THE OVERCOMER





By Tessa Harvey





CHAPTER THREE



Real terror began a few days later back at the boarding school. Absentmindedly, trying to solve a maths problem in his head, Elias took a huge gulp of the evening cocoa. The resulting taste horror nearly made him spew the whole lot across the table and onto the wall.

 With difficulty, and trying not to draw attention to himself, Elias tried to dribble as much as possible back into his mug. There were muffled giggles from Kirby and Dunstable and cronies. They must have used half a salt cellar in his drink. Instinctively he tried to school his features into indifference.

 Later, thirsty and unable to sleep, he decided to get a drink from the bathroom. He closed the door quietly, realising too late he was not alone.

 Recently he had been warned to not try so hard at schoolwork and to be more amenable to the bullies demands for money and extra food. As he was now thirteen and had very little in the way of extra food and money and genuinely wanted to excel, he had ignored his detractors. They were out for vengeance and to make him an example to other less pliable boys.

 Still the fight was fairly desultory at first. Albert and his two mates wanted to go to bed. They had had a hard game of football earlier - the ground hard and mud-ridged, the grey sky low and bleak and the cold intense with light snow falling, yet failing to settle.

 Nicholas was not as tired. He was lazy at games and was angry that his victim was becoming indifferent to his best efforts at intimidation. He kicked Elias hard, but his foot was grabbed and he was swung back against the bathroom wall. The sound was loud in the stillness.

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