"Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength"

--Henry Ward Beecher

God I’m bored.

If I get out of here I’m never, ever complaining about having too much to do. Ever.

I'm sick of thinking about Fenton Radley, and what's going through his tormented mind.

I don’t want to have to think about Frank anymore either, and what he must be going through. There’s not much point in feeling guilty and anyhow there isn’t an awful lot that I can do about it at this stage is there?

Have you ever sat and thought about how the friends that you have became your friends in the first place?

No? I have better things to do I hear you say...

Well when you're tied up in the same position for more than 60 hours, its amazing what you start thinking about.

Chet and I, we know each other since we were babies, since before I was born even. His mom and mine have been friends for years and years. Tony and Chet became friends through their mutual love of food and Phil and Frank became friends in school, they both have a love for all things analytical and techie. I guess gradually we all became a group, and over the years we have gotten pretty close knit.

But Biff, sometimes I wonder how Biff became part of our group. I think that if things had been slightly different, we could have ended up as sworn enemies.

How can I describe Biff, how do you describe someone that is larger than life?

If you met Biff Allen Hooper on the street you would probably be tempted to run in the other direction. Physically the guy is terrifying, 6ft 2 inches tall, broad and muscular.

But it’s not just his size; he has a strong presence too. When Biff comes into a room, everyone knows about, even if he doesn't make a sound. Sometimes I think that there is an invisible air of energy, of electricity and static that surrounds him wherever he goes.

Its that energy, that almost palpable air of command and leadership that made him captain of the football team and the wrestling team in our senior year, and its that power and strength that have saved mine and Franks life on more than one occasion.

But it’s only in latter years that Biff has really learnt to control his strength and his influence over other people.

Back when we were kids, he was the one the other kids were afraid of, the one that everyone tried to avoid in the playground.

Biff was a bully. It seems ridiculous now when I think about it, but he was. He has nearly always been taller and stronger than other kids, and used to tease people unmercifully.

It really isn’t in his nature though. The real problem lay with his older brothers. Biff has two older brothers, both of whom are equally as strong but neither of whom is as intelligent as he.

Everyone looks up to their older brother, especially when they are kids. They are your link with school, with other kids, with all the things that you have to go through but that scare you most. And you rely on them a lot more in the first few years as well; they are there to protect you on your first day in school, to cheer you on when you play your first football match.

Frank has always been there for me, and always managed to guide me in more or less the right directions, well when I let him that is.

Biff’s brothers……it’s kind of hard to explain really, they aren’t bad; they just lacked directions themselves and then passed that on to Biff. Their parents are separated and their dad has a lot of problems. I think that passed onto the boys and they in turn passed that onto Biff.

I think that when he was around them he felt like he needed to show off, to prove to them that he was ‘A Hooper’. I think he also did it to get attention from them. So he teased the girls and pushed around the boys, and of course there were always hangers-on, too afraid to go against him, and they egged him on even more.

Don’t get me wrong though, he never did anything serious.

Until he picked on me……and Frank found out.

The first time I met Biff was on our first day in school. We were in the same class a group of six year old kids. Biff sat behind Chet and me for most of the year. The thing was that in class he was pretty good; he used to do his work and hardly said a word to anyone.

I remember thinking to myself that hey, maybe this guy isn’t as bad as I thought.

But once lunch or break times came around and we were all out in the school yard he changed totally, and became an almost totally different person.

He started saying things to Chet, called him ‘fatty’ once or twice. I could see his heart wasn’t really in it, but he still said them. So of course I saw red and started yelling at Biff to ‘leave him alone or else.’ And of course Biff squared up to me and said ‘Or else what Hardy’ and of course I, being the hot-tempered idiot than I am tried to fight him.

Needless to say Biff won and I was left in the school yard with dirt on my jeans and a bloody nose. The story of the fight flew around the school and Frank was waiting outside for me at the end of the day. He didn’t say a word, just stood there until Biff came out.

Frank just walked up to him calmly. "Why did you hit my brother Hooper?"

Of course Biff went on the defensive, his face setting into a hard expression. "What business is it of yours?"

Biff looked at Frank, a pained expression on his face. "No fair, that’s two against one, just cos he’s your brother"

My seven year old brother stood up close to Biff and looked straight at him. "He’s my friend too, and if people hurt my friend then I will stick up for them. That’s what friends do Biff, but you wouldn’t know, cos you don’t have any"

Frank stood there after he said this, not moving an inch; I could see he was ready to fight Biff if necessary. Biff stood there too, and I could see that Frank’s words had affected him. Even a six year old boy knows when they are beaten, and knows when they are wrong.

And that was it really. Biff left us alone, and as time passed he left everyone alone, he became almost withdrawn. It was as if he didn’t know how to treat people anymore. He had spent so much time showing off and playing the bully that once his defenses were lowered he became almost vulnerable.

Then he and I started playing football together, and we were both pretty good. As time went on, we began to talk more and more, to meet in the evenings to practice. I got to know him, to hear about his Mom whom he loves more than life itself and about the complicated relationship he has with his two brothers and how he wished he could be closer to them.

He confided in me, I guess, about how lonely he felt in school and how sorry he was for the teasing and the bullying. And I believed him, how could I not, no-one would expose their feelings so much unless they wanted to be believed.

The others were suspicious of him for a long time though, especially Frank, and for a couple of years Biff was my more my friend than theirs and still on the outside.

But gradually they al came round. They saw how willingly Biff offered friendship and how protective he became of us all. If any of us got into trouble, you could almost guarantee that Biff would be at your shoulder in seconds, just willing the person to leave us alone. He didn’t ever have to fight, just be there.

Its strange how one seemingly small incident can transform someone?

Frank stood up to Biff, but he didn’t try to fight him that day after school. Instead he respected Biffs strength, but he still told him what he thought of him, in no uncertain terms.

I think that was what was missing from Biffs life until then, no-one showed him any respect, his Dad wasn’t around, his brothers only showed any interest in him when he got into trouble. Frank and I, and later Chet, Tony, Phil and the girls, we accepted him, and in return he became one of the most loyal friends anyone could ever have.

No matter what the problem, no matter how much trouble we are in, Biff would cross the country in a second if one of us were in trouble. And if anything happened to me, or to Frank he is the first to be there for Vanessa or Callie. He protects people, protects them from harm, and protects them from danger. If you had Biff Hooper beside me all the time I think I could do anything or go anywhere. People just feel safer, better, happier in his company.