The Bullworth Never Ending Story

[dudemann5798]

It was night, and Tony went to the Library.  He stood back, and ran full speed.  At the last second, he Parkour-ed,  one, two, three, four.  Hauled himself up.  And there on the roof, was Kurt and the rest of the Rockers.....

Nobody....Ever....Screws....With....Me !!!!!!",  Kurt screamed at him, with a 'Fuck You' tone of voice.

Kurt took a run at Tony and elbowed him in the gut, and then Tony was dangling off the edge of the library, with Kurt right above him……..
He was Falling.....Falling....Falling......
________________________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony jerked awake….SHIT !!! What the fuck….He shook his head to clear it.

What a fucked-up dream that was….He was really letting shit get to him. That little Kurt bastard was still zonked out in the Infirmary…Sheezh…

He had just come back to the Dorm to get Algernon his shorts, and just had to take a short nap…He had felt exhausted. Now, he was sorry he had even closed his eyes.

After taking the Nerd kid his shorts, Tony headed down to the Gym. As he passed the building, he took a glance up…Nothing could be seen on the roof from down here.  Good.

Tony headed down the stairs leading down to the Football field. Reaching the bottom and turning the corner, he nearly ran smack into a huge black kid, who was a full foot taller than he was.

“Hey, little man….Whatchu doing down here ?”  The big black kid was scowling.

“Um…”  Tony looked up at the big boy’s ugly face. “I…Er…Came to see Laurent…Umm...Is he down here ?”

“Whatchu want with him ?”, the big black kid asked darkly.

“Well….He said that I should come see him”, Tony said, and held his breath.

“That so ?”  The big kid screwed up his face, and examined Tony closely.  “Well…If Laurent invited you…I guess you’re OK….He’s over there”, the big kid said, pointing to the other end of the field with a hand that seemed like a large slab of beef.

Umm…Alright…Thanks”, Tony replied, edging backwards before turning an trotting towards the end of the field.  He spotted Laurent over by the Goalpost, and ran up to him.

“Back so soon, Friend ?  Need to know something else ?” Laurent said.

“Well, yeah…I tried out that Parkour” Tony replied. “Worked really good. But what if I wanted to get up on the top of a really tall building ? Like, twice as high as those bleachers over there ?”

“Let me see ?….In the East of my country, there are huge mountains…Many men scale these…climb with ropes and hooks….That’s what you would need, friend…A long rope and a hook….With that, I can teach you how to Rappel”

“Cool”, said Tony. “I’ll…Uh…Get back to you, when I get that. Thanks”.

“Farewell, for now, my friend” Laurent said, as Tony jogged away.

===================================================================

I’ve got rope…Where the hell can I get a hook…A Hook…Think….Think….
Of course….The Autoshop….Cars, Cars that have to be towed…Need Hooks.

Now, how do I get into the Autoshop, unseen, to look around ?
Tony considered his options…He didn’t know anything about the Greasers, who inhabited that territory. Knew very little about the Bullies and the Preps….The Nerds were afraid of him, but they were afraid of everybody…No help there…He was in, sorta, with the Jocks…Since he now knew Laurent, they seemed to let him alone…And, there was Karen….

Shit, Karen…..I’ve got to talk to Karen., Tony suddenly remembered.

He hadn’t gone to class today, and she said she wanted to talk to him later…Maybe, without letting on to her what he was up to, she might be able to tell him something.

Tony headed over to the Girl’s dorm.
______________________________________________________

[Mercury]

There was a group of girls in front of the dorm, and Karen was in them.  As she saw Tony, she quickly ran to him, while all other girls looked at her.

"Oh Tony, you came to see me ?", she gushed.

"Yeah. Do you want to go wander around a bit ?", Tony asked.

"Oh, yes !“, Karen replied. “So, tell me, where are you with all those plans ?"

"Oh, you know, I haven't started yet, but I need something you maybe can help me with”, said Tony, hopefully.

"I can do anything !", Karen exclaimed with confidence.

"I have stuff to pick up in the Greaser's territory, the Autoshop”, Tony went on. “Do you know if I maybe could sneak into it ?  I need this stuff for tonight."

"If they see you, you'll have a very, very bad night”. Karen said with a sad look on her face. “But maybe..."

"You've got an idea ?", Tony asked in a lowered voice.

"Something could distract them enough time for you to do your thing….", Karen said, lost in thought.

"And…What ?", Tony said after a moment.

Karen shook her head.  "Not coming up with anything. You'll have to find it yourself... Come on, forget about this for a little while, think a bit about... Me ?"
___________________________________________

[Bully-Freak]

Karen was looking at Tony expectantly.

"Look, I really need to know abo.....", Tony began.

"SHUSH!" said Karen in an angry tone. "I have something to admit…. I really like you. You seem like a really nice guy that I would Love to get to know better."

"Really..." said Tony in shocked voice. "I...Um...That’s really nice of you."

"Yeah, It feels really great to know that there's someone at this school who isn't a low-lying JERK !  When I'm around you...everything just feels more comfortable." Karen said in a low voice.

"I...I know what you mean....The only difference Karen, is that...When I'm around you I feel like I have to be...I don't know...more popular….”, Tony trailed off.

"Don't feel like that !" Karen exclaimed. "To be honest with you, I'm one of the least popular girls around here.  I'm not rich, I don’t have all the nicest things. I'm just...just normal"

"Really ?”, Tony said. “You seemed to be the head of the conversation just a minute ago."

"Well...I...I don't know”, Karen said glumly. “Ever since I was dumped here at this Damn School everything changed."

She sat down on the edge of a wall and started to tear up. Tony sat next to her and put his arm around her.

"Look, its okay...I'll make sure nobody messes with you...Ok ?", Tony comforted her.

"Yeah..Okay..." she said in a sobbing voice.

Karen turned to look at Tony.  She gave him a small kiss on the cheek and then rose and walked off.

Damn, Now I've got two things to deal with…A secret mission and a love-sick girl, Tony thought.

Tony walked back to the Boy’s Dorm. He climbed up the steps and opened the door.  As soon as he stepped in, he felt a tight tug around his neck from behind, then felt a jarring pain in his arm as everything blacked out.
_______________________________________________

[Mercury]

Tony slowly opened his eyes.  He was in a room.  Just before him, a boy paced up and down.  Rocker boots.  A regular noise of metallic keys.  No doubt who it was.  And then the boy saw Tony was awake.  His face loomed over him.

"Karen is MINE !", Kurt Raged, and Tony received a kick.  He coughed.

"Do you know what pain this all is for me ?  The guys from my gang already laughing at me for the Trashcan story, and now, my honor is trampled.  And you are gonna pay for that !  It's War !", Kurt hissed, and added a new kick.

Kurt took a chair, approached, and sat down, looking at Tony lying on the floor, and calmly continued his tirade. "You wake up.  All you see is the ceiling and the borders of a cylinder.  An abominable odor of trash is all around.  And then you realize where you are.  Two Prefects come for you, grabbing you with their dirty hands.  Everyone around is looking at you, laughing..."

Kurt stood up, and made slow random steps around the room. "I left you another chance, that money would have solved everything... But now, you're hanging out with this girl.… Do you think I don't see her little winks ?  Do you think I don't see her embarrassed smile ?  Do you think I don't see her wetting her little panties when you're around ?  FUCK !!!”

When Tony didn’t respond, Kurt suddenly leapt up and began kicking him.  “Anyway, Sucker, you're gonna stay here for a while..."

Tony started feeling unconscious. Everything was fading away into a blur.  All he could see was Kurt pounding him in his sides with his feet.
____________________________________________________

[Bully-Freak]

Suddenly, everything came back to Tony...He started breathing harder...his eye-sight was coming back...He soon realized that Kurt wasn't really that big of a guy.  If it wasn’t for the unexpected takedown he would be just fine.

Tony turned his head and looked at Kurt, staring him straight in the eyes. "You...You Son Of A Bitch !!”

"I might be a Son Of A Bitch“ Kurt said angrily, “But at least I'm not THE Bitch, like you !!"

Tony flexed his muscles, struggling to stand up.  He felt another smash in his ribs from Kurt's boots.  He fell back down, lay still, and thought for a moment.

Maybe I could out-smart Kurt, Maybe… I could take him down with my brain.

Tony felt his pocket….He remembered the M-80 Fire Crackers Jake had given him.
He gave Kurt another look in the eye, then over his shoulder. A moment of silence crept upon them...

"What’s That ?!" Tony yelled, pointing behind Kurt.

Kurt turned around, not realizing that he was being tricked.  Quickly, Tony struck the fire cracker against his pant zipper, causing it to spark.

As Kurt turned back to Tony, a inch long piece of cardboard filled with gunpowder was hurtling toward his face.  He tried desperately to move.

BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tony got up and ran out of the room.  He zoomed out of the Dorm and jumped down the flight of stairs, feeling as if he were fleeing for his life. Looking back, he saw he was being chased by Kurt, blood all over his face.

Tony ran with all his might. He turned the corner to the Quad and ran smack into Karen, knocking her down, with Kurt about ten feet behind him. Not knowing who he had hit, he kept running.

Kurt had stopped to comfort Karen.  Once again she was crying, this time in a bad way.

"What The HELL Just Happened ?!?!", she screamed.

"You just got pushed down by the biggest faggot at Bullworth, that’s what happened”, Kurt said, trying to keep the smirk off his bloody face.

Karen leaned against Kurt as Tony ran into the distance.

"I Never Want To See Him Again !" Yelled Karen.
_____________________________________________

[Mercury]

When Tony was far enough away he stopped and dropped down on the ground near the wall by the Parking Lot.  Looking back, it was then he realized he had knocked over Karen. Thinking about what he had just done, he was horrified.  He won the girl, then lost her.  HOW COULD HE HAVE DONE THIS !  SHE WOULDN’T BELIEVE IT WAS AN ACCIDENT !!!

Tony turned around, pressing his forehead on the wall.  What was the situation ?  He was working with one person, Jake.  He had one person working for him, Constantinos.  He had one enemy, Kurt.  He had a blackmailer, Algie.  He had a business with all these people, and they with him.  The business had to be done, but he had to talk to Karen again, and to be accepted by the Jocks, too…..

At this moment a little graffiti caught his attention.  He remembered the graffiti he saw his first day... Fresh Meat Is DEAD Meat... It wasn't lying. 
What this one about ?

In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women, it read.

The whole primitive quote was signed ‘Scarface‘.  Who the hell was that ?   Tony had never heard of him.  But this graffiti had decided him.  Money first.
__________________________________________________________

[Bully-Freak]

Tony started walking towards the Autoshop, away from the crowd gathering around Kurt and Karen.  Walking through the back Quad he reached the Fountain with the Statue and turned to the path on the right.  He had reached the front of the Greaser's Hangout Spot.

"AUTOSHOP".….Read the sign above the entrance gate.  He studied the area a little bit and figured out a plan.  There was a Greaser standing alone near the gate.  Tony remembered his negotiating lesson with Mr. Galloway.

"Hey, what’s you're name man ?" said Tony to the Greaser.

"What's it to you, Wise Guy ?", the kid shot back.

"Oh.…Well, you know I'm new here and I really wanna get to know everybody, is that so bad ?", Tony said nervously.

The Greaser looked at him, squinting his eyes. "The name's Steve.  I’m new too.  What about yours ?"

"Tony..." he said, looking at the Greaser cautiously.

"Oh yeah, I'se heard about you. You're the kid who beat up that little shit...Kurt...I think ?", Steve said with a smirk.

"Yeah that's me...", replied Tony, still unsure of where this was going.

"Well, you knows what….I respect that”, Steve said with a smile.

Tony let out a sigh of relief.  Another thing occurred to him now…News travels fast at this school.

"Look, I'm here to get some parts for a little project of mine." said Tony.

"Yeah, and what’s that ?", Steve looked him in the eyes.

"Well, I really shouldn't tell you.  Can you keep a secret safe for a profit ?"

"Anytime pal, ask any's of my buddies, I’m the most trusted guy here”, Steve replied.

Tony stayed silent for a moment, not really believing one bit of what Steve said. The last thing he needed was to bring another person into his plan right now.…Especially about his service, which hadn’t even started yet.  But….He had to trust someone.  And hadn’t he heard how much the Greasers hated the Preps ?

"Okay, how about 15 bucks.  Will that do ?", Tony said to Steve.

"You bets it will, that’s gonna get me a new seat for my ride...um...bike", answered the Greaser excitedly. “So…Er…What’s this all about ?”

"Okay here's the deal, me and a friend of mine are setting up this little business...You see, Prep Parents send in care packages to their kids every now and then.  Our plan is to take the packages and charge them kids big money for their items….You know….To make a little extra dough.  I've been hiding the stolen packages on the roof of the gym but, there’s an expected thunderstorm coming in a few days.” Tony paused, then went on. “That’s why I’m here. I need to get a hook for my ropes that I'm gonna use to get onto the Nerd’s area.  I would just climb the fence but those Nerds were smart enough to put Barbed -Wire at the top.  I plan to use the hook and ropes to latch on to the top of the Library and scale up the wall over the Barb-Wire fence.  Then I'll put the Care Packages somewhere in the Nerd’s lair where they wont get wet from the storm. You get me?”

"DO WHAT ?" Steve said in a puzzled tone.

Oh...Wow…I had to get stuck with the least intelligent greaser, Tony Thought.

"Here, let me break it down….I need hook to climb a big wall." said Tony.

"Well, why didn’t you just say so”, Steve said. Come on in man, we got plenty of hooks..."

Tony walked through the gate, realizing he only had to say a single sentence instead of a whole story.  Steve led him to a Garage attached to the Main Shop.

"The hooks are in there." said Steve pointing to a large red box. "Now um...Where's my money ?"

"Oh yeah.“  Tony dug into his pants and pulled out three $5 dollar bills. "Here, Steve."

"Thanks !  I'm gonna go to the Shiny Bike Shop to get me a new seat !”, Steve said, walking away.

Tony quickly started digging through the large red box, finding three hooks. He didn't know which one would fit best so he grabbed them all.  Then Tony left the Garage area and started walking towards the front gate.
_____________________________________________________

[Bully-Freak]

"Tony-Boy ?" said a familiar voice.  It was Jake.

Tony turned around to see Jake leaning up against an Autoshop wall behind him.

"Um, Uh, heya....Jake...What’s up man ?" said Tony Nervously.

"I heard you been working on our little service without me, Tony Boy”, Jake sighed.

"What makes you think that ?" said Tony.

"Oh...This little punk looking kid told me the whole the thing" said Jake.

KURT !!  I knew that kid was a squealer !!, Tony thought.

"I already murdered your little friend, Constantinous”, Jake smirked.

WHAT ?, Tony's mind raced.  Beat him badly or...literally MURDERED him ?

"I though we had a deal Tony-Boy" said Jake.

"What Deal ! There is No Deal !”, countered Tony, hotly. 

"You and me...Stealing and selling Care Packages...Sounded like a deal to me”, Jake said idlely.

"You know what, Jake ?  It wouldn’t have mattered !  I wasn’t getting any right share of it anyway !!”, hissed Tony.

"Sure you did…It just wasn’t a large one." Replied Jake in a Sarcastic tone.

"Jake ! Don’t make me Kick Your Ass !", threatened Tony.

"OH, I'M SO SCARED ! Come and get me Noob !" Taunted Jake.

Jake took off running around a fence, passing the Garage where Tony had just gotten the hooks, into a further Garage in a narrow area at the back of the Auto Shop, with Tony gaining on him.  Jake had managed to get far enough away that he could close the Garage door before Tony got in.

"NO !!!”, yelled Tony as the large metal door closed.  He started kicking and punching at the door, desperately trying to get in.

He stopped to catch his breath.  Suddenly he heard what sounded like a Starter.

"VROOMMMM!!!!" the noise built from inside the garage. The door slowly started opening, and Tony stared in at Jake inside sitting behind the wheel of the Greasers prize ‘69 Mustang Fastback.

"Oh Shit !!!!!!", yelled Tony as Jake nailed the gas.

The car was coming at Tony  There was nothing he could do, nowhere he could go.  All he could do was….JUMP !

Tony jumped onto the hood of the car.

"Get off the Damn car, Tony !!!" Yelled Jake through the windshield.

"MAKE ME !" yelled Tony.

Tony looked forward as Jake fishtailed the car around the fences, heading for the Autoshop gate.  Past that, there was still the staircase leading to the fountain. Surely the car couldn't drive up that.

SCREECH !!!!!!!!!!, went the tires as Jake cornered, nearly slamming into a dumpster.

Tony hung on for his life. Out through the Gate, the staircase was coming up fast.

SMASH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The front bumper of the car slammed into the stairs sending Tony sailing. Luckily, he had a soft landing in the bushes that lined the top of wall, just missing the small spikes that bordered them.  Ho fought to regain his footing.   He wondered at why Jake had just seemed to snap all of a sudden and commit such a crazy act.

"Damn..." said Tony looking down at the car. The wreck wasn't as bad as he would have  thought.  Just a dented Fenber, a mashed Bumper, and a broken windshield.

Suddenly, Students swarmed around from out of nowhere to see what had happened.

Tony hopped down, pushing his way through the crowd to get Jake.

But when he reached inside the car to pull him out....

No one was there.
_____________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Prefects were swarming the area. “GET BACK, LOSERS !!”  “OUT OF MY WAY !!” “EVERY ONE OF YOU LITTLE PRICKS IS GETTING A BEATING IF YOU DON’T MOVE IT…NOW !!!!!!”

Tony backed away and began running with a crowd of other kids towards the Gym. He saw Prefects wrestling some boys to the ground, but couldn’t tell if any of them were Jake in all the confusion. The other kids running with him, mostly Nerds, Preps, and younger kids, took refuge in the Gym or ran on towards the Football Field.  Tony hung back in the shadows by the end of the Basketball Court until the last of the students had vanished. Taking a quick look around, and finding he was alone, Tony backed up, then ran full speed toward the lower roof of the Pool Building, next to the Gym, and using the parkour, he scaled the wall to the lower roof, then quickly located the small ladder and climbed to the top. Peeking over the wall, he could just make out the chaos over by the fountain near the Autoshop stairs where the crashed car was still sitting. It seemed that every Prefect in the place was there, still beating and subduing students. Tony slid down the small retaining wall. He couldn’t be seen up here. He needed a break….So much had happened in just so short a time, he needed to take it all in…..He needed to Think.

=======================================================================================

It had gotten dark. Tony had dozed, and awoke with a start. He was still on the Pool roof, next to the Gym.  He looked over at the retaining wall, looked to the Fountain….The area was empty.  No car crashed on the steps.  Was this just another bad dream?  Tony felt his sore ribs, and his head hurt….Feeling his injured spots, he knew it wasn’t a dream, not this time. The Greasers must have come and pulled the car back to the Autoshop, and there would be a bunch of kids in detention tomorrow. He had a sudden wild burst of laughter at that thought, which he had to cut off when his ribs reminded him they were hurt.

Tony felt his pockets. There was the hooks he had gotten from the Autoshop….Good.  Going over to the other side of the roof, he looked down on the Football Field.  There was a lone figure lurking under the scoreboard, smoking.  Laurent ?

Yes…Tony went over to the pile of boxes and grabbed the rope off the top. Descending the ladder, dropping off the overhang, he sprinted down to the Football field and out to the scoreboard.

“Ah…My Friend…You have returned” Laurent said. “I see you have rope…Do you have hook as well ?”.  Tony produced the hooks from his pocket. “I think…This one”, Laurent indicated, and taking the hook, tied it securely onto the end of the rope. “Now…Watch, and Learn”.

Laurent backed away from the scoreboard, and begin swinging the rope with the hook attached in a slow, lazy circle….Then, speeding up the rotation, letting out a little bit of rope, going faster, a little more rope, faster, more rope…Until there was several yards of rope spinning around, so fast it seemed like a blur….All at once, Laurent released the spinning rope towards the top of the scoreboard….The hook shot forward, pulling the rope after it, sailing high in the air, over the top of the scoreboard, coming to rest on the other side. Grabbing the rope coil, Laurent began pulling on the rope, hauling it back in until Tony heard the hook catch on something behind the scoreboard, and Laurent had the rope stopped, pulling it taunt.

“Now…Just the same as the Parkour, you can Rappel up to the top…Like so”, and he did just that, going hand over hand on the rope, while ‘walking’ up the side of the scoreboard, until he reached the top.  “Same way down”, he called out to Tony, and proceeded to Rappel back down.

“Wow…That’s just great”, Tony said, as he retrieved the rope and the hook…”Listen, I’m a little short of cash right now…But I have a deal going that will make lots of scratch…I’ll cut you in for a part of it…Say, Ten Percent ?”.

Laurent nodded. “I would think that fair. But Tony..” he continued, “Do not forget me. If you do, you might find that the Jocks may not be so…How you say…Friendly….to you anymore. Comprends ?”

Tony nodded. He understood, all right. Tony started to go, and stopped. “Laurent, if I could get you do something else for me ?  I accidentally ran into Karen earlier, and knocked her down.  It was an accident, I was trying to get away from someone, and never in the world would hurt her on purpose….It was just a horrible accident, I feel so bad about it…I..I..Really like her….Could you just talk to her, tell her that I’m so damn sorry…”

Laurent looked at Tony for a moment. Then…”I believe you. Oui, I will talk to her for you.”

“Oh, thanks, Dude, I would really appreciate it….And I’ll get you something extra for your trouble, I swear”. With that, Tony headed back to the Gym.

Gotta make some fast cash, He thought. Time to talk to the Preps
___________________________________________________________

[Mercury]

All the Preps had formed in a circle in front of Harrington House, and at the center was a tall blond guy, speaking very loud. Tony decided to observe before going negotiating.

"This is unacceptable !  Our Academy told us that our packages had to come in today. What do we get ?  Nothing !  Our Parents will know about this !", he was saying.

All the Preps around him were agreeing.  Tony decided that his moment had come.  He penetrated into the circle by gently pushing some Preps. As he arrived at the center of the circle, everyone began to mumble.

"Who are you ? You aren't part of our community !", one of the Preps said.

"I'm effectively not part of your community, but I can bring you solutions” Tony began. “My name's Tony Calderone."

Tony offered his hand to the surprised leader boy before him. This one, curious, offered his. "I'm Derby, Derby Harrington. We’ll hear you out, Tony..."

"Our Academy has it’s gates closed, as we all know, and the only way to communicate with your Parents is the very well-known Care Packages.  But when they don't come, it's a pain for all of you.  These packages are impossible to steal, so what happened to them ?   Dr. Crabblesnitch is mute about this.“  Tony paused for effect.  Well before we find what has happened….I can sell you all premium quality Aquaberry shirts, even shoes if you need it."

The Preps didn't even ask where the merchandise came from.  They all wanted to buy some, already taking out their cash.  Tony promised to delivery them tonight, at 9:00 PM.   He began to feel rain... And then he remembered.  Shit, of course it was going to rain tonight !   He had to hurry up if he didn't want the sweaters to get fucked up.
_____________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Returning to the Pool Building roof, Tony opened one of the boxes. Inside were Prep sweaters, shirts, pants…and some other things, too…Expensive-looking watches, bracelets, and neck chains. Another box yielded much of the same, but a third box….Inside Tony found what could be useful to him.  Binoculars. And a small Flashlight. Good Deal.

Pulling on the Aquaberry sweater, and pocketing one of the watches, Tony closed up the boxes and climbed back off the roof. Near the Pool Building was a wall he could scale….Tony knew from some nighttime explorations that there was a path on the other side that led to Harrington House. He climbed over that wall now, took the path to a tree, which he climbed up, slithered out on a branch, and dropped down to the ground beside Harrington Hall.  Seeing no one around, he sprinted to the front doors and just walked in.

There was nobody behind the counter, so he opened another set of doors, and there before him was a huge, ornate, rather long room….At it’s end, there was a large fireplace, with two enormous recliners in front of it….Two Preps were there, reading. They glanced up, and seeing the Aquaberry sweater, resumed their reading. Tony boldly advanced the length of the room, just as if he belonged there. As he approached the Preps, they looked up again…And Stared.

“WHAT’S THIS ?” one said loudly. “Who in the devil are you ?”
“You don’t belong here”, said the other. “GET OUT !!”.

Tony held his ground, as the Preps rose and came aggressively at him.  Neither of the two were among the Preps he had met earlier outside.

Negotiate.

Tony held up his hands to show he has no weapon. “Hold on there, my good fellows…I have something you might be interested in”.

“What are you talking about ?”, said the first one.
“Yes, and where did you get that Sweater ?”, the second one said.

Tony touched the Aquaberry sweater he was wearing. “This ?  Pretty good material, don’t you think ?  I might be persuaded to part with this…and other things…for a fair price”.

The two Preps stopped.  “Again, shit-for-brains…What are you talking about ?”

Tony looked down at the sweater he was wearing. “Well…This is a fine piece of clothing…New, in fact.  When it came into my possession, I thought of you fellows.”

“That costs over a hundred dollars…How does trash like you get something like that ?’

“I have many things…Never mind how I can get them…Just know that I’m willing to make a fair deal…On this, and other things, as well”…Tony pulled out the watch from his pocket…”Like This Here”. Tony peered closely at the two Prep boys. “Your’s is looking a mite…Tattered…..What’s the matter ?….Haven’t gotten any shipments from home lately ?”

The two Preps looked at each other, then back to Tony. “What do you want for it ?” asked the first one. “And the watch ?”, the second one said.

“Weeelll….I believe…Say, Half-Price would be and extremely generous offer, Don’t you ?”.  Tony watched as dollar signs seemed to appear in the two Prep’s eyes.

“That seems….Like a fair enough exchange, my good man. And, you can acquire more ?”, the one Prep asked.

“Yes”, said Tony. “Much More”.

The two Preps pulled out their money clips, as Tony stripped off the sweater and handed it, and the watch, over to the second Prep. In return, the first Prep handed Tony a wad of bills. “This should cover it”, he said.

Tony counted the money before stuffing it in his pocket. “Nice doing business with you fellows. I’ll be back around…Count on it”.  Tony turned and left Harrington House without looking back.
_____________________________________________________

[Mercury]

Back at the football field. Laurent was trying out new things on the tree at the corner of the field when he saw Tony coming from the distance.

"I was waiting for you”, he said, jumping down.

"Oh yeah ?  That is very good.  As you see, I kept my engagement.  Did you keep yours ?", Tony inquired.

"Ah, comment ?", Laurent asked, puzzled.

"I mean, did you talk to Karen ?", reminded Tony.

"Oui, she was trying to find Kurt”, Laurent said.  “She does not want to talk with you.… Anymore."

"Oh, I see…”, Tony said in disappointment.  “Anyway, thanks for your help. Here's the fifteen dollars you deserved.  Now look, I gotta talk to you."

"We go talk... At the top of the tree !", Laurent pointed up.

"All right, you begin !", said Tony.

And Laurent ran fast, made one…two…three steps on the old tree, then he grabbed a branch, and hauled himself up on it to sit. "Your turn now."

Tony imitated the French kid, but couldn't reach the branch.

"This shoes... Bad shoes... Nouveau riche shoes”, Laurent observed.

"I have to take the other ones... Later", said Tony laughing. He tried again, and by chance, reached the branch. He sat down next to Laurent.

"Look, some people have been attacking me these days.  It seems that they don't like new kids.  I need protection.  And I was telling myself... That you maybe need money and amusement, so.….“, Tony paused.  “What if you would be my bodyguard ?"

"Could I still... Parkour ?", Laurent asked.

"Of course, and I still need you to teach me other things !", laughed Tony.

"So... Oui, I can do that”, grinned Laurent.

Both boys jumped down from the tree, and Laurent followed Tony to Edna's kitchen, where Tony had a plan to negotiate to buy flour. He had gotten another idea to discover the Nerd code.….Fingerprints.
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[BloodChuckZ]

Tony crashed out on the Pool Building roof for the night. Good thing it hadn’t rained yet, only sprinkled a little bit.  But it would rain soon.
It wasn’t safe at the Dorm right now…He didn’t want to run into Jake or Kurt just yet…Not, at least, until he had some more power.

Early the next morning before 7 AM, he and Laurent made his way to the School.  There were no Students out and about at this early hour, and they saw no one.  Entering the School, they went right to the Cafeteria.  Tony was there to meet with the notorious Edna the Cook, whom he had heard stories about, something to do with ’Cat Stew’.
 
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“AH-HA-HA, Whatchu kids need with flour….Gonna make yer own Biscuits, HAH-HAH”, the School Cafeteria Cook said.

Trying hard not to throw up from the ungodly stench back in the kitchen, Tony smiled up at Edna and said, “Oh, no ma’am…It’s for a Science Experiment”.

“AH-HAH…Well, here…I can spare this 1-pound bag…HEH ?”, she cackled.

“That’ll do just fine, Ma’am” Tony said, feeling more like barfing every second.

“HAH…Gimme Five Dollars and you gotcha self a DEAL, AH-HA-HA-HACK-HACK-HACK”. Tony just about lost it there as Edna hacked up a green-looking wad of snot-looking stuff and spit it into the pot of stew on the stove.

“OK, Here you go Ma’am” Tony gagged as he handed her the money, and grabbed the flour. Holding his stomach, he motioned to Laurent that they were getting the hell out of there.
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[BloodChuckZ]

Tony and Laurent laid low until the morning bell for classes rang.  Then, they quickly snuck through the School grounds, avoiding the Prefects, and made their way over to the Library.

The Library grounds were empty of students. Tony and Laurent went to the short wall, climbed over, and went over to the Nerd's Gate, where Tony showed Laurent the nine-digit keypad.

"If you don't mind me asking you, why do you have to get this code ?" Said Laurent, examining the keypad.

"Now that you're my bodyguard, you'll have to know this, and I know that you can keep a secret", Tony replied.

"Oui", Laurent nodded, waiting expectantly.

"I've got a plenty of boxes full of clothes, and this is how I get my money... We got to take it from the roof of the Gym to here....OK ?"

"And....Then What ?", Laurent asked, perplexed.

"Then, my friend, we find a place back there to hide them", Tony replied.

"Hmmm....Sounds like a plan", Laurent said, thinking it over. Laurent then took a small device from his pocket. “Give me the flour”, he said.

“What’s that thing ?”, asked Tony.

“It’s a Sifter” Laurent replied. “I stole it from the Kitchen while you were talking to the Cook”.

As Tony watched, Laurent took a small handful of flour from the bag and spread it in the Sifter. Then he lightly shook it over the Keypad. “Blow”, he said to Tony.

Tony lightly blew on the powdered surface of the keypad. It had nine numbers arranged in rows of three across and three down.  As he watched, the powder blew clear of all but three digits…1, 3, and 8.
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