Page 58 of The Mentor
“Fuck!!!” Marco cursed and shook his head after a particular nasty punch from Solomon.
By now, Marco’s eyebrow was bleeding and he looked enraged. Clearly, he had underestimated the boy and it didn’t help that all the other boys were cheering for Solomon. Marco gave me a questioning look again and I raised my eyebrows, silently telling him: “Yes, you can put that boy in his place, but don’t mess him up too badly.”
Right then, Solomon took a step forward, kicking Marco square in the chest. A loud cry came from the Momsies but although Marco hadn’t seen it coming, he was quick enough to move back just enough to not feel the full impact. Instead he grabbed Solomon’s leg and threw the teenager to the ground, where they rolled around in an ugly display of punches.
When Marco finally managed to get on top of Solomon and effectively restrained him by sitting on his chest and arms, the boy was fuming.
“And we have a winner!” I announced.
Marco placed his palm on Solomon’s face and pushed up. When he reached his hand down to pull Solomon up, the boy refused to take it and got up by himself.
“It’s okay, just give him time to cool down,” I said when Solomon stormed off into the woods. “He fought bravely, but losing is never fun.”
Marco grinned. “Better him than me.”
“Give him a few years and he’ll take you,” I teased and patted Marco’s shoulder.
“He’s fucking strong, that’s for sure.”
I chuckled and turned to the boys. “Get some water and if anyone has injuries – I want to hear about them.”
The sight of Kya and Nieall standing on the side caught my attention. I knew she was probably angry at me for letting him participate, but he had been so eager to do it. Now, however, Nieall was crying again and she was rubbing his back and whispering soft words to him.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked when I got closer.
The boy sniffled and with red-rimmed eyes he looked up at me. “Hunter said it was my fault that we didn’t win over Marco. Because I’m a wuss.”
I crossed my arms. “Is that why you’re crying like a girl?”
Kya’s eyes shot daggers at me. “No wonder your boys are so cruel, when you use name-calling. Don’t listen to him, Nieall, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Boys have every right to be sensitive and cry. Your emotions and feelings are just as important as everyone else’s. And besides, it’s not about winning, it’s about participating.”
The sandy-blond-haired boy dried his nose with the back of his hand and sniffled again. “I just want them to like me.”
“They will,” Kya said in her deep soft voice. “Once they understand what a beautiful soul you are, they’ll like you. Remember that it’s just as hard to be rude to someone who is being kind to you as it is hard to be kind to someone who is rude to you. They’ll come around.”
I rolled my eyes. “Look, Nieall, I’m sorry to say this, but Kya has no fucking clue what she’s talking about. If you want these boys to respect you and like you, don’t listen to her.”
Kya’s face stiffened, and the boy looked from me to her and back again.
“Here’s the thing,” I said matter-of-factly. “If you want to win their respect then you need to grow tough. We’re men and we respect grit, perseverance, and endurance. We’re competitive by nature and if you cry every time things get tough, you’re not making any friends.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
I bent forward to look into his eyes. “You’re going to hold your head high and stand your ground when they push you.”
“But I don’t fight as good as they do.”
“No, you don’t. But how could you when you haven’t been trained?”
“But what if they get mad at me and beat me up?”
Kya cut me off before I could answer him. “They won’t beat you up because you won’t get involved in a fight.”
“But in case they do you just come back at them tenfold,” I said. “Don’t let anyone bully you, do you hear me?”
“Nieall!” With a finger under his chin Kya made him look at her. “Violence has never solved anything, and trying to be someone you’re not to impress a bunch of boys is silly.”
His eyes drifted to me. “Tenfold,” he muttered.
