09.10: Boston Bound - ETHAN

Whilst Jamie was hanging with rich kids Ethan was closer to the other end of the social scale in the school. It was very different here. For one thing there was bullying and extortion.

Second period was maths and the teacher was a fruitcake. She had the key for the wrong classroom. Everyone stood around in the corridor while she went looking for one of the premises staff.
A kid called Lemarcus and his friend wandered up to a gangly black boy Charles. Ethan had sat next to him in during first period because no one else wanted to. Ethan could understand why Charles was a real oddball. Now he was standing next to him.
“Did you miss us this summer?” Lemarcus asked.
Charles kept quiet.
Lemarcus grabbed his wrist and bent back his thumb.
“Did you bring us anything nice?” Lemarcus asked, tightening his grip until Charles' face twisted up in pain.
“No,” Charles gasped.
“That's not nice. I think you deserve a slap.” Lemarcus let Charles' thumb go and clocked him around the face. It wasn't hard. It was mainly done for humiliation.
“And who's your new friend?” Lemarcus asked.
“Ethan,” Charles stuttered.
The two plants from Xaviers had retained their own forenames for ease of memory as Ethan was inexperienced.
Lemarcus faced Ethan off. Ethan was undercover and not here to defend some random student.
Lemarcus was a fair bit shorter than Ethan, but the black youth had beefy arms and shoulders, as well as a friend to back him up. He gave Ethan a little shove.
Ethan felt edgy. He had started his combat training programme and it had taught him that your first encounter with someone sets the tone for everything that follows. If Ethan appeared weak, Lemarcus would never consider him an equal and they'd be unlikely to make friends. But if Ethan lashed out, they might become enemies and that would be even worse. He had to get the right balance between the two.
“Try pushing me around if you want to,” Ethan said casually. “But I wouldn't recommend it.”
Lemarcus turned to his mate and smiled. “What's this, Del?” he laughed. “Looks like the new boy thinks he's a hard man.”
Lemarcus tried to grab Ethan's wrist. Ethan dodged easily out of the way and jabbed two fingers into Lemarcus' belly, sending him into a spasm.
“Too slow,” Ethan said, shaking his head in contempt.
Lemarcus lunged again. His fist hit Ethan in the guts, knocking the wind out of him. The force behind it surprised Ethan. In a flash of anger, he hooked his foot
around Lemarcus's ankle and shoved him over. All the other kids backed up, expecting a fight.
Ethan stood over Lemarcus with his fists bunched, defying him to get up. Lemarcus didn't look too confident. After a couple of tense moments, Ethan smiled and reached out his hand.
“If you want an argument, there's plenty of easier targets around than me,” he said.
Lemarcus looked pissed off, but grudgingly let Ethan help him up.
“Where'd you learn to do that?” Lemarcus asked, brushing off his uniform.
“From my dad,” Ethan said. “He was a Karate instructor.” It had actually been a Krav Maga move but no one here would know the difference.
“Cool,” Lemarcus said. “What belt are you?”
“Black, of course,” Ethan said. “What about you? Who taught you to throw a punch?”
“Boxing club,” Lemarcus said. “I'm undefeated. Eight fights, eight victories.”
By the time the teacher got the classroom door open, the lesson was half finished. There was a spare seat next to Lemarcus.
“Mind if I sit here?” Ethan asked.
“Free country,” Lemarcus shrugged. “This is Del and I'm Lemarcus.”
"I'm Ethan.”
Ethan was pleased with himself. It had only taken barely two hours to break the ice. He sealed the deal by blowing a massive raspberry when the teacher asked him to be quiet. Lemarcus and Del cracked up laughing. Lemarcus slapped Ethan on the back as they walked out to morning break.
“You've got balls, Ethan,' he said. “What lesson's next?”
Del got a timetable out of his pocket.
“History,” he said.
Lemarcus groaned.