Whatever comes of it—whether you get hurt, or whether you get suspended—you just need to lay your bullies out.

They won’t ignore you. They won’t go away, no matter how hard you work to be unnoticeable. It’s trying to do that—to be invisible so that they’ll leave you alone—that will change the course of your life for the worse. You won’t be a high achiever, you won’t go to a good school, you’ll just coast, forever suffering the damage they did, and regretting that you didn’t do anything about it.

The only thing they’ll understand is the kind of violence that says you’re not worth fucking with. Don’t worry what Mom will think. Don’t worry about the pain of a punch or two. Don’t worry about your “permanent record”. All that will be temporary in the grand scheme of things.