-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- The Tuck Stops Here -*- Copyright 2004 by Ellen Hayes. Any resemblance between the writings in this work, and any actual persons or places, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except when used for satirical purposes. This work contains adult situations, adult language, adult concepts, and possibly sex. If you are legally not allowed to read materials containing such things, then you will be breaking the law by reading this. I am not responsible. Continuing to read this document, or storing it or reproducing it in any format means that you explicitly affirm that you are legally allowed to possess and read such materials in your city, county/parish, state, and country. All rights reserved. See the bottom for distribution rights. The Tuck Stops Here *** 11:32 7 Oct "Yeah, damn..." We were passing by Bob, George's little, and something about him caught my attention. "Bob?" He didn't say anything; he just sort of stood there, looking up. I looked where he was looking and couldn't see anything that interesting; then I realized he might be decoying me, so I evaded and turned back to look at him from a few feet away. Still standing there. "Oh my god!" Mike gasped. "He's got it!" "Wh-" "He's got Andromeda!" Mike pointed. I chuckled a bit, remembering the movie. Surprisingly, so did Amanda. So I guess we should have been ready when Bob collapsed, but it was only by truly heroic effort that we managed to keep him from slamming his head into the floor, and we couldn't hold him up, either; he was HEAVY, and he also tried to put an elbow in my eye a few times. "Well, fuck," Mike observed with some astonishment, before looking up and whistling hard for the Boyz to home in on us. *** 11:38 7 Oct We'd dragged him over to our corner, but we were starting to get some attention, which was always bad; so when he stopped seizing and relaxed, Mike had decided that we should take Bob to the nurse's office. By carrying him. "Lords of Air, help us!" I complained, because we needed some levitational assistance right about then. Bob was somehow absorbing mass or emitting more gravitons or something, and getting steadily and rapidly heavier as we hustled him along the halls. I lasted about ten more seconds, then had to 'fall out' and let one of the bigger freshthings take my place. After a few seconds of panting, I went to catch up. It was a lot easier to move when I wasn't carrying five times my body weight in human black hole. "You're a wuss, Tuck!" George commented over Bob's body at me. "You had a point to make with that statement?" I gasped. *** 11:41 7 Oct There was another girl there at the nurse's station, who I sort of remembered from... somewhere... But I wasn't sure at all from where. Until I almost ran into Debbie. What popped up then, was a visual memory of Debbie kneeling over this girl during Field Day and demanding Kathy. I decided my best hope of continued life was to leave, immediately. *** 11:43 7 Oct I thought I was safe and away, when one anonymous fuckwit tripped me and sent me sailing into the large sized fountain Coke of Drew Lewis. Which went sailing onto him. "You little shit," he said like he was in awe or something, as he looked down at the large amount of brown sticky seeping into his shirt. Then he looked up, and I realized it just took a while for the neural impulses to force their way through all the bone in his head, because he was visibly getting enraged. "Ah, shit," I complained as I started to run. *** 11:46 7 Oct There wasn't really any dignified way to extract one's self from a garbage can - especially not with a pack still on and strapped to one's body, not to mention the laptop case chained to my, er, one's arm - so I tipped it over by kicking my legs back and forth, and then managed to survive the crash and crawl out. A lot of people were standing around laughing at me, which hurt a lot but wasn't anything new; nor was it as annoying as being stuffed back in, or held there, or some other things that had happened in the past. So I was happy to make like a drum and get the hell out of there. *** 11:52 7 Oct "What the..." Dan commented, and George started coughing. "Didn't I tell you not to go anywhere alone?" Mike demanded angrily. "You dumbass!" "Don't YOU fucking start!" I snapped back. He slapped me hard on the arm. "Tuck. You like swimming in garbage?" I absorbed a decent inspiraton right then. "Garbage?" "Later," Mike glared at me. "And DON'T go anywhere alone." *** 11:58 7 Oct "Were we gonna play today?" I asked as I sat back down, vaguely clean after an escorted bathroom trip to change clothes. The old ones went into bags before being repacked, so I wouldn't have slime all over the inside of my pack. Mike shook his head. "Not in the twenty minutes we have left, and we lost yesterday too. So, we play tomorrow. Leeches," he nodded at Jill and Kelly. *** 14:03 7 Oct *Fucking fantastic.* I deduced by the lack of an appropriate car waiting for me, that Mom was taking me to the Parkers' today; and she was late, as usual. Which is just what I needed right now. I'd already used up my spare-clothing padding, and I didn't want to give the fuckwits another opportunity today. "Mom, come ON," I complained to the aether. *** 14:08 7 Oct "Shit, FINALLY," I grumbled as Mom pulled in. I'd had to show my work pass to some dorkwad in the parking lot already, because we weren't supposed to be out here during class at all. I waved at her, and she pulled over as I scanned the area. It was clear, so I could just get in and she could drive away. "How was school today?" she asked, straight out of the Parents Handbook of Torture. *** 14:11 7 Oct "You just, you go shopping like-" "Okay, turn right up here," I interrupted. "I know," she said. "Your father gave me instructions yesterday." I closed my eyes and tried not to scream. *** 14:22 7 Oct "Did you ever steal anything from Susan?" she asked as she stopped the car. "What?! Mom! Come on, I have to change!" I complained as I got out. "I don't have time for this!" "You can talk while you're changing clothes," she demanded as she got out too. *Oh, fuck...* "Not out here," I bargained. She impatiently followed me up the walkway to Rachel's townhouse and waited until I opened the door. I let her shut it, figuring that since I was running late, and since I was supposed to pick up Stella today, that I didn't have the time to waste. "Eu-" "Mom!" I complained as my heart lurched. "A, that's gotta stop, NOW, or this whole thing is blown, and B, we're late and I have to pick up two kids at two different places. Come on!" *** 14:24 7 Oct "So did you ever steal anything from Susan?" Mom asked as I went into the closet to pick something neutral. "What? No! Why would I?" "Because..." I paged through hangers. "Because she wears feminine clothing, and she's close to your size, and she was gone this year, and her room is right across from yours?" "What?" I came back out to look at her. "Mom, she's a fashion SLAVE. I have stuff for what I need to do, like work clothes and st-" "You said you weren't always working, that you went out socially like that-" "Yeah, but not with SUSAN'S clothing! Jeez, give me credit for some taste, okay?" "Don't interrupt me," she warned. "Okay, sorry," I said, not meaning that but 'shut up and get on with it, or just shut up'. "No, I did not steal any of Susan's clothing. Or jewelry, or makeup, or anything," I added, just to cover everything so she wouldn't ask about hairspray in ten minutes. "Do you swear to that?" I groaned. "Y- With two exceptions," I admitted. "One, that party I had, when you went camping; Kelly, my little sister, she came over and she was wearing jeans, and everyone else-" "How did you get a little SISTER?" Mom asked me incredulously. "Aw, jeez... I gotta get dressed!" I complained. "So get dressed and tell me how you ended up with a little sister," she ordered, pointing me back into the closet. I went back, but I wasn't going to find what I WANTED in here, which was a suit of heavy power armor and a flight pack. "Besides, I think Susan dresses well," Mom commented from outside. If I'd had a gun at that moment, I would have tried to shoot myself in the head such that I nailed her with the same bullet. "So how did you get a little sister?" Mom pressed. I grabbed a few things off hangers and started putting them on. *Dresses well, huh?* "Um. Okay, pre-day at school, books and stuff... Me and Dobson, the principal, figured it out later. Some of the cheerleaders, who were reading the matched pairs off the screen when they handed out the 'official' schedules and book lists and stuff..." 'Official' meaning 'where you go the first real day of school unless something else changes or we messed up or you messed up or something.' "And matching up juniors and freshmen from the lists; well, one or two of them got cute. Kelly, my little, she had this anime haircut, and... Well, me and everyone, all the juniors, thought she was a guy. She kinda looked, uh, ambiguous, an-" "Androgynous," Mom corrected. "Whatever. She looked androgynous, and the cheerleaders saw her, saw me, and thought it would be funny to pair us up and call us Chris and Pat, from the Satur-" "Oh, damn them," Mom snarled, I guess getting the reference and not finding it funny. "I'd like to. Anyway, that's how we ended-" "Didn't anyone say anything? Why didn't you say-" "'Cause I thought she was a guy! So did Mike and George and everyone else!" "George is an-" "He wasn't the only-" "Don't interrupt!" "SORRY!" "And don't yell. Why didn't she say something?" "Because to HER, I looked enough like her that she thought I was a girl, just like all the other freshmen girls were getting paired up with." I decided that I could use a set of backup clothing, so I stuffed a shortall, tank top, and a set of socks and Keds into my pack while I was thinking about it. "And Jill and, uh, Anne-Marie, they came over and talked with us, and so did some of my other friends with their littles, so it looked like a mixed group, and she wasn't even the only freshman girl..." That was so screwed up, saying that, I almost lost what I was talking about. "Uh," I continued, "the only freshman girl in our group. We only found out about it, um, like a few weeks later-" "A few WEEKS?!" Mom gasped. "Jeez, Mom, it wasn't like we were doing short-arm inspections on-" "Eugene!" "MOM! DON'T CALL ME THAT!" I shrieked in terrified rage. "Well what-" "'Valerie!'" I reminded her. "You sound just the same..." she started, so since I was almost finished dressing, I came out of the closet. She shut up, though her mouth was still open. "It's 'Valerie' when I'm like this," I told her, and did a three-sixty so she could get a good look; I could understand how I'd sound the same as I usually did as a guy, but I was sure that I didn't look the same as usual. I was wearing something that was just barely practical for babysitting since it had a long skirt that could be machine washed. Skirts, I'd found, were sort of like dogrags, in that you could use them for anything. Much harder to wipe a runny nose on your pants leg, anyway, than it was with the two ankle-length skirts I was wearing, for warmth and because the white one underneath acted like a slip. The reddish patterned skirt on top matched the lavender short-sleeved and very 'cute' sweater Sabrina had gagged about and thrown at me one time, that had pink hearts as a pattern all the way around it. The thin pink lace-topped socks I was borrowing from Rachel almost made ME throw up. I finished tying around my waist the long-sleeved gray sweater that I'd actually had to buy, and then went to do my hair and overdo my makeup. Mom was being gratifyingly quiet, and I had to fight not to laugh or look at her in the mirror. *** 14:32 7 Oct I got back in the car along with Mom and wiped the smirk off my face before she could see it. "Okay," she said, like she was telling herself that. "So... Um, you said there were... We started by me asking if you'd ever borrowed anything from Susan's room, and you said 'two times'." "Uh..." I had to think about that; we'd sort of gone way off topic for a while, and then I was too busy enjoying spiking my mom's brain. "And then you started telling me about Kelly," Mom primed. "Uh- Oh yeah. So, when I had my party, she came over, and she was wearing jeans and a T shirt, no big deal, except through no reason I could tell everyone ELSE had dressed up some. George," I elaborated, "was wearing a shirt with a collar. So was Dan. So, she felt kind of out of place, and so I went and got her something out of Susan's stuff. She's about my height, and Kelly hasn't filled out like Susan did. So, that was one." "Uh," Mom commented. "And the other one, was the T shirt thing." I thought that Susan spent enough money on clothes and then asked to use MY printer or MY collection of fonts or something, that she could share some things like her NIN Downward Spiral shirt, or the AC/DC concert one she'd picked up when she went with Dad. Or the one that said, "SUBLIMINAL MIND CONTROL" in big black letters on a white T shirt, and 'heroin insanity lust' interleaved in small white transfer. "But that stopped when she went to college, 'cause she made sure to take all the good ones with her, or she sold 'em to me. Or Brian," I sighed. The bitch had auctioned them to whoever could pay the most, which was often but not always me. "Uh..." Mom sighed. "Turn left here, we gotta go get Stella," I told her. *** 14:48 7 Oct "Oh man we are gonna be so late," I sighed as I strapped Stella's seat into the back of Mom's car. "You didn't have to take so much time doing your makeup," Mom shot. "Moooommmmmm," I said like Susan used to, just for the effect. "It didn't take me fifteen minutes to do my hair AND makeup, and it wouldn't have taken that long if you didn't keep asking questions." I decided to stop before she boiled over; it sounded like she was roiling pretty well at the moment. "Wwwrrab!" Stella burbled. "Ab fab lab!" I smiled back at her, and she tried to kill us with a sonic blast of happiness. "Don't make her do that," Mom gasped, I think; it was hard to tell. *** 15:11 7 Oct Stella was giving a virtuoso concert in the back seat, causing dogs to howl and motion sensors to go wild within a two block radius of the car. Meanwhile, Mom's ears must've gotten sensitive over the years, or she'd lost an adaptation, or she was being paranoid about what hearing she had left, because she'd pulled out two sets of earplugs from her purse and given me one before putting the other set in. Hastily. Luckily, I could guide her with taps and points to Ricky's school. It was strangely quiet when I got out to go look for him, and it took me a while to remember why. *** 15:14 7 Oct I signed at Mom as we got closer. She nodded at me. "Just keep the baby quiet, please," she asked, and I nodded back and got into the back seat. "I'm Sarah Tucker, Valerie's mother," Mom said to Ricky, turning on the charm, and I sighed and paid attention to the baby. She liked me, anyway. So much so, in fact, that she started to 'sing' some more, and I had to hastily fumble my earplugs back into my ears before I died of sonic shock, before I could worry about quieting her. The idea of simply throttling her into unconsciousness did cross my mind, but I thought Mom might object, later. Certainly Miz Parker would. *** 15:42 7 Oct I'd been only marginally successful at keeping her quiet, so I wasn't too surprised, when the car stopped, to see both of them bail out like the car was on fire. Annoyed, but not surprised. I meanwhile still had to get the seat out of the car. *** 15:43 7 Oct "Ah rahaba WAH gan buh ger," Stella told me earnestly as we walked quickly up to the house, trying not to get too soaked by the rain that had just started. "Yeah, tough luck for them," I replied. I was the only one with a house key, and apparently Miz Parker wasn't home today. *** 16:09 7 Oct After I got Ricky a snack, it was time to give one to Stella, joy joy. Mom sat there silently and watched me as I fed Stella some grapes, one by one. I'd learned that if I gave her several at once, they'd be used for ballistic test slugs. Mom was making me nervous, too. I couldn't figure out what she was thinking, and she was thinking something, I could tell. Based on the last few days, therefore, whatever was going on in her head was most likely bad. "Hey Mom, wanna try your hand at feeding her?" I suggested, trying to sound neutral. She shook her head, and I sighed. *** 16:14 7 Oct Stella had quickly lost interest in the grapes, in favor of some walking practice, so I was hanging around watching her, when Mom spoke. "I can't take this any more," she said. "What?" I gasped a bit in shock. "Bahhh," Stella said, and fell down, so I picked her up and cuddled her, for reassurance. Mostly for me. Mom was shaking her head. "I can't deal with this... I can not stand sitting here, watching you, like, like..." "Mom! What am-" She stood up. "Do you swear to stay here until someone picks you up tonight?" "I can't go anywhere, I don't have a car," I reminded her. "Yes, I swear!" I said as she opened her mouth, probably to say something that started with 'Eugene'. "Fine," she said, and left. I followed, staying well behind her, and she said goodbye to Ricky, who was camped out rotting his brain in front of the television, and then she turned to me. "I don't..." she started, then stopped, looking stuck as she winced. "Eu- I love, you, but I can't handle this," she rushed out, then she went out the front door, got in her car, and left. Shakily, I shut the door when she was out of sight. "What the..." "Fubba," Stella finished, and I almost wet myself when I heard it. She must've picked up the impulse, though, because she went instead. *** 16:20 7 Oct After changing Stella, she was looking sleepy, or close enough, so I put her in her crib for a nap, and crossed my fingers. I'd guessed right, though, because she mumbled a few things and went all sleepy-eyed, instead of trying to stand up and sing Italian opera at us. I carefully shut the door, just in case, and tiptoed downstairs into the living room. "What's with your mom?" Ricky asked. I shook my head for a while. "Man, I dunno," I told Ricky eventually. "I don't think it's good, though." He sighed sadly, and shut off the television with the remote. "There's nothing good on anyway," he complained as he walked over. "Does," he started before lowering his voice and saying, "Does this have something to do with Travis?" "Trav-" Oh, shit. *** 16:21 7 Oct My pager, which I had not checked since Friday sometime, had four calls from Travis - but all of them on Saturday and Sunday, when there was no way I could respond. There were a lot of pages in memory, but none from him in the last two days. *** 16:24 7 Oct I shut the laptop and sat there, trying not to cry. "Valerie?" Ricky asked. I cleared my throat. "Yeah?" I still sounded ragged. "I'm sorry, I just..." "No, I'm sorry," he said, and hugged my leg. *** 17:02 7 Oct I guessed that it was just the combination of the stress of the last week or so, plus Ricky seeming to care about me feeling bad rather than about what I'd done wrong, plus the fact that this was the first place I'd been since last Thursday that didn't have either my parents or hundreds of hostile 'peers' in it or lurking just outside. Whatever, I'd cried and cried and cried, just sitting there on the kitchen floor with Ricky. He'd gotten his old teddy bear for me, which showed me how much he cared even though it made me cry harder, and then he just grabbed a box of tissues and sat there with me and hugged me. I'd finally trailed off, feeling dead inside, and after a while, I sat up and cleaned my face off, blew my nose a few hundred times, and pushed Ricky away gently so I could get up. "Do you feel better?" he asked. "Yeah, I do. Thanks," I said automatically. I wasn't sure how I felt. Actually, I wasn't feeling much at the moment, and I was glad enough for that. I stood up, then a few seconds later decided that I wanted to sit down. I did not feel especially well, but more than that, I just had no motivation to do anything. "Um, Ricky, what would you like for supper?" I asked, hoping that he'd be enthusiastic about something and I could suck the energy and optimism off him. "Um, lemme check something," he said, and dashed off. When I lay down, the floor was cold and hard. *** 17:06 7 Oct "They said Mom- Valerie?!" "I'm okay," I said as I instinctively sat up because of the panic in his voice, just before he tackled me in another hug. "What did your mom say?" I asked into his ear. "Um," he said as he pulled back, "they said Mom left already, so she should be home soon, okay? I was gonna ask her if we could have pizza tonight or something. You don't look like you should cook." "It's not that big a deal-" "No, you cook all the time, even Grandma doesn't cook that much," he told me. "You should get a night off or something. Mom takes one sometimes..." He trailed off, and swallowed. "Um, anyway, you had a hard day, and before you came, Mom used to make us go out to eat or get pizza or something when SHE had a hard day..." "No, it's-" "No it's NOT," he insisted. "Or you wouldn't have cried like that, I think," and hugged me again. "Yeah, I guess," I admitted, and started to tear up again. "It... I just haven't had a good week or two..." He silently hugged me tighter. *** 17:31 7 Oct I'd gotten Ricky to help me with Stella and some laundry, since he was determined that I wasn't going to cook tonight. I felt too weak to fight him, which was pretty sad, but he was very insistent, and I figured I could pay for it if Miz Parker objected; and if she REALLY objected, I'd thought of a couple of things I could whip up quick. I hoped it wouldn't come to that, though. "Mom's home!" Ricky announced as he ran off. "Mmmph, great," I sighed as I stood up. *** 17:35 7 Oct "Ricky, it's not that bad-" "Yes it was!" he insisted. "Mom! Don't make her cook!" "Really, Miz Parker," I tried to explain. "It's-" "Mom, don't listen to her!" "Ricky! I can-" "You were the one crying on the floor!" "Ricky!" I yelped. "Mom," he pleaded, "her mom took us home and she was all upset with Valerie, and then she cried, and I don't think-" "Okay!" Miz Parker announced, throwing her hands up in the air. "Enough!" *Great, you got us both in trouble, you idiot,* I glared. "Pizza's fine," she said. "What? No, I can-" "Valerie, your makeup is..." She shook her head as I wiped at my face, a little late. "Do you want to talk about it? I know your parents said you were grounded... Maybe it's too hard to talk to your friends right now, without being able to see them." "No, not really. But thanks," I said. *** 17:44 7 Oct "And then, I mean, he hasn't called since like Sunday, but I couldn't talk to him then, 'cause Dad had cut off the phone lines or something-" "He what?" Miz Parker interrupted. "They were really pi- Um, upset with me, and so they put me under telecom lockdown. No phones, no net, no nothing," I explained. "What about TV?" Ricky asked. I shrugged. "That too, I guess; I don't watch much anyway..." He was busy looking shocked at the concept though, so I continued, "He was supposed to put it back after thera-" "Therapy," she nodded, like that was completely normal. I sighed, and gave that one up without a fight. "And, anyway, I don't think he did until later. But I don't know, I was so tired, I like slept almost twenty-four hours straight- and I NEVER do that, I don't know what happened..." "I guess you were tired." "I'm-" "Exhausted, more like it," she corrected herself. "You didn't look well Friday night..." "No..." I hadn't felt well Friday night either. "No, before, when you picked Stella up," she argued. "Even then, you didn't look... you looked very unhappy." I sighed. "I guess... I realized Friday before lunch that I'd been stupid in the argument, and I tried calling him, but he never called back or anything..." My throat tightened up my voice into a cracked squeak at the last part, so I stopped talking and tried to clear it, but all I did was drip tears. "Valerie, I'm so sorry," Miz Parker said gently as she pulled me into a hug, just like my mother wouldn't, and I lost it again. *** 17:51 7 Oct "'M sorry, I just-" "Valerie, it's okay," Miz Parker said softly. "I understand." She didn't, not half of it, but she understood the Travis part anyway. "Valerie?" Ricky asked. I cleared my throat, and asked back, "What is it?" "I, um... You're upset about Travis and you getting in a fight, right?" *Among other things.* "Yeah," I admitted. "Well, um," he said nervously. "Um, I guess, if you wanted someone, I mean, I could be your boyfriend if you wanted..." Pause. *Did I just-* "Oh, Ricky," Miz Parker said, like he'd just done the most wonderful thing in the world. Which didn't explain why I was crying again. "No, Val! Don't cry!" he begged me, sounding horrified. "I'm sorry!" I sobbed, trying to control myself. "I-" "No it's ALL RIGHT," Miz Parker insisted, and I nodded. He hesitantly came close, and then when I didn't do anything, he opened his arms to give me a hug again. I felt immensely stupid, in a way, getting consoled by my boss and a third grader, but I wasn't going to stop either. *** 17:53 7 Oct "But we don't have to do any kissing, do we?" he asked skeptically. I shook my head, and he breathed a sigh of relief. I don't know how Miz Parker kept from laughing; I was upset enough that all I could do was smile, and I couldn't control that either. *** 18:02 7 Oct "Some days," Miz Parker said softly, because Ricky hadn't gone that far, "I want to kill him... And then, other days, like today..." "I think it's the other days that you want to remember," I commented soggily. She nodded silently, but with a smile, as Ricky came back in with the pizza coupons. *** 19:04 7 Oct Miz Parker had gone out to 'explain' some things to Mister Parker, which hopefully would keep him from laughing his ass off where it would hurt Ricky's feelings, and so it was just him and me waiting for the pizza to arrive. "So, I mean," Ricky asked me, "what do I have to do?" "Huh?" "To be your boyfriend?" "Um. Uhhhh... I think you'd better wait until your parents get back in," I said diplomatically. "I don't want to ask them!" he complained. "They're OLD!" I snorted, then started to laugh. "What so funny?" Mister Parker asked, after I'd tossed myself back on the couch trying not to fall off. "Ahahahahah!" I mentioned. "Nothing!" Ricky lied, quickly though not effectively. "I told her a knock knock joke." *** 19:10 7 Oct "Oh, man," I sighed. "I'd love to stay, but one of my parents- I don't know which one, but one of 'em's supposed to pick me up, and I don't know what time." "Why don't you call?" Mister Parker suggested, which was entirely too reasonable. As I was dialing, I heard a knock at the door, which considering that the pizza had already arrived, was probably only one of two people, neither of whom I wanted to see at the moment. I hung up anyway and went to go see who it was. It was Dad, I could see, seconds before Miz Parker went outside and shut the door. *What the heck is- Oh, man, she's gonna tell him about the boyfriend thing!* I spazzed, and then my brain froze. "Valerie?" "Ah," I twitched, but it was only Mister Parker. "Uh, I guess I'd better get my stuff," I said to cover myself, and started moving. "Thanks so much for the offer, though," I remembered to say. "We'll, umm, discuss things," which made me stop and turn around and look at him. He pointed subtly at Ricky. "Later," he finished. "Uh boy," I sighed, but he was smiling, so I guessed I wasn't in trouble. I smiled back as best I could. "Do I like give you a hug or something?" Ricky asked. "That'd be nice," I agreed, and bent down to where he could reach me. *** 19:16 7 Oct "Ricky offered-" "Don't say anything," I interrupted, having been waiting for exactly this. "It was a very sweet offer for him to make, especially at his age." Some things clicked in my head, then, and I added, "And even more considering I think some girls at his school are picking on him." "Why do you say that?" "He's shown up looking scuffed up a few times, and he's really not fond of girls in his school. He's asked me a few times about what I used to do to boys, too. I lied a lot," I told Dad. "He won't admit that anything bad is happening, which wouldn't be the case if it was boys, I think. So I think it's girls picking on him. And ones not too much older than him, or he'd have mentioned that too." *** 19:20 7 Oct "So when did he pop the big question?" Dad chuckled. "What? Um... 'bout six today, I guess. In front of his mom, too," I added, shaking my head. Kid had more 'nads than I ever did. Then again, I'd had all I wanted of girls with my sister and the rest of her coven long before third grade. "I, uh... I REALLY don't think he understands, I mean anything about dating or any of it. And I did NOT offer to explain it to him; I told him..." I got out before I started to chuckle. "What's funny?" "I told him to ask his parents, and he complained because they were OLD!" I snorted. Dad coughed a few times, which made me laugh out loud. *** 19:38 7 Oct "Okay, but why would he ask to be your boyfriend?" "I've had a hard few days, alright? Home's not fun, school is always like being in prison except not as safe, and I just haven't had a whole lot of time not to worry about shit before now. So..." I sighed. "I sort of lost it after Mom left today. He was there, he saw I was really upset, and he just wanted to help." "Does this have to do with you being gay?" *If it's just tiny pressure waves twitching my eardrums, then why does it feel like I got hit in the chest with a large rock?* "Not... Not directly," I pressed out. "Please, Dad, don't ask me this yet. You said it could wait until-" "Just checking." "Checking what?" He shrugged at me. "You never asked anything like that when you were his age, that I ever heard of-" "With Susan in the house? I had all I wanted of girls," I reminded him. "Plus, I never had a babysitter, remember? Just the same sister that yelled at me for leaving the toilet seat up and stuff." "You think it's just a crush?" "What did Miz Parker think?" I asked back. That was pretty much it, when I thought about it; that, and a rash impulse to keep me from crying any more. He thought for a moment. "That's what she thought... she was more impressed that he was, um, that... that thoughtful," he finally decided. "Yeah, it was really nice of him," I sighed. *** 20:13 7 Oct Dinner was a lot like it had been before all this had happened, except Sabrina was there, and looking very very nervous. Dad wasn't doing anything but math, though; I'd decided to eat at the table along with them to make sure. Besides, Mom was upstairs, and I didn't want to know what she was doing. *** 20:44 7 Oct "I'll be okay," Sabrina assured me. "You get some sleep; you look like you need it." "Yeah, I guess," I agreed unenthusiastically. The three or four hours I would get before the nightmares came to visit were not what I could call 'enough' but it was all I could get, apparently. *** 21:03 7 Oct She gave me another hug, and kissed me on the cheek. "Sleep well, okay?" "I'll try. You too," I said, and kissed her cheek in return. It took a large act of will on my part to let go of her, but she didn't seem to mind. *** 00:42 8 Oct I could really have used Ricky at the moment, or Mike, or Sabrina, or any of my friends, or even Stella, but all I had was me. Even Travis' bear seemed vaguely painful, now, which was why I had put it in the closet; I didn't want it in my room any more. "Jeezus..." I didn't need to be dreaming of Travis exposing me in front of my own school 'peers' and the subsequent horrors, but I was anyway. *** 05:33 8 Oct Well, whatever stiffness I'd developed, it was going away with the regular stretching I was doing in the mornings. I could almost hit a one-eighty with my legs again, and touching my toes was almost too easy. *Now if only I didn't hurt so much...* My fingers especially hurt, but that was because of the keyboard playing. And I'd re-packed half my life so that the laptop plus associated equipment would fit into my usual backpack. That ought to make it easier to dodge, maneuver, and get out of trash cans in the future. *** 06:57 8 Oct Kim and Jill were waiting for me inside the building, which was very unusual. "What-" "Is your dad gone?" Kim asked; an amazingly coherent question considering how she usually was in the mornings. "Yeah? Why?" "He got Sabrina last night, and her parents too," Jill groaned. "'Got'?" "Her car wouldn't start, he took her home," Kim explained as she scanned the parking lot. "Then he stayed and talked to her parents for a while. About you." "Oh, shit," I gasped as my chest collapsed momentarily. "She said they didn't say anything bad," Kim explained as she turned around and beckoned for us to follow her, "but..." "But he's checking," I finished, and she nodded. "Like Mike said Dad was watching him." "Aw fuck," Jill said. "Tell him NOT to-" "Mine either!" Kim interrupted. "I haven't met anyone else's parents except DEBBIE!" "Who?" Kim asked. "Debbie, I think," Jill said as she grabbed my head. "Tuck?" "Erk." I thought I'd screamed, but I guess I'd locked up before that. "Yeah!" I squeaked. She shook her head. "Debbie already went over there, right?" "Yeah," Kim gushed in relief, "she said she told your parents that her mom didn't bother interfering in her business or anything else, which I think kind of upset your mom..." "My heart beating kind of upset my mom last Saturday," I dismissed. "So did everything else. Oh, God, I need to sit down," I realized. *** 07:58 8 Oct "Dad got Sabrina and her folks last night," I warned the guys before I sat down. "He's hunting information." That did not make anyone happy, but what the hell; I wasn't happy, so why should they be? *** 11:38 8 Oct "Hey, Tuck!" I looked over, and Kathy was making her way upstream against the crowd, which wasn't too hard for her because everyone parted around her. It looked kind of mystical, actually. Or I was too low on sleep. "What is your dad doing?" she asked as she got close enough. "How the hell am I supposed to know?" I asked back as we walked along towards our usual spot. "He is NOT telling me what he's doing. I think that's for a reason, too. I'd guess, is what he's doing is confirming my story... So, y'know-" "What am I supposed to tell him?" she complained. "Um... shit. Everything but who I've been dating. I said," I added quickly to forestall objections, "that I'd talk about that next therapy..." If I couldn't think of a way out of it by then. I'd been trying to think, but I hadn't had a lot of time for quiet and rational contemplation lately. "So I can-" "DIVE!" Mike ordered out of the blue, and I dropped to the floor at the same time Mike did, wondering, *Whatthehell?!* Which is why the coke splattered against Kathy rather than me or Mike. Everyone around us just sort of stopped. "Oh shit," whimpered the guy that did it, like he just realized what a horrible mistake he'd just made. Kathy didn't say anything, she just bounced over us, and then they were both gone. *** 11:44 8 Oct "-RUINED my blouse, and he did it on PURPOSE!" Kathy shrieked, and we all winced. Kathy had a BIG set of lungs, and she was using them at full power. "...I'm sorry I'm sorry oh god I'm sorry..." moaned the extremely sorry form of Larry Meyers, a 'friend' of Drew's, as he danced around on his tiptoes, because Kathy had his arm hoisted up behind him to the point I thought it was going to rip loose if he lost his footing. Dobson was just staring, so I added, "And we were right there when it happened, too." Mike and I nodded our heads. "I mean, I mean," Kathy spluttered, as she pointed emphatically at herself with her free hand, which made Larry dance more frantically, "LOOK at this! I can't go around school like this!" "... oh god please I'm sorry..." *** 11:47 8 Oct Kathy had been given a pass to go home and change, and so Mike and I were walking her out to her car, and staying near her just in case... but I wasn't sure that she wasn't blaming us, because she was walking fast and long-strided, and her face looked very very grim. People were getting out of our way from three or four meters ahead. As we got outside, though, Kathy smiled. "Did anyone else wonder if he was going to piss himself?" she asked us. *** 11:50 8 Oct "What's up with Bob there?" Mike asked George; Bob didn't usually hang out with us, except yesterday, and today he was here again except this time he seemed to be conscious. "Gee, funny thing; people were making fun of him for his epilepsy yesterday," George commented, and Bob's face screwed up in rage. "He got bounced a few times, and we convinced some freshthings to leave him alone, and brought him over here. What happened to you guys?" "Oh ho ho ho!" I commented. *** 11:53 8 Oct "Kathy?" Bob asked when we'd stopped laughing. Well, Mike and I had; the rest of them had not. "Kathy," I answered, holding a hand above my head to indicate which one we were talking about. "Oh that one," he said, looking almost respectful enough. "And, uh, Bob?" Mike said. "She's actually MEANER than she looks, okay? So don't be a pig around her." I nodded emphatic agreement. "She's faster than any of us in a straight line, and I know she's got more muscle." He didn't say anything, but especially he didn't make any sort of stupid comment, so I nodded approvingly at him. *** 14:02 8 Oct It was amazing how fast I could get out of school when I was motivated, like by getting out of school, but I still got tripped on the way out. Still, I didn't fall, so it just slowed me down some until I got back up to speed, and then I decided to try the outside paths again. Luckily, today it was Dad again, and so he was waiting in the parking lot for me. *** 14:23 8 Oct "And what were you wearing yesterday?" Dad asked as I trudged up the stairs. "Sarah wouldn't talk about it, but she wasn't pleased." "Don't talk to me about Susan's fashion sensibility and how nice she looks, and you won't get to see worse today," I told him right before I shut the door. *** 14:35 8 Oct A tank top under a gray sweater - I don't know what Sabrina had against sweaters, or else who bought her more than she could wear, but I didn't care at this time of year since it was keeping me warmer - and a skirt, but this one in sensible long black cotton, plus socks and Keds, and Dad wouldn't have much to freak out about. *** 14:53 8 Oct "So when are you going to have Ricky over for dinner so your mother can meet him?" "DAD! THAT'S SICK!" *** 15:04 8 Oct "Don't talk to him about me, don't answer any questions about me..." I coached Ricky as I guided him to the car. I was still mad. *** 15:29 8 Oct "Will you stay here?" "Yes, Dad," I sighed. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go anyway." He claimed he did, but I wasn't sure, nor was I going to complain or inquire. The less I saw of my parents lately, the better. He ignored my comment and took the plate of snack food away. "God, there are some days..." *** 16:08 8 Oct One advantage, I was finding, to having an eight-year old boyfriend was that he could walk on my back and stomp all the cramps and stuff out. For some reason I was all stiff and knotted with tension. *Must be the tests coming up, haha.* "You sure I'm not hurting you?" he asked again. "Aguh, yeh," I breathed, then managed to wipe my mouth. "Yeah, 'm sure. Keep going." Doing this next to the table in the kitchen was a stroke of genius, I thought; he could hoist himself up a bit if his weight got to be too much. *** 17:41 8 Oct "You look a lot better today," Miz Parker said as we brought in the last of the groceries. "One, Dad left. Two, have you ever had Ricky walk on your back?" I asked. "Do... No?" *** 17:46 8 Oct "Isn't that awesome?" I pressed. "It- Uhhhh," she moaned. "Too hard?" Ricky asked as he stopped and lifted himself partially onto the table. "Uhhh..." Miz Parker waffled. "I think that means no, Miz Parker," I said. "Tension hurts when it's released, but not like a broken bone or a bruise or anything else." "Keep going," she breathed heavily as she put her head back down on the pillows. Tits made it a little harder to do this, but I'd found a way. Motivation. *** 18:06 8 Oct "No, you don't have to do anything," I told Ricky, who was starting to have second thoughts about this whole boyfriend thing. Maybe his feet were tired. "Maybe you two could go out someplace, like to a movie?" Miz Parker suggested with an innocent-looking smile. "You wouldn't kiss me in the dark or anything?" he asked skeptically. I rubbed my forehead. "No, Ricky," I sighed. I was starting to have second thoughts myself, and they weren't because my feet were tired. "Maybe bowling?" "Bowling?" Ricky asked. 'You're not helping,' I glared at Miz Parker. 'Ooooh, yes I am!' she grinned right back. "I've never been bowling," Ricky said, sounding far too intrigued for my tastes. *** 18:11 8 Oct I didn't know whether it was a good thing, that Miz Parker had decided to take all of us out bowling one Friday night, or a bad thing. I was inclined to think it was a bad thing, since remembering that I was stone cold grounded for three weeks was a distinct relief. On the other hand, with his parents as chaperones, Ricky wouldn't be able to claim I'd taken liberties with his virtues, either. Life was going good, until I missed a bell pepper and sliced the outside of my thumb instead. "Aw, SHHhhhh..." Sink, water, paper towel, and I closed my eyes and tried to think of bowling. *** 18:14 8 Oct "Valerie?" I opened my eyes and looked up, and I was glad Miz Parker was wearing slacks, because if she hadn't been I could've seen what underwear she was wearing. "What are you doing?" "Meditating," I lied. "On the kitchen floor?" I sighed. This wasn't my day. Week. Life. *** 18:18 8 Oct "Hello?" "Dad? Are you coming to pick me up tonight?" "Why, is it-" "I wanted to know if I could eat here." Miz Parker had suggested it, and I thought it was a great idea. "Since I cooked it," I added. That wasn't why it was a great idea; the idea was, my parents weren't here, and the more time I spent away from them right now, the better I felt. "Let me think about it," he said. Pause. Miz Parker patted my hand, the wounded one that she'd finished bandaging, and whispered something to Ricky. "Aw Mom!" he complained. "Sure," Dad said. "Seven thirty, or a little after. Out." "Clear," he said, and hung up. "She said I should kiss it!" Ricky complained to me. *** 19:32 8 Oct I'd just finished clearing the table when there was a knock at the door, and I tensed right back up. "Aw, man..." I thought about stuffing Ricky into my pack and taking him home so he could work his foot magic on me again, but he was heavy and probably wouldn't fit. *** 20:31 8 Oct "What is this I heard about you and that boy?" Mom asked. "Nerk?" "Ricky?" "What?! Oh, that. He-" "What do you mean, 'oh that'?" Mom asked. "And what the hell do you think you're doing, asking him that-" "Do WHAT? Oh no, he asked ME-" "Don't interrupt me!" "Right in front of his mother," I continued, "and you can call her up and ask her about it!" "Why did he ask you something like that?" "Because I was upset and he wanted to help! Something YOU obviously don't understand!" "Eugene Wallace! I will not TOLERATE that sort of-" "Fine!" I snapped, and turned around and left. Quickly. Mom had had the locks disabled on my room, but I could still wedge the door shut manually. I'd realized it was a mistake to say that OR leave about the time I turned around, but that was already too late, and I might as well run for it at that point. *** 22:18 8 Oct I'd considered sleeping, but I decided against it, since I was already having the shakes and stuff, and I could feel the nightmares waiting for me. So I was doing email instead, and there was a lot of it. Apparently only Da Boyz had understood 'telecom lockdown' because everyone else with a computer had sent me support messages. I wished like hell they could be here, helping me out right now, but Dad was starting to stalk them. Or so reported Mike. He'd already caught Jill and asked her a few nasty questions after her work, and the only reason he'd let her go so soon is that he'd already gotten Kim. Sabrina hadn't been here tonight either; neither was her car, which meant it was working again. *If it was really broken...* *** 05:58 9 Oct "It's a beautiful fucking morning," I sighed. I suppose the lack of predicted clouds was a good thing, but it would've matched my mood better if we'd had a hurricane or something. *** 06:49 9 Oct "I think I'm going to pick you up about seven," Dad commented. "We need to talk to you som-" "AGAIN?!" I accidentally screamed. "Don't yell at me," he ordered, and I shut up. "Eugene, this, this, alternate life you've been living, is looking more and more disturbing, the more I think about it." "What's so disturbing-" "How many people have you lied to?" he asked. "What?" "Sabrina's parents, Debbie's mother," he recited. "The Parkers, including that kid that proposed to you last ni-" "He didn't-" "Quiet," Dad ordered, and I put my hand over my mouth. "How many others, Eugene? What have you said to them? Do you realize what kind of danger you've put yourself in?" "Hell with that, what about school?" I protested. "You are not doing this at school!" he half commanded and half begged. "No, Dad," I sighed, "I'd be dead already. But that's my point, Dad, they're not gonna do anything worse than what's going on-" "They're not hunting you systematically at school," Dad said. "This is the sort of thing that they would hunt you for. And you DON'T look that different between modes. You're easy to recognize." Pause. "This has got to stop, Eugene," he said. "What has got to stop?" "This double life-" "It's a single life, and it's mine, and you're interfering in it," I bubbled. Pause. "We will discuss this later," he commanded. *** 06:58 9 Oct The girls didn't look too happy to see me. "Great, the only way my life could get better right now is with a nuke pulse," I said to myself. "Do you know what your dad did last night?" Kim bitched. "Yeah, I heard," I sighed. "What do you want me to do, shoot him? He's better than me." "You can't even be fucking serious about this, can you?" "What the fuck am I supposed to do, Kim? Huh? Got any ideas?" "Why did you tell him about-" "I didn't have to! They already knew, what with Debbie showing up, because some shit-for-brains decided-" She slapped me, then, hard, and I almost grabbed a chair to break over her head, before Jill got between us. *** 07:53 9 Oct "Aw, are you girls not best friends any more?" one of Shannon's friends cooed at us as we were leaving. Jill snapped something off, as did Kim, but I guess it was me that got her the most upset, when I spit at her and caught her in the face. I felt kind of bad about it immediately, as she screamed and fell down like it was a hammer or something, but it was too late, so I decided to leave before she remembered we were the same height and tried something physical. *** 07:59 9 Oct "No, my day's going fine so far," I lied, panting. "How 'bout you guys?" *** 10:43 9 Oct "Kim was royally pissed," Mike informed me. "Yeah, I got that impression in class today," I mentioned. "Amanda, has he gotten you yet?" "No? What the hell do I do if he does?" *'When' is more like it.* "Just, uh-" "If you have to be somewhere else, like going home, tell him that," Mike interrupted. "Otherwise, you get out of it the fastest by talking to him." "What do I say?" she boggled. I shrugged. "Truth, I guess. The only thing they don't know for sure is who I've been dating, and that's gotta come out soon anyway..." Oh, ghu, thinking about that hurt. I took a painful breath and finished, "Anyway, say you can't talk about that part yet, and then just answer whatever he asks, I guess. That's the easiest on you..." *** 11:33 9 Oct "Man, I wish there was something I could do," I told them, "but I can't think of-" "Hey FAGGOT!" someone roared angrily. I looked around, and there were a few too many goons coming my way. LARGE goons. Large ANGRY goons. "Oh..." Just Mike; I didn't think Sabrina or Amanda could help in this situation, which was gonna get physical real quick unless- "-shit Mike RP usual!" I announced as I accelerated and hit the quick-releases on my pack, shedding it down one arm and skidding it on the ground before I let go and ran like hell. A faintly shrieked, "Pickup!" behind me told me that Mike had secured the pack with the all-important laptop in it, so all I had to worry about right now was my own hide. Luckily, I was on the second floor, and on the south side of the building, and I remembered something that might help, so I ran down the hall looking for a specific classroom. Unfortunately, Rob Walsh and a few of his crew were right there, and Rob tried to grab me. I let him, using him as a pivot point, and put the heel of my hand into his face so he'd let go and swing me into the classroom I needed. Which he did. *Nice of him,* I thought, spinning once to make sure I'd have enough time. I did, as they were just starting to come through the door, so I bounced myself to a stop on the window frame, pulled the lock off, threw the window up, snaked through it, and bailed out. I tumbled to a stop, did a quick integrity check as I got up, and then I felt very good, seeing them up there at the open window and looking VERY confused. I showed them the two-fingered bowman's salute ("Still got 'em you French fuckers!") and trotted off to find Mike. *** 11:44 9 Oct Dobson just looked at me, not saying anything. Well, it was better than being beaten. Not as good as, say, NOT almost landing on top of a parking lot monitor and being lectured before being 'arrested' and taken to Dobson's office, but it hurt way less. I finally shrugged, and said, "Um, I thought it was better than getting pulped." "You jumped out a window," he stated. Again. "I opened it first!" I wouldn't have if I didn't have time, but I did so I did. "Those windows are FOURTEEN FEET off the ground!" "They are?" *Hmm, wonder what G's I took on landing?* "Don't you know how dangerous that is?" I accidentally grinned at him and popped off with, "Only for those people who haven't been trained properly." He stared at me. *That was not the right thing to do.* "Look," I offered as I regained some sanity. "It was an emergency, the window lock can be fixed easily enough, and I won't do it again." *Unless I need to again.* "Really!" I said, trying for sincerity. He sighed, and rubbed his forehead. *** 11:51 9 Oct We had established that I wasn't going to jump out of windows any more (unless I needed to), and since it was obviously suicidal for anyone to do such a thing, that I wouldn't have to be punished to make an example for others. "So who was it?" I shrugged. "It doesn't make any difference who it-" "Eugene," he said angrily, "this is not right, and it is not allowed. Damnit, if you kids would tell me what's happening to you, I could help!" I was shocked by his outburst. "Um..." "Tell me, please. If not for yourself, then for the others." "Aw, damn," I moaned. "Oh sh-" He chuckled a bit, and waved to let me know it was going to be ignored, this time. "I mean..." I sighed and told him, "I really appreciate the offer, but... Were you ever picked on in school? I mean like, steadily?" "No," he admitted. "The thing is, if you punish them, on MY word alone, then they'll take it as me fucking with- excuse me, but, uh, they'll blame me for it like I started it. That's the way it works!" I protested when he opened his mouth to say something. "If you catch 'em in the act or there's witnesses or something, you can do something and I won't get punished for it later." Most of the time. "But if you do it simply because I complained, and I don't have enough to push criminal charges, then they'll blame ME, and ONLY me for it, and they'll nail me later outside of school." "So how do we stop the violence, Eugene?!" he snapped. "Tell me that." "I don't know!" "Then what do I do?" he demanded. "It hurts me, to see you walking around like you're afraid of being attacked at any moment. Because you are," he said before I could. "How can we make this a safer place?" I shrugged, having no inspiraton flux at the moment. "I dunno... if I think of something, I'll tell you, though, okay?" He eventually nodded wearily. His phone rang, and he waved at me that I was dismissed. I got up to go, but I had to stop because I couldn't walk quite yet. Ghu, I was tired and sore... "Eugene?" Dobson asked. "Coming," I sighed. "Are you all right?" "No." By the time I got moving again, he'd steered me towards a chair, and sat down in another one instead of behind his desk. "What's happening? You don't look... You don't look yourself, and you don't look well either." "I'm okay, really," I lied. He just gave me that Dobson look. Pause. "What?" "Eugene," he said, but not in the usual Dobson way. "I can tell you're having problems. I can understand you might not want to talk to the school counselor about them, or your parents... But perhaps you could talk to me?" "Um, thanks, but I gotta get to class-" "No, you do not. I can excuse you. I can also send you home." I was about to scream a protest when he added, "If you feel you need to leave." "What?" "If you need to go home today..." He trailed off. "No..." It was tempting. "So what has happened to you recently, that has you so, so distressed?" he asked. "Just..." I let slip before I got control of my mouth again. Pause. The phone rang again, scaring me into a yelp. Dobson got up, grabbed it, told the phone, "Please hold my calls until further notice," and hung up and sat back down. Pause. "Please," he asked. *Why does he have to sound so sincere?* He looked really old, too, and worn out. I groaned. "Got busted by Mom, Friday..." "For what?" I just looked up at him, and he caught it with a twitch. "Yeah. I'm grounded for three weeks, fined, I gotta talk to a, uh," I looked around to make sure there weren't unfriendly ears in range. "That may help," he said, "if you can talk honestly with him or her." "Yeah." Whatever. "Debbie blasts into my house Sunday, gets in a screaming fight with my mom... Dad's stalking my friends to ask them rude questions about me, double-check his info, and they're all pissed at me for it..." I took a deep breath. "Travis... he's not talking..." *Oh man, not here!* Despite my best intentions, I broke down at that point. *** 12:20 9 Oct "Oh, man," I complained as the bells rang. "I gotta get to class!" "You can stay here if you need to," Dobson offered. "No, math and physics are about the best part of the day." I wiped my face frantically, trying to scrub off the tear marks, because even looking like you'd been emotionally wounded once was like blood in the water. "Sh- Look, thanks, but I gotta- Oh crap! Mike's got my pack!" *** 12:29 9 Oct He'd written me several excuse notes, including one to let me cut through the monitored and therefore safer parking lot, which was way cool of him, but I still felt I had to move quick. For one thing, I suspected we were having a quiz today in calculus, and I didn't want to get a low grade just because I didn't have enough time to finish it. He'd also looked up Mike's schedule, because while I had the information myself, both written and data, they were both in my pack. Which was with Mike... Mike was in gym, which was good and bad; good because there was a locker there to put the pack in, and bad because that was just an awful place in general. I'd bailed as soon as I could, gone through the parking lot, showed my excuse to the monitor, and circled around the gym, certain that the coaches would take the absence of ice on the track to torture Mike with running today. I was right, too. "Mike!" I called as I got close to him. "Hey! You're not in this class!" yelled one of the coaches at me. "What the fuck?" I complained under my breath. "Is this like Be An Asshole For Jesus Day or something?" Luckily, the coach didn't seem to catch that, as evidenced by the fact that I wasn't eating dirt a few seconds later. *** 12:33 9 Oct "Man, this is gonna be one of those days," I complained to Mike as I hoisted my pack up. "I think it's already been one of those days," Mike countered. "Maybe two or three," I escalated. "Anyway, you gonna be home after school? I think I can still call you from the Parkers' place." "Yeah, I was planning to anyway." "Yeah, okay, I'll call." I had to piss. "See ya," I said, and we waved as he left the locker room and I went to the toilets. *** 12:36 9 Oct I had just zipped up my pants when someone announced, "FAGGOT!" and grabbed me. While he shoved my head into the toilet bowl, I curled my legs and kicked back, and then I was free and scrambling up the stall walls because I could hear his friends yelling in protest. I made it out of the bathroom and shed the pack, which tripped at least one of them, and ran like hell for the nearest exit. There were two more of them there, waiting. I turned, and the first two were just coming into view. And I was trapped, with no way out. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed, as loud as I could, as I got some room to move. "You are gonna DIE, faggot," Kyle announced, so he's the one I hit first. I missed his throat but did some major damage to his face; something crunched. I dived past him as he fell away and almost made it but someone grabbed my leg and pulled backwards. I rewarded that one with a stomp with the other leg, but then I was in the middle of them, and one of them grabbed me by the head and slammed me into a locker. I lost consciousness on the fourth impact. *** "The loudest sound in the universe... the last heartbeat..." Distribution: No part of this work may be distributed as an original work by another person or group. Permission is given to redistribute this by electronic means, as long as the entirety of the work (from the BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE header to the END PGP SIGNATURE footer) is distributed, and credit is given to the original author, me. And no fee may be charged. Archiving is permitted provided no fee is charged for access. All rights reserved. + @>--,--'----- Ellen Hayes o===[-------- __ vicki .sig + -=[1990]=- \/ virus 12.2 + http://www.barkingduck.net/ehayes PGP key: EFC9 5D55 (1996) + -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBQAgJenYDebnvyV1VAQGwNQP+NzxFmvHie8UjLBlBbwVqrLDrLh0i5xbW XbvTEmHPE0yY63oFCrs1jdR4LqwGwEFVZKVAUZ6CTZHrns6YM9WZPD6lAebxj8q9 9VQHARNkGet554QzJxCCsujOf5gdwmmLbkHrtTFhQOTEqL57bPHrH1HwNGZAaeIH Z2MhTGDncn4= =K9jj -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----