Sheldon and the other two kids seemed frozen in ce, cowed by Marvin''s fierce presence.


    Even Keen stood there, staring at Marvin in a daze.


    Sheldon and his gang had always been so mean, so tough-didn''t this


    troublemaker fear them at all?


    Sensing Keen''s gaze, Marvin turned to look at him. His dark eyes brimmed with open contempt.


    He spat out just two words at Keen: "Coward."


    The word hit Keen like a p. He wanted to argue back-he wasn''t a coward! He''d stood up for his mom before. But he could never beat these bullies, and now every kid at school avoided him.


    Afraid of upsetting his mother, he''d kept it all to himself and told only his grandmother. But his grandmother had said it was all his mom''s fault. If he didn''t have such an embarrassing mother, those boys wouldn''t pick on him.


    Keen''s protests stuck in his throat. Before he could say a word, Sheldon, eyes zing red with humiliation, lunged at Marvin.


    Kids'' fights are wild and messy, all iling limbs and chaos. Even though Sheldon was a head taller than Marvin, it quickly became clear he was outmatched. Within moments, Sheldon was struggling to keep up.


    He called out desperately to his two stunned friends. "What are you just standing there for? Help me!"


    Marvin was only five, after all. With Sheldon''s friends joining in, the tide quickly turned against him.


    Sheldon grinned triumphantly, baring his teeth. "You little brat, I''m gonna beat you till you''re begging for mercy. If you don''t get down and call me ''Daddy,'' I''ll-ow!"


    Before Sheldon could finish his threat, Marvinnded another punch. He ignored the attacks from the other two boys, focusing every ounce of his fury on Sheldon. No matter how the others hit him, Marvin wouldn''t stop-he wed and bit like a wild animal, all raw instinct and ferocity.


    The other two boys, used to bossing kids around, had never seen anything like this. Suddenly terrified, they dropped their fists and scrambled to pull Marvin off Sheldon.


    But Marvin was unstoppable.


    The boys'' faces had gone pale with fear. Screams and shouts rang out as Sheldon wailed in pain, all his swagger gone, reduced to begging for mercy.


    "I''m sorry! I swear I''m sorry! I won''t say anything bad about Ste again, I promise..."


    "Please, please, just don''t hit me anymore, okay?"


    "I won''t do it again, I swear..."


    Sheldon was battered and bruised. Marvin didn''t look much better, but he was still


    on top, pinning Sheldon to the ground.


    "Who''s Ste?" Marvin demanded, his voice cold.


    Sheldon sobbed, snot and tears streaming down his face. "Keen''s mom..."


    Marvin red at them. "From now on, Ste is my mom, too. If I ever hear you talking bad about her again, you''ll answer to me."


    Sheldon nodded frantically. "Got it! I promise, I promise..."


    Marvin turned his stare on the other two boys. "And you?"


    Keen watched, heart pounding, his small fists clenched tight.


    The other boys swallowed hard, nerves getting the better of them. "We... we won''t do it again, either..."


    Only then did Marvin let go, copsing onto the ground, chest heaving.


    Themotion drew the attention of the teachers who hadn''t yet left for the day. Several preschool teachers rushed outside, stunned by the scene before them.


    That evening, Ste nced at her phone, almost out of habit.


    Still no message from Marvin abouting over.


    A few nights ago, Neville Connolly had called to let her know that Marvin was fine


    -he just wanted to stay at home for a few days.


    Really, it was nothing out of the ordinary.