Balaclava Boy Read Online Free

his eyes. He often gets tears in his eyes when he speaks about stuff like kindness. Sometimes the tears run down his cheeks.
    But the Grade Five NM bullies didn’t want to be sunbeams of joy and kindness! No! They sat just behind Balaclava Boy. And Dumisani and I could hear the mean things they were whispering.
    â€œHey, Sock-head! Are you hiding a pumpkin in there? Or maybe you’ve got a squashed tomato for a head?”
    Are you hiding a pumpkin in there?
    â€œHey, Tea-cosy-brain! What happens when you sneeze? Yuck! Snot squashed everywhere!”
    We Doo Dudes shifted up closer to Tommy. In case he was feeling bad about being new and being mocked.
    After Assembly there was a stupid boring spelling test. Cherise got twenty out of twenty. As usual. She bounced around her desk like this was the first time she’d ever got full marks. Poor Tommy! He nearly went sliding right off onto the floor.
    Then Miss Venter put us in groups to do a transport worksheet about steam engines. That was more fun. In my group, I had a huge argument with Sheldon about which one was faster: a Ferrari or a Maserati. Well, until our group leader, Yasmiena, got upset.
    â€œDoogal! Sheldon! Shush!” she ordered. “We’ve got to draw a steam engine now. So quit jabbering about other stuff!” Yasmiena is quite bossy. Even if she is so tiny that her plaits nearly reach the ground.
    Dumisani’s group sat on the carpet behind me. So I could hear him having a huge argument with Donna-Kyle. About their drawing.
    â€œI’m telling you, Big D,” Donna-Kyle was saying, “you can’t draw a train-surfer on top of a steam train. They didn’t have train-surfers in the old days. So rub him out!”
    â€œAah, come on, man! Live a little,” Dumisani argued back. “I bet Billy likes my train-surfer. Don’t you, Billy?” But of course Billy was too busy looking out the window to answer.
    Yes, it was good fun! Best of all, Miss Venter didn’t tell us to shush. We were supposed to be talking, discussing the worksheet. So the Dragon Lady just walked around the classroom smiling.
    And then came break. And The Attack.
    Dumz and I were just finishing off his banana yoghurt when we saw something really bad. The Grade Five NM bullies were dragging Tommy off to the bush behind Mr Plaatjies’ shed.
    Everyone knows the kind of stuff that goes on behind that shed!
    We jumped up. We rushed to the soccer field to scream for Riyaad and JECO and the rest.
    â€œTommy’s in trouble! The bullies have got Balaclava Boy! Let’s go! Let’s move it!”
    By the time we reached the bush behind the shed, the situation was drastic. The bullies had Tommy down on the gravel. They were holding his legs to stop him kicking. They were punching his arms to make him let go of his balaclava.
    Tommy’s in trouble!
    Tommy held on as tightly as he could. But he was losing the battle. Already his neck was showing. And part of his chin. There was a bright red stain on the wool above his nose. It looked more like blood than a red stripe.
    He was screeching louder than the Power Station siren. “Leave me alone! Ow! O-O-O-O-W!”
    We rushed in to rescue him. We used all the strength we had. Riyaad, aka Rough Stuff, aka WWF, was head-butting their leader, Cedric Carson, in the stomach. Obakeng whirled his long arms round and round like helicopter blades. Dumisani and I knelt there next to Tommy’s head, trying to yank Grade Five fingers off his balaclava. And Moketsi yelled at the top of his voice, “I’ll tell Miss Venter! I’ll tell Mr Rasool! You wait! You’ll all get expelled!”
    It was hopeless, though. We didn’t really stand a chance, not even with Riyaad on our side. The bullies were bigger and stronger and much, much meaner. Already part of Tommy’s bottom lip was showing under the bloodstain.
    Just then Cherise appeared with Mrs Twetwe, the teacher on