Playground Fighting

There was a time not so long ago when I went to school. And, although not a violent pesron by nature, I do vividly remember the nervous excitement which resonated around the playground as a couple of pupils slugged it out in a fight.

I remember one particular occasion when the "two best fighters" at my school got into a conflict. These two were widely regarded as the most fierce and brutal of street-fighters in the whole school. I shall call them Bob and Tom (I prefer to keep their identities anonymous, if you please). Bob and Tom had a mutual respect for each other.

They were cut from the same cloth. They bullied younger kids, stole their lunch money only to gamble it all away. These kids were only 11 or 12, Im not claiming that they killed anyone. No, they left that for their late teenage years....

Bob and Tom seemed to operate in different territories. Like big commercial giants, they seemed to have a memorandum of understanding that their business dealings should not cross. And thus for all of my time at school these two ne'erdowells occupied parallel universes of chaos.

Until the fateful day of which I have begun to describe. Sadly I cannot recall the precise cause for the fight. But much like the Israeli-Palestine conflict, the underlying roots are masked in subplots and counter-accusations and in the end no one is sure how it all began.

Suffice it to say that it did begin somehow. "Bob and Tom are fighting!" was the shout from the crowds. And everyone, from those who abhorred the very idea of fighting to blood-thirsty boxing veterans, they all ran to see the show. There were so many pupils encircling the two fighters, about 7 rows of spectators, it made it hard to see anything. No one really took sides in this contest, both were despised equally.

Like all good things in life, it was over way too quickly. In a flash there were teachers everywhere, dispersing the crowds. Bob and Tom were led away to the Headmaster to explain themselves. Classrooms all over school were filled with gossip and talk of the great fight. Some people claimed to have seen it all and were later found out as liars. Some speculated as to the cause and others gave their views on who had won.

In the end it was undecided as to who was the Best Fighter in the school. But some of us realised that we like a good fight now and again. A little injection of excitement into an otherwise mundane day at school.

Thats what I'm talking about.

mr chux