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DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
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I'M in the living room, sitting on the couch with my father, watching Corner Gas reruns on the TV. So far, so normal. 808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGmICqa0PT
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrW2PwMzrZu
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuR0sbyV0m0
"Yeah."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUPUxOd28Q
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbY7Ktd7mV0
"Something you want to talk about?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEPWFvwBTD
"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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPh1avLTIk
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqiOXtai4R
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAH23jBpLD9
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiC9KvUrof
I consider the offer. 808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJH3DMM22UV
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPL41BJRJ7t
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhDPTpya2A
"Good. Go to sleep."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5CFjyGScD
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5ezn4UBNk
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVLBsvAi7M
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfJ3Ln8E9EDad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrW2PwMzrZu
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuR0sbyV0m0
"Yeah."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUPUxOd28Q
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbY7Ktd7mV0
"Something you want to talk about?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEPWFvwBTD
"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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPh1avLTIk
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqiOXtai4R
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAH23jBpLD9
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiC9KvUrof
I consider the offer. 808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJH3DMM22UV
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPL41BJRJ7t
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhDPTpya2A
"Good. Go to sleep."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5CFjyGScD
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5ezn4UBNk
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVLBsvAi7M
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
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808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LB9BNsJw8
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PqlXvSHK5
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnjyGRTZuL
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7g2lszU4hp
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFR1JMZ8ugY
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL18RbuIVjB
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyjEzmZONV
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0R4vqYzlLP
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8hUdTcyvP
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuizlU6Fus
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd19rf2eBQA
"Drugs," he says cryptically.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqD8vx2a09
"Hmm?" I ask.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUMGUj9X8d
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡop8wwNuoMO
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuhbqr3V6U
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?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHP6t35EYcj
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCr8ramYGJC
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsw7xgvpbFX
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSaRBr81TI
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2PZVsK0qG
"So, how long are you?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zVNCLkSh9
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCac833URrS
"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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTGFyypr77
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnjyGRTZuL
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7g2lszU4hp
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFR1JMZ8ugY
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL18RbuIVjB
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyjEzmZONV
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0R4vqYzlLP
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8hUdTcyvP
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuizlU6Fus
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd19rf2eBQA
"Drugs," he says cryptically.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqD8vx2a09
"Hmm?" I ask.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUMGUj9X8d
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡop8wwNuoMO
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuhbqr3V6U
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?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHP6t35EYcj
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCr8ramYGJC
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsw7xgvpbFX
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSaRBr81TI
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2PZVsK0qG
"So, how long are you?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zVNCLkSh9
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCac833URrS
"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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTGFyypr77
Bitch.
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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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyVzcSROr6
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZY7H5DCLl
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1e8bH76s9p
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7fmHsD5eD
Some nerve.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJEE3OA9QI
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKMVxmsdyf
Never mind.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVpj1k6Ktn
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXKXCT3V7X
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxikxrSfrCZ
The door swings open.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsBQKawOrj
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJ945Mgthm
"Hello."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGBfnki640
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV460g4lk4V
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHh8L7xOWx8
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7vVTJH50V
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqze6aH1xi
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbBdfdUU43
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCubTDHPYk
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuep4H5GvBk
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUCTD6YLaf
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpPPS9AE8F
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2ZV2ODXMO
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemItS8UMsU
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZY7H5DCLl
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1e8bH76s9p
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7fmHsD5eD
Some nerve.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJEE3OA9QI
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKMVxmsdyf
Never mind.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVpj1k6Ktn
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXKXCT3V7X
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxikxrSfrCZ
The door swings open.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsBQKawOrj
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJ945Mgthm
"Hello."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGBfnki640
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV460g4lk4V
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHh8L7xOWx8
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7vVTJH50V
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqze6aH1xi
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbBdfdUU43
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCubTDHPYk
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuep4H5GvBk
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUCTD6YLaf
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpPPS9AE8F
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2ZV2ODXMO
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemItS8UMsU
Huh. Funny dat.
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4
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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?808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60XMpI8GDt
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcixnmVS7zz
"Hey, Nick."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsttUQYDpw
"Hey, Mike."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckJ9erlarZ
"What's good?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGDMkaHpHh
"Not much," he says with a sigh.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUFNuGROCW
"How come?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0fLtE3JI2
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJiPyLyMJxv
"Where?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNM4EXQxIa
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfoOq3s6fG
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1unpT6vCDc
"Who's he?" I ask.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Rwgl86Cvf
"Stanley," Wannabe says.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgVZJCTxKy
"Oh."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8U1UwWbzp
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpsvuFSJ7S
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfai30l6eN
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcxdvdG4dO
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LLNvdweY1
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawtMezOBxe
"Mike."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6dhC5XNdc
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2p5jQ2KGi
I keep my yap shut.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllpR6eIWgT
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJAffc8f0N
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDk3jgQH6R
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz4HBQf5ym
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFbKOXKl6X
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4A0z2s5zM
"Like what? LSD?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gcxBBlKhB
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3zq3iHS0R
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA67HLE8SZb
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdNFlQ18lO
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!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhoI0ptNtc
Everything changes then.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sM6PqjoX9
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrdrZ0ug8u
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBP4eUHAtIJ
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfi7JWIqJS7
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqKpsK9BXo
No one listens. They laugh.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOtX8woGBW
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!808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrOS2LGYMe
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPXKc8RMdF
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0XS6IXoCe
A pull.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMc4H4g7kE0
Rip.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ60qS3KGBx
RIP.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnZc2Wg8ao
I'm dead.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KGv4mlas8
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcixnmVS7zz
"Hey, Nick."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsttUQYDpw
"Hey, Mike."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckJ9erlarZ
"What's good?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGDMkaHpHh
"Not much," he says with a sigh.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUFNuGROCW
"How come?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0fLtE3JI2
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJiPyLyMJxv
"Where?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNM4EXQxIa
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfoOq3s6fG
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1unpT6vCDc
"Who's he?" I ask.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Rwgl86Cvf
"Stanley," Wannabe says.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgVZJCTxKy
"Oh."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8U1UwWbzp
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpsvuFSJ7S
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfai30l6eN
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcxdvdG4dO
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LLNvdweY1
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawtMezOBxe
"Mike."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6dhC5XNdc
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2p5jQ2KGi
I keep my yap shut.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllpR6eIWgT
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJAffc8f0N
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDk3jgQH6R
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz4HBQf5ym
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFbKOXKl6X
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4A0z2s5zM
"Like what? LSD?"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gcxBBlKhB
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3zq3iHS0R
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA67HLE8SZb
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdNFlQ18lO
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!"808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhoI0ptNtc
Everything changes then.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sM6PqjoX9
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrdrZ0ug8u
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBP4eUHAtIJ
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfi7JWIqJS7
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqKpsK9BXo
No one listens. They laugh.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOtX8woGBW
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!808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrOS2LGYMe
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPXKc8RMdF
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0XS6IXoCe
A pull.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMc4H4g7kE0
Rip.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ60qS3KGBx
RIP.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnZc2Wg8ao
I'm dead.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KGv4mlas8
In bed.
808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKXZdkvuQX
808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94N1OYb2Bj
?
808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOorett7qt
THE Rain Has Fallen.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZucPx1FoD
No. That's not it.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5etNkUlNd2
They Came After The Rain.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xgBSmzdv8
There it is.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdEh9Bmn2q
That's the one.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8UwzQWOJv
The end.
ns216.73.216.254da2 No. That's not it.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5etNkUlNd2
They Came After The Rain.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xgBSmzdv8
There it is.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdEh9Bmn2q
That's the one.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8UwzQWOJv
The end.
