The boys snigger and look at each other, but try to hide it behind their hands. Pricks. Then they look around me, trying to peek into my car to see if the boy is there. He’s not, but the windows are tinted anyway.
“You his dad?” One of the boys asks.
“Nope. I’m worse.”
They shift their feet and glance at each other again, some of their smugness washing off their faces, but not completely.
“Nope, no cameras,” Bryce says, folding his arms against his chest and smirking like an asshole. That’s not exactly denying what they did to Braeden.
“Excellent!” I reply, smiling smugly.
They all look at each other, now confused by my response. They’ll learn soon enough about why I’m happy there are no parents or cameras around. This is going to be fun.
“Go the fuck home. You can’t prove shit,” Bryce snaps.
“You know, you could’ve killed him, right? It’s one thing to push him into a pool. It’s another to hold him down, leaving him to believe he was going to die.”
“We were justfooling around. We didn’t hurt him.”
“Oh, but you did. Sometimes trauma is worse than physical pain. I should know. That’s what makes me even more pissed. He tragically lost his fucking parents recently, and you clowns thought it was a good idea to bully him? Are you insane? Are you that miserable in your pathetic little lives that you have to hurt other kids?”
They say nothing, but there’s not an ounce of remorse on their faces. Little fuckshits.
“You’re fucking bullies. Braeden doesn’t need fucking pricks like you pushing him around. Fortunately, he has me to protect him because I have no compunction in holding back. I don’t need to talk to your parents. I don’t need to speak to the school principal. It’s only you and me. Let’s have a little fun, yeah?” I suddenly whip out the water gun blaster I filled with the stinkiest prank spray I could find onAmazon, which was delivered this morning.
When they see the water gun, they’re practically rolling with laughter, but it will be me who has the last laugh. How little they know. “Big fucking deal. It’s a water gun. You need to work on your pranks, bro,” says another boy. What a shame my words go in one ear and out the other. They have zero empathy. All the more reason to teach them a lesson.
Bryce starts to walk toward me with his arms out, smiling like an asshole. “Go for it. It’ll be fun. A little water hurt no one.”
I give them my most evil smile. “Oh, this ain’t water, boys.”
They all look at each other once more, and uncertainty filters across their faces. But they don’t have to wait long to see what I mean. I start spraying them, careful not to get any on me. It doesn’t take them long for their brains to register what they’re being sprayed with.
“Fuck!”
“Oh, hell…”
“Fucking gross!”
“Stop, stop!”
“Ugh, I’m gonna be sick…”
They start gagging and groaning, trying to get away from me as they rush toward the house. The stench is even making me gag, but I’m fucking cackling as I fire the vile liquid at them until the water gun is empty. Not gonna lie, this is fun.
Bryce is scrambling to dig in his pockets for his keys as the boys gather against him, trying to keep from being sprayed.
I’m still holding the gun as I drop it to my side, letting it drip on the lawn. “If you don’t leave Braeden alone, I’ll make it even worse for you. Do you understand? If you still refuse to stop bothering him, I will make it my life’s mission to get you expelled and ruin any chances at any sports or college careers. Understood?”
Once they’re inside with the door slammed closed, I smirk and wave. Now the house will smell, too. His parents willlovethat. Hey, at least I made sure it’s non-toxic. I’m notallbad.
I laugh again as I move around to the trunk of my car, open it, grab the trash bag, and toss the water gun in it, not wanting to get a drop in my car.
After I toss the toy into the trunk, I drive home. I have just enough time to get Braeden to his appointment.
I drum my fingers to a song that comes on the radio, smiling at the feeling of accomplishment. I’ll omit this part of the story when I tell Seth what happened to Braeden. He’ll scold me if I do. Still, I don’t regret what I did, even for a second.
After tossing the evidence into the garbage bin, I step inside the house. “Ready, Brae? We gotta get going.”
