Pristine Beauty Pt2

The night drew over quite quickly for Ray and the twilight reigned in the air once more. This time, he wasn’t woken up by the sound of Alex yelling his name like a drunk, but this time by the new alarm clock he had bought, designed to lightly wake Ray so he didn’t get annoyed, an alternative to “Hey Ray!”
He looked forward to that day of school, being able top spend more time with Atlanta. He eagerly packed his bag and considered whether to bring his lunch. After remembering almost dying that day, he decided to bring his lunch and eat it with her.
He walked out of the church and happily strolled down to the school, which wasn’t far from Sturmsville, just a little walk down the road from the west.
He entered the classroom with pride, being early and sat by his desk to await Atlanta for what would be a fun day.
But all was not what it cracked up to be. As more and more people entered, Ray’s hopes became smaller and smaller. Soon, Marilyn entered the classroom and shut the door. Ray felt sad, with nobody sitting next to him. That was until Alex suddenly appeared and sat next to Ray.
“Alex? What are you doing?” Ray whispered.
“Atlanta’s sick today” Alex whispered back.
“How did you know that?”
“I asked the headmaster”
“Surely he would be sensitive about that?”
“Nah, he just said she sick. When he asked me why, I said that I wanted to borrow her something. He told me to give it to her tomorrow” Their conversation became interrupted by Marilyn.
“Boys, please try to refrain from talking” she said. “I know it’s only the second day, but this work is important. Do you understand?” she asked. The both nodded and stopped talking, not wanting to get on Marilyn’s bad side.
The hour passed slowly, with barely any work being done and Alex blabbing on about the size of the headmaster’s hat becoming a pain. Ray didn’t really care and tried to work, but only got half of it done, meaning the rest would have to be homework, much to his dismay. The two went out to the yard.
“For the last time, I don’t care how big the hat is!!!” Ray shouted.
“But it’s just...so...big!!!” Alex bellowed. But as they walked, Ray’s head was turned and he bumped into someone. The person he bumped into didn’t budge, so it felt like walking into a brick wall. Ray almost fell, but looked up to find the right man to make his day...much worse.
“Oh...dude, I’m off” Alex said, abandoning Ray. The person he bumped into turned around.
“Hey!!!” he shouted. Everyone suddenly started at the two. Ray didn’t feel very intimidate, but more annoyed. The person he bumped into was Doorman, the school bully. Innocent in front of a teacher and a hell raiser in the background. The stereotypical bully. He was much bigger than Ray and had a tattered brown rag and blue eyes.
“Oh...crap” Ray said. Doorman turned around and looked down, angry.
“Hey, if it isn’t little Ray! Haw haw!!!” he said in a large, deep, chunky voice, one that would belong to a giant dolt. Ray sighed.
“What’s it now? My money? My work? My food?” he said, listing all the things Doorman had demanded, and beat out of him on every encounter. Doorman whacked his fists together (he was wearing rough black mittens)
“You bet” Doorman said, quietly, aggravated. Then, someone shouted from the crowd “Get him Ray!!!” (Funnily enough, it was Alex, making the situation worse as usual)
Suddenly, a ring formed around, a roused audience cheering for the usual school fight. Ray had never been in a proper fight where he had to deal blows as well as protect himself. He was occasionally beaten up by Doorman, but they didn’t count. This time was a real fight.
“What’s wrong, too chicken to take me on!?!” Doorman taunted. The crowd started to go wilder. But Ray realized that Atlanta wasn’t around. The last thing he would want is to hear that Ray had been completely destroyed by the school bully in a foolish and pathetic attempt to take on Doorman. He knew if he put up a fight, he could go down knowing he tried.
“Yeah...you think you’re so tough?” Ray said. The crowd let out an ‘ooo!’ and went wild again. Doorman didn’t like having his taunts turned on him, never mind being taunted.
“That’s it” he shouted. “It’s go time baby! Woo!” he shouted. The only thing Ray could do now was fight.
“Doorman crossed his hands together and laughed.
“You can have the first punch!” he taunted. Ray thought a little. He looked at Doorman and decided on how to approach him. He whispered a prayer and clenched his (invisible) fist. Then, he ran at Doorman, who didn’t move, and jumped into the air. With all his might, he punched Doorman right between the eyes. But he only flinched, and upon landing on the floor, found a boot in his face. It sent him falling back to the edge of the ring, hitting the ground. Slowly, he got up and caressed his throbbing face, as if a demolition ball was just swung into it. Doorman was now angry.
“Bad move Ray!!!” he shouted. Then, he tensed up and started to grunt, as if he was charging. Suddenly, he stretched out his arms and tensed his muscles, letting out a demonic smile and opening his eyes wide. He took a few steps back and started to charge at Ray. Ray looked for a means of escape, but before he could, he felt 15 stone of pure buff pin him to the floor, grazing his arms and head in the process. Then, before he could do anything, Doorman raised his fist and delivered a hefty punch to Ray’s face. Ray felt everything go numb in his face and his vision go black. He could just make out Doorman going for a second punch, but a whistle blew.
“Stop!!!” a voice shouted. Doorman instantly jumped off of Ray and acted innocent, just as the headmaster came in. He walked up to Ray.
“What in blazes happened to this poor boy here???” he demanded. Doorman readied a lie.
“He fell over Mr. Rembrandt. We were playing a game of rugby and I tackled him too hard. Sorry” he said, raising the pitch of his voice to make it sound more innocent.
“Well, don’t be so rough! Come on boy, get up. I’ll patch you up now” this Rembrandt said. Ray saw his vision slightly return and a hand grabbing his, lifting him groggily to his feet. He was about to fall over again, but he fell onto the shoulder of Rembrandt, who lugged him off.
“Heavy fall you had, eh?” he said as he dragged Ray across the yard and back into the school.
A few minutes later, and Ray had an ice pack put across his eye, covering a now swelled black eye. There were bandages where he had grazed.
“You took quite a bump there son” Rembrandt said. “I doubt you could get a black eye from falling” Ray felt like he was misunderstood.
“That’s because I didn’t fall over!” he shouted with grief. “That bloody Doorman heaved his fat body onto mine and started punching the living daylights out of me!” Rembrandt inspected his wounds once again.
“Hmm...I believe you’re correct” he said slowly, putting a hand to his chin. Ray looked up at Rembrandt, whose face was hidden in darkness because of the top hat. But his monocle hid one eye whilst the other gleamed red. His mouth could also be seen, jagged. Ray felt that Rembrandt wasn’t fulfilling his duty as headmaster.
“Well, help me bust him!” Ray pleaded. Rembrandt put a hand to his top hat.
“I’m sorry...but I cannot...er...’bust’ him without the proper evidence” he said apologetically. Ray couldn’t believe this.
“There are plenty of witnesses! This isn’t a court case! Just put a stop to this!” Ray pleaded again, getting frustrated.
“Tell you what” Rembrandt said. “If a case like this happens again, then I’ll use today as evidence to catch him” he said. “For now, you can have the rest of today off. If you’re not feeling well, you can have some more days off. And Doorman...just keep out of his way, okay?” Rembrandt explained. Ray slowly nodded and grabbed his bag, walking out of the office. He walked out of the school, watching as the triumphant Doorman laughed as he walked away.
After a long walk, he finally made it back to his room high in the steeple. He threw his bag to the floor and looked at himself in the mirror. He took the ice pack off to see the extent of the damage.
There was a large black blotch where his right eye used to be. Even the glow had gone.
This brought a heavy sadness upon Ray, who started to silently sob as he looked at himself. He then looked away from the mirror and begun to cry a little more. A small session of crying followed as he sobbed his way into bed, just lying and crying until he tired himself out and fell to sleep once more.
Twilight rose again and Ray, his face crusted up with dried tears, woke up badly to find it was very early in the twilight. He stood up and dragged himself to the mirror like a girl dragging his boyfriend around a frightfully boring funfair the girl happens to like, which felt like murder, both for Ray and the imaginary boy. Ray then took a good look at himself in the mirror.
He noticed his vision had fully returned, but the swelling hadn’t reduced at all. The glow had slightly come back though, the only thing that had improved in the wound. But Ray knew something worse, as he discovered the black eye; he discovered the throbbing pain that followed.
But Ray was brave. He thought of Atlanta. Atlanta’s poor little body was sickly yesterday, he thought. “I’ve got to be strong. I have to make a good impression, or she’ll think I’m weak and not worth more than I am”
Trying, but failing, to ignore the pain in his eye, he shoved his unfinished work in his bag and slowly started to lug it all into school once more. After yesterday, he thought of the school as a battleground and not a safe learning haven. Where pens clash against paper like swords to shields, and young disciples learning the ways of subtraction, Ray steeled himself for another gruelling fight to the finish...of school.
He was the first in line and waited at least ten minutes for everyone else to show up, who paid considerable attention to him, asking questions like “How’d you get the black eye?” and “You got RAAAWKED!!!” Ray tried to ignore them, and was going to give up and go home until Alex showed up.
“Dude...sorry about yesterday” he said. Although Alex was a ditz, he was a good ditz and cared for Ray’s situations.
“There’s no need” Ray said, rubbing his sore eye. “Doorman’s just a brazen idiot. He has no future, so he wastes what he has left of his sad life throwing his troubles onto others” he said spitefully Alex winced a little.
“Harsh” he said, sucking in some breath, making a reverse shush noise. “You hate him that much?
“I hate his guts Alex. I hate him more than your battering ram”
“I thought you didn’t mind the battering ram”
“Let me rephrase that. I hate him more than I hate your common sense”
“Ouch”
Marilyn then opened the door, ignoring Ray’s wound, obviously due to strict orders off Rembrandt not to spread any fuss.
“Please be seated class” she said kindly as usual. Everyone started to walk in, Ray still feeling the pain in his eye, a pain that begun to annoy him. He prayed Atlanta would be in school that day. But at the same time, he didn’t want her to see him in such a state. He was at a crossroads as soon as he parked his butt on the same old wood chair.
He looked up to the door to see Atlanta walk in. Ray instantly felt a potent feeling of hope rise inside him. He regretted thinking of her not showing up as soon as she came in. As a plus, she looked even better than she did on the first day. Ray almost fainted.
But Atlanta knew Ray wasn’t himself that day. As soon as she sat down, as Marilyn was preparing the day’s lesson, she looked in a sort of sympathetic and worried way.
“Ray, what happened to your eye?” she asked. Ray gave a sigh. He was afraid of telling her.
“I...I don’t want to talk about it. I’m sorry” he said.
“Why not?” Atlanta asked softly.
“It’s...its embarrassing” he said. But someone heard him and suddenly blurted “He got RAAAWKED by Doorman!!!” Everyone started to laugh except for Atlanta. The laughter caught Marilyn’s attention.
“Johnson!!!” she yelled (Johnson’s the guy who shouted RAAAWKED last time). “There was no need for such commentary!” Everyone seemed to become quiet at that moment. Ray loved the silence. Then, Marilyn cleared her throat.
“Anyway, class” she said. “We won’t be doing any written work today. You all know why, don’t you?” she asked. Everyone started to hustle and bustle a little. Ray suddenly remembered in grief.
“Oh no!” he thought. “I’ve forgotten my kit!” But before he could say anything else in his head. Atlanta shared some more of her sympathy.
“Don’t listen to any of them Ray” she said. “Isn’t Doorman that big bully?”
“Yes”
“Did you try to fight him?”
“Well, I just bumped into him and everyone thought a fight had started. He offered me the first punch, so I tried, but I kinda got kicked...then jumped on...then punched. If it weren’t for your dad, I would be in hospital” Ray explained. Then, he suddenly felt her hand rest on his shoulder.
“Don’t feel so bad” she said. “I thought what you did was quite brave” Ray felt a sense his self esteem slowly return to him. Then, Marilyn clapped her hands.
“Well, everybody off to the gym!” she said. Everyone started to stand up and move out of the class, but Ray felt slower, knowing there would be a world of punishment coming from another person he hated, Mr. Grack, the gym teacher.
As he walked in, instead of Grack was Rembrandt, standing by the entrance.
“Mr. Grack isn’t here today” he said upon finding everyone present. “I’ll be taking the lesson” Ray felt his hope sink, thinking he would be able to get away. But he knew now that the consequences would be worse now that Rembrandt was in charge. But as they walked in single file, he stopped Ray.
“Your eye hasn’t recovered. You won’t be taking part today out of health. Is this acceptable?” he asked. Ray suddenly felt his heart rise. He refrained from hugging Rembrandt, but looked up, weirdly happy and smiled.
“Uh huh” he said, then walked in and threw his bag in the changing rooms before entering the gym and sitting down by the side. Two seconds later, Atlanta sat down next to him, to his glee.
“Atlanta? What’s wrong with you?” he asked.
“I have a bad foot” she said.
“Did your dad believe you?” Ray asked.
“My dad knows anyway” she said. “I wasn’t in school yesterday because I get physiotherapy on it” she said.
“What happened to your foot?” Ray asked. Atlanta then looked down.
“Well, my old school burnt because of my father” she said. Ray felt intent on listening on. “My father...well...he was giving the school bully some really fierce punishment. But the bully....pulled out a lighter. Wile my dad wasn’t looking, he set fire to his leg. My father didn’t install many extinguishers in the school and where ever he ran in a panic to douse his legs left a trail of fire. The school then just...burnt” she said. “I was in the middle of escaping when scaffolding from the outside collapsed. It tripped me and crushed my foot. Ever since, I’ve been recovering. In a few weeks, it should be normal again, but until then, I guess I’ll have no P.E” she said, somewhat happy about it. Ray could see why. It seemed like Rembrandt was teaching the class about combat sports, his worst fear.
“That sounds rough” he said.
“Please don’t let it trouble you. I can still walk” she said. “Ever since that day, everybody’s been supporting my family to their full extent. When I moved here, I knew that nobody would know. But...you’ve been the most supportive of all” she said. Ray felt a little nervous. He nodded slightly, and then slowly looked out to the gym, where he saw Alex getting thrown to the floor by Rembrandt. In some ways it was quite funny. Then, he looked back at Atlanta.
“Why...thank you” he said, quite nervously. But Atlanta then gave Ray one of the best smiles he had ever seen. Ray started to shake a little. He felt as if he were about to throw up. He needed to get away before he blew it.
“Uh...I need the toilet...” he said. Then, he hastily got up and made his way across to the toilet, spending the rest of the day inside. When anyone asked him why he was taking so long, he said “I’ve got constipation”
They day ended and Atlanta said goodbye to Ray as they parted. Ray now felt the sadness come once more. But not everything was bad, the throbbing pain had gone. As he entered his room, he could see that the swelling had gone down a little. He noticed that his bin was full of the trash magazines he used to collect. Before the next issue could arrive the following day, he cancelled his subscription. Then, he went into bed for another early night, trying to look his best every day.
Thursday dawned, and Ray was this time awakened by the sounds of Alex shouting outside. Ray got up sluggishly and peered out of the window.
“Hey Ray!” he shouted.
“What is it now Alex?” Ray asked with a hint of sarcasm. “Did you forget your name again?” Alex shook his head.
“Good news!” he shouted up.
“What is it? School starts in twenty minutes and I don’t want to be late!” Ray complained.
“It’s about school!” Alex answered.
“What about it?” Ray asked. Alex became silent, holding it in.
“...*giggle*...It’s a surprise” he said. Ray sighed.
“This had better be good” Ray said. He then grabbed his bag, aware of the fact there was no P.E for the rest of the week and made his way down to the bottom. The two then made their way down the forest path to school, where they begun the long walk down the bustling hall. But Alex stopped him.
“Why are we stopping here? Our classroom’s further ahead” Ray pointed out.
“Look at the wall” Alex said. Ray turned to the wall, and then felt something in his heart. He couldn’t tell whether it was good or bad.
“Like what you see?” Alex asked.
“A...A...school prom...*gulp*...” Ray said, feeling extremely nervous. “T-this....S-Saturday.....”
“Surely this can be a chance for you to ask Atl...” he said. But Ray shoved a hand in his face.
“Shut up!” he whispered angrily. “There are people everywhere!” Alex looked around.
“...Oh yeah...sorry about that” he said. Ray sighed once more. “Let’s just get to class. I’m sure I’ll get over this somehow”
Atlanta was only in the lesson for five minutes, commenting on the shrinkage of Ray’s black eye. It was Rembrandt who had called her away, obviously for some sort of family reason. But he was on the yard that lunch time and Ray went over to sit next to her again.
“Hello Ray” she said as he approached, more nervous than before.
“Uh...h-hi...” he said, the upcoming prom sat heavily in his mind. Atlanta, a good eye for spotting things, noticed Ray’s nervousness.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “You look shaky” Ray looked at her.
“Oh...no!” he said, laughing a little. “No...I’m...I’m fine...yeah...just thinking about something” he said.
“Is it something you’d like to share?” she asked. But Ray spotted an opportunity to get some feedback. Did Atlanta have a crush on him as well? Did she like someone else? It was a risky question to ask, and could have blown Ray’s shield away, but he decided to go along with it.
“So...who are you gonna pick to go with you to the prom this Saturday?” he asked. Atlanta then begun to inspect the yard.
“...Well, I haven’t made my mind up yet” she said.
“You mean...there’s someone in particular you’d like?” Ray asked, hoping he hadn’t blown it”
“Um...not really...I’ll just wait for someone nice looking to ask me. What about you Ray? Is there someone special you’d like to ask out?” she asked. Ray almost collapsed on the spot. He was so nervous; he was going to throw up for real. But, he resisted the gut emptying and swallowed his spit.
“Oh...well...I don’t know...” he said.
“You’re like me, huh? Just waiting for that special someone?” she asked. Little did she know, she was Ray’s special someone. It was like some strange irony or something.
Ray hadn’t forgotten his lunch, but Atlanta offered him her cookie anyway. Her explanation was that she didn’t like it. Ray, having eaten most of his lunch by the time he was offered, wasn’t hungry, but still tempted. He asked permission first, and then spared the cookie a fast death by savouring it. He barely talked, still thinking about the prom. Thursday wasn’t such a long day because of that. But before Ray went to bed, Alex managed to install a ladder up on the wall of the steeple and climbed up it into Ray’s room, who wasn’t happy about the entrance.
“Alex!” he shouted. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I don’t like having to have to run all the way through the church and up the steps to get to this room, so I hooked a ladder up to the wall so I can climb up it!” he explained.
“With that ladder, anyone could get into my room! Get rid of it!” he commanded.
“Okay, when I leave” he said.
“Well, what else do you want? Are you thinking of installing some sort of other stupid gadget that’s designed to make my life worse, to my church?” he spat.
“Well, I just wanted to talk about the prom on Saturday” he asked. Ray’s aggression seemed to vanish.
“The prom?” he asked, a little worried.
“So, you thinking of asking Atlanta out?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know if I can...” Ray said admittedly. “I...I think I’m in love with her.....”
“So?” Alex said. “I thought that’d drive you to ask her”
“You ditz!” Ray shouted. “It’s the exact opposite! What if she doesn’t love me? Then when I ask her, she says no, she goes off with someone else, I’m all lonely, I’m laughed at and I have to live a period of time being embarrassed and depressed!!!” he complained.
“...Dude, it’s not that serious” Alex told Ray. Ray sat down on his bed.
“Oh...but she’s...she’s just so pretty....I don’t know....” Ray said. “I can’t believe I’m saying this...but Alex......could you be my personal motivator?” he asked.
“What’s that?” Alex asked. Ray doubted his request.
“Actually, no he said. “Just try and keep my confidence up. Encourage me. Make me...uh...less nervous” he explained.
“What do you mean by that?” Alex asked. Ray sighed, giving up on Alex. But Alex remembered something.
“Oh...I just remembered!” Alex said.
“What? Your name? Eureka!” Ray asked, sarcastic as usual. Alex paid no attention to the joke.
“I know an opportunity you can get!” he said. Ray suddenly listened.
“Really?” he asked, excited.
“I heard that Rembrandt has extra work setting up the gym for the prom!” he said. “So that means he’s not home until late! Perhaps...you could walk her home?” Alex asked.
“...And how did you know about this?” Ray asked.
“Oh, he told me” Alex said. “I asked him about the prom and he went off into his ‘not being home in time to make dinner’ thing” he said. Ray wanted to hug Alex at that time, like Rembrandt, but refrained.
“For once, you’ve actually proved yourself useful!” Ray said with glee. But then, he looked down.
“But what if I’m too nervous to do it?” he asked.
“Uh...take it by the chin?” Alex suggested.
“I guess I’ll have to. Right, I’m gonna go to sleep now. Get rid of the ladder on your way out” Ray told Alex. Alex nodded, said goodnight and climbed out through the window. Ray then went to sleep, thinking heavily about the next day, plotting his way to getting the prom date he needs. But after the planning was done, he switched off his thoughts about that day and thought more about Atlanta, thinking of her every second of the night until twilight.
The twilight came and Ray woke up once again, ready to face the day. His black eye had finished swelling and had decreased considerably. There was still a small blackness, but it didn’t seem to affect Ray’s image. He walked to school alone that day.
Entering the classroom, Atlanta was already at her desk. Ray felt enlightened once more, and even a little less nervous.
“Hello Ray!” she said happily. “How are you today?”
“Good, thanks” Ray answered, sitting down in his usual spot. He knew the time to ask her would come. They didn’t speak much during the lesson, paying more attention to the Holocaust (doing so out of respect for the poor Jews). But lunchtime came, and as Ray was walking to the door of the yard, Alex appeared beside him.
“Asked?” he asked.
“Not yet...oh...I’m getting more nervous” Ray said.
“Just take it by the chin. I take your insults by the chin and stick by your side. It’s time for you to be chin taking something now. Make me proud” he said.
“Make you proud? Hey, did you remove the ladder?”
“Yeah...” Ray then walked out of the yard and spotted Atlanta, alone, at the same old bench. His shaking rose like a missile blowing a bomber, and his confidence fell like the bomber after being struck by the missile. But his determination was as tough as the guy driving the bomber, awaiting death (although Ray wasn’t going to die at all, he felt like it). The Atlanta looked at him and there was no turning back.
Ray nervously sat down next to her and said hello, before eating his lunch, afraid he would throw it all back up, not only embarrassing himself but wasting lunch. After five minutes, he steeled himself up.
“...U-uh....A-Atlanta...I want to....ask...you something” he said slowly. Atlanta turned to him.
“Hm?” she said.
“...You...You know....t-t-tomorrow.....” he said.
“Ray, are you feeling well? You’re stammering” she pointed out. Ray couldn’t keep it in much longer.
“I.....will you......b-b-be......my...my....my................*gulp*..............prom date?” he asked. Atlanta suddenly fell silent. She looked down and Ray noticed something was wrong. But before he could say anything, she took a breath.
“...I’m sorry...I...” she said. Then, she got up hastily and walked away, leaving Ray alone. Ray felt his heart sink like a ship. He saw everything he worked for go down. He saw his social status plummet before his eyes. Everyone on the yard seemed to know what had just happened and all of them started at Ray. Ray felt the embarrassment as a tear came to his eye. To add insult to injury, one person came to make it all worse.
“Haw haw haw!!! Your girlfriend dump you? What a drag! Aww! Ah haw haw haw!!!!!!” a voice bellowed. Ray looked up in sadness and humiliation to see Doorman walking up to him, casting a shadow across Ray.
“Shut up” Ray said quietly.
“Why should I? You made a big idiot of yourself! Now I’m doing my part...and LAUGHING!!! Ah haw haw!!!” he shouted, laughing his head off. Everyone else started to laugh again and Ray suddenly felt a spark of anger ignite inside him. He stood up.
“Shut up...I said SHUT UP!!!” he shouted. But Doorman didn’t listen. Instead, he pointed at Ray and laughed even harder. Ray had enough. He screamed and stared to strike Doorman with a rally of punches. But they didn’t affect Doorman, who grabbed Ray by the head and lifted him up.
“You’ll pay for that Ray!!!” he shouted, spitting in his face. Then, he threw Ray across the yard and pulled the same pose as last time before jumping on him and punching him again. Ray felt the punches even harder this time, his old black eye bursting and blood covering Ray’s face. But Rembrandt came out again.
“Again!!! Stop this at once!!!” he shouted. But Doorman punched Ray again and again. Ray was given one more mighty punch that almost knocked him out when he saw Doorman beginning to panic and strain. He was suddenly lifted into the air and a thunder bolt struck Doorman, causing him to yell. Doorman then fell, weakened, to the floor, grunting. Ray realized that Rembrandt had used his staff to punish Doorman, but before he could see anything else, he lost all feeling and everything just went black.
Luckily, he wasn’t dead. Only an hour later and Ray came to, lying down on a sofa in a familiar place, Rembrandt’s office. Atlanta was there as well, but stayed silent as Ray sat up.
“Urgh....ah....my eye.....” Ray said as he got up.
“Hold still Ray” Rembrandt said. “I haven’t used this staff for healing yet, but I’ll give it a try” he added. Then, Ray looked at Rembrandt. He suddenly outstretched his arms and revealed his body, legless and floating. His staff begun to glow a bright blue. Inside his cape was a starry pattern like some sort of portal. He was wearing a white suit, but no trousers or belt. There weren’t any bandages. It looked like his lower body was invisible. But before he could take any more notice, he suddenly felt the massive pain in his eye fade away. Rembrandt then put his hands down and the cape his body.
“Please do not tell anybody else about my lack of legs” he asked. “Well, it was like just an hour ago. There is a little blackness, but that should go in a day or so. I shall leave you here for ten minutes, then Atlanta will escort you home” he said. Then, he walked out of his office, but Atlanta stayed, looking sad. As soon as the door closed, there was a second of silence, the Atlanta ran towards Ray and hugged him, sobbing over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry Ray...*sob*...I’m so sorry...” she said, crying. “I...I caused all of this...didn’t I?”
“...I forgive you Atlanta” Ray said. “I...I was a bit of a fool myself...I knew attacking Doorman was a bad idea...” Then, Atlanta, a little teary eyed, held Ray’s shoulders and looked at him.
“It wasn’t your fault Ray...” she said. “You acted out of pure emotion. I...I can understand that” she said. Then, she looked down, taking her hands off him and putting them together.
“And...I accept your offer” she said. Ray looked up at once.
“You...y-you mean...?” he asked. “You’ll....be my prom date?” Atlanta nodded and a smile came to Ray’s face. He felt so relieved and happy; he struggled to keep his emotions in. Before they all burst out like helium in a balloon, the door opened and Rembrandt came in again. The two assumed normal positions as if nothing ever happened.
“Right, you can go now” he said. “Dorman’s going to get his punishment. He’s banned from the prom. To tell you a secret, he was really looking forward to it. He begged for forgiveness, but he’s done this twice, and I am a man of my word” he said.
“...Thank you headmaster” Ray said. Rembrandt tipped his hat.
“Call me Rembrandt” he said.
Atlanta and Ray walked out of the school, both quite happy and started to make their way down to Ray’s church. They mainly talked about different things they hadn’t talked about, but felt a personal bond growing in between them. They walked and walked until they were at the church. The both of them stopped and looked at each other.
“This church belongs to you?” she asked.
“Well...it’s abandoned, so I took residence” he said. “Anyway...thanks for walking me home. I’ll see you tomorrow” he said. But Atlanta stood there for a few seconds and Ray had the feeling he never had before. It was like some sort of sweet music in his ears.
Suddenly, Ray took a step towards her and kissed her softly. Atlanta’s eyes opened up wide and Ray quickly pulled back. Ray had never kissed someone before. But he knew it felt great. Atlanta started to blush and looked down shyly.
“Oh...th-thank you.....hee hee.......” she said. Then, they looked at each other for a few more seconds before Atlanta slowly turned and walked away, leaving a happy and tired Ray standing there.
“...I’ll think of you lovingly....” he thought. Then, he turned around and walked into his church, making his way up to his room before grabbing a piece of paper and writing on it.
A few minutes later, he was done. He read what he had written:

My dearest Atlanta,
Before you came, I was struggling to realize what the true meaning of love was. I strived and tried my hardest to escape my spiralling depression, trying to find the one person who would make my life perfect. I thought she would have never showed up. But she did. And it’s you.
From the first time I saw you, stepping out of the carriage, I knew at once that there was something inside my weak and scarred that could not wait to get out. I have never felt this way before. I know now that you are my one and only and the only thing I desire.
I dream of you constantly. I dream that I save you in your time of need and I dream of you comforting me in mine as well. Your sweetness comes from a bottomless well, and I know I’ll love you for a very long time, if not forever.
I could go on forever about you and your many wonders, but I must draw my love letter to a close. I just want you to know that where ever you may roam, every breath you take and every move you make...I’ll always be thinking of you, my dearest.

Ray

Potently happy with what he had written, he folded it up and put it into an envelope. He wrote the addresses and stuff on the front and started to walk down to the mailbox outside the gates to his church. But as he walked up to the mailbox, a silent fear gripped him. He watched the mailbox alone, and then looked at the letter. He realized he let himself get carried away. He looked down, considered his decision, then put the letter in his pocket and went to bed for the following twilight,
The night had come that day. Ray made his party hat nice and tidy and tightened his bow to make him look smarter. He put on a new, nice and white sheet and ate a few mints for good breath. Then, he was called by Alex again.
“Yeah?” Ray asked, quite excited. He could see that Alex had done his own part for the prom and replaced his gold chain for a tie. He hand no date and didn’t care one bit.
“We’re a little late” he said. “You ready?” Ray nodded and ran down to the front door, leaping out of the church. Then, the both made their way to the gym, where light music (unlike a disco) was playing. It seemed Rembrandt was a fan of the Police and put on the song Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (yes, Rembrandt was the DJ). As they walked in, Ray instantly spotted Atlanta, looking the best Ray had ever seen her. Her sheet was clean, her face pretty, her ribbons well tied. Ray couldn’t wait.
“Ray! You made it!” she said, waving. Ray walked up to her.
“I thought I was late!” Ray said, a smile on his face. He thought of the letter, which was still in his pocket. He thought quite deeply about, whether to give it to her or not. He decided to give it to her when the time was just perfect. Then, Atlanta took Ray’s hand for the first time. Ray felt a triumphant and soggy feeling inside of him.
“C’mon, the prom’s just started!” she said. “Let’s dance!”
Ray never felt this way before. It was as if Atlanta was like America to Christopher Columbus. He was discovering so many different things just by being with her. But what was the biggest thing he had probably discovered was the feeling of love. As they danced, Ray felt more and happier within.
A series of songs was played by Rembrandt, from his favourite bands, including R.E.M, David Bowie, Super Furry Animals, Stereophonics and Bruce Springsteen (not to forget The Police)
Unfortunately...it would only go downhill from here.
“RAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Everyone turned to see a furious Doorman stomping into the room, his fists clenched. He steeped up to Ray, while Atlanta stepped back in fright.
“Doorman???” Ray said in shock.
“That’s right Ray!!! I’m back, and I’m gonna exact revenge on you!!!” he shouted.
“What did I do? Ray asked.
“You got me banned from this!!!! And now you’re gonna pay!!!! Prepare to be RAAAAAAAWKED!!!!!!!!” he shouted, tensing his muscles. But Ray looked at Atlanta and suddenly felt a surge of hope inside him.
Doorman charged at Ray, but Ray quickly jumped out of the way. As Doorman turned to see where Ray was, Ray jumped and kicked Doorman in the face. Doorman flinched slightly and tried to grab Ray, but Ray was too fast in the air. He landed on his feet and jumped out of the way of a large fist. Ray got behind Doorman and dealt a few punches to his back, but a large foot kicked Ray to the floor. Doorman was going to his trademark pose, crush and punch move, but Ray rolled out of the just as Doorman landed on his butt. Ray then got up and watched as an enraged Doorman turned around.
“Oh yeah!” he shouted. “Keep it spicy! You know I love a good fight Ray!!!! Keep on scrapping!!” he shouted. But the scrapping would soon be halted. Ray looked up to see Alex hanging on a chandelier that was placed on the roof. Alex had a pair of cutters. Suddenly, he cut the chandelier and it fell through the air, slamming Doorman across the head. Doorman yelled and started to hold his head. He suddenly collapsed, but not before the candles on the chandelier set fire to the floors due to the bruning wax on the candles. Everyone started to scream and panic, running out of the gym
“Evacuate!” Rembrandt shouted. Ray quickly looked for Atlanta, but she wasn’t to be seen. Ray looked at the entrance to see Atlanta running.
“Atlanta!!!” Ray shouted, giving chase.
Ray ran after her through the woods and down a weird secluded path. Soon, Ray ran out of breath and started to walk towards where Atlanta had hid herself.
He finally found an alcove in the tress, where a frightened Atlanta was huddled, sobbing.
“Atlanta?” he asked quietly. She didn’t reply. Ray walked closer to her, dodging the bushes below his feet and knelt next to her.
“Atlanta...are you okay?” he asked. Because she was so frightened, she stayed quiet. Ray also felt a little traumatized. Slowly, he got down next to her and embraced her. She stayed there for a few seconds, but the warmth of Ray’s body slowly made her arms go around his body. Soon, the both were lightly huddled by the tree, sharing a moment of love together in silence. How could such a night end so badly? It felt like it had all happened within a minute or so. Ray hoped it would get better.
The gym had burnt down and the school became closed for a while. Rembrandt wouldn’t get any money this way. It meant the worst thing. It was time for him and his family to leave Sturmsville.
“No...Please....you can’t leave me....not now.......” Ray said, sobbing as he stood before Atlanta, who stood in front of the carriage.
“Ray...I’m so sorry....I wish I could stay longer...with you......but if I do........nothing but badness will come from it...I have to go” she said. Ray tried to hold back his tears, but failed badly. He remembered the kiss they shared at the church and the walk they had. Slowly, he pulled out the letter, sobbing heavily. He didn’t bother to wipe his tears. Alex watched from afar, feeling extremely sorry for Alex.
“I....I wrote this for you....when you......felt sad.........but since you’re.....going now.....I’m....I’m gonna give it to you now.....so.....so you can remember me.........” he said. Atlanta looked at the letter and took it. She opened the envelope slowly and begun to read it. As she did, her face became more in pain and her tears started to come out.
“...............*sob*.............Ray.........” she said.
“Atlanta.......” Ray said. Then, Atlanta wiped her tears. She looked at Ray, in anguish, but a smile on her face.
“We’ll.....meet again” she said. “Just because my father needs work doesn’t mean..........this is the end. I’ll make sure we’ll return.............and I’ll come back as well..........for you” she said. Ray wiped his tears.
“So......this is goodbye then?” he asked softly. Atlanta took his hands and the two looked at each other. Atlanta moved closer and kissed him by the cheek.
“...I love you” she whispered softly. She then let go and slowly walked backward towards the carriage. They said nothing, choking on their own words. Atlanta wiped another tear and climbed into the carriage, looking at the back window. Ray started to wave as his only love started to part him. Atlanta gave a sad wave back. Ray became smaller and smaller until he vanished around the corner, thus ending this story.
But it wasn’t the end. Ray knew that deep down in his heart, she would return to him. As she vanished, he whispered:

Every move you make
Every step you take
Every smile you break
I’ll be watching you

THE END