Odd Fred

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If you were asked to describe Fred's personality from a distance, you would likely describe him as a reserved and calm dude. Well that's exactly who Fred was. Growing up as a second child amongst four kids, one could call him the black sheep of the family. His lifestyle was completely different from the rest of the family. Fred would prefer staying at the basement of the house instead of hanging out with his siblings. He eats after the whole family has finished eating. On countless occasions, his dad had forced him to join the family at the dining table but that only leads to an unhappy Fred.

Various medical checkups have confirmed that Fred isn't sick; he was hale and hearty. His parents and siblings had no other option but to let him be. Despite being odd, he was highly intelligent. One would wonder what he always does in the basement of the house and a visit to the basement would keep you in awe. Fred, being an artist transformed the basement into his art studio. He creates the most intriguing arts using anything available; whether iron, paints, pen and paper, charcoal, sticks, etc, Fred could create art out of it.

Art was Fred's way of life and survival but his parents did not know of the troubles he faced in school. Since he attended a different high school from his siblings, they weren't aware either. Fred was known to be intelligent, his grades were good and consistent but he was being bullied at school. A senior student named Zamar was the culprit.

Zamar observed Fred from his early days in the school and noticed that Fred was so quiet and rarely interacts with others so he capitalised on that to compel Fred to do his bidding. Zamar used threats to induce fear into his prey. He would threaten to beat them up or lock them in the school's storeroom or give them a larger portion of the field to clear.
He also threatened to inflict bodily harm on his victims if they dared report him to anyone. Of course these threats were mere words from a teenager but his victims feared Zamar so much that they thought he would carry them out.

Zamar is currently in his final year in high school and hasn't been caught by the school authorities. He bullies his victims - of which Fred is included - into giving him part of their feeding money, copying notes for him, running errands around the school and even spying on fellow students for him.

Art was more like a coping mechanism for Fred. He couldn't tell anyone about his ordeals. He just prayed that Senior Zamar leaves the school soon.



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12 comments
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This is a fantastic story, too bad Fred has to cope with the bully all alone by concentrating on his art.

A lot of parent make the same mistake Fred's parents are making because they aren't paying attention for the possible reasons why their son is like that.

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Exactly!. They didn't try enough.
His parents actually deserve bulk of the blame because it shows the upbringing of Fred was flawed.

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His case is related to many death happening in school today, these kids get bullied until they are broken and parent are to be blamed. Some parents don't even have a good relationship with their Kids for the child to report such a thing.

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This is so true. If this school was a boarding house, it could be understood; but this was a day school. His parents are actually in the wrong here.
Thank you so much for reading @george-dee

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This act of bullying has a way of putting up some characters in a child, and if care is not taken, it changes a child completely. The parents of Fred should have noticed this earlier...

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They tried to know what was wrong but didn't try enough. I believe if they had followed up by visiting the school, they could have found out something.

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Yeah, exactly. They could have gotten a clue

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I think they gave up on him way too early. Their parenting was really flawed.
Thank you for reading @kingsleyy

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Hi @theoptimizer. Thank you for sharing your story in The Ink Well.

We have some tips for you. This story presents a conflict, as all good stories do, but it lacks a resolution, which is another key element of quality fiction. Fred does not overcome the challenges with the bully, his family does not find out or help him, and no one comes to his aid at school, which leaves the story feeling unfinished.

The Ink Well has some great resources in our catalog of fiction writing tips. In particular we recommend the following articles:

  • Story arcs: Learn about the structure of stories and how the resolution is as important as the conflict.
  • Action, Dialogue and Narrative: The Dynamic Trio: Learn how to integrate action and dialogue into your stories. This one is pure narrative, which has the effect of summarizing the story instead of telling the story with elements that engage the reader.
  • How to Write Dialogue in Fiction: Learn more about how to integrate dialogue in your stories.

Also, please be sure to read The Ink Well community rules at the top of The Ink Well community home page. We expect everyone who publishes in The Ink Well to be an active member of our community. We ask every writer to read and comment on at least two other stories for each one published.

Good luck and keep writing.

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Thank you so much for tips.
I'll keep them in mind.

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