Being a junior in high school, I was so naive and always loved to stay out of trouble because, for some reason, I hated to be lashed or embarrassed.
Throughout my school days, I've kept noticing a particular senior who looked so mean and arrogant and was always abusive with his words. I would call him a tyrant and bully because he loved to oppress the junior students and even his classmates because of his physique. His name is Akin, but because of his trait, everyone knew him as Akinbully, and that became his new name in school.
One fateful afternoon during lunch break, I heard someone calling out to me, with a footstep approaching where I was, "Hey!! Hey!! Come here." I knew I was the one the person was referring to, but I paid no attention and kept walking to the cafeteria until this giant physique was right in front of me, right on the staircase, a few meters away from my class.
"Come here, go and get me five puffs immediately." Akinbully, the most popular bully in my secondary school, called out to me, giving me a stern look.
"Where's the money?" I managed to ask because I just didn't want to get into any trouble with him. I was willing to go get him the puff until I heard, "Use your money." It was as though a nut in my head had loosened when I burst into laughter. "Excuse me, you say?" I asked again to be sure of what I heard.
"I said, Use your money and hurry up now!" He repeated it with a very loud and clear voice, and all I would do for a while was stare at the audacity of this guy. To think that many students are so afraid of him must have given him the guts to keep bullying everyone.
"So sorry, I won't get anything for you with my money; if you want me to get something for you, then you have to give me your money to do so." I politely replied as I resumed walking to the cafeteria when I felt someone dragging my school uniform. "If you move an inch, I'll beat the hell out of you. How dare you? I asked you to get me puffs; you had the effrontery to refuse, and you have the guts to walk out? Have you heard about me at the school? Nobody dares do what you've just done." I could see how upset he was; he was so furious and was ready to fight. I paused for a moment, thinking of my next step. "Fight or flight? I soliloquized, First of all, this isn't his right to ask me to use my money to get stuff for him."
As much as I was quite fearful of what he would do to me, I learned from my parents never to allow anyone to intimidate me, regardless of how fierce they looked. "Speak up for your rights, no matter who it is," the voice in my head resounded.
"Hello Senior, I understand you have so much power over your juniors, but that doesn't give you the right to bully others; buying stuff for you with my money is never my responsibility, and no matter how much you try to bully me, I will never use my money to get you anything." I tried so hard to steady my nerves, as my voice was already shaking.
His fist was already clenched, and his face was so full of rage. "Wait a minute, do you want to punch me or what?" I asked him yet again, "Obviously, you think I just fell from the sky, right? I'm not sure you have an idea who my parents are; wherever you run, they'll find you and make sure you pay for hurting their child," I monstered the courage to talk back at him.
"Look how small you are and so confident; if I deal with you, you'll never cross my path again," he replied, and there were minutes of silence. I guess both of us were contemplating our next step. , I never had the intention of fighting; I was just looking for ways to get out of the ugly scenario and then report him to the authorities and my parent, but the silence was cut off by our principal, who walked into the scene.
"What's going on here?" Mr Idowu asked, and suddenly Akin pretended to be correcting me for something, and I was so gobsmacked at how funny he could be. "Really? Senior Akin? Were you not trying to force me to get you stuff with my own money? Even with a threat?" I spoke out, not minding his gesture of wanting us to keep the event to ourselves.
Immediately, he was summoned to the office, and suddenly others began speaking against him and all the things he had done to them, which led to his expulsion from the school, and then we all had peace. I was glad I could beat a bully without using my fist, and of course, my parents were proud of me after I reported the incident to them.
Many times the mistake of many people who are suffering from bullying is to remain silent. This with the false idea that it will not happen again, but the matter will become more and more serious. You did the right thing and were able to get the girl expelled.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Happy weekend.
It's always good to stand up to a bully, thanks for visiting.
Bravo!!! Well done for standing up to this bully, @amiegeoffrey . You sense to remain composed and assured during this confrontation heldyou in good stead. Wouldn't it be wonderful if more people could find the courage to confront bullying behaviour, and stand up for themselves? Bullies are mostly cowards, hiding behind their strength and their tribe (if they have one). If you disarm them with non-compliance and make a scene, it is likely they will be exposed and the snowball effect will come into play whereby more and more people find the courage to stand together to protect their shared space (as happened here). Thank you for sharing a story from your life with The Ink Well. It was a nicely balanced piece with some great dialogue!
Thank you for the thoughtful feedback, I was glad I stood up against him and eventually everyone in school was freed of his bully.
Most bullies are actually scared of people who are bold enough to confront them. Keeping silent when been bullied gives the bully more power over you.
I have a small body stature, but I never gave anyone the chance to bully me back in school because I would return the favour back.
I'm glad you stood your ground and didn't allow him change the narrative when he saw the principal, some students would have agreed with him out of fear.
Yeah, that's right, when we stand up against bullies they become scared too.
I'm glad I could face him and we finally had peace in school.
Thanks for stopping by.
You're welcome
Oshey!!!! I love that courage lady, hehe
But imagine say that guy beat your head commotion, hehe
We really need to learn to stand up to our challenges each time we are trampled on
I love that act. Kudos
Beat me and go scotch-free? Hahaha, I laugh in Swahili.
Well, thank God it ended in praise.
Wow..what an interesting read..how brace you are Amie, quite commendable to face that naughty bully
Stepping into someone's right is something we should fight back and you did it perfectly with words of wisdom
Thanks for sharing
#dreemerforlife
Yes, we should never let anyone intimidate us, I'm glad I stood up for my right.
Thank you for stopping by beloved sis❤
What smart moves!
I'm satisfied with how the story ended😌
#dreemerforlife
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for reading.
Very amazing you stood your grounds against the senior 🥰
#dreemerforlife#
Yes I did and that makes me fulfilled, thank you!