The Mantis Magic

“Oh no, not again!” she thought to herself as she rushed to the corridor. Bob was holding the straps of Tim’s shoulder bag and swaying him across as a bunch of other guys were enjoying the act. This wasn’t new for Emily, to rescue Tim each time he ran into such trouble.
As she approached Bob, Tim looked up at her.
“Em!” he called out to her feebly. His voice was obviously tired and a small film of water had accumulated in his eyes.
“Take your hands off him. Now!” Emily said sternly as she pulled Tim away from Bob’s clutches.
“Here comes your guardian angel, you mommy’s boy!” hollered Bob as Emily hurried Tim away to avoid him any further embarrassment. They could hear Bob and the other guys laughing hysterically as they walked away.

Both of them did not utter a word as they were trudging along the pathway across the school. It was half past 3 and Emily’s mom was to pick her up from the garden where they were heading to. Tim would have to walk a further 10 minutes to the bus stop from where he would board a bus home.
“Would you like to stay for a while?” Emily asked Tim who was still sober.
“Never mind, am fine!”
Emily knew he was not. “I have to wait for mom anyway for the next half hour. Would you like to hang around until then?” Emily asked expectantly. She knew Tim would not want to bother her, so she tried to make him comfortable by asking for a favour. Her plan worked, as Tim relented.
“Alright then, let’s go in” They both walked inside the garden and sat in a bench.
“Banana?”
“No thanks.”
“Did you watch the game yesterday between Wellington and Palmerston North?”
No answer.
Emily tried to ease up the tension. “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing” Tim’s face was still grim.
“Do you want to talk about what happened today?” Emily wished he would speak out.
There was silence for the next few minutes.
Just as Emily was about to give up, Tim spoke.
“I am weak” Tim was twitching a piece of grass in his fingers as he continued to look down.
“You just think you are” Emily tried to reassure him. “I am no stronger than you are, nor is Bob.”
“This would go on forever. I hate coming to school” Tim’s eyes were fixed on the ground.
“Tim, you just have to stand up for yourself.” Emily gently held his hands.
“Hey, Em!” Emily heard a voice from behind. She turned to see Linda approaching them. Linda was her mom’s colleague, working with her at the ministry of social welfare. “It’s a pleasant day, isn’t it?”
“Yes it is! How are you?” Emily tried to reciprocate Linda’s cheerfulness.
“Am great! Just came for a walk with Apu.” Linda bent down to fondle her cat. “Isn’t he cute?”
“Yes he is” Emily smiled. “This is Tim” Emily introduced Tim to Linda.
“Hi Tim, am Linda. Nice to meet you!” Linda stood up to shake hands with Tim.
“Nice to meet you too!” Tim smiled so as to not show out his mood.
As Linda started to converse with Emily, Tim noticed Apu running towards a small bush. Tim followed Apu to find out what Apu was curious about. Apu poked in to the bush and tried to play with a praying mantis that was hidden in the bush. The mantis looked much like its surroundings, green and slender. Tim could not immediately figure out its presence until it made some swift moves to avoid Apu hurting it. Apu continued to push and prod the insect, with the insect trying to hide out wherever possible. Apu, being a clever cat he is, continued to dig out the insect from its hideouts. As Apu was beginning to enjoy the game, Tim saw something strange happen. Apu started taking some evasive actions whenever he tried to nudge the insect. When he looked closely, he could see the mantis standing tall and spreading its forelegs with its wings fanning out. That made the little insect look scary. Apu continued trying to poke the insect and each time he had to withdraw quickly as the mantis struck with its forelegs and attempted to pinch or bite the cat. Tim was getting astonished by what he was seeing. He could not believe his eyes. He could not believe Apu was being kept at bay by a creature that is hundreds of times lesser in size than the cat.
“What are you looking at?” Emily propped over his shoulder, getting puzzled over Tim’s curiosity.
“Shh!” Tim held Emily behind signing her not to make any noise and turned again to the scene of action. Apu was growing impatient, and started to get a bit violent. He tried to pick up the mantis using his teeth in order to hurt him. But to Tim’s surprise, Apu had to retreat in a flash when he tried to do that. Apu tried again. This time, Tim sharpened his observation to see why the cat was reacting that way. His astonishment grew bigger when he saw the way the mantis stood right up and used its forelegs to attack Apu. It reminded him of the stance he takes to defeat Kokomo the giant in his video game. With the palm at right angles to the forearms, the stance resembled very much a snake fanning out its hood ready to attack. Apu tried again a couple of more times to poke the insect, but the mantis was in no mood to give in. It was clear the Apu wasn’t enjoying it anymore. As Tim was wondering what would be on Apu’s mind, Apu turned back and walked away to Linda. The mantis stood there for a while and then tramped to its hideout.
Tim was stunned by what he saw.
“Incredible, isn’t it?” Emily asked as they turned back to walk to the bench. Emily was equally amazed by the act.
“Yes” Tim seemed to be lost in deep thought.
Emily’s mom arrived just as they reached the lawn seat.
“Thanks for staying, Tim” Emily hugged Tim “See you tomorrow!”
“Thanks to you, Em” Tim seemed to be much more relaxed now. Emily was glad Tim was ok. Emily bade good bye and Tim started his walk back home. His head did not seem to be as heavy then.

Emily was packing her bag to leave home. She was thinking about what had happened the day before; the way Bob tormented Tim, the time she spent with Tim in the garden. She was wondering what Tim would be doing now. She did not want Tim to fall into trouble again. She thought it would be a better idea to check the school corridor before leaving. As she approached the corridor, to her dismay, she found Tim’s lunch bag’s straps once again in Bob’s hands. “I am not letting this happen again” she said to herself as she swiftly started walking towards Bob.
“Take your hands off me.”
Emily could not believe what she heard. It was Tim’s voice. The same voice which had called out her name for help the previous day.
“Bob, I think you should let go of me. Now.” Tim was stern and clear. He looked straight into Bob’s eyes. “Did you hear what I said?”
Bob was startled. Of all the kids in the block, he least expected Tim to stand up against him. “And what if I don’t?” Bob was trying to salvage his pride. After all, he is an inspiration for his fellow wannabe bullies.
“You don’t like yourself going home wet, do you?” Tim took his water bottle in his hands and opened it.
“Calm down kid! Okay, Okay!” Bob let go of Tim’s bag’s straps. There was a look of disbelief in Bob’s face as Tim walked away from him.
“Hi Em! How was your day?” Tim approached Emily who was waiting for him off the corridor. They could hear the chuckle of guys around as Bob left the spot hurriedly.
“Fantastic!” Emily replied enthusiastically. Both of them knew what she meant.