Bruiser

Tennyson walks with his girlfriend, Katrina, to play miniature golf on Saturday afternoon. Although Katrina hates golf, Tennyson convinces her to go so they can interrupt Brontë’s date.

On the walk over, Katrina tells him a story about her math class that day. While she talks, Tennyson thinks of how they are a “consolation” couple: They originally wanted to date each other’s friends, but ended up together when it didn’t work out.

At the miniature golf course, Tennyson and Katrina start several holes behind Brontë and Bruiser, but Tennyson works quickly to catch up to them. He pretends to act surprised when they find Brontë there, but she immediately realizes what he is doing.

As Bruiser goes to search for his ball in a bush, Brontë yells at Tennyson for interrupting their date, but he is unfazed. Instead, he goes to find Bruiser, then confronts him, telling him to stay away from his sister. Bruiser stands up for himself and threatens Tennyson with the golf club, but ultimately backs down, angrily leaving the course with Brontë following.

That night, Brontë comes into Tennyson’s room and pushes him into the wall. She yells at him for bullying Bruiser.

Tennyson defends himself at first, insisting he’s not a bully. However, as he thinks of how he treats kids at school—especially those who challenge him—he realizes that many people probably think of him as a bully. This is the first time he has had this revelation, and it scares him.

When Brontë leaves, Tennyson tries to objectively consider whether he is a bully and a snob. He thinks of his life at school. He is smart without trying, coordinated and therefore good at lacrosse, decent looking while also being confident, and his parents have a good amount of money.

Ultimately, he decides that he does come off arrogant and like a bully to others.

On Monday, Tennyson feels guilty for the way he treated Bruiser. In his effort to be less of a bully, he decides not to judge Bruiser without knowing him.

In the locker room before lacrosse, Bruiser is still there from gym. Tennyson watches Bruiser from behind and sees that his back is covered with scars and bruises.

Bruiser turns and sees Tennyson and gets immediately defensive. Tennyson tries to make conversation by asking about his name and his jacket, but Bruiser gives short replies.

Tennyson realizes that he still does not trust Bruiser, but now is also curious and worried because of his bruises.

Tennyson thinks of his own bruises and injuries he has had over the years, from getting in fights in school and playing lacrosse. None of Bruiser’s marks, however, could be explained by these things. Instead, he thinks that Bruiser is “the human receptacle of someone else’s brutality” (27).

That night at dinner, Tennyson asks Brontë about Bruiser, then corrects himself to use his real name, Brewster. He asks if she has seen his back, and when she says she hasn’t, he attempts to change the subject.

Later, he goes up to Brontë’s room and asks her about Brewster’s home life. She says that she does not know much about it, then Tennyson prods her to learn more. He decides not to tell her what he knows, instead satisfied that he has at least pointed her in the right direction to figure out what happened.

Tennyson decides to follow Bruiser home from school. He notes that Bruiser’s home is an “eyesore,” with an old bull out front that the kids often torment on the way to school. The bull attempts to fight back, but then gives up. Tennyson thinks of how Bruiser is “somewhat like that bull” (32).

Tennyson watches as Bruiser arrives home from school to find that the old bull in the front yard is dead. His younger brother, Cody, comes into the yard—the definition of “feral child,” with dirty, unkempt hair and unwashed clothing (35). Cody is devastated by the death of the bull and cries and screams as Bruiser tries to get him away from it.

Bruiser’s uncle, Hoyt, comes into the yard. Because Bruiser cannot calm down Cody, Hoyt angrily pulls his belt off and threatens to beat Cody—causing Tennyson to yell out to intervene before he realizes what he is doing.

Bruiser angrily tries to stop Tennyson, who threatens Hoyt with his lacrosse stick. Hoyt considers, then tells Bruiser to take care of the dead bull and goes back inside.

Once he is gone, Tennyson watches as Bruiser kneels next to Cody and the bull. He places a hand on the bull, then begins to sob. As Bruiser gets more upset with grief, Cody begins to recover, until he seems completely fine and begins to play in the dirt. After a few more moments of sobbing, Bruiser recovers, too, then takes Cody inside.

Tennyson goes to leave but is stopped by Bruiser. Bruiser asks what he is doing there, and Tennyson realizes that there is no point in lying and admits that he was spying on him. Tennyson tells Bruiser that he saw his bruises and can “put two and two together,” but Bruiser responds that “two and two doesn’t always equal four” (41).

Bruiser shocks Tennyson by inviting him into his house. He tells Tennyson that this is his opportunity to see his home if he really wants to, so Tennyson reluctantly accepts.

Inside, Tennyson and Bruiser talk about Bruiser’s uncle. Hoyt works a construction job, which makes Tennyson wonder why their house is in such ruin if he makes decent money. However, Bruiser explains that he left his wife and kids so most of his paycheck is garnished for child support.

Bruiser asks Tennyson about his scabbed knuckles, questioning whether he had been beating kids up. Tennyson tells him they’re from lacrosse, which he uses to get out his frustration.

Cody comes in from the other room, having taken off his shirt because it smelled like the bull. Tennyson notes how there are no marks on him at all, which makes him wonder if Hoyt ever actually hit the children or just yelled.

Bruiser then confronts Tennyson about why he is there. He assumes that Tennyson is going to tell him to stay away from Brontë, but instead Tennyson says he wants no hard feelings between them. They shake hands in agreement.

That night, Tennyson does not tell Brontë about how he went to Bruiser’s house. She tells him he smells funny, and Tennyson thinks of how he helped Bruiser use a chainsaw to dispose of the bull and throw the parts into the dumpster.

In school the following day, Bruiser passes Tennyson in the hall, and they nod at each other. Tennyson notices scabs on Bruiser’s knuckles, in the same place where his are. However, when he looks down at his own hand, his scabs are gone. He tries to pass it off like they had faded, or he is misremembering, but deep down he thinks of how “something truly inexplicable” is going on that he’s “afraid to consider” (50).