Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2022 08:32:41 +0100 From: Andrew Passey Subject: Danny The Bully Part Five (Young Friends) By the start of the week Danny hadn't told me if we were on for Wednesday but as he hadn't bullied me since our discussion I assumed we were. After all, I knew his Dad wanted it so it seemed his solution was working. In any case I went over to see Peter again before our homework session. I knew Danny would be at rugby practice so I wanted to check exactly what had been discussed by the two of them. The last thing I wanted was any unpleasant surprises on the day with Danny. Peter warmly welcomed me in, got me a glass of coke and congratulated me on making the deal with Danny. "It takes guts to lay it all on the line even if it was planned by us beforehand. I wouldn't say Danny was delighted but he knows it's preferable to him than me getting him a tutor! I imagine he'll be a bit resistant to you helping him but he knows the consequences of messing up so hopefully he won't give you any trouble. Do you have a bank account?" "Um yes I do, and a building society account. Why?" "I was going to write a cheque for you or would you rather cash?" I know he said he'd pay me but I was still surprised at his generosity. After all I was getting something out of this too - getting Danny off my back. If the bullying all stopped it would be priceless to me so the thought of extra money on top was like hitting the jackpot. I got my bank card out and he got his cheque book out. He wrote a cheque and handed it over to me. It was for thirty pounds! That was more money than I usually got in total for my birthday! "I hope that covers the inconvenience to you of helping Danny," Peter said with a smile. "That's more than enough for the term, much too generous!" I protested before Peter laughed. "It's per week, not per term!" That was insane! I know Peter ran his own business and they were very well off compared to me but even so, this sort of amount would make me very uncomfortable. "Sorry, I can't accept that much, " I said slightly reluctantly. In honesty, I'd love the money to be able to help Mum with bills and buy new clothes but it seemed too high for what was literally a couple of hours a week. Surely it was more than he'd pay a normal tutor? Not that I had any idea of the going rate admittedly. Peter held up his hand to quieten me, "It's fine Tom. I have more than enough money to pay for it. It's a damn sight cheaper than me getting a tutor for Danny. Just see it as money for a job well done. Why don't you also keep coming over for a weekly chat with me. It'll help me understand Danny better and how he's getting on. If it makes you feel better about the money then think of that as part of the job." Well what could I do!? I gratefully accepted the money. I would have to think carefully on how to mention it to Mum, I wasn't totally sure he'd understand. Maybe for now I'd just let the money build up and surprise her in due course. Danny was surprisingly polite and nice to me when I came over the next day to help him. Maybe Peter had read him the riot act. I followed him upstairs to his room after pretending to meet Peter for only the second time. We were both clear that Danny shouldn't know about our catchup on Wednesdays, at least at first. Danny's room was huge with a double bed, a computer and monitor set up in the corner. There was also a big desk that was big enough for both of us to sit at. He had his own phone extension on his bedside table and lots of games on his bookshelves. Clearly Peter spent a lot of money on him but then again Peter seemed to have a lot of money so what else would he spend it on? If he could afford to spend £30 a week on me then he must be throwing the money at Danny. Danny got his homework out and I sat with him and helped him as best as I could. We weren't in the same classes but we were doing the same subjects, some of what he was doing I'd already covered so it was pretty easy for me to be honest. Aside from homework based conversations we didn't stray onto other things. I guess there was an unwritten agreement not to mention the bullying and it stopping. Either way once the first session was done I felt relieved but also pleased how well it had gone. Over the next few weeks the sessions went pretty well. Danny was more intelligent than I realised. I guess he'd just fallen into bad ways and a bad crowd. Although thinking about it he was the bad crowd! But thankfully the bullying had stopped at school. Well it had stopped for me and Gaz and most of our friends. I'm sure Danny and his goons still bullied other kids but in reality that wasn't my concern. I couldn't fix all the problems with him, just the ones related to us. I hoped me being nice to him would eventually make him nicer to other people. As agreed I'd still visit Pete for a weekly chat which I really enjoyed. Without realising that it had happened I'd latched on to him. I guess I was looking for a father figure in my life, someone to help guide me through the stresses and problems of teenage life. The way that he listened to my problems without judging and then proposed solutions was really great. I think it was maybe my fifth or sixth visit when just as I was about to leave the heavens opened, and I mean really opened. Proper torrential rain. I wanted to get home though but Peter looked out the window and offered me a lift home, I gratefully agreed and we ran to the car avoiding the worst of it. As he dropped me off he looked thoughtful, "Hmm, would you mind Tom if I popped in and introduced myself to your Mum? It's only right she meets me with you spending time with me although I assume she's fine with that," I blushed slightly in embarrassment, "Um, I, er, I haven't mentioned it really. So maybe it's a good time to introduce yourself." I hadn't been deliberately keeping it from Mum, it just hadn't come up. At times she didn't seem that interested in the minutiae of my life despite her earlier overprotective behaviour. All she knew was that I was seeing "friends" after school. It was all very innocent anyway so Peter came with me to the front door, just as the rain eased. I went inside and Mum came out of the kitchen. "Hi darling, oh who is this you're with?" She asked, I was about to introduce Peter when he took over. Hi, I'm Peter, Danny's father. I wanted to drop Tom home so he didn't get too wet. It's lovely to meet you, although Danny said he lived with his Mum, surely you must be his sister?!?" Mum laughed at that and honestly looked like she actually believed the comment which led to me stifling a giggle. Peter was warmed up and turned up the charm. "Not sure if you're totally aware, Mrs Evans but Tom has started to help my boy Danny with his homework once a week. He's such an intelligent, polite boy, you should be very proud of the job you've done! It's really great to have him supporting Danny. It can be so tough raising a teenage boy on your own as I'm sure you know!" "Oh Peter yes I do know, and please call me Jane. Thank you for dropping Tom back. Why don't you stay for a cup of tea?" Peter looked at his watch, "I'm a bit short on time but that would be lovely thank you." I had homework to do so I left them to it although I could hear Mum laughing occasionally. I felt pleased Peter was getting on well with Mum. She didn't have much of a social life and making friends with another parent would be good for her. It would also mean I could use Peter to influence Mum slightly if I needed to. Not manipulate of course but just have someone else on my side when I tried to persuade her to give me more freedom! Things had worked out infinitely better than I could possibly have imagined! The bullying had stopped, I was earning more money than I had in my life, Danny was being nice to me. I'd really clicked with Peter and I was loving having someone to confide in and advise me. Peter was charming Mum downstairs, all in all things were looking up!