But on a rainy Tuesday afternoon in late October, the harassment crossed a line from high school bullying into outright assault. The final bell had rung and the skies had opened up, pouring heavy rain over the campus. Toby was limping toward the bus stop, keeping his jacket pulled tight to protect a fragile, intricate architectural model he had spent three weeks building for his AP physics class. It was his pride and joy, his ticket to a guaranteed A, that would help him secure a college scholarship. Before he could reach the safety of the yellow school bus, a heavy hand grabbed the back of his collar.
Toby was violently yanked backward, his boots slipping on the wet asphalt. He hit the ground hard, scraping his palms raw. Standing over him, flanked by his two sycophantic lackeys, Kyle and Logan, was Trent Gallagher. "Where are you rushing off to?" Trent sneered, rain plastering his blonde hair to his forehead. "You didn't say goodbye."
"Please, Trent," Toby stammered, scrambling backward and trying to shield his physics project. "M-my bus is leaving. Just let me go."
Trent's eyes dropped to the cardboard and balsa wood model in Toby's arms. A malicious grin spread across his face. Without warning, Trent kicked forward with his heavy steel-toed work boot. The force of the blow shattered the model instantly, snapping the delicate wood and crushing weeks of painstaking labor into garbage.
Toby cried out instinctively, reaching for the ruined pieces. That was his mistake. Trent grabbed Toby by the front of his shirt, hauling the smaller boy to his feet before slamming him viciously against the brick wall of the gymnasium. The back of Toby's head struck the masonry with a sickening crack. "You think you're smart, don't you?" Trent hissed, his face inches from Toby's, his breath smelling of stale energy drinks. "You're nothing. You're a defect. If I ever hear you complain to a teacher, I'll break your good leg. You understand me?"