Jacob awoke to the sound of pebbles hitting his window. Not exactly the best way to wake up, but at least it was always on time. He quickly threw on clothes and rushed down the stairs. He hugged his mother before putting on a hat and going outside, where his ‘friends’ stood with crossed arms.

“Well, well, well.” Daniel said with a smirk on his face. “Looks like pip squeak couldn’t get out of bed on time. Again. Or was it because he had to give his mommy a hug?” Daniel taunted, which got a laugh out of the two boys behind him.

“At least my mom likes me.” Jacob retorted, making the laughs cease. 

“Nice comeback, I’ll give you that.” Daniel said as they started walking down the street.  

After about an hour of walking, they happened upon an old man, holding out a tin cup. He looked at the four boys and approached them with a slight limp. “Would you boys happen to have any spare change?” He asked in a scratchy voice.

Jacob pulled out his wallet, but Daniel pushed it down. “Daniel-”

“Shut it, Jacob. He doesn’t need the money.” Daniel snickered and shoved the old man, causing him to fall onto the pavement.

“Daniel! What did you do that for?” Jacob asked, holding out his hand to the man.

“Oh, look! Jacob’s helping the old man! What are you going to do now? Hug him?” The other three boys laughed as Jacob struggled to hold back tears. “Oh, look! He’s crying!”

“I’ve had enough of you, Daniel! Everything you do is wrong! All you do is make fun of people and bully them for no reason!” Jacob yelled, and Daniel raised an eyebrow.

“No, we do it for fun. Get it right.” Daniel said bitterly, and the elderly man put a hand on Jacob’s shoulder.

“I’ve never seen such a young boy face his bullies like that. Run on home now, I ought to teach these boys some manners.” He chuckled as Jacob sprinted back home, filled with nervous energy. He was so going to suffer the consequences of his actions at school tomorrow.

That afternoon, while Jacob and his mother ate dinner together, his mother looked up at him with an unreadable expression. “So, what happened today? You look . . . upset.”

Jacob looked up. “Oh! I, um, I finally stood up to Daniel. I told him that what he does is wrong.”

“And there wasn’t any physical altercation between you two?”

“No . . . why? Is he blaming me for something again?”  

His mother inhaled deeply, looking at Jacob with another odd expression. “Daniel’s mother called earlier saying that he hadn’t returned home. And-”

“What? Do you think I had something to do with it?” Jacob asked with wide eyes.

“No, no. It’s just that after she called, the police found the bodies of Daniel, Tony, and Cris. All were seemingly beaten to death, and the words ‘Face Your Bullies’ were written in Daniel’s blood.”