708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdF0zNOt0Q
-
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDk1YipQF7
DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WJNWxnv4C
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBsioa5sSv
1708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HLLyN0IFr
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgfLvbOj83
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgfLvbOj83
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNOXFvwCdP
I'M in the living room, sitting on the couch with my father, watching Corner Gas reruns on the TV. So far, so normal. 708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqY3tBj7p8D
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPhb22yAuN
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05U2aT58u2
"Yeah."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qAASgSWvg
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsuvCxvxK2W
"Something you want to talk about?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLitSBZKLX
"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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jZcklBw2a
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfvcclAdnR
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAenDeTxJ0
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA086QDxik
I consider the offer. 708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjD3Hc2SEx
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cljW413Xy
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRDvkmSV6C
"Good. Go to sleep."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByNjogWn8q
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsRS1EobCe
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKNzh3WxIT
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9d9B4TYyWkDad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPhb22yAuN
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05U2aT58u2
"Yeah."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qAASgSWvg
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsuvCxvxK2W
"Something you want to talk about?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLitSBZKLX
"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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jZcklBw2a
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfvcclAdnR
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAenDeTxJ0
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA086QDxik
I consider the offer. 708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjD3Hc2SEx
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cljW413Xy
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRDvkmSV6C
"Good. Go to sleep."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByNjogWn8q
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsRS1EobCe
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKNzh3WxIT
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
2708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKfJ57C6qj
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnI3QPF0t3
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnI3QPF0t3
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TcIUOYKLD
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzx5ZYJiin
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5LZYP8ibv
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdMR2RcGa2
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBBUzWHVcn
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIK2YdLtbiu
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPxBojmJ7F
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21oVtDBgHV
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHey8NlQrC
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq72jnfRaME
"Drugs," he says cryptically.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fChMZR4AW
"Hmm?" I ask.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofiZPuHCh2
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODCv8pIA1q
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAQKVS6w5W
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?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17n2JQGOgb
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvht1Usy5T
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMV1iOpV5j
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjlamDTYWs
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJkPejZ30e
"So, how long are you?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJY9gOo6YU
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TJEFMumzx
"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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzW495SpdFz
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzx5ZYJiin
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5LZYP8ibv
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdMR2RcGa2
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBBUzWHVcn
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIK2YdLtbiu
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPxBojmJ7F
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21oVtDBgHV
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHey8NlQrC
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq72jnfRaME
"Drugs," he says cryptically.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fChMZR4AW
"Hmm?" I ask.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofiZPuHCh2
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODCv8pIA1q
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAQKVS6w5W
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?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17n2JQGOgb
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvht1Usy5T
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMV1iOpV5j
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjlamDTYWs
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJkPejZ30e
"So, how long are you?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJY9gOo6YU
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TJEFMumzx
"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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzW495SpdFz
Bitch.
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrip5cBLUW
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ft2hKYZUr
3708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNv2ObmcTf
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGveHchJ3b4
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGveHchJ3b4
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zTShzcLbi
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5yRtXtUC6
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4i5dHuA2u0
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqpylM8BhA
Some nerve.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUG68uOvbD
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ea8dwtkcE
Never mind.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tQoYO6kFI
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtMk7JFDHn
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU28KpoWZa8
The door swings open.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkRuh16DXu
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvdY1jq50M
"Hello."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrmmqDqsiH
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjY2TC3FAo9
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaelLh8L7Dz
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigkfeuNBmP
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5rG2ol2eI
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvjDHWx0oy
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTMSkBXXKJ
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpRhNqvIBO
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdsKY8P1AE
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6MpXnnFIQ
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnaA19IXsg
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhExE7T6c0
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5yRtXtUC6
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4i5dHuA2u0
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqpylM8BhA
Some nerve.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUG68uOvbD
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ea8dwtkcE
Never mind.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tQoYO6kFI
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtMk7JFDHn
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU28KpoWZa8
The door swings open.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkRuh16DXu
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvdY1jq50M
"Hello."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrmmqDqsiH
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjY2TC3FAo9
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaelLh8L7Dz
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigkfeuNBmP
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5rG2ol2eI
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvjDHWx0oy
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTMSkBXXKJ
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpRhNqvIBO
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdsKY8P1AE
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6MpXnnFIQ
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnaA19IXsg
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhExE7T6c0
Huh. Funny dat.
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPg134iV1My
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCM5OS6VmbO
4
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7WNUExkNp
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?708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbVVx0eJyX
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcq0teVwqb
"Hey, Nick."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwy6yRzTnW
"Hey, Mike."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocC8MetJy6
"What's good?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtribcQK1Y
"Not much," he says with a sigh.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Qkn671tB4
"How come?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8ocj2RWty
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqZ1Iulaf9
"Where?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlIzZyHQT6
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qGg0EeKHI
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxeBnrnKnI
"Who's he?" I ask.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSx8u5j5d4w
"Stanley," Wannabe says.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZVxHPhkvv
"Oh."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ufomr3N0q
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04qaSYJpR4
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUjCvZOAhT
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNh9x9yLiVj
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnox2SaMBBK
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLq5gI9MvA
"Mike."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3aqmZtNuY
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTgQ2gNXzo
I keep my yap shut.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSe4l8xWrvL
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvS2VC3dneL
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1983hFHmm
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PxZT80X64
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwjEAVNN2E
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KKiUZYRdo
"Like what? LSD?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufos6NGw0Z
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLL34UEf9r
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6NHzuturj
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPuG8BEVzM
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!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADdyOxUGoy
Everything changes then.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlvgMxCeHE
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JN8cAH4rs
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7b8aFLJGi
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyDr4Ch08b
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgYAWPvwj1
No one listens. They laugh.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCnuZ8veaG
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!708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ724bW31X0y
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYOkAg6FsO
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NkBsUJPD6
A pull.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKCgNSQRWw
Rip.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1TLF0OjSE
RIP.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Td8GCPbw3
I'm dead.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mxnN3Szt9
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcq0teVwqb
"Hey, Nick."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwy6yRzTnW
"Hey, Mike."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocC8MetJy6
"What's good?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtribcQK1Y
"Not much," he says with a sigh.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Qkn671tB4
"How come?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8ocj2RWty
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqZ1Iulaf9
"Where?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlIzZyHQT6
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qGg0EeKHI
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxeBnrnKnI
"Who's he?" I ask.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSx8u5j5d4w
"Stanley," Wannabe says.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZVxHPhkvv
"Oh."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ufomr3N0q
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04qaSYJpR4
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUjCvZOAhT
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNh9x9yLiVj
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnox2SaMBBK
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLq5gI9MvA
"Mike."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3aqmZtNuY
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTgQ2gNXzo
I keep my yap shut.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSe4l8xWrvL
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvS2VC3dneL
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1983hFHmm
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PxZT80X64
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwjEAVNN2E
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KKiUZYRdo
"Like what? LSD?"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufos6NGw0Z
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLL34UEf9r
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6NHzuturj
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPuG8BEVzM
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!"708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADdyOxUGoy
Everything changes then.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlvgMxCeHE
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JN8cAH4rs
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7b8aFLJGi
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyDr4Ch08b
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgYAWPvwj1
No one listens. They laugh.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCnuZ8veaG
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!708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ724bW31X0y
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYOkAg6FsO
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.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NkBsUJPD6
A pull.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKCgNSQRWw
Rip.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1TLF0OjSE
RIP.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Td8GCPbw3
I'm dead.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mxnN3Szt9
In bed.
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87CojpEyRE
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODD93IREWX
?
708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhGmqyOH5d
THE Rain Has Fallen.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OL4NghrY4
No. That's not it.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UlIwtbpWK
They Came After The Rain.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZjQbL7jFf
There it is.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpBIaz5dDi
That's the one.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUxRINUa0m
The end.
ns18.118.138.80da2 No. That's not it.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UlIwtbpWK
They Came After The Rain.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZjQbL7jFf
There it is.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpBIaz5dDi
That's the one.708Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUxRINUa0m
The end.
