The Bully

The shrill ring of the bell at 9.30 am,signaled break-time at Harisa Boys primary school.As the ten-year old boys, known as 'ticks'in Harisa, shouted and made a rush for the fields to play football, a subdued Benny Karim slowly rose from his desk and walked to the door.

Playing football was the in-thing for Boys at Harisa.In reality it was tennis-ball rather than football,popularized by the acronym 'abisidi'.Its name was actually the boys'creative way of pronouncing the manufacturer's ABCD trade-mark printed on the ball.Any Harisa 'tick' worth his short-trousers, aspired to own 'abisidi'which cost ten cents.As ten cents was hard to come by, they did all sorts of things to buy this cherished item.

Your popularity rating rose among the boys when you owned abisidi:you chose who played in your team, as well as the rival team.Of course the owner was treated with utmost respect, and a game which usually lasted the entire fifteen minutes of break-time, could end prematurely if the big-headed proprietor of the tennis ball was fouled, or when he thought his team was losing the game.Today the match between class two 'ticks' and class one 'ticks' appeared headed for a draw.

Benny the class-teacher's favorite, was watching from the sidelines nearer his classroom. Although usually playful at home, he dreaded break-time at Harisa boys because 'mobo', another name for bullies, made life very difficult for smaller boys like Benny who could not stand up to them.He was so engrossed on the game to notice Menichi walking towards him.His neatly pressed khaki shorts, and white shirt made him an easy target for bullies who were usually unkempt in dirty uniform.

'This boy lost my abisidi yesterday',croaked Menichi menacingly.Before Benny could run into the classroom,Menichi held him by his short trousers from behind.

'Where is my abisidi?',asked Menichi threateningly.

'I ain't got ya abisidi',squeaked Benny.

'Shit the abisidi now or give us ten cents', roared Jeuri, Menichi's pal and fellow molestor,'Your dad's a shopkeeper'.

A swelling crowd of boys, itching for a free-for-all roared with laughter at Benny's discomfort.Menichi's tight hold on Benny's shorts made the smaller boy look incongruous with his feet hardly touching the ground.His pleading eyes were nearly popping out of his head, and his running nose made his face a piteous site.Trouble was surely brewing fast for him.

Suddenly out of the blue another bully, going by the infamous name Mshenzi, held a lock of Benny's hair between his right thumb and fore-finger, and yanked hard. As benny yelped in pain,Jeuri aimed a vicious kick at his exposed backside.The force of the kick was so immense that it lifted the hapless ten year old slightly in the air, making him fall on his face with a thud.There was a small whimper followed by total silence.Menichi tried to yank him to his feet, but he fell back limply to the ground.A trickle of blood oozed from his nostrils.The loud laughter and sniggers died suddenly.

As quickly as they had gathered like vultures at the sight of a carcase, the crowd of boys slinkered away, leaving the tiny body of Benny Karim lying at the sidelines.Menichi, Jeuri and Mshenzi quickly jumped over the neatly trimmed thorn bush fence, and disappeared in the vast semi-arid bushes.