Too Good To Be True
“Outa my way, dweeb!”
He tried to look as casual as possible as he braced for a run in with Bill Mason’s shoulder, as Bill and his fellow louts came sauntering down the hall from behind him. As usual, Mason’s heavy nudge was a stark reminder of their difference in size. He ventured a glance at their receding backs and noticed Mason’s girlfriend, Josie, hanging on his arm. She turned to look over Mason’s shoulder at him, her expression angry. Unfortunately, Mason noticed too.
Turning around, he said, “Hey dork! Whatcha looking at? Huh?”
Great! Mason and co. were going to try to rough him up. Mason started swaggering towards him, making the sort of pseudo-hispanic gestures all louts like him copied from movies and television. Mason had pushed Josie behind him, like the conquering tough-guy he imagined himself to be, and his two buddies, Erik and Mojo, flanked him for maximum effect.
“Hey, jerk-off! I'm talkin’ to you.”
“The name's Jerrold,” he said with a sappy smile that he knew would get Mason really riled. At the same time, he reached into his locker.
Turning to each of his buddies in turn, perhaps to emphasize that it was going to be a three-on-one, Mason said, “Naah! His real name’s Jerk-off! Right? Right?” They agreed, of course. This was intended to further intimidate him.