But today, Brian Carter's father finally broke his rule. After slapping him, he still wasn't satisfied, so he picked up a broom to keep hitting him, but was stopped by the people from the kindergarten and Brian Carter's grandmother. This time, Brian Carter was truly scared—he didn't even dare to cry, and obediently followed the kindergarten staff back. As for how Brian Carter's parents apologized to the teacher with the long braid at the kindergarten, Brian Carter had no idea. Anyway, there was a big bruise on the teacher's shin for several days.

Since that day, everyone at the kindergarten knew that Brian Carter was a wild child, and he hit hard. On top of that, after his grandfather heard about the incident when he got home from work that night, he went straight to the kindergarten the next day and almost beat up the director. So the teachers all saw Brian Carter as a burden. As long as he didn't cause trouble or go too far, they ignored him, treating him like a pile of dog poop. Naturally, the other kids followed the teachers' lead—they didn't like playing with Brian Carter and were afraid of him. Most likely, their parents told them at home that Brian Carter hit the teacher and was a bad kid, and they weren't allowed to play with bad kids!

"I'm really... going up then!" David Bolton was one of the few kids who wasn't afraid of Brian Carter. Actually, it wasn't that he wasn't afraid of Brian Carter—he was afraid of everyone. Even the girls at the kindergarten could bully him, so in his simple mind, Brian Carter was no different from the other kids. In fact, Brian Carter felt a bit closer to him, because the two of them were both outcasts in the kindergarten: one was a bit slow, the other was treated like dog poop. Misery loves company.

"Hurry up, don't jump up! Climb up slowly!" Brian Carter thought of David Bolton's chubby butt and his legs started to tremble. He really wasn't sure if he could carry him!

"Charge!!!" David Bolton obediently climbed onto Brian Carter's back. When he felt Brian Carter wobble to his feet, he was so happy that snot bubbles came out of his nose. This was probably the first peer, besides his parents, in his four years of life who was willing to give him a piggyback ride.

"Damn it! You're crushing me! I must owe you from a past life, that's why I have to suffer now!" Brian Carter gritted his teeth, carrying a mountain of flesh, and shuffled toward the battlefield where the other kids were already playing. Shuffle was all he could do—if he tried to run, he'd definitely fall flat on his face. The inertia was just too much, so he could only walk slowly.

"Attack! Giddy up... giddy up... catch him... catch him!" David Bolton was unusually brave on Brian Carter's back. He was actually very strong—if it came to a real fight, even three Brian Carters wouldn't be his match. But he was too timid to stand up to anyone. This time, though, it was different. Riding on Brian Carter's back seemed to give him courage. Whenever he managed to grab another kid, he'd pull them down in one move—sometimes even bringing down both the rider and the horse. Wherever they went, there were wails and cries.

"Chase your damn self!" Brian Carter's teeth were about to shatter. The other kids were getting smarter—they knew they couldn't beat Brian Carter and David Bolton, so they started avoiding them, running away whenever they came near. Brian Carter was really running out of steam. In the end, before anyone else could attack, he let go of David Bolton's chubby legs and set him down.

"Let me carry you now!" David Bolton wasn't stupid. Seeing Brian Carter's red face and thick neck, he knew his horse was done for, but he was having so much fun that he'd rather be the horse and keep playing.

"I... I don't have any strength left... go play with them..." Brian Carter was so out of breath he could barely speak. He plopped down on the ground, the veins at his temples throbbing.

"This is my last piece of candy, you have it..." David Bolton pulled another piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and handed it to Brian Carter.

"...You eat it yourself..." Brian Carter had no interest in candy at all, he didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Half each!" David Bolton opened his mouth, bit the candy in half with a crunch, and handed one half to Brian Carter.

"Alright... half each." Brian Carter looked at David Bolton's sincere, chubby face, reached out to take the half piece of candy—still wet with saliva—and popped it into his mouth. He didn't even dare to suck on it, just chewed it a couple of times and swallowed it quickly. It was too gross!

"I'm done playing too. Come over to my house tonight, I've got more candy!" David Bolton plopped down next to Brian Carter, still trying to tempt him with candy. In his mind, having a friend to play with was better than eating candy.

"...My dad won't let me go out at night... I'll bring you a paper gun tomorrow, it's for you." Seeing the hopeful look in David Bolton's eyes, Brian Carter really couldn't refuse him. But he really didn't want to go to his house. Never mind whether his parents would welcome him—what would they even play? Peeing in the mud? Farting in the toilet?

"I'll bring you candy tomorrow." David Bolton wasn't disappointed. He really liked the kind of gun Brian Carter had brought before, and so did the other boys, but those guns were hard to make. They were folded from notebook paper into little parts and then assembled. Actually, Brian Carter hadn't made them—his uncle did, and he just took them to show off. He only got to play with it for a day before his uncle took it back. But now Brian Carter didn't need to ask his uncle anymore—he could make them himself. Back in elementary school, he used to fold those toys all the time.