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[DRYH] School Daze (11)
Second period ends with the routine buzzer in the halls, bringing you out of your reverie. You weren't sleeping in class, since your eyes never closed. You were dazed off, though. Amanda is in this class with you, by the way. She looks like a wreck. Her blonde hair is a bit dry, her eyes are bloodshot with bags under them. She's barely applied makeup, and her acne is showing. She doesn't answer questions anymore, just sits there. Mumbles when Mr. Kiplund calls on her.
You grab your book and start to head out of class, right? When you hit the hall, with the mass of other kids filtering out of classes, you see Bud in the hall. Was he there before anyone else? For a moment, you might think he's here for Amanda. But no, his eyes are on you. He's standing across the hall, in a dark gray hoodie, his eyes also bloodshot, but much more focused. You can feel the anger just boiling off him. Like steam rising off his crewcut hair.
You've got to get up to second floor for English. What's your favorite part about that class? Who from the soccer team is in that class with you?
You grab your book and start to head out of class, right? When you hit the hall, with the mass of other kids filtering out of classes, you see Bud in the hall. Was he there before anyone else? For a moment, you might think he's here for Amanda. But no, his eyes are on you. He's standing across the hall, in a dark gray hoodie, his eyes also bloodshot, but much more focused. You can feel the anger just boiling off him. Like steam rising off his crewcut hair.
You've got to get up to second floor for English. What's your favorite part about that class? Who from the soccer team is in that class with you?
Comments
I'm looking forward to English, but the sight of Bud in the hall, his bloodshot stare, the anger boiling off him, gives me pause. I remember "feeding" him to Bianca, and now I know what's what, it's not quite the hilarity it was on the night. I wonder if I can do something to get him and Amanda back to normal. I mean, normally, fuck him, right? He's a bully and (apparently) a pervert, but... I can attack Mother When, sure, but a real kid? A punch in the face is one thing, but this is something else.
I meet his eyes, say "I'll try to help, Bud. It wasn't me, but... I'll try to help."
Discipline: (Rolled: 3d6. Rolls: 6, 4, 4. Total: 14)
Exhaustion: (Rolled: 2d6. Rolls: 2, 6. Total: 8)
Madness: (Rolled: 1d6. Rolls: 6. Total: 6)
Disgusted with the result of this confrontation, he turns his back on you and heads into the crowd.
Robert's already seated. He's chatting with Cindy, a Latina girl from LA that he's been cozying up to since she transferred a couple weeks ago. He sees you, gives you the "guy nod" as you settle into your seat.
Miss Angelton calls on you a couple times, asks you to read some stuff aloud. That goth girl Ally who sits in the back row, she stares at you when you read, sort of a slack-jawed stare. She's a little on the chubby side, but man, she has it for you bad, you think. She's always doodling in her journals, she brags about them being moleskins, talks about badass poetry to people who barely listen to her.
Class ends and you head to Study Hall, which you can blow off for double lunch, if you want. Do you do that often? Eileen has second lunch period, she always saves you a seat, or comes to sit with you.
Where do you sit and what do you do?
Then, "And why the fuck aren't you on the track team?"
Near the end of it, in an uncharacteristic move, she reaches across the table to touch the top of your hand, your left, which was gripping your cup as you described how Bianca had died and you finished off Mother When. "They... they weren't real, right? I mean, they aren't people, just imaginary, uhm, stuff." She pauses, mouth quirking, "Not trying to say you're crazy, just saying, you're more important... okay?"
Five minutes left for lunch on the clock.
"More important... sure. I'm not risking myself more than I have to." I don't move my hand.
Eileen stands up, grabbing her tray. "You going to soccer practice today? How did your dad take things?" She's headed to throw her waste in the trash receptacle, drop off her tray.
"So then, I'll pick up after practice?"
Leave her be?
Darius was sitting on one of the wide desks in the lab. The double-desks that you use for experiments and the like. He sees you come in, and comes over. He doesn't look angry, isn't rolling up on you or anything. "Hey man... did you like, talk to Jazz?"
You get some hell from coach for skipping practice. Did you give him an excuse or just apologize? He gives you some laps and a talking to, regardless. Robert asks about it, because he's curious. Maybe worried about you? What do you tell him during a lull in practice?
I'm actually looking forward to practice, for the same reason. Just do something normal, spend some time with the guys. I expect the hell coach gives me, and running laps isn't such a big deal these days (I don't try for fast, but running seems more... natural, less of an effort). With Coach, I just apologize, saying I had a bad day, needed to clear out.
After we run some drills, before scrimmage, Robert comes up and asks. Of course he's worried. Even just knowing what he knows, this has been a fucked up week. "Listen, I'm on lockdown at home, man, and I just needed some time to clear my head. It'll be cool... another week or so and my life'll be as boring as yours." I punch him in the arm, hard enough to feel, but not enough to bruise.
After practice, Eileen is waiting in her hooptie, playing "Slow Down for What" on her Shuffle. Just make small-talk with her or anything you wanted to chat about?
"I mean... poor kid doesn't even know what he's asking for... smoker's breath stank... smelly pits... and then DEATH!"
When you finish, she squeals with laughter, sits up and punches your arm. "Good one, Benny!" She starts driving again. "Yeah... I guess I'll go ahead and ruin Hunter's reputation before he even gets one. It's the least I can do to a guy named after an activity.... though I guess it's better than being named "Banker". Or "Salesman". Waaay better than Salesman."
You finally reach your block, her laughter trailing off. Anything else before she drops you off?
Eileen stiffens a little when you lean in, but she doesn't move away. Her eyes widened a little, too. She doesn't say anything for a breath, then chuckles, like "oh, you silly guy", and starts backing out of the driveway when you close the car door.
You come inside, and your dad is there on his laptop. He closes it, remains in his big comfy chair, and looks at you, not speaking, just giving you the "well, shall you explain yourself?" look. Your mom is in the kitchen, but you think maybe she retreated there pretty quickly right before you came in. Probably duck and cover time for her.
Now, facing Dad. I don't sit, just stand there in front of him. "I'm sorry. There's no excuse. I fu... messed up again, and I'm sorry."
"There's an ap preloaded on there. I'm going to keep tabs on you for the nest month, son. Everywhere you go, you take this with you. To school, to soccer practice, games, wherever." He looks back towards the kitchen, adding a little lower, "Your mom thinks the punishment is worse than the crime, so this is the deal I'm offering. I'll unground you come Monday as long as you come home at a decent hour and keep this phone with you at alllll times."
He glares at you for a long moment. "Do we have a deal?"
"We have a deal." It is a nice phone, really.
Cold sesame noodles. A couple fried dumplings. A little bit of super-incendiary mápó tòfu. And a heap of twice-cooked pork. Man, no matter how bad things get, when Szechuan Palace delivers, they deliver.
Her ipad is down, you have her full attention.
"Good. Good. Classes were good. Soccer practice was okay. Y'know, just an average day..."
"I could get some herbal medicine to help with that, if you want."
I take the last bite of the tofu, and apparently there was an extra special amount of Szechuan pepper in there. My lips tingle and my tongue goes numb.
The front door opens. It's your sister, you hear her greeting your father. Your dad's voice takes on that particular pitch of pleasantries when he talks with her that you never hear when he talks to you.
Heather comes into the kitchen, walks over to the table to pick through for some food. She picks out a bit of dim sum and chopsticks, starts eating a few bites. She seems hungry, but not starved.
I pull my new Galaxy S5 out of my pocket. Man, this thing... this is like a studio in the palm of my hand. I swap my sim card into the phone and play around a little, checking out how the selective focus works shooting video, installing some of my usual apps, plus a new video editing thing that I saw recommended on the forums. Trial version, of course.
I think about the money I owe Dad for this, for the head-cam. Shit. Wonder if there's anyway I can, what's the word, monetize my abilities?
Back to the stuff about Ernie. Like I said, I seem to have somehow wrangled at least a hint of control for myself, but this story... does not bode well for Bud and Amanda. Unless they haven't fully "woken up" yet, maybe? Stop it before it really starts?
For hours, you pore over the footage, splicing and shifting and cutting away. Over and over in your mind the scene plays. This place is called the Mad City. She lived there, and it keeps pulling you to it, Benny. It keeps calling you.
"hi Benny." you hear a voice, a soft voice. A girl's voice, but not Bianca's. As you turn to it, you recognize it. Amanda. She's in your room, your bedroom right now. Sure looks like her. Her eyes are still puffy, bloodshot. She's pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and she has on a soft white sleeveless shirt, a pair of capris and sneakers. She smells clean, like soap and shampoo. As you look at her, she stands with her hands behind her back, subconsciously licking her lips slightly.
After a moment, she moves forward, looking at your monitor, "what's that? a movie?"
"Okay, I guess the first question is, have you seen the Mad City yet? Another... place, with cobblestone streets and gaslights and straight up weirdness" Maybe, maybe, if she hasn't crossed over yet it's not too late. If the Nightmares haven't noticed her, put her on their To Eat lists.
She shakes her head. "no. i don't see anything now. no more dreams, no more nightmares, no more...sleep. is the mad city nice, Benny?" Her left hand slowly spreads along your bedsheet, which is made, thanks to your mom. What's your bedspread like?
It's actually kind of embarrassing now, but I still like it.
Of course I've imagined fucking Amanda, and not only that, but the tearful conversation afterward, where she tells me that I've changed her, she's going to be a better person... These circumstances, though, are not exactly bonerific.
"The Mad City is just what it says on the label. Mad. It's dangerous and insane, and pretty much everything and everyone there wants to eat you, one way or another. I don't want you to wind up there, or even Bud, but right now I don't know what I can do to stop it."
"how?"
I look down at my shoes, waiting for more questions. How can I explain any of this in any sort of meaningful way?
She's staring again. "did she want to kill me, too? or just you?"
She sees it in your eyes, and for the first time since the conversation began, she shows an emotion. Sudden sadness, "i'm... i'm sorry, Benny."
...and I'm the spitting image of Red Pitzinger, the school's baseball coach and underclass history teacher. A tall, rangy graying ginger with a crooked nose (hit by a pitch in college), a strange nasal resonance to his voice as a result. "Now, class. The Battle of Gettysburg took place on July 1st, July 2nd and July 3rd of the year 1863. Union General George Meade took his armies out of his sleevies and managed to withstand multiple attacks fielded by the car from Dukes of Hazzard, ultimately proving victorious..."
You realize only part of it is your humor. Most of it is the fact that she may not have laughed in a week, strung out since her dreams were consumed by your dead girlfriend. She holds up a hand over her face in slight embarrassment, but she keeps watching your performance to the end.
When you're done, she says breathlessly, "wow, that was so awesome."
Now that the tension's reduced, I realize that I still don't have a clue what to do next, what Amanda needs me to do. I'm short on answers and the details on Ernie keep floating to the surface. "A giant fork and steak knife...."
She heads for your door.
Do you do anything of note before morning?
I jump in the shower before Heather's usual time and hang out downstairs in the kitchen, helping Mom with breakfast.
Heather gets in the shower, your dad finishes up on the elliptical and comes in to munch on food. Well, he grabs a plate and heads out to the living room to eat.
After a few minutes, he says, loud enough to be heard over Sportscenter, "Well, I wonder what the hell is going on over at the Andrews?"
There's an ambulance in the driveway. Lights flashing. Nobody is outside.
Some guy in a blue jumpsuit comes out to the ambulance, walks up to the driver's side door, opens it, turns off the flashing lights. Then he turns to walk back inside.
"The hell does that mean?" your dad asks.
"Maybe," your mom offers softly, "maybe it was a false alarm?"
Your mom says low, like she might spook someone, "Honey is that..."
"Yeah," your dad says as he stands up. "That's Tad Esther. County Coroner."
"Holyshit! Somebody's dead?" your sister blurts out as she pulls her phone out of her robe.
Is that a treat? Some kind of "hush money" thing? Or is it a commandment?
Who rides in the front seat with mom?
You're new phone buzzes. Hey, it's your first text!
To: Benny From: Jasmine I broke up with D. I'm sorry he hit you. And sorry I was a beeyotch, tooTo: Jasmine From: Benny I hope it wasn't my fault. Why did you break up?To: Benny From: Jasmine Not your fault, his. He's a bully. I don't like bullies. I'm not that kind of person, Benny. Even tho I overreacted to your movie, I want you to know I'm not.