NASTY NATHAN | Everton's Playground: Chapter 2
[It’s the same day] Nathan Bonnerman hears his fellow classmates call out “Nasty Nathan! Nasty Nathan!” The group of three boys and one girl remain outside of Mr. Daniels’ classroom.
“Why do you always have to be an asshole, Brian Hughes!” Charity glares at him. “I hate when you and your friends do that!” She says.
Brian responds “C’mon Charity the dude is a total loser and a freak — — who cares!?” Charity moves her large umbrella, big enough for two, away from Brian’s head. “Fine, I’m sorry okay!” He pleads. “Please! I’m getting all wet!” One of the two boys, next to Brian, both wearing hoodies says to him “Yo bro, we’re gonna go inside, it’s raining out here.” The other boy carrying the basketball gives Brian a friendly tap on the elbow with his and says “yea bro, we’ll be inside” then says to Charity “quit being so hard on him.” Charity rolls her eyes.
Brian turns his attention back to Charity. He is giving her the puppy dog eyes and says “I’m saww-wee.” He puckers up his lips and closes his eyes in hopes Charity will kiss him. She sighs. She can’t resist how cute he looks—He’s so cute when he does that, urgggh!—
“Brian, it’s not only hurtful to Nathan, but it’s hurtful to me too.” Charity knows Brian is a sweetheart, but he can also be an asshole. She has two younger siblings, one of whom has been the victim of bullying. She dislikes bullies and Brian is a bully—But Brian is beautiful— He’s tall, athletic, and handsome. His golden blonde hair and baby blue eyes are irresistible.
Brian and Charity grew up together, and been in the same classes since kindergarten. Brian is a kind person, but since he made the junior varsity basketball team in the seventh grade, and varsity this year, he’s been increasingly arrogant. —He looks so cute in his basketball clothes— —Go Falcons!—
“I don’t like when you and your friends start doing that thing with your hips and make those gross sounds and faces whenever you see him. It’s so disturbing. I think he gets it when you call him Nasty Nathan.” She scolds him. “You and your friends shouldn’t be bullying him . . . and why does Aaron have to hump the basketball like that? It’s like you guys are making fun of me too.”
Brian remains quiet as Charity finishes her thought. He needs to fix this quick so he is not outside too long. The last thing he wants is for his friends to think he is distracted. Being distracted is bad.
“You’re right. I’m saww-wee” he says it again in his best baby voice. He can’t let his friends hear it, otherwise they’ll spill the beans to Coach and the rest of the basketball team—Coach Daniels always says “girls are a distraction, and if you’re distracted, you can’t knock down threes, and if you can’t knock down threes, you can’t be varsity!”—
Charity seems to have bought it. They both make their way inside Mr. Daniels’ classroom.
Charity takes her seat behind Nathan Bonnerman. She can smell his profound odor, especially since it’s raining. It’s an offensive smell similar to a dirty wet dog with a hint of shit and cabbage.
Good mornings are shared and passed around the classroom. The talks of the latest viral TikTok video and the hopeful return of the Sonics are among the conversations in the room. The daily nonchalant Nathan bashings, led by the fearless Mr. Daniels is still to come, but only when the seats are taken and the audience is set by the ring of the bell. —RING!—
Mr. Daniels, or simply Coach—known by the basketball team, begins his burlesque on Nathan’s account [“Well, hello there Mr. BONER-man, looking fresher than ever!”]. The room is filled with laughter. “Good one coach” is tossed from all four corners of the room furthering the ego on the great Coach Daniels. The eighth graders laugh and share their recollection of that very day three weeks ago when Nathan earned his nickname. It was picture day.
It’s picture day and Nathan couldn’t give two shits about it, but for others it meant an opportunity for immortalization. Charity wanted to look her best for her eight grade photos. It’s the last year she will be at Falconview Middle School before she steps foot onto the prestigious campus of Olympus High. She is staring into her vanity mirror—Oh, you’re not going to Oly next year? That sucks—Her imagination preludes her as she rehearses her conversation with friends during lunch. Charity finishes her make-up, kisses her mom and dad, and races outside to catch the school bus.
She wore a low-cut blouse, which may be too low against the dress code regulations, but “boundaries were meant to be challenged”—at least that’s what mom and dad always say— She wore a fitted-skirt, thigh high, and Chuck Taylor sneakers to complete her outfit. Once the students of Mr. Daniels’ class finished having their pictures taken they were instructed to return to their classroom. Charity took her seat behind Nathan and taps him on the shoulder.
“Hi Nathan! Are you going to Oly next year?” She asks.
“Huh?” He slightly turns his head, but then rejects the idea she would be interested in talking to him.
“I am . . .” she says proudly. “It’ll be exciting to finally start high school, right?”
Nathan is surprised she is talking to him—she’s speaking to me . . . holy shit—
He is nervous and his anxiety kicks up a notch. His legs involuntarily move in-and-out, in-and-out, as he is overwhelmed with anxiousness. He turns around and locks eyes with Charity for a split second, he knocks his number two pencil on to the floor—Shit! Fucking moron—Nathan watches as his pencil falls onto the floor in slow motion.
Charity notices his pencil as it bounces on the floor. “Oh, I’ll get it.” She says.
She reaches downward to retrieve his pencil and her blouse falls away from her chest exposing it all—oh my god, boobies! Holy sweet lord of . . .— His body is flooded with testosterone, dopamine, and . . . his mind is racing. Nathan’s anxiousness causes involuntary muscle movements making his legs move in-and-out, in-and-out. He makes awkward faces and groaning sounds to help sooth his anxiety. The room quiets as they watch what is happening to Nathan. Assumptions are made and the rumors begin.
Charity is not sure what is happening to Nathan. A boy [Aaron] wearing his Falconview basketball jersey points at Nathan and says aloud “Dude!! You’re doing the nasty! You’re doing the nasty, Nathan!!” Ending his exclamation with deep belly laughing. The classroom bellows in laughter and the teasing begins.
The voice of Brian Hughes can be heard as he yells “Nasty Nathan! Nasty Nathan!” His fellow teammates start imitating the convulsing and hip thrusting they witnessed.
Nathan calms down, but he is afraid to open his eyes and face whatever horrors await him. He can hear the chants and laughters. His heart races, his ears and the back of his neck begin to fill with blood, his stomach turns. Nathan panics, grabs his things and escapes to Everton’s Playground.
It’s the present day and Nathan endured a half a school day with a bunch of assholes, teachers and students alike. The lunch bell finally rang and he decided he had enough of today. Nathan returned to his secret spot at Everton’s Playground. He replays Mr. Daniels calling him—BONER-man—and he chuckles at the imbecilic joke. He thinks about his classmates laughing at him. He thinks about Brian Hughes chanting—Nasty Nathan! Nasty Nathan!—
Nathan is angry. He’s angry because of his circumstance. He is angry that he is picked on. His heart desires revenge. He wants revenge on those who hurt him . . . all of them.
“If only things were different.” he says aloud. He hears a low-toned voice say “I can give you your revenge.” Nathan is startled. He thought he was alone. He looks around and there is no one. The winds move across his face and body and he feels a presence surround him. It’s as if he is being embraced . . . no, protected. He hears the low-toned voice once again, but no words are said, it’s a rumble.
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