749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRVBwOuK4L
-
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgz0CjoBBsj
DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTgaacG8tT
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeHmW7AJLc
1749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgNGReyBU1
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1KmfdFAwS
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1KmfdFAwS
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM304Gp5k8v
I'M in the living room, sitting on the couch with my father, watching Corner Gas reruns on the TV. So far, so normal. 749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHD6veRcUd
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoBCXDNegC
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LHbhldK5d
"Yeah."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6Q5Hpph56
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5ex7MKR3e
"Something you want to talk about?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzOaLK1U5Z
"I see myself." I point across the living room, to where my doppelgänger is hiding behind double doors, peering out at me. He grins devilishly.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt21a7eFlcF
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEAsU6htoV
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBTByh9psc
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSQUCRgO6q
I consider the offer. 749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡid8xM0Kdcq
During the time it takes for me to make my considerations, the other me waves and waves and waves, trying to grab my attention. I don't give me any attention. Positively none.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DYQAxmyBH
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ934EBcq4S3
"Good. Go to sleep."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdX0iluvlbr
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0A4KTYHYf
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNxm32iqid
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97Ad4wgUoEDad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoBCXDNegC
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LHbhldK5d
"Yeah."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6Q5Hpph56
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5ex7MKR3e
"Something you want to talk about?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzOaLK1U5Z
"I see myself." I point across the living room, to where my doppelgänger is hiding behind double doors, peering out at me. He grins devilishly.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt21a7eFlcF
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEAsU6htoV
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBTByh9psc
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSQUCRgO6q
I consider the offer. 749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡid8xM0Kdcq
During the time it takes for me to make my considerations, the other me waves and waves and waves, trying to grab my attention. I don't give me any attention. Positively none.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DYQAxmyBH
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ934EBcq4S3
"Good. Go to sleep."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdX0iluvlbr
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0A4KTYHYf
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNxm32iqid
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
2749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoDtD44bn2
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3mxcG8rpp
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3mxcG8rpp
NOW I'm at a party. People I remember from my past are present. People are together who were never together. Sense is not the language being spoken.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPZ7ldRubh
I'm on the couch. Again. A different couch. Alone. Nodding off from sheer boredom. This is why I don't go to parties. I'd much rather stay home and occupy myself in ways only I can relate.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofDOQgdPsY
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXmHefkQGe
I turn to take in the ruckus. Brandon is pummelling a cute little mooshka doll, bashing and beating in its brains with a baseball bat. White, fluffy stuffing leaks from the ever-growing head wound. Soft skull battered, bruised, and cleaved. I'm both troubled and amused by the scene.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcy9AOVXqb
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBppU3WNYe
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTKBTmgLJJ
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ejZMQL5qW
As my old friend continues his savage beatdown of an innocent dolly, other partygoers disengage themselves from tepid conversations and instead opt to play witness to the ongoing spectacle.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOT117sff6C
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnHH5nX41L
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOE3GpqWjm
"Drugs," he says cryptically.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnh59s5G4vz
"Hmm?" I ask.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEslhHh96J2
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuekWREwbcQ
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmy5inSauIB
A blonde-haired girl I used to know—Sarah—sits beside me on the couch. With a shocking immediacy, she turns to me and starts to talk: "Hey, Mike. What's new with you?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqanrrKeos
I look into her shocking blue eyes. So blue. Does she like me? She said she loved me once. But that might have been smoke. Words. Without meaning. Just words. In any case, I never loved her. How could I? We never really connected.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ75vXmjRPH
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlcqxwDUaM
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroMNmvW4w6
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVtie7kmYb
"So, how long are you?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnSctQQV64
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlhrAT8FbQ
"Oh." She loses interest. Scoots over to the other end of the couch, as far away from me as she can get, and into the arms of her brown-haired girlfriend, Fiona. They giggle and hold each other.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAImA02B0qD
Bitch.
I'm on the couch. Again. A different couch. Alone. Nodding off from sheer boredom. This is why I don't go to parties. I'd much rather stay home and occupy myself in ways only I can relate.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofDOQgdPsY
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXmHefkQGe
I turn to take in the ruckus. Brandon is pummelling a cute little mooshka doll, bashing and beating in its brains with a baseball bat. White, fluffy stuffing leaks from the ever-growing head wound. Soft skull battered, bruised, and cleaved. I'm both troubled and amused by the scene.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcy9AOVXqb
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBppU3WNYe
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTKBTmgLJJ
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ejZMQL5qW
As my old friend continues his savage beatdown of an innocent dolly, other partygoers disengage themselves from tepid conversations and instead opt to play witness to the ongoing spectacle.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOT117sff6C
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnHH5nX41L
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOE3GpqWjm
"Drugs," he says cryptically.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnh59s5G4vz
"Hmm?" I ask.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEslhHh96J2
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuekWREwbcQ
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmy5inSauIB
A blonde-haired girl I used to know—Sarah—sits beside me on the couch. With a shocking immediacy, she turns to me and starts to talk: "Hey, Mike. What's new with you?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqanrrKeos
I look into her shocking blue eyes. So blue. Does she like me? She said she loved me once. But that might have been smoke. Words. Without meaning. Just words. In any case, I never loved her. How could I? We never really connected.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ75vXmjRPH
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlcqxwDUaM
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroMNmvW4w6
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVtie7kmYb
"So, how long are you?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnSctQQV64
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlhrAT8FbQ
"Oh." She loses interest. Scoots over to the other end of the couch, as far away from me as she can get, and into the arms of her brown-haired girlfriend, Fiona. They giggle and hold each other.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAImA02B0qD
Bitch.
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59eJ0jtqeg
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppSic3zBOc
3749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVfvxpQkk8
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZGG7IjwBI
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZGG7IjwBI
WE pull into the driveway. I'm quick out of the car and even quicker into the house. I just want to sit and see my cats.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKjaQBJsAB
In the house. Through the hallway. Ginger is on the stairs, peering over the edge of the staircase like a scared little owl. Afraid of strangers. I'm no stranger to him and his ways. Bear is sleeping on my bed—peaceful, tranquil.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuIS3z8pJA
My sister Lesley and her husband Jason enter the house. Riley, their dog, yaps behind them. Noisy bugger. Which is odd. He's usually quite quiet.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ToG39g47f
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7FfAoxiGX
Some nerve.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYoYBRLpjd
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45HfN99xe9
Never mind.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAB4QQ7Qjw
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIxSgk3rcx
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaTDsquxIz
The door swings open.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgq8AOskHj
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQGLRxq3AK
"Hello."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeaz4eEZfX
They don't wait for my approval before storming the castle. God damnit. What the hell happened to this world. Where did respect die, I wonder, so I know which hole to hide in.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKimrOmtKO
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyDkeyV6xR
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyipCCno2d0
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuuzq246rw
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk77bOU8Yve
The girls push me back through the hallway and there's nothing I can do to stop the flood of them. Woe is me. Oh, sweet woe.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1W0IUkfZWI
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHW4YhEySDb
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYsdFnWghl
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiy2VWgJLia
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6xIFiGF3z
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0bPimoPP0G
Huh. Funny dat.
In the house. Through the hallway. Ginger is on the stairs, peering over the edge of the staircase like a scared little owl. Afraid of strangers. I'm no stranger to him and his ways. Bear is sleeping on my bed—peaceful, tranquil.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuIS3z8pJA
My sister Lesley and her husband Jason enter the house. Riley, their dog, yaps behind them. Noisy bugger. Which is odd. He's usually quite quiet.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ToG39g47f
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7FfAoxiGX
Some nerve.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYoYBRLpjd
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45HfN99xe9
Never mind.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAB4QQ7Qjw
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIxSgk3rcx
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaTDsquxIz
The door swings open.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgq8AOskHj
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQGLRxq3AK
"Hello."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeaz4eEZfX
They don't wait for my approval before storming the castle. God damnit. What the hell happened to this world. Where did respect die, I wonder, so I know which hole to hide in.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKimrOmtKO
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyDkeyV6xR
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyipCCno2d0
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuuzq246rw
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk77bOU8Yve
The girls push me back through the hallway and there's nothing I can do to stop the flood of them. Woe is me. Oh, sweet woe.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1W0IUkfZWI
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHW4YhEySDb
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYsdFnWghl
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiy2VWgJLia
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6xIFiGF3z
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0bPimoPP0G
Huh. Funny dat.
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpinkxCwrp6
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWMiIRoG15
4
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TIkXHcS4z
WALKING down the street. There's my old school. Through the playground. The yard is empty. Where are all the kids? Oh yes, it's Monday. Wait. That doesn't make a lick of sense. What time is it? My non-existent watch says noon. Weird. What's the season, I wonder? Feels like summer. What year is it? Have I even been born yet?749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7CDo7tGew
There's an old friend. Down by the sycamore tree. The tree that was never there. Interesting. It's grown mighty tall since I was last here... when it was never here. I meet the friend. Nick. Used to sell me drugs. Good stuff, too.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9ZVSOM1hF
"Hey, Nick."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡks8hQakFkT
"Hey, Mike."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vTcVzO2N6
"What's good?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgBFUm5pGz
"Not much," he says with a sigh.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUQQhBaISB
"How come?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIQ43q4wZ3
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdAVNClMM8
"Where?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYj2Rhus74B
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3xgCuoH6L
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CHcQALSxz
"Who's he?" I ask.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vBLCueVgn
"Stanley," Wannabe says.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFDw1MJ4KN
"Oh."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEQ4kcB2eo
Stanley wears a black leather jacket, and blue Levi's jeans. His brown hair is slicked back and he smokes a filtered cigarette. "Bitches, man," Stanley says.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy32qHN1Zvm
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFwle22fi8
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGCMzhZ0vO
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04zmJRUgHq
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktQT3U1q1M
"Mike."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8QfaXQrfm
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IixmShe1j
I keep my yap shut.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPq6Iu5QK6y
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTm8BSjOmiM
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZw8qpCHvER
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAjpd5PWfS
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKfyzbQDfy
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTk44xr5jm
"Like what? LSD?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKuat3i5W75
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw61BAFtsTI
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpPClRq3Gn
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOipklaw24
Stanley doesn't take my laughter kindly. "Easy, playa. I'm hard. Harder than you." Veins were popping out of his face in places I never knew veins existed. He looked about ready to pop. "I may not smoke drugs yet, but I will. What, you think I'm not bad? Huh? LOCKDOWN!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvlKIPYVOk
Everything changes then.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYPwRj5Xt3
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonHQxCtIdK
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbx3FfJ5ikD
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWO4Ht1gUo
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GhXpVILnb
No one listens. They laugh.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3kzUiubXk
I try to get by a wall of rats when I feel two hands grip me around the kidneys. I look back and there's a smiling little girl. We've formed a chain. A chain of kids. Gripping each other. Gripping me. Let go. I don't like to be touched. Stop it!749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡal3ApI4gOF
The pain is excruciating. Feels like fire. What the hell is wrong with them. They won't let go of me. I smack hands and attempt to remove them. They push harder. Feel the burn. Against my flesh. What is wrong with them. Why won't they stop.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8NdblXkbF
I'm driven mad as fingers pierce skin and blood is drawn. Bleeding out. A hand enters one side of me. Another hand. Other side. Feel a tug on my organs.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKI1HZVyeFB
A pull.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsfUBnXEQb
Rip.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wD6mEYuph
RIP.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhz4vaVKvho
I'm dead.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLh3Cx2Nef
In bed.
There's an old friend. Down by the sycamore tree. The tree that was never there. Interesting. It's grown mighty tall since I was last here... when it was never here. I meet the friend. Nick. Used to sell me drugs. Good stuff, too.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9ZVSOM1hF
"Hey, Nick."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡks8hQakFkT
"Hey, Mike."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vTcVzO2N6
"What's good?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgBFUm5pGz
"Not much," he says with a sigh.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUQQhBaISB
"How come?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIQ43q4wZ3
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdAVNClMM8
"Where?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYj2Rhus74B
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3xgCuoH6L
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CHcQALSxz
"Who's he?" I ask.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vBLCueVgn
"Stanley," Wannabe says.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFDw1MJ4KN
"Oh."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEQ4kcB2eo
Stanley wears a black leather jacket, and blue Levi's jeans. His brown hair is slicked back and he smokes a filtered cigarette. "Bitches, man," Stanley says.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy32qHN1Zvm
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFwle22fi8
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGCMzhZ0vO
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04zmJRUgHq
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktQT3U1q1M
"Mike."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8QfaXQrfm
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IixmShe1j
I keep my yap shut.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPq6Iu5QK6y
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTm8BSjOmiM
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZw8qpCHvER
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAjpd5PWfS
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKfyzbQDfy
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTk44xr5jm
"Like what? LSD?"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKuat3i5W75
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw61BAFtsTI
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpPClRq3Gn
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOipklaw24
Stanley doesn't take my laughter kindly. "Easy, playa. I'm hard. Harder than you." Veins were popping out of his face in places I never knew veins existed. He looked about ready to pop. "I may not smoke drugs yet, but I will. What, you think I'm not bad? Huh? LOCKDOWN!"749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvlKIPYVOk
Everything changes then.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYPwRj5Xt3
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonHQxCtIdK
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbx3FfJ5ikD
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWO4Ht1gUo
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GhXpVILnb
No one listens. They laugh.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3kzUiubXk
I try to get by a wall of rats when I feel two hands grip me around the kidneys. I look back and there's a smiling little girl. We've formed a chain. A chain of kids. Gripping each other. Gripping me. Let go. I don't like to be touched. Stop it!749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡal3ApI4gOF
The pain is excruciating. Feels like fire. What the hell is wrong with them. They won't let go of me. I smack hands and attempt to remove them. They push harder. Feel the burn. Against my flesh. What is wrong with them. Why won't they stop.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8NdblXkbF
I'm driven mad as fingers pierce skin and blood is drawn. Bleeding out. A hand enters one side of me. Another hand. Other side. Feel a tug on my organs.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKI1HZVyeFB
A pull.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsfUBnXEQb
Rip.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wD6mEYuph
RIP.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhz4vaVKvho
I'm dead.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLh3Cx2Nef
In bed.
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HW1dcOKSw
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeAdKE7YcA
?
749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Im3bzqsmK
THE Rain Has Fallen.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNaXiTmnzU7
No. That's not it.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerAwGXGsDP
They Came After The Rain.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1FAbKovGl
There it is.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqQFNvJGBa
That's the one.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡky92w1jvDc
The end.
ns216.73.216.148da2 No. That's not it.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerAwGXGsDP
They Came After The Rain.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1FAbKovGl
There it is.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqQFNvJGBa
That's the one.749Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡky92w1jvDc
The end.
