686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUFKe9ti0Y
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686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCFCLfgsSL
DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
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686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6IdMk0wTE
1686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡseactm6rZt
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBLdv9CpXM
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBLdv9CpXM
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErJpb2SDrQ
I'M in the living room, sitting on the couch with my father, watching Corner Gas reruns on the TV. So far, so normal. 686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1crXSKyxR
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsF0SAfTak
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1bCb2WlBi
"Yeah."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxo2AbKPiYN
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSuS5aJ3HU
"Something you want to talk about?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSTzA8S2Eo
"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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuciXcGr0l
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtn23zSgLT4
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JBk0kwdIE
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSShUFdV6h
I consider the offer. 686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiGgy2zOVT
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGo76J0jLJ8
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaf4iTwWho1
"Good. Go to sleep."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVTO8Zix4H
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPb0OEwIp9j
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL4zu6iQBa
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhTTb332rqDad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsF0SAfTak
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1bCb2WlBi
"Yeah."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxo2AbKPiYN
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSuS5aJ3HU
"Something you want to talk about?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSTzA8S2Eo
"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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuciXcGr0l
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtn23zSgLT4
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JBk0kwdIE
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSShUFdV6h
I consider the offer. 686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiGgy2zOVT
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGo76J0jLJ8
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaf4iTwWho1
"Good. Go to sleep."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVTO8Zix4H
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPb0OEwIp9j
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL4zu6iQBa
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
2686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHE07ky34T
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVlNVvHz5u
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVlNVvHz5u
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbdYWghDIp
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcI4rYs7iuw
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtoyuF9B8d
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFgRvQCZ6x
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUXRGByCft
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9SD5AEK6n
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjOr9vFjR9
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyaE5JvFkM
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Y4ryjCfaC
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZ3zzmNHF1
"Drugs," he says cryptically.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRhkbk7Alj
"Hmm?" I ask.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6irQ38o6I
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gUgFSIbwo
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFitP5Ss5i
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?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhfROD9eLz
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzp7lI1YCm
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMUf6LySlp
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0KRlZ4QSI
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHx7CXJhPS
"So, how long are you?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFR5DdMpavl
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9QTXhumXF
"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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJURNfqMasO
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcI4rYs7iuw
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtoyuF9B8d
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFgRvQCZ6x
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUXRGByCft
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9SD5AEK6n
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjOr9vFjR9
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyaE5JvFkM
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Y4ryjCfaC
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZ3zzmNHF1
"Drugs," he says cryptically.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRhkbk7Alj
"Hmm?" I ask.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6irQ38o6I
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gUgFSIbwo
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFitP5Ss5i
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?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhfROD9eLz
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzp7lI1YCm
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMUf6LySlp
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0KRlZ4QSI
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHx7CXJhPS
"So, how long are you?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFR5DdMpavl
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9QTXhumXF
"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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJURNfqMasO
Bitch.
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSH7BHld9a
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr49qt3bW8H
3686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFIqt2Q3a3
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUY1fb1QTDs
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUY1fb1QTDs
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnUlGYztXZ
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpqDlUepA6
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4o8jJAsw4
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VUInIu8l5
Some nerve.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivtCfXxDo4
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAMiRADYhj
Never mind.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8rYNRxSRV
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirDAzAc8Kp
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbamTAEXCu
The door swings open.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKD2SoV9Tfh
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PM4zottN4
"Hello."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RrBd5ujtt
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaFQxwABH9
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Mk0lqN4Oj
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedi4SoSUxO
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4CgkQpA2U
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjvvsBVdct
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiDu0VcyIK
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbtP2ZtfJy
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzd1o7uCTa
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADxzQktgAZ
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1PWd3hBV4
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8CuaG5o02
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpqDlUepA6
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4o8jJAsw4
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VUInIu8l5
Some nerve.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivtCfXxDo4
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAMiRADYhj
Never mind.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8rYNRxSRV
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirDAzAc8Kp
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbamTAEXCu
The door swings open.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKD2SoV9Tfh
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PM4zottN4
"Hello."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RrBd5ujtt
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaFQxwABH9
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Mk0lqN4Oj
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedi4SoSUxO
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4CgkQpA2U
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjvvsBVdct
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiDu0VcyIK
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbtP2ZtfJy
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzd1o7uCTa
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADxzQktgAZ
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1PWd3hBV4
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8CuaG5o02
Huh. Funny dat.
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCynDITr6UN
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KsqhtMhjJ
4
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxrZWTVbe0
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?686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOqFxcXdUG
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6DRELzCel
"Hey, Nick."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelOO7XtslX
"Hey, Mike."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCREB2UgXPt
"What's good?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UxE1KBmjo
"Not much," he says with a sigh.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhVZYPQDAf
"How come?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtm6sHAfg6o
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQEBxBvHtg
"Where?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNH5BkCw7df
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJNN7uLtq2
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRVRePPA11
"Who's he?" I ask.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TWPPeL9wt
"Stanley," Wannabe says.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKYE8XkomZ
"Oh."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdaLrVTzgdB
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLf7y7nm6P
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pweQNT1c7
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AqBEgozIH
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9CXghP1fr
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGurfWxrJx
"Mike."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcTzqbKP1B
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdchWUtK5fu
I keep my yap shut.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLG4wlmXxY
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8bk6qzbLC
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ997et8Oh42
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6J7I9hxkR7
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vCmxkqcfZ
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonaZWjlImN
"Like what? LSD?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUy9gfsERI
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccp3hILrp3
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagHqMSDTEq
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaAJk2BrQV
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!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKbUhF37x6
Everything changes then.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3BJV3OzHP
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVijfnqgiCa
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4DSW6aJjmU
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsMfNTUkim
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHXoO6fkOy
No one listens. They laugh.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWEKI6Hhyy
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!686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcULXi9RzGE
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUwageRqRf
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMcuUm1JFW
A pull.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIi0FOyTgbM
Rip.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzkFNzDYwJ
RIP.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurHtpOfimz
I'm dead.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidAXLtrbIc
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6DRELzCel
"Hey, Nick."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelOO7XtslX
"Hey, Mike."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCREB2UgXPt
"What's good?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UxE1KBmjo
"Not much," he says with a sigh.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhVZYPQDAf
"How come?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtm6sHAfg6o
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQEBxBvHtg
"Where?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNH5BkCw7df
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJNN7uLtq2
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRVRePPA11
"Who's he?" I ask.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TWPPeL9wt
"Stanley," Wannabe says.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKYE8XkomZ
"Oh."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdaLrVTzgdB
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLf7y7nm6P
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pweQNT1c7
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AqBEgozIH
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9CXghP1fr
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGurfWxrJx
"Mike."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcTzqbKP1B
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdchWUtK5fu
I keep my yap shut.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLG4wlmXxY
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8bk6qzbLC
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ997et8Oh42
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6J7I9hxkR7
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vCmxkqcfZ
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonaZWjlImN
"Like what? LSD?"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUy9gfsERI
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccp3hILrp3
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagHqMSDTEq
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaAJk2BrQV
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!"686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKbUhF37x6
Everything changes then.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3BJV3OzHP
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVijfnqgiCa
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4DSW6aJjmU
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsMfNTUkim
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHXoO6fkOy
No one listens. They laugh.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWEKI6Hhyy
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!686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcULXi9RzGE
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUwageRqRf
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.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMcuUm1JFW
A pull.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIi0FOyTgbM
Rip.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzkFNzDYwJ
RIP.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurHtpOfimz
I'm dead.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidAXLtrbIc
In bed.
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRQRL3VuFQ
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy31iwvUXz3
?
686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDN7ywcmA1d
THE Rain Has Fallen.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYadI54tfu
No. That's not it.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65HmGAKdD8
They Came After The Rain.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRp6X8TiDt
There it is.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xwFWXukX3
That's the one.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeFpfwUY4n
The end.
ns 15.158.61.19da2 No. That's not it.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65HmGAKdD8
They Came After The Rain.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRp6X8TiDt
There it is.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xwFWXukX3
That's the one.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeFpfwUY4n
The end.
