A handsome fellow came through the outer doors, stopping inside the room.
Looking about, he said, "So, this is where it all happened....All that I went through."
I had only met Tony Calderone once before, but I could see now what made him so attractive to the Ladies. "Welcome, Tony.....Hope things are going well with you !", I said.
"Oh, they are now", he said cautiously. "I'm just living out the Epilogue, I guess....Unless you're going to write new troubles for me...."
"Not to worry", I said joviality, "Not more mad bombers, no more Townies, no more Punks. I figure you went through enough already."
"You sure ?", Tony asked suspiciously. "I though I would be having more trouble from Tad...."
"Oh, sure, but you can handle that, easy", I told him. "Why, you're really set now, with a healthy Nick as Enforcer, and those new boys to help out, be your troops, so to speak. And with those Bugs...Listening Devices....You are going to be Invincible for the next two years at Bullworth."
"Uh, huh", Tony said, absently fingering something in his hand. "So, I can be a Dictator, when all I really wanted was to be a normal kid in a normal School."
I shook my head sadly. "Bullworth was never a normal School", I said, "Wouldn't have been a story if it was."
"Then...Why was I brought there ?", Tony asked, "What was the point ?"
"You'd have to ask Mercury that", I said. "He was the one to create you, not me. But you would have rather existed than not existed at all, now wouldn't you ?"
Tony deliberated for a moment. "I...I guess so", he finally answered, shrugging.
"Well, way I see it......You got the girl, you got the fame, and you get the peaceful School you wanted in the end", I told him. "Not to mention a bright future ahead......Look, Tony, Every kid goes through his or her own hell in teenager mode. Most make it through, but others don't. Some even off themselves. It was looking like Constantinos would, there for awhile. But you know, adversity can make one stronger....And a pretty effective leader, too. Look at where you're at now, would you have believed that just a School Year ago ? That you would become the strong person that you are now ?"
"I, uh....Hadn't really thought about it much", Tony said. Then he looked over at me. "Tell me something.....Why the dreams ?"
"Being a main character means more examination of the inner workings of the mind", I said. "In your case, you were given dreams to help you along. Now, everybody dreams, of course....But it's to the degree of how those dreams are interpreted and remembered. In your case, those gave you just the edge you needed to overcome the obstacles you had to face in the story, which were many."
"Yeah, they were, at that", Tony acknowledged, still fiddling with a object in his hand. "A Mad Dog who portended to be an friend and then tried to run me over, a place full of whacked-out mental nut-jobs, and a group of pissed-off former students who decided to come after our girls."
"Do you even have those dreams anymore ?", I asked, knowing the answer.
Tony considered. "No", he finally said, "Guess I don't. But that doesn't mean that they won't come back, does it ?"
"I would say it's rather doubtful", I said, "For I don't think you will be faced with your destruction, or the destruction of those close to you, for the rest of your time in Bullworth."
"So....No more bombings, kidnappings, rapes, other super-violent stuff, huh ?", Tony asked.
"Nope", I replied. "That was kinda the point of the Story, to resolve all that nonsense and get rid of the truly evil ones at Bullworth Academy, now wasn't it ?"
"I, uh, guess so", Tony admitted. "It's gonna be nice to have a more normal School life."
"Plus, you get to continue on", I pointed out, "And you and Karen will have real privacy now, for your last couple of years before you both head off to College. What could be better than that ?"
That decided Tony. He slid the knife back in his pocket. "Ok, you convinced me." He headed for the door, turning before he left, to say, "See you in Liberty City, then." With a short wave, he was gone.
"No thanks are necessary", I said to the empty room. "None at all."
Turning to my Word Processor, I began my story edits.
{{MORE LATER ??}}
