The sky was gray. Not stormy, not sunny… just heavy and dull, like it knew something awful was happening behind the gym. Theo was on the ground, curled up with his arms over his head. Dirt and dried leaves clung to his uniform. His knees were scraped. His lower lip was bleeding from where he bit it, hard, just to stop himself from crying.
"Hey! Where's your fire now, freak?"
A kick landed in his ribs. Another on his back.
Laughter echoed from the small group of boys circling him. They weren't older, just mean. Mean enough to know Theo wouldn't fight back. He never did.
"You think acting smart makes you better than us?"
"Let's see if being smart helps when you're choking on dirt."
They grabbed his backpack and dumped it out. Books hit the ground. A worn notebook with scribbled sketches of robots and monsters tore open. One of the boys picked it up.
"Look at this! What are you, five?"
