Peter was stunned to see Ariel after a while, and she was going to attend his school; he was excited. He could finally get close to her and maybe they could end up being a pair, he hoped. He jolted back to reality when he remembered that her brother was one of his bullies; it was going to be hard; he shook his head.

'Mom, i'm going to play ball' Peter told Mrs Cordey after he had dropped her and Martin at home.

'Be back before the street lights are on' Mrs Cordey said sternly at Peter;

'Mom, i'm nineteen, i'm in college already' Peter barked angrily at his mother;

'It has nothing to do with me, you just be back home before the lights come on'; Peter was out the door without replying; he was late to get to the court to meet the other kids because he had driven his mother to the grocery store; they had taken sides already. It was three blocks away from Peter's house to get to the basket ball court; he rode his bike there because he was late; normally, he would walk to save his energy for the game, but on this ocassion, he was late; he had to get there faster.

'Petey mate, you're latey late' his friend hollered at him, sighting him from far.

'Sorry, I had to take my mom out' he said, hopping out of his bike in a hurry. 'Who am I in with?'

'This way Pete, no here Pete, come on over here mate' they all wanted Peter on their side. Peter chose the weakest team and joined them; he was going to create a fair balance while they played. Peter's team was soon leading, to nobody's surprise; it was expected. While they were playing, a group of bigger boys had come to the court to play too. They were not interested in sharing a half court, nor joining teams with Peter and his other friends; they wanted the whole court to themselves.

'Alright freckle face, it's time for some real game, scurry off' one of the bigger boys called at Peter.

'You can join us, or use the half court' Peter told him, continuing his game like there was no one there. One of the bully's caught the ball mid air, and ordered Peter and his friends out of the court.

'We got here first, if you want the court, come earlier' one of Peter's friends said, grabbing the ball back. Soon enough a fight broke out; fists were flying loosely and everyone was screaming bloody mary! Peter was going to run away again; he remembered his mom's advice to always face his challenges head on; but this is a fight, I should avoid this, mom won't be happy. He contemplated; on seeing the bully's beating up his friends, he ran into the crowd screaming and throwing his fist at the bully's too. It was as if they were all waiting for Peter to join in the fight, all the bully's turned to Peter, landing blows on him; there were five of them;

The police showed up; the rest of the kids ran away leaving Peter alone with the police, he was under a ton of boy's being beaten up, so he couldn't get up and run as fast as the others. The police grabbed Peter, and took him away. Peter had bruises all over his face from being dealt heavy blows; he was scared. This was the first time he was going to the police station as a culprit; his mom was going to kill him. His heart even broke deeper when he saw the street lights come on. He didn't leave the house with his phone, so he couldn't contact anybody. He had to face this challenge; now a real challenge he thought to himself, rolling his eyes. Peter wrote a statement of what happened at the basket ball court when he got to the station; the police had called his mom; Mrs Cordey showed up obviously fuming; her cheeks were red with anger. She signed the release documents, all the time avoiding looking at Peter; she didn't want to create a scene in the police station. They were done, and Mrs Cordey led the way to the car;

'Where's Martin?' Peter asked his mom, wondering who she kept in the house to babysit him. His sister Lily was just twelve, she couldn't handle Martin, he would cry a lot and make her scared. Mrs Cordae ignored Peter's question, swallowing her anger, she was going to knock his lights out at home. They drove the rest of the journey in silence; Peter was scared, wondering what his mom would do to him; he wished he could run away from his mom at least till she was calm. They got home soon enough; Mrs Cordae stopped by the neighbours house to pick up Martin. Peter waited in the living room for what he knew would happen; Hell. So he thought.

'What happened out there?' Mrs Cordey asked Peter as soon as she got in the house with Martin;

'Mom some lads tried to bully us out of the court, and we were not having it, so...' Peter was explaining.

'So you fought them?' Mrs Cordey yelled at Peter, making Martin wake up in panic and start crying. Peter signaled at the crying baby, and took him from his mom.

'Mom you told me to step up to my challenges, I wasn't going to just let my mates bully me out of the court just because they are bigger' Peter said, rocking Martin back to sleep.

'I'm the man of this house mom, if I can't protect myself, how can I protect you and Lily and Martin?'. These words made Mrs Cordey sober;

'Oh my boy is becoming a man' she said; 'be careful out there love, okay? Think before you make decisions, especially one like this that could get you in trouble'; Peter nodded, handing little Martin back to his mom. He got to his room, took a shower and lay down, thinking about the days events till he drifted asleep.