Meg heard them before she saw them. The year 9 bullies. A gang of girls that had nothing better to do than to take absolute pleasure intimidating and roughing-up the new, year 7 kids.

To take delight in this type of antisocial behaviour meant that they couldn't possibly have anything between their ears Meg decided; and so, she would try and keep out of their way, as there would be no reasoning with them.

Meg had just passed a classroom from which this rabble began to pour, and unfortunately Meg was one of those poor year 7 kids they would take delight in being horrible to.

Meg was a pretty girl, tall for her age and slightly overweight, with long blonde hair that was always pulled back tightly into a well criss-crossed braid, which would hang just below the small of her back.

Meg always came to school well dressed in her uniform, standing tall, shoulders back, taking pride in herself and her school. She loved school and although she didn't believe she was DUX material, she always did well with her studies and did especially well at her artwork. Meg had received a number of awards for great work during assembly earlier that morning and, that in itself didn't go down well with these people either.

"Hey, Princess!" the call came from close behind her.

By this time Meg had just passed the end classroom and was heading towards the stairs. This was not a particularly good place to be ambushed by this group of bullies. But then again, was there ever a good place to be ambushed by bullies?

The landing and nearby steps were full of kids making their way to and from classes. As soon as they spotted this vile enclave, they dispersed like the parting of the waves in the movie epic Moses.

"I'm talking to you, you piece of trash, turn around and look at me when I'm speaking to you" Meg didn't believe in one human being making out they were more superior to another, especially degrading another by calling them trash - strike one.

As each person approached from any direction they ensured they didn't make eye contact, or any other form of contact with the group. It was as if all the other kids could smell the blood. A school of Piranhas had just circled and were coming in for the kill… and Meg was the prey. They had the power in numbers.

"There she is, little Miss Perfect" The ring-leader Kerry Noice - or Noice as she was known - wore braces and had a particularly long face and droopy eyelids. The other girls were quite non-descript.

Not necessarily because you were too frightened to look at them for fear of retribution, more so because there was nothing terribly positive you could say about any of them. They all seemed to blend together as one being, with Noice being the mouthpiece.

Meg could feel that the group were almost upon her and she felt a hard tug on her braid, and another, and another each getting progressively more viscous. Tears began to well in her eyes but she was determined she would not cry… And so she turned to face her aggressors.

"Hey look who we have here. It's the schools new shining light and she said she's going to hand over all her money and her lunch to us, all this week girls" Noice began. "She told me this herself after assembly when she got all her precious awards – didn't you Miss Perfect" With that, Noice flicked the cardboard Meg was carrying in her arms. Meg quickly grabbed them, pulling them together safely before they fell to the ground.

"So, where is it? Where's the money and the lunch. I'm hungry!" Noice's breath smelt like an ashtray as she leant forward and sprayed out her deceitful demands.

This group of girls were mean, real mean, and Meg had taken enough intimidation over the past four weeks at her new school. She'd had enough of the jeers, enough of the sarcasm, enough of being shoved into walls and banging her into the stair railings or tripping her whenever they would walk past. Meg felt they always managed to find her, no matter where she was. She had definitely had enough!

"Get lost!" Meg exploded. "I've never heard a bigger load of bunk in all my life! Get your own lunch and I have NO money! I never promised you anything, now leave me alone!" The words were hissed out more than spoken, and she turned to leave.

Noice grabbed her by the braid again, yanking her back, making Meg arch her back until she had no choice but to spin around and face her attacker once more. Meg hated anyone touching her head, especially her hair - strike two.

"You calling me a liar in front of all these witnesses you overgrown, fat, ugly cow?" Noice spat back at Meg, the white foaming saliva now spraying through her braces and her eyes enlarged with rage.

Meg grabbed the top of her braid and kept moving towards the steps, trying to get out of the spiteful clutches of this horrid girl.

Students continued to move, scuttling past. Those brave or stupid enough to stay and watch knew that there would be a typical climax soon. It was almost time for the next class and Noice had not devoured her quarry yet.

"Yes, you are a liar, now let me go" demanded Meg with all her will.

The pain was searing through her scalp where Noice was ripping the hair from its roots.

"You pathetic bully – go and take a good look at yourself. You're not only ugly on the inside you're ugly on the outside. You look like a prehistoric fish with metal teeth, so don't go poking fun at others when you haven't taken a good hard look in the mirror at yourself first!"

With this, Noice let go of Meg's hair and drew back her right arm. She made a fist and smashed it into the side Meg's left jaw. Meg became unbalanced and started to turn and fall down the stairs. Noice and her entourage began to laugh. Others stood looking over the balustrade in horror.

Bystanders all of them – they were people that could have stepped in and help out, but never did. Not even to alert a teacher. Nothing! The bystanders were as bad as the bullies Meg decided.

Meg gained her footing on the second step down, grabbing onto the hanrail for support. Balancing herself, she turned and glared at Noice. The laughing stopped and Noice sneered with displeasure. Meg turned and faced down the stairs in the direction she had planned to go for what seemed to be an eternity - she continued downwards.

Noice, unhappy that she hadn't entirely beaten this year 7 girl into submission, lifted her right leg and kicked Meg in the middle of the back, sending her uncoordinatedly to the landing a few steps below. Meg still stumbling from tripping onto the landing, bounded down the next six steps by three's. Losing her footing on the seventh step Meg lost her balance and fell to the pavement below.

As well as losing her footing, Meg had lost her cardboards – the ones Noice had flicked earlier. These were her prized sketches; the ones that were due next class. They were now strewn across the pavement. Grazed, trodden on, and damaged in so many ways – strike 3.

The pack of hyena's were now perched on the landing laughing and many of the onlookers were leaving, shaking their heads and disappointed that yet another year 7 had succumbed to the school bullies. This was just another conquest for Noice and her band of savages.

Noice had won.

"No, no! I can't… NOOOO! Not this time" Meg mumbled to herself enraged and still holding back the tears. Her hands, elbows and knees all showing the signs of landing hard on the concrete surface at the bottom of the stairs. Stinging; the sand like grit now embedded in her skin. She grimaced in pain, each of her joints aching.

The laughter echoed in her ears and Meg quickly got to her feet, grabbed at her artwork; moving quickly and methodically leaving it to the side of her, near her bag that had also fallen to rest.

Meg turned and took two strides up the seven steps, pushing two of the gang members to the right of Noice backwards and forcing them to land on their butts on the steps behind them. The two other members scurried back up the steps out of the way; like rats up a drainpipe and now not so brave.

Meg grabbed Noice by the front of her school shirt and pierced her smug look with the fire in her own eyes.

"Don't you ever, ever, do that to me or anyone else again, ever! Do you hear me, you pathetic human being!" Meg voice was cold and severe.

Noice grabbed Meg's wrist and tried to manoeuvre it, so that her hand moved off and away from her collar. The more Noice struggled the tighter Meg's grip became.

"Yeh – and who's going to stop me - You?' Noice spat. "You, and whose army?" Meg couldn't believe the arrogance of this horrid person.

"Me!" Meg commanded, "And I won't need an army" Meg paused and thought for a split second. "This is for anyone you've ever bullied at this school" and with that Meg slapped the side of Noice's face with her open hand. Noice's horror at being slapped was obvious.

"And this my "friend", is for my artwork you ruined and a warning that if you, or your any of cronies ever try and intimidate me or touch another soul here, I will make sure it catches up with you somehow, some way, believe me"

With that Meg moved behind Noice and pushed her in the middle of her back and Noice had no other option than to take flight down the seven steps. Noice maintained her upright position but a little overbalanced and realized her demise could have been a lot worse and she scuttled away.

Meg turned to the others still sitting on the stairs. "And that goes for ANY of you too, that want to harass and pick on innocent kids. You're not so brave without your mouthpiece are you? Now stay away from me or else!" The miserable duet ran back up the stairs and out of sight.

Meg collected her artwork and bag and made her way to the year co-coordinators office. She was already late to class and knew she would be in deep trouble for what had just happened when the teacher's found out. There would be a lot of explaining to do, and Meg decided that Noice wasn't going to get away with her actions scott-free either.

Feeling a bit sore and sorry for herself, there were also some cuts and bruising to attend to before going back to class that day...

Meg was put on lunch time detention for a week for her retaliation. Her artwork was assessed and although partially destroyed and she gained top marks.

After Meg's altercation on the steps many of the year 7 children both boys and girls came forward with their tales of being bullied buy this band of self-proclaimed thugs.

Noice and her entourage were suspended from school for a week and were grounded for the rest of the term (six weeks) by their parents.

Noice and her gang, never bullied another soul for the duration of their school life.

Many years later, Meg saw Noice who was working in a supermarket and unfortunately, Noice was being severely bullied and threatened by a disgruntled customer who was becoming quite violent.

Although Meg did not step in to help Noice herself, she could not remain an idle bystander when someone was being threatened. She saw the store security guard and they intervened immediately to help Noice out of her predicament.

What goes around comes around!

A/N - This story is based on real events... but of course the names have been changed.

Unfortunately in the years to come, there would always be someone else that would for some unfathomable reason want to step up to the plate and take Noice's plate and make a name for themselves… even if it was a bad one.

Thankfully today there is less tolerance for bullying at schools – but it still exists.

It is usually the bystanders that can stop this.

You have a class of 30 kid's right?

1 poor kid is being picked on by 1 BULLY and 3 nincompoop followers = you do the math!

That's 1 VICTIM + 4 JERKS and... 25 BYSTANDERS that could ALL stand up and say NO!

DON'T be a BYSTANDER – say NO to BULLIES

You'll help make the world a safer place :) x