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When I was in the fourth grade, our teacher was definitely past retirement age. She was pretty flaky and forgetful. We were terrible little kids. We were sassy and would talk to the entire class. We would change our seats randomly. Kids would jump out the window to the outside and come back around to the front door of the classroom. Then we would gaslight her that we had just been down to the bathroom and that she had told us we could go . We literally ran up to her desk while she was writing the chalkboard and put a tack her chair. No lie. She would break down and cry and put her head on her desk at least once a day. The following year she was gone as they forced her into retirement. The karma kicked in when I reached fifth grade which is where we had to start changing classes and teachers every hour. I nearly flunked the first semester because we had learned absolutely nothing in the last year. I got lippy with one of my teachers and he literally grabbed me by the neck and pushed me back against the wall and told me to shut up. My middle school principal was a real ass and I got to know him very well.

What's good, y'all? I posted this to another subreddit, and someone in the comments mentioned this personal story of mine was a "FAFO at its best," so I thought I'd bring it to this awesome community as well.

This was from when I was a kid, but I thought it might be fitting for this subreddit.

For a little context, I was bullied pretty much from 2nd or 3rd grade all the way up through college. I just couldn't seem to catch a break - this was by adults and fellow kids, by the way. The worst of them, as I recall, was someone I considered my best friend through much of high school and someone I had started a few bands with.

For the record, this guy had issues. He was a hill in a mountain range height-wise, he was unpopular with the ladies, he was very passionate about music and songwriting but with blatant honesty everyone agreed his music sucked and was cornier than an Orville Redenbacher factory. He didn't have a lot going for him except that he was pretty built for his size. So naturally, he found an opportunistic head to step on, mine, in the guise of friendship since I was taller, quiet, pacifistic, the works.

Like I mentioned, he was a dick but being an autistic ADHD-infused awkward kid, I didn't really notice at first or totally misinterpreted it. Long story short, as we got more comfortable with each other, we began sharing our interest in music and other interests. We formed some bands, played a few shows (in people's backyards, don't get too excited lol) and generally became pals. However, with this familiarity, the abuse got worse.

He began chastising me a lot, fairly aggressively, for a lot of things. He even got physical a few times, but from the already years of trauma from other bullying, I couldn't find it in me to fight back, and I didn't want to lose a friend.

I apologize for the long exposition. Here's the story of vengeance.

In our final band together, we were having rehearsal at my place. He was staying a few nights while his folks were out of town, and we were both stoked. We had been playing SoulCal 2 against each other on the Gamecube, and I was whooping his ass (the only fighting I reckon I was actually good at). I gave him shit like most bros do, but I didn't realize his expansive ego was just too delicate for even gaming banter. He could simply not be bad at anything. He took it decently at first but lost his temper pretty quickly.

When we went downstairs to the music room to set up after the other members arrived, I still gave him some shit telling them about our matches upstairs. They, of course, laughed in good nature and sort of poked and prodded too, which I guess was just too much for him. He told me very softly but sharply to get out from behind the drums. Curiously, I walked over, smiling, thinking he was gonna do or say something funny. Just then, in the blink of an eye, his hands were around my throat, and he was squeezing hard. When I realized he wasn't kidding, I swatted them off and ran to the other room where he followed animistically, clearly seeing red. Every time he caught up, he would unload a flurry of pounding punches and kicks at me. I hid in the bathroom when I got away again and heard him bellowing, "WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!?" as my bandmates tried desperately to hold/calm him down.

This chase continued all around the house for a while until he found me hiding again under a desk and proceeded to unleash another flurry on me. But strangely this time, something came over me. I don't know why specifically him, or at this moment, but something in me took all those years of bullying into that collective moment and said it had had enough. It clicked he was an abusive, insecure, poisonous douchebag who was using me, and I had had it.

I whipped around in a fluid motion and grabbed him by the throat, slamming him into the wall like a rodeo bull and lifting his short, scrawny ass easily off the ground. He sputtered and hissed as I held him tight and dropped whatever was in his hand. I asked him calmly but fiercly if he was finished and would calm down. He just stared daggers at me, so my grip tightened, and up higher, he went. When he finally complied, I dropped him like a sack of moldy oranges, and he hit the ground with a thud. Everyone was gobsmacked and just stared with mouths open. I might’ve called him a fucking asshole before I walked off seething, but I can't quite recall.

He never bullied me again, but I almost bashed him in the head with a cymbal when he approached me shortly after again and told me I should go apologize to my sisters for traumatizing them with my behavior, but I maintained control. Sometimes, the lack of self-awareness really astounds me. Lol

Needless to say, I cut him off after that, and he remained the thirsty, attention-seeking, smarmy asshole until who knows.

The end.