Bullies mocked me for joining their game club. They didn’t know my dad designed it.

The Consequences

Grayson had to pay back $30 for my lunch money plus 20 for a new notebook. Greg owed $15 for the torn pages he helped destroy.

Adam had to return the exact amount he took from my pocket that day. All three got two week suspensions from any school club activities.

They had to write formal apology letters that Douglas would review before accepting them. The school counselor would assign them each 10 hours of anti-bullying workshops spread over the next month.

Kirk got instructions to revise the video game club charter with clear membership rules that couldn’t exclude students without valid reasons. Grayson’s mom kept shaking her head and muttering about unfairness while Greg’s dad took notes on his phone.

Vice Principal Douglas just laid down the law like a boss fight final phase. Suspensions, apology letters, anti-bullying workshops—the whole combo attack while Grayson’s mom acts like her precious son just lost his high score unfairly.

Adam’s parents just sat there looking tired. After the meeting ended I heard kids in the hallway already spreading different versions of what happened.

Some said. “I got the bullies off easy because my dad was important and threatened the school.”

Others claimed I used my connection to get them punished way harder than normal teasing deserved. By lunch the next day I’d heard five different stories about the hearing and none matched what actually happened.

The rumors got worse when someone posted on the school message board that I was a snitch who couldn’t handle jokes. Another person replied that the bullies deserved worse for what they did to me.

The arguments went back and forth all week with people taking sides who weren’t even there. Three days into the suspension period I tried going to the computer lab during club time just to show I cared about the game.

Kirk was there organizing some paperwork and looked up when I walked in. He reminded me that all club activities were paused during the suspension, including regular meetings.

Even when I explained I just wanted to practice strategies, he said the rules applied to everyone equally. I left feeling like even trying to belong somewhere got blocked no matter what I did.

A New Kind of Club

The next morning Kirk caught me in the hallway before first period and mentioned he could host informal strategy talks during lunch. He said it wouldn’t be official club business, just students discussing game mechanics in his classroom.

I agreed even though I didn’t expect much from it since nobody really wanted me around anyway. That first lunch session only Ignasio showed up besides me and Kirk grading papers at his desk.

I pulled out my rebuilt notebook and walked Ignasio through my Shadow Knight intelligence build step by step. I showed him how stacking intelligence multipliers with specific armor sets created damage outputs nobody expected from that class.

He actually followed the math and asked smart questions about skill rotations and stat priorities. We spent 40 minutes going through different scenarios and he took notes on optimizing his own build.

That evening I logged into Eternal Kingdoms to test some theories we’d discussed at lunch. Within 5 minutes my chat box filled with messages from usernames I recognized as local players.

They called me names and said I ruined their friends’ lives over a stupid game. More messages came flooding in saying I was trash at the game and only won because of insider info.

Instead of responding I turned on my recording software and documented every message with timestamps and usernames. I took screenshots of the worst ones and saved the chat logs to a folder on my desktop.

The harassment continued for two hours until I finally logged off and organized all the evidence into dated files. Dad found me organizing the screenshots and asked what happened so I showed him everything.

He called Leroy from HR at his company and put him on speaker to discuss options. Leroy said Dad should avoid any school appearances for now since it would make the situation worse.

He mentioned that organized outreach programs might work once things cooled down in a few months. We both knew my reputation couldn’t be fixed by big gestures or dad showing up to defend me.

Two days later an official letter arrived from Douglas detailing all the sanctions in writing. I read through the formal language about restitution amounts and workshop requirements and suspension dates.

Near the bottom I noticed it specifically said academic eligibility and athletic participation remained unaffected for all parties. The justice felt carefully limited to avoid any real consequences that might affect college applications or sports seasons.

Forced Apologies

Kirk scheduled a charter revision session that week and posted flyers inviting student input about membership standards. I went even though my stomach hurt from nerves and suggested adding transparent criteria for joining.

I wrote on the board that behavior expectations should be posted clearly so everyone knew the rules. Kirk nodded and added my suggestions to his list while a few other kids watched from their seats.

The session lasted an hour with Kirk taking notes about preventing discrimination and ensuring fair access for interested students. Friday after school Adam found me at my locker with a crumpled $20 bill in his hand.

He shoved it at me and muttered something about processing fees while looking at the ground. I took the money without saying anything and put it in my pocket while he walked away quickly.

Monday morning Greg was waiting by my home room door with a folded piece of paper in his hand. He shoved it at me without making eye contact and I could see the school letterhead through the thin paper.

I unfolded it and read his messy handwriting saying he was sorry for dumping my backpack and destroying my notebook pages. The words looked forced and I could tell someone made him write specific things because he’d underlined “personal property” and “inappropriate behavior” like they weren’t his own words.

I folded it back up and put it in my folder with all the other documentation I’d been collecting. Joey called me to her office during second period and showed me a new seating chart for my classes.

She’d moved me to spots near the door in every room and handed me a yellow hall pass card. “This lets you leave 5 minutes early from any class near the computer lab,” She explained while marking a map with highlighter.

She traced different routes through the building that would let me avoid the main hallways during club meeting times. The card felt weird in my pocket but knowing I could escape if I needed to made my chest feel less tight.