A month after Igor’s mother died, he got his nose broken for the first time by a big, stupid oaf of a boy who lacked basic human compassion. Smaller than other children his age, Igor preferred reading to sports and playing the viola to socializing with his peers. He was an anomaly and a natural target.
His father called him weak.
John Patrick caught Igor one afternoon as St. Joseph’s let out. Children in uniforms blasted the doors open, eager to escape the strict confines and parameters of their education. Igor had stayed behind to ask a question about homework and to receive just a bit of motherly affection from the young nun who had a soft spot for the motherless child.
As Igor shoved his belongings into his backpack, he didn’t pay attention to the empty halls or the fact that John Patrick was waiting for him. The bully shoved him, and Igor stepped on his own untied shoelaces and tumbled to the floor, his half open bag spilling pens, pencils, and other school supplies.
John Patrick grabbed Igor by the collar and hauled him close. An ugly sneer marred his face as he dragged Igor to the side exit, out into the unknown.
“I hate you,” the bully yelled.
Why? Igor wanted to ask, but there was no point since there was a fist colliding with his nose. Cartilage crunched and blood oozed. The thug laughed and laughed, and even though Igor was already down, the kid kicked him in the ribs before spitting on the ground and leaving.
After a time, Igor managed to pick himself up but not before he threw up the contents of his stomach. He hobbled and wobbled home. His father didn’t think to send a car to and from school for his only son, a boy who had already proven he wasn’t as physically strong as others.
When Igor walked into his house—it had ceased being home the moment his mother passed—his father was waiting for him. Olaf took in Igor’s bloodied skin, his bruised eyes, the puke on his shirt, and barked out questions in Russian.
Igor answered dispassionately in the same tongue.
“You’re a disgrace,” his father spat. “Be a man. Fight back.” He whirled from the room, leaving his son to clean himself up.
The housekeeper, a plump gray-haired woman who had been eavesdropping at the kitchen door, finally came into the room. Igor waved her away and insisted he was old enough to take care of himself.
That night, he didn’t sleep. He plotted, thinking about how to destroy the bully’s life. Igor did not have brute strength, but as his mother had so often reminded him when she was alive, he had a brilliant mind—and he used it now.
At school the next day, the kids whispered behind their hands but didn’t dare ask him what had transpired. The bully snickered in the corner of the classroom. Igor stared at him with unflinching brown eyes.
John Patrick’s smile slipped.
Sister Margaret, a middle-aged nun with no tolerance for shenanigans, held Igor after class and demanded to know what had happened to him.
Igor feigned embarrassment when he mumbled, “Nothing.”
“Igor,” Sister Margaret began, her face lined with a frown. “Your eyes are black, and your nose is clearly broken. Something happened to you. Tell me.”
“I tripped,” he lied.
“Your father, did he—”
“No,” Igor hastened to assure her. He bit his lip and looked at his lap. “It was a student.”
“What happened?” she tried again, somehow managing to soften her voice.
“I was using the bathroom …” Igor said quietly, so quietly that Sister Margaret had to lean closer to hear him.
“Go on.”
“John Patrick came in and he—” Igor looked up from his lap. “He tried to kiss me. When I told him no, and that it’s a sin, he became violent and angry. He punched me in the nose.” Igor stood up and lifted his shirt to show her the bruises along his ribs. “He did this, too.” He dropped his shirt and sat back down.
“Thank you, Igor. You may go,” Sister Margaret dismissed.
The next day, John Patrick was noticeably absent from school. It only took Igor one whisper alluding to what hadn’t happened for the entire school to believe it to be true. That whisper followed John Patrick through high school, causing far more damage than a broken nose.