Chapter 4 WE MEET FRIENDS-friends old and new

Robert woke up to the sound of purring. Yang cuddled on his neck, giving out a motor-like purr.

"Good morning Yang." he greeted the cat, gently raising it. He sat up in bed and proceeded in his morning rituals. Later, he took a platter of milk and gave it to the cat.

"Mom," he called, "are you staying home today too? Can you take care of my cat for me?"

"Hngrrr..." replied his mother.

"...Never mind..." thought Robert. He went to the kitten instead and said, "You behave yourself now, you hear?"

"Miii!" replied Yang.

With that, Robert left the house and went next door to wait for Angela. He stayed there for some time and was thinking that Angela had already left when the gate swung open.

"Good morning!" Robert said cheerfully. Angela looked at him surprised. "I thought you'd never come out!"

"What are you doing here?" she asked hotly

"Well I've decided that since we're next door neighbors..."

"Don't you dare do this again!" Angela hissed, "If anyone sees me with you... I'd... I'd..."

"Don't worry!" said Robert with a smile, "Didn't I tell you I'm good at disappearing?" he said.

"Why don't you disappear right now?" said Angela. She slung her backpack on her shoulder and headed off to school. Robert followed her with a big grin in his face.

~~~

Later that afternoon, Robert left early for home. Angela and him were no longer supposed to meet after school. "Maybe later I could come over to their place with Yang." he thought, "Besides, her sisters did tell me to visit them anytime!" he smiled to himself and thought of another way to make Angela smile at him when a tall boy blocked his way.

"Oy, you there." said the boy.

"Eh?" said Robert.

"You're Robert Cordero of class 4-6 right?" the guy asked. Robert noticed three other guys approaching him. They were 4th year students like himself.

"Yeah that's me." he said with a smile, "Is there something you need from..."

The guy's fist suddenly went racing to his belly in an uppercut. Robert tried to dodge but it was too late. SPACK!!!

Some students looked their way. Robert was bent over, his hands on his stomach, the guy looking down at him with a sly grin in his face.

"I hear you being too friendly with Ange." said the guy. "Don't you know that that girl's off limits to wimps like you?"

Robert didn't budge. He still clutched at his gut, the guy's fist still in contact with it. Suddenly, he looked up, his narrowed eyes shining darkly as it looked at the guy with contempt. He was holding the fist with both hands covering his abdomen. It never really hit him.

The guy stepped back at the sight of his eyes, looking a little nervous. Robert slowly slumped to the ground.

"Y-you!" said the guy, "Just stay away from Ange, got that?" he hesitated for a while, looking at the crumpled body on the ground, then aimed to kick it.

"That's enough, Boyet." called a voice from behind, "I think the little wimp have learned his lesson."

"Gerbert!" said Boyet, he backed-up as the other came near.

He was smaller than Boyet, much smaller, perhaps about 5 feet in height- or less. He had a huge head that looked as if his body couldn't support it. His messy stump of a hair stood on end, his cheeks sagged and his small black eyes protruded. All in all, he looked like a troll.

"Stay away from Angela if you know what's best for you." said the troll, "Anyone who wants to be 'friends' with her has to get through me first!"

Robert stayed on the ground. He wanted them to go away and leave him alone, but the troll and his 'pets' don't seem to want to leave. Slowly, he looked up and around. There were four of them now, Boyet, Gerbert, and two other thugs who looked just as dumb.

"Hey, you list'nin'?" growled Gerbert.

"Y-yes sir..." replied Robert with a groan.

"Good. Don't you forget that, wimp."

With that the group finally left. Robert waited for them to get out of sight till he lifted himself from the ground. He took out a handkerchief and started rubbing his face vigorously.

"That was close." said he, "I almost lost myself there."

"Robert! Robert!" it was Tony, he was running towards him with a concerned frown in his face. "Are you okay? I just saw what happened!"

"Ah, I'm okay!" said Robert with a weak grin, "Don't worry, I've been through worst!"

"Man, I guess the head's got an eye on you now."

"The head?" Robert asked.

"Yeah, That's Gerbert, he's the most ruthless bully here in school!" replied Tony "No one wants to mess with him."

"Seems like it..." replied Robert, he dusted himself and wiped his face.

"That was him, you know," continued Tony, "The senior I told you about..."

"What senior?" Robert asked.

"The one that made Angela cry..." he answered, "I hate that guy, if he wasn't so stupid, we wouldn't have to deal with him this school year."

"Oh, so he flunked huh?" thought Robert to himself.

"By the way, I was thinking of going to the mall today to buy some stuff for my mom," said Tony. "Would you like to tag along?"

"Hey, that would be great, I was planning to buy some stuff myself." Robert said with a friendly grin, "besides," he thought, "I really should work on some friends."

Later that afternoon, they were walking in the mall. Tony was busy checking his mother's list, which included cooking oil, shampoo, soap, and feminine napkins (lots of it).

"Well, I guess most of the stuff are in the grocery department." said Tony, "You wanna tag along or would you rather go look for the stuff you need?"

Robert wasn't listening. He was looking around nervously.

"Robert?" Tony asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Ah?!" said Robert with a jump, "No, nothing, c'mon, to the grocery, right?" he laughed nervously, "This is bad," he thought, "I wasn't thinking, I never should have gone here!" he made another quick look and followed Tony to the grocery, "How could I forget that the mall is just a couple of blocks away from Binunga HS!!!"

They made it safely to the grocery with Robert wiping his face every now and then to cover it. Tony seems to be oblivious of it and proceeded to pile stuff up in his cart.

"Okay, last up is those napkins..." said he, pointing at a shelf full of feminine napkins.

"Um, you go ahead," said Robert feeling a bit uneasy about the feminine stuff, "I'll stay right here."

"It's okay," the other replied with a grin, "I understand." with another grin, he went to the shelf and piled the napkins in his cart.

"Geez, doesn't he feel embarrassed?" thought Robert, "why does his mother need so much anyway?!"

"Hey, isn't that Obet?" said a voice from behind. Robert froze.

"Ei, it izz 'im! Gehehe..." said another.

"Oi Obet! Over here!

Robert turned around slowly, there were three guys waiving at him vigorously. "uh... hi guys, what's up?" he asked, they were his former classmates, Mark, Andrew and Dale.

"Man, good to see 'ya!" said Dale, punching Robert on the shoulder.

"Ya nev'r di come vis't us ne? 'ow come?" said Andrew.

"Ah, guess I was busy fitting in the new school..." explained Robert. "So how's Binunga High?"

"Without it's biggest delinquent?" said Mark.

"Boring!!!" the three said in unison.

"You never should have left, Obet." said Mark, "the sparks have been bossing around the school since you've been gone."

"Can't help it... I did make a promise..." thought Robert.

"Ei, lookit da wimp in lane 8!" Andrew suddenly said.

Robert had a bad feeling about this. He looked and saw Tony checking the price of the napkins he bought.

"Jeez, what a weird wimp, buying girls' stuff like that!" said Mark.

"Yeah what a looser!" accompanied Dale.

"C'mon, Obet, just like old times?" said Mark.

"Oh, c'mon guys, just leave him alone..." Robert replied.

"Ei, 'my hearin' right?!" said Andrew surprised, "Izz ya really tellin' us to go leavin' that wimp alone?!"

"Heh, you're joking right?" said Dale, "C'mon guys, let's have some fun!"

"I said leave him alone!" said Robert, his voice rising.

The three looked at him nervously.

"O'ay man.... no need to get angry.." said Mark.

"Sorry guys..." Robert tried to explain, "I really want to change you know."

"Yeah, we heard it from Danny and the others..." said Dale.

"So ya gonna be one 'o them good guys now ei?" asked Andrew grinning

"Yeah, that's it..." said Robert, "One 'o them good guys."

"Well good luck then, man!" said Dale, "We'll be seeing you 'round then!"

With that the three left. Robert gave a deep breath. "That was close." he thought, "Too close! I would only get Tony in trouble if they found out he's my friend." he looked at Tony; he was pushing his cart towards Robert's direction and smiled. "I could never trust those three..."

"Well, that's about it!" he said as they made their way to the counter. "So, who were those guys you were talking with awhile ago?"

"Oh... um... former classmates..." answered Robert, carelessly unloading the cart's contents.

"I thought they were going to beat you up too you know?" Tony pointed out.

"E-hehe..." laughed Robert nervously. "So, why so many of those anyway?" he asked pointing at the napkins to change the subject.

"For my sisters." Tony replied. "I have 4 of them, and since I'm the eldest, I get to do all the dirty work."

"Here, let me carry one of those."

He looked around to see if the three were still nearby. Then he picked up a plastic bag and slung it over his shoulder, leaving the other with the napkins behind for Tony to carry.

"Hey, you took the heavier one." said Tony, "Is that okay with you."

"Oh, I don't mind," replied Robert. "C'mon, it's getting pretty late you know."

Tony was looking at him. Robert felt a little conscious. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"You sure do look strong..." answered Tony. Robert almost dropped his plastic bag.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just can't believe someone like you could be scared of 'the Head'," he explained, "I mean... I distinctly remember you chasing me with a floor map back in grade school..." Robert froze.

"Everyone was afraid of you then," continued Tony, "In fact, you were the reason why I transferred to another school!"

"Ah... hehe... you must've mistaken me for someone else!" said Robert, trying to cover for himself.

"Nahh, it was you alright," he continued "there's that scar on your left wrist where the teacher hit you with the broken ruler." he pointed on a scar on Robert's wrist.

"It's just a scar!" he replied defensively.

"It kept bleeding and you nearly killed the teacher with the blackboard pointer." Tony continued, "I still remember how your mother sued the school. They had no choice but to make the teacher leave."

"ehehe..." laughed Robert nervously, he was ready to admit defeat. "Guess you got me there..."

"So, what made you change?" asked Tony, "Not that it was a bad idea, mind you... I'm really glad you turned out this way!" he said with a beam.

"It's a promise I made..." he replied, "That's all. I just want to be a better person for now on."

"But, I sure am glad you changed." said Tony. They were now outside the mall. The sun was almost gone, the sky a deep orange. "I'm glad that now I could be your friend."

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Robert asked Tony.

"Don't worry, we're friends now aren't we?" he replied with a smile. "Besides, let bygones be bygones, right?"

That evening, when Robert got home, he looked for Yang and showed him a package.

"Look Yang, I got this from the mall for you." he said, opening the paper bag. It contained a black collar with a small red bell attached to it. "See? This is for you..." he placed the collar around the kitten's neck. Yang purred violently and rubbed against his leg. "Haha, I'm glad you like it!" now wait here while I get you some milk.

He gave Yang his supper, and then went back to his room and rummaged around a pile of books.

"There you are..." he said to himself. He took out a worn-out photo album and flipped through its pages. "Back when I got this scar... that would be... 3rd grade." He took out a class picture and looked at it closely. He was still wearing braces, and his hair fell over his eyes. He looked at the camera with an evil grin in his face and had an arm across a smaller boy's shoulder. The boy looked scared and in pain. He looked closer at the picture. The boy had long eyelashes beneath his glasses, his hair like his own back then, was a little lighter and there was a mole on his left temple.

"Ton-Ton!" Robert said with a gasp! "How could I possibly forget!" he took his 1st and 2nd grade pictures and found him there too, looking as miserable as the others.

"I remember now," he said thoughtfully, "He was that kid who always had the coolest gadgets in class! I used to envy him so much..." He propped on the bed with the pictures in hand. Yang peeped from the doorway and went to the bed, meowing at him for a lift. He took the kitten and placed it on his chest.

"You know Yang, your owner was such a bad kid when he was younger." he told the kitten. "I'd probably be drowning you too if I were still the kid I was back then."

He looked at the pictures one last time and threw them across the room. It came fluttering down in all directions. "But I'm a changed man now, right Yang?"

"Miii..." replied the cat.

"Right... and I have Belle to thank for that."