719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRDtD9vIHJ
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719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3SOnM8wMh
DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
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719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaozkm9AUR
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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. 719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9gV9drclT
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoLerj6jiU
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rj8Y7QCtd
"Yeah."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0q0sDQrX7
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPhhKwI4Vx
"Something you want to talk about?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwygtsgIIuu
"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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4adPimiqW
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmNircE9UE
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CkqZ1nLSm
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWv4bSdmkUp
I consider the offer. 719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlidOJsZWJe
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDi81QzkCy
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPmbzExzfx
"Good. Go to sleep."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32Rbta1XLf
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeSEzoEwVV
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuCv5D0q68
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9ge3p9zn5Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoLerj6jiU
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rj8Y7QCtd
"Yeah."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0q0sDQrX7
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPhhKwI4Vx
"Something you want to talk about?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwygtsgIIuu
"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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4adPimiqW
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmNircE9UE
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CkqZ1nLSm
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWv4bSdmkUp
I consider the offer. 719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlidOJsZWJe
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDi81QzkCy
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPmbzExzfx
"Good. Go to sleep."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32Rbta1XLf
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeSEzoEwVV
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuCv5D0q68
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
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719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIlGNg5ivk
719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIlGNg5ivk
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKf39j7Neq
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNXYq6y1hP
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfH0NWQvAW1
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3tYRNCixZ
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9rFaPsb3e
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fDaIzfDAC
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObTxUayLVN
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBTjslWrcg
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtMJ4eodKc
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3NE9DCEyK
"Drugs," he says cryptically.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfqAPhoyfR
"Hmm?" I ask.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWlAk9JeuB
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcq97gwjJJ
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvd68EeW0t
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?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLrwJvAC0a
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPOQ3QTTAu
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR79iDzWDXx
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoDmv7rAzK
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhrJluhWUs
"So, how long are you?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPO9IOucoT
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6j4YTj3FD
"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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjqVrSEKhz
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNXYq6y1hP
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfH0NWQvAW1
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3tYRNCixZ
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9rFaPsb3e
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fDaIzfDAC
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObTxUayLVN
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBTjslWrcg
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtMJ4eodKc
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3NE9DCEyK
"Drugs," he says cryptically.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfqAPhoyfR
"Hmm?" I ask.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWlAk9JeuB
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcq97gwjJJ
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvd68EeW0t
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?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLrwJvAC0a
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPOQ3QTTAu
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR79iDzWDXx
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoDmv7rAzK
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhrJluhWUs
"So, how long are you?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPO9IOucoT
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6j4YTj3FD
"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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjqVrSEKhz
Bitch.
719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42g1Y9KM4f
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719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdZ1WoewTB
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3OV8bLp2k
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHhTC2Hoi9
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52Dew0OgHE
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8wWZfzePe
Some nerve.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT93axivDGc
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASqGGv33kd
Never mind.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWLOo1zp9a
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvMbHBhtr5
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQ3XONjpK2
The door swings open.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EM2EnLNv6
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjQf0P7ml5
"Hello."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8C2acqJR9
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoFwyg1fJg
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0y9vpUEaYD
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6gmgAwwTu
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hy5y7LMNp
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENz2AiPFiG
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqArsiEaY5N
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyi9fqzkl3
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoemwkKwi4y
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2gEOzuKRJ
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEoNwmEN7J
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVHbcWp3Xz
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHhTC2Hoi9
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52Dew0OgHE
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8wWZfzePe
Some nerve.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT93axivDGc
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASqGGv33kd
Never mind.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWLOo1zp9a
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvMbHBhtr5
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQ3XONjpK2
The door swings open.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EM2EnLNv6
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjQf0P7ml5
"Hello."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8C2acqJR9
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoFwyg1fJg
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0y9vpUEaYD
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6gmgAwwTu
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hy5y7LMNp
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENz2AiPFiG
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqArsiEaY5N
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyi9fqzkl3
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoemwkKwi4y
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2gEOzuKRJ
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEoNwmEN7J
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVHbcWp3Xz
Huh. Funny dat.
719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmk4LdAYNFe
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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?719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rjlTGfIP7
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxJUUgckcx
"Hey, Nick."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyp7OU1Ncl
"Hey, Mike."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kUXDprJBX
"What's good?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2AVKqCH4X
"Not much," he says with a sigh.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHeprsyDRQ
"How come?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTrJJT00uV
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZ3MWeJefc
"Where?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuZ6hSO5oK
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSsNRFdrNcE
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajqteOJ72I
"Who's he?" I ask.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjyrLBPuYx
"Stanley," Wannabe says.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyB9JFS8x5
"Oh."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2ouepXQD1
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgxJ7PqXAo
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7btd3BCj9E
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPVLvzyxzK
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9O3DGvloW
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZ7JM24MhX
"Mike."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlAkpEfu6S
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡud8ThJF06I
I keep my yap shut.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVtFFsQvT0
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuY1xD1TLl
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfSrse87V6
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs12ecwVHeC
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnSFxuxxRF
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQu8pq2i6HE
"Like what? LSD?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYlRMmRjMD
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJXf08cMOF
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYDPA1Mi6O
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQS2yVCrAfP
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!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmem9ANg8a
Everything changes then.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspktcinL96
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgN9omK5Rsn
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIN3BSzI2K
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUiHUtSZe4
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyfDqfSK9U
No one listens. They laugh.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnYpv7Mwl3
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!719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuO9WLbd1E
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlnNKehngT
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERcm1dkr4x
A pull.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWiMUcsr2B
Rip.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBYN0w4XRz
RIP.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNZagQfU61
I'm dead.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPq8e0Of0Fv
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxJUUgckcx
"Hey, Nick."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyp7OU1Ncl
"Hey, Mike."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kUXDprJBX
"What's good?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2AVKqCH4X
"Not much," he says with a sigh.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHeprsyDRQ
"How come?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTrJJT00uV
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZ3MWeJefc
"Where?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuZ6hSO5oK
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSsNRFdrNcE
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajqteOJ72I
"Who's he?" I ask.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjyrLBPuYx
"Stanley," Wannabe says.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyB9JFS8x5
"Oh."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2ouepXQD1
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgxJ7PqXAo
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7btd3BCj9E
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPVLvzyxzK
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9O3DGvloW
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZ7JM24MhX
"Mike."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlAkpEfu6S
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡud8ThJF06I
I keep my yap shut.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVtFFsQvT0
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuY1xD1TLl
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfSrse87V6
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs12ecwVHeC
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnSFxuxxRF
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQu8pq2i6HE
"Like what? LSD?"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYlRMmRjMD
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJXf08cMOF
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYDPA1Mi6O
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQS2yVCrAfP
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!"719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmem9ANg8a
Everything changes then.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspktcinL96
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgN9omK5Rsn
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIN3BSzI2K
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUiHUtSZe4
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyfDqfSK9U
No one listens. They laugh.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnYpv7Mwl3
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!719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuO9WLbd1E
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlnNKehngT
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.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERcm1dkr4x
A pull.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWiMUcsr2B
Rip.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBYN0w4XRz
RIP.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNZagQfU61
I'm dead.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPq8e0Of0Fv
In bed.
719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRKZtwZGBV
719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6x8BKWpmSn
?
719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3a6Q3kfF3I
THE Rain Has Fallen.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM18hQiEPRT
No. That's not it.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZE2NUrAU7M
They Came After The Rain.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZ8f7Aq4aj
There it is.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKVbQAHKgv
That's the one.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9ERdksL0x
The end.
ns3.145.20.233da2 No. That's not it.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZE2NUrAU7M
They Came After The Rain.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZ8f7Aq4aj
There it is.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKVbQAHKgv
That's the one.719Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9ERdksL0x
The end.
