Sir E. Robert Smythe and the School Bully
Christina Weigand and Ricci Moore
Nathan and Paul have a bully problem. Billy, the school
bully, has chosen them to be the target of his aggression. Paul along with Sir
E. Robert Smythe of the Galactic Safety Council discovers the root of Billy’s
issues and strives to convince the bully to change his ways.
When Billy runs away from home, Paul goes after him. Billy’s
dad, the cause of Billy’s anger, finds the boys and threatens them. They are
rescued but not before each are injured and Billy’s dad escapes.
During their recovery they learn more about each other and
face Billy’s dad once again. Can they overcome their differences and confront
the bullying going on in their school in before someone gets seriously hurt?
Excerpt
Paul plopped on his bed and stared at the computer screen.
Mom had grounded him and said no computer time, except for homework, for a
week.
He tried to
explain what had happened without ratting out Billy, but hadn’t been
successful. He didn’t know how long he could keep this up. Sooner or later
something was going to have to change. “I wish there was someone I could talk
to about this,” Paul said out loud to no one, “but mom said no computer time so
I can’t even call Nathan.”
While brushing
his teeth he thought about the great uneaten lunch mom packed, and the paper
airplane Billy threw. He didn’t even see what was on the note before Mrs.
Chrinshaw took it from him. It wasn’t until he was in Ms. Harris’s office that
he got a glance at it and saw the monster that Billy had drawn. He had to admit
Billy was a pretty good artist and wished he could draw like that. The only
thing he could do well was run fast, and climb trees. There wasn’t much chance
to use those skills in school, unless running away from Billy counted.
Well no use
worrying about it now. He might as well try and get some sleep. Paul pulled the
blanket over his head and switched on the flashlight he had under the pillow.
Grabbing the book he was reading for school, A Neverending Story, he finished a
chapter before falling asleep.
The bed shook and
a bright flash of light startled him awake. The book fell to the floor as he
threw his blanket off. Sitting on the foot of his bed was a creature unlike
anything he had ever seen. Paul wasn’t sure whether to be afraid or brave. The
purple and lime green creature had the head of the family’s Saint Bernard, the
body of a large jack rabbit and the tail of a lion. A bowler hat sat on his
round head and a monocle graced his one eye. He wore an orange vest with a chain
and watch attached to it. In his hand he held a jade blue parasol.
“You asked for
someone to talk to,” the creature said in a proper British accent.
“I did? Oh yeah,
I guess I did. But what…who are you?”
“Quit blubbering,
Paul, we don’t have much time.”
“You know my
name? Who are you?”
“Of course I know
your name. As to who I am, Sir E. Robert Smythe, Senior Safety Ambassador for
the Galactic Safety Council, at your service. You may call me Sir E. Robert. I
have come from the planet of Gwill. Queen Sage realized you were in trouble and
sent me to aid you. Now tell me about your problems.”
Paul proceeded to
explain everything that happened. When he finished, the creature sat on the bed
in silence for several seconds and Paul began to wonder if this was real. He
pinched himself. “Ow, that hurt.”
“Of course it
did. Why would you hurt yourself?”
“I thought maybe
I was dreaming.”
“This isn’t a
dream. Humans can be so obtuse at times. Now be quiet while I think.” They sat
on the bed a few more moments and the creature started to talk. “We seem to
have a twofold problem here. First, this Billy person has some anger issues. We
have to discover the source of his angst and then we can better confront what
is bothering him and put an end to his torturing you. Second, I sense that
Morton the Morph has a hand in this and Queen Sage will need to be notified
posthaste, before we can begin to solve the problem.”
Before Paul could
respond there was a flash of light and the creature disappeared.
“Hey, wait! Where
did you go? I still have questions.”
A voice echoed in
his room. “I will be there when you need me.”
Paul punched his
pillow and pinched his arm again. “Not a dream. Not much help either.”
The next morning,
he met Nathan and they walked to school together. Paul told Nathan about his
dream, or at least what he thought was a dream. He still didn’t believe that
Sir E. Robert Smythe had been real, even though he had felt the pain of both
pinches to himself.
“Yeah, probably a
dream.” Nathan voiced his doubts. “But sounds like a cool dream. I hope it was
real. That would be totally cool.”
“I guess so,”
Paul said as they walked up to the school. “What am I going to do about Billy?”
“Let’s get in the
school before he gets here.” They headed toward the door and saw an old, beat
up extended cab pick-up pull into the driveway. A grizzled, middle-aged man
drove. Billy sat with him in the front seat and a small woman occupied the rear
seat. The man was yelling and smacking Billy’s head. The passenger side door
opened and Billy jumped out of the truck before it could speed away.
The bully ran
toward the door, noticing Nathan and Paul standing there. He pushed Nathan out
of his way. “What are you looking at, squinty eye?”
“Nothing. I
didn’t…see anything,” Nathan answered.
“Good thing. Now
get out of my way.” He pushed Nathan again and stormed into the school.
“Wow, did you see
that?”
“Yeah, that guy
was really beating on Billy. Do you think that was his dad?” Nathan said.
“Not sure. I’ve
never seen his dad. I didn’t even know he had a dad.”
Nathan shrugged
his shoulders. “Don’t be silly, everyone has a dad.”
“I know, I just
never heard him talk about his family.”
The two boys
walked into the school. Billy and his gang left them alone for the day, but
Paul still wasn’t happy. He had detention today because of what Billy did
yesterday.
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This sounds like a fun read!
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteThe book covers are great. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI can't take credit for the covers. A wonderful cover artist, Charlotte Volnek, who works for the publisher did the covers.
DeleteGreat quality literature for our youth. I have always said these need to be a classroom adoption series.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Now to convince the schools.
ReplyDelete