Status

  Michael had grown up in the Ridge and went to Alexander Robinson Elementary starting in kindergarten. There he met Shane, and Neil. They were all the same age and had lived within ten minutes of each other. The Ridge was mostly farm land at that time, so everyone lived ten minutes from each other. Craig was year older but had failed grade one, and that's where they met him. I've often wondered how stupid I could be to follow someone that failed grade one. Things were different before I'd arrived. The four of them were inseparable. Small towns can be a difficult place to meet new people, let alone new friends. The school was small, the kids there were the off spring of people that had never left, and never will. There were families that were crammed into a two bedroom ranchers, then mansions a block away. It was starting to become a place where people that were wealthy could purchase a wonderful spread and live beyond their means. The rest of us were moving from shitty townhouses closer to the city, to an actual house in a subdivision of look-a-like homes. I was happy I didn't have to share a room with my brother anymore, but I was sure that the Ridge was ten years behind.
 I had never seen so many trees in my life. Around every corner was a forrest deep and dense, and as far as you could see. The locals rolled in beat up trucks wearing worn out overalls, and rubber boots. Kids at school would talk about seeing bears, and shooting their dads guns. I was terrified. My brother  Scott and I stuck together like glue the first few months. Our parents thought it was great that we were so close, but we just didn't know how to interact. Worse was the fact that each group of kids had such a tight clique that they seemed impenetrable. The bell would ring and these little gangs of redneck children would form, eyeballing each other outside the sand box. Some would retire to the far side of the field, which backed onto an actual field. Plumes of cigarette smoke would rise, as the teacher on duty would be pulling on her own dart, stealing a light from a grade 7. The entire recess was the reckless warriors circling the school. You'd be watching your back on one side because the older kids would be coming by, then muscling up the younger kids at the corner. The school had been operating this way since Michael started. And few ever bucked the system. The only time I saw a true revolt is when a new student, Jeff Johnson, started. All recess and lunch the tough kids laid down the law, and the rules. They pushed, shoved and intimidated with extreme vigor, because Jeff was a pretty big kid. At the 3 o'clock bell, Jeff beat the shit out of two of the toughest kids I'd ever seen. The next day Jeff was the king of the school, and the kids he'd beaten were his minions.
  I sat by the monkey bars eating my lunch while Craig, Clayton and the rest sat staring up at the wooden play fort. The fort was the key to the dominance of the school. Craig's older brother Chris stood atop letting everyone know that if they climbed the ladder, they would be beaten. Chris' crew stared everyone down, including Craig. I'd even seen Chris lay a beat on Craig a few times and it was vicious. Chris was a monster, and you could see Craig becoming one. Craig and Shane conspired about going to the store across the street and shoplifting some candy, Neil sat quietly, and Michael walked over to me. I'd spoken briefly to him in class, but never anything substantial. He grabbed on to the bars and swung back and forth. I glanced up from my sandwich and caught his eye. "He's gonna get you after school you know" Michael said upward to the sky.
"What?" I replied nervously
"Craig told Neil that you told someone that you were tougher than him"
I tried to take another bite, but couldn't. I looked up to see Craig leaning into Neil's ear. His cheeks puffed with each grit of his teeth. He stood up and began to walk towards me intently. I scrambled to get my food back into the paper bag, but before I knew it I was face to face with Neil. Clayton dropped from the bars and stood there shaking his head. Neil shouted something at me, but I was caught up in the fact that Craig was staring at Michael
"Mikey? What the fuck are doing over here?"
Michael defiantly looked away. "He didn't do anything" he mumbled
Craig walked right up to his chin. Neil turned away from me and stood loyally behind Craig.
"Is this your little faggot friend? You got sick of fucking that fat bitch Amy?"
 It's funny to think how much trash we could talk considering that none of had even kissed a girl. At the moment I thought I was safe, Neil turned and punched me in the gut. I fell in a pile amongst the wood chips. Was this the moment Clayton Magnet was born? Michael turned and walked away.
"Mikey! Mikey! If you fucking walk away, I swear to god, Mikey" Craig yelled.
Their focus had completely switched. The teacher on duty finally made it over to the play area and asked what had happened. I lied and said that I fell. Craig liked that. He nudged Shane as they stormed away.
 After lunch, the classroom had this air of tension. Craig was whispering things to Neil and Shane constantly. He told the girls in class that Michael had a tiny dick, he told the other group of boys that he called them pussies. It was a relentless campaign. I even got involved when I heard from other people that it was Michael that had punched me in the stomach. I never denied it. I've felt bad about possibly contributing to the creation of this alter-ego, but he assured me that everything was cool between us. I'll never forgive myself, even if he did. The mood became a little more playful as the day continued, and by final bell Craig had invited Michael over after school, but he declined and rode away on his blue banana seat bicycle. I started to walk home with Scott when Craig, Shane and Neil approached me. I was scared at first, Scott hid behind me. Neil apologized for hitting me and told me that Michael had encouraged him. Craig interrupted, "Michael's been saying a lot of things about you, and all of us. So starting tomorrow, we're going to ignore him."
I nodded, but I wasn't sure how this affected me. Scott told me to stay away from Craig, but what did he know, he was only ten. I didn't have any friends, or people to hang with, and now one of the most popular cliques wanted me. I feel like I didn't have a choice. It's Elementary school, social status from here could affect my high school status, and that was only two years away. By the time I was going to bed that night I decided to become apart of Craig's crew. It was one of the worst decisions I ever made.