Tim -

Little Tim White lived in the forest. As far as anyone knew, he lived there alone. No one ever saw his parents, and no one ever went to visit him. He showed up at school every day and did well in his lessons. He was a model student. That’s all anyone knew.

One day at recess, Johnny Carrottop decided it would be fun to pick on Tim. Johnny was a bully and liked to give the kids who made him look small a difficult time. He would embarrass them and then gloat about how much better he was than they were. No one liked Johnny, but they were afraid to get in his way because he might pick on them too. So when Johnny picked his next victim, the other kids would run away rather than try to stop him. Even the teachers and the school principal were afraid of him. One of the science teachers, Mrs Jacobs, stepped in to defend a student. She marched Johnny straight to the principal’s office and demanded discipline. The principal looked uneasy, looking from Johnny to Mrs Jacobs, then told her he would take care of things and sent her back to class. She returned to the classroom knowing she had done the right thing.

The next day Johnny was back in class, but Mrs Jacobs never arrived to teach. Instead, Mr Jones was there. He introduced himself as the new science teacher. Mrs Jacobs was gone, and no one knew what had happened to her. Mr Jones explained that the science lessons she was teaching were all wrong and that from now on he would teach the new science. Johnny Carrottop’s face stretched into a smug grin.

The parents became outraged when they saw the new lessons their children brought home. One mom called the school and demanded to know what was going on. She was told that the school board had decided the current science curriculum was all wrong and full of lies and needed adjusting. So the mom went straight to the school, marched into the classroom and took her daughter out of the class and proceeded to the principal’s office. No one ever saw them again.

This went on for months. Parents would remove their children from the classroom and then disappear. Soon the complaints stopped. The grownups were so afraid they would be the next to vanish they hid in their homes while their kids had to learn the new science. Meanwhile, Johnny Carrottop continued to pick on kids. He was very mean, but nobody would stand up to him. Teachers and parents alike were afraid of what might happen to them.

Mrs Fritz was not afraid of the school, and she was not afraid of Johnny Carrottop. She took her daughter from the class and said she would stand for these shenanigans any longer. The next day, the town learned that there had been a terrible explosion at the Fritz home. Leveled to the ground, the house and the Fritz family were gone. Even their two dogs and goldfish were gone. The science teacher told the students that they got a tip-off from the Carrottop family that the Fritzes were cooking meth and selling it to all the people in town. Mr Jones sent letters to all the parents telling them to mind their behaviour or else suffer punishment for their misconduct.

That’s when Johnny Carrottop decided he would pick on Tim White. He didn’t like Tim because he didn’t cower or run away from him. He just kept quiet and worked on his lessons as expected. Johnny couldn’t stand that. Whenever he passed Tim’s desk, he would knock his books to the floor. Sometimes he would steal his homework or break his pencils and walk away. The other teachers and students did nothing. They would say there must be something very wrong with Tim and that he deserved to be singled out and mistreated. The principal said Johnny was correct in his behaviour and to leave him alone. Some would turn against their neighbors in order to look good in front of the school, but mostly to keep in good favor with Johnny Carrottop.

In time, Johnny became immune to accusations of wrongdoing and would get special awards for things he never did. Meanwhile, Tim White continued to do his lessons. He got high marks, but never reacted to any compliments he got. He just thanked the school and went back to his lessons. This made Johnny furious. He wanted to know why Tim wasn’t afraid of him and followed him home one day.

Tim was halfway across the school grounds as he was heading home to the forest where he lived. A bunch of students cut him off and started picking on him. Johnny stood at the back of the group with a smug look on his face as the other students knocked Tim to the ground and beat him up. Tim lay curled up on the ground as the other students cackled around him, calling him names. Then Johnny came up and moved the crowd aside. He stood over Tim and said This happens when people don’t give me the respect I deserve.

Everyone left Tim lying there and went on their way home. In time, Tim got up, brushed himself off and limped to the forest alone. He showed no fear and didn’t look back. He just went home. Johnny was close behind, following.

Tim disappeared as he moved through the trees. Johnny found himself alone. Tim was nowhere to be seen, and Johnny could no longer hear Tim’s footsteps. Shadows grew long as the sun set; the forest became darker. The creatures of the deep woods chattered. Birdsong became owl hoots. Wildcats growled and snarled while coyotes wailed. The forest was watching Johnny, and he was frightened. He puffed out his chest so the animals wouldn’t know how terrified he was.

Johnny was wandering aimlessly and became completely lost. The path through the woods was gone. In a panic, Johnny ran, and the further he ran, the darker the forest became. Then he stopped dead in his tracks. The forest became still, and Johnny heard footsteps. Someone was behind him, following, but when he turned, the footsteps stopped. Nobody was there. Then the footsteps began again, only from another direction. Johnny started walking, going faster and faster until he was trotting. His breathing became labored, and the footsteps were right behind him, following close. The animals once again began their chatter, taunting Johnny, almost mocking him. He recalled the scene from earlier that afternoon as his gang surrounded Tim and mocked him. He spun in place, peering into the woods, but saw no one. Suddenly he heard a branch crack, then a crunching sound. The animals went silent, and the rustling, crunching, snapping got closer and closer. Johnny fell to his knees, trembling with fright, and there was Tim standing over him looking down. He didn’t seem angry or upset. He just looked down at Johnny with a blank expression. Then he shook his head, and when Johnny looked up and their eyes met, Tim simply said, How does it feel? Then he turned walking away, vanishing into the forest. The forest creatures resumed their chatter and closed in on Johnny, their conversations with the other woodland creatures growing louder and more frenzied. There was a scream that no one heard.

The next day, Tim was at school. He sat quietly at his desk as the rest of the students entered the classroom and sat at their desks. They were all looking at Tim, and some of Johnny’s gang were smirking and seemed ready to pick on little Tim White when the teacher walked in. The room became silent. Rather than sit at her desk, she moved in front of it, sitting on the edge, facing the class. Her gaze slowly crossed each student. She said that Johnny hadn’t come home from school. The police and Johnny’s parents had been up all night, searching. There was no trace of Johnny. No one had seen him since school let out. The teacher and the students all looked at Tim. Tim took out his books and notebooks, looked at the teacher and waited for class to start. The other students looked at the empty desk at the back of the class and then looked to the front. Class resumed.

Johnny was never found and soon became forgotten. No one picked on Tim or anyone else ever again.