March 3, 2010

March 3, 2010
	Northport K-8

	Zach smelled the fries, and he knew what had to be done. He quickly targeted the nearest kindergartener and slowly crept up on his prey. The kid was tall, Hispanic, lazy eyed and completely unsuspecting. Zach took advantage of this.
	As quietly as he could, he snuck up behind his unaware prey, and then, with expert precision, he attacked. Before the kid even realized what was going on, Zach had his fries and was running towards the safe zone. The kid looked around, but had no idea where Zach ran off to. The crowds in the cafeteria were so dense, he wouldn’t see him if he was right in front of him.
	Zach silently congratulated himself, and rewarded himself with the cafeteria’s finest smiley-face fries. They tasted like absolute garbage, but he had low standards and was starving. He shoved the last one down his throat, and was about to look for his next target when the bell rang, and everyone exited the cafeteria single file to get to their next class.
 Zach rushed to the back of the line to his class, falling behind a kid named Nicholas. Zach absolutely despised Nick, and was tempted to start a fight just because, but he remembered he was supposed to control his feelings and stuff, so he just decided to keep quiet.
	He began to ponder what would happen if Nick provoked him and he had the chance to fight back. Or better yet, if he provoked Nick and Nick threw the first blow. His mom always told him to defend himself, and he wouldn’t ever get in trouble with her for fighting back. But that probably would never happen, considering Nick was usually very good at self-control unlike Zach.
	When they finally arrived at Mrs. Lamb’s class, everyone took their seats. Zach unfortunately was seated next to Nick, but he didn’t have a say in where he sat, so he thought it best not to complain. He struggled to stay awake as the Mrs. Lamb gave them instructions on what they were doing. Something about counting by fives. He was way passed this, and didn’t need to learn any of it, and the school offered for him to skip a grade but his mom wouldn’t allow it. He really didn’t understand her thought process.
	A girl with dark skin handed him a paper, and Zach snapped back into reality. What were they doing again? Something about counting to fives. Nothing he didn’t already know.
	He finished the worksheet in a matter of a few minutes, and had the time to watch the other kids struggle with the most basic math. It was amusing, but at the same time it was sad to see this is where he was at. Only a kindergartener, learning how to count by fives. A kindergartener, at the very bottom of the food chain. A kindergartener, with anger issues and little self-control.
	The same girl that passed them out collected the worksheets. Zach expected to get a perfect score, as always. He looked over at Nick to see him struggling to finish his worksheet before it was collected. Zach pitied him, but at the same time it was satisfying to watch him struggle at something Zach so easily excelled at. He would like nothing more to rub it in Nick’s face, but if he said a word the teacher would send him to the office. He really hated Mrs. Lamb, and he hated Nick.
	Come to think of it, there wasn’t a soul in this damned school he didn’t hate. Not one except Brian of course, but he rarely got to see Brian during the day. Kind of ironic that his two closest male companions, his best friend and his mom’s boyfriend, both had the same name: Brian. And his sensei was named Brian. So was his uncle. Is there anyone not named Brian?
	“Please take out last night’s homework.” Mrs. Lamb announced.
	Zach had spaced out again, so lost in thought. Maybe he should make some more friends, someone to keep him distracted instead of getting lost in thought. He quickly pulled out his homework, which he finished in under five minutes. He expected to get a perfect score on that, too.
	Before he knew it, they had already reviewed the homework and were getting up to use the computers. Today has been a blur, he thought. Why am I even here? I already know all of this. But as always, he kept his mouth shut and moved to a computer.
	Ironically enough, the only computer left was next to Nick. He hated Nick beyond words. Nick constantly teased and made fun of him. His words didn’t actually hurt, but it was aggravating.
	As always, the teacher directed them to some stupid website that patronized them like they were infants. No wonder his generation was so incompetent.
	Zach noticed Nick was being a little pushy, but the seats were really close together and it probably wasn’t purposeful. Zach chose to ignore it.
	Now he was getting fed up, Nick was almost pushing him off his seat now, and he was trying to get this stupid assignment over with. He met Nick’s brown eyes, and what he saw was someone who was having a bad day, someone who didn’t want to be messed with. Zach returned a look of utter disgust, disgust at how he thinks he’s the only one having a bad day, disgust at how he thinks he can just push him around, total disgust at how he thinks he’s superior to him.
	Nick shoved him off the chair.
	Now push had literally come to shove, and Zach had just about had enough of this shit. That fucking cunt should just die, no one would be upset, in fact the death of that worthless bag of shit would be beneficial to everyone. If Zach were to kill him right here and now, everyone would cheer him on, and it would serve this dick right. He should, it would solve all his problems. He would be so much happier if Nick died, a slow, painful death. And it would be so fucking satisfying to watch. He would crave every second of it.
	Zach was still on the floor, and he looked around. It seemed none of these mindless shit-heads had noticed he was just shoved on the ground. No one’s going to do anything about it, the teacher isn’t even paying attention. Which means he needs to take this into his own hands.
	Zach picked himself up, and grabbed Nick by his collar. With the other hand, he shoved it as deep into his eye as possible, as hard as he could. Nick screamed.
	What a little bitch, Zach thought. He took Nick’s shit silently, but the little pussy has to scream at the top of his lungs just because he was poked in the eye? He should do more, to teach this pile of filth a lesson. He was about to grab Nick’s throat when Mrs. Lamb caught him.
	“And what do you think you’re doing!?” Mrs. Lamb barked.
	“H-he started it! I w-was just defending myself!” Zach stammered, trying to make the situation look less in Nick’s favor.
	The look he saw on Nick’s face made him so disgusted, how someone could be so smug as he gets away with everything.
	“I’ll have none of that, to the office with you!” Mrs. Lamb shouted at Zach
	“But he started it, it’s Nick’s fault, didn’t you see him push me!?”
	“I said to the office!”
	“But – “
	“NOW!!”
Zach was on the verge of tears now. He wanted nothing more than the death of Nick, and to show Mrs. Lamb that he wasn’t at fault, but if he fought anymore with her, his punishment would probably be worse. So, he slowly walked out the door and to the office.
As he was walking he thought to himself; what did he do to deserve this? At least punish Nick too, Zach was just defending himself. And he still couldn’t get the look Nick had out of his head, it haunted him the whole way there. It fueled his rage, and he wanted nothing more to kill Nick, and Mrs. Lamb, and all the idiots in that class who could’ve defended him, they all should die. Everyone in this cursed school should die. No, that wasn’t right. Everyone on this shitty planet should die if they’re happy with this injustice.
	He was still trying to figure out what happened when he reached the office. He walked in, and the lady at the desk told him to sit down. Eventually, his mom and her boyfriend walked through the door. The look on their faces was total disappointment, which he more or less expected. He was a grade A student with a perfect record, and he later found out that Mrs. Lamb had written him a referral.
	They rode home in silence, and once they reached the house his parents asked him what happened. So he explained in great detail, the events that took place earlier. As always, his mother just tried to defend Nick and explain to Zach why he was wrong to do what he did, and as always, her boyfriend agreed with everything she said. He knew they wouldn’t understand, and he also knew they were wrong. He didn’t regret anything he did that day, even if it cost him his new DSi, and a perfect record. He sat in his room, fantasizing all the ways he could kill Nick, and Mrs. Lamb, and everyone else really.
	Everything after that was a blur. The next school day he didn’t sit next to Nick, and he was silent the whole day. His sister was as careless and happy as always. What he would give to be like that again.
The rest of kindergarten went by like a blur. In first grade he was transferred to Rivers Edge Elementary, where he met his best friends Josh Burk and James Slusher. It was nice to not have to deal with Nick’s shit ever again. But he made new enemies, some he hated even more than Nick, fantasized their deaths even more gruesome than Nick, hurt them in different ways than he hurt Nick, and that seemed to be the pattern for the rest of his life. Though sometimes, years and years after, he still fantasizes about all the ways Nick, Mrs. Lamb, and everyone else really, could be suffering.