11 ADBEC

Book excerpt: One boy, one bully, one accident and one act of revenge. Stephen Inglis thought running away would help but that was not the solution, the bullies at his school teased him for sleeping with a teddy bear. Stephen was not at all sporty, at a prep school where sport was a key to popularity; he had joined a term late and he had found it hard to make friends, he missed his family. He was nine and his father had said he would be fine. That was not what Stephen felt, he felt a true outsider, a stranger without a friend. Stephen had an opportunity to get revenge on one of his tormentors. He had to decide what to do. Should he try to save his enemy, or, should he let him perish? With his demise, he could at least expect a silent, grudging respect from the others and to be left alone. Did Hollister deserve to be buried alive? One hundred and fifty boys, one hundred and forty-nine of them were happy, one of them miserable. Did his happiness justify the taking of another life? Would he be a slave or would he be free?