714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUO5YV4abod
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714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOg0DFicoBq
DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJT5Q0cx2l
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmje2POoxZ
1714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfqvlp2Z2M
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZHRoYlJuD
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZHRoYlJuD
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlJzUeHm4r
I'M in the living room, sitting on the couch with my father, watching Corner Gas reruns on the TV. So far, so normal. 714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXfX5qtCzL
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgH7mUx46gM
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBs6eTTwZU
"Yeah."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8VDfPo8sG
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vILWRhh0l
"Something you want to talk about?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtESjPhct3R
"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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6DcteOOcR
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQul8NgEee
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzj1IpwwiA6
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJw7ZbB7d1t
I consider the offer. 714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTr6gTYwrq
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvdZPL7DoT
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX96xrrbGYq
"Good. Go to sleep."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDteoJ3naY
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg40LwGkilJ
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JC06c6icj
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaSw8Q6LzaDad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgH7mUx46gM
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBs6eTTwZU
"Yeah."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8VDfPo8sG
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vILWRhh0l
"Something you want to talk about?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtESjPhct3R
"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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6DcteOOcR
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQul8NgEee
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzj1IpwwiA6
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJw7ZbB7d1t
I consider the offer. 714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTr6gTYwrq
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvdZPL7DoT
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX96xrrbGYq
"Good. Go to sleep."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDteoJ3naY
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg40LwGkilJ
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JC06c6icj
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
2714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qyenWH3Vy
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEOnfPhOnD
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEOnfPhOnD
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOnmMQazqM
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXBwB19wPk
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTTeJTFukD
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrFrptngsp
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwTYnKlkOh
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4lDbZ910U
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYyYptLLYg
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRPfpEElFJ
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7C9xpHhlmL
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLtFvDuIzd
"Drugs," he says cryptically.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqFd1CcZ55
"Hmm?" I ask.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydBfE8GuY7
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALQRQeB5um
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQkfBYaCMl
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?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQD1tCAhbdz
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Y6b0v6onY
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocttfbndvC
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHJm1oJjnE
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvKl1p4ip8
"So, how long are you?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNt1vDzSZ7
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXncwxTWQF
"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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCKOd49wSR
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXBwB19wPk
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTTeJTFukD
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrFrptngsp
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwTYnKlkOh
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4lDbZ910U
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYyYptLLYg
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRPfpEElFJ
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7C9xpHhlmL
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLtFvDuIzd
"Drugs," he says cryptically.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqFd1CcZ55
"Hmm?" I ask.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydBfE8GuY7
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALQRQeB5um
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQkfBYaCMl
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?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQD1tCAhbdz
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Y6b0v6onY
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocttfbndvC
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHJm1oJjnE
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvKl1p4ip8
"So, how long are you?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNt1vDzSZ7
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXncwxTWQF
"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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCKOd49wSR
Bitch.
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXk3VHKgxcC
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe58mDAROoy
3714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzh7Zb3gDdo
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovJUPi6EsG
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovJUPi6EsG
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMAHqiFUvQ
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUocCp43xP
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMH3uSH6EbP
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHtFCV6hEd
Some nerve.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNeO9kBUTb
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhs1VthNuXi
Never mind.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBA0qA3Pn3T
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriwdr2fyYS
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvEGD8uNNQ
The door swings open.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJlNMNLn6c
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlALOPVMMep
"Hello."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCDouEBInZ
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1U3g9hXoP9
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2oOIpJAGD
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfJSwBREBn
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLusO0MlRz
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMTdhQ6gcx
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zSraQzBlM
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihK9H5o25v
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLysa8tvPDe
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKBbHe3EqT
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKtm0m6HFL
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwFuyCHY9x
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUocCp43xP
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMH3uSH6EbP
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHtFCV6hEd
Some nerve.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNeO9kBUTb
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhs1VthNuXi
Never mind.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBA0qA3Pn3T
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriwdr2fyYS
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvEGD8uNNQ
The door swings open.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJlNMNLn6c
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlALOPVMMep
"Hello."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCDouEBInZ
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1U3g9hXoP9
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2oOIpJAGD
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfJSwBREBn
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLusO0MlRz
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMTdhQ6gcx
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zSraQzBlM
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihK9H5o25v
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLysa8tvPDe
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKBbHe3EqT
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKtm0m6HFL
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwFuyCHY9x
Huh. Funny dat.
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4t8YqTnOh
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwS5vCQyGol
4
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRWn2t2OT2
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?714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8YFnKA3II
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2AECiBMF8
"Hey, Nick."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsLIsL5jLS
"Hey, Mike."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qnzESL5m6
"What's good?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSx0lEK12kE
"Not much," he says with a sigh.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVP2qQwCR6m
"How come?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqZkCYw7ad
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVChoCRRNMB
"Where?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiB9JV7102
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZLjXp1QxB
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQ04axM1ff
"Who's he?" I ask.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OzT5GkEbJ
"Stanley," Wannabe says.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvejGBo60eV
"Oh."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOpUsyP0Qn
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47Geic4LmB
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYy7DISJDL1
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNtnHI7eGL
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcLFMNWtAf
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQ5J9By4lf
"Mike."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1dBHHbQQS
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUKwgbknfp
I keep my yap shut.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHdUSUffW7
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hrnCE6Y6h
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cqczfE63D
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEFrM7kwVw
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwbCPejcyy
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPD4s4Jf8k
"Like what? LSD?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhG0gzNlOV
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt67UCP4pXN
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHi1VbFPxB
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfLpFkEBuR
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!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXKhVqshMV
Everything changes then.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01NUPqJnP0
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rWOxXtUyg
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLRn0Q2hMs
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAhtGnJ9LJ
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGtKBa42tn
No one listens. They laugh.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnI2sXqaYq
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!714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Qjk9Y30wv
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRRJKv6lmO
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lNyfH4ztk
A pull.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UrJkeCYdi
Rip.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjC33WLp00
RIP.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDBiEyfKrk
I'm dead.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXVgAc02et
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2AECiBMF8
"Hey, Nick."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsLIsL5jLS
"Hey, Mike."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qnzESL5m6
"What's good?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSx0lEK12kE
"Not much," he says with a sigh.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVP2qQwCR6m
"How come?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqZkCYw7ad
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVChoCRRNMB
"Where?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiB9JV7102
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZLjXp1QxB
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQ04axM1ff
"Who's he?" I ask.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OzT5GkEbJ
"Stanley," Wannabe says.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvejGBo60eV
"Oh."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOpUsyP0Qn
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47Geic4LmB
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYy7DISJDL1
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNtnHI7eGL
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcLFMNWtAf
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQ5J9By4lf
"Mike."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1dBHHbQQS
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUKwgbknfp
I keep my yap shut.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHdUSUffW7
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hrnCE6Y6h
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cqczfE63D
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEFrM7kwVw
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwbCPejcyy
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPD4s4Jf8k
"Like what? LSD?"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhG0gzNlOV
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt67UCP4pXN
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHi1VbFPxB
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfLpFkEBuR
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!"714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXKhVqshMV
Everything changes then.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01NUPqJnP0
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rWOxXtUyg
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLRn0Q2hMs
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAhtGnJ9LJ
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGtKBa42tn
No one listens. They laugh.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnI2sXqaYq
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!714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Qjk9Y30wv
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRRJKv6lmO
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.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lNyfH4ztk
A pull.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UrJkeCYdi
Rip.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjC33WLp00
RIP.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDBiEyfKrk
I'm dead.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXVgAc02et
In bed.
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzH7GSMPhy
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmcksk1MOC
?
714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0D2TfZckV
THE Rain Has Fallen.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvf0HOkehZS
No. That's not it.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PFWOzxGmt
They Came After The Rain.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi96s2YHPzQ
There it is.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5zZm6H4ix
That's the one.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYynrA4rLDU
The end.
ns3.144.220.79da2 No. That's not it.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PFWOzxGmt
They Came After The Rain.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi96s2YHPzQ
There it is.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5zZm6H4ix
That's the one.714Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYynrA4rLDU
The end.
