Nero

Each child muttered the same mantra to himself, “Not me.... not me..... please not me....” She was calling pairs out for the class field trip and nobody wanted to be matched with the red faced goat-eyed boy. They were too young to exclude on looks alone so their collective reaction was instinctual. Still, the boy received his buddy in turn, and took his place in line. Next, the teacher instructed her charges to hold hands and walk toward the waiting bus. That’s when he dug his nails into his partner’s flesh stopping only after he made four little bloody half-moons.