730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnHWHjxnXW
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730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMjYCXs5vQ
DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYVoJ0jpVI
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnI6qplhu76
1730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzti4apGuLP
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCcr6TO1V6
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCcr6TO1V6
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOgCEmQiFq
I'M in the living room, sitting on the couch with my father, watching Corner Gas reruns on the TV. So far, so normal. 730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sBcJxoQot
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4ymvS1pKD
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcPhfEqt4H
"Yeah."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpj0PFR1mD
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNwJWF3qgb
"Something you want to talk about?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYM5RVbj29
"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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BRXF5r7Y1
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxP99UGZfIE
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAO3gRou0z
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdXIqDQcNz
I consider the offer. 730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ434rTJa3Qs
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcZvvTjTQd
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4jAjOoeOq
"Good. Go to sleep."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1G8OpTmmY
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jUWLApFf5
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfn0tDnK8Rb
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7prwXCaxYMDad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4ymvS1pKD
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcPhfEqt4H
"Yeah."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpj0PFR1mD
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNwJWF3qgb
"Something you want to talk about?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYM5RVbj29
"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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BRXF5r7Y1
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxP99UGZfIE
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAO3gRou0z
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdXIqDQcNz
I consider the offer. 730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ434rTJa3Qs
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcZvvTjTQd
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4jAjOoeOq
"Good. Go to sleep."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1G8OpTmmY
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jUWLApFf5
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfn0tDnK8Rb
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
2730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoiZiJYg82
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhECSesX7iZ
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhECSesX7iZ
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEVMd13s91
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwSyIReOmC
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSJ6KWKdri
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4AWFQpAkb
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOY2p9XGNP6
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJ9GsGXgRb
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBUAbqWWjQ
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvs3kIpQWF
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6tgQpGUg3
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0q0PRZMUb
"Drugs," he says cryptically.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZBCyJsNUD
"Hmm?" I ask.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrb8T0AvHXv
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuhPL62ent
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcO6lbBp93
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?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiRWOaKA9C
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgugFDMpy3
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGzn649YvD
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBg5YYzxrf
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXc5g6A3me8
"So, how long are you?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEF0HVcCN4
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IHl55h0vK
"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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2Zsc2bkl4
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwSyIReOmC
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSJ6KWKdri
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4AWFQpAkb
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOY2p9XGNP6
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJ9GsGXgRb
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBUAbqWWjQ
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvs3kIpQWF
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6tgQpGUg3
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0q0PRZMUb
"Drugs," he says cryptically.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZBCyJsNUD
"Hmm?" I ask.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrb8T0AvHXv
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuhPL62ent
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcO6lbBp93
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?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiRWOaKA9C
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgugFDMpy3
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGzn649YvD
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBg5YYzxrf
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXc5g6A3me8
"So, how long are you?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEF0HVcCN4
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IHl55h0vK
"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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2Zsc2bkl4
Bitch.
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGod1xuPvJf
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZZNzP9ejL
3730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9xgRyU82l
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzrtyeHR7K
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzrtyeHR7K
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMeNHKzBRy
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpy8KTI6ys
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYK1RFhRIR
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGobQqC6JA
Some nerve.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnKD9yCJUp
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNjFT5Bsoq
Never mind.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yZCCEqr45
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGk2ZULKKX
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwe6QXzX1F
The door swings open.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGIG4TRxj1
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKu1maWPxs
"Hello."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4ZHqxodCC
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYduTZO2Jy
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4O8KQJ1I0
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNY8EqE8t5
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFamySRmOOr
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCvLCjqtSW
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoF2o1gVdlF
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLelaLU8Zp
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXY2BcLfABM
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9y9kwApg4R
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3frPSs7I1
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLWUUD17id
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpy8KTI6ys
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYK1RFhRIR
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGobQqC6JA
Some nerve.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnKD9yCJUp
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNjFT5Bsoq
Never mind.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yZCCEqr45
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGk2ZULKKX
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwe6QXzX1F
The door swings open.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGIG4TRxj1
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKu1maWPxs
"Hello."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4ZHqxodCC
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYduTZO2Jy
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4O8KQJ1I0
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNY8EqE8t5
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFamySRmOOr
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCvLCjqtSW
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoF2o1gVdlF
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLelaLU8Zp
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXY2BcLfABM
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9y9kwApg4R
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3frPSs7I1
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLWUUD17id
Huh. Funny dat.
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZM4W4qvTb
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8N55JMAFsc
4
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VaHdLOQhS
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?730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoZG8JRRdc
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvdjZA4j5L
"Hey, Nick."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeetzg5hyv
"Hey, Mike."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiRv5YQUkS
"What's good?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCfOvJdZPq
"Not much," he says with a sigh.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTk54onHdX
"How come?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5PcjbseiM
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUv3MAqgBV7
"Where?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsFh5F4IWP
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQix4vNex7
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkuOgBos4x
"Who's he?" I ask.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PxlirVnJt
"Stanley," Wannabe says.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTc0jNaWf4g
"Oh."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUf5fwpzmk
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YdlDWz0Ks
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbkQqXtgll
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmZBWBmxII
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldoB7tFgVZ
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6PS0ljMpx
"Mike."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIihE1st1F
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RhqbJTt7U
I keep my yap shut.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdC5Gok1xM
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdBizhJDtb
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1D08YTvX93
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxz27GXp3U
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWtEzNWWes
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeeVk0rlDZ
"Like what? LSD?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTdY6CP1Xw
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMnn1hvvgo
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMGateYzPR
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedl9HqOmVU
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!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nZRbUfns2
Everything changes then.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCunyw6rnC8
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJUVB4wMvk
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVIWjAeduP
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBhkP8MR4s
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbjxcno3M9
No one listens. They laugh.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldKPvATajc
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!730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq6gXFzUk8
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSZ9s67Asv
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDL5zfkYeZ
A pull.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrn3w0Vd4ty
Rip.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhdxjNFVcK
RIP.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHZU8jSL86
I'm dead.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iYdS6wzZ8
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvdjZA4j5L
"Hey, Nick."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeetzg5hyv
"Hey, Mike."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiRv5YQUkS
"What's good?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCfOvJdZPq
"Not much," he says with a sigh.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTk54onHdX
"How come?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5PcjbseiM
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUv3MAqgBV7
"Where?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsFh5F4IWP
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQix4vNex7
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkuOgBos4x
"Who's he?" I ask.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PxlirVnJt
"Stanley," Wannabe says.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTc0jNaWf4g
"Oh."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUf5fwpzmk
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YdlDWz0Ks
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbkQqXtgll
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmZBWBmxII
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldoB7tFgVZ
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6PS0ljMpx
"Mike."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIihE1st1F
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RhqbJTt7U
I keep my yap shut.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdC5Gok1xM
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdBizhJDtb
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1D08YTvX93
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxz27GXp3U
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWtEzNWWes
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeeVk0rlDZ
"Like what? LSD?"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTdY6CP1Xw
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMnn1hvvgo
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMGateYzPR
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedl9HqOmVU
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!"730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nZRbUfns2
Everything changes then.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCunyw6rnC8
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJUVB4wMvk
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVIWjAeduP
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBhkP8MR4s
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbjxcno3M9
No one listens. They laugh.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldKPvATajc
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!730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq6gXFzUk8
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSZ9s67Asv
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.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDL5zfkYeZ
A pull.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrn3w0Vd4ty
Rip.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhdxjNFVcK
RIP.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHZU8jSL86
I'm dead.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iYdS6wzZ8
In bed.
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5Uxh0TxTX
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qBoawMIYW
?
730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMWn9zyxdz
THE Rain Has Fallen.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQQAQR8U5K
No. That's not it.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycjyL5Nb2d
They Came After The Rain.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lXMLt7uKa
There it is.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKHCXFSJUp
That's the one.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsFEFvGXba
The end.
ns3.23.102.52da2 No. That's not it.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycjyL5Nb2d
They Came After The Rain.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lXMLt7uKa
There it is.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKHCXFSJUp
That's the one.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsFEFvGXba
The end.
