//------------------------------// // Acting Tough // Story: You aren't a bully // by Angrywritingskills //------------------------------// Badger arrived to Algebra class relatively early. Yesterday he had gotten through the door as the bell rang. Today he got in before the bell rang, so he was early compared to last time. Immediately he began scanning the classroom until he spotted her. She sat in the back left corner of the classroom with a notebook on her desk and a pencil in her hand. Badger at once knew where he wanted to sit. So he walked to the back of the room right where Sunset was. Unfortunately there wasn’t a spot next to her. The closest seat was already occupied by some dorky looking kid with glasses. Badger luckily had a solution for this. He approached the dork and smiled, almost wickedly. The dork returned the smile but did so nervously. He knew Badger’s reputation. Badger snatched up the dork’s possessions which were on the desk and the backpack on the floor. He walked to the next desk over and placed the possessions on that desk. Then Badger walked back and picked the dork up. He placed him back down into the desk with his stuff, patting the dork on the head. Now Badger had what he wanted, as he sat down in his new seat. Afterwards the bell rang and class got started. Except, for Badger, the class never really started. The only thing that started was his admiring of Sunset Shimmer. While the teacher lectured, Badger watched Sunset. He propped his head up with his arm, resting his chin on his palm. And he watched Sunset from the corner of his eyes. At first he was cautious that she would catch him watching but as time went by he found she was more involved in her work than anything else, so he continued to watch her and just admired her. From her hair to her unique style of clothing, it was all so alluring. More importantly, he watched how she did this cute routine as she worked. She would put her pencil in her mouth and look up at the ceiling, trying to figure something out. Then the answer would come to her and she would gasp and return to work. Badger was busy drowning out all background noise so he could just focus on Sunset. But due to selective hearing, Badger did hear something. “Alright everyone, pair into groups of two if you want to work together on the next assignment,” the teacher announced. Badger didn’t waste any time. He picked up his desk and slammed it aside Sunset’s, startling the girl that had been enveloped in her own world. She quickly turned sour after a quick moment of surprise. “Who the hell are you?” she snarled. “Who am I?” Badger questioned, slightly taking offence. “We just met two classes ago.” Sunset replied by raising an eyebrow. “You know, it’s me Badger,” he said trying to jog her memory. “I growled for you. Grrrrrrrr.” Badger still couldn’t do the growling quite right. But this seemed to spark some memory in Sunset. “Hmph, thought you looked familiar,” she shrugged and went back to her notebook. “Though you would have gotten a good look at me,” Badger leaned back and grinned. “Because I got a good look at you.” Sunset’s eyes shot open and she dropped her pencil that she was holding in her hand. She turned and gave Badger an absolute death glare. However her face was flushed with color which made Badger snicker a bit. It was only until Sunset raised her notebook in the air, with the intent to swat the look off Badger’s face, did Badger cower. “Ah! Don’t hit me again,” he wailed and flinched. “Ahem,” a voice from behind them grabbed their attention. Badger, still flinching, looked out of one eye to see who it was. It was the teacher. Who else? He tapped his foot on the floor in a repetitive pattern. “Badger,” the teacher said. Even the teachers called him by his nickname. At first Badger was annoyed by this but he later convinced himself he wasn’t, and just learned to accept it even though it hurt. “What up, teach?” Badger replied, regaining his composure. “Here’s the assignment you’re supposed to be doing with your partner, in case you forgot,” the teacher handed two papers to Badger. Badger in turn gave one to Sunset. Badger began looking it over and sighed. Yep, there were math problems. “You helping the new girl adjust to school here?” the teacher asked. Badger put the assignment on his desk. “Yeah, teach. Yeah I am,” he cast a glance over at Sunset who was looking at her own paper, totally out of focus with the rest of the world. “Well that’s good of you,” the teacher nodded. “Good luck,” the teacher turned around and began walking away, “you fucking prick.” The last remark seemed to snap Sunset out of her trance. She looked at Badger strangely. “I gave his son a swirly back in the day,” Badger explained with a laugh. “You should’ve seen it. He walked around smelling more rancid than horse shit for the whole day.” “Horse shit?” Sunset narrowed her eyes, remembering her past form. “You’re disgusting.” “What are you going to do?” Badger shrugged. He took another looked at his paper and quickly summarized the basic idea of it. It was stuff he had gone over in class over and over again. Despite the repetitive nature, Badger didn’t understand it at all. So he wasn’t going to bother try. “Hey, Sunny,” Badger poked Sunset’s arm. “What did you just call me?” Sunset growled. “Um nothing,” Badger lied, sensing that giving her a nickname might strain their relationship. “I was just going to say that if you need help then I’m your man.” Badger began reaching into his pocket. “I’ve got a cheat sheet. Had one of the nerds make it for me.” “No need,” Sunset stated, stopping Badger in his tracks. “This is easy arithmetic. What level of Algebra is this anyways?” “Um,” Badger thought for a second. “I think it’s one step up from the special education courses.” This meant it was pretty much one of the most basic math classes that could be taken at a high school level. Sunset groaned and threw her head on her desk. “I knew it. I truly am surrounded by idiots.” “Hey I kind of know how to do this,” Badger looked at his paper again. He began searched his pockets and then started to panic. “Alright so I don’t have anything to write with.” That would mean Badger would go another day with failing all his assignments because he couldn’t write them. Sunset lifted her head from her desk and looked at Badger. He looked back but quickly averted his eyes when they met with Sunset’s own. Although he didn’t know why, Sunset made him nervous. “You know what you can do for me,” Sunset stated, pointing her pencil at Badger. “What?” Badger asked. “You’re a bully right?” Sunset grinned. “Or at least you think you are.” She chuckled. “I am a bully,” Badger said coldly. It was one of the few things he was proud of. His reputation was one of the things he felt he could treasure. “And I’m a horse,” Sunset laughed but quickly silenced herself with a hand over her mouth. “Anyways,” she put her pencil down. “I’ve noticed that this school has some kind of weird social caste system. You are going to tell me about it.” Badger was confused. “A cast system? Like the ones you wear on your arm? I didn’t know there was a system to all that.” Badger gasped, holding the sides of his head. “What else do I not know about?” “No, you idiot,” Sunset scowled. “A caste system is a system where you’re born into a certain group. So if you’re born poor you’ll live poor for the rest of your life. This school kind of follows this system except it’s more about social divisions than wealth ranks.” “Ooooh,” Badger nodded, now understanding. “I guess that makes sense if you put it like that. I was never good at chemistry myself.” Sunset blinked in astonishment, not believing what she heard. “You’re, ugh!” Sunset groaned. “You’re really pathetic. You know that?” “You already mentioned that,” Badger muttered, still feeling the sting from their last meeting. “Good, so you know your place,” Sunset grimaced. “But you do know what I’m talking about, right?” Badger thought about it. Sunset wasn’t wrong; most kids in the school could identify what group they belonged to. It was confusing but Canterlot High somehow had allowed itself to become a school that categorized its students. Everyone thought it was shallow but no one objected. In fact most happily go along with their identities like Badger does. “I guess I know what you’re talking about,” Badger said after thinking about it. “Kids here do like to segregate themselves.” “It’s how it should be,” Sunset said, startling Badger by the notion. “It’s actually kind of nice. There are those on the top and those on the bottom. That’s how it should work.” “Not really,” Badger said, softly. He thought back to how he was treated before becoming a bully. It’s not nice at the bottom. Sunset seemed to not be listening to him. “The strong prosper because they’re strong and the weak will have to go without.” Sunset made a fist in the air. “Tell me, Badger,” she looked at him with a sneer, “why don’t you just make every kid in this school fear you? You can clearly do it. Or are you weak?” Badger exhaled. Never in his life did he think he would find himself in this position. A bully like him was getting bullied. It was like how it was before he became who he is today. Other guys would push him around until he fought back. Sunset was different because she was a girl. Badger knew it would be wrong to fight back against a girl, although he didn’t understand why. Still, the bully in him wasn’t going down without a fight. “You know what?” Badger crossed his arms and glared. “How about you earn the right to ask those sorts of questions?” “Excuse me?” Sunset snarled, taken aback by the sudden offence. “Yeah, how dare you!” Badger snarled back. “You come here and try to boss me around. Me! Do you have any idea who I am?” “Let me guess,” Sunset sighed, impatiently crossing her arms, knowing what he was going to say. “You’re a bully.” “I’m a bully!” Badger boasted proudly. “I’ve tossed kids your size into every trash can in this school. There are people here with a collection of broken glasses because of me. When I walk down these halls, people get out of my way. And do you know why?” “Because you’re about a foot taller than most kids at this school?” Sunset dully replied. “No,” Badger said but thought on what Sunset had said. “Well kind of. But the real reason is because I’m a force to be reckoned with. If you want to fit in around here, you ought to know your place. And the only way to do that is to earn it.” Sunset glared daggers at Badger who returned the stare. But eventually Sunset looked away which prompted Badger to take a well deserved victory smirk. And with the victory, Badger leaned back into a more leisurely position. His face wore a smug grin as he watched how Sunset seemed to be defeated. Some kind of pleasure was derived from the scene. Badger felt happy that things were back to normal. This feeling of safety made it all the more terrifying when Sunset finally snapped out of it. “So I need to earn my place here?” she said darkly. Badger felt uneasy. “Yes? That is if you want to act like a tough girl.” “Well then,” Sunset turned a cheek to Badger. “Hit me.” Badger jumped, scared at the proposition. “What?” he choked out. “Hit me,” Sunset pointed to her cheek. “I want to prove myself. I can take a punch.” “Oh,” Badger coughed. He was visibly nervous. A persistent sweat was pouring down his face and his eyes darted from side to side. “I can’t,” he finally said. “Why not?” Sunset asked angrily. “I can’t hit a girl,” Badger explained frantically. “That’s like, a major no-no.” “Why? Is it because you’re bigger than me?” Sunset retorted. “I’ve kicked your ass once. I can do it again.” “Yeah but,” Badger coughed nervously. “I let you.” Sunset’s face contorted in shock. “What?” Sunset barked. “You let me?” “Well I was enjoying myself,” Badger shrugged. “Also I can’t fight back. I’m a guy and you’re a girl. We weren’t meant to fight each other.” “Is that so?” Sunset stopped talking for a long amount of time. Her face was twisted into a look of disgust. “That’s actually strangely convenient yet repulsive at the same time.” “Thems the rules,” Badger shrugged. “The rules eh?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. Before Badger could react Sunset took a jab at his shoulder. “Ow,” he rubbed the spot she hit him. “That hurt.” “It was supposed to,” Sunset said and punched Badger again. “Ah, quit it,” Badger pleaded. “No,” and Sunset punched Badger again. She wound back for another but by now Badger had enough. He grabbed her fist and forced her hand down against the desk. When she tried her other hand Badger brought it down to the desk too. That left Sunset with her feet free and she began kicking Badger’s shins. Her pointed boots really hurt but Badger decided he would have to take it like a man. So he bit his lip and waited for it to end. Eventually Sunset did stop the kicking and just resorted to staring at Badger with an upturned lip. For a while they were locked into the struggle. Badger didn’t have to use much of his great strength to hold Sunset’s arms and Sunset had given up on trying breaking free. It was around that time that Badger realized something important. He was holding hands with Sunset Shimmer. It was in a weird way, but still, they were connecting. Slowly his mind went back to admiring the girl and Badger’s heart started thumping. This time he was the one that was blushing. His face burned from the blood and the sweat pouring down his face. And eventually his mind started to swim with romantic thoughts. “Are you okay?” Sunset asked, seeming confused. “You’re hands are getting awfully warm.” Badger looked down at how his massive hands covered Sunset’s. It came to his attention that he wasn’t forcing his hands onto hers anymore. They just laid there. “You sick or something?” Sunset asked again. “You’re getting a bit red.” “Oh um,” Badger covered his face, cowering now. His hands were off Sunset’s. “No I’m fine. It’s just a bit hot.” “It’s not really,” Sunset shrugged. She was right the temperature in the room was pretty cool. “Oh,” Badger quivered. “Then it must be you- I mean me!” Badger tried to correct himself. “Uh huh,” Sunset nodded. “Hold it.” She put her palm on Badger’s forehead. “Well that settles it.” She withdrew her hand. “W-what?” Badger stammered, afraid of what she meant. “I’ve had you figured wrong from the start,” Sunset put her hand on top of Badger’s, which made the boy heat up even worse. “I thought I had to prove myself through being tough.” She gently stroked Badger’s knuckles. “But I think I understand now that girls aren’t supposed to fight boys.” “Y-yeah,” Badger grinned, still nervous but at the same time excited. “I don’t know. It’s weird. I don’t get girls.” “Heha,” Sunset laughed. “I know you don’t get girls.” “H-hey!” Badger stammered, still blushing. “Hay is for horses,” Sunset replied. “Now,” Sunset handed her paper to Badger, “take this to the teacher. I want to get a good grade.” Badger took the paper. “You’re done?” he looked down the paper that was all filled out. “How? When did you do all this?” “When you were babbling on,” Sunset responded. “I told you, this is easy arithmetic. Now go.” Badger leaned back. “Alright, tell you what. If you get every question correct then I’ll tell you about this Caste system you want to hear about.” “Deal,” Sunset grinned sinisterly. Sunset watched as Badger stood up and walk over to the teacher’s desk. Badger triumphantly slammed the paper down in front of the teacher. They seemed to exchange some words that Sunset couldn’t hear. From their body language, Sunset could assume that the teacher was either suspicious or surprised. Eventually Badger did return with a big smile on his face. “You got one wrong,” Badger said as he sat down. “What?” Sunset grabbed her paper out of Badger’s hands. She went over it and found her mistake. “Aren’t as smart as you think you are, isn’t that right Sunny?” Badger sneered. Sunset shot Badger an angry stare. “Don’t worry, I’ll still help you out,” Badger said. It wasn’t in his interest to get Sunset to hate him. Sunset showed no appreciation. “Good,” was all she said back. Badger looked behind him to a clock that was over the door of the classroom. He was glad to know lunch would be soon. “So lunch is soon so I’ll tell you there,” Badger said. “You can really get a good impression there. Everyone shows their true colors.” “Excellent,” Sunset grinned. And soon after, the bell for lunch rang. The classroom quickly cleared out as eager students were quick to escape their work. Badger and Sunset were the last ones to leave as they had a longer journey to take, being at the back of the class. Just as Sunset was about to exit, the teacher spoke up. “Sunset,” he said getting the girl’s attention. “Can I talk to you for a second?” Sunset was a bit alarmed and so was Badger. He stood there with wide eyes and looked worriedly at Sunset. When Sunset noticed Badger’s alarmed state she was quick to dismiss him. She flicked her head to motion for him to leave. But Badger stayed. Sunset then angrily pointed her finger out the door. Badger still stayed. It was until he looked and saw that the teacher was glaring at him too did he finally leave. When Badger finally left, Sunset turned to the teacher. She hoped this wouldn’t be a lecture. “Sunset,” the teacher began. “I know that transferring to a new school can be rough on kids your age. Trust me, I changed schools a lot when I was your age. I just want to know if you’re comfortable here.” “What do you mean?” Sunset asked. The conversation wasn’t what she expected. “Well I happened to notice that Badger seemed to target you out during class. And you two seemed to be horsing around back there for a while,” the teacher leaned forward in his chair. “I just want to make sure that Badger is behaving himself. He’s a bit of a troubled child.” “Badger is fine,” Sunset said, carefully. She didn’t want to make the teacher suspicious. “He actually helped me find my first class today.” “He did, did he?” the teacher looked skeptically at Sunset. “That’s interesting because he’s kind of a bully.” “You don’t say?” Sunset rolled her eyes, recalling the title Badger seemed to love to call himself. “Listen, I need to get to lunch so was there anything important you needed to tell me.” “Ah yes of course,” the teacher straightened his posture. “I just wanted to let you know that if Badger or any other student is making you feel uncomfortable then you can come to me and I’ll straighten it out.” “Really?” Sunset asked. “That’s interesting.” She grinned as new ideas popped into her head. “Yes, oh and another thing,” the teacher added. “You did exceptionally well on today’s assignment. So well I wonder what you’re doing in a class this low. Most students here barely know simply addition and fractions.” “Yeah my classes are a bit jumbled around,” Sunset lied. The truth is she chose these classes at random. “Well I don’t think you need to be in this level of class at your skill level,” the teacher said. “So I’m going to try and get you moved up. It could take a while but I’ll get you into a more appropriate classroom.” “Thanks I appreciate that,” Sunset said although she could care less. She left the class a little annoyed and a little bit happy to have learned something interesting. Her plan to gain control of the school would have to include the staff as well. The challenge was how to do it. She could learn about the student body from studying it and from her new acquaintance. But to get the staff to follow her would require more subtly than she knew she could muster. But their contribution would be invaluable. She rounded a corner, hoping she was going the right way when her feet left the ground. Gravity seemed to leave her as she was scooped into the air. Slightly painful pricks erupted on her stomach as long fingers gripped her. “Gotcha!” Badger gleefully exclaimed as he held Sunset. This was one of the ways he showed affection, grabbing people. He had watched couples do it before. Sunset didn’t feel the affection. “Let me down, you big idiot!” she wailed, flailing her fists and feet around. Badger complied with a smile and the wailing Sunset was quick to respond to the affectionate attack. “Don’t you ever,” Sunset barked, pointing her finger in Badger’s face, “do that again.” “Aw,” Badger patted Sunset on the back. “You really need to have fun.” He opened the door to the Canterlot High cafeteria for her. “Welcome to the jungle,” he said as he stepped in after her.