Chapter 1
Mark's heart beat loudly, as he hid behind the four and a half foot tall P.E. lockers. Sweat was already beading up on his forehead matting strands of his dirty blond hair to his skin. He'd been running from the gang of bullies for fifteen minutes now. His twin sister, Jennifer, would be calling him anytime now, wondering where he is. Mark hoped she wouldn't call at the wrong time.
Is there no faculty left on campus? he thought, crouching behind the only barrier between he and the five guys searching for him.
Mark nearly gagged at the smell of the locker room, which stunk of sweaty P.E. clothes and urine from the un-flushed toilets and urinals from those who couldn't hit a toilet if their life depended on it.
The spacious room was separated into two sections. On the south side was the coaches' office with large windows so the coaches and P.E. teachers could make sure there wasn't too much horseplay going on. Glancing at those windows, his heart rose into his throat. Dark. His hopes of finding a teacher diminished. All the teachers had left for the day and the coaches were with their teams.
Scanning back and forth from where he crouched, Mark was searching for something, anything, as he thought, If only I could create a diversion, I could make it to the exit. It's only ten feet away.
If he were on the north side of the room, the exit would take him onto the school grounds. He was glad to be on the south side. That exit led to the parking lot, where he would be meeting his twin sister.
A quick look at his watch told him it was 3:05 p.m. School had been out for twenty minutes. How long had he been hiding against the lockers? Two, three minutes? They had to have him cornered by now.
"Come on out, Mark," came Rene's taunting voice. "We just wanna talk."
That was a lie. Mark knew that the only talking Rene ever did was with his fists. Usually ending with black eyes and fat, bloody lips for his victims. Unless you willingly handed over your “payment” to him, then you were left with sore ribs or stomach. Due to his ruthless tactics, Rene had become the richest kid in school, for the sole reason that no one would stand up to him.
"You know, if you woulda just given me the payment we agreed on...”
“Right, we agreed on,” Mark whispered to himself.
“...we wouldn't have to do this... Not that I don't like the exercise," the bully sneered punching his palm.
Hearing the slight slap of a foot in a puddle, Mark knew one of Rene's stooges was close, only about three rows away.
Suddenly his cell phone rang. He swore in his head at the theme music from his favorite fantasy movie, which Mark would say didn't do the book justice. Unfortunately his beloved ring tone gave away his location. He had to run for it.
Springing to his feet, he bolted for the door. The gang of bullies, which were spread throughout the locker room, began closing in on him. Mark thought for sure he was a dead man. Rene's lackey, who'd been closest to him, was right on his heels. Mark just caught sight of the bully slipping in a puddle on the floor, giving him enough room to escape.
Slamming into the crossbar he shoved the door open, throwing it back in hopes it would slow the bullies down.
It didn't.
They were hot on his heels as he answered his phone.
"Jennifer!" he answered, as he knew she'd been waiting for him for a while now.
"Where the heck are you?!" came her angry voice.
"On my way to the parking lot! Make sure the door's unlocked!" he shouted into the phone. Then, slamming his phone shut, he surged forward faster.
If there was one thing Mark could count on, it was his sister. She understood his situation better than anyone and was always there to help when he needed it. Better than that, she understood him better than anyone. Mark had never loved his sister more than when he saw her car nearing the gate, the one remaining obstacle between himself and his sister's waiting car.
Skidding to a stop, the passenger door of Jennifer's red Honda Civic opened for him. Looking back, Rene and his lackeys were right behind him. Throwing the gate shut behind him did what the locker room door failed to do. Mark had just enough time to jump into Jennifer's car.
“GO! GO! GO!” Jeremy yelled as he shut his door.
Jennifer sped through the parking lot before Rene could get in his truck and follow them. Looking out of his window, Mark saw the five bullies spill into the parking lot, throwing rude gestures at them as they drove away.
"Are you okay?" Jennifer asked once they were on the street that the front of the school faced.
All Mark could do was nod in the affirmative. His chest heaved up and down as he sucked in air. With closed eyes, he let his head fall against the headrest.
They drove in silence for a couple of minutes as Mark slowed his breathing, trying to calm himself before getting home. He wanted to avoid any questions his mother would ask about the state he was in.
Seeming to sense his calm, Jennifer started in on the same questions she always asked. Mark knew she only got on him because she cared, but that didn't stop it from annoying him.
Avoiding her sad, dark blue eyes, he looked out the side window as she started in, "Why don't you stand up to Rene? You know you could take him if you wanted to. He's just a dumb jerk who needs to be put in his place."
"You honestly think I can take him?" he asked incredulously. "You are crazy."
Jennifer ignored his jibe, "You and your friends have that club, or whatever, where you fight all the time. You gotta be able to use something from that."
Rolling his eyes, Mark said, "Sis, we fight with fake swords and armor. I wouldn't consider that actual fighting."
"I've seen you though. You're much stronger than you think," she said, breaking at the light.
He appreciated Jennifer's attempts to encourage him, but he refused to sink to fighting a bully that would just come back again if he failed.
"What happens if I don't win? He'll just keep coming at me," he protested.
"I really believe you can take him. You're bigger and stronger than you realize."
"There's also five of them," he pointed out.
Sighing heavily as she turned right at the intersection, joining the heavy southern California traffic, she said, "As soon as they see Rene losing they won't even bother messing with you. They'll be too afraid of you to try and help him."
“What happens if he sends his goons in first?”
“They're nothing. Rene's bigger than any of them.”
Mark imagined the scene. Surrounded by hundreds of cheering kids from school as he fought Rene and beat him up. His lackeys looking terrified and melting away into the crowd, vanishing from sight. A small, closed mouthed grin appeared on his face at the scene in his head.
"I hate seeing you like this," she said helplessly.
"Thanks Jen, but I really don't think anything is going to change any time soon."
"Do you really think you can put up with this until graduation? It's almost two years away, you know. That's way too much stress to be dealing with."
Jennifer was right. Mark knew he couldn't continue to run from Rene, but he also refused to give into Rene's demands of payment as well. He refused to resort to bumming money off of Jennifer for lunch. Her friends made it awkward for Mark anytime he was around, with the way they snickered behind his back.
Once at home, Mark avoided his mother, going straight up to his room and booting up his computer. Homework waited in e-mails he was allowed to send himself from school. He did it to help with running from Rene and his goons. The less Mark had to carry, the less weighed him down. Books weren't something he needed either. Answers just came to him. Homework was just a necessary means for good grades.
Logging onto the Internet to play World of Warcraft, Mark searched for his usual opponent. What he liked about this particular opponent wasn't just the challenge she brought, it was the fact she was a girl. Mark didn't know many girls at school, other than his sister, so any girl who could match him in his favorite computer game was worth getting to know.
Later that night, after dinner was finished and dishes washed, Jennifer sat in front of her bedroom window on the cushion topped chest built into a nook in the outer wall. Three windows formed the trapezoid shaped nook. She stared up at the sky as thoughts ran through her head.
I wish there was something I could do for Mark. I hate seeing him this way. He's a great guy and people just refuse to see it... I know he doesn't want to be popular, and I would never ask him to be something other than himself... I love him just the way he is. I just wish there was a place where he could be exactly who he is and be accepted for it... I wish people would just accept him here.
Then she saw a shooting star. She wasn't a superstitious person, but she thought, What could it hurt? So, she closed her eyes, making a simple wish, "I wish Mark was happy."
She stared up at the sky for a few more minutes in silence, wondering if her wish would be granted. Doubting it would, she sighed, then got into bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment