Over The Top: Misfit

footpath, coming straight towards me. He puts his hand out to hit my head. I am too slow to duck. He is laughing as he hits my head. I am falling..........

I have new strength now. And speed. I catch the wall with my hand and swing round. The boy on the bike is looking back at me. His mouth is wide open in surprise.

"Don't call me that!" I shout, running after him. He speeds up and tries to get away but now he is too slow! I catch his shirt and pull him off his bike, then I shake him. He hangs there in front of me like a loose bag of potatoes. I feel like shaking him till every potato is bruised.

"Sorry!" he says, "I didn't mean to!"

"I'll show you what happens when I get called names!" I shout.

Now I am running, with the boy above my head. He is like a balloon. I run through the streets until I get to the edge of town. I run across the paddocks, down towards the sea. There are cliffs there. I run to the very edge of the cliffs and stop. Now I hold the boy over the edge of the cliff. He looks down at the rocks and the white, foaming waves far below. He is terrified!

"You will never call me names again!" I shout.

"Never!" says the boy.

He is pale, and trembling.

I toss him back on to the land. He scrambles to his feet and runs away.

Now I look down at the waves and wonder what it would be like to dive into them. The seagulls call out to me.

"Come on! Come on!"

I know I am strong and fast, so I jump out into the air, far out, well beyond the rocks, and begin to fall. Down. Down. The waves crash against the rocks, the white foam surges and swirls. A green wall of sea rushes up to meet me and I smash into it. Now I am under the water. It is peaceful here, and quiet. I begin to swim away from the land and into the deeper ocean.

The water is clearer now. I can see fish all round me, and shells on the floor of the sea. A mermaid swims by. She waves to me and smiles. I wave back and swim after her. Suddenly there are dozens of other mer-people around me. They swim out of caves and from behind rocks. They form a circle around me and link hands. They are welcoming me to their world. I swim with them to a coral castle and go through the gates. The walls are pink, yellow, white. Everywhere I see carvings and beautiful pictures. The mer-people are singing and laughing.