Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 20:57:11 -0500 From: Ritch Christopher Subject: just-beyond-that-hill-7 All rights reserved. Copyright held by the author. If you are underage or are offended by Gay fiction, containing graphic sex and explicit language, please exit now. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> I don't know how late it was when I finally collapsed on one the beds in Caleb's and Adam's room. I was so exhausted from the drive, the picnic, the Hal encounter, the supper, and the "triple" bath with Hal and Lyle. I remember them walking me down to the bedroom and the tiff we had, when I wouldn't let them sleep with me. Had I walked down the hall, past Dora's room, stark naked? Because that is how I awoke. Naked and cold. I hadn't bothered to pull down the bedspread and the skin on my entire body, looked like a plowed field, furrowed with indentures made by that chenille bedspread with a huge purple peacock. I wondered how long it would take to appear normal again from all the dimples. The sun wasn't even up, but the goddamned rooster was. I lay there trying to focus in the dawn, letting my eyes drink in, a room full of unfilled dreams and wishes, never to come true. I reminisced how I felt when my love, my brother Hal, had been killed in Korea...but this room held the ghosts of two brothers, also slain in that far Asian purgatory. As sexually active as Hal and Lyle were, I wondered what had transpired, among the four of them, if anything. Poor Dora, she had been through more nightmares than my Momma. I guess I should have let Momma and Dad know about my departure, but I had decided so sudden-like, to leave Eddie. Oh Eddie...I've only been gone a day, and it's like I left you months ago. It's not possible to forget the one you love, that quickly. I had gone too far with the young Hal and Lyle...I hadn't wanted anything like to happen...at least not, so soon. And now, they had gotten their hopes up, that I would stay with them awhile...become a big brother substitute...and a sex toy. I had told myself, that I wasn't attracted to "kids". Hell, I'm still a kid, myself. I needed someone to look up, to...not two, someones, to look up to me. How would I get out of this commitment, before it went too far...or had it already reached a point of no return? God, I hoped not. I was sure that Arkansas was NOT the place I was running to. Should I just leave before they awoke? Hell, it was still dark outside, I couldn't've had more than three hours sleep...but I was wide awake...and raring to go. Dora had been so kind to me, Perhaps, I had helped fill some of the void in her life, she had had to face so suddenly. There was just the first crack of the dawn, creeping into the room. On the walls of the older brothers' bedroom, hung a guitar, a school pennant with the letters, HAZELHURST...wonder where that was? I saw some trophies on the chest of drawers, and a framed, family photograph showing a much younger, Hal, Lyle, and Dora,,,and then whom I supposed, were Adam, Caleb, and their dad. In the foreground was a collie...their dog, I guess. It was the picture of an American family...smiling...loving...not knowing how short their happiness would be...bombarded with deaths and tragedies. There was another 3/4 bed on the other side of the room, matching the one I had slept on. I could stay here a few days...maybe...I could feel at home here...but I wouldn't be happy. I had the urge to dress, gather my stuff, throw it in the truck and head East, back to Bradley County...but THAT wouldn't make me happy, either. Marie's baby would be here in about two weeks, and I had to stay gone, at least, for the dust to settle on that ordeal. I kept thinking of God...not one-hundred-per-cent sure, that I still wasn't being punished for something...or everything. Once you've had that "old-time-religion" poked down your throat, all your life, it was hard as hell to shake the guilt feelings. Religion should be a safe place and a haven of rest...so the songs said...but it had brought nothing but pain and torment to me...If Hal had lived, I would never have met and learned to love Eddie. If Marie hadn't dated Eddie, I never would have met him, If she hadn't gotten pregnant...I could have lived happily ever after with him...but Eddie belonged to her...at least on paper and in the eyes of God...but Eddie's heart and soul belonged to me. Would I ever have ALL of him?...Who knows?...God does, that's who...I knew He would never let me have Eddie. Shit...thinking like that, could make me a candidate for the looney bin. It's not fucking fair! Won't I ever find happiness? Well, the talk with myself, had produced one positive reality...I couldn't and wouldn't stay HERE. That was settled. Now, how do I make my exit...a long goodbye...or steal away, like a thief in the night? I decided to look around the room for a pen and some stationery, leave a note...and run like the dickens...and like Lot said, don't look back or you'll turn into a pillar of cowdip...I think that's what he said. In the second bureau drawer, I found an old school tablet, and pencil. The room was almost "light enough" now, to see how and what to write. I sat on the edge of the bed trying to find the "right words". Heck! I didn't KNOW them...they were nothing to me...why was I being so dramatic? So, I jotted down,,,"Thanks for the meal and your warm, Southern hospitality. Something came up, and I had to go....Judd". That was enough, said. I made up the bed...straightened the room...opened my suitcase and pulled out a fresh washed pair of jeans...a polo shirt...clean underwear...got dressed...combed my hair...closed my gear, and quietly went down the hall...out the front door...into my truck and scurried OUT of Arkansas... I headed South...stopping long enough to look at the map, I was hoping I was going toward the direction of Texas, As the sun was almost up, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the Ozark mountains fading in back of me,,,the more I drove, the land was getting flatter and flatter, with no mountains ahead of me. The scenery was boring. The sight of trees and grass was disappearing...If this is what Texas looked like, Texans would surely like Tennessee better. I decided to make up a game, to pass the time until I came to a town...Maybe, I would meet a cowboy, fall in love and raise cattle. OK...I would think of every cowboy I had ever seen in the movies, and decide which one of them I would go to bed with...Let's see, of course, you have to start with the King, Roy Rogers...no, I didn't like his squinty eyes...Gene Autry...he wasn't all that good looking and he sang through his nose...John Wayne...no, he wasn't a real cowboy...he made all those war pictures, too...Cowboys, cowboys,,,Wild Bill Elliot? Hell no...Lash LaRue was sort of a turn on, with that whip...what about, Whip Wilson, naw, too fat...Hopalong Cassidy...I could imagine going to bed with him and hearing his awful "Yuck, yuck, yuck" laugh of his...heck I'd sooner go to bed with Smiley Burnette, Gabby Hayes, Fuzzy St. John,..or Andy Clyde...Andy Clyde?...How about his partner, Allen "Rocky" Lane?...Now he's one that could turn me on...Eddie Dean?...not even on a really cold night....Rex Allen?...wasn't he Roy Rogers' nephew or cousin?...Rod Cameron?...Greasy hair and furrowed brow...Sunset Carson?...Too tall....his cock would have to be a foot long...couldn't handle that!...That new guy,..Audie Murphy?...to little...Charles Starrett, the Durango Kid...Now he was a looker...perfect teeth...couldn't act worth a damn if he thought no one could recognize him behind that black bandana...How about the Lone Ranger?...yeah, how about the Lone Ranger? Forget it...'nuff said...There MUST be ONE "cowboy of my dreams"...But who?...John Derek had made a few westerns...and he was the prettiest man in the movies, by far,,,but he didn't LOOK like a cowboy...I know,..he's a little short, but he rides his horse real well...and he fights with his fists...and he has beautiful black wavy hair...TIM HOLT!!! That's him. I would go to Texas and find Tim Holt...and go to bed with him. Well, I was glad that was settled...Now let's concentrate on where you're going. I knew what I was running from...Wouldn't it be funny if Tim Holt actually had a ranch in Texas,,,and he would hire me to work for him...feeding his horses...and I would stay in the bunkhouse...and every night he would come and get me and we would suck and fuck all night long...Damn!...Texas sure is big...I could never find Tim Holt, here. I had just crossed the Red River, when I saw a sign, saying, "Next Town, Titus, Texas". Sounded pretty good. I was getting hungry and wanted something besides cold Spam for breakfast. There couldn't have been more than 20 buildings in the town, but one of them said, "Diner". That was good. I parked the truck and went in...There was about fifteen guys in there, all wearing cowboy hats. 'sfunny, but I hadn't seen any horses tied up, in front...maybe the hitchin' post was in the back. I sat on a stool at the counter, and looked at the menu...all hand-written. The top item read...Speshul (special) ...3 eggs, country ham, hominy grits, buttermilk biscuits, red-eye or sweet milk gravy, home fried potatoes, jelly, and hot coffee...79 cents...The price was right...! This boy, about my age, came up and asked, "Kin I hep you?" "Yeah, I'd like your "speshul". "Fried, scrambled, or over-easy?" "Scrambled, would be nice." "Somethin' else?" "Yeah, I'd like to use your bathroom." "It's right through that door...and out back..." "Thanks."....(OUTBACK? Was he kidding?...This is the 1950's, surely they have indoor plumbing in Texas). Maybe some parts of Texas did,,,but this diner didn't. Honest to God...they had a four hole out-house! I felt like I had just got out of a spaceship, having landed on another planet. The holes had been cut out of the same board. There was an older man sitting on one of them...another guy, in his 20's was peeing into another..and I had my choice of one of the remaining two. I knew I had to sit down and do number two...it might be a while before I got a chance to go again...The stench was unbelievable...and when I dropped my jeans, I could hear and feel the flies swarming beneath my chosen hole. I wanted to laugh,,,I would try not to get sick and lose my appetite. I looked for a roll of toilet paper...and God, as my judge, then only thing that was there was a fucking Western Auto catalogue...could you believe it? It wasn't even Sears-Roebuck!! OK, I was human...I wanted to see what the young man had, to pee with...and after looking, all I could say to myself was..."They sure grow 'em big in Texas." They could've tied him up at the hitching post...he was hung like a mustang. If I looked at him, long enough, I could be in danger of getting splinters in my rising erection. God, I hoped that those flies wouldn't bite my ass, and I would have to spring up with a raging hard-on. I kept thinking about Job in the Bible...what would come next...the frogs or the boils? The younger guy, finally finished and buttoned up his dungarees and went out the door, with the screak of the old rusty spring. The older man was either drunk, asleep, or dead. His eyes were closed as he sat on hole #1 with his head resting against the backwall. I wanted to shit and git. I felt like a foreigner in a strange land, as I ate breakfast. Their accents were different than those of Tennessee. Tennessee twang was all I had ever heard...but this was a flatter sound...even slower. The guy who had taken my order came back to me at the counter.. "Want more kawphy?" "Yes, please." "You vistin' or just travlin' thru?" "Just travelling through." "Where ya headed?" "Don't know?" "You're headed somewhere and don't know where you're goin'?" Here we go again,,,I had had this same conversation with Hal, only yesterday. And look where that led. "Nope." "Well, how will you know when you get there?" I laughed... "Good question...but I'll just know..." "Goin' East or West". "Right now, I'm headed South...and then West, I guess..." "You runnin' from somethin'?...I mean, you ain't in trouble with the law or anything...you know, like the draft." "No,,,I'm sorta taking a vacation...I don't have to worry about the draft." "You disabled or something?" "No, my brother was killed in Korea,,,and I'm the last surviving son, in my family." "Man...sorry to hear about that...your brother, I mean...I didn't know that would make you draft exempt.." "How about you...and the draft?" "Oh, they're gonna git me...probably next month...I'm thinking about goin' over to Dallas and enlist in the Marines...be a leatherneck." "Like John Wayne?" "Yeah...that's right...he WAS a leatherneck in that movie." "You got a movie here in Titus?" "Yeah, changes double features three times a week...30 cents for adults and 9 cents for kids over 12." "Same in Tennessee." "That where you from?" "Yeah, I live on a farm there, between Ooltewah and Cleveland...'bout 30 miles north of Chattanooga." "I live on a farm with my mom and older brother. He's in the Navy...somewhere over in the Pacific...the last time we got a letter." "My name's Judd...what's yours?" "Edward...Ed...Eddie...anything you wanna call me." Right! I was stunned...Yesterday I had met another "Hal" and now, "Eddie". What kind of freaking coincidence was this? Must be fate...I must be on the right track of my journey...these had to be "signs"...Signs?...from whom?...God?...I doubt it. "Pleased to meet you, Ed..." I couldn't force myself to call him "Eddie". "You figgered out your next stop?" "Nope, hadn't even thought about it." "How about Dallas or Fort Worth?" "Maybe." I had never really seen a big city. The idea of a big city to a small town country boy, was both exciting and scary, Just then, two more guys, about our age, wearing jeans and calico shirts and cowboy hats, came in... "Hey Eddie!" "Forrest...Bryan...Sit down and I'll pour you a cup of kawphy." The sat on the two stools next to me. "These are my best friends...Bryan and Forrest...This here, is Judd.,,he's travlin' thru, from Tennessee." "Howdy..." they both said at the same time... I picked up the queue with, "Howdy". I replied back. Like my social studies teacher told me..."When in Rome..." "Where y'all goin'?" Ed asked. "Over't Jarmin's Creek...do a little fishin'...swimmin'...soakin' up the sun...Wanna go?" "I have to work thru lunch...I could meet ya over there, 'bout 1:45...Hey Judd,,,wanna go swimmin'?" "Naw, I gotta be on my way." "Where to?...You don't know where yer goin'...Stick around, maybe you was comin' to Titus...did ya think about that?" "I don't know...I don't think I'd better.." "Heck,,,why don't you follow Forrest and Bryan, over't the creek and I'll come on over later, and bring some food left over from lunch...It'd be free..." Why not? What else was there to do. Sitting by a creek may help me gather my thoughts and decide where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do...and when. "How far is it?" "'Bout five miles down state road nine." "What you drivin'?" Bryan asked. "That old blue pick-up parked outside...with the license plates shaped like the state of Tennessee." "We're in that green Hudson...You through eatin' breakfast?" "Yeah...all I gotta do is pay, Ed." "Naw, naw, that's on the house...call it Texas hospitality?" "Thanks, but you don't have to do that..." "Just git goin'...and I'll meet you in a little while..." "OK...which way, fellers?" I asked in my newly acquired vernacular. "Just follow us." The five miles to Jarmin's Creek seemed more like twenty...as the crow flies. I was pleased to see the signs of grass and trees, as I travelled down "Old Nine." The creek looked muddy, but they had stopped near a thicket of Birch trees. "Hey Judd, we're gonna take a swim first...and fish later." "OK," They both sat on the bumper of the Hudson and began pulling off their cowboy boots. As I stood there watching them, it was deja vu. It reminded me of the afternoon I had first discovered sex, just a few years ago, with Bobby and Chuck, Hal's two best friends, now dead in the war. "Judd, you wanna dip of Bruton's or a chaw? Bryan's got a pack of Beech Nut Mint." "No thanks...never tried it..." "Come on, have a dip", Forrest said, as he began filling his lower lip with the reddish brown powder. "This mint is really good," Bryan offered as he chomped down on a big swig of tobacco." "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't smoke, don't dip, don't chew, and don't drink," "You a southern Baptist?" Forrest chided. "Well, Momma tried to make me one." I said, chuckling. These guys were so friendly. I felt I had known them for years. The more they talked, the more memories of Bobby and Chuck kept coming back. Once their mouths were filled with their "grown-up" vices, they continued to undress. They unbuttoned the shirts, and wiped under their arms with them...unbuckled their belt buckles and slid down the tight dungarees for the "unveiling". Neither of them wore socks or underwear. They apparently swam a lot, because they had "tans" where their bathing suits should have been. Both had good builds...much better than I ever hoped to have. Their pubic hair matched the hair on their heads, perfectly...Forrest was a dirty blonde, and Bryan had brown hair, which he had slicked back into ducktails. When I looked at their manhood, my suspicions were confirmed..."They DO grow 'em big in Texas." They stood there naked, behind their car. Bryan gave his penis a flip, as if to loosen the bind, it had been under, due to the pressing of the tight dungarees. Forrest took about three steps to the right and started peeing. It reminded me of the old bull we had once borrowed from Mr. Miller, when we wanted to get our cows pregnant. "Come on Judd, git your clothes off...and let's hit the water." From what I had just viewed, I couldn't remember when I had been so embarrassed. I didn't want them to see how pale I was, beneath my jeans, and I didn't want to be measured up by their standards...also, how would I react. Did the sight of these two massive organs excite me. I felt so numb, I couldn't tell, as I avoided staring at them. "You guys, go ahead. I'll be there in a minute." This would give me a chance to assess my situation. I had heard that they tarred and feathered queers in Texas...and if they got any idea that I had gotten aroused by them....well, then, I just might be killed, right here on the spot. They ran down to the creek bank and jumped in...splashing like two kids. I slowly undressed, taking time to fold each article of my clothing, one by one...stalling for time....I was down to my shorts before I had to courage to look and see, if I was "showing" through the cotton material. I knew if I peed, any sign on an erection would subside...so that became my goal. I went behind a tree and stood there with my cock in hand,,,waiting to get an urge to urinate...and waiting for "it" to go down. But the more I stood there, the harder it got. If I never learned another thing in life, I would like to know how to control a hard-on...This time, could even mean life or death to me...The thought of that...helped...the idea of being killed by two cowboys on the side of a creek in Texas...made my penis, very, very, soft...maybe TOO soft. I was so nervous, it had shrunk to about the size of two inches. Shit! This was worse than ever. Compared to them, I looked like I hadn't even gone through puberty yet. I had two choices...either put my clothes back on, or run like the devil and plunge in the muddy water, before they got a chance to see my inadequacies. I opted for the latter...and screamed, "GERONIMO" and rushed toward the creek, burying my lower half, quickly as possible. "What took you so long?" "I thought I had to take a crap...but it was a false alarm." "Let me know, if you have to shit in the water...I wanna get out first." "I will...I promise" I joked back. We swam, splashed, and shoved water on each other, for about fifteen minutes. Then they started toward the bank. They sat down on the grass. "We oughta let the water, calm down a bit...we probably scared the fish with all that commotion. Wanna play some cards or somethin'?" Neither of them had made an indication of getting dressed. This would put a new meaning of the words, "strip poker". "Yeah, you guys play 'Old Maid'?", I kidded. "Hell, yes...that's Bryan's favorite game." "Get fucked, will ya?" "Judd, choose your poison...poker or pinochle." "Poker, I guess...I'm not very good...I haven't played all that much." "I guess not...poker's not like the chosen sport of the Baptist church." "I just never had anyone to play poker with." "We'll teach you...we'll stop before you lose your truck...we'll have mercy on you." "Wanna play for pennies?" "Naw, Forrest and I always play for pebbles...Let's go down by the bank and each of us'll pick up 20 small rocks...OK?" This was TOO much...."strip poker" and "playing to get your rocks off". Bryan picked up Forrest's pebbles while he went to the car to get the cards. When we returned, we all sat down on the grass, under a tree, stark naked, We had dried ourselves off with our shirts. I kept mine and casually laid it on my lap, covering my crotch...or lack off, compared to them... During the next hour, I became proficient in "draw", "seven card stud", "spit in the ocean", "low hole", and "little Chicago". No one was really a winner, as our pile of pebbles looked about even. Bryan looked at Forrest with a little wink and said to me, "Wanna raise the stakes?" "You mean, play for real money?" I asked... "Naw, Forrest and Eddie and me, sometimes play for "other things". "Oh?" "Yeah, we play one hand of five card showdown, and the loser has to jerk the rest of us off...you game?" "I don't know." I knew I was headed for trouble. "We don't think nothin' about it...just guy stuff." Once again, I felt like running toward the truck and wheeling back down on "old Nine". "Come on Judd, you might win...or you might lose...depending on the way you look at it," This was the next dilemma...did I want to win and play with their monsters...or did I want to lose and make them suffer the consequence of having to get me off? "Do you guys really do this, or are you just pulling my leg?" "It's more like pullin' your dick." Bryan joked. "I just don't know..." "Shut up and deal" Forrest shuffled the cards and I cut them. He began dealing five cards to each of us, face up. After the second round, Bryan had a pair of sixes. Forrest had nothing. I had an ace and a ten. Next round, nothing changed, except I drew a queen, Fourth round, Forrest had gotten a pair of eights and Bryan received his third six. I got a king. "OK, last card." Bryan got a third eight, Forrest's hand didn't improve..which meant Bryan had won. But then, as luck would have it, my fifth card was dealt and it was a blooming queen, I had hit an inside straight. "Damn...beginners' luck!!", Forrest shouted. I sat there gleaming inside. I had won...but won what?? "OK, Forrest, you get the honors..." "Shit." "Who does what to whom?" I asked innocently. "Forrest has to beat us off." "Well, y'all can help me out by gittin' your dicks hard for me. I don't wanna hafta do everything." Now, if I got an erection, at least, I would have an excuse. "You wanna do us, both together, or one at a time?" Bryan asked. "Well, you're already hard...I might as well start on you...Come on, Judd, get your dick up." Forrest reached over and grabbed Bryan's cock, and Bryan lay back in the grass, looking at the noon sun. Forrest's right hand went to work on that humongous thing, while his left hand cupped Bryan's balls. "Oh, baby, that feels good." Bryan sighed. I was getting harder by the minute, watching these two studs.. "I don't wanna cum, just yet...do Judd a while." "You ready, Judd?" "Ready as I'll ever be." A nervous wave went through me body as Forrest reached down and grabbed me. His grip was firm. He had done this before...and many times. He knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Apparently, he got into this action, because I peered between his legs and he was (I thought) fully erect...It looked like he had a fishing pole adjoined to his pelvis. I was getting close to a climax, when Bryan yelled..."OK, that's enough for Judd, I want some more." "Why don't you guys stand up and I'll do you both at the same time?" Bryan and I both raised to our feet. He took us in each of his hands and pulled on our cocks, making us walk toward each other. We were only inches apart, when Forrest placed my penis on top of Bryan's, outstretched broom handle. He must have been three or four inches longer than I. Forrest wrapped his hand around both of them and began jerking us together, I looked straight into Bryan's eyes, hoping he would look into mine and not observe the difference in our size, A funny thought went through my head...I was so glad that the "prize" was a hand job. I didn't relish getting snuff or tobacco stains on my cock, if he had opted for blow jobs instead, Bryan was using his free hand to take turns playing with our ball sacs...first one, then the other...back and forth. "OK, let's make a side bet," Forrest said as, stopping the action. "The usual?", Bryan asked. "Yep?" "What's the 'usual'?" I asked, hesitantly, "Whichever one of us cums first, has to do Forrest...That OK with you?" "OK", I said, thinking about a new incentive. If I climaxed before Bryan, I would get my hands on that huge thing of Forrest's. I decided not to hold back...just let it rip as soon as possible. I relaxed a bit as Forrest began stroking us again. I knew I only had less than a minute to go. "Hey guys, I'm ready..." "Then shoot it...shoot it all over Bryan." My first spurt hit him on the navel and the next five or six covered his pubic hair and covered everything that he called "private". I through my head back in ecstasy. When I felt I was drained, I had a greedy idea. "Forrest, why don't you stand up and let me do you and Forrest together?" "Suits me." I was hoping I could get my one hand to go all the way around both of them. I hands were just big enough. I had never seen such a display of masculinity. I gripped them with determination and began to pleasure them, as well as I could. I don't know how long I kept this up...it seemed like an eternity. They both had "staying" power. I wondered if it took longer for a large penis to cum. I would soon find out...it my hand held out. As I toyed with their scrotums, as Forrest had done, they both began to contract at the same time...they knew each other better than I thought...they knew how to climax together...They were just about there, when I heard a noise behind me... "What the fuck's goin' on?" said the voice. It was Ed. "Come on in, the water's fine, " Forrest said to him. "No...I'll be in charge of "clean up". Just then, like Mt, Vesuvius meeting Mt. Etna...both of them exploded together, White streams were crossing before my eyes like rockets on the fourth of July, Left, right, up, down, one, then the other. I released my grip, allowing the juices to flow, when suddenly Ed said. "Excuse me, Judd." He pulled me back slightly and sank to his knees replacing me in the position of honor. He began, licking and swallowing, every white milky thing in sight. This was what he meant by "clean up". I thought he would lick them raw, he was so avid in his plight. I sat there in awe and disbelief at what I was viewing. When he had "cleaned up" the last drop, he turned and looked down at my flaccid member and in a swoop, he dropped his head down to "clean" me. I feared that I might risk a second arousal, so I stopped him, before I lost control, again, The four of us all looked satisfied. No one spoke...we just smiled at each other, "I though I was bringin' lunch to you, guys,,,I didn't know you were gonna feed me." We all laughed to ease the mood. "What did you bring us to eat?" Bryan asked. "I've got somethin' to feed you, but I think we ought to eat the diner food, first.." "Naw, let's go for a swim first and wash this stuff off." "Let's go." Ed said, as he began tearing off his clothes. "Then we can eat...fish...or whatever...Do you guys wanna play some poker?" "I'll poke you later, if that's what you have in mind..." "Maybe...last one in ...." he screamed as he ran to the creek, I stood there on the grass, shaking my head. This was some trip. Where would I go next...and when??? <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> The next chapter will follow as soon as I add the next episode to "ember-in-the-cinders" in the High School section..RC.