Dad marched ahead of them with an intense visage and yanked open the door, gesturing for the two of them to leave.
The door closed behind them. The shadow was gone.
Dad shook his bowed head and rubbed his fingers in the crooks of his eyes. He turned to James. ‘Training going well, is it, James?’
James smirked.
‘Let’s have a chat, shall we?’
James glanced up at Hero on the landing. Hero scooted further back into the shadows. The springs of the sofa creaked lightly as they sat.
‘What was that all about?’ Dad sounded pretty serious. ‘Why were they picking on Hero, anyway?’
‘Apparently there’s some girl at school—’
‘Stop—’
There was a beat of silence.
‘Girls will be the end of us all,’ they chanted in unison before dissolving into laughter.
Under cover of their released tension, Hero inched forward again until he could see their faces.
‘I understand why you did what you did, but it’s a bit scary,’ Dad said. ‘I mean, gathering video evidence—what made you think to do that?’
‘Justification, Dad. Every action in this world needs to be justified. We both know that.’
‘Seems I’ve taught you well.’
‘Modest as ever.’
Dad’s face flickered with concern. ‘Violence is not the answer, son. I know I taught you better than that.’
‘These guys don’t understand any other language. I gave them a choice.’
‘What choice? It seemed to me like you confronted them.’
James’s stance changed to utter disdain. ‘They’ve been beating up Hero for weeks now. You must’ve noticed the change in him.’
Dad bowed his head as if tired of confronting pain. ‘I’m not saying that what they did was right, but violence is a last resort. Once you’ve gone there, there’s nowhere else to go, and then it just keeps escalating until one side is completely destroyed. Do you really want to be the kind of person that’s willing to do that?’
James rolled his eyes. ‘I’m not gonna go out of my way to attack somebody, but if they come after me or Hero, then I’ll defend us. We both know the school’s not gonna do anything, and neither are the police. The only time they act is when something really serious happens, like someone’s put in a coma or dies. Do you really wanna wait till then?’
Dad stroked the stubble on his chin. ‘And what’re you going to do if—no, when—they come back? Are you going to be looking over Hero’s shoulder twenty-four hours a day?’
What did Dad mean, ‘when they come back’?
‘We’ve got it covered. The teachers will look out for him. I’ll walk him to and from school. I’ve already sorted it with my gym, no probs. If they catch Hero off guard when I’m not around, I’ve told him to run home as fast as possible. He’s quick enough to outrun these guys.’
‘And if he isn’t?’
‘Then I’ll send a message to them to explain how disappointed I am with their behaviour.’
Dad made a disapproving noise deep in his throat.
‘It would be a meeting that they won’t walk away from,’ James finished.
‘Don’t say that. Please don’t go down that path.’
‘It’ll be okay, Dad.’ He patted Dad’s leg somewhat patronisingly and stood to go.
‘You’re better than this, James,’ Dad called as James took the stairs a cocky two steps at a time.
But James had already passed Hero, disappeared into his bedroom, and closed the door.
I’m causing so much trouble.
Hero crawled back to his room, not daring to lift his head for fear of being seen. He didn’t want to see Dad’s disappointment in him.
Maybe I can be better?
At the end of music class the next day, Fi blocked the doorway as Hero went to leave.
‘Oh God, what happened to your face?’ she asked.
‘Martin. Again.’ He’d been speaking with Fi less and less as the bullying had become worse. Today had been the first day that he’d felt free enough even to smile at her, but now he didn’t want to show her his ugly, broken face.
‘I told that guy to stay away from you.’ She caressed his split lip with her thumb.
He relaxed. It felt good to feel her touch. ‘Well, he didn’t.’
‘Is that why you’ve not been around as much lately?’
He felt himself go bright red. ‘Sorry. Please don’t talk to him again.’
‘Don’t worry. I’m done with that guy after this. It looked like he came off worse, though.’ She grinned.
‘That was James. Look, can I make it up to you? I mean, not talking—’
‘Yes, you can.’ She nodded encouragingly. ‘Tea.’
‘You mean after school?’
‘You told me you live quite close.’ Her smile thawed the thick, icy layer of Martin’s intimidation.
The rest of the day whizzed by. Hero struggled to focus, not out of fear but anticipation. But as he and Fi approached the gates at the end of the day, he was gripped by nerves. James is meeting me by the gates to walk me home. This could be awkward.
James was already waiting and beaming. ‘Hey, bruv. Hey . . . Felicity, isn’t it?’
Please stop smiling, James—and please, for God’s sake, don’t pull any comedy routines.
She looked utterly charmed. ‘Yes, but call me Fi. You’re James, right?’
‘The one and only. It’s good to see you. You two look good together.’
Relief flooded Hero’s limbs. Wow. Thanks, James—you really came through.
During the short walk home, James kept silent for the most part. Hero and Fi exchanged glances and smiles in between looking at their feet. Hero’s heart was racing.
‘Here we are,’ James announced at the last corner. ‘You can make your way home from here, right?’
‘Sure,’ Hero replied.
‘Enjoy your homework, then.’ James
