Free The Bully Book by Eric Kahn Gale Page A

house for a way inside. And when I find one, I’ll break in and take that awful book.

Journal #24
    Principal Clark is a phony. He’s a fraud. He called everyone into the auditorium to do a speech about school violence. Trying to scare us so that nobody brings a Swiss Army knife to school “Or it’s a 180-day suspension.” Another one of his New Rules. Zero Tolerance is what they call it.
    Zero Tolerance is what I have for him right now. He wasted our time, calling the whole school together. And he told us not to bring knives. For our own safety. Who does he think is bringing knives to school?
    Nobody. If he had half a brain, he’d be talking about the things that can really hurt you here. Like other freaking kids.
    No one in my class was paying attention. They were whispering to each other.
    I heard what they were saying: Where are Jason and Melody?
    They weren’t there.
    â€œI know where they are!” said Ruth McNealy. She giggled with a group of Melody’s new friends, girls she’s been hanging out with since she started dating Jason.
    â€œThey’re kissing,” I heard her whisper.
    I felt my stomach twisting in a knot. Or like a rock was dropped in there. Or like I was going to throw up.
    Everything is moving so fast. Everything’s changed so much. There’s nothing I can control, nothing I can do. Everyone is growing up and leaving me behind.
    I can’t stand all this change. I can’t stand all this awfulness. Nothing’s good anymore. Nothing’s freaking good.
    I don’t want to be stuck like this forever. I don’t want to be a Richard or a Daniel. I don’t even wanna be Eric anymore, for God’s sake. I just want to change. I don’t want to be the Grunt.
    I gotta get to work, and I gotta get serious.

Dating
    I have a girlfriend now, even though I don’t want one. There really is no point. Girls our age won’t kiss you—it’s not like on TV. A girlfriend is good for making a ridiculous amount of gossip in the class. That’s why I have one.
    It’s not as if I like the girl I’m dating. She’s extremely boring and dumb. But being the first in the school to have a girlfriend is special.
    Everybody in sixth grade wants to seem older than the other elementary kids. Nobody can wait to grow up, even though growing up sucks as far as I can tell. So everyone thinks it’s a big deal if you start “dating” someone. It makes you seem cool. Makes you seem like you’re ahead of the curve. Like you’re number one.
    And that’s the best reason to do it.

Journal #25
    I dug the Corbinder manor out of 10 inches of snow on my first visit, and afterward Mrs. Corbinder invited me in for some cocoa. There was no sign of Clarence except for the lights in the basement.
    As we walked inside, I noticed the differences between Clarence’s house and Colin’s. Instead of being a pigsty, this place was like a museum. At Colin’s house, I didn’t want to touch anything because it was gross. At Clarence’s I didn’t want to mess anything up. Guess that’s the difference between being a Grunt and a Bully Booker.
    â€œShoes! Shoes!” Mrs. Corbinder shouted at me as I crossed inside. “Colin, this is a no-shoes house!”
    â€œSorry,” I said, and kicked my boots off. There was hardly any furniture in the place. Just two long couches that stretched all the way across the walls. The house was very bright inside, but I couldn’t tell where the light was coming from—there were no light bulbs anywhere.
    â€œWhere’s Clarence?” I tried to ask causally.
    â€œOh, I’d imagine he’s where he’s always at. Down in the basement.” She laughed.
    â€œWhat does he do down there all the time?” I asked.
    â€œOh, homework. Writing things,” she said.
    â€œWriting things?”
    â€œOh, yes. Always writing in notebooks down there.