Marcus

Every lunch, Marcus sat on the old bench by the fence, reading comic books. That made him a target for Troy—the biggest kid in school, always looking for someone to push around. One day, Troy grabbed Marcus’s comic and held it out of reach, teasing, “Still reading baby books?” Marcus stayed quiet, not wanting to cause trouble. But before Troy could tear the page, someone else spoke up—Sam, the new kid. “Give it back,” Sam said calmly. “Unless you want everyone to see how scared you are of being ignored.” Troy hesitated—then dropped the comic and walked off. Marcus looked at Sam. “Why’d you do that?” Sam shrugged. “Bullies hate when someone doesn’t play their game.”