The Book of Masks (Vol. 1)

When the Bullies Come Out to Play

Previously: "The Cheese Channel" 

You tryin' to get in on this too?

Keith's question comes back to you, and you shy away from Carlos and Mike. You weren't that impressed with their video, and you don't want it to look like you were. Whatever "gig" Keith has found with them, he can keep to himself.

* * * * *

It's the start of a bad day and of a worse week. Horner catches sight of you on your way to the library for study hall, and he and Rennerhoff -- remoras to the bullies rather than full-fledged bullies themselves; experts in verbal and psychological abuse because they haven't the upper-body strength to get more physical -- swing in behind you in the hallway, talking and sniggering loudly about "faggots" who need girls to rescue them. When they follow you into the library, you humiliate yourself further by walking through it and out the into the quad beyond. They still follow, only veer off when a harsh voice -- you don't turn around to see whose -- calls them.

But you've got Horner again the last period of the day, in Astronomy. He's lounging by the door with Joshua Call, and an evil gleam flares in his eye when he sees you coming. You affect not to notice, but as you're crossing the threshold, your feet tangle in something and you pitch face forward into the room. You hit the hard floor with hands and knees, and your bag flies away. "Oh, Christ! What the -- !" someone yells.

From the floor, with burning face you look up. Your book bag has burst at the feet of Stephanie Wyatt, of all people, and she is glaring at you with feverish eyes and bared teeth.

Horner laughs. "Need training wheels, asshole?"

Stephanie hurls herself at you, and you fling yourself away, covering your face with your arms.

But the blow doesn't land. Suddenly it's Horner yelling, and when you look up he's sprawling on the floor -- how did he get there so fast? -- with Stephanie standing over him with clenched fists.

Call makes a noise, then backs up a step and raises his hands when Stephanie whips around at him. Horner scrambles up, and when his head is in range Stephanie grabs it and cracks it against the doorjamb. He squeals, and squeals again when Stephanie shoves him into the hallway with one foot. Passersby fall over him, adding their yells to his.

"Get your shit up," Stephanie snarls as she stomps past you. She picks up her desk and slams it back to the floor a couple of feet from where your stuff has scattered. She drops into her seat, and green fire flares in her eyes when she looks at you.

The rest of the room has gone absolutely quiet, and you try to hide your face as, with blood rushing and pounding under your face, you gather up books and papers and pencils and erasers.

"Something happen here?" Mr. Cash asks from behind you -- he must have heard the disturbance and come back just in to time to witness the aftermath.

"I dropped my stuff," you mumble, and look up fearfully at Stephanie. Her face is red too -- red like a cherry bomb -- and there's still a fell light in her eye as she watches you. Without bothering to pack everything up again, you retreat to the opposite corner of the room, where your assigned desk is.

* * * * *

So that was Monday. On Tuesday Horner leaves you alone, but Rennerhoff follows you through the hallway during one break, murmuring "Pussy" into the back of your neck. At the start of Astronomy, Stephanie's face visibly tightens when you meet her at the classroom doorway just as she's stepping out it.

On Wednesday Lester "The Molester" Pozniak, the soccer goalie and bully who makes you and Caleb his special sport, recommences a round of physical hazing that recurs each day for the rest of the week. Nor are you the only victim. "Is he gone?" a plaintive voice calls from one of the restroom stalls when you stop by a urinal Friday during seventh period.

"Who? Who's that?" you cautiously reply.

"Will, is that you?"

"Keith?"

"Yeah. Are you the only one out there?"

"Yes. What the fuck?" You hastily tuck yourself back up and glance under the stalls. Tilley's cheap black Converses dance under one of them.

"Javits put me in here," Keith says. "Called it 'home base'. Said I was safe as long as I didn't come out."

"Jesus! When was this?"

"At lunch?"

"Fuck! Have you been in here since -- ?"

"Yes. He took his study hall in here with me. Kept calling me dirty names and giving me stat problems to solve. I'm not even taking stat!"

"Why didn't you leave when he did? And why don't you come out now?"

The stall door creaks open, and Keith edges out. "I didn't know he was gone. He said he was going to get some water, and then a little later the door opened and someone came in and used the head, then they left, and some other people came in -- "

"Why didn't you ask them if it was clear?"

Keith's eyes get big. "'Cos they sounded even worse than Javits. I think Kirkham was one of them."

"So you just kept your head in the toilet."

"What would you do, Prescott?" Keith sneers. "Wait for a girl to come in and save you?"

You grab him, aiming to put his head in the sink if you can't maneuver him back into the toilet stall, but he grapples you to a standstill. "See?" he says when you've separated, panting. He straightens his shirt. "If you can't take me, what chance have you got with them?"

* * * * *

"It's like someone sent a memo around," you grumble to Caleb on the following Monday as you're heading out to eat on the quad in front of the library. "It's like Pozniak and the rest of them know they've only got one nine more months left, and they're trying to squeeze it all in."

The immediate impetus to this complaint is a meeting you had with the Molester after third period, during which he held your face in his arm pit while questioning your heterosexuality.

But Caleb has his own issues. "It's fucking Ioeger's fault," he says. His eyes glint and his jaw thrusts as he shoves open the front doors to the school. "And when I find him -- "

"Yeah, what happened? You were just saying he disappeared on you, and then Gladstone started class."

"He disappeared on me when he saw Patterson coming our way." Caleb's stride lengthens as he crosses the quad diagonally toward where Jenny Ashton and Paul Davis are already sprawled. "We were just coming out of Chem and he's asking me where I think he could find some -- I dunno, some chemical he and Lamont need. Anyway, I'm telling him he should try a greenhouse, 'cos I know they got some pretty weird shit in the fertilizers, and when I look over there's some girl with braces standing where he'd been. Which is okay with me, she was better looking than Ioeger anyway."

You're almost on top of Jenny now, but Caleb keeps talking.

"And then there's Patterson right in front of me, and when I step to go around, he steps in front of me, grabs me, and hurls right into the lockers. Then I think he kneed me in the back. Anyway, it was like a sledgehammer hit me back there, and then I'm on the ground and that girl with the braces, I swear to God, was laughing at me when I looked up."

Jenny shades her eyes and looks up at you. "What are you bitching about now, Caleb?"

"Your boyfriend," Caleb says. "Ioeger and your boyfriend."

Her lip curls. "I don't have a boyfriend, Caleb."

"Maybe if you did, you could keep him and Ioeger out of trouble."

Now Paul pipes up. "Did Carson and James do something to you?"

"Not directly -- "

"Then stop bitching," Jenny says. "Or at least don't get all shirty with me. I didn't do anything. You can kick Carson's ass when he -- Oh, but he's not showing up to lunch today. Him or James."

"Why?" Caleb demands. "What the fuck?"

"They can do whatever the fuck they want, Johansson," she snaps back. But she also looks vexed, and gets up on her knees to stare off in the direction of the gym. Or maybe it's the parking lot. "They had to go off campus. Said they'd left something burning somewhere and needed to check up on it."

"'Tsssssss'yup, ya'll?" You turn at the drawled greeting. It's Keith, looking even dopier than usual. He lazily resettles his backward-turned ballcap and drops his pack to the grass.

Jenny wrinkles her nose. "Are you wearing shorts?"

Tilley is indeed wearing black shorts, showing off his ugly knees and hairy calves. "It's a nice day," he says.

"For some people," you mutter. "And for you until Javits shows up."

"Like, whatever." Keith takes out a sandwich, then lays on the grass using his pack for a pillow. He pulls out his cell phone, fiddles with it, turns it sideways, and starts watching it while pushing the sandwich into his maw.

"What are they up to, Jenny?" Caleb asks. "Ioeger and Lamont. It's like, ever since the year started they've been pushing it past eleven."

"Beats the hell out of me," she says, still staring off toward the gym. "They don't tell me anything."

Caleb snorts, and elbows you. "Come on, there's no point hanging around here." He toes Keith in the hips. "You coming?"

"Nah, I'll hang out here," he says.

Caleb looks at you, but you're looking past him, in the direction that Jenny is gazing. Eva Garner is coming this way.

It's not unusual for Eva to eat with Jenny and her friends, though it's not very common either, and maybe she's coming out to join Jenny and maybe she's just passing by. But you're tempted to remain behind, in case there's a chance to ask her about Lisa. You've pretty much given up on reviving that relationship, but you're still in the market for a post-mortem.

But maybe that would be pathetic.

Caleb nudges you again.

* To continue: "Two Consultations Without an Answer" 

*
"Table of Contents (Vol. 1)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 1)"