776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2tjG94TnJ
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776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSJfysCU6t
DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbDvWwqBFL
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecOvj0SL7T
1776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEUlBPhHxi
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4N6KkNtYMe
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4N6KkNtYMe
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CAmhQMRrr
I'M in the living room, sitting on the couch with my father, watching Corner Gas reruns on the TV. So far, so normal. 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhDpPbftfw
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4y9A7lZFv
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZfiTdVT8J
"Yeah."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3IV5KXimL
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0JAj9hsrf
"Something you want to talk about?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSogPzjefj
"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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCp8PNqSl5
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZRZndJkVA
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4UM6E3JmL
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGqHWHYAyf
I consider the offer. 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iROEZ0vTo
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAuizTnssb
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQb7HkiB0J
"Good. Go to sleep."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJ2Jwo7YtC
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOZgYCRpk2
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY99Q35ydNG
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5j0yBeqYq0Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4y9A7lZFv
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZfiTdVT8J
"Yeah."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3IV5KXimL
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0JAj9hsrf
"Something you want to talk about?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSogPzjefj
"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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCp8PNqSl5
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZRZndJkVA
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4UM6E3JmL
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGqHWHYAyf
I consider the offer. 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iROEZ0vTo
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAuizTnssb
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQb7HkiB0J
"Good. Go to sleep."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJ2Jwo7YtC
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOZgYCRpk2
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY99Q35ydNG
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
2776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Fl3C1NXdR
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReCbRkg5zB
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReCbRkg5zB
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkj8OfkLIPP
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7Thi00W3o
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhMtV76l8Z
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQ6C43r7D7
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzJmCU36HT
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyL2QmSdryr
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpGKJyEu8E
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RaXRJT9ny
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ34QUqk4Ac
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdWM6ZIkXC
"Drugs," he says cryptically.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOEUINDGBh
"Hmm?" I ask.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwQjmg1r9g
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JNCXopJBr
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lJW9HcfDC
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?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVuOwLht6Y
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkpU6xrM0F
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUqR6cwdHh
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3zCobYHyW
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarvaRG0LSQ
"So, how long are you?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWolSYK0sNA
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jsevx69gN
"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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5Syvpf9cA
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7Thi00W3o
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhMtV76l8Z
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQ6C43r7D7
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzJmCU36HT
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyL2QmSdryr
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpGKJyEu8E
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RaXRJT9ny
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ34QUqk4Ac
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdWM6ZIkXC
"Drugs," he says cryptically.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOEUINDGBh
"Hmm?" I ask.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwQjmg1r9g
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JNCXopJBr
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lJW9HcfDC
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?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVuOwLht6Y
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkpU6xrM0F
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUqR6cwdHh
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3zCobYHyW
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarvaRG0LSQ
"So, how long are you?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWolSYK0sNA
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jsevx69gN
"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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5Syvpf9cA
Bitch.
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbr2FslevQ
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSQwnMqzLD
3776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwRVhKVvnQ
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCyLOzVuNi
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCyLOzVuNi
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcfyH9KLQX
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZBZIawPWX
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhctvy92ItD
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqF14d0f8z
Some nerve.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVMADTuJNK
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ665t5pyWcd
Never mind.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhg45gmgiD
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3pEBJlQsu
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqNjo8NcKG
The door swings open.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Y43jK4les
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGVU7ujS2g
"Hello."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHqwGlUsKB
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKBi83QCWz
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWxBaxxDD6
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADafJeWb4H
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmvYRTybff
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEC0bCCDGO1
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftQIETZVKQ
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrHjLl1luE
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLolpnsdwUQ
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIL8LN86Zac
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8oYD6j4aU
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7838KBJJd
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZBZIawPWX
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhctvy92ItD
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqF14d0f8z
Some nerve.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVMADTuJNK
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ665t5pyWcd
Never mind.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhg45gmgiD
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3pEBJlQsu
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqNjo8NcKG
The door swings open.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Y43jK4les
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGVU7ujS2g
"Hello."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHqwGlUsKB
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKBi83QCWz
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWxBaxxDD6
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADafJeWb4H
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmvYRTybff
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEC0bCCDGO1
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftQIETZVKQ
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrHjLl1luE
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLolpnsdwUQ
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIL8LN86Zac
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8oYD6j4aU
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7838KBJJd
Huh. Funny dat.
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJar7Ie3YFP
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSUTGB6lov
4
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWhR1qMwjI
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?776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVufIr8YvH
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3HZpEP36v
"Hey, Nick."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNTzSyh6th
"Hey, Mike."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XjHQ0XWqs
"What's good?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFiLG3NIzr
"Not much," he says with a sigh.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRO74gpTLUF
"How come?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDl3xY3hnF
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDghux607xr
"Where?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKhlWKwSgs
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMAzWzraYE
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoKoocUgkJ
"Who's he?" I ask.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdviH6sxe1
"Stanley," Wannabe says.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOeAucW4Io
"Oh."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGZ541gq8b
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcv5FJLuwhw
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGq4lgaqwpY
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyu6eh0ehFb
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhou9iTCvXf
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9i3rwAGN5k
"Mike."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AKwADVli2
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XJ6aOv5js
I keep my yap shut.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbraxYiY6ed
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkLQIIGQMj
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGK3JCQ7NoB
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAleXi9SfC
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUt8wrRWTAs
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdd9RJ9SjFN
"Like what? LSD?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iW0u73bzn
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMxg6V0r3V
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxqNNW7SDd
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FuuDawuDS
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!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1qR3BXY0n
Everything changes then.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aJTjbroxm
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tGzx0qcMS
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpKdrXkptP
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSg2AhMMbz
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVvfnaitCJ
No one listens. They laugh.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYs6ubp0Z2
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!776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtgbcBfOsS
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmytstmO78
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOQ1hVGYUm
A pull.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB20EcnAfv4
Rip.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElCMbGPYrj
RIP.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisMQJO570V
I'm dead.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWfw6xUjyg
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3HZpEP36v
"Hey, Nick."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNTzSyh6th
"Hey, Mike."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XjHQ0XWqs
"What's good?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFiLG3NIzr
"Not much," he says with a sigh.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRO74gpTLUF
"How come?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDl3xY3hnF
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDghux607xr
"Where?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKhlWKwSgs
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMAzWzraYE
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoKoocUgkJ
"Who's he?" I ask.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdviH6sxe1
"Stanley," Wannabe says.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOeAucW4Io
"Oh."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGZ541gq8b
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcv5FJLuwhw
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGq4lgaqwpY
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyu6eh0ehFb
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhou9iTCvXf
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9i3rwAGN5k
"Mike."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AKwADVli2
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XJ6aOv5js
I keep my yap shut.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbraxYiY6ed
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkLQIIGQMj
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGK3JCQ7NoB
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAleXi9SfC
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUt8wrRWTAs
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdd9RJ9SjFN
"Like what? LSD?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iW0u73bzn
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMxg6V0r3V
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxqNNW7SDd
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FuuDawuDS
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!"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1qR3BXY0n
Everything changes then.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aJTjbroxm
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tGzx0qcMS
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpKdrXkptP
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSg2AhMMbz
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVvfnaitCJ
No one listens. They laugh.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYs6ubp0Z2
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!776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtgbcBfOsS
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmytstmO78
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.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOQ1hVGYUm
A pull.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB20EcnAfv4
Rip.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElCMbGPYrj
RIP.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisMQJO570V
I'm dead.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWfw6xUjyg
In bed.
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTNb61ZM7d
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcmNdp66XC
?
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgLI9gJXc5
THE Rain Has Fallen.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2FdnPLU43
No. That's not it.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0Krf5UZLD
They Came After The Rain.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0hEBCEmIU
There it is.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWYVy5BZkJ
That's the one.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyxZSSTDW2
The end.
ns216.73.216.176da2 No. That's not it.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0Krf5UZLD
They Came After The Rain.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0hEBCEmIU
There it is.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWYVy5BZkJ
That's the one.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyxZSSTDW2
The end.
