Post by LadyConqueror on Feb 5, 2012 15:12:16 GMT -5
Nigel the Ninja
Date: February 5, 2012
Author: Lady Conqueror
Part One:
 “Nigel! Nigel!” his mom Lori called happily as she packed the last of the things she needed in her purse. “You’ll be late for school!”
 Nigel moaned and sarcastically commented, “Joy. Wouldn’t that be a tragedy?”
 “Now Hun,” Lori said sternly. She always had a way of cutting right to the core of a person with that tone. Especially, when she looked you in the eyes and replaced your name with “Hun.” She was good for knowing the right time and place for things. It did not seem to matter to her that she was annoying him at that moment though. “You have already missed a lot of school.”
 “Well exactly!” Nigel agreed. “Maybe I should just forget about school. I don’t know where I belong!”
 His mother sighed, “Hmmmm you have always had a mind of your own. I guess I’ve always loved that about you. You can be so stubborn, though sometimes, you know that? We can talk about this more later, for now, like I said, you’re going to be late.” She opened the door for him and he stormed into the car, slamming the door behind her without saying thank you. They drove the whole way to school in stony, cold silence. As he exited the car he heard her call, “Bye! Make good choices!” He kept walking only to hear her scream “Wait!!!” He stopped and looked at her. “I love you and I’m proud to be your Mom! I know you love me too. I promise we’ll talk about this later, so keep your chin up ok?” He nodded in compliance, wondering how his Dad would help him in this situation if he was around. Right then, he realized how messed up he was from not having a Dad to look up to. He watched her drive away as she blew him a kiss which he surprisingly wasn’t embarrassed by. Even if people were around he wouldn’t have been embarrassed. This thought made him realize that he was late. He took a deep breath before he walked through the door realizing how scary and unpredictable life can be.
 Nigel was glad when lunch finally came around. He couldn’t wait to enjoy the nice weather in the courtyard. One good thing about school was that summer was coming so a lot of people were already in “vacation mode.” His trip to his locker was abruptly stopped when someone stuck their foot out and tripped him. His books and papers went flying everywhere in a grand chaos. It seemed the whole hallway gathered around to have a laugh at his expense. He started to collect his things as he muttered “jerk” to himself.
 “What did you just call me?” the bully retorted while grabbing him by the shirt.
 “Nothing! Nothing!” he answered helplessly.
 “Liar!” the bully shouted in protest.
 “Look, just forget what I said ok? Don’t you have someone else’s day you can ruin? I’ve had enough to deal with. Besides if you stop telling lies about me, I’ll stop telling the truth about you.” Nigel concluded.
 “Actually, I’m glad you had time in your day to humiliate yourself for me,” the Bully replied coyly.
 “Ha ha, very funny.” Nigel remarked sarcastically. “That’s a good one. Now may I please have the pleasure of your absence?” Suddenly, he turned around to pick up his books, only to be pushed to the ground.
 “You think you’re pretty funny don’t you?” the Bully asked.
He stood slowly and answered, “Ya? Well actually you have a great personality, but not for a human being.”
 “Why you little!” the Bully screamed.
The kids in the hallway were chanting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
They began rolling on the floor fighting.
 “All right, everyone stop!” the teacher exclaimed. He dismissed the crowd with an imperious wave of his hand. “Show’s over guys. Please get back to your classes or lunch. You too James…I want you escorted to the office by Freedom and I’ll deal with you soon.” The students ohhhed as they all dispersed. They seemed to respect this teacher because he could be tough, yet fair and kind, yet firm. He had a good way of being authoritative. He looked at Nigel with a look as disappointed as his tone. With a child-like voice he softly commented, “We missed you in class today.”
 “Ya, sorry I was late.” Nigel explained “I really wanna be here.”
 “Then be here!” the teacher said with a melodramatic tone. “I know you’re a smart kid and I’m here for you as a teacher.”
 “I know. I’m planning to finish my paper that I’ve started on King Lear soon!” he protested.
 “Good, get it done, or I’m sorry but I’ll be failing you. You can’t get credit for planning at this school. Anyway, you better get going. Thanks for listening,” the teacher digressed.
“Glad I could help,” Nigel muttered.
 “Hey” the teacher said calmly “don’t worry about it. You’ll be ok and never mind what those boys say.” Nigel remembered his Mom telling him to keep his chin up at that moment. “I’ll trust you to meet me at the office soon, ok?” asked the teacher. He nodded and the Teacher walked away. He finally bent down to pick up his books when, who should help him but his ex girlfriend.
 “Hey!” she said surprisingly nonchalantly.
 “Ally,” Nigel responded sharply and then more softly asked, “What do you want?”
 “I wanna help you with your books,” she said matter-o-factly. “I also wanna tell you that I’m sorry, leaving you for that boy was wrong. I want you to know that you were never and still aren’t a second choice to me. That said I want us to be friends, though I understand if you don’t want to.” She lifted her eyes playfully at him.
 Nigel thought for a moment and then said, “Ok, I’ll be your friend. Don’t expect anything more though. Nothing else has changed. I forgive but I don’t forget.”
 “Mmhm,” she said pensively and then said “Well I’ll still have to kidnap you for a night on the town, just as friends.” He saw her wink, then shut his locker and walked on by her.
 Later, Nigel arrived at home with his Mom. “I can’t believe you were suspended!” She whined.
 “Ya, well James’ comments in the office didn’t help,” he slyly observed. “I don’t believe his apology was sincere either. Besides I told you I didn’t start that fight.”
 “I know, I believe you dear,” She said sympathetically “I’m still just disappointed. Listen I don’t think your Dad would want…”
 “Don’t play the Dad card on me! Dad’s dead and we can’t bring him back!” Nigel screamed interrupting. His Mom flinched in shock and began to silently sob. Nigel had a look of shock and regret on his face as he ran, embraced her and apologized.
He joined in her sobbing and said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
 “I’m sorry too,” she interjected. “I shouldn’t say what Dad would’ve wanted. I will say I know he loved you despite everything though.”
 “I’ve tried to talk to you about it and other stuff before and gotten angry. Things get messed up for me and I don’t know why. I try so hard to feel normal about what happened and it doesn’t help,” Nigel admitted.
 “Things get messed up for me too. It helps me when I figure it’s ok to be happy when you’re happy and sad when you’re sad though,” his Mom shared. This was the first time he’d gotten to share his feelings like this with his Mom in a long time and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it as much as it was good for him. She reached out her hand slowly to stroke his cheek and he backed away. She slowly put her hand down looking slightly unsure and uncomfortable.
She then stammered, “I wanted to tell you, I hope you don’t mind I took the liberty of planning to send you somewhere while you’re suspended so you have something to do.”
 “Really? Where? I wish you had asked me first,” he said surprised.
 “I know,” she said apologetically. “I think it’ll help you though. It’s an all year ninja’s camp. You can learn what you need to take care of yourself if you’re bothered at school and to respect yourself. I want you to promise me you’ll only use it for good and as a last resort though,” she said hopefully.
 “Is it run by the government or something?”
 “Actually they’re separate from the government. I’ll feed your fish and be here when you get back. It could be fun as much as practical for you,” she contemplated as she handed him a brochure. Nigel then simply walked to his room and slammed his door.
Date: February 5, 2012
Author: Lady Conqueror
Part One:
 “Nigel! Nigel!” his mom Lori called happily as she packed the last of the things she needed in her purse. “You’ll be late for school!”
 Nigel moaned and sarcastically commented, “Joy. Wouldn’t that be a tragedy?”
 “Now Hun,” Lori said sternly. She always had a way of cutting right to the core of a person with that tone. Especially, when she looked you in the eyes and replaced your name with “Hun.” She was good for knowing the right time and place for things. It did not seem to matter to her that she was annoying him at that moment though. “You have already missed a lot of school.”
 “Well exactly!” Nigel agreed. “Maybe I should just forget about school. I don’t know where I belong!”
 His mother sighed, “Hmmmm you have always had a mind of your own. I guess I’ve always loved that about you. You can be so stubborn, though sometimes, you know that? We can talk about this more later, for now, like I said, you’re going to be late.” She opened the door for him and he stormed into the car, slamming the door behind her without saying thank you. They drove the whole way to school in stony, cold silence. As he exited the car he heard her call, “Bye! Make good choices!” He kept walking only to hear her scream “Wait!!!” He stopped and looked at her. “I love you and I’m proud to be your Mom! I know you love me too. I promise we’ll talk about this later, so keep your chin up ok?” He nodded in compliance, wondering how his Dad would help him in this situation if he was around. Right then, he realized how messed up he was from not having a Dad to look up to. He watched her drive away as she blew him a kiss which he surprisingly wasn’t embarrassed by. Even if people were around he wouldn’t have been embarrassed. This thought made him realize that he was late. He took a deep breath before he walked through the door realizing how scary and unpredictable life can be.
 Nigel was glad when lunch finally came around. He couldn’t wait to enjoy the nice weather in the courtyard. One good thing about school was that summer was coming so a lot of people were already in “vacation mode.” His trip to his locker was abruptly stopped when someone stuck their foot out and tripped him. His books and papers went flying everywhere in a grand chaos. It seemed the whole hallway gathered around to have a laugh at his expense. He started to collect his things as he muttered “jerk” to himself.
 “What did you just call me?” the bully retorted while grabbing him by the shirt.
 “Nothing! Nothing!” he answered helplessly.
 “Liar!” the bully shouted in protest.
 “Look, just forget what I said ok? Don’t you have someone else’s day you can ruin? I’ve had enough to deal with. Besides if you stop telling lies about me, I’ll stop telling the truth about you.” Nigel concluded.
 “Actually, I’m glad you had time in your day to humiliate yourself for me,” the Bully replied coyly.
 “Ha ha, very funny.” Nigel remarked sarcastically. “That’s a good one. Now may I please have the pleasure of your absence?” Suddenly, he turned around to pick up his books, only to be pushed to the ground.
 “You think you’re pretty funny don’t you?” the Bully asked.
He stood slowly and answered, “Ya? Well actually you have a great personality, but not for a human being.”
 “Why you little!” the Bully screamed.
The kids in the hallway were chanting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
They began rolling on the floor fighting.
 “All right, everyone stop!” the teacher exclaimed. He dismissed the crowd with an imperious wave of his hand. “Show’s over guys. Please get back to your classes or lunch. You too James…I want you escorted to the office by Freedom and I’ll deal with you soon.” The students ohhhed as they all dispersed. They seemed to respect this teacher because he could be tough, yet fair and kind, yet firm. He had a good way of being authoritative. He looked at Nigel with a look as disappointed as his tone. With a child-like voice he softly commented, “We missed you in class today.”
 “Ya, sorry I was late.” Nigel explained “I really wanna be here.”
 “Then be here!” the teacher said with a melodramatic tone. “I know you’re a smart kid and I’m here for you as a teacher.”
 “I know. I’m planning to finish my paper that I’ve started on King Lear soon!” he protested.
 “Good, get it done, or I’m sorry but I’ll be failing you. You can’t get credit for planning at this school. Anyway, you better get going. Thanks for listening,” the teacher digressed.
“Glad I could help,” Nigel muttered.
 “Hey” the teacher said calmly “don’t worry about it. You’ll be ok and never mind what those boys say.” Nigel remembered his Mom telling him to keep his chin up at that moment. “I’ll trust you to meet me at the office soon, ok?” asked the teacher. He nodded and the Teacher walked away. He finally bent down to pick up his books when, who should help him but his ex girlfriend.
 “Hey!” she said surprisingly nonchalantly.
 “Ally,” Nigel responded sharply and then more softly asked, “What do you want?”
 “I wanna help you with your books,” she said matter-o-factly. “I also wanna tell you that I’m sorry, leaving you for that boy was wrong. I want you to know that you were never and still aren’t a second choice to me. That said I want us to be friends, though I understand if you don’t want to.” She lifted her eyes playfully at him.
 Nigel thought for a moment and then said, “Ok, I’ll be your friend. Don’t expect anything more though. Nothing else has changed. I forgive but I don’t forget.”
 “Mmhm,” she said pensively and then said “Well I’ll still have to kidnap you for a night on the town, just as friends.” He saw her wink, then shut his locker and walked on by her.
 Later, Nigel arrived at home with his Mom. “I can’t believe you were suspended!” She whined.
 “Ya, well James’ comments in the office didn’t help,” he slyly observed. “I don’t believe his apology was sincere either. Besides I told you I didn’t start that fight.”
 “I know, I believe you dear,” She said sympathetically “I’m still just disappointed. Listen I don’t think your Dad would want…”
 “Don’t play the Dad card on me! Dad’s dead and we can’t bring him back!” Nigel screamed interrupting. His Mom flinched in shock and began to silently sob. Nigel had a look of shock and regret on his face as he ran, embraced her and apologized.
He joined in her sobbing and said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
 “I’m sorry too,” she interjected. “I shouldn’t say what Dad would’ve wanted. I will say I know he loved you despite everything though.”
 “I’ve tried to talk to you about it and other stuff before and gotten angry. Things get messed up for me and I don’t know why. I try so hard to feel normal about what happened and it doesn’t help,” Nigel admitted.
 “Things get messed up for me too. It helps me when I figure it’s ok to be happy when you’re happy and sad when you’re sad though,” his Mom shared. This was the first time he’d gotten to share his feelings like this with his Mom in a long time and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it as much as it was good for him. She reached out her hand slowly to stroke his cheek and he backed away. She slowly put her hand down looking slightly unsure and uncomfortable.
She then stammered, “I wanted to tell you, I hope you don’t mind I took the liberty of planning to send you somewhere while you’re suspended so you have something to do.”
 “Really? Where? I wish you had asked me first,” he said surprised.
 “I know,” she said apologetically. “I think it’ll help you though. It’s an all year ninja’s camp. You can learn what you need to take care of yourself if you’re bothered at school and to respect yourself. I want you to promise me you’ll only use it for good and as a last resort though,” she said hopefully.
 “Is it run by the government or something?”
 “Actually they’re separate from the government. I’ll feed your fish and be here when you get back. It could be fun as much as practical for you,” she contemplated as she handed him a brochure. Nigel then simply walked to his room and slammed his door.