The Bullworth Never Ending Story

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony was up long before the Bullies, but being Sunday, that was understandable.  Fridays and Saturdays were the Bully’s late-night hang-out times, and they rarely were inside the dorm before 3 A.M.  Tony watched a little TV and played a stand-up video game console, Nut Shots, while he waited.  He had just missed beating the high score on it when Trent, bleary-eyed, walked into the Common Room.

Trent sauntered over to the Beam Cola drink machine, and started fumbling for some change in the pockets of his dirty jeans.  Tony turned from his game and went over to where he was at.

“Here, this one’s on me”, Tony said, and pulled two quarters from his pocket.  Depositing the change in the drink machine, he punched the button and a soda fell into the slot.  Tony retrieved it and handed it to Trent.

“What gives, Carderone ?”, Trent asked suspiciously.  “Why you buyin’ me a drink ?”

“Eh, no reason”, Tony replied smoothly.  “Just that, umm, I wanna talk to you about something.”

Trent grimaced.  “What’d I do now ?  If it’s about what I told them Reporters at the conference, you know I’m the one who nailed that Punk when they was tryin’ to take over the school, I weren’t tellin’ no lies there....”

“It’s not about that”, Tony said, feeling like laughing in Trent’s face.  “It’s something else, an important something.  Come over to the card table, and I’ll tell you.”

Trent couldn’t think of anything to say, so he reluctantly followed Tony over to the card table and sat down.  Tony sat down opposite him and began fiddling with a deck of cards.  Trent started to get a little nervous as the silence stretched out.  Uncomfortably, he said, “So, what is it ?”

Tony shuffled the cards and flipped Trent over a card, face up.  Two of Diamonds.  “I hear you’re back in charge of the Clique”, he said.  Tony laid down a card for himself.  Seven of Spades.

“Er...That’s right”, Trent said.  “So....What ?  You need somebody beat up or somethin’ ?”

“No”, Tony said, flipping Trent another card.  Five of Diamonds.  “It’s not what I need...It’s what you need.”

“I suppose....We need some Weapons”, Trent said, easing up a little bit.  “You wantin’ to make us another deal ?”

“Weapons....And more”, Tony replied.  He laid down a card for himself.  Seven of Clubs.  He flipped another card over to Trent.  Three of Diamonds.

“What more ?”, Trent asked. “We’re even up now, for the last time, cuz we came and fought at the Chem Plant, right ?  We’re square, ain’t we ?”

“You did well at the Chem Plant”, Tony said, laying down his third card.  Seven of Hearts.  He flipped Trent another card.  Four of Diamonds.  “So, we’re square on that.  But these will be new Weapons.”

“We shouldn’t have to buy them or be your Army again for these”, Trent said, “Everyone 'cept me and Russell got shot for helpin’ you.  Troy’s still in the Clinic.  That oughtta count for sompin.”

Tony laid down another card for himself.  Seven of Diamonds.  “It does”, he said.  “This time, the Weapons will be free, no strings attached.  All you have to do is one little thing.”

“What’s that ?”, Trent asked, suspicion creeping back into his voice.  He watched as Tony slid over his final card, face down, then put one face down for himself.

“I’m working on an agreement between all the Cliques”, Tony said easily.  “Everybody’s gonna sign, even the Non-Clique kids.  I call it, The Binding Agreement.”  Tony set the deck aside, and outlined the nine points of the agreement.  “I’ll be back to you in a few days with the entire agreement and explain more in depth”, he concluded.

“What if we don’t like it ?”, Trent said, “What if we don’t agree to sign ?”

“Then, you’ll be fair game for the other Cliques to attack you anywhere, anytime”, Tony said, “And you won’t have any weapons to defend yourself.”

“That doesn’t sound very fair”, Trent said disgustedly.  “It will just let you rule the School.”

“I don’t want to rule anything”, Tony said.  “I’m not Jake or Gary.  I just want some peace.  Look around, Trent....Our world in the Valley here is changing.  We’re not isolated anymore.  We can’t keep doing things the way we all were, our every move is gonna be watched by Reporters and News Cameras.  If we keep doing shit the old way, the State will shut this place down.  Then where will we go ?  Where will YOU go ?”

Trent was silent as he digested that for several seconds that stretched out to a half a minute.  Then, he said, “How can we trust that all this isn’t Bullshit ?  That we won’t come out on the short end of the stick, again, like we always do ?”

“When I come back with the agreement, we will go through it point by point”, Tony answered sincerely.  “You guys tell me what you want, in terms of area, resolution of disputes, Hole fights, all of it.  I’ll be doing the same with all the other Cliques.  Then, we’ll negotiate for each groups rights and work out a compromise.  Once we institute the Agreement, it’ll be the law of the Campus, and if anybody breaks it, the other Cliques will make them pay.  It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”

“Who will we Bully ?”, Trent asked.  “We are Bullies, you know.”

Tony smiled.  “There’s always the new kids, now isn’t there ?  Until they join a Clique or sign on with the Non-Cliquers, they’re fair game.”

“I don’t know about this”, Trent muttered, looking down at the cards on the table.  Suddenly, he had a clever idea.  “Tell you what, big man....If I win this hand here that you dealt, then we’ll listen to you and do what you say.  But if you win, then you can take your Agreement and Fuck Off.  Hows’zat ?”

Tony arched his eyebrows in surprise.  “So, if I win, I lose, huh ?”

Trent sat back with a smug look.  “You got four of a kind there, only one thing beats that....And I usually lose at these fucking card games anyway.  So how 'bout it ?  Wanna bet ?”

Tony made it so he looked as if he was really thinking about it.  Then he reached down and flipped his lone card over.  King of Clubs.  “It’s a deal”, he told Trent.  “Turn your card over.”

Trent grinned as he reached down and turned his card over.  As it was revealed, the grin froze on his face, which quickly turned to shocked disbelief.  Ace of Diamonds.

“Huh...Straight Flush”, Tony said.  “You’re the winner, Trent.”  Tony rose to go.  He had business elsewhere.  “I’ll get back to you in a couple of days on the Agreement.  Talk to your guys.”

Tony left the Common Room and headed out of the Boy’s Dorm, barely suppressing his laughter and leaving Trent still staring at the cards, wondering what the hell had just happened.
________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Mandy stole away from the Football Field about noon.  Ted and the Jocks were going through some workouts, since the heat had subsided somewhat today.  She was carrying her Gym Bag, and inside it, tucked underneath some clothing, was her task for the day.

She saw a very few people, hanging around the Pool building, as she went past.  Nobody paid any attention to her.  Passing the rebuilt Fountain, still minus a statue, she saw Ricky Pucico of the Greasers walking away from her towards the Autoshop area.  Nobody was on the Back Quad, so she carefully kept a lookout until she went in the Easternmost back door of the School.

The halls seemed deserted as she made her way to the stairway up in front to the second floor.  Mandy didn’t even see any Prefects patrolling around.  A couple were probably down at the Pool, keeping order, and who knew where the others were.  She smiled to herself as she got to the Art Room undetected.  She had picked Sunday just to have this opportunity to accomplish her task.

The Art Room door was still unlocked, as she had discovered Friday when she checked. Art Class itself had been suspended after Ms. Phillips and Miss Jones had gotten hurt.  There had been some talk and speculation about that, but it was mostly forgotten about when the news of the Chem Plant battle and rescue of Karen and Melody broke.  Christy Martin had been doing it in Ms. Phillips place, but had to work in the Office full time as there was no one else there.  Obviously, someone had neglected to lock the door to the Art Room in the process, which suited Mandy just fine. 

Once inside, Mandy went over to the big Copy Machine in the Photography area of the room.  The Copier was old by normal standards, but still looked new against the ancient backdrop of the room.  It was big and clunky, but worked just as fine as the last time it had been used, copying nude paintings of Ms. Phillips.  Mandy opened the storage area underneath and got out a ream of paper.  She turned the Copy Machine on, and then dug into her Gym Bag and withdrew Beatrice’s Diary. 

Mandy proceeded to set the machine for 5 copies of each page.  She had to remove the Diary each time and turn to the next page manually before making the next 5 copies.  This took awhile, and it was an hour before the entire Diary was done, with one exception....Mandy left out the pages describing Beatrice’s seduction of Nick.  She had promised Karen to keep that secret.

After the copying was finished, it took another half-hour to sort the copied pages into five different stacks and then punch side-holes into them, so they could be put into binders.  When she was all finished, she stuffed all the copies and the Diary into her Gym Bag and left the Art Room, and the School, undetected. 
_____________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Ricky had not seen Mandy going by, as his back was to her.  He had fiddled with the code at the new gate that gave access to the Autoshop area, opened it and slipped through.  He’d come back for a pack of smokes he had stashed in his locker at the Autoshop.  The other Greasers at the Blue Balls Bar were getting put out with his bumming smokes off them.

Ricky’s mouth was set in a thin line.  He wasn’t as pleased as the other Greasers that the leadership of the Clique had been handed back to Peanut by Johnny.  Ricky would be regulated to the lower echelon of the Clique once again by Peanut, who hadn’t forgotten that Ricky was the one who was really behind the short-lived takeover of the Clique by Norton, egging him on.  He had now only gone along with Peanut being the Leader because it was what Johnny wanted, for what else could he do ? 

Johnny had talked to both Norton and him after he returned about the importance of loyalty within the Greaser Clique.  “We’s has got to all stick together”, Johnny had said, “Theres not many of us left.  Wanna wind up like dem stoopid Preps ?”  Norton had taken Johnny’s advice to heart, even if Ricky wasn’t so sure.  In fact, Ricky felt he should be the Leader.  See, Leaders made the decisions.  Leaders got protected.  Leaders weren’t made to drink piss while the others stood around looking.  And, Leaders got the girls.  Johnny had Lola.  Peanut had Binky.  Even Hal, who was second in command, had Angie.  What girl did he have ?  No one.

Trouble was, more than two years ago, Ricky DID have a girl.  Her name was Amanda.  She was a young love, his first love.  While their passions never went past kissing and groping, Ricky always felt that someday they would come to that.  Problem was, Ricky had another love as well, a love of bikes.  He spent a lot of time learning how to plan them, make them, and ride them.  Unfortunately, he spent too much time doing that and not enough time with Amanda, who broke up with him over it.  Ricky was inexperienced in such matters, and was shocked when Amanda had dumped him, seemingly out of the blue.  Despite his begging and pleadings, she refused to come back to him and she had left Bullworth Academy not long after, in the Spring.  She had never come back, and Ricky was left with a busted heart.  Too late, he realized he didn’t know just where she went....She was from Vermont, but Ricky had no address, and no clue. 

Since then, and for over the past 2 years plus, he had alternated from being 'over it’ to still being 'torn up’ about it.  He often wished that there was some kind of wrench he could use to fix his broken heart.  He could have 'ridden off with her into the sunset’ someday, but instead, because of his inattention to her, he was left with just his centerfold pinups as the only thing he could count on to stick around.  The final blow to his ego was that Amanda was seen flirting around with the Jocks on several occasions in the month before she left. 

The passage of time should have relieved him, but it didn’t.  What he really needed was another girl, another chance to make right where he had gone wrong.  He had despaired at the slim pickings at Bullworth, however.  The only available girls were too old, too fat, too few, and the only ones worth having were already taken by others.  He had been hopeful that in the new crop of girls that had come to the School over the Summer, one would notice him.  But it hadn’t happened, not for him.  For others, but never him.

Ricky rummaged around in his locker and found his pack of ciggys.  Closing it, he started to make the trek back to the Blue Balls.  He would have rode, but unfortunately for him, someone had swiped his latest bike.  He would have to build himself another one.  In the meantime, he was stuck with just his legs and feet for getting around.  Locking the Greaser Gate, he headed up the path and then the steps that led toward the repaired fountain, which still looked strange without that statue.

Before he mounted the steps, Ricky decided he wanted one of his smokes then and there.  He stopped for a second to find his pack and dig one out, then stick the pack back in his pocket and find his lighter.  There was a slight breeze blowing from the West, so he walked up the steps with his head down while cupping his hand over his face, attempting to light his smoke.  As he reached the plateau where the fountain sat and turned left, still trying to get his ciggy lit, he ran smack-dab into someone coming the other way, who likewise couldn’t see well due to carrying a bunch of towels stacked up over their face. 

The collision staggered Ricky and caused him to drop both his ciggy and lighter.  The person carrying the towels was knocked back on their ass.  “Why don’cha watch where youse is goin’ ?”, Ricky sputtered at the figure on the paving stones, who was covered in the dropped towels.  “Youse coulda hurts somebody here....”

Ricky’s words cut off suddenly as he saw the face of a girl emerging from the pile of towels, laughing.  “Oh, I’m such a klutz, I couldn’t see where I was going !”, she said.  “I’m really sorry !”  Ricky was struck momentarily speechless at what he saw, a cute pixie face surrounded by a mass of platinum-blonde hair.

Recovering himself, Ricky reached down with his hand to help her up.  “Oh, no, my bad !”, he told her.  “Here, lemme help you up !”  She took his hand and Ricky suddenly felt an electric energy pass between them.  He pulled her to her feet, but kept ahold of her hand.  “Are’s youse Ok ?  I didn’t means to hurts you any....”

“Nope, I’m just fine !”, she said cheerily.  “I was just taking down a load of towels to the Pool, and I guess I had them stacked too high !”  It was then Ricky saw that she was just a touch over 5 foot, 2 inches, and had a slim, cute figure.

Strangely, Ricky couldn’t let go of her hand as he gazed at her face.  “I, umm, I’m sorry...Wasn’t looking either....”, he fumbled, in awe of her beauty.

“Oh, that’s all right”, she said, still allowing her hand to be held.  Her eyebrow went up in a quizzical gesture as she looked at him.  “You’re....Ricky, right ?  Ricky Pucico ?”

“Um...Yes”, Ricky answered, somewhat in shock.  “How did you know ?”

The girl uttered a musical laugh.  “You’re all famous, you know.  That’s why I came to Bullworth, I wanted to meet all you brave fellows.”  She smiled in such a cute way that made Ricky’s heart suddenly flutter.

“Well...Er....Didn’t know I was THAT famous”, Ricky fumbled, for something to say.  “So...What’s your name, anyhoo ?

The girl laughed again.  “Oh...I’m Jessica Jamison”, she said, “But my friends call me Jessie.”

“Um....So then....Cans I be your friend, then ?”, Ricky said, a bit shyly.

“I, um, guess so, since we’re holding hands”, Jessica answered, and laughed again.

“Oh....Yeah....Sure”, Ricky said quickly, and went to release her hand.

But Jessica clasped his hand again.  “I didn’t say to let go”, she smiled.       
 
Ricky gazed into her blue eyes and took the chance he hadn’t gotten to take in over two years.  “Um...Woulds you....Like to go out wit me sometime ?”

Jessica’s eyes sparkled as she looked a Ricky.  “A handsome boy asks me out, I usually say yes”, she said.  “So...How about tonight ?  Around 8 o’clock ?”

“Uh...Sure !”, Ricky answered.  His whole world had just turned upside down in two minutes.   
   
“Great !”, Jessica exclaimed.  “Meet me out in front of the Dorm. Ok ?  I’ll be ready.”

“Um...Yeah, Ok !”, Ricky replied, feeling like he was in a dream.  Jessica gazed at him a bit longer, then slowly disengaged her hand from his.  She bent down to recover the spilled Towels, and Ricky hurried to help her, stacking them back in her arms. 

“Well”, she said, stalling just a bit, “I gotta get these down to the Pool.”  She stood looking up at him a little longer, then brushed past him.  With a look over her shoulder, she said, “Bye...See you tonight !”  Ricky raised his hand in response, not trusting himself to mess up with a snappy comeback.  Instead, he just watched her little ass sway back and forth until she was out of sight.  Then, he looked for his dropped lighter, spotted it and picked it up.  He couldn’t find his dropped ciggy though, but he didn’t care.  Like he was walking on air, he started back on the long trip to the Blue Balls Bar, not even minding he had no bike to ride.
________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony had headed out from the Boy’s Dorm and went directly to the Girl’s Dorm.  As he approached the Dorm’s yard, he saw a girl walking his way, carrying what looked like an armload of towels.  Her face was mostly obscured by the number of towels she had piled in her arms, and Tony didn’t recognize her, although he thought she might be one of the new girls, based on her platinum-blonde hair color.  He continued on to the Dorm Yard and spotted another new girl, Hannah, sitting on the Dorm steps. This one he recognized, although just barely.  He had never spoken to her, though. 

Tony walked up and greeted her, and she stood up.  She was tall, somewhat like Christy, but had long dark brown hair that was braided. “Hi”, Tony said, “You’re one of the new girls, right ?”

“Yes, I’m Hannah”, she said.  “I know who you are, you’re that Tony fella.”

“Yup, That’d be me”, Tony replied.  “Could I ask you a favor ?”

“Well, sure”, Hannah told him, “What’cha need ?”

“Could you go and tell Karen that I’m here ?”, Tony asked, then added, “If you know who she is, I mean.”

“I know who she is”, Hannah said with a smile, “She’s famous too.  Be right back !”  With that, Hannah flounced up the steps and into the Dorm before Tony could think of anything else to say.  He shook his head.  Famous, indeed.

Tony sat down on the steps for awhile to wait.  Looking straight ahead, he could see down the pathways clear to the Boy’s Dorm.  In less than a week, construction would began to add a second story to the Dorm.  Tony would have to find another place to stay in the meantime.  It was said that it would take a month, as it was to be done before the next term started in September.  The bulk of the boys there, the Bullies and Non-Cliques, were to be put up in the In-And-Out Motel again, he knew, but Tony wanted to stay closer to Karen this time, for obvious reasons. 

As Tony sat contemplating this and other things for awhile, he saw a figure walk through on the wide intersecting pathway that led from the School to the Front Gates.  Tony squinted to make out who it was.  It was defiantly a Greaser by his outfit, though he couldn’t tell who from this distance.  That got him to thinking of how he would approach the Greasers with the Binding Agreement.  Right about then, the Dorm Doors opened and Karen came out, followed by Hannah, who stayed up by the doors.

“Hi there, lover”, Karen teased.  “What’s for today ?”

“Oh, um, thought you’d like to come along with me as I talk to the Jocks about the Weapons and the Agreement”, Tony said, “Since you know them quite well, it might go easier.”

“Oh sure”, Karen said, “Uhh...They’re probably doing workouts right now....But we can watch until they’re done.”  She smiled.  “Probably make it better, catch 'em when they’re tuckered out.”

Tony grinned.  “Not a bad idea”, he said.  “Shall we go ?”

“Mind if Hannah comes along with us ?”, Karen asked, rising.

“Er...Sure, if she wants to”, Tony said.  “More the merrier, I guess.”

“Com’on, Hanna !”, Karen called to her, “Wanna go to the Football Field with us ?”

Hannah came down the steps.  “I...Guess so”, she said shyly.  “What’s down there ?”

“Guys working out, what else ?”, Karen told her with a grin. 

“Then, of course I’ll come along !”, Hannah said, smiling.

That settled, the three began the walk down to the Football Field Bleachers.
______________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Angie had a lunch date to meet Christy at Shinjo’s.  She had stopped into the School Office on Friday and asked Christy to meet her somewhere, and Christy had suggested the place where she usually met up with Pinky.  From their days on the Cheerleading Squad, Angie and Christy had been good friends.  Gossip shared was their mutual interest, but Angie usually had the advantage of more factual and up to date information on the goings-on around the School and elsewhere.

The idea that Binky had broached about hiring Winkie and Christy had been passed along to Hal by Peanut, who figured the best way to approach Christy with the idea would be her friend Angie, who was Hal’s main squeeze.   Angie was very receptive to the plan, as it gave her a good reason to  reconnect with her friend.  So, she waited anxiously outside Shinjo’s for some time until she spotted Christy coming around the corner, heading across Hill Street, and passing by the Ice Cream Shop, before climbing the sidewalk steps and hailing Angie.

“HI !!”, Christy said, smiling and waving, as she closed the gap to where Angie was standing.

“Oh, I’m so glad you could make it !”, Angie said, and they briefly hugged in greeting.

“Come on, let’s go in”, Christy said.  “You ever been to this place before ?”

“No”, Angie admitted, “Hal doesn’t like to come to the Vale much.  How’s the food ?”

“Just to DIE for”, Christy told her as they entered, “And a lot better than School food !”

They both tittered.  It was just like the old days.  The found a booth all to themselves and ordered some Lunch.  Angie fretted on how to broach the subject of the Greasers hiring her and Winkie, but Christy saved her from having to start that conversation by first wanting to know the latest of the goings-on around School.  Even though she now worked in the Office, she was cut off from the student life and the rumor mill that was always the student undercurrent. 

“Say, what was it like going to that big battle ?”, Christy asked, referring to the Chem Plant raid.  “Was it real bloody ?  I heard a girl died over there, and they’re covering it up !”

“Well, no, she didn’t die”, Angie told her, “But got shot real bad, the only girl to get hurt.  She went down into the plant with the boys, is why.  I didn’t go down, Hal told me to stay put.  There was about 10 boys shot on the roof, some were real bloody, We had to put towels and stuff on them that Mandy brought along....”

“So what happened to that girl ?”, Christy cut in, “Where’d she go ?  Who was she, anyway ?”

“Oh, she was one of the new girls who came from that Reform School”, Angie said, “Her name was Tiffany, and a Helicopter took her away the next morning....But get this....She was Constantinos’ girlfriend !”

“No !”, Christy said, shocked, “That sneaky boy who always is watching everyone and who broke into the Dorm all the time ?”

“Yes, that’s him”, Angie said.  “But what’s more, he’s disappeared, hasn’t been seen around since.  You know he got expelled, right ?”

“I heard that it was Ms. Phillips who did that....”  Christy related on and on, and so did Angie, for quite a long while, about that, the Raid, and some other things.  Their food was served and eaten and they were still gabbing on about all sorts of things, including the scandal of Miss Jones.  Finally, the conversation came around to Angie’s life with the Greasers, and in particular, Hal.

“So, what’s it like being a Greaser Girl ?”, Christy asked, “And Hal ?  He seems like the last guy that would become your boyfriend !  Didn’t he just like fat girls ?”

“He likes fat boobs”, Angie told her, and thrust her pair high.  It was then that Christy realized just how much Angie had grown, in more ways than just up. 

“Those are really big tits”, Christy said, impressed.  “Bigger than mine.”

“Biggest in the whole School”, giggled Angie.  “Can you believe it ?”

“Guess I can, looking at them”, Christy said, somewhat wistfully.  “Hal must really enjoy those.”

“There’s other things about me he likes”, Angie said, patting just below her tummy.  “And he’s big, really big, not just all fat.”  She laughed then, finding that funny.  “I finally got to go to the big city with a boy !”

Despite herself, Christy had to laugh at Angie’s long-expressed wish fulfilled. 
 
“Anyhow, Christy, Hal wants me to pass on a message from Johnny and Lola", Angie said, in a lower tone.  “He asked me to because we're friends, and....Well, I think it would help you and Winkie out."

Christy was taken a little off-balance by the sudden change of subject.  “What ?  What are you talking about ?”

“Johnny....That is, Johnny and Lola....Want to hire you and Winkie to play some gigs at the Blue Balls Bar...You know, with you playing Piano and all”, Angie told her hesitantly.

“What ?  Just us two ?”, Christy asked, still trying to get a handle on what Angie was asking.

“Umm...Well...There would be a third person, a singer, too...”, Angie ventured further.

“Aww...Who would that be, this singer ?”, Christie asked nasally.

“Umm...Hoo-Hoo....It would be....Um...Lola”, Angie said quietly.

Christy stared at her friend, slack jawed with her mouth open.  “LOLA !?”, she finally exclaimed.  “Errr....Can Lola even SING ?”

“Weell....Yes, actually”, Angie said, then hurried on.  “She hums and sings all the time !  And she’s good, really !  She’s a little shy to do it in front of a lot of people, but after she gets used to it, I think she could be better than Pinky....Than Pinky was.”

Christy slumped back in amazement.  “Who the Hell’s idea was this ?”, she asked, for lack of anything else to say.

“Umm...I think it was Peanut’s”, Angie said, then hurried on, “But Johnny wants to try it, see if it will draw in more customers to the Bar, and then maybe later on, if it works out, they could get a Band, and then have a career or something, with Johnny being her manager and Lola singing...So...What do you say ?  How about it ?”

“I...I don’t know, really”, Christy shook her head.  “I’d have to ask Winkie...”

“Johnny says he’ll pay $100 a night, for the both of you”, Angie went on, “For, like two hours, maybe two or three times a week.”

Christy considered.  Winkie barely made $50 a night at his gigs, when he could get them, and even less when he played with the Trackers Band, when they were in the Valley.  And, they sure needed money, if they ever wanted to get that car and a house someday.

“Well then”,  Christy said slowly, “I think I will ask Winkie....But he’ll have to say yes, or we won’t play.  That a deal ?”

“Oh, Hoo-Hoo-Hoo, that’s a deal !”, Angie exclaimed, getting excited.  “I’ll tell the boys !”

The two girls talked on of other things until it was time to leave.  As they went their separate ways, Christy still had doubts that such a venture would work out.  But Angie, being her usual optimistic self, was totally sure that it would.  She went off to call her Mother on her new Cell Phone before returning to New Coventry with the news.
___________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Arriving at the Football Field, Tony could see Karen had guessed correctly...The Jocks were indeed doing workouts.  He could see, near the Bleachers, Bo, Dan, and Casey doing light workouts. They had been injured in the Raid, and this was their first time back on the field since then.  Bob, Damon, Juri, and Luis were hitting the Tackling Dummies.  Ted was throwing passes to Laurent, further out in the Field.  Lance was limping his way around among them, providing water or any equipment they might need.  Not yet ready to work out due to his injury, Kirby was standing close to Coach Sanders by the West Goalposts.  The Coach had a hand laid on Kirby’s shoulder, Tony saw, but was watching his players intently, sometimes yelling out orders.

Tony, with Karen and Hannah following, climbed up into the West Bleachers and sat. Across the Field, they saw Nina, trying out some Cheerleading moves.  Nina was having a tough time of it, even falling down sometimes, but she would gamely get to her feet and try again.  Up in the Bleachers sat a smattering of Students in small groups here and there.  The three waited, watching lazily.  After a while, Hannah popped up with a sudden question.

“Who is that boy down there ?”, she asked, pointing, "And why is he limping ?”

Tony turned his eyes to the Field where she was pointing.  “Oh, that's Lance, the Equipment Manager, and he limps because some Punks nearly beat him to death and crippled him."

“And they sure got what was coming to them", Karen added, almost savagely.

“Oh, that's terrible !", Hannah said, her hand rising to her face. "What a horrible thing !”  She watched as Lance limped over to the Jocks at the Tackling Dummies.  At a cooler, he lifted the lid and withdrew some sort of bottled drinks.  These he gave in turn to the Jocks that were there and they commenced to chug them down.  To the biggest one, Lance gave two bottles.  Hannah’s eyes fixed on the big Jock.  “Who’s that big one ?”, she asked.

“That’s Bob”, Karen answered.  “He and Lance are....Good friends.”

“He so....Big !”, Hannah exclaimed.  “But....He sure is dreamy !”  She tore her eyes away for just a few seconds.  “Do you guys know them ? Will you introduce me to them ?”

Tony shot a quizzical glance at Karen, who only gave a lopsided smile and shrugged.  “Sure, if you want, I guess that could be arraigned”, she said.

Hannah fixed her gaze back on Bob, and just sat staring at him.  Even as far away across the field as he was, Bob was an imposing figure.  Another hour went by as they watched the workouts.  About that time, Mandy appeared, carrying her Gym Bag, walking down the steps from the direction of the Gym and began winding her way towards the Bleachers.  Mandy spotted the three sitting in the Bleachers and came up to where they were sitting.  “Hi, Tony....Karen !”

“Hi, Mandy”, Karen said warmly, while Tony just waved.  “What’coo doing today ?”

“Just taking care of some business on a slow Sunday”, Mandy said, sitting down on the Bleacher with them.  She dropped her Gym Bag on the bleacher beside her, where it landed with a small Thump.  “What brings all you down here today ?”

“We, um...Need to talk to Ted, and the rest of the Jocks”, Tony said.  “Something important.”

“And here I was, thinking this was a social call”, Mandy said, but she was still smiling.  She seemed to have an air of exuberance about her, as if she’d just completed a difficult task.  “Is this something...Hush-Hush ?”

“No”, Tony said, matter-of-factly, “It’s about Weapons.”

“I’m Sure they’ll be interested in that”, Mandy said, sounding chipper.  “Look, I’m headed to the Clubhouse.  We can go wait for them, when they’re done and showered.”

“Beats sittin’ out here in the heat”, Tony allowed. “I’m all for that.”  He rose from his seat and stretched. 

“Oh, our manners !”, exclaimed Karen. "Mandy, this here’s Hannah.”

Hearing her name startled Hannah out of her staring at Bob.  “Huh ?”, she blurted, her face getting red. 

“Hannah, meet Mandy”, Karen told her, hiding her smile.

“How do”, Mandy said, eying her appraisingly.  “You thinking about maybe trying out ?”

“Trying out ?”, Hannah said, flustered.  “For what ?”

“For the Cheerleading Squad”, Mandy said.  “We need cute girls like you.”

“Oh !....I don’t know”, Hannah replied, blushing anew. “You think I can ?”

 “If that girl can, you can”, Mandy said with a smirk, pointing at Nina across the field.  She looked at Karen.  “How about you, Karen ?  Gonna join the Squad this year ?”

“Oh gee, I don’t know”, Karen exclaimed.  “With all that’s been happening, I totally forgot !  I guess maybe I could....”

“Hey, we going to the Clubhouse ?”, Tony interrupted, still standing there waiting.  “You girls can talk along the way.”

Tony moved off, and the girls followed, chatting on the way. At the entrance to the Clubhouse, Mandy held Karen back for a second to tell her something.  “Oh, Karen....What we were talking about before ?  It’s been taken care of.”

“You sure ?”, Karen asked in a low voice.

”Oh yes”, Mandy grinned, patting the Gym Bag she was carrying. “Definitely.”   
________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Inside the Jock’s Clubhouse, Tony looked around, a bit surprised.  He hadn’t been in here for a long time, not since the Tornado.  The place was really spiffed up.  The Equipment Cage was still in place in the North-West part of the large room, but that was the only recognizable thing.  The rest of the room had been re-done and was a whole lot neater than it had been.  It was still rather spartan, but the area to Tony’s right sported a brand-new widescreen HD Television on the North wall with a number of chairs facing it, and a long couch on the East wall.  There was also a podium, and Tony was thinking that this was where the Jocks held their team meetings and reviewed game tapes, as well as their area for entertainment.  To Tony’s left was a set of stairs that led up to the new second floor.

Mandy directed everyone over to the couch to await the Jock’s return.  She turned on the TV for something to watch in the meantime.  The girls grouped together on the couch and engaged in girl talk, leaving Tony staring at the TV.  Spotting the remote on a small end table next to him, Tony grabbed it up and went channel surfing, stopping on an old movie which turned out to be “The Lords Of Flatbush”.  After a while, Mandy and Karen decided to show Hannah the upstairs, and they all left to go up, leaving Tony to watch the movie.

“Hannah wants to meet Bob, and Lance”, Karen told Mandy on the way up.

“Oh ?”, Mandy said, arching an eyebrow.  “I guess we can arrange that.”

The upstairs was gleaming and new-ish looking, with a small kitchenette off in the South corner, and an even smaller bathroom next to that with just a toilet and sink.  The majority of the upstairs was taken up with bunks for the Jocks, including a separate room that had been intended for a computer and stats room, but had been appropriated for Ted and Mandy’s use.  There was a large bed in there that took up most of the space and a small table.

Not long after, some of the Jocks trooped in, heading up to get a change of clothing before swarming the showers.  Tony intercepted Ted and Laurent to ask for a meeting, only to find out that the Jocks had other plans for the rest of the day.  Tony had to settle for a quick conference with Ted, and went about outlining the Binding Agreement and the promise of new Weapons to be delivered.  Ted allowed as how they needed Weapons as before, and was all in favor of the idea of Parity.  After all, they had the largest Clique now by far, and would probably grow even bigger as the new term got started.  Ted did have some concerns, however.

“What about our Territory ?”, he asked.  “Seems like the other Cliques have far more exclusive protected area that we do.  The Nerds get the Observatory, The Greasers get the Autoshop, The Preps have Harrington House.  All we have is this here Clubhouse, the rest of our area we gotta share.  That’s my worry about all this.  The others, they’ll get jealous, band together and attack us some night, right out here on our field.  It’s happened before, y’know.” 

“I sorta doubt they’re going to do that”, Tony replied.  “But your point is well taken...It could happen in the future.  I’m thinking that are times when the whole area South of the Fountain should be off-limits to the others.  There’ll be negotiations with the other Cliques on just what times they want that will be acceptable to you Jocks as well.  The same has to be done for the Bullies, since they don’t really have any area that’s exclusively their own.  There’s still a lot to be worked out.  But here’s the thing....Something like this is needed.  This whole school will go back to being a jungle before too long, unless we do something.”

“I’ll have to run this by the other guys”, Ted said.  “You know, me and Mandy are only going to be here one more term, then we graduate.  Something like this will affect them for a long time to come, if I understand this right.  And right now, I don’t even know who to hand the Clique over to then.  Laurent don’t want the job.”

Off to the side, Laurent shook his head.  “Non, that is right.  I just want to play and be studying.”

“Well, do that, then would you ?”, Tony asked him.  “But....With the outside world looking in now, something like this needs to be done, before even tougher rules and punishments are pushed on us from higher up, remember that.  And those that don’t sign on to this, in whatever form it eventually takes, will wind up without Weapons and without protections of any kind.”

Ted mulled that over as Tony rose, saying, “Something to think about.  Let me know when you can set up a meeting with everyone.  I’ll be ready.”
_________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Upstairs in the Jock Clubhouse, Hannah was getting her introductions.

“Bob, Lance, this here is Hannah Tauge”, Mandy was saying. “She’s one of the new girls at the school.”

Both boys were looking at Hannah appraisingly.  While not stunning, Hannah was the best-looking girl they had seen in quite a while, with the exception of Mandy herself.

“Um....Hi there”, Lance mumbled shyly, giving her hand a brief shake.

“Lo...Me Bob”, the giant Jock said, extending his huge paw.  Hannah put her hand in his, and it looked like the hand of a baby in the hand of a adult.  She looked up at him, and it was as if she were looking at a mountain.  She stared into his eyes, fascinated.  In the huge bulk of his face, they seemed the kindest of eyes she had ever seen. 

Unable to grasp his hand with hers because of it’s giant size, Hannah seized a couple of his fingers and squeezed.  “I’m...Real glad to....Meet you....Bob”, she said softly, mesmerized.

“Like-Wise”, Bob said, and suddenly winked.  Hannah’s heart fluttered, a surge of emotions running through her like an electric current.  Her knees felt weak.  Quite suddenly, she had to go pee. 

“Um...Mandy ?”, she stammered, tearing her eyes away from Bob.  “I have to...Is there a place...?”

Mandy understood.  “Sure...Right by the kitchenette there, see where that boy’s at, it’s just to left....”

But Hannah was already on her way, passing another large Jock, Juri, who was strangely wearing a Cowboy hat, facing the sink.  Mandy noticed Juri then, and jeered, “Hey Juri, what’s with the hat ?  Gonna rope some Steers for dinner ?”

“It is a Cows Boys hat”, Juri said in his Russian accent, “I will one day play for them !”

“Sure you will”, Mandy laughed, “Keep believing that.”

Juri just grunted in response and returned to what he was doing.  Hannah found the small bathroom and hurried to relieve herself.  Her heart was hammering with excitement, and she used the time to calm herself.  This boy was the one, the man of her dreams.  She couldn’t believe her luck.

Out in the bunkroom, Karen observed teasingly, “She seems rather taken with you, Bob !”

Mandy giggled.  Bob kept a bland face, but inside his mind was boiling.  He too had felt the instant connection with Hannah, but he had to keep up his pretense.  His future depended on it.

Tony came up the stairs then.  Spotting Karen, he said, “Hey, I’m done here for now.  You ready to go ?”

“Um...Well, Hannah’s in the bathroom right now”, she said, “We oughtta wait on her...”

“I’ll look after Hannah”, Mandy interjected.  Karen turned to her with questioning eyes.  “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her”, Mandy laughed

“Oh”, Karen said, “Well, Ok.”  She turned to Tony.  “So, where we off to now, then ?”

“New Coventry”, Tony replied.  “Time to see the Greasers.”
__________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Trent grabbed the first Bully who woke up that afternoon and stumbled out into the Common Room.  “Com’on, we gotta go somewhere.”

“What you want”, Wade said sleepily.  “Gotta go where ?”

“To go get Troy outta the Clinic”, Trent told him.  “They called just awhile ago, said they’re turnin’ him loose.”  Trent had a Cell Phone now, one of the tourists had bought it for him.  Fame had it’s perks, it seemed, even for the likes of Trent.

“So why I gotta go for ?”, Wade asked, searching his pockets for change.

“Cuz I need somebody to lift a bike, and you’re the first one up”, Trent told him. 

“Awww....Why me...”, Wade grumbled, finding a quarter but nothing else. “Wanna get a soda first...”

Trent threw Wade another quarter, since Tony had bought his drink.  “Here, Catch...Get you soda, and let’s go.”

Wade fumbled the quarter that Trent threw him, dropping it on the floor.  While Trent laughed, Wade scooped it up and fed the change into the Beam Cola machine.  Getting his soda, he chugged it down, then burped.  “UUTTT !!  Ok, let’s go.”

They headed out the front of the School.  The gates were Prefect-free today, although they still had to be opened and closed.  Out in front was Edna’s bike and another shitty-looking one.  Trent told Wade to take the Edna bike while he took the other crappy one.  Nobody left good bikes out front anymore, due to all the theft of them and mostly because of the Bullies stealing them all the time. 

They slowly biked over to the Vale Clinic.  Once there, Trent told Wade to go down by the Vale Shiny Bike Store and look around.  There was always a bike to swipe in the vicinity.  Trent headed to Troy’s room, where he found him talking in confusion to some Nurse lady.  When he saw Trent, his anxious expression became one of relief.

“Trent !  Tell dem I supposed to stay here !”, Troy said, desperation in his voice.  “Not ready to go, I have no  dinner yet !”

“You’re well enough to leave, young man”, the Nurse said primly.  “We need the room for paying patients.”

“It’s Ok, I’ll handle him”, Trent assured her, looking at Troy. 

“See that you do”, the Nurse sniffed disdainfully, and left the room.

“Com’on, Troy, get dressed”, Trent ordered, “Let’s blow this place.”

Gingerly, Troy got out of bed, and wobbled across the floor to the chair, where the Nurse had laid out his clothes.  They were the same ones he had been wearing the night he was brought in, the shirt had holes in the front, dried blood caked on it.  Troy moaned.  “Aww, I got to wear this ?”

“Just till we get back”, Trent assured him.  While Troy was changing, Trent took the big white plastic bag the clothes had been stored in and started looking around.  Spotting the urinal and bedpan, he swiped them and stuck them in the bag, followed by a blanket that looked to be in good condition.  When Troy was ready, they walked out from the Clinic. 

Outside, Wade was waiting with a swiped red bike, in addition to the ones they had ridden in on.  Trent and Wade help steady Troy on the bike, and then got on their swiped ones, flanking Troy on either side.  “Ok...All ready ?”, Trent asked.

Wade indicated he was, but Troy balked.  “I...Donno bout this !”

“What, you forget how to ride ?”, Trent quipped, “Need training wheels ?”

“Not Funny !”, Troy exclaimed, but put his feet on the pedals.

“So, let’s go then”, Trent proclaimed, “Back to Paradise !”

The trio of three moved out slowly, picking up speed.  Some pedestrians stopped to look at the strange procession, two Bullies on crappy bikes and the third bully sandwiched in-between on a slightly better one, as they hauled ass slowly out on Vale Boulevard, heading East to Bullworth Academy.
______________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

About the time that Tony and Karen made it to the Front Quad, the Bullies of Trent, Wade, and Troy had returned through the Front Gates and were taking the turn on the path to the Boy's Dorm.

“That looks like Trent and the Bullies", Tony observed, and squinted. “Say, isn't that Troy in there with them ?"

“Yep", Karen confirmed, looking closer as the trio disappeared around the corner, “And that was Wade along with them."

“Looks like Troy got out of the Clinic kind of early", Tony commented, “Thought for sure he'd be in until at least the end of the month."

“Well, the Vale Clinic doesn't like to keep poor people too long", Karen remarked wirily.

“Johnny Vincent’s still there”, Tony pointed out.  “He’s a Greaser, they’re not rich.”

“Oh, he’s got a wad of money they brought back from Detroit”, Karen told him.

“Yeah ?”  This was news to Tony.  “How do you know ?”

“Oh, just girl talk”, Karen responded, without elaborating.  They cleared the Front Gate by then.  Tony’s attention was drawn to the Bike Rack.  The Cook Edna’s bike was slotted in there.  Just in front of the rack, two other bikes lay there, dropped carelessly on the pavement.

Karen followed his look.  “Thinking of stealing bikes now, are we ?”, she asked mischievously.

“More like....Borrowing”, Tony said, as he headed toward the Rack.  “Here, you take Edna’s, I’ll take this red one.”

“Right, give me the slow one”, Karen joked as she went toward the Rack.  “If you’re going to make a criminal out of me, I should be stealing something worthwhile.”

“Borrowing”, Tony reminded her.  “And 'sides...We’ll bring 'em back.  Long as they don’t get swiped in Coventry while we’re there, that is.

Getting on the bikes, they headed off to New Coventry as the afternoon blazed on.
______________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

As they were biking past the Bullworth Theater, on which the renovation was almost finished (The blown-out front had been reconstructed, other parts on the inside had been upgraded and repaired as well), Tony thought he heard a distant noise. 

“Do you hear that ?”, he asked Karen beside him, as they biked closer to the Railroad Underpass, which was the dividing line between Bullworth Town and New Coventry. 

“Yeah !”, Karen exclaimed, “It’s....Music !  Tony, it’s Music !!”

And so it was.  As they biked underneath the underpass on New Coventry Road, it became even louder.  It seemed to be coming from even further ahead, past the New Coventry Yum-Yum Store, it indeed grew louder as they biked past it.  At the left turn in the road up ahead, where the street became Coventry Boulevard, Tony soon spotted the source of the music.

It was coming from two giant speakers set outside the former Slab-O-Meat store.  The faded sign was still across the top of the building, but below it, the large glass windows had been repaired, and the door was standing open.  They biked up to the front and stopped.  The music was almost deafening, but it seemed familiar to Tony, who liked old movies.

Grease - Frankie Valli - (LYRICS)
“I solve my problems and I see the light,
We got a lovin' thing, we gotta feed it right.
There ain't no danger we can go to far,
We start believing now that we can be what we are,
Grease is the word.”

“They think our love is just a growing pain,
Why don't they understand, It's just a crying shame.
Their lips are lying only real is real,
We stop the fight right now, we got to be what feel,
Grease is the word....
{is the word, is the word that you heard}
It's got groove, it's got meaning....
Grease is the time, is the place, is the motion,
Grease is the way we are feeling.”

“We take the pressure and we throw away,
Conventionality belongs to yesterday.
There is a chance that we can make it so far,
We start believing now but we can be who we are.
Grease is the word....
{is the word, is the word that you heard}
It's got groove, it's got meaning....
Grease is the time, is the place, is the motion,
Grease is the way we are feeling.”

“This is the life of illusion,
Wrapped up in trouble,
Laced with confusion,
What we doing Heeere ?”

“We take the pressure and we throw away,
Conventionality belongs to yesterday.
There is a chance that we can make it so far,
We start believing now but we can be who we are.
Grease is the word....
{is the word, is the word that you heard}
It's got groove, it's got meaning....
Grease is the time, is the place, is the motion,
Grease is the way we are feeling.”

“Grease is the word, Is the word, Is the word, Is the word....”

As the song came to an end, a voice overrode it, speaking loudly.  They both realized that this wasn’t just somebody playing music on big speakers...This was something else.

“THAT WAS THE GREAT FRANKIE VALLI WITH A BLAST FROM THE PAST, HERE AT WPIG, THE VALE VALLEY’S NEWEST RADIO STATION !!!   THAT’S A SHOUT OUT TO THOSE MARVELOUS GREASERS OF THE VALLEY, THE LAST OF A DYING BREED !!!"
 
Tony looked at Karen, open-mouthed.  A Radio Station ?  Could it be that they could really have something to listen to on the Radio besides all that crap that Harrington & Company had been funneling through all those years ?  Dismounting, they went to the open door and looked inside.
____________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Mr. Martin looked around his apartment and sighed.  Most of his things were packed up in boxes, what little he still owned.  He had to move out by the end of the week.  There was no other choice.  In just a few days, his new home would be a hovel in Blue Skies.  He had managed to rent a trailer for a cheap price that sat near some huge Power Lines, one that had been vacated some time ago by some of those Townie freaks.  The Scumbags had probably been making Dope over there, he thought, and that was probably why the rent was so low.
 
The afternoon was hot.  The Hermit Crabs would be out in the Bay, happy to be warm. They got stressed and weak when the water temperature was too low.  Weak Crabs made for poor eating, that he knew.  But it didn’t matter anymore, not this summer.  He wouldn’t be selling any more Crabs, since his Crab Shack Seafood Restaurant had been blown to bits and now the building sat boarded up and useless to him.  Already heavily in debt and without insurance, he couldn’t afford to rebuild after what those Terrorist Punks had done to him.

It had been a hard life, he reflected.  Married young because of an imminent baby on the way, it seemed he had always been behind.  The young red-headed woman he had married turned out to be a strident bitch, always nagging him and disrespecting whatever efforts he made.  The birth of a second child made her even worse, and she shut him off from sex after that.  In frustration, he began an affair with Karry Kopke, single at the time but who later married Mr. Buckingham.  Regardless, the affair continued for several years until it’s eventual discovery, leading to a vengeful divorce from the Mother of his two children.  But that wasn’t the end of of it, oh no.

His children had sided with their Mother, both refusing to see him or have anything to with him.  Worse, he was forced by the divorce agreement to pay to send them off to boarding school at Bullworth Academy.  Freed of the children she didn’t want, even though they remained loyal to her, his now Ex-Wife had then run off with another man.

Mr. Martin did have one break when he was able to finagle a loan from the Bank to buy the Seafood place along Vale Boulevard when it came up for sale.  He envisioned a prosperous business and finally the respect he felt he had always deserved.  But still, it seemed he wasn’t destined to become a winner in life.  While the Bluebloods in the Vale Valley may have caught the Crabs from their own debaucherous activities, they sure didn’t like eating many of them.  Mr. Martin lived on the edge of bankruptcy, even being forced to pay schoolboys to swim out and bring back Crabs from his Traps in the Bay, since he couldn’t afford to buy the high-priced Alaskan Crab that he was sure the Rich People would want to eat.

The net effect on his children had been bad also.  His daughter Christy had become so insecure that she began talking about setting fire to the school and committing suicide. She also would threaten to strangle people with her tie.  She began circulating nasty rumors about others, although those rumors rarely seem to have any basis in reality.  There had been a scandal over a year ago involving her and a couple of the other schoolboys which caused her not to be able to graduate on time and having to spend another year at Bullworth. 

His son Wade had fared even worse, falling in and then becoming a part of the low-life group of boys who called themselves the Bullies.  He held a severe grudge against his Father for his parent’s a messy divorce because of Mr. Martin’s cheating with Miss Kopke.  Already an angry kid, he also came to resent his lack of intelligence in comparison to the other kids in school, particularly the Nerds, whom he believed should be beaten up for being so smart.  But his chief antagonism was reserved for his Father, and he hadn’t spoken to him in years.

His estranged children aside, Mr. Martin was now in the worst fix in his life.  He was only hanging on because he had managed to secure a job as a Dock Worker in Blue Skies, ironically because of the bombing of the Chem Plant that had spread that noxious green gas over the area, set by the same Punks who had bombed his Crab Shack.  The whole section of Blue Skies had been quarantined for so long after that, including the Docks, that many of the Dockworkers had left to find jobs elsewhere.  When the Docks had at last re-opened, help was needed, and he managed to get one of the jobs offered. 

However, the pay wouldn’t be enough to keep the Bank from foreclosing on his Crab Shack, not to mention fixing the place up in order to re-open for business.  It would barely be enough to cover his Court-ordered obligation to pay tuition to Bullworth Academy.  Christy had graduated, he knew, but there was still Wade there, for how long he could only guess.  Wade wasn’t too bright and might never graduate. 

Mr. Martin needed a stake, a large enough sum to at least give him hope that he could stave off total ruin.  In that, a Dock job might just be the answer....There were valuable shipments that disappeared from Docks every day.  He’d been keeping his eyes open for opportunities, but nothing lucrative as yet had presented itself.  It would have to be soon, he knew....He was running out of time.
___________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony and Karen gazed around inside.  Behind the still-whitewashed front windows was a changed interior.  What was once a vacant Meat Shop with dusty metal counters had been transformed into a Radio Studio.  Over to the right was a reception area, to the left was a maze of Control Boards, Turntables, CD and tape players, and Monitors.

A husky fellow with long dark hair a bushy beard sat behind the Main Control Board, a microphone suspended on a jointed movable arm next to his face.  He was intro-ing the next song in a earnest manner that began to blare on the speakers outside.  "WPIG, YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION, THE STATION BY THE BAY, THE STATION THAT ROCKS, THE STATION THAT NEVER STOPS !!!”
 
“We built this city....We built this city on rock an' roll.
We built this city.....We built this city on rock an' ro-o-o-o-ll.”

We Built this City w/ Lyrics

As the song began to play, the man motioned them inside, pulling headphones off as he did so.  Tony and Karen ventured inside, closer to the man.  “Um....This a Radio Station ?”, Tony asked incredulously. 

“Why, shore is, my man !”, the bearded man replied.  “Today be our first broadcast day !”

“But...How ?”, Tony asked, looking around.  “And...Who are you ?  I...I don’t know you ?”

“Say you don't know me, or recognize my face,
Say you don't care who goes to that kind of place.
Knee deep in the hoopla, sinking in your fight,
Too many runaways, eating up the night.
Marconi plays the Mamba,
Listen to the radio....
Don't you remember ?
We built this city,
We built this city on rock an' roll.”

“Oh...I’m Lou Jacks, one of the DJ’s here”, the man replied, “But on the air, I be Wolfman Jacks, baby !”  He extended his hand, and Tony came forward and shook it.

“I’m Tony Calderone”, Tony said, “And this here’s Karen...Um, did you say, you’re one of the DJ’s ?”

“Oh yuah, my pardner in crime, Janet, she’ll do the night shift for now, she goes by ‘Janet From Another Planet’, yuh dig ?”, Lou Jacks said.  “We gonna be bringin’ Classic Rock to the Valley here !”

“We built this city, we built this city on rock an' roll.
Built this city, we built this city on rock an' roll.”

“Well...We certainly can use some music here”, Tony said.  “Is that all you’re gonna be playing ?”

“Ah, fer now, that’s what the Corporation that runs this gig wants”, Lou Jacks answered, “But later, we’re gonna upgrade...Coldplay, Train, Katy Perry, Ne-Yo, that sorta thing.”

“Uh...What Corporation would that be ?, they send you out here ?”, Tony asked.

“Ah, Music Track America is what they going by now, but tomorrow, who knows ?”, Lou ‘Wolfman’ Jacks laughed.  “You know them dudes always playing the name game, yuh dig ?”

“Someone always playing corporation games,
Who cares, they're always changing corporation names.
We just want to dance here, someone stole the stage.
They call us irresponsible, write us off the page.
Marconi plays the Mamba,
Listen to the radio....
Don't you remember ?
We built this city,
We built this city on rock an' roll.”

Tony didn’t know precisely what Lou Jacks was talking about, but nodded anyway.  Then, he asked, “Um...Where’s your big antenna ?  Don’t a Radio Station need one of them ?”

“Gots a little one on the roof for now, handles 500 Watts”, Lou Jacks answered, “But next week, we gonna have a big one built, over by the Junkyard, yuh dig ?  That’ll pump us up to Five Thousand Watts, enough to cover this her whole Valley, and them some, baby !”

“We built this city, we built this city on rock an' roll.
Built this city, we built this city on rock an' roll.”

“That’ll get this place jumpin’, all right”, Tony observed.  “We need something here, the streets seem so dead on days like these.”

“Yes, that ought to liven things up around here”, Karen said, “I think all the kids would like it !”

“I heard this place had it’s troubles, all rights”, the ‘Wolfman’ said, “Corruption and Skullduggery and all...Buts all kids needs to just chill and dance sometimes.  Ain’t dat where the music scene took hold in the first place, in the Schools ?”

“It's just another Sunday, in a tired old street.
Police have got the choke hold, o-o-o-oh, but we just lost the beat.
Who counts the money, underneath the bar ?
Who rides the wrecking ball into our guitars.
Don't tell us you need us, 'cause we're the ship of fools,
Looking for America, comin’ through your schools”
Marconi plays the Mamba,
Listen to the radio....
Don't you remember ?
We built this city,
We built this city on rock an' roll.”

“Yes...I think it might help things here quite a bit”, Tony said.

“It’s just what this place needs”, Karen responded.  They both had taken a liking to the bearish-looking Lou ‘Wolfman’ Jacks, and it got Tony to thinking how this might also work in favor of other things as well.

“Outtasight”, ‘Wolfman’ Jacks said.  “Say, you kids wanna make some extra cash ?  Take these here WPIG posters and pass ‘em around to yer friends over at yer school.  Come back later and I’ll have some more, yuh dig ?”  He dug around under the table the Control Board was on an pulled up a bundle. 

Tony took it from him.  “Sure, we can do that, I guess, no problem !”

“Far Out”, the ‘Wolfman’ replied.  The song was coming to an end, and he checked the time left.  “Oop, gotta fly, dudes....Time to make my money from da man, yuh dig ?”  He put his headphones back on and pulled the microphone close, preparing to turn in on. Tony and Karen waved goodbye and went back on the sidewalk in time to hear his segway into the next song.

“We built this city, we built this city on rock an' roll.
Built this city, we built this city on rock an' roll.”
We built...We built this city....
We built...We built this city....
We built...We built this city....
We built...We built this city....

“THAT WAS THE STARSHIP ON WPIG FOR ALL YOU COOL CATS AND KITTENS OUT THERE IN THE VALE VALLEY.  ROCK ON ROCK WITH THE WOLFMAN AT 93.7, THE SOON TO BE MIGHTY 93 AND THE WAY IT USED TO BE, BACK WHEN THIS WAS THE FIRST HIT ON MTV BY THE BUGGLES !”

Buggles.-.Video.Killed.The.Radio.Star.vob H.Q.

“I heard you on the wireless back in Fifty-Two
Lying awake intent at tuning in on you.
If I was young it didn't stop you coming through.
{Oh-O-Oh.....}
They took the credit for your second symphony.
Rewritten by machine and new technology,
and now I understand the problems you can see.
{Oh-O-Oh.....}
I met your children.....
{Oh-O-Oh.....}
What did you tell them ?
Video killed the radio star.
Video killed the radio star.
Pictures came and broke your heart.
{Oh-a-a-a Oh....}”

“And now we meet in an abandoned studio.
We hear the playback and it seems so long ago.
And you remember the jingles used to go.
{Oh-O-Oh.....}
You were the first one.
{Oh-O-Oh.....}
You were the last one.
Video killed the radio star.
Video killed the radio star.
In my mind and in my car,
We can't rewind we've gone to far
{Oh-a-aho Oh.....}
{Oh-a-aho Oh.....}
Video killed the radio star.
Video killed the radio star.
In my mind and in my car, We can't rewind we've gone to far.
Pictures came and broke your heart, put the blame on VCR.
{Ohhh, Video Starrrrrrr, Ohhh, Video Starrrrrrrr...}
Video killed the radio star.
Video killed the radio star.
Video killed the radio star.
Video killed the radio star.”

Tony and Karen stayed to listen to the music, then as the song was ending mounted their bikes and resumed their journey to Blue Balls Bar, Tony balancing the package of posters on his handlebars as he rode.
_________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Over at the Vale Clinic, Nick and Johnny were taking their first shaky walks since their injuries.  Out in the halls outside their rooms, Nick, being aided by Melody, and Johnny, being aided by Lola, moved slowly towards each other.  Their steps were hesitant and their breathing was labored.  Meeting up, the boys took a break, leaning against the rail that ran along the wall.

“Hey Melody”, Lola said in a friendly tone.  “The boys are quite a sight, aren’t they ?”

“Yes...They are”, Melody agreed, but she still had a look of worry in her eyes.

“Ey, I be just fines”, Johnny said, still leaning on the rail. “De Outsiders always pull through, Rights, Nick ?”

“NYEAH”, Nick grunted, recognizing the reference, “SUVIVERS.”

“Um....Thank you for helping us”, Melody said to Johnny and Lola.

“Ey, dat’s allrights....Lola here dids some fine shootin”, Johnny replied, “Took out dat Townie ass who winged me.”

“Oh...Which one ?”, Melody asked with interest, her eyes narrowing.

“It was that Bastard Otto”, Lola replied, hate in her voice, “He shot Johnny.”

And Raped Me, Melody thought but didn’t say.  Instead, she said, “Good !”, in a vengeful voice.  “That Asshole deserved it.”

There was a tick of silence as the girl’s words settled in on the group.  Then Johnny said to Nick, “I heered you foughts valiant, wit plenty of guts.  I’se admire dat.”

“YOOUSE HELP PUTTUM ON THU RUN”, Nick said through wired jaws, “COULDNTA WON WIDOUTS YOOUS.”

“Ey, quites alrights”, Johnny said, “Youse foughts like a true champ.”  Johnny extended his hand, and Nick took it.  “Facts, Ise gonna makes you an Honorary Greaser.”

Nick shook Johnny’s hand.  “PLEEZED TO ACCEPT”, he said through his teeth, and managed a painful grin. 

Lola watched their friendliness for a few seconds, then said to everyone, “We should get you boys moving, if you’re gonna be gettin’ out of here by the end of the week.  Gotta build up your strength !”

Melody smiled weakly in agreement and gently tugged at Nick’s arm.  “Let’s go, Nicky...Gotta get you strong.”  The group broke up and began to continue on their separate ways.   

“Stay Gold, Ponyboy”, Johnny told Nick as they parted.  Nick raised his hand in a thumbs-up gesture before continuing with Melody down the hall.
____________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony and Karen biked away from the former Slab O’ Meat Store, now Radio Station WPIG, up towards the Coventry Police Station past Hung-Lo, made the right turn at the Corner Bar, and biked past The Final Cut and Tasteful Tattoos, all gloriously repaired, and headed East on Coventry Boulevard towards the Golden Horseshoe.  Even though Federal cleanup money hadn’t counted for much in the area yet, the place seemed cleaner somehow, more vibrant.  The seedy side of the Vale Valley didn’t seem quite as despicable as it once was.  A little further, they came to the Blue Balls Bar.  A couple of Greasers were outside the entry door, smoking.  It was Hal and Lefty, and they greeted Tony and Karen warmly.

“Hey, what’s up, Tono ?”, Hal chortled, “You looking fine, Karo !”

“Tony, Man !”, exclaimed Lefty, “Youse guys out slummin’?”

Tony and Karen parked the bikes up by them and got off.  “Hi-De-Ho boys. We doin’ fine, just come to check the place out.  Is Peanut inside ?”

“Yeah, back in da back there, somewheres”, Hal said, jerking his thumb in the general direction past the partly-open door.  “We just takin’ a smoke break from our labors”, he guffawed.

“Labors. huh ?”, Tony asked, wondering just what the Greasers were up to now.  “Like what ?”

Hal shrugged.  “Youse can see, inside”, he said gesturing at the door.

“Mmm, Okay”, Tony said. “Watch our bikes, would’ja ?”

Hal eyed the bikes.  “No worry, they ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

"And, hang some of these Posters in the window, Ok ?", Tony asked them, "They're for that new Radio Station."  He gave Hal a few of the Posters and tucked the rest under his arm. 

Hal looked at the Posters, and his face lit up.  "Hey, I heards of dis guy !  He's a DJ Legend !"

Tony and Karen entered the Blue Balls Bar and looked around.  Tony hadn’t been inside the Bar since the beginning of last Winter, when he had been scouring New Coventry looking for clues to the attacks on the Cliques and the identity of Piff the Skull.  Then, the place had been a dump, practically a wreck.  There had been trash all over, and an old mattress had been thrown on the floor next to an stand-up Arcade game called Monkey Fling.  There had been no booths or tables like one would find in a regular Bar, and the Restrooms had been broken and wrecked.  The only furniture in the place had been an old couch facing a TV against the far North wall.

Now, as Tony’s eyes adjusted to the darker interior, he could see the place had been transformed.  Directly ahead of where they stood was a large Pool Table.  Just where the Greasers had come up with that, he didn’t know.  There were now a number of tables and chairs about the floor section, and in the front, to the left of where they stood, Booths had been installed in front of the windows that faced the street, and the mattress was gone.  The only thing that still remained was the Monkey Fling game by the door.

One of the Restroom doors opened and Binky came out.  Tony guessed that the Restrooms had been repaired as well.  Binky saw Tony and Karen standing there and approached them.  Flashing her quirky smile, she asked, “Stopping in for a drink, are you ?”

“Uh...No, we’re looking for Peanut”, Tony replied.  “He in ?”

“He’s in the back room”, Binky said.  “Follow me.”

Binky led them past the Pool Table and wound around some of the tables, past the ever-present Beam Cola machine, passing the Bar proper.  There were barstools there now.  To the right, the old couch was now gone.  In it’s place was a newly built unfinished stage.  The smell of the bare plywood filled the air.  Lounging on the stage was some of the Greasers drinking beers, Lucky, Norton, and Ricky.  For some reason, Ricky looked especially upbeat instead of his usually scowling self.  They greeted Tony and Karen with offers of beers while Binky went to the door marked 'Employees Only’.  “I’ll see if he’s dressed yet”, she said.

Karen frowned.  “Is he still asleep this late in the day ?”

“Oh...No”, Binky said with her lopsided grin.  “He just can’t leave me alone, y’know ?”

Karen grinned back, understanding.  Binky went inside briefly and then returned.  “He’ll see you now...He’s ready.”

Getting a beer anyway from the Greasers to fortify himself, Tony entered the back room, with Karen trailing behind.  Binky got a beer from the others for Peanut and followed them in.
__________________________________________________