– Ha ha, look at him! That toothy Bobby forgot to wash his back again! " Roxy, one of the many students at City High School, laughed. Her friends giggled quietly, obviously in support, though they didn't want to let on that they had anything to do with it.
– Roxy, stop it! Why are you making fun of people? " stood up for the boy Niels, who had just come to the lockers to leave his backpack and change into sneakers.
– What's it to you? " she asked defiantly.
– I don't like it when someone gets hurt for no reason. What did he do to you? " the boy asked sternly.
– None of your business. Maybe I just don't like his existence.
Roxy turned to her friends, and the three of them walked off in a dignified manner toward the office, where math class was about to begin.
– Are you okay? " Niels turned to Bob, who was looking through the locker door at his back, which had a white "Kick Me" sign on it.
– I'm fine. But I'm sick of it. Okay, I'll go," Bobby said, and reluctantly went to class. The boy's belly was peeking out from under his black T-shirt, and the chalk on his back hadn't completely rubbed off. Looking rather ridiculous, he tried to ignore the caustic taunts. "It'll all go away when we're adults…"
"She's a girl, of course, and a teenager too," Niels reasoned, sitting in the second desk with his hand lazily resting on his head as Ms. Lipp explained how to draw a trigonometric circle. – But you can't behave so vile! If she were a boy, I'd challenge her to a duel…"
Meanwhile, Evie, Roxy's neighbor, did not take her eyes off the young man Niels for a moment.