The day after his crutches went was the day his problems really started again at school.
Instead of choosing the long route to the library at lunchtime, he picked a more direct way, though it was still much quieter than the main drag across the quad where everyone gathered. Walking slowly, he turned a corner and ran straight into the Panthers.
‘We wait in the shadows until our prey appears… and then we pounce!’ one of the older boys hissed, jumping in front of him like a warrior.
He stopped short, almost lost his balance. While he struggled to right himself and catch his breath, the tallest boy, the boy who had pushed him from the tower, stepped forward.
‘So,’ he sneered. ‘Looks like you survived.’
He did not reply but stared straight ahead, feeling the weight of his books in the rucksack on his back. He began to run through the chapters in his mind, trying not to think about the tightness in his chest or the bone-deep ache in his legs.
The tall boy carried on talking, his sneering face seeming to move in and out of the younger boy’s blurred vision. But the words of the book played in his head like an audio and he couldn’t stop it, couldn’t focus on what was being said to him.
His rucksack was pulled roughly from behind and he toppled over backwards, landing on the hard, cracked concrete. He heard himself yell out in pain, felt his bones crunching, his muscles snapping.
He tried to grab the shoulder straps, tried to hang onto the bag with its precious contents, but it was too late. One more tug and it came away, the books spilling out onto the floor.
Four very special hardback books.
‘Well, well.’ The tall boy crouched down and picked one of them up. ‘Now this is interesting.’