Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 20:32:45 -0400 From: Jeff Wilson Subject: W.A.R. Part 3, Chapter 8 The internet is an amazing device. It can be a place to hide from reality, but it can also be all too real. It can widen our circle of friends, but in turn, it can hurt us just as much as real life. I have been blessed by writing this story. I have met people from around the world. There's Jerry up in Alaska. My good buddy Arty, who I have shared many things with. Axl, who I've been pleased to get to know better. So many more, more than I could possibly name. You are all special to me and made this a rewarding experience. But then, there is another. A person who encouraged me and came to be my friend through the niftywriters chatroom. His name was Justin Case, but his real name was Jim. He was a unique individual, a person of enormous talent, but even more heart. Just by meeting him online, you felt like you were his best friend. He encouraged me, and he was always quick to tell me that he thought I was a good writer. It meant alot, coming from him. I found out that he was killed in a car accident yesterday... I still can't truly believe it. I checked the niftywriters room today, just to see if it would change. It didn't. He's gone and I miss him already. He was a rare person and a true gift in my life for the brief time I knew him. I'm going to dedicate this story to him. My only wish is that it's worthy of him. In Justin's words: "Life is a gift one we should be thankful for every second of our day. We are all gifts from God above; we are his creation. For that reason alone, we must revel in glory and be ever thoughtful of our existence." Thank you, Justin. Thank you for helping me to be a better creation just by knowing you. W.A.R. Part Three - Self Destructive Tendencies Chapter Eight: A Boy Like Me by Jeff Wilson Jerry Freemont was acting really weird. Now, Jerry usually acted weird, but this was different. Instead of giving a smartass comment to the math teacher and causing trouble, he was quiet and subdued in the corner. His hair almost covered his face and he looked like he was kind of out of it. Bobby Rush sat next to me and whispered. "Look at Jerry. Man, I think he's wasted." "Maybe he's just sick or something." I suggested, but I figured Bobby was right. "Shhhhh." scolded Sarah Taylor from her front row, center seat. God, I wanted to slap her sometimes. Mrs. Andrews, our math teacher, asked us to be quiet. Then she continued explaining quadratic equations. I started thinking about Brett. He looked so good this morning. This afternoon after school, I was going to go to his house. If things went right, his mom wouldn't be home and we'd finally get to have some fun again. Ever since the first time he sucked my... well, you know... Well, I've been looking for the chance to return the favor. But we've never had the right time. Either our parents have been home, or I've been helping my dad, or something else came up. Mrs. Andrews asked a question about "x" being three times "y" or something that I wasn't paying attention to, when Dustin raised his hand. I kind of laughed to myself because if I didn't know the answer, then there was no way Dustin was going to know. But to everyone's surprise, Dustin not only had the right answer, but he gave it without trying to be silly about it. Mrs. Andrews commended him and moved on. I leaned over to Dustin. "How the hell did you know that?" I asked. "I did a bunch of these with Mike the other day." He said. "Mike, Mike, Mike. Dude, that's all you talk about anymore. Dusty, seriously, it's been a month, I think it's time to ..." "SHHHH!!!" shushed Sarah again. I couldn't take it anymore. "No! I won't shut up!! God damn it, you have to be the most annoying fucking bitch on the planet!" I said. Well, that earned me a trip to the principal's office. I walked down the hall to the office slowly. I like our principal, Mrs. Patrick, but she can be pretty mean when you're in trouble. When I got to the office, I sat in the waiting area until Mrs. Patrick's secretary told me to go in to her office. Mrs. Patrick did not look happy to see me. "Well, Mr. Roberts. You must have missed me. What happened this time? You didn't fall asleep in class again, did you?" She asked. "No. I kind of used some cuss words in math class." I said. No use beating around the bush about it. "What words did you use?" She asked. "Well, the d-word, the b-word, and the f-word." I admitted. "William! My gracious! I've never heard you use words like that!" "Well, I didn't mean to use them. But sometimes Sarah can get so annoying you just want to..." "Sarah? Oh William! Not Sarah Taylor!" Mrs. Patrick rolled her eyes. "Yeah." I said. "Anyway, she can..." Mrs. Patrick interrupted me. "William, you don't understand. There's no way I can just let this one go. Sarah is the daughter of the school board president." "So what? So she gets special treatment?" "Well, no... But you realize that she'll go home and tell her father that she was cursed at in school and then I'll get a call asking what punishment was given to you." "And is that what you would do if it was somebody besides the school board president? I thought that stuff was confidential." I said, getting pissed about the whole thing. "William... Relax. That is what got you into this mess in the first place. You need to control your temper. A boy like you is going to encounter problems in his life. You have to learn how to control yourself." "Wait, wait. What do you mean, a boy like me? What does that mean?" "Well, it means a lot of things. You're a very smart boy, William. You know how to behave. So far you haven't been a problem to any of your teachers or me. But all of a sudden, you've fallen asleep in class and now you're swearing at other children. William, I know that your family went through some hard times last summer. I know that you were often left alone with your grandmother and I also know that you spent about a month with a black eye that nobody ever really explained." "That was an accident!" I said. "William... You know that if there are problems at home that I'm here to help you." "What?!? Whoa! Look Mrs. Patrick, I know where you're headed with this, but you can forget it. I'm not being abused, okay?" "William, listen..." "No, you listen! I didn't come here to have you say this stuff about my family! My dad would never hit me, okay. I came here because I got in trouble in class, not because of my parents." Mrs. Patrick's phone rang and she picked it up. She listened and then jumped out of her chair and headed for the door. "What happened?" I asked. "What room were you in, William?" She asked opening her door. "Mrs. Andrews." I replied. "Go to the auditorium, I'll explain why later." She said as she hurried out the door. I sat there kind of stunned for a minute. Then I slowly walked toward the auditorium. When I got there, I was surprised to see everyone from my class there. I asked Dustin what was going on. "Billy, it was sick, dude. Jerry asked to use the bathroom. But he like collapsed on the way out. We laughed because we thought he was joking. But then he like started going into convulsions and throwing up, so Mrs. Andrews called the nurse and they sent us here." "Whoa, that's fucked up!" I replied Just then Sarah walked up to us. I tried to tell her I was sorry, but she cut me off. "Don't even start, Billy. You boys are really pathetic. I hope they suspend you for what you did Billy." With that she left and went back to talk with her friends. Dustin looked at me. I looked at Dustin. Dustin laughed. "I think she likes you." He said. "Shut up, Dustin." I replied. When the bell rang, we were sent to our classes. We were all kind of shocked about what happened. Really, Jerry wasn't a bad kid. He could be a jerk, sure. But he used to be a really nice boy. We were friends a few years ago. Then he started hanging out with different people and I started hanging out with Dustin and Brett. Then his hair started getting longer and he started changing his attitude. By the beginning of this year, we didn't even talk anymore. But he used to be a boy just like me. I was actually kind of worried about him. I talked to Brett on the bus on the way home about Jerry. "He was my friend a few years ago, you know." I said. "Yeah. Me too." Brett replied. "But he really changed into an asshole." "You think he'll be okay?" I asked. "How should I know?" He said. "What do you think happened?" I asked. "I'll bet you he took something stupid and it backfired on him. But you know what? It won't do any good, and in a few weeks, he'll be doing the same stupid shit again." "Yeah, I guess so." I said, looking out the window. "Are you alright? You seem distracted." "I don't know. It's weird. I hardly knew Jerry anymore, yet I'm worried about him." "Look, that's natural. You care about people. You always have. It's one of the things that makes you who you are. Here's my house, see you later, okay?" "Okay." I watched as he got off the bus. When I got home, the house was empty. I stopped long enough to grab a sandwich, and then took my bookbag and started walking over to Brett's. I heard police sirens near Dustin's house, but didn't think much of it. Brett's mom was home, so we just did homework again. Every once in a while he'd sneak a kiss in when she wasn't around, which I thought was really cool. I started walking home at around six o'clock. I was surprised to see Dustin sitting on his stump in the woods. A squirrel ran past him and up a tree as I came near. "Hey... What are you doing up here, dude?" I said approaching him. Then I noticed the blood on his face. "They arrested him..." He said. "Who?" I asked. "Max. They did it right after school. I'll bet they found out that he sold the drugs to Jerry. They came to my house and pulled him right out of my sister's bed and hauled him away buck naked. I laughed, so Amanda punched me after they all left." "So that's why you came up here..." I reasoned. "Yep. I'd have gone to Mike's, but he wasn't home. So tried your house, but no one was there. I did hear the phone ring. So when there was no one at your place, I came up here. I heard Mike's Mustang pull in a minute ago and I was about to leave when I saw that squirrel. Then you came up here." "You want to come to my house?" I asked. "Nah, that's okay. I'll just go to Mike's. See you later, Lefty." With that, Dustin headed for his house. It was weird. The whole time, I could tell that Dustin was real close to crying. In fact, I would guess that he probably was crying before I came up the hill. I really wanted to help him, but I didn't know how. I felt sad for my friend. I walked back to the house, and saw that my mom was home. When I opened the door she was on the phone. I started to say hi, but she stopped me by giving me the wait-a-minute sign with her finger. "Yes, he just walked in the door." She said to the person on the phone. "Yes, we are very concerned about that. No. No. Well I'll be sure to pick him up. Yes. We're very disappointed too. Yes. Oh, you can count on that! Thank you Mrs. Patrick... Bye bye!" Oh no... She hung up the phone and looked at me. "Well what do you have to say for yourself? And try to use words that are acceptable for everyday usage." Her dark brown eyes seemed to be looking right through me. "Would it help if I said I was sorry?" I asked. "Oh, you're going to be sorry." She said as she brushed back her blond hair. "You'll have three days of after school detention and you're grounded here for a week. Billy, what is wrong with you?" "There's nothing wrong with me! Sarah's a witch, mom. And she always has been! I hate her!" "Oh, for God's sake Billy! Grow up!" She yelled at me. I actually took a step back. "You don't just go telling people off because they annoy you. Especially people who can get you into serious trouble. Now, you go to your room right now! No video games, no computer games, and no TV." "Yes, mom." I said. I knew I deserved that. "Oh, and no friends either. No Brett and no Dustin when you're here." "What!?!? But that's no fair!!" I protested furiously. "No visits and no phone calls. You want to talk to people that way, then you won't talk to people at all." She said sternly. "That's not fair mom! You can't do that!!" I cried. "Well, next time you'll think before you speak. Get going." "This fucking sucks! I hate you! I hate this stupid house!" I said before I stormed off to my room and slammed my door. "Add another day for the f-word!" I heard her yell through my door. I kicked the door. Then I threw myself on my bed, put a pillow over my head and cried. I hate my stupid mom! I hate this stupid house! I hate my stupid fucking family! No closer this week, just one last thought from Justin Case: "Love like there's no tomorrow, live like there was no bad yesterdays, start every day a new day."