‘Do you swear to never rat on any of us?’
‘I do.’
‘Do you swear on your mother’s life, you’re committed to the gang?’
‘I do’.
Harry just played along and said what was expected of him, it had all seemed like proper boy’s stuff until Adam pulled out his knife.
Harry’s lower lip started to tremble.
‘We won’t have any cry-babies,’ Adam stated as he used his penknife to initiate Harry into his gang.
Harry winced.
‘We’re blood brothers now, there’s no turning back,’ announced Adam.
Harry had thought that it would be fun to be accepted into a gang at his new school. Now, after seeing the pleasure that inflicting pain gave Adam, he was beginning to have some doubts.
For sure, Adam was the most respected boy in school, but Harry found out too late that he had earned it through bullying and harassment. Now with Harry being the newest member, he had to earn the other gang members’ trust. He was their dogsbody to do with as they wished. The only plus side was that nobody outside of the gang picked on him.
At first, his duties were not too arduous, but they soon turned into uncomfortable tasks for Harry. They would send him to collect protection money from his fellow pupils, making him as unpopular as Adam. As time went on, the gang’s exploits escalated and were soon spiralling out of control. Harry was getting more and more embroiled with their bad behaviour. He wanted out, but was really scared what Adam would do to his mother.
He became more and more subdued. His mental state deteriorated. He hardly went out apart from school. His mother was getting very worried, but didn’t know what the problem was.
He was home sick when the Science Laboratory was burned down. They had caught the culprits at the scene. It was only when the police came to his home that his mother found out about his association with the gang. Harry cried as he told his mother the whole story.
All the gang members were expelled except Harry, as there was no proof that he was involved. As there were no gang members left at school, there was no longer anyone protecting his back, and his life got a whole lot more difficult.
Five years on, Harry still flinched when anybody knocked at his door. It was only when he found out that Adam had been committed to a mental institution, did he start to relax.
