Moving A full moon was up in the sky. I could barely breathe. I was lying on the ground hurt. Where was I? How did I get here? My mind was filling with questions. Sweat was dripping across my face, my palms were soaked. Was I dead? I was in an alleyway close to my school. I tried to sit up, but I couldn’t from all the injuries. My stomach ached as if I was about to puke all over the floor. My leg ,filled with scrapes and scratches, a dog, maybe? The pain was oozing all around. I looked to my side, there was a shadow, I looked up and saw a shadow. Someone was just standing, then he ran towards me. Help or someone to finish me off? This was all happening in a flash of a second. I bet you’re eager to know what happens next, but to understand what’s going on in my life, I have to take you back to the beginning. I used to live in a city called Charleston, in West Virginia. I liked it there. I loved my house, my friends, and my school. I was a popular kid there. I was treated like a god. My friends and I would make fun of some kids. They were nerds, so who cared? We would insult them, and embarrass them on tape. One of them was called Albert, classic nerd name right? I mean you could tell he was a dork just from hearing his name. He was extremely skinny, he usually wore a buttoned down shirt, tucked in of course, and he wore black pants and black shoes. His face was full of pimples, so just picture a nerd that you see in all the movies, but without the huge glasses. His other friend, Josh, was not that much of a nerd. He had long, brown hair- Justin Bieber. He would wear sweatshirts with the sleeves pulled up everyday. He wore skinny jeans and skater shoes. I woke up one day, feeling better than ever. It was my birthday. It was Autumn. I went downstairs to get some breakfast. I was greeted with a Happy Birthday song from my parents and sister, and a plate of two eggs and bacon, the eggs were put as eyes and the bacon as a smile. My day was already turning out to be awesome. I rode to school with my new BMX bike I got from my parents, the best birthday gift I ever got . I walked across the hallway with my gang. We were kings, we could do anything, and our target was spotted. Josh was right in front of us, his long brown hair was combed neatly. He wore black skinny jeans, as always, and the occasional sweatshirt with the sleeves pulled up, but he wore new Adidas shoes instead of his skater shoes. Improvement. “Hello Josh, how are you today? Ready to get beaten up today again?” I asked. “Why can’t you guys just leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?” He said with fear in his voice.
“You existed,” Carl said with a grin planted on his face. Carl had black hair, not too tall but not short either. He wore blue shorts, that looked like jeans. He wore a Portugal soccer jersey on with Cristiano Ronaldo on the back, he also wore Messi’s shoes. Carl was obsessed with soccer. Carter was standing next to John, we were surrounding him in a circle. Carter wore wide, beige jeans with a red, plain tshirt. He had curly brown hair and had tanned skin, like I did. “Please, just leave me alone, please,” Josh said like he was about to cry. “Well, since you said please,we’re going to do you a favour,” John said. “We’re not going to film it this time.” “I beg you, please don't do this.” John grinned. He punched Josh in the stomach. Josh was on the floor, crying as John, Carl, Carter and I were kicking him. Now he was basically spitting blood all over the floor, so we decided to stop. Me and my friends attended our classes. After lunch, we all went to our last period, which was P.E. We had wrestling on that day, and to my pleasure, I got to pick my opponent, so I picked Albert. I was going to have fun today. We entered the middle of the mats placed on the floor for protection, shook hands and waited for the whistle. “Ready to get beaten up?” I asked with a grin planted on my face. “Please,” Albert said. “Go easy on me, the girl I like is watching, you can beat me up later. Please.” “Oh, then I must beat you up,” I said. I was waiting for the whistle to blow, eager to beat him up in front of who ever he liked. The whistle was blown. I ran towards him and knocked him down to the ground with all my strength. I sat on top of him after he was knocked down. I started punching him until he spat blood, then I turned him around and did a lock where I take his arm and completely twist it, this might even break his arm. He tapped out but I didn’t want to stop. Mr Davis picked me up and threw me aside then helped Albert up. Mr Davis was tall and extremely buff. He had superman style hair and big eyes. “Go to the Principal's office now!” Mr Davis exclaimed.
I got up smiling, completely proud of myself for humiliating Albert and left. The Principal’s office was rather small. He was sitting in his leather, rolling chair. He looked furious, I could just imagine smoke steaming out of his ears. “Do you realize what you have done?” The Principal asked. I didn’t reply. “You have just broken Albert’s arm. Would you like to be expelled from this school?” He asked. “No, sir.” I answered. There was some fear in my voice, I wasn’t sure if he would actually expel me. “Well, I can’t expel you since this is your last day, so I have just decided to put this in your permanent records.” He said. “WHAT?!!” I yelled. “I’M LEAVING?!!” I was shocked to death. Sweat was dripping across my face. This must be a mistake, this must be a mistake. “Your parents haven’t told you?” He asked curiously. “I’m sure you have me mistaken with someone else.” I said, hoping he had. “I’m sorry Charlie, but you are moving. This is your last day at school, and you are leaving today. I thought you knew.” I tried my hardest not to crack up into tears, but it wasn’t possible. How could I be leaving? Why would I be leaving? Where was I leaving to? Those questions were racing in my mind. What if we were bankrupt and had to move to Afghanistan and live with donkeys? The school bell rang. I was at my locker. I decided not to tell anyone. What of my birthday party? I took my sweater, put it on and ran to my bike. I was thinking of what my parents would tell me. Tears ran down my face. I didn’t know what to do. What if my parents let me move in with John? There was a little bit of hope in me, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I arrived. I stormed to where my parents were watching tv and I just stood there, waiting.
“Hi, Charlie,” said my dad. “Don’t hi, Charlie me!” I said with rage. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why are you doing this? Didn’t you ever think how I would feel?” Tears started dripping down my face again. They instantly knew what I was talking about. My mother frowned. “I’m sorry, but it would be better for us.” She said. “Why are we moving?” “Your dad got a job offering in Albany, with double the salary he is getting now, so we decided to accept the offer, trust me it’s not a mistake.” At least we weren't moving to Albania to live with donkeys, but nevertheless, I still was filled with rage and depression. “Can I move in with John? I promise I’ll behave, and call you every week, please mom.” “Absolutely not,” she said. “We stay as a family, no matter what.” I wanted to argue more, but what’s done is done. I went upstairs to my room. I turned on the tv and an NBA match came up. The Lakers were playing against Miami Heat. Heat were losing to the lakers by six points, at least there was something to be happy about. I fell asleep after 5 minutes of the game. I woke up five hours later. My mom woke me up. “Are you ready to leave to the airport?” She asked. I frowned and nodded my head. I can’t believe I was leaving, it was so sudden. I got up and followed my mom downstairs. I helped my dad with the suitcases then went into the taxi. I was looking out the window, remembering all the memories I would miss. My friends would wonder where I was, what if they thought I was kidnapped? “I’m sorry,” my mom said. When you stare into my mom’s big, blue eyes, you can’t help but cry. She patted my shoulder. I felt embarrassed since I was crying this much. When we arrived, I held the seat belt and wouldn’t let go. My dad had to take me out by force. I didn’t want to leave.
The plane left the airport around 12:00, four hours after we came. There was a mix up between the seats so I was separated from my parents. I was stuck sitting next to an old man on my right, and a fat man in his 20’s on my left. I was squished by them. I couldn’t sleep in the plane, which was strange as I always slept on a plane. The flight took two hours. I got a good view of Pennsylvania during the flight, which was beautiful by the way. New york, on the other hand, wasn’t. It was filled with buildings and no nature. I was sure to hate it here. So much crowds and pollution. I now lived in a furnished apartment, great. “So, when do I go to school?” I asked. “Two days from now,” answered my dad. “Great...” I went to this public school, as always, walking distance away from where I lived. It was small, compared to the school I used to go to. Everyone there was very un-welcoming. Someone shoved me into the lockers, and he didn’t even know me. I went to my locker to put my stuff in. A crowd of five people circled me and then one stepped up. “Hey, you’re the new kid aren’t you? What’s up? My name’s Jake Taylor, what’s yours?” “Hey, I’m Charlie,” I said. “Charlie Harris.” “Well hello, Charlie Harris, one thing you have to remember is that I’m the top dog around here, you do anything to upset anyone, and you will be sorry,” He said, then pounded his hairy fists together. “If you know what I mean.” They left laughing, as if they can’t wait to beat me up. This Jake guy seemed a bit weird. He had very messy black hair. His face seemed tired and he had black outlines around his eyes, like he hasn’t slept for years. He was a bit muscular, his body reminded me of Josh’s, not too muscular, but not skinny, then I remembered how I scared him, and how I used to beat him just because he stood up for Albert in 6th grade. I felt guilt, which I’ve never felt before. I wish I could have apologized for what I did to him and Albert. I put my stuff in my locker and headed to class. I had science class first, with a teacher called Mrs Jackson. She wore a black work skirt, along with a matching coat over a white teeshirt. She wore glasses too. She was a brunette. After science, I had math with Mr Barnes. He was definitely not a sight for sore eyes. He was fat, old and short. He looked like he was in his 60’s. Then, I had an elective, band. I was forced into playing the tuba, on account of there not being another instrument available.
Lunch was next. It was the worst part of the day. I had to sit on the floor because there was no empty table, and no one let me sit next to them. I wonder if Albert and Josh had to do this, they were liked by no one, so who would invite them in. If I were back in West Virginia, I would invite them to join me. I ate lunch from home, I had a PB and J sandwich, which tasted awful. The school served french fries and burgers today, just my luck. Some birthday surprise this whole move was. “How was your day honey?” Mom asked. “Perfect, just perfect.” Two months passed like this. Having boring class periods with teachers who couldn’t even remember my name, eating on the floor in a corner, being bullied by Jake and his gang, and not having any friends. Jake would beat me up, and stick my head in the toilet and do all sorts of stuff and would film it, just as I would have. Was I that mean? One day after school on the way home, I saw Jake entering this dark alleyway, so I followed him to see where he was going. He stopped in the middle of the alleyway and took some pills from his pocket and swallowed them in, and after that, took out, what looked to be a cigarette and started smoking it. I tried to get a closer look and noticed that it wasn’t a cigarette, it was weed! Was that why Jake looked so tired everyday, and had those dark outlines around his eyes? I took out my phone and called the police, since it was illegal to smoke. I was so scared, I didn’t realize how loud I was speaking. Jake saw me, he threw the weed aside and ran towards me. I ran away as fast as I could, with my phone still in my hand. The police were asking what was going on, but I was too scared to answer. Luckily I told them where I was and they said that they were on the way. I guess from the sound of me running, they realized I was being chased. I was relieved then I felt a force pushing me down on the ground. It was Jake, he jumped on me. He took a pocket knife out of his pocket and was about to cut my throat or something, until the sounds of sirens were heard. The police were here. They took out their guns and pointed them on Jake. He dropped the pocket knife, slowly got off of me and raised his hands, as the police asked him to do. He was arrested, gone. I returned to school the next day with a smile on my face. No one was going to beat me up today. I even sat on the table Jake used to sit in. I began to slowly get friends, some of Jake’s gang were now friends with me, I was slowly becoming popular, but at the same time, not forgetting how I felt when I was getting bullied to remember to never do that to someone again. It has been a month like this. I was now liked by everyone. It was winter now. I was riding my bike to school. My bike was a mess, it was
full of snow, the breaks wouldn’t work the way they were supposed to, they would squeak everytime I used them, and if that’s not enough, the pedals were extremely slippery which made it almost impossible to ride. I only slipped and fell about seven times! I honestly never knew a human could get this cold, honestly! It was snowing like there was no tomorrow. I finally arrived at school. As I went up to my locker, there was someone standing next to it, Jake. How could this be possible? I wasn’t afraid to go up to Jake now, because I was the top dog now, and I had the support of everyone. “Miss me?” Jake said with a grin. “Get out of my face.” “Or what?” “Well, I’ll have to beat you up, and I’ll have the support of everyone. .hings have changed. I’m top dog now, Jake, so don’t do something stupid or I’ll have to do something you wouldn’t enjoy.” “Oh, you are top dog? Really? Then why is this happening?” His gang came and held me, as Jake put a tissue with liquid on my face. I slowly faded into a sleep that actually felt quite relaxing. It was night time now. A full moon was up in the sky. I could barely breathe. I was lying on the ground hurt. Where was I? How did I get here? My mind was filling with questions. Sweat was dripping across my face, my palms were soaked. Was I dead? I was in an alleyway close to my school. I tried to sit up, but I think my ribs were broken. My stomach ached as I was about to puke all over the floor, and my leg was filled with scrapes and scratches, a dog, maybe? The pain was oozing all around. I looked to my side, there was a shadow, I looked up and saw someone, he was just standing, then he ran towards me, help or someone to finish me off? This was all happening in a flash second. It was John, how did he get here? All the way from Charleston. He helped me up and took me back to my place. John came for a visit, and said he was moving here. I would finally have a friend, a real friend, but now, Jake was never going to stop, but atleast John was there to help me fight him off, and I can tell you from now, that the battle between me and Jake, was going on for a long time...