Love Made Over Pt 01

Love Made Over

Part 1

Cast of Characters:

Wendell Davis Anders

Olivia Anders -- mother of Wendell Anders

Wendell Henry Anders senior -- father of Wendell Anders

Gwendolyn Rene Jacobs

Geneva Jacobs (Gwen's mom)

Steve Benson (First bully)

Randal (Randy) Wilson (second bully)

...

"Come on baby, smile. I know it's a little scary being in a new place and all but I'm sure you'll meet new friends here. I'll be back to pick you up right after school. Okay?" Olivia said as she ran the fingers of her right hand through Wendel's seemingly always mussed thick dark brown hair.

Wendell turned his head from looking out the car window at the new school and the multitudes of other students arriving for the first day of school to look forlornly at his mother. His sad eyes said it all. He wasn't so much scared as he was just dreading being the new kid at school, again. For his mother's benefit, however, he smiled, if a little sadly, and nodded before opening the passenger side door and climbing out of the car. Hitching the strap of his book-bag over one shoulder, Wendell turned and trudged towards the front door of the school.

This was the first day of classes in the school year. A fresh start, new faces, new teachers, new classes... and new unknowns. Like, who the bullies were, who might be potential friends or allies. Yeah, the first day at a new school, but not Wendell's first time being the new kid in school. He'd had to be the new kid four different times already, at four different schools, because his family had to move with his father's postings. Wendell was an Army brat, his father serving in the Army and his family moving to wherever his father got posted.

His father's previous posting had been to a base in New Jersey. That had lasted for two years, before New Jersey the family had lived in Florida, Oregon, and Germany. Of course, Wendell hadn't been in school when they lived in Germany, but his older brother and sister had been. Wendell was the baby of the family, and a surprise at that. His brother and sister were eight and ten years older than him, respectively.

Both Wendell's brother and sister also had to go through the transition of starting a new school each time they were forced to move. They were both in college now, his brother at the University of Florida, his sister working on a master's degree at Rutgers. Wendell though was still having to deal with being the new kid. This was his first year in middle school, transitioning from elementary and preparing for the challenges of high school yet to come. Yeah, it was, what was yet to come, that had Wendell on edge and anxious. It was only a matter of time before the fun and games began. Hello, Hardin County Public Schools.

There were the murmurs and pointing fingers of some pointing out the unfamiliar face joining them. Some were curious, some were friendly, some were suspicious. Wendell already knew that the grapevine would have announced his arrival all over school by the end of the day, if not by lunch. He also knew to just keep his head down and mind his own business until the newness began to wear off. So, that's what he did, he found his assigned locker and deposited the majority of his books, keeping out only the ones for his first two classes of the day.

The first class was found, and he was introduced by the teacher to the rest of the class. More curious looks and stares, more murmurs and whispers. Soon the class was over, and the students filed out and everyone transitioned to their next class. Again, Wendell was introduced by the teacher to the class, this one had some of the same faces from his first class, but some new faces as well. One in particular, was a mousy little brunette girl sitting in the desk next to his. She smiled shyly but didn't speak to him.

Later at lunch, Wendell felt the stares of everyone as he found a seat at a table to have his lunch. Looking around he tried to catalog the different kids checking him out. The nerds, the jocks, the social drama queens... and the loners. There were always loners, for one reason or another. They just didn't seem to fit in with any of the usual clicks. He was surprised to see the mousy little brunette girl sitting by herself and keeping her head down, much like he was, trying to go unnoticed, invisible.

That never seems to work, at least not for very long anyway. Being invisible is just not possible, it would seem. Some of the more curious kids finally approached Wendell as he was finishing his sandwich his mother had packed for his lunch. As always it was a couple of girls from the drama queen squad. They always had to be the first to get the latest gossip.

"So, you're the new kid... Wentworth or something?" a gum chewing overly prissy blue eyed curly headed blonde girl asked distractedly as she twirled a lock of her hair in the fingers of her right hand. Her left hand planted firmly on her hip that was cocked to one side.

"It's Wendell... yeah... hi." He said glancing up but not smiling too much, just enough to be polite. The blonde's sidekick giggled, her right hand coming up to cover her freckled face and lip glossed puffy lips and braces. Her red hair, also curly. Both were overly dressed as if they were putting on a fashion show for the other students.

"Right. So, what's your story?" the blonde asked, ignoring the correction of his name, it was not important to her.

"My dad got stationed at the fort, so we moved to Kentucky. Anything else you want to know?" Wendell asked with the edge of weariness in his voice, but he remained polite. His radar was going off though. Somehow, he knew this girl was trouble. Maybe not she herself, but others who were interested in her most likely. He'd seen it before. Miss Popular shows an interest in someone and someone else gets butt-hurt over it.

"You're a brat then? An Army brat. Not the first here. So, like... what do you do? What are you into Wentford?" The blonde asked, one eyebrow raising as she gave her friend a sidelong glance as if sharing an inside joke.

Wendell frowned and sat the rest of his sandwich down and picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth. It was all an act, of course, to stall for a moment or two of time so that he didn't snap at blondie for deliberately butchering his name. He knew that she was trying to get under his skin. Again, this wasn't his first time being the new kid in school for Wendell.

"I could tell you, but it would probably bore you, or you wouldn't understand... so..." He began but paused seeing the shocked look of outrage transforming the girl's face as she realized that he had just dismissed her like a nobody.

"Not... not understand? What do you..." She sputtered, almost spitting out her chewing gum, only to be politely interrupted, again, by Wendell.

"I don't know, just going by the fact that you can't remember a simple thing like my name, I didn't want to hurt your feelings or anything." Wendell said with an air of honesty but was finding it hard not to smile smugly at the blonde's huge eyes and gasping mouth. Her sidekick was still covering her own mouth, but her eyebrows were nearly in her scalp they were so shocked.

Before blondie could say anything else, there was a commotion on the other side of the lunch room. Turning around, Wendell saw that it was a couple of jocks, probably football players leaning on either side of the Mousy little brunette, crowding her as she tried to eat her lunch. One had taken her sandwich from her tray and was eating it, almost in her face, as if daring her to do something about it. The other was getting handsy, his hands dipping farther and farther down her back and slipping under the waistband of her jeans. This caused her to jerk upright and windmill her arms trying to break the unwanted contact.

"I said LEAVE ME ALONE!" the mousy girl all but shouted.

The commotion was drawing unwanted attention, at least by her, but the jocks seemed to thrive on it. The other kids in the lunchroom were either jeering or cheering depending on how they viewed the drama unfolding. Either way, no one seemed to want to do anything to help the girl out. No one, that is, except for Wendell.

Wendell had been on the receiving end of bullying more times than he could count. He knew the frustration and helpless feeling. He had also learned to stand up to it. Wendell didn't go looking for trouble, but he wouldn't back down from it either. So, helping someone else might be one step away from his own concerns but it was the right thing to do.

Pushing away from his tray, Wendell stood up from his seat and crossed the room calmly until he was standing next to the bully who was still shoving one hand down the back of the girl's jeans and fighting off her small wrists and hands with his other hand. Before he could even say anything though, the bully's partner stepped up to his face and blocked him.

"What do you want, new kid?" the second bully asked menacingly, puffing himself up to make himself seem more imposing perhaps.

"First of all, I have a name. It's Wendell. Second of all, I want you to leave the girl alone." Wendell stated calmly but never breaking eye contact with bully number two.

The bully actually laughed at him. He said to his handsy buddy... "Hey, Wendy here says we should leave the girl alone."

The mousy girl was struggling so much by now that she had slipped from her chair and was on her knees still squirming and pinwheeling her arms trying to get away from the first bully. That bully just laughed and without turning to even look at Wendell, said... "Fuck off, or get stomped."

Bully number two pressed in closer, trying to be even more menacing, and repeated his leader's words. "You heard him... Wendy... Fuck off or get stomped."

The girl scratched the first bully's forearm which angered him, and he smacked her across the face. She yelped and fell forward covering her face from further attack but leaving her back unprotected. Wendell had seen enough.

With surprising speed and power, Wendell brought both hands up from his sides and stiff-armed bully number two in the chest, shoving him away and causing him to stumble backwards and fall on his butt. Wendell then took one step closer to the first bully and grabbed his upraised hand by the wrist, pulled and twisted it behind his back, putting him into an arm lock.

"Take your hand out of her pants. NOW!" Wendell ordered the bigger boy.

The mousy girl scrambled away on her hands and knees when the bully's hand came out of her jeans. The now furious bully snarled and turned his full attention on Wendell as he struggled to twist himself away from the arm lock. His partner had scrambled back to his feet and was charging Wendell with a murderous fire in his eyes. Wendell took a half a step sideways twisting the bigger bully's arm with him, turning him, and bully number two crashed into his leader. Wendell released his hold on the boy's wrist and the two crashed to the cafeteria floor.

The shocked murmurs and gasps of all those watching suddenly grew quiet as several very angry-looking adults rushed into the lunchroom. One male teacher grabbing both of the bullies by their collars as they tried to launch themselves toward Wendell once more. Wendell knew that he had just been saved from a beating, at least for now.

Later, in the school principal's office, Wendell gave his recounting of the incident to the principal as the other two boys waited outside for their turn. Wendell was disappointed in himself, but he knew that that was nothing compared to the disappointment that he was going to feel from his mother and father when news got back to them. The first day of school and already in trouble. It didn't matter that he hadn't gone looking for trouble. It always seemed to find him anyway.

Needless to say, Wendell missed being introduced to his other three classes that first day. Instead, he sat through those periods in his guidance counselor's office. He didn't know what happened to the two bullies. He'd heard shouting coming from inside the principal's office as he waited outside to be collected by the guidance counselor. He knew that it wouldn't be the last he'd seen of those two boys. He'd have to watch his own back from that day on. It seemed that the only good thing to come from that altercation at lunch was that he learned the mousy little girl's name. The guidance counselor spoke of a Gwen.

As Wendell sat on a short retaining wall in front of the school, waiting for his mother to arrive and pick him up, he could feel the buzz of excitement in the crowds of students who saw him. Some seemed genuinely happy, some appeared to be almost saddened. It was those with the not so cheerful demeanor that Wendell assumed knew the bullies better than those who were happy. They knew that this was the beginning, and things would not go well for him.

The two bullies and several other guys, most obviously fellow teammates, stopped and gave Wendell the stink eye but didn't approach him or say anything to him. The leader, mister handsy, gave him what he assumed was an evil smile. "Yeah right, nothing new to see here." Wendell thought to himself.

Wendell saw his mom's car turn in off the street, so he hopped down off the wall and collected his book-bag. As he stepped to the curb in anticipation, he saw the mousy little girl, "Gwen"? being walked out by a guidance counselor. Gwen happened to look in his direction and noticed him. She stopped and smiled and waved one hand somewhat timidly, almost as if afraid to draw too much attention to herself, or perhaps to any association with him. Whatever... but that smile... and her eyes. They were sincere at least.

He jumped when his mom tapped her horn a couple of times to get his attention. Turning towards the parking lot, Wendell saw that his mom had pulled up to the curb right beside him and she had seen him looking at the girl. His mom was smiling happily, almost smugly happily. Oh no. Well, at least she didn't seem pissed about his getting into a fight on the first day at the new school. Or did she even know about that yet?

"So, she's cute. New friend already?" Olivia asked her son, as he buckled his seat belt beside her, he paused as if in thought, then shrugged and sat back in his seat and looked at his feet.

Olivia knew her son better than he did himself, usually anyway. She knew that when he was contemplative as he was now that something was on his mind, or something had happened, and he was still mulling it over in his mind. Thinking if there was another way things might have gone or turned out if he had done something differently.

Putting the car in gear and heading towards home, Olivia let Wendell contemplate. She knew he would speak when he was ready or had a question to ask. Always the thoughtful one, she mused, unlike his older siblings who were prone to acting before thinking. Still though, even a thoughtful child has difficulties at times, and it was her job to help him through them if she could. She knew that he was facing the challenges of being uprooted and transplanted into strange surroundings yet again in his life. Each time was a challenge, and each time, so far, he had managed to acclimate and settle in, overcoming the newness and challenges.

"Mom?" Wendell began but then paused as he searched for the words to pose his question. "Why do some people choose to be bullies?" He finally posed.

"Wow! That's a good question, Wen. I wish I knew the right answer to that one. Unfortunately, it would seem each bully has their own reasons for being the way they are. Some learned it from their parents or family... or their friends. Some... I think some are just covering up some kind of insecurity or fear from everyone else. You know, acting. They figure if they can intimidate or frighten others first, they won't get hurt themselves." Olivia postulated. Inside she was beaming at how deep her youngest was. Ever thoughtful but also open-minded enough to wonder about other people's motivations.

"How can you tell the difference? I mean... if they are 'acting' or if that's just the way they are?" Wendell asked.

"Okay, score another one for the Wen. Another good question." Olivia chirped with a wry grin and a shake of her head as she turned the car onto their new street, almost home.

Glancing over again to see Wendell resting his head back against the seat and gazing out the windshield but not seeing the world outside. No, he was still somewhere inside his own head, replaying something, thinking.

"I guess, you'd have to get to know the person to find out what makes them who and what they are, or the way they are. But to be honest, that goes for everyone, not just a bully. The more you know about someone, the better you can understand them and, well, know them." Olivia offered.

"Isn't that being a little nosy?" Wendell asked with a curious lilt in his voice.

Olivia laughed and had to reach over and muss Wendell's hair a bit. So clever, her son.

"Yes, it can be, depending on how you go about learning about someone. The best way is to simply talk to them, openly. Kind of like making friends. Of course, watching them and how they interact with others can tell you a lot about them and their nature too." Olivia amended her previous suggestion.

"I suppose, but I've found that most bullies don't want to talk to me... like making friends..." Wendell lamented in a smaller voice.

"Did you meet someone who was a bully today?" Olivia asked, now feeling flush for missing the obvious implications from the first question.

"You could say that." Wendell admitted with an air of defeat.

"You want to talk about it?" Olivia asked hesitantly.

"We are talking about it." Wendell responded with a smirk and turned his head to look at his mother's profile as she turned the car into the driveway of their new house.

Olivia braked to a halt and put the car into park before turning the engine off and turning to face her son beside her. With a mother's patience and a soft smile masking her worried eyes, she waited for Wendell to continue.

"When I was eating my lunch today, by myself, I saw two jocks picking on a girl who was also eating her lunch by herself." Wendell began, his eyes taking on that vacant look as he looked inward as if watching a replay of the event.

"I don't know why they were picking on her but for some reason it... I don't know... it made me want to stop them. I might not have even done anything if they hadn't started..." Wendell actually blushed a bit and turned his face away from his mother to look out the passenger side window.

"Started what?" Olivia prompted softly, curious to get the whole story.

"Well, the bigger guy... I guess the main bully... started... umm... he was putting his hand down the back of the girl's pants." Wendell said quietly.

"Oh! And she didn't like that." Olivia surmised.

"No. She didn't, she tried to keep him from doing that, to get away, but he was so much bigger than she is... it wasn't fair. I couldn't just sit there and watch it happen." Wendell said with a decisive tone.

Olivia could feel her heart swelling. Her youngest child was more of a man than some adults. To come to the aid of someone else, someone being bullied, she was so proud. But then she realized that she hadn't heard the whole story just yet. She had to know what else happened. After a moment of reflection, and patience, she asked her son what he did.

Wendell went on to recount the incident in the school cafeteria, then the inevitable confrontation in the principal's office and then the conversation with the school counselor. Again, she marveled at the maturity of her son. He knew that fighting was wrong, but he still went to the aid of that young girl despite the consequences. He could have gotten in trouble or worse, he could have been hurt.