Going to school after your birthday party is a strange feeling.

At least, that’s what I thought while walking through the front doors Monday morning.

The hallway looked exactly the same as always. Lockers slamming. Kids talking. Someone running like they were late for something important.

But my brain kept replaying the party from Saturday.

Nick winning the dance contest.

Ellie dropping a balloon into the punch bowl.

Tyler pretending to be a professional judge.

And Rimmer actually apologizing.

That last one was still kind of surprising.

Most bullies don’t say sorry.

At least, that’s what I thought.

“Hey Bryan!”

Nick waved from the lockers.

“Hey,” I said.

Rimmer was standing next to him.

“Morning,” he said.

Which was weird.

Because a week ago Rimmer would’ve said something like, “Move, slowpoke.”

Nick shut his locker.

“Ready for school?”

“No,” I said.

Nick nodded.

“Fair answer.”

When we walked into class, Mrs. Parker was standing at the front of the room.

That usually meant one of two things.

A test.

Or an announcement.

I really hoped it wasn’t a test.

“Class,” Mrs. Parker said, “we have a new student today.”

Great.

Every head turned toward the door.

A kid walked in slowly.

He had dirty blonde hair and looked like he wished the floor would open up and swallow him.

Jack —>

“This is Jack,” Mrs. Parker said.

“Everyone please make him feel welcome.”

Jack looked around the room like someone trying to find a safe place to land.

Mrs. Parker pointed to an empty desk.

“You can sit there.”

The desk was right behind me.

Jack walked over and sat down.

For a few minutes the class was quiet.

Then Rimmer leaned forward and whispered to me.

“Remember your first day?”

“Oh yeah,” I said.

“My brain thought the school looked like a giant toaster.”

Rimmer blinked.

“What?”

“Never mind.”

Sometimes explaining my thoughts just makes things worse.

At recess, Nick was shooting basketballs again.

Rimmer and I were walking across the playground.

That’s when we heard something.

“Nice backpack.”

A tall kid was standing near the swings.

Jack was standing there too.

The tall kid grabbed the strap of Jack’s backpack.

“Give it back,” Jack said quietly.

The kid laughed.

“Relax.”

He tossed the backpack onto the ground.

Jack picked it up slowly.

Rimmer stopped walking.

“That guy’s a jerk,” he said.

Nick walked over.

“What’s going on?”

We all watched the kid walk away.

Jack stood there brushing dirt off his backpack.

Nick lowered his voice.

“That kid’s name is James,” he said quietly.

“He messes with people sometimes.”

Rimmer crossed his arms.

“Well that’s not happening again.”

I remembered something suddenly.

The mud.

The bikes.

The way it felt to be the new kid.

I walked over.

“You okay?” I asked.

Jack nodded a little.

“Yeah.”

I looked at Nick.

Nick looked at me.

And right there on the playground, the three of us were thinking the same thing.

Same experience?

Looks like the Bully Busters might have another job.

The next morning at school, my brain was still thinking about Jack.

Not in a weird way.

Just in a “that kid looked like he was having the worst first week ever” kind of way.

I remembered my first week.

Mud.

Bikes.

Oliver thinking I tripped him.

Honestly, it felt like my brain had stored that whole day in a folder called “Do Not Repeat.”

When I got to my locker, Nick was already there

organizing his books.

Nick always organizes things.

If lockers had report cards, Nick’s locker would get an A+.

“Morning,” he said.

“Morning.”

Rimmer showed up a second later.

“Did you see James yesterday?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Total jerk.”

Nick shut his locker.

“I think he’s been like that for a while.”

Before we could say anything else, we heard a loud CLANG.

We turned around.

James had slammed Jack’s locker shut.

Jack was standing there looking surprised.

“That’s my locker,” Jack said.

James shrugged.

“Not anymore.”

Jack opened it again.

James slammed it shut again.

CLANG.

Rimmer took a step forward.

“Seriously?”

James looked over.

“What?”

“You’re picking on the new kid now?” Rimmer said.

James smirked.

“Mind your business.”

Nick stepped between them.

“Everyone calm down.”

James rolled his eyes and walked away.

Jack opened his locker slowly.

“Thanks,” he said.

“No problem,” I said.

But as James walked down the hallway, he turned back and gave Jack a look that basically said:

This isn’t over.

At recess, Nick was doing the same thing he always did.

Basketball.

Nick loves basketball.

If basketball had homework, Nick would probably finish it early.

Rimmer and I were sitting on the bench.

Jack was standing near the playground, watching some kids play tag.

He looked like he wanted to join but didn’t know how.

Then James showed up.

Of course he did.

He walked right up to Jack.

“Nice shoes,” James said.

Jack looked down.

“They’re just shoes.”

James nudged him.

“They look cheap.”

Jack didn’t say anything.

Rimmer stood up.

“Leave him alone,” he said.

James laughed.

“Or what?”

Rimmer stepped closer.

Nick jogged over from the basketball court.

“Let’s not start a fight,” Nick said.

James looked around.

2 dollar shoes?

A teacher was walking toward the playground.

James shrugged.

“Whatever.”

Then he walked away.

But before he left, he said something quietly.

“This isn’t finished.”

Jack sat down on the bench next to us.

“Sorry,” he said.

“For what?” I asked.

“For causing trouble.”

Nick shook his head.

“You didn’t cause anything.”

Rimmer crossed his arms.

“Yeah. James did.”

I looked at the playground.

My brain started doing that thing again.

It imagined a scoreboard.

BULLIES: 1
BULLY BUSTERS: 0

That needed to change.

After school that day, the four of us walked home together.

Well, mostly together.

Jack was walking a little behind us.

“You can walk with us,” Nick said.

Jack nodded and moved closer.

“Thanks.”

Rimmer kicked a rock down the sidewalk.

“So what’s the plan?”

“What plan?” Jack asked.

“The Bully Busters plan,” Rimmer said.

Jack looked confused.

“The what?”

Nick explained everything.

Bryan’s birthday party.

The apology.

How Rimmer used to be the bully.

Jack’s eyes got wide.

“You were the bully?”

Rimmer shrugged.

“Former bully.”

Nick nodded.

“Reformed.”

I thought for a second.

“James likes attention,” I said.

“What do you mean?” Jack asked.

“He picks on people when other kids are watching.”

Nick nodded slowly.

“So if no one laughs…”

Rimmer finished the sentence.

“…then he looks stupid.”

Jack smiled a little.

“That might actually work.”

My brain imagined the scoreboard again.

BULLIES: 1
BULLY BUSTERS: 1

Now we were getting somewhere.

The next day at recess, everything happened fast.

James walked onto the playground like he owned the place.

Jack was standing near the swings again.

James walked right up to him.

“Ready for round two?” he said.

Some kids nearby started watching.

James grabbed Jack’s backpack.

Normally this is the part where everyone laughs.

But this time something different happened.

Nick stepped forward.

“That’s not funny.”

Rimmer stepped forward too.

“Yeah. Knock it off.”

I crossed my arms.

“So you just steal backpacks now?”

The kids watching stopped laughing.

Actually, they stopped smiling completely.

James looked around.

No one was cheering.

No one was laughing.

For the first time, James looked unsure.

Jack took his backpack back.

James tried to laugh it off.

“Whatever.”

But it didn’t work.

He turned and walked away.

Rimmer grinned.

“Scoreboard update.”

I imagined it again.

BULLIES: 1
BULLY BUSTERS: 2

LOL!

And for the first time all week, Jack looked like he might actually enjoy recess.

For about two days, things were actually normal.

James didn’t bother Jack.

Jack started talking more.

Nick kept winning basketball games.

Rimmer kept making jokes.

And my brain kept thinking about random stuff like whether pigeons secretly judge people from rooftops.

Everything seemed fine.

Which probably should’ve been a warning.

Because on Thursday afternoon, something happened.

School had just ended.

Kids were grabbing backpacks and heading outside.

Jack opened his locker.

And froze.

His backpack was gone.

“Uh… guys?” Jack said.

Nick walked over.

“What’s wrong?”

“My backpack was right here.”

Rimmer looked down the hallway.

Then he pointed.

James was walking toward the doors.

And guess what he was carrying?

Jack’s backpack.

“Oh come on,” Rimmer said.