Hurricane Gregory

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y� Part 7

Jamie stood up at the crack of dawn, gently awakening Gregory by calling out his name. As soon as Greg was awake, the boys broke down the tent and rolled up the sleeping bags. They got dressed, and then the two of them hiked back to the main camp building to check in their tent and bed rolls. The returned to their cabin, snagged their toiletries, towels, bath robes and shower shoes. After showering, they dried off, returned to their cabin, changed into fresh clothing and packed their backpacks.

The boys boarded the bus around 9:00 a.m. Gregory and Jamie sat next to each other, as usual, while Wesley sat in the very back of the bus, so he could keep an eye on everything that went on in the bus.

Jamie and Gregory just played cards and read comic books, while Wesley remained quietly in the rear of the bus, keeping an eye on the two boys during the entire ride back to the city. Wes was looking ahead to their return to Metropolis. He intended to have a man-to-man talk with Gregory when they got back.

Greg and Jamie had no idea what was on Wesley’s mind. They continued to enjoy each others’ company, playing cards, watching the countryside outside the window and just talking and joking as they road the bus back home.

When Jamie and Gregory arrived at Jamie’s house in Metropolis, they went into Jamie’s bedroom, where they played a game of cards. After a few minutes, Wesley came into the room, holding a ten Dollar bill in his hand.

“Hey Jamie, can you do me a small favor?” Wesley asked his little brother.

“Sure…” Jamie replied looking up from the card game he and Greg had been playing. Gregory was sitting opposite Jamie on the floor.

“Could you go to the comic book store and pick up a few comic books for me? I have a list on this sheet of paper…” Wes instructed him, as he handed him his shopping list.

“Okay… I’ll walk over there…”

“Jamie, why don’t you put on your Superboy costume? You can go to the store as Superboy, if you want to…” Wes added.

Jamie immediately pulled his suit out of the closet and ran into the bathroom. Three seconds later, he came out, fully dressed as the Boy of Steel!

“Can Gregory come along?” Jamie asked his brother.

“Well, I want to talk to Greg about something. Please, go to the store by yourself, okay?” Wesley asked him. “And, go ahead and take your time. There is no hurry. Go to the comic book store as Superboy and talk to the kids who are there! I bet they will be thrilled to meet you!”

“Sure… But, what are you going to talk about? Is it a surprise?” Superboy wondered.

“Well, you can say that, yes…” Wes replied.

Superboy hesitated a little. He was curious more than anything else about what Wes wanted to talk about with Gregory. But he decided, “If it were any of my business, one off them would tell me.”

“Okay. I’ll be back in about thirty minutes…” Superboy said. He took the money from Wesley and stepped out onto the balcony. He leaped into the sky and flew toward the comic book store, just down the street from the Kent’s townhouse.

As soon as Superboy had left and had disappeared from view, Wesley turned his attention to Gregory.

“Greg! I need to talk to you! You keep on getting my little brother in trouble, and I don’t like it! This has got to stop!” Wesley said to him, in an angry tone of voice.

“Jamie is my best friend! Why, we’ve been friends even before he took on the role of a super hero! I’m his best friend and you know it!” Gregory responded.

“I want you to back off from spending time with Jamie! You keep on getting him into trouble and it’s hurting him! It’s not fair!”

“What?” Gregory responded. “You can’t tell me to leave Jamie alone. I’m his best friend in school. You’re just jealous because I’m his friend!”

“That’s not true!”

“In fact, you’re just jealous because you don’t have any friends! Why don’t you get some friends of your own, huh?” Gregory shot back.

“What? How can you say that?”

“You’re just in your own little world! You don’t talk to anyone in school. You’re always alone! You need to get some friends of your own! But, you can’t break up the friendship I have with your little brother! That’s not fair!” Greg continued.

Wesley just stared at him in silence. He cared deeply about Jamie and it bothered him that Greg’s instigating seemed to be getting Jamie in trouble so often. On the other hand, he realized that there was some truth in what Greg was saying to him.

“Look, I just want you to stop getting him into trouble! He has enough to worry about already, especially since he’s a super hero! You’re going to get him in trouble and then people will find out that he’s Superboy! You have no idea what kind of responsibility he has, with his super powers. You got no idea what it’s like, being a super hero!” Wesley protested.

“I’m not a super hero! Who knows, I might become one some day. But Jamie knows that he can always be himself when he’s around me. He doesn’t have to hide who he is when he’s with me! You can’t stop him from hanging out with me! In fact, my parents already talked to your parents, and Jamie is coming with me and my family and we’re going to be in Florida all of next week!” Greg retorted.

“What?” Wes exclaimed, since he hadn’t known about this.

“I’m visiting my grandma in Gulf Breeze all next week, and Jamie is coming with us! There’s nothing you can do about it! I don’t care how strong, how fast, or how powerful you are, but Jamie’s hanging out with me and my family next week and you can’t stop us!” Gregory indicated in a serious tone of voice.

Wes remained quiet, as he slowly walked up to Greg, looking down on the boy who firmly stood his ground against the African American super boy.

“I’m not so sure I agree to this arrangement, Gregory…” he said quietly. “He’s my brother and I care deeply about him…”

“Just accept it, Wesley! Jamie’s going with us to Florida next week!” Greg growled. “Maybe you’ll have some time to quit worrying about Jamie so much, and to try to find a few friends of your own, for a change! You could use it, especially since you don’t have any friends now!”

Wes just stared at Gregory, madder than he’d been in as long as he could remember.

* * *

To be continued


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