-2

Hear Me Roar

Part 3

 

I made my way to the gym finding Mr. Brady standing against the wall fully dressed in gym gear and that dreaded whistle. The first thing he said to me was. “It took you long enough; today the gloves are coming off my boy. Now get in there and get changed. While I go and find some fresh meat.” Laughing as if it was the funniest thing he has heard today.

I groaned feeling the workout from yesterday, as I suited up, wondering if I had it in me, but all I had to do was think of my friends being bullied and I felt the low growl stirring inside of me. One thing I had learned about myself if I was mad enough or freighted enough. I could do almost anything, and that scared me because it reminded me so much of my father.

The other thing I had learned was to warm up first or pay for it later with muscle cramps. So while I waited for my dinner to arrive and I did exactly that stretching out. I gasped when I saw my dinner. Today my meat was as big as buffalo, in fact, several buffalo's. None of them I knew and they certainly didn’t look like high school students.

Mr. Brady smiled when he saw my face and confirmed it when he said. “Son, meet the meanest, toughest boys you are ever going to face in your life. Because son your life depends on what happens here today. You’ll either be a known as a winner or a loser. I know from a fact that you are not a loser, but neither are you a winner,” pausing then said. “Yet, these boys have agreed to teach you how to be a winner.” He slowly walked around me and smiled stopping to hold my chin as he stared directly in my eyes, then growled. “Boys, take this tiger cub to obedience school and teach him how to growl.”

I watched as they flexed their muscles and stretched their arms and rotated their neck. I felt I was watching the incredible hulk turn green and then split himself into six of him.  They smiled as they come towards me, I almost pissed myself because of how big they were. I was told they came from a military train camp and were the best of the best when it came to wrestling and other things. I got into position as the first hulk laughed then growled at me. I had no doubt I was about to die and had no doubt if Dad saw these guy he be fresh meat ground up in a matter of minutes. I ready myself, but the Hulk-1 never made a move just stared at me asking Mr. Brady if I had life insurance or a decent medical plan. Mr. Brady shrugged his shoulders.

Hulk-1 grinned even more and then asked. “Can the little kitty cat swim?” I swallowed hard and nodded. Mr. Brady threw a medicine ball at me, nearly knocking me over. Hulk-1 growled as he told me to run telling me that we are going to find out. I dropped the ball and head for the door, hearing the whistle blow.

Mr. Brady said “You forgot your ball of yarn. Now pick it up like good little kitty.” I picked it up and groaned because it was heavy. I was ordered to run and if I dropped my ball of yarn I will have to run back here and do it again. I swallowed hard and dug deep finding the anger burning inside of me. The pool from the main gym wasn’t close by any means.

I did what I was told as I carried the weight feeling it slipping as I tripped dropping it. I cringed when I was told to pick it up and start again from the middle of the gym where there were large circles where we would be wrestling. It took 3 tries before I even made to the pool. I was hot and sweaty as I put down my ball of yarn. Then the whistle blew for the 4th time as Hulk-1 tsked at me then growled again “I didn’t give you permission to drop the ball. I asked if the little kitty cat could swim?”

It wasn’t anything new for me to jump into the pool fully dressed; I had done it many times earning my lifesaving merit-badge. I cringed because I had to start all over again carrying my ball of yarn all the way back to the starting point and back again. This time I jumped into the pool where I was told too as other students watched me, curiously. Hulk-1 stripped off his shirt, more like ripping it off showing me his huge hulk-like muscles. Tossing his shoes and socks to the side and jumped in next to me, and told me to run in the water carrying my ball of yarn until he tells me to stop.

The one thing about jumping into a pool of water being fully dressed that water acts as weights and gives resistance carrying a 25 lb medicine ball made it three times harder.

By the time I had made my 7 laps I had company finding West, Hank, and Adam as well as my three best friends Ron, Stan and Charlie and several other boys making 12 boys in total. I didn’t know; being driven by Hulk -2 and -3. While the other members of the monster squad took a seat on the bench next to Mr. Brady; this time he had a stopwatch in his hand. I watched as I ran my laps in the pool as they jump in beside me. Each carrying there own ball of yarn and fully clothed like me.

My friends gave me little grin as Mr. Brady came to the side of the pool said. “These boys said they would like a little payback and the only way they could get Justus was in the ring getting some payback for what your competition for what they have done or think they have done to their homes and family or bullied by your competition. Either way, they wanted to prove that if you mess with one of their friends they mess with all of them. Now stop blubbering and show me that you mean it. Or get out and get dressed, because I will not tolerate cowards. And cowards do not belong in my ring of Justus.”

He blew the whistle and said. “15 more laps boys.” we groaned, but we didn’t complain instead we focused on tearing them apart. We had reason and we had motivation as we obeyed. We all died and thought the worst part was over, we couldn’t have been more wrong as we were told to get out of the pool placing our balls of yarn to the side as our hulks told us to strip down to our shorts only to place pool weights on our ankles and our wrists.

Order us to swim 20 laps, while Mr. Brady stuffed our wet clothes into a bag, slung them over his shoulder, grinning ear to ear; as he left us with our hulks grinding us into hamburger. Yelling at us that our competition will not go easy on us, pushing us hard promising that if live and we enter the ring of Justus that nobody will think us cowards or losers ever again. Win or lose we will be victorious. 

It was like we could float when they told us we could take the weights off than ordering us to swim another twenty laps. Before we could stop and get out of the pool. Hell must have created these hulk monsters as we quickly changed into some dry shorts and nothing else as we picked up our balls of yarn as we ran back down the hallway, passing other students as the hulks cleared our path circling us as if we were a moving train to the lunch room. I had a dream once where I woke up in class in my boxers, having everyone laughing and staring at me. This was far worse being front of the entire school looking at me only in a pair of shorts as we were guided to the front of the line.

The lunch ladies smiled at us as they licked their lips as they saw our bare chest and muscle tone bodies. Mr. Brady was leaning by the counter, said. “Its time for your cat chow little kittens eat up, you have 25 minutes to clear those trays and your going to needed it.” We groaned fearing what was on the menu as the lunch ladies surprised us by placing two huge T- bone steaks, double portions of everything: corn on the cob and mash potatoes with 3 cartons of milk.

Our table was already reserved only for us as our Hulks blew the whistle and set the stopwatch. I quickly glanced around the room as everyone was staring at us. Hearing some complain about how come they are getting the good stuff and were eating this slop. I looked at the rest of the student's trays. They were having roadkill mystery meat, mash potatoes and something that gray or dark green that could have been spinach at one time.

I watched as my companions woofed it down barely taking the time to chew it. I couldn’t believe how hungry I was as I nearly chewed the bone and all. The whistle blew and as we stood up and took our trays to the dish-room and ran back for our balls of yarn and hoofed it back to the gym; making a slight detour as we were told to stand against the wall. We heard the whistle inside the gym as our competition filed out against the other side of the wall fully dressed as we had been.

We stared at each other with hateful eyes as they growled that we were so dead and how they were going to crushes us beneath their feet. Having Mr. Brady blow his whistle calling for silence, yelling to all of us as drill sergeant in the army telling us “Take a good hard look at each other because the next time you see each other will be in that ring, if you live long enough, if you don’t quit first and go crying home to your mommies.”

He said as he walked up and down the hallway yelling at us then turned his back on us as he stood in front of them and said. “You damn filthy maggots. You think you know what hell is like; you think you are smarter than your teachers and your classmates. You think you are ready to go out in that cold hard world and become men, you think you have the right to fight as gladiators. You are nothing, you are weak, and you don’t belong in that ring today. If you want to fight and prove that you are not cowards… we all think you are. That your school, your pathetic friends think you are. You have to earn that right or go home right now and be branded as a coward.

“I may not know who is responsible for last night or who started this war in the first place. I may never know, but I have a pretty good idea or you would not be here standing here today to do battle to preserve your honor with your peers. I have been watching, I have been listening, and I have been talking to your teachers. I have taken down your names for the last time. Or you would not be standing here today going against your challengers, your accusers, your peers. The very people you have been bullying, in school and on the streets of our community.

“I have gathered together the worst of you to do battle today in the ring so you may prove once and for all who is weak and who will rise to the top. When you step in that ring tonight you will either win or you will lose and if you lose be prepared to face my wrath and hellfire and pray to God for mercy for there will be none. Not from me, not from your peers and not from your teachers any longer. The school year has just begun and already you boys have proven to be trouble makers. There is a new Sheriff in town boys.

“Your teachers have given me and the school board a list of names of the worst trouble makers in our school here. You are the ones on that list. This is the time for you to either make a correction or a u-turn in your life or else finds out what the cold world has in store for you. Right now I know for a fact that it will chew you up and spit you out; with no education, no diploma, nothing, not even a chance too go to college. Hell, you won’t even be able to get a respectable job. You will be either in jail or digging latrines, picking up garbage for a living; or dead. Judgment is upon you ladies.

“Now prove to me and your challengers that you deserve a place in that ring. For if you don’t you will never again be allowed to prove yourself, for the next time and I mean if you so much as step out of line and cause trouble again in here in my school. Not only will you be brand as a coward. You can find out what it’s like to be behind bars. I have been instructed by the school board to solve our little problem or expel you from this school. We will not tolerate bullying our fighting in our school here any longer.

“The winners of the match today will be given a chance of 5 spots on our wrestling team and other small tokens from each of your teachers, but most of all the ones that have been listed on my list of bad students and trouble makers, those students that win will be given a chance and only one chance to clear their name and have chance of a clean slate. For the loser of our little group of trouble makers you will be given the choice of either being expelled from this school and will be transferred to another school where they take your kind or spend your time in Juvenile hall behind bars for a month then transferred to a military school for trouble makers.

“The second and final choice is a whole list of school projects that have your name on it. For starters: Cleaning graffiti off all the walls and all the lockers, polishing and refinishing the gym floors. Not just one, but all the gyms floors and other services that I have a whole list to keep you busy for the rest of the school year. Your teachers have been granted permission by the school board to increase your homework until you can prove to them and your classmates that you are willing to take that course correction and become a model student.

“These are our terms ladies. As you were informed this morning in each of your classes that all proceeds of the money that would have gone to the winners will be donated to the families that were victimized last night regardless if you were in on it or not, makes no difference. If anything of it is left over it will go for things for this school so everyone will benefit from it. So when you talk to your friends and your parents or you know who is responsible you may tell them, Thank you.  Now I will give you ten minutes to decide before you sign on the dotted line which you choose. So choose wisely there will be no second chances.

“I have asked 6 members of the military that have been recruiters of the cream of the cream to whip you ladies into shape. To determine if you can cut the mustard or not worthy to be in our ring today; for those that make it the rewards are worth your suffering, for those that don’t depend on who are, your prize will be the satisfaction that you gave it your all and will be counted as warriors. And I and your school thank you and will be given smaller tokens by your teachers. For those that are on the Santa’s naughty list.  We will have a nice long chat regarding your life as you know it, but I can guarantee that it won’t be a lump of coal in your jock straps.”

We watched as our 6 hulks split up into two teams with three hulks per team, telling our team to toss our competition our balls of yarn and go into the weight room and wait for further instructions.