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I'll understand if you don't want to read such a long piece, but my classmates really liked it and I thought maybe somebody here might enjoy it. It's very 'teen fiction'

*****

Smack! The red kickball slammed into the back of Brian’s head. He was immediately down for the count, sprawled out on the grass. “Hey!” his tormentor shouted, “Throw that back over here, will you?” Brian looked up. It was Jason, of course. Wiping the dirt and grass off his jeans, Brian shot him a dirty look and kicked the ball deep into the woods on the far side of the playground. Watching Jason take off after it gave him little satisfaction.
“What a jerk,” Andrew said as they walked off towards the tire ring. “Why does he think picking on us makes him so cool?”
“Whatever,” muttered Brian, “Some people just can’t act like human beings. He probably thinks he’s a riot.”
“I can’t believe how stupid they are,” said Andrew. “This morning Jason asked me if I wanted to play kickball with them. Like I’m going to fall for something like that! They just wanted an excuse to push me around without getting in trouble.”
“Idiots,” agreed Brian. “Let’s go play freeze tag.”
The tire ring was a circle of 30 tires welded together and hanging from chains. It made a sort of arena for playing games in, and during recess it was usually populated by seven or 10 of the more unpopular kids around school. Besides Brian and Andrew, none of them really got along with each other, or could even be called friends. But beggars can’t be choosers, and playing tag sure beat sitting against the wall up by the playground monitors.
Ian was a regular on the tire ring. “Hey, what’s all over your shirt, Brian?”
Brian looked down at the ugly white and yellow smear down the side of his shirt. “Somebody threw their sandwich crust at me during lunch. I think it was Seth but I didn’t see for sure. That idiot lunch lady didn’t do anything, of course.”
Ian leaned back against a tire and let out a belly laugh. “That sucks, I would pound Seth if he tried anything like that on me.”
Brian and Andrew exchanged knowing looks with the other boys gathered around the circle. It was Andrew’s turn to speak up. “I’d love to see it, Ian. You’d probably waste him in one punch.”
“Hell yeah,” Ian stood up. “I’d kill him. They would have to take him out of here in an ambulance.”
“Sure,” said Brian. “Let’s play ring tag.”

***

The next day Andrew didn’t show up at the bus stop. Brian went up to his house and knocked on the door. Andrew’s mom quickly answered.
“I’m sorry, Brian. Andrew is really, really sick. I don’t think you should get near him.”
“All right. So he’s not coming to school today?”
Andrew’s mom smiled. “No, I think he’ll be staying home at least for today. Bye, Brian.”
“Goodbye.” Brian shuffled off toward the bus stop. How lame was that? Now who was he going to sit by at lunch? Matt was a total geek, there was no way Brian was sitting by him. He’d get picked on for sure. Besides, he’d probably have to sit there and listen to Matt practice counting in binary code. What a loser.
That morning during math lessons Brian felt somebody poking him in the back of the neck. Jason sat right behind him. Maybe if he just ignored it, the idiot would get bored and quit. But the poking went on and got harder and harder. Brian finally sighed and turned around. “What do you want?”
“Geez, chill,” Jason was smiling. “Where’s Andy?”
“His name is Andrew. He’s sick today.”
“That sucks. Hey, you want to play basketball with us today? Vince is sick to and we need another guy.”
“What? No, of course not. How stupid do you think I am?”
Jason stopped smiling. “Why are you always so stuck-up? Do you think you’re so much better than us just because you’re always getting A’s on all your stupid tests? And thanks for kicking my ball into the woods. I got detention after school because I left the playground to go get it. What an asshole.”
Brian was starting to feel confused. A jerk? But all Jason wanted to do was get him out on the basketball court where he could make fun of him for not being able to shoot. He was the jerk. “Just leave me alone, OK? I’m trying to listen to Ms. Kirshman.”
“Yeah, right. You never listen to a word she says. I always see you scribbling in your notebook. What are you writing, anyway? I know it can’t be a love letter. The only girl who would even look at you is Susie and you never even talk to her.”
Brian could feel his face turning red. “Go away, all right? I’m just drawing pictures.”
Before he knew it, it was time for recess. He immediately started off for the tire ring.
“Hey! Brian! Heads up!”
He pretended not to hear. A basketball rolled by to the right. “Those guys are idiots if they think I’m getting that for them.”
“Brian! Yo! Grab that ball! You deaf?”
Just keep walking. Don’t turn around. Don’t let them know you heard. Who are you kidding? Of course they know you heard. You’re like 100 feet away.
He picked up the ball.
Sean ran up behind him. “Geez, it’s about time. I thought you’d lost it, man. Hey, come play basketball with us, we need another guy on our team.”
Brian looked over at the tire ring. Ian was yelling at Matt, but Brian couldn’t make out what he was saying. Justin was sitting on the ground poking at an anthill. Charlie looked like he was lost deep in his own thoughts, staring off into the parking lot.
Brian looked over at the basketball court. Six guys stood around, waiting for the return of their ball so they could get playing again. They joked with each other, laughing and shoving as they waited. Jason climbed up and touched the back on the backboard, prompting a whistle from the playground monitor.
Brian looked at Sean. Sean, who threw sandwich crusts at lunch. Sean, who now stood there with hands out, waiting for the basketball. Sean, who had his own gang of skateboarders who always rode around town after school. Sean, who got A’s and B’s on all his tests but never got made fun of for it.
Brian handed the ball to Sean and tried not to frown. “I’ll play, but you have to promise not to laugh. I don’t know how to shoot.”
Sean grinned backed. “Are you kidding me? Half these guys couldn’t even tell a free throw from a cheeseburger. Let’s show them how it’s done.”
Jason frowned as they got closer. “You’re not letting him play, are you? He’s a jerk. He’ll probably just steal the ball and get us in trouble again.”
Brian felt confused again. What is he talking about? Why is he mad at me?
Sean shook his head. “No way, man. You’re just mad because now our teams are even and you’re going to lose. Come on, Brian.”
Brian played through the next 20 minutes in a daze. He didn’t make a single shot, but nobody laughed. When somebody pushed him down, they helped him back up. People joked with him, and he didn’t get mad. He joked back.
The game ended with Jason’s team up by six. “Same time tomorrow, guys, and we’ll whip your butts again!” Jason yelled as he ran off towards the school. Everybody laughed.
Somebody smacked Brian on the back. He got angry and turned around. It was Brice. “Hey, Brian, you’re not too bad. You can really jump. I saw you block that shot Jason took. Why haven’t you ever played with us before?”
Brian felt his anger fading. “I don’t know. Can I play again tomorrow?”
Brice shrugged, “It’s a free country, isn’t it? We’ll be here. Bring Andy, too. We had one guy who wasn’t here today but we’ll need him if you’re going to play again.”
“Sure,” Brian smiled. “I’ll do that.”