The worst beating I ever took

It wasn't from mom or dad, it was from a gigantic kid in junior high school. For some reason I fought a lot in junior high and middle school. I'm not sure why, I wasn't a big kid at all or much of a bully or anything, just fought a lot.

My primary target was a kid in my class named Silver. He always picked the fight and I always beat the piss out of him. I can't figure out why he kept coming back for more, but he did for years and in the 8th grade he quit and we left each other alone.

Sean was a friend of Silver's and I didn't really like him either, but I never beat him up (well once, we'll get to that in a minute). So Sean started dating a girl friend of mine and I wrote her a letter during class one day (naturally) to tell her I didn't like Sean and she needed to break up with him. Sean got mad and he and Silver wanted to beat me up, but couldn't, so they devised a plan.

They took the letter, erased three or so sentences from the middle of it and re-wrote it. They wrote that I wasn't afraid of John Paul, called him a creative list of racial slurs and finally said that I wanted to kick John Paul's ass.

John Paul was about 4 years older than all the rest of us in 8th grade. He had been expelled 4 years in a row for fighting. He loved to fight, and rightfully so... he was freaking huge!! A gigantic, muscled up black dude that couldn't read or write.

Since he couldn't read or write he didn't notice that the original sentences had been erased, the handwriting was totally different and the text had nothing to do with what was been said before and after Sean and Silver's alterations. So John Paul is pissed and his mission is to beat me to a pulp before the end of the day.

Word spreads fast in 8th grade and I knew of the pending beating. So I slip out of library 5 minutes early to make a run for it. My goal is to get off campus and to a friend's house nearby. Didn't work, got caught by a teacher, had to wait for the final bell and the race was on. Not only was he much stronger but also faster. He caught me just off campus.

I tried to explain that I had not written the things he was read but he wasn't interested in talking. He hit me so fast and so hard it knocked me down. It didn't stop with one punch, hell it didn't stop with twenty punches. I managed to block a few kicks and keep him from hitting me in the face, but I never got off a punch and spent most of the "fight" picking myself off the ground. He kicked my ass. Finally, my Japanese buddy got home and summoned his older brother. John Paul and the hundred or so watching the tragic event thought he was Bruce Lee and ran off.

I got in trouble for getting home later after school. That's just wrong. I told my mom I was busy getting my ass kicked and she didn't care, she was just mad I was late. I would have loved to have been home on time but I don't think telling John Paul that I "didn't have time for his silliness because I would be late and mom would be mad", would have changed anything.

Three days later we are all back in school, the swelling about my head had gone down some and somebody tells John Paul that I had not written what he was told. Silver was the culprit. Oh, sweet justice, now John Paul has a new mission... beat Silver to a pulp by the end of the day. I watched the entire event unfold before my eyes.

School is about to end and every student in 8th grade is anxious to watch Mini Mike Tyson hammer on Silver. Silver is in the gym on the opposite side of campus. I suppose he got released from class just before the final bell to go to the office and seek refuge. He is dashing at full speed when, all of a sudden, here comes John Paul out an open window in a classroom. I couldn't believe it. He saw his pray attempting to escape and jumped out a window to pursue him. It was great! I joined the chase, not to catch anyone, just to have front row seats. John Paul caught him just inside the office doors. John Paul hit him more times in ten seconds than he hit me throughout our incident, which felt like it lasted ten minutes. He also hit the assistant principle and got expelled again. But Silver was bloody, crying like a two-year-old and justice had been served. At least for Silver.

Sean returned to school the next day to learn that John Paul was expelled and not able to kick his ass, so I took on the chore. I accidentally ran in to him (literally) a few blocks from school in the middle of a street. He didn't get hit as hard or as often as I had, but I definitely laid it to him. I don't remember seeing or talking to either of them for the rest of the school year and my girl friend? She dropped his sorry ass after the whole affair was over so I was happy in the end.