My life at school changed for me one hot summer afternoon when I was riding my new bike home from school. The bike was the best present I had ever been given, and I had showed it off at school that day. But Vuzi and Sipho were waiting for me, blocking my way on the narrow path from the road to my home. They were the two bullies from school who had made my life miserable for the whole of the first term. Vuzi was large and round, like a hippo on two legs, and Sipho was thin and fast like a lizard.

I slowly came to a stop to in front of them. Vuzi sneered at me.

“You think you are a rich boy on your bike? Too good to walk home are you?”

“Hey bra, why don’t we show him how to ride it properly? This country boy rides his bike like a donkey”, said Sipho as he kicked my leg from under me and sent me, my bike and my school books sprawling in the dust. Quick as a flash he grabbed my bike and rode off wildly through the rough veld, laughing at me and shouting insults.

I tried to run after him, but Vuzi grabbed me from behind and started squeezing the breath out of me. I don’t know what happened inside me but I suddenly completely lost my temper. Maybe it was all the weeks of bullying and torment they had done to me; maybe it was the thought of my bike being wrecked; or maybe it was Vuzi’s hot breath on my neck and the feeling of the life being squeezed out of me. Whatever it was, I just went crazy. I stamped the heel of my shoe hard onto the top of Vuzi’s foot. With a yell of pain and surprise he let me go. This time I did not run away but threw myself at him while he was hopping on one leg and knocked him over. I jumped on him and threw sand in his eyes and mouth.

Vuzi was bleating like a baby goat and his cries alerted Sipho. He skidded to a halt and came hurtling back at breakneck speed down the path towards the crying Vuzi. I quickly hid in the long grass and, as Sipho came alongside me, leapt out and gave him a shove. He went flying off the bike and landed with a thud against an ant heap. He had all the breath knocked out of him. He lay there frantically kicking his legs like an overturned beetle, and made horrible gurgling noises as he battled for air.

It was over. I couldn’t believe what I had done, but I felt like a whole load of bricks had been lifted from my shoulders. I calmly picked up my books, grabbed my bicycle and rode the rest of the way home. The next day they were absent from school. When they did eventually come limping and bruised to school, the whole school knew what had happened. They never bothered me again.

Although I do not think violence should be used to solve problems, this experience taught me the importance of standing up for yourself.