That night, I didn’t tell Mom. I never did. She was warm, smelled like cinnamon, and worked as a logistics officer—nothing intimidating. But she noticed me picking at my dinner.
I was used to this. Derek had been my personal storm cloud since sixth grade. But what Derek didn’t know was that my mom had just returned from her six-month deployment. And she had a very particular set of skills.
For the first time, I saw Derek Thompson look genuinely terrified. the bully meets my mom (2022)
I cracked. The whole story spilled out—the shoves, the name-calling, the stolen homework, the creeping dread of every hallway.
That was the last time anyone ever bullied me. And the first time I realized that the scariest person in the world isn't the one who throws punches—it's the one who knows how to untie a knot without cutting the rope. That night, I didn’t tell Mom
He smirked. "You always say that."
I nodded, not trusting my own voice.
It was a gray Tuesday afternoon when Derek "The Wall" Thompson decided to make my life hell again. He cornered me behind the gym, his knuckles cracking like twigs as he leaned in. "Lunch money, nerd. Or I break that anime keychain you love so much."