The Bullworth Never Ending Story

[BloodChuckZ]

Over in a vacant lot by one of the Spazz Industries buildings in Blue Skies, Omar Romero was gathering the Townie boys for a meeting.  He had been informed by Jerry and Duncan of an incredible offer for their services from a new stranger in town.  Omar wanted to hear more about this proposal, for he was extremely distrustful of strangers after what had happened last summer with first Gary and then Big Darrell taking control of the group, leading to the strange disappearance of Edgar Munsen.  The Cops’ first story was that Edgar had killed Gary, and was under arrest for the murder.  In less than a week, it was revealed that Jimmy was also charged with murder.  Strangely, nothing was ever heard about Edgar again.  He had vanished.

Big Darrell had taken full control of the Towines group then.  Twice as big and more sadistic than even Omar, he had urged the group on to more and more violent crimes, carjacking and armed robbery, culminating in the assault and rape of Zoe.  That had been interrupted by those snotnose kids from the School, denying some of the Townie boys a crack at that pussy.  A few days later, Big Darrell had been found in a pool of blood with his privates blown away, near death.  He had been removed and nothing was ever heard from him again.  Rumor had it that he was himself wanted on murder warrants in multiple states, and would most likely never breathe free air again, even if he ever recovered.

Otto and Leon began squabbling about taking over the group then.  That ploy ended abruptly when they themselves were packed with some M-80 in their own privates, and spent a month in the Clinic right next door to where they came close to losing their junk as well.  With all the competition gone,  Omar asserted his rightful claim to the Leadership by virtue of having been Edgar’s second-in-command.  Omar was shrewd, and had steered the group away from the high-risk felony crimes they had become involved in and returned them to the more low-risk activity that he knew they could get away with.   The only reason they had even gotten away with what they had was because of the the ineptness of the Cops, but Omar was intelligent enough to know that wouldn’t last forever. 

Omar closely questioned  Jerry, Duncan, Otto & Leon, who had participated in various jobs for the stranger.  He had appeared to them in the alleyways of Bullworth Town and had hired them for various missions against the kids in the School.  Omar was intrigued with the tasks, particularly the last one, in which liquid-filled projectiles has been positioned to fall on unsuspecting kids at their Valentine’s Dance.  Omar had heard that it had been a real bloodbath.  From what he learned from the others, each mission was meticulously planned and executed by the stranger.  He demanded perfection, paid well and never reneged.  All of his tasks had been directed towards the School and it’s occupants. 

Just about all the Townies hated Bullworth Academy.  Some had even been students there, once upon a time, and had either quit or had been expelled.  Since that time, there had been several unorganized forays against the School by individuals from the group.  At one point the year before, Gurney had been able to sneak in and set fire to the Gym.  But after the defeat of Edgar at the Chem Plant by that Hopkins kid, the Townies were enlisted to help save the School rather than trash it.  However, after that successful effort, they were neither recognized nor compensated for their part in it, and in fact were ordered off the grounds under the threat of arrest shortly after order had been restored.  That made them hate the place even more as a result.

Omar suspected the stranger had in mind a mission against the School.  And the amount of money he mentioned indicated led Omar to believe it would be a big one.  Omar knew the lure of the cash would be a strong incentive.  He also knew that things could go off the rails rather quickly with this bunch without adequate control, as had been the case in the past.  He briefly surveyed his minions....At least three were certifiably crazy, having been in and out of Happy Volts Asylum, Otto, Leon, and Clint.  Of the three, Clint Henry was the most unstable.  He had a vile hatred of the rich, and was probably the meanest of all the Townies.  Jerry was quite possibly the brightest of the bunch, but was hampered with a large ego to the point of being obsessive.  Duncan was the pussy of the group, suspected of being half-gay.  However he was an excellent break-in artist, so as long as he didn’t try to act queer around the others, he was tolerated for his skills.  Gurney was, by far, the oldest and tallest of the bunch.  He was the most laid-back member of the group, and his biggest hobby was the pursuit of the ladies of ill-repute, as he was old enough to gain access to the bars and nightclubs in New Coventry, where he spent a good deal of his time.  Then there was the latest reject additions to the group....Floyd, Ian, Nate, and Sam, of whom little was known at this point.  They operated as foot solders of the group, carrying out orders of Omar and the more established members of the gang.

Omar meditated on all this while the others awaited his answer.  Finally, he said, “I’ll take a meeting with him.  But it has to be on our turf, right here.  If this dude has the balls to come here, alone, we’ll hear what he has to say.  Make clear to him, no tricks, or he will be wearing his balls for a necklace if he’s trying to jack us around.  Understand ?”

The others nodded.  The message would be passed along.
_______________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Wade and Troy encountered Trent on his way back from the Bullworth Clinic, and ran to him.  Seeing the two rushing at him, Trent unloaded a huge right hook at the first one that got close enough, which happened to be Wade.  Troy, who was behind him, skidded to a stop and put his hands up.

“Uhhhh....Hey, What You Do ?”, hollered Troy as Wade hit the dirt.

“Kicking some ass”, Trent replied, and then proceeded to do just that, planting a hard kick on Wade’s upturned butt.

“Nooo, you can’t”, Troy moaned, “Russell sent us to find you....To come back !”

Trent paused his kicking of Wade.  “Russell wants me to come back ?”

“Yeah !”, Troy said, “Russell say we gotta have you back in gang !”

“Oh, why didn’t you say so”, Trent quipped, reaching down to help Wade up.

“We was tryin’ to”, Wade mumbled through a busted lip.

Together, Trent and Troy helped Wade back to the Dorm yard.  Russell’s face lit up when he saw Trent.  “TRENT !! You Back !!”, he said gleefully.

“Hey there Big Guy, what’s the Dealy-o ?”, Trent smiled.

“You Need Tell What To Do Now”, Russell said.  “Look At Everybody !”  He swept his arm about the yard, where the other Bullies were limping in.  He waited until all of them had assembled around him and Russell.

“Heard you all got your asses kicked”, Trent said.  “You look like a bunch of whipped puppies.”

The Bullies looked towards the ground and said nothing in their embarrassment.

Trent had a flash of an Idea.  “We need to get our Mojo back.  How about we go kick some Nerd ass tonight ?”

The others perked up at that.  “How we gonna do that ?”, Tom asked.

Trent grinned.  It was like old times again.  “Leave that to me”, he said.

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That evening, just as it was turning twilight, two lines of Bullies snuck towards the Library from each direction.  Hugging the walls, they waited to see that no Perfects were in sight, and on a signal from Trent, they charged the steps up into the Library yard, one column going left and one column going right.

As was their custom, the Nerds had gathered in front of the Library before turning in for the night.  Fatty was resting on one of the benches lining the West wall, talking to Cornelius and Donald, both of whom were facing away from the entry.  Likewise, Melvin was seated on the bench on the opposite side, and so was Bucky.  Thad was standing off a ways from them, and was the only one to see the Bullies to suddenly swarm like a locust.  The North flank of Davis, Tom, and Wade attacked Cornelius, Donald, and Fatty, smashing them to the ground and then kicking the shit out of them. 

“Ohh !  I’m In Pain”, Cornelius Cried.
“Ahh...My Duodenum is ruptured !” moaned Donald.
“Why Me ? Why Me ?”, Fatty coughed.

The South flank of Trent, Troy and Ethan went after Melvin, Bucky, and Thad.  Trent plowed into Melvin, knocking him off the bench, Ethan punched out a hapless Bucky as he was attempting to stand. The attack was so swift, the Nerds hadn’t even time to draw their Weapons.   Only Thad escaped the initial surprise assault, backing away from the melee.  Being not so bright, Troy didn’t see him.  On the ground, being whaled on, Melvin gasped to Thad, “Go Get Help !”

Thad wheeled and ran for the wall that led to the Nerd’s gate before Troy could notice.  Thad climbed the wall, then turned and scaled the next wall to the right, and ran through the shortcut where he hopped another wall that led to Harrington House.  Running across the grassy area, he approached two Preps he saw talking by one of the pillars.

“Come Quick !”, He gasped.  “We’re being attacked !”

The two Preps standing there, Bif and Chad, looked at Thad with contempt.  “So ?  What do you want us to do about it, prissy-face ?”

Thad gaped at the Preps.  “Why....Come help defend us !”

Bif smirked and cast an amused look around the yard.  “All by ourselves ?  You see anyone else here ?”

“But...But...”, Thad’s eyes bugged out.  “You HAVE to help us !  You HAVE TO !”

“WE don’t have to do SHIT, you little Pussy !”, laughed Chad.

“Yes You Do !”, exclaimed Thad.  “We have a Protection Agreement !”

Bif and Chad looked at each other and burst out laughing.  “It’s not a suicide pact, you dumb wuss”, Bif said.

“But...But....You promised !”, Thad squealed in a shaky voice.

Chad advanced on Thad.  “Get your Puss Ass out of here, you little prick, before we kick it out.”

Bif circled around.  “Back out the way you came, you four-eyed Pauper.”

Thad backed away into the grassy area, then turned to run.  Then Chad’s Bulldog, who had been aroused by the noise, began to bark and proceeded to chase Thad around the yard, biting at his legs.  Round and round in circles he ran, arms flailing, uttering a high-pitched girl’s scream, while Bif and Chad laughed and urged the dog on. 

“Oh, my word”, Bif laughed, tears running down his face at the funny scene in front of him.

“Ha-Ha-Ha, this is Rich”, Chad chimed in, holding onto a pillar for support. “Sic ‘Em, Boy !”

Thad was finally able to escape the Bulldog and climbed back over the wall.  He ran toward the other wall, only to be met by Trent climbing over it to intercept him.  Altering course, he turned to the right and ran into a small alcove, only to trip over something and go sprawling.  Trent was on him in a second, punching and kicking the shit out of him.

“That’s Enough !  I Give Up !”, Thad gasped. “I Surrender !”

But Trent didn’t let up.  “You’re gonna be pissing blood !”. he snarled, and beat Thad  unconscious.

Tom and Davis had climbed over the wall, but Trent called back, “I got this”, as he let a bleeding Thad fall to the ground.  As he turned to leave, he spotted something sticking out from one of the rock crevices.  It was the muzzle of a Spud Gun that Thad had tripped over.

“Hey, Look !”, he exclaimed, reaching down to retrieve it. As he did, other Weapons fell out.   “Weapons !”

“Uh...Them’s ours”, Tom said.

“What ?”, Trent looked up quizzically.  “What are they doing here ?”

“Umm....I had them hid here”, said Davis.

“What the Hell for ?”, Said Trent.  “Right next to the Library ?  Are you fucking nuts ?”

“Well....”, Davis began uncomfortably, “The Nerds won’t go back here, so I thought it was safe...”

“Are you STUPID ?”, Trent asked, disgustedly.  Pointing to Thad, he said, “What the HELL is that ?”

“Um...Er...A Nerd ?”, Davis ventured stupidly.

“Jezus, no wonder Russell needed me to come back”, Trent remarked.  “Gather up this crap, I got a much better secure place to hide this.”  Tom and Davis bent to do as they were told.  As they came back across the wall, Trent had the Weapons distributed to the other Bullies to carry.

As they were walking past Melvin on their way out of the yard, Melvin groaned,  “I need a  resurrection scroll.”  Trent stopped and kicked Melvin in the nuts, and grinned.  It was good to be back.
______________________________________________________

[Mike_W]

The next morning, all of the Nerds woke up rather late due to their severe beating the night before.  Melvin gathered the Nerds together and ordered a meeting in the Library.  The Nerds needed some form of protection after the Prep's blunt refusal to hold up their end of the deal.  The Library would be a perfect place to research other forms of protection.  If it was one thing the Nerds could do right, it was research.

As soon as the Nerds arrived at the Library, Melvin gave them orders to start at the ground floor of the building, and work their way towards the stairs.  The Nerds were to search through every book until they found anything of interest.  The day dragged on as the Nerds poured over books, looking for something, ANYTHING, that could be of use.  The Nerds even skipped lunch to devote their time to the books.  Normally this would bother Fatty, but he was prepared for this type of situation.  He pulled a slice of pizza from his reserve of food in his pants and munched gleefully as he continued to work.  Finally, after hours of searching through the hundreds of books in the Library, Cornelius uncovered a different kind of book.  This particular book appeared as though it was put together by a Student, a personal log book of sorts.  The book was also labeled with a name of a Student that had a familiar name.  "Edward Seymour III" was inscribed on it.  Cornelius shrieked with delight, this was a guide book put together by one of the Prefects when he was a new student at the Academy, that included information on the many uses for everyday items found around the School and surrounding Towns.  Cornelius triumphantly plopped the book down on one of the desks occupied by Melvin.

"Holy Moley!", Melvin said in awe.  This was the answer to their problems.  Inside the book were pictures of various items ranging from trashcan lids to baseball bats.  The Nerds had found what they were looking for, a picture inside revealed the powers of a Plaque that hung inside Harrington House.  Much information was provided below the picture, as Edward had once been a Prep and used to frequent the fraternity.  The Plaque was apparently made from a high quality metal that was able to repel most types of attacks from fists to Spuds.

"This is perfect !", shouted Thad, "we could use it as a Shield !".  Melvin decided he would trust Cornelius with the book as a reward for finding it. "Tomorrow, Brave Knights, we shall plan to gain entry to the enemy's stronghold and take our payment through use of the Shield !", Melvin said confidently.

The Nerds said their goodbyes and exited the Library.  Cornelius hung back for a while in order to collect his things.  He was the last one to leave and headed out the door into the dusky evening with his newly coveted book under his arm.
___________________________________________________________

[Mike_W]

As Cornelius made his way towards the steps on his way out of the Library, Davis and Troy emerged from behind the gateway to confront him.

"Blah !!", exclaimed Cornelius in surprise.

"Ha-Ha-Ha", laughed Davis, "You didn't think we were done with you last night, did you ?".

"Excuse me fellows, I have work to do", replied Cornelius in an attempt to ignore his aggressors.

"What’cha got there E.T.?", mocked Davis as he pointed to the book under his arm.

"My name is not E.T.", corrected Cornelius.

"You-could-have-fooled-me", said Troy in a rough voice before laughing at the nickname they had given Cornelius.

"Sticks and Stones.....", replied the Nerd, but before Cornelius had any time to say more, he was jumped by the pair of Bullies.  They vigorously beat him into a pulp.  Cornelius began screaming at the top of his lungs, but it was too late.  The other Nerds had already left the area and could be of no help to their suffering companion.

"Oh I wish I had that Shield right about now", he muttered.

"What Shield ?", asked Davis as he stopped the beating for a moment.

"Um...Uh...Its Top Secret", sputtered Cornelius as he realized his slip of the tongue.

"Tell us more about it, bitch!", threatened Davis.

"No, I cannot, I have been trusted with this information.", said the Nerd.  Suddenly, Troy began kicking Cornelius with brute force.

"Okay, Okay! Stop !!", he said, "It’s found in this book. You can have it if you just STOP!"

Davis snatched up the book and kicked Cornelius in the nuts before running away with his new prize.  "That…was…excruciatingly Painful !", moaned Cornelius as he lay in agony.
_____________________________________________

[Mike_W]

Cornelius, who had managed to recover enough to make his way back to the Dorm, told the others what had happened.

"What do you mean, you don't have the book !?", Melvin shrieked  in terror.

"I uh...well...was...it was taken by force !", confessed Cornelius.

"Well, who has it ?", asked Melvin, still upset.

"Those pesky Bullies !  Davis and Troy beat me senseless and called me names !", complained Cornelius.

Melvin was ready to pass out. He had never felt such a strong combination of anger and distress.  Now what ?  There was no way they would be able to take the book back with the Bullies as strong as they had become since running their new Drug Trade.  They were shit out of luck.  Although Melvin couldn’t fault him for revealing under attack about the Shield, he kicked himself for leaving Cornelius alone with the book without protection.
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Apparently, the book was not some forgotten relic from the past.  Edward regularly kept tabs on his book as he thought it would be important for new Students to use as a reference.  In the Nerd's haste, they failed to notice that the book was clearly marked as one that was not available for check-out. The Academy now considered the missing book as a case of theft and Dr. Crabblesnitch assured Edward that his book would be safely recovered.  The Police in the Towns were notified about the stolen article and were asked to interrogate anyone that appeared suspicious.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"This must be it, right here !", said Davis as he turned to the page with a picture of the Prep’s Plaque on it.

"This is exactly what we could use !", agreed Ethan.  The Bullies were gathered in the common room of the Boy's Dorm, all circled around the book with wide eyes.

"Now, we just need to plan a ‘Removal Mission’ in Harrington House.", said Davis, "Those bastards have that place heavily protected….I don't think we're just gonna be able to walk right in there and take it."

The Bullies decided that they would put Trent in charge of this operation, maybe he would have the brains to get them in and out of there in one piece.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Outside of the J-Mart in town, Fatty had gone with Melvin to go pick up some drinks and snacks for that nights meeting. "How about some chips?", asked Melvin.

"That sounds terrific !", shouted Fatty with joy.  Fatty was getting hungry, all this talk of food in the middle of a convenience store was making his mouth water.  The two Nerds paid for their items and walked out the front door and waited for a Bus to pick them up and bring them back to the School.  As they waited, Officer Williams strolled by and glanced at the boys.  Fatty began to grow nervous, as he had always felt uneasy around Cops, even though he had done nothing wrong.  Officer Williams noticed Fatty's nervous behavior, and like any Cop, he could practically smell the fear.

"Hey kid !", shouted the officer, "You know anything about a stolen book at the School ?".

Fatty gulped, he did in fact know of such a book, and only recently had found out it was considered stolen. "Uh...Um..No, not really", said Fatty as he began to sweat profusely.

"What's wrong with you kid, nervous about something ?", quizzed Officer Williams.

"Uh, No Sir !", said Fatty as he began shaking.

"Alright, come with me kid, I wanna search you down at the Station. You look like you're hiding something."

"Please, No !", shouted Fatty, quivering.

"Well, its either that, or you get searched right here with no privacy”, said the Officer.

 "No, You Can't !  I'm Innocent !", shouted the Fatty, desperately .

"That's it, right here it is !", the Officer decided. "Drop your trousers !", he commanded.

"No Please ! Think of my dignity !", pleaded Fatty.  A crowd of Citizens had gathered around to see what the fuss was about.  They soon erupted with laughter as Officer Williams yanked Fatty's drawers down, revealing a pair of extra large tighty whities covered in various stains, hopefully from the food items also spilled from his underwear and landed at Fatty's feet.  This made the crowd laugh even harder.

"Alright, you're free to go", said the officer, "I thought you were hiding a book-shaped item in your pants....Turns out it was only an over-sized candy bar.”

Fatty was crying and shaking as he boarded the bus with Melvin trying to comfort him. "We'll have a meeting about this !", yelled Melvin. "This injustice has gone on long enough !"
__________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

For the first time in a long time, the Nerds skipped all their morning classes the next day.  Melvin felt that they should move quickly to try to obtain the Shield, before the Bullies could figure out what it was or how to steal it themselves, and in an emergency meeting the rest agreed it was of utmost importance.  This must not be allowed to fall into the Bullies hands.

None of the Nerds even left their rooms until well after 9 AM, long after most kids would have left the Dorm.  They set out singly, with the destination of Harrington Hall.  Some of the Bullies would also skip classes in a normal course of a day, those who did would usually gather in the South part of the Dorm yard to yak and bullshit.  They were easily avoided by simply moving a a fast pace from the Dorm steps to the arch before being noticed.  For a fact, there were two Bullies in the far part of the yard that morning, gabbing with Russell, who rarely went to a class of any sort.  All six Nerds managed to sneak by unobserved, even Fatty. Then it was just a matter of dodging the Prefects on patrol and make their way over to the Fountain area.  Once there, they headed down the steps towards Harrington House, arming themselves along the way.  They encountered nobody in the Prep’s yard, for unlike the Nerds that day, all the Preps had gone to class....All but one, that was.

While Donald, Bucky, and Thad took up strategic positions in the yard, Melvin entered the main doors, followed by a still-limping Fatty and Cornelius, who was still walking funny after the other night’s attack.  No one was at the entry-room counters.  Melvin, who had been in there before not so long ago, glanced up above the inner-sanctum doors.  There is was, just like the picture from the book.  The Shield was mounted to a Plaque, which in turn appeared to be bolted to the wall.  But how would they get it ?

“We better check this place out”, whispered Melvin.  “Make sure no one’s here.”  The others silently assented, and Melvin and Fatty opened the inner doors and went through, trailed by Cornelius.

“Ah...It’s you fatasses”, said Derby, who was seated in the chair by the fireplace as they entered.  “Bringing me some Weapons, I see.  Well, stack them over there”, he indicated, pointing to a corner.

The Nerds advanced, holding their Spud Guns down towards the floor to appear non-threatening.  When they got to about ten feet from Derby, they stopped.

Derby saw they weren’t moving.  “Are you ugly fuckers deaf ?  I said, put them over there !”

“No”, Melvin said.

“What do you mean, 'No’?, Derby said arrogantly.  “It’s part of your Agreement”, he smirked.  “You have to provide them.”

“The Agreement is Terminated”, Melvin said, raising his Spud Gun.  “You breached it by failing to provide protection when we were attacked the other night.”

“What is this !?”, Derby snarled, rising from his chair.  “You stinking turds think you can just....OOFF !!”

Derby was cut off in mid-sentence by a Spud to the guts fired from Melvin’s Spud Gun.  He doubled over, then straightened up.  “I’m Gonna Lay You Out !!”

No sooner had Derby said that than he was hit with another Spud, fired from Fatty’s Spud Gun, this time in the privates.  “ARRGH !!  Low Blow !!”, he hollered.

Cornelius joined in, and all three Nerds fired a fuselage of Spuds into Derby.  This time, he fell to the floor and stayed there.  Before he passed out, he mumbled, “I...Need my Nanny....”

The Nerds couldn’t help busting out into laughter at that.  “Did he really say that ?”, chuckled Fatty. 

Melvin cautioned the others to keep quiet, in case the ruckus had alerted any other Preps on the premises.  The stood quiet for a moment and heard nothing.  “Let’s see about that Shield”, Melvin said.

Calling in Thad and Bucky, a couch was hauled out from the room with much puffing and panting and placed through the opened inner doors.  Melvin climbed up for a closer look.  The Shield had the letters “HH” embossed at the top center, surrounded by laurels and other engravings.  There appeared to be obsidian chips hammered into the metal at various points.  Although he could see the Plaque it was mounted to was bolted to the wall, the Shield itself was held to the Plaque by metal screw fasteners.

“Thad, you got a screwdriver ?”, Melvin asked.  Thad pulled one out of his back pocket.  Since Thad did a lot of the Weapons-building, he always carried around a small plethora of tools.  A plan was reached to build a pyramid....Thad on Melvin’s shoulders, while Melvin stood on the back of the couch, supported by the others.  This arrangement allowed Thad to unscrew the fasteners holding the Shield to the Plaque.

When it was done, the Shield was lowered down to the others waiting below.  Melvin ordered them to push the couch back into place.  Derby was still passed out on the floor, and Melvin hoped that the Preps wouldn’t notice they had been robbed for a little while.  After all, who really looks up at anything ?  Melvin knew, though, that Derby and the other Preps who were still with him would be laying for them.  Best to hole up for a while.

When they left Harrington House, Melvin led them to the grassy side yard, the shortcut to the Library.  Thad shied back.  “Chad’s Bulldog”, he said fearfully, recalling the other night.

“No problem”, said Melvin as the dog came trotting towards them, growling.  “Shoot him.”

Several Nerds let loose with a volley from their Spud Guns, and the dog skidded off to the side.  They then climbed the walls and accessed their gate at the rear of the Library, punching in the code, 1-1-3-8.  The gate sprung open.  “To the Observatory, Brave Knights !”, Melvin called, and as one they headed that way, bearing their prize.

Because the Nerds hadn't bothered to read the whole text of the entry in the book before it was stolen, and because the Bullies could barely read at all, neither Clique was aware that there was not just one of the Shields at Harrington House.....But Two.
_______________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony sat in his office that afternoon.  Karen was perched on his desk, and Laurent and Constantinos were seated before them.  Since he had gotten back just a few days ago, his ‘ears’ had updated him on the various goings on about campus.  Tony learned that the Jocks were a solid Clique once again, more under the threat of pulled Scholarships than anything else.  Kirby was living under the Gym Bleachers, according to Laurent, to keep the peace.  The Greasers were once more reunited under Peanut, with the exception of Vance, who had disappeared.  The Bullies had brought Russell back to Campus, and Trent had returned to the Clique by Russell’s demand.  The Nerds had seemingly gotten over any squabbles they might have had, although they had never really split into opposing factions.  The Rockers, who had not had any of the infighting that the other Cliques fell victim to, had been keeping a low profile since the Valentine’s Dance incidents.  Only the Prep’s Clique was still split, with no resolution in sight. 

Tony had been filled in on the recent fights.....The Jocks teaming up with the Greasers to attack the Bullies, then the Bullies attack on the Nerds.  He also heard about Nick defeating Norton in the latest Hole Fight.  While it seemed that things were returning to ‘normal’, Tony was disturbed.  While all the Cliques were now re-armed, things were still out of balance.  It wouldn’t take much to stir the pot and ignite another Clique War if things continued as they were.  The most glaring reason for this, Tony felt, was the rumored Drug dealing by the Bullies.  Word was, they had been attacked while dealing in the School bathrooms, quite possibly by the Preps.  And they had most certainly been attacked in the Parking Lot by both the Greasers and Jocks.  If any of these more powerful Cliques got control of the Drug Trade at Bullworth, there was bound to be real problems.  Tony knew that the Bullies were too stupid to hold on to anything for long, Russell or no Russell.  Thinking that suddenly gave him an idea.

“I need to go see this Russell”, Tony told the others. “What can you guys tell me about him ?”

“He’s pretty whacked out”, Constantinos remarked.  “Lights are on, but nobody’s home.”

“I don’t know him well, my friend, but I hear he has the I.Q. of a Moron”, Laurent added.

“More like the mind of a 5-year-old”, Karen said.  “But one thing....He’s highly devoted to Jimmy Hopkins.”

“Hmmm....”, Tony considered.  “That might give us some leverage.  How did him and Jimmy get to be such good friends ?”

“Jimmy beat Russell in a Hole Fight”, Constantinos told him.

“Oh ?”, Said Tony. “So it’s just a matter of beating him, and then making him give up the Drugs.”

Karen pointed to Tony’s arm in the sling.  “You can’t fight him, silly.”

“No, not me”, Tony said. “But I know someone who can.”
_____________________________________________________

[Repo Man]

"And who might that be ?", asked Karen. "Tony, there's no one in the state, let alone Bullworth who would want to fight Russell Northrop !"

"There is one", Tony said. "You guys know who I'm talking about?"

Both Constantinos and Laurent nodded.

"Go find him, and bring him here, Laurent", said Tony.

Laurent nodded and quickly exited the room.  He knew where the boy was he was looking for.  In the afternoon he was usually in the common room of the Dorm, and in the evening he was hanging out at the Football Field with his buddies, the Jocks.  Laurent was sprinting, hurrying to get that boy to Tony as quick as possible.  He ran through the Dorm door, finding Bo Jackson and his target sitting on the couch while a group of Nerds were playing poker in the corner.

"Nick!", Laurent shouted and stood in front of them. "We need your help."

Nick Penty smiled.  He puffed smoke out of his mouth and handed the joint back to Bo.

"Of course you do", Nick said, smiling. "Uh....Well, listen, I had a bit Cannabis, so.....Can this fight wait ?"

"How do you know it is a fight ?", Laurent asked.

"What else do I do in this shithole ?  C'mon, tell me who beat you up and I'll kick his ass."

"No one messed with me, but Tony wants to see you.", Laurent replied.  “Let’s Go, Ok ?”

They went to the School building and then to Tony's small office, where Karen, Constantinos and Tony were still sitting.

"Here I am, friends", said Nick. "Ta-at-at-tira !."

"I got a business proposition for you, Nick.", said Tony.

Karen interrupted, "You want him to fight that Gorilla ? You’ll just get him put in the Clinic !"

"Whoa, Whoa", said Nick. "Calm down, for fuck's sake. And you....", Nick turned to Tony. "Community is now calling me Nicky."

"I believe that originated from Christy and Melody, eh ?", Tony smiled.  "Anyway, I'll get straight to the point, Nicky. You know about recent Bully Drug business, don't you ?"

"I do. They sell Crack, but they sold some Ganja to ole Bo.  Me and him just tried it out.  I've smoked better shit", Nick replied, clearly high.

"Alright.  But we want it to stop.  The only problem is, Russell leads them.  And well.....To make them stop, Russell needs to get some asskicking", Tony said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Which I have to deliver, right ?  And who's Russell again ?", Nick asked.

"Oh, I believe you guys met.  At the Parking Lot, prior to your fight with Norton.  He served as your Trampoline”, interjected Constantinos.

"You mean...,That giant guy ?", said Nick in surprise.

"That‘s the one….But, if you don't want to fight...", said Tony, but Nick cut him off.

"Fuck I don't !, Nick Exclaimed. “I'll tear that fucking monkey-ass shit-bitch apart !"

"You gotta cut the Marijuana, man", Tony warned him. “You got to be clear-headed."

Five minutes later, it was decided that if Russell wouldn’t back off the Drug Dealing, Nick would challenge Russell to the fight in The Hole.
____________________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

A delegation led by Tony walked out to the Parking Lot after classes, where they spotted Russell standing in his usual spot out on the asphalt.  As they approached, Trent spotted them and made his way over to Russell and pointed.

Tony’s group, which included Laurent, Constantinos, and Nick, came to a halt a few feet in front of Russell and Trent.  “We need to talk to you, Russell.”

“Whadda want with Russell, Mediator Man ?”, Trent said mockingly before Russell could answer.

“That’s our business”, Tony said with a warning glance. “You need to leave.”

“Ohh...I’m so scared of the Crip”, Trent sing-songed, sounding like the queer he partly was.

“Maybe you best be scared of me”, Nick said, giving Trent a shitty look. “I’m not injured.”

Trent opened his mouth to say something back, then thought the better of it, remembering the thrashing Nick had given him not all that long ago.  He stared at Nick for a few seconds and then slunk away.

“What You Want With Russell ?”, Russell asked.

“I want you to stop selling Drugs on Campus”, Tony said bluntly.

“WHAT ?”, Russell boomed.  “No Can Do !  Who Say So ?”

“I say so”, Tony said. “It’s time to stop, Russell.”

“Who You ?”, Russell said.  “I Not Know You.  You Nobody”

“That’s not true”, Tony said patiently.  “You’ve seen me with Pete.”

“Pete ?” Russell searched his faulty memory.  Finally, he brightened.  “PETE !  Russell Remember Pete !”  He looked at the group.  “Where Is Pete ?”

“Pete was hurt bad”, Tony said solemnly.  “Hurt by Jake.”

Russell’s face went blank.  “Jake ?  Who Jake ?”

“Jake was the new boy who made your Clique steal clothes”, Tony said slowly, like talking to a child.  “He is bad, very bad.”

Russell’s face twisted with the effort of thinking.  Then, he said, “Russell Remember Now.  Crazy kid.”  A few seconds ticked away, then his face darkened.  “Jake hurt Pete ?  Russell SMASH !!”

“Jake is hiding, and Pete is gone”, Tony said quietly.  “But Pete would want you to stop selling Drugs.”

Russell digested that bit of information, then shook his massive head.  “No, Russell Not Stop.  Only Way To Make Big Money For Bullies.”

Tony tried again.  “Russell, I know Jimmy Hopkins.”

“Jimmy ?”, Russell perked up.  “How Is Jimmy ?  Russell No See Jimmy Since.....”  Here Russell’s face went slack, eyes staring off into space.  Then suddenly, he wailed, “JIMMY IN JAIL !!  JIMMY IN PRISON !!! AUGGHH !!!”

“Yes”, Tony said.  “In Jail.  But Jimmy would want you to stop selling Drugs.”

Russell’s features grew contorted as he fought with a variety of emotions.  Finally, he said sadly, “Jimmy No Here No More.  Can’t Tell Russell What To Do Now.”  His voice grew strong.  “Russell Do What Russell Want To Do Now !!  Russell Do What Russell Want !!”

Tony saw that talking wasn’t going to get the job done.  “In that case, Russell, WE are gonna make you stop.”

“HA-HA-HA-HA !!”, Russell laughed.  “You Puny Shits ?  HA-HA-HA-HA !!”

“Russell, we are gonna challenge you to a Hole Fight.”, Tony said.

Russell stopped laughing.  A Hole Fight ?  Russell hadn’t been in a Hole Fight since getting beaten by Jimmy Hopkins well over a year ago, his only loss.  Russell’s mind moved slowly over the challenge.  After losing to Jimmy, they had become good friends, but the defeat had always sat badly with him.  Like any kid, Russell hated to lose. 

“Who Russell Fight ?  Not You”, he said, pointing to the sling on Tony’s arm.  “You No Challenge.”

“No, not me”, Tony said.  “Our best fighter, Nick here.”

Nick stepped forward.  Russell had a flash of memory about someone springing off his back.  “You Kick Norton, Knock Him Down”, he said to Nick.

“That’s right, big boy”, Nick said.  “Beat him in the Hole, too.”

Russell narrowed his eyes and looked Nick over.  “He Will Do”, he pronounced.

“Now the stakes”, Tony spoke.  “If Nick wins, you must give up the Drug Trade on Campus.”

“And If Russell Win ?”, Russell said.

Tony hesitated.  “If you win”, he said slowly, “We’ll leave you alone.  You can do what you want.  Deal ?”

“It’s A Deal !!”  Russell Exclaimed.  “Russell DO !!”

Tony beckoned Trent, standing about thirty feet away and straining to hear, back over.  “Have Russell at The Hole at 9 O’clock tonight”, he said.  “Him and Nick are gonna have a match.  Don’t be late.”

Trent looked with wolfish eyes at Nick and grinned.  “Russell’s gonna stomp your ass, Karate Boy !”

“We’ll see about that, won’t we ?”, Nick said chillingly.  “Either way it goes, you and me are gonna settle after....If you’re man enough, that is.”

Trent’s grin dropped from his face.  “Anytime, you Freak”, he hissed.

Laurent reached out and gently tugged at Nick’s arm.  “Come on...Let’s Go, Nicky”

The four boys backed away, then turned and walked back towards the Dorm to prepare for the fight.
________________________________________________________

[Repo Man]

It was Seven O'clock.  Nick was sitting in the Common Room alone on the couch. The doors were closed, and the TV was off. He was putting bandages over his hands and wrists, having spent the last three hours doing calisthenics and exercising on a Punching Bag he hung in the Common Room. He was dressed in a white T-Shirt and black trackpants.  Constantinos earlier told him everything that could be useful to him about Russell.  Such as, Russell was an immensely stupid boy (or a man, as it was rumored he has over 20 years of age) whose fighting style consisted of mainly pro wrestling moves and bad technique punches. Due to his size and weight, he never used kicks. He respected the few rules of The Hole and was one of the few students of the Academy who never used Weapons, never cheated and always fought alone.  Nick knew that being a lot smarter than his opponent was a big advantage, however Russell was still a very dangerous opponent.  After finishing with the bandages, Nick leaned back on the couch and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV.  After going through all the channels, he again turned it off, took a can of cola, exited the Common Room and opened the door of his and Tony's room, finding Tony and Karen talking.

"I'm interrupting something?", asked Nick.

"No, it's alright", said Karen and left the room in a huff.

"I know I was interrupting something. What's up with her?", asked Nick.

"We had a discussion. Now she's obviously angry with me because I've 'put you in great danger'. And I thought she likes fighting", Tony replied. "What about Melody ?  How hard did she try to stop you?"

"She tried...And failed.  Nothing can stop me now.", Nick said and took a sip of cola. "Tell me something....If your arm wasn't fucked up, would you fight him yourself?"

"I don't know", Tony replied.  "Do you think you're so much more superior 'cuz you have a talent for fighting ?  Brawn ain't all important, Nick."

"Still, you gotta admire me", Nick replied, and tossed the cola to Tony as he walked out of the room. "I'm the Bullworth Champion", he added, delivering few punches to the wall. Tony also walked out of the room, and Nick walked past him down the hall, taking the cola back from him while doing so.  After taking one long sip, he tossed the can back over his shoulder to Tony, who managed to catch it.

"Where is everyone?", Nick asked and opened a room door only to find it empty.  He walked into the room and found Fatty Johnson's diary lying on the bed.

"At The Hole probably", replied Tony. "Everyone went there before 8 O'clock, from the inside.  You'd be surprised how many ways there are to enter it. Troy is fighting a friendly match versus Davis, but for me it's too boring to watch.”  Seeing the book in Nick’s hands, he asked, "What have you got there ?"

"The super-secret highly compromising, embarrassing personal lines of wisdom by our friend and true Barbarian Fatty Johnson", Nick said, opening the book. "It's good it isn't Thad's, otherwise it would have a password."  Tony leaned on the doorjamb, watching. 

Perfect", said Nick after reading a bit. "My new bedtime stories."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't difficult for Tony and Nick to make their way into The Hole past Max McTavish, the Prefect who was now patrolling the Parking Lot area. The Hole was crowded, but there was no sign of Russell, despite it was already 8:45.  Upon reaching the ring, Tony made his way to Laurent and Constantinos while Nick jumped in the octagon area and began to warm up. Kids were talking and some even brought drinks and snacks to have something to chow on while watching the fight.  Trent approached The Hole entrance and sat on it's edge.

"Russell's gonna break you", he said. "There's no way you can defeat him."

"You better prepare yourself", Nick replied. "When I'm done with your monkey friend, I'm gonna come for you."

Trent didn't run away, but he was already silently cursing his tongue.  "You wish", he said. "When Russell is done with you, you're gonna stay in the Clinic forever !"

Nick didn't say anything else and continued to throw punches and kicks in the air. He then began flexing his muscles and finished after two minutes.  Then, as Russell still wasn't showing up, Nick went to the side of The Hole where Tony, Laurent and Constantinos were standing at the fence, and started to chat with them.

Bif Taylor, the 'official' Hole Referee for the evening, sat in the commentator's place at 8:55 and announced over the microphone:
"If Russell does not appear in five minutes, he will be disqualified and Nick Penty will win the fight."

That didn't happen, as they heard the sound of Russell's boots banging into the floor of the basement. He made his way into The Hole, cheered by all the Bullies and several other students. Russell entered the ring and punched his left palm with his right fist.

"New Kid Appear !   Russell Destroy You !", he said. "Russell No Stop Sell Drugs Because Of New Kid."

"Wow, you know to say 'because' ?", Nick teased him. "I'm pleasantly surprised."

Russell cracked his knuckles and it sounded more like an Assault Rifle.

"Bif Ring Sound!", he shouted. "Russell Fight !!  Russell WIN !!"

Bif was looking at his watch, preparing to hit the bell. Only one minute more....DING-DING-DING !!  In that moment everyone stopped talking, everyone stopped looking any other way than The Hole. The fight they were watching was probably the greatest fight in the history of Bullworth Academy, sharing the first place with Jimmy Hopkins' fight with Russell.  But this was better.  A Champion versus a Champion.

Russell made the first move, swinging a wide right hook at Nick with a jungle yell.  Nick managed to dodge the punch, but then Russell thrust his left knee forward with great speed, hitting Nick in the stomach and throwing him off the feet.

"Shit", Nick muttered quietly. "He's quicker than I thought."

The first round was dominated by Russell, but he didn't land another strike on Nick, who managed to recover from that blow and evade all of Russell's attacks. Nick never attacked during that first round, trying to figure out all Russell's weak spots.

"Stand !!  Russell Want Destroy You!", he shouted.

"Name's Nick", Nick replied, doing a limbo dance move to evade Russell's punch. "You doin' well, Russell !  Keep up the good work."

The bell rang for a two minute rest in which Nick drank some water and rubbed the sweat off his face with a towel. The second round was almost the same. Russell was attacking without any idea, while Nick managed to land a high Mawashi-Geri that blew out Russell's tooth.

"If I continue like this, I might win this", Nick thought, and tried to perform a same kick, but Russell's huge hand grabbed his ankle. Nick kicked Russell in the chest with the other leg, and rolled out of the way of Russell's boot as the big boy tried to step on him. He then stood up and the fight went on, Nick mainly trying to evade Russell's punches and grapples. The bell rang ending the second round, and Nick climbed out of the Hole and sat alone, listening to the murmurs of the crowd.

The third round was the most boring so far.  Not a single blow was delivered in The Hole, but by now both fighters' bodies, especially Nick's as his body was more exposed, were bruised, as well as their faces.  Nick managed to step out of the way as Russell tried to smash him against the wall as the bell sounded to end the round.

Nick climbed up and went to Tony, Laurent and Costantinos, in their 'corner'. He sat on a bench that Laurent brought, and took some water as Constantinos rubbed his face with a towel.

"You are doing good, Nick", Constantinos said. "Real good."

The fourth round began. Nick and Russell were circling around themselves for a bit, before Nick started to riddle Russell with high kicks, which unabled him to attack due to the quickness of the strikes.  Russell managed to trip Nick, but Nick jumped on his feet and started to kick Russell in the abdomen.  When Russell bent, Nick gave him two quick hooks and Russell fell to the slimy pit floor.

"Bravo !", shouted Laurent. "Bien Fait !"

But Russell wasn't finished. He quickly stood up, and as Nick was starting to celebrate his victory, Russell came behind him. He then grabbed him by the neck, turned him around and set his head between his legs, face down. Then he grabbed his arms and prepared to do a Piledriver.

"Oh shit! I saw this on TV", thought Nick and closed his eyes, expecting a hard blow on the head.

With a loud "RUSSELL SMASH !", Russell banged Nick's head on the concrete.  Nick went limp.

"RUSSELL WIN !!", Russell shouted, banging his chest with fists. "RUSSELL FIGHT !!  RUSSELL WIN !!  RUSSELL DESTROY !!"

Tony felt like a pot of cold water was spilled on his head. He couldn't believe it.  It was now eating him from the inside that he made Nick get badly injured just because he didn't want Drugs on Campus. He was too selfish, and Nick Penty had paid for it.  He should have listened to Karen.  Russell is a lot stronger now. He was very strong before, and now he got crazier, which made him even stronger.

While that was happening, Nick's mind was in a very strange room.  A room with no floor, no walls and no ceiling.  Everything was black around him.  He dreamed of himself, sitting on a chair, putting bandages on his hands and wrists like he did in the Common Room several hours ago.  The dream Nick Penty was talking.....

"All those years of training. Boxing, Karate, in the alley next to Bartolo's Bakery....Thousands of push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups. Thousands of miles jogged, Liters of milk, hundreds of raw eggs......Then out to L.A....Black Belt...Beating up kids in the Dojo for a Black Belt.......I was born in New Jersey and I grew up in a shitty apartment....My pops was an Italian-American gangster who left my old lady.....His name was Piccarone Penty....Then all those 46 fights, done in my life, all those victories.....For what ?  For getting a beating from an ape with mild Downs Syndrome ?  No, I don't think I will accept that."

In the real world, Russell was still celebrating what he thought was his victory.  That's what spared Nick from defeat.  Had Russell stopped and moved to a neutral corner, Bif would check him, see if he was knocked out, and if he was, if he couldn't get up, award the victory to Russell.

"Russell ! RUSSELL !!", he shouted over the microphone, making Russell stop and look at him. "You haven't won yet. He has to be checked to see if he's unconscious."

Bif jumped in The Hole and approached Nick Penty. As he turned him over, Nick's eyes opened. He felt great pain in his head and there was a big bump on his head.  He struggled to his feet.

"The fight continues !", shouted Bif and climbed back up, sitting in his place. He then rang the bell for the fifth round.

Despite the pain and dizziness, Nick also felt a huge strength refill.  He instantly recovered and attacked Russell, throwing dozens of punches at kicks, as Russell was unable to defend. Finally, Russell pushed him off.

"ENOUGH !! Now Russell attack !", he shouted, but before he could do anything, Nick suddenly pointed to the ground.

"Oooh, what's this ?  Your eyes fell out !", Nick said.

"What ??", Russell said looking to the ground.

Nick didn't miss that opportunity. Suddenly he put his right foot on Russell's abdomen, left foot on Russell's chest, kicked Russell in the face with his right foot, and jumped off him, flipping backwards. It was a great move that no one ever saw in The Hole before.  It looked like everyone was amazed, except the Bullies, who looked shocked.

Russell was now visibly dizzy. His eyes went to the ceiling, as he pronounced, "Argh...Russell...Sleepy..."

A second later he fell over the drain in the middle, splashing the dirty sewer water around him. Suddenly, the crowd started to cheer, shout and whistle, but Nick didn't hear the end of it.  Exhausted and battered after this hard fight, he backed away, sat down against the wall of the Hole, and passed out himself.
_______________________________________________________

[Repo Man]

It was late morning when Nick woke up.  Morning classes had just passed and Melody and several boys were standing next to Nick's bed.....Tony, Laurent, Constantinos, and Damon.

"Uhh.....What happened ?", Nick asked.  The last thing he remembered was putting bandages on his hands in the Dorm. "When does the fight start ?"

"The fight is over, you dipshit", said Tony. "You won. Don't you remember ?"

"Yeah, that was so fucking cool when you kicked Russell, and he was like 'where's left’?'", said Damon.

“Oh, Nicky”, moaned Melody.  “You’re all right !”

“Sure”, Nick mumbled.  “Takes more than a tank to run me down…”

A loud knock on the door was heard.  Tony opened it, and Russell limped in.

"Russell Want To Show Respect", said Russell to Tony. "Russell No Deal Drugs No More.  Russell Do What Jimmy Want."

"That's good Russell", said Tony. He spoke to the others. "C'mon, let's leave them alone."  Melody and the four boys exited the room and closed the door.

"You Beat Russell.....Uhh....Russell Don't Remember Your Name", said Russell, scratching his head.

"It's....Nick", said Nick wearily.

"I'm Russell !!", the big guy responded.  He already looked fully recovered from the fight.  "Russell Have Present !  Russell Bring Banana To Nicky", he added, pulling an Apple out of his pants.  "Russell Go Now.  Russell Have To Go To Russell's Turf."

"Okay. Thanks for the…Ahh, Banana, Russell", responded Nick and took the Apple, tossing it in the trash can after Russell left.  "What a retard", he muttered.
__________________________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Russell slouched down the Dorm steps and toward the South area of the asphalted yard where the other Bullies stood.  He came to a halt in his usual spot, head down, as the others slowly gathered about him.

Finally, at length, he spoke.  “Russell Sorry Russell Lose Fight”, he said dejectedly. “Maybe Russell Should Go Home Now Again.”

The Bullies remained silent at this, still too full of shock to know what to say.  After a couple minutes, Troy spoke up, struggling to put into words what his mental processes were slow on delivering.

“Uhhh...If-you-go-away.....We-be-nothing.....All-over-again”, he stammered.

“Yeah, Russell”, Davis spoke up, “Ain’t your fault the new kid gots a hard head.  That Piledriver move shudda worked.  You still the baddest dude in School.”

The others mummered assent at this.  Russell lifted his head and looked them over.  “So Russell Should Stay ?”

“Sure, Big Guy. We should all stick together”, Trent said, with a rather pointed look at the others.

“But Russell Lose Respect”, Russell Said. “Russell Let Everyone Down.”

“Nobody’s gonna try to come after us after how you fought”, Trent said in a placating tone of voice.  “You are still the best and they know that.  It was just a freak thing.”

Russell shoved his hands in his pockets.  “Russell Had To Give Word Not To Sell Drugs Anymore At School.  No Make No More Money.”

“Ah, Yes...”, Trent said.  “But we can still sell them outside, off Campus.  That wasn’t part of the deal.”

Russell brightened.  “Trent Right ! Trent Right !  We Can Still Do Outside !”

“We just gotta watch for the Cops, Though”, Trent went on.  “And we can’t horn in on the Townies Territories, they wouldn’t like that.  We just set up in places where they aren’t, like at the Oil Spill.”

There was general agreement at that.  Others chimed in with good spots as well, like the In-and-Out Motel and Lookout Point.  Out of the babble, Tom spoke up.  “There’s somptin’ we’re forgettin’, that Shield thingy from the book.”

Trent hadn’t forgotten.  He had, in fact, stashed the book with the Weapons, behind the Dorm.  Overlooked during the renovations and completely forgotten about, the loose bricks where Jake had once hidden the stolen clothing and then himself, had never been mortared up.  The area had been hidden from view by a Trash Dumpster that seemed to never get emptied.

“I got that figured out”, Trent said.  “It’s a Prep thing.  It’s gotta be in Harrington Hall, they got all kinds of shit like that hanging in there, somebody who’s been in there told me.”  What Trent didn’t say was that his source was Kirby, whom he was still seeing on the sly in inconspicuous places off Campus.  Kirby had indeed been inside Harrington Hall several times, and remembered an object like Trent described....But just not where it was exactly.  “We just need to break in there some night and find it.  There’s only four of them there now, and there’s....Seven of us.”

“How we gonna do that ?”, Davis demanded.  “Derby, Bif, and Bryce are still there, the toughest ones !”

“Easy”, Trent continued.  “We ambush them at night with Spud Guns, they don’t make no noise. Enough Spuds and they will go down.  We wear Black Ninja suits, pick a real dark night.  They won’t know we’re there till we hit ‘em.”

The Bullies became excited at the prospect of another attack.  The Nerds had just been a warm-up, now it was time to show their real muscle.  They huddled together to work out a plan.  It was just like old times.
___________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Laughing, Kurt and Pinky entered the kitchen, hungry after a session of lovemaking. Things had been good the past couple of weeks for the Rocker crew.  They had managed to get some gigs on the weekends in the Golden Horseshoe in New Coventry.  Nobody had attacked them yet, or had even made any overt threats towards them.  While the other Cliques had been busy dealing with their own problems, for Kurt and the rest, the time since the Valentine’s Bloodbath had been one of peace with most of the other Cliques and within their own Clique.  The only exception was Derby’s faction of the Preps, who would give them angry stares when they encountered them.  Since the only times they were on the School Campus was during classes, and since none of them hung there after School, taking the Bus right back here to a stop just down the street, they were invisible to most of the others, so it seemed.  And Kurt liked that just fine.

At the kitchen table sat Winkie and Benny.  Kurt had been real glad that Winkie had come back to the group.  Winkie was a natural comic and cutup, and usually lifted the spirits of the group with his non-stop humor.  Winkie was a large fellow, and could have been mistaken for the Pillsbury Doughboy if not for his darker skin color.  In contrast, Benny, who was sitting beside him still fiddling with that old radio that Pinky had noticed earlier, was much smaller and slim.  As Pinky looked for something to cook up for their hungry stomachs, Kurt went over to the table.

“You still messing with that thing ?”, Kurt asked jokingly. “It ever gonna work ?”

“Real soon, I hope”, Benny answered with a tinge of excitement. “Getting ready to test it here.”

“No Shit ?”, Kurt said, becoming mildly interested.  He bent down to look at the array of strange parts in the guts of the radio.  “What is all that stuff ?”, he asked, pointing to the board inside the radio.

“Well....”, Benny began, “These here are Resistors....These things are Diodes....These flat things are Transistors....Them here are Capacitors.....The tall boxy things are Pods.....This big thing is a Transformer, to change the current from AC to DC....And this here thing...”, he indicated a two-thirds moon-shaped object with several flat plates, “...Is the Tuner.”

Kurt scratched his head.  He understood none of that, or even what it was for.  Benny was the electronics geek of the group, and was in charge of setting up the wiring for their amps and guitars and such when they played their gigs.  “That thing looks pretty old”, he observed.

“Oh, it is”, said Benny. “It’s at least 30 years old, probably more.  “There’s no PLL Modules in here, those didn’t come along till the late 70's.”

“Whatcha-callit Modules ?”, Kurt asked, totally mystified.

“Phase-Lock-Loop Modules”, Benny explained.  “They took the place of the old Tuners.”  He turned the radio around so the front faced Kurt.  “See this Knob ?  It’s attached to the Tuner.  When you turn it, it takes you across the Megahertz Frequency Spectrum.  It’s the way you can pick up stations or just about any kind of transmissions that are within your Tuner’s range.”

Kurt understood a little, but to him it was like looking at something right out of the stone age.  The days had long since passed since electronic equipment had Knobs on them, except for their Electric Guitars.  In that way, Kurt could understand the Knob’s function.

“I’m ready to test it now”, Benny announced.  “I just have to plug it in and hook up this Antenna Lead”, he said, indicating a wire.  Kurt’s gaze followed the wire from the table, across the floor, to a point where it went out under the closed sash of the window.

“Where does that go ?”, Kurt asked Benny, indicating the wire.

“Out back”, Benny answered. “It goes to a Dipole I set up between a couple of the trees.”

“A...Di-Pole ?”, Kurt said stupidly. “What the fuck is that ?”

“A Dipole Antenna”, said Benny.  “Basically, a long piece of bare thick stranded wire, insulated on each end, with this wire hooked in the middle.  It’s great for picking up faraway signals that aren’t transmitting with too much Wattage.  Even weaker close-by signals, it will have the effect of amplifying them so we can tune them in.”

Winkie was sitting back with an awed look in his face.  “Wow...Where’d you learn all this stuff at, man ?”

“From my Grandpa....Afore he died”, Benny said sadly.  “He used to work on this stuff all the time.  I’d sit and watch him, and he tell me what the stuff was and what it did.”  He paused.  “My Momma was a junkie, and that’s how I wound up on the streets with you guys.  They tried to put me in foster homes, but I ran away a lotta times.  They finally stopped looking for me and just let me be.”

Pinky putting pans on the stove was the only sound in the kitchen for the moment.  Benny rose from his chair and plugged in the radio.  Then he returned to his seat and pushed in the connector for the Antenna to the back of the radio.  He hesitated for a brief second.  “Here we go”, he said and turned the on/off/volume switch with a barely audible click.

The sound of static filled the kitchen.  Benny twiddled the Tuner to no effect.  “Wait”, he said, and taking a tiny screwdriver, carefully inserted it into the top of one of the Pods and made an adjustment.  The sound of the static altered somewhat.  He repeated with a couple of the other Pods, and then tried the Tuner again.  Suddenly, a new sound filled the air.

“.....This is WABC Radio, New York.  Headline News at the top of the hour.....”

Benny let out a hoot and fell back in his chair. “Alright, it Works !”, he said in relief.  The other Rockers wandered into the kitchen as they heard the voices emitting from the radio.  As they crowded around, Kurt went to help Pinky get the food set out for everybody.  Soon, they were chowing down, listing to the many stations Benny was tuning to.  Some were just of people talking, some were music, and some were just blips and beeps that resembled Morse Code.

“Where’d you find this thaing ?”, asked Bonz in his nasally voice.

“In the trash in an alley over at Bullworth Town”, said Benny.  “I knew it was sumptin’ special, cause it’s a Wideband Receiver.  See these bands on here ?  I can flip over to them, like so.”  As Benny spoke, he did just that, turning another knob.  “See ?  It can pick up regular radio stations and Shortwave, too.”  Benny moved the Tuner up and down the band, and another transmission became audible.

“zzzzzzzt.....don’t care about their squabbles....zzzzzzt.....gonna get hurt bad someday.....zzzzzzt.....been shot off a building and coulda got Killed.....zzzzzzzt.....just telling you, he’s no superman, he could get hurt bad too.....zzzzzzzttttt”

Pinky froze.  “That’s Karen !”, she exclaimed.  The others strained forward to listen.

“zzzzzzt.....I know all that, but talking to him is hard, and we aren’t as far in our relationship as you are with.....zzzzzzzt......won’t listen to me yet, just thinks he’s tough and can......zzzzzzzt....always win, but he gets beat up doing that......zzzzzzztttt”

“And that’s....Melody !”, Pinky said with wonder.

Benny bent to the Tuner to try and bring in the conversation better, but lost it completely.  Delicately twisting the knob in hairlike increments, a set of voices once again came issuing from the small speaker.  But these were different voices.

“zzzzzzzt.....smash them bastards once and for all.  You’ve seen them in the halls, acting like nothing has happened......zzzzzzzzt.....gonna pay for it, all of it, just as soon as I.....zzzzzzt....going to pin his ass to the wall and send him back to the poorhouse......zzzzzzzztttt”

Pinky blanched.  Kurt swore. “Derby !”, he hissed.

“zzzzzzzt.....ally with the rest before we can make our move......zzzzzzzt......got to hold back until we have enough to attack......zzzzzzzt......got her where I want, and we’ll find out soon enough, chap, don’t worry.....zzzzzzztttt”

“And.....Bif”, Pinky whispered. “What.....”

“How is this possible ?”, Kurt said aloud.

Benny shook his head.  “I don’t know.”

The signal had faded.  “Try again”, urged Kurt.  Benny bent to the Tuner, finessing it with a light touch.  Over the course of the next hour, the Rockers listened spellbound to snippets of conversation from the Bullies, Nerds, Jocks, and Greasers.  As much as Benny fiddled, though, that was all that could be picked up.

“This is Freaky”, Kurt finally said. “You think they got the whole place wired ?”

Benny shook his head.  “Just some places”, he said. “There has to be transmitters in those spots, for what we’re hearing.  May have been there a long time.”

“But who would put them there ?”, Kurt speculated.  “The Administration ?  The Prefects ?  Hell, is that even legal ?”

Again Benny could only shake his head.  “Beats me”, he said. “Could be somebody else.”

Kurt stood lost in thought for several moments as static issued from the radio.  Finally, he said, “Well, whoever done it.....We can use it for our advantage.  Eavesdrop  on the Preps and know when they’re gonna attack us, that’s the first order of business.”  He smiled a wicked smile.  “You know boys....We’re gonna be invincible.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jake was listening to his radio, too, as he had been all along since his latest plan had failed.  But Jake was building a new plan, and this time he wouldn’t fail.  Just this morning, he had happened across those two losers, Jerry and Duncan, in the same back alleyway, and found out from them that their gang leader, Omar, had granted him an audience.  He was to meet with them on their turf, however.  Jake wasn’t bothered by that....He felt he would be safe from attack, for after all, he was the one who would be making them money, wasn’t he ?

There was still much to plan and do, he knew, to whip these low-life scum into an invincible attack force, but Jake in his Paranoia was sure he could accomplish just that.  The trick would be to take them out one by one, a Clique at a time, in the evening, when they least expected it.  Maybe lay in wait for them after a Hole Fight.  There was other things to consider....Have the Prefects off Campus, for one.  And keep that shit Tony from interfering for another.  If he got the chance, he would shoot him down like a dog....And this time, he wouldn’t just wing him.

Jake laughed his crazy laugh to the empty room.  A month from now, he vowed, he would hold the fate of Bullworth Academy in his hands.....And Squeeze.
_________________________________________________________________

[Mike_W]

    "Alright, you guys ready?", asked Trent. The Bullies had just finished preparing themselves for tonights invasion of the Harrington House. Troy had put on his old Edna Mask, the other boys laughed at seeing this. The rest all put on black ski masks. "It's a go!", informed Davis and the boys moved towards the back of the dorm to stock-up. Trent rifled through the stash and handed out weapons to all his boys. Troy and Ethan were given spud guns; Davis and Wade, bottle rockets; and Tom and Trent carried fire crackers and stink bombs. The boys also made sure they brought a tool box and some rope, just in case. "Alright boys, move out!", ordered Trent.

    When the Bullies arrived at the Harrington House, they paused at the front doors. "Wait a minute, we can't just bust in through the front, its too risky.", Davis suggested. "I think we should climb in one of the second floor windows, an unlit one.

    Davis pulled out some rope. He figured that if they snuck in an unlit window into an unoccupied room, they could set up a base of operations. Davis attached a claw to the end of the rope and swung it up towards the window sill. The claw stuck, they would now climb up....one by one. Wade went first. He pulled out some tools from his pockets and began to wrench the window open. A success! Wade lifted the window open, carefully and quietly. Wade climbed in and signaled for the rest to come up. As soon as the last Bully climbed in, they sat on the floor of the dark room and began to set up their equipment. Although Russell and Trent were the leaders of the group, Davis had lately assumed the role of a commander, a general of sorts. Davis was one of the smartest in the group and often came up with their plans and how they would be executed.

    As soon as Troy turned on a flashlight, the room lit up and revealed itself as Gord's room. It had to be, there were pictures of Vance, shirtless, all over the walls. A picture of Trent was even hung over in the corner. Trent suddenly blushed. While on the inside he was flattered, he couldn't let his inner feelings be shown in his group of boys just recently brought under his control. Trent assumed an angry stance and vigorously tore away at the poster, making a huge racket. "Dude! Keep it down!", wispered Tom with a slight hiss to his voice. Trent managed to pull himself together and settled down. Davis began to lay the tools on the floor, assigning certain ones to each boy. Wade was assigned to peek out the door and check for clearance. "All clear mutha-fuckas", grinned Wade as he motioned with his hand. Everyone except Davis wandered out into the hallway. Davis stayed behind. He had given Trent a walkie-talkie and kept one for himself. Davis would make sure no one came upstairs to interrupt their mission.

    As the boys walked out into a common room, they spotted Bryce Montrose sitting on the couch, watching TV. Ethan crouched on the floor and took aim. SPLAT! "Oww....you just ruined my puberty for me, uhh." Bryce collapsed onto the floor and made a thud. "Hey, what the hell is going on up there!?", called a voice from downstairs. Soon, Trent's walkie-talkie began to buzz. "Watch your back guys, Chad is coming!", came Davis' voice. So much for stealth - Troy bounded around the corner and pointed his Spud gun at the black Prep. "Oh Jesus!, settle down there!", Chad said with surprise. However, Chad soon noticed the comical mask and began to laugh hysterically. "You call yourself a burgler?", he laughed, and before he could yell for back-up, Troy fired a spud at his face which met its mark with a cracking sound. Chad began to wail with pain as blood ran from his face. Soon after, loud footsteps came up the stairs as Bif and Derby heard their fallen comrad crying. "You sons of bitches!", shouted Bif in a fit of rage. "What in God's name are you paupers doing in here?!", asked Derby. "Uh...we ummm...", stammered Ethan. Before either Prep could react, the Bullies all fired their weapons on Derby, sending him crashing to the floor in a bloody heap. Bif started to step backwards with his hands in the air. He knew he was no match for these dick heads, he would be smart and just run away while he could. The Bullies didn't bother chasing him, they figured that it would just make their job all the easier. "hey you prick!", shouted Trent, "in your haste to blow his brains out, not one of you dipshits thought to pin Derby down and ask the whereabouts of that shield." The Bullies all froze. Trent was right, they were going to have to find it fast. Davis had just radioed in that Bif had left the fraternity to presumably go get help.

[Mike_W]

    The group split up. Troy and Ethan went down to the first floor with Trent, and Wade went up to the greenhouse with Tom. "Hey Tom", said Wade, "Why didn't Russell join us tonight?". "Aw, we figured he would just get in the way ya know? So we told him that we needed to go sell some junk out behind the pool hall in New Coventry".

    The Bullies looked around downstairs, but found absolutely nothing. They found a bare spot on the wall above the doors in the lobby and held their breath hoping that the shield had not been there, but removed instead to a different location. Trent had noticed that the spot on the wall had been shaped like the shield and reassured Ethan and Troy that it had to be around there somewhere. Meanwhile, Bif had managed to get the attention of Karl the prefect. Karl was on the verge of opening up a can of whoop-ass on Bif for being out after curfew, but the Prep had managed to persuade Karl to listen to him. Karl agreed to help and ordered Max to join him in investigating the Harrington House. Davis noticed their flashlights moving towards the building  through the window and radioed Trent to go with him upstairs to the conservatory. The boys would have to stick together to avoid being caught and the greenhouse would be perfect. Not only were Wade and Tom already there, but naturally, the prefects would begin searching the first floor.

    Tom and Wade faced an obstacle. The glass doors to the conservatory were shut and locked. "No problem", said Tom. He picked up a loose brick and threw it into the glass. SMASH! The glass shattered, sending shards everywhere. "Holy shit! That was wicked wild, man!", said Wade in awe. Tom was less thrilled by the noise he had made. It was loud enough to wake the dead. As the two entered the room, the other Bullies caught up and entered behind Tom and Wade. "Alright, which one of you cocksuckers made that horrendous noise!?", demanded Davis, "They had to have heard that!" The Bullies realized their now shortened time frame and began to turn the place upside down in search of their prize. Ethan suddenly shouted and signaled everyone over. He had found the prize near the smashed door. Now came the removal. Trent whipped out a hack saw and Wade and Davis pulled out screwdrivers. It took only a matter of a few minutes and the shield came right off its place on the wall.

    "Alright, now we need to get the fuck outta here!", Trent said with a hint of panic in his voice. The prefects were already in the building, searching for asses to kick. "Here's the deal", said Davis as he spoke up, "We're gonna quietly go back into the second floor common room. Everyone will be given positions, either behind the couch or under a table. Everyone, take some rope, if there is only one prefect, bind and gag him, but don't let him see you."  The boys all took their positions in the room and waited until they saw Max enter the room with his flashlight. Right on cue, Ethan jumped forward, with the utmost care and threw a rope around the neck of his unsuspecting victim. Max choked a little, but became silent after a few minutes. Ethan dragged the unconcious body across the floor and shoved it in a nearby closet.

    As expected, Karl soon arrived at the top of the stairs to investigate. He was followed by Bif who had a smirk on his face, knowing that the Bullies would soon get a beating for their misdeeds. Karl suddenly began to look very nervous. He started to call out Max's name in a low whisper. No response. "Max, state your location!", shouted Karl, "No more funny business!". Trent began to whip-up something good. He soaked a rag with the liquid from his stink bomb and prepared to use it. Together with Davis, he tip-toed around in the dark and pounced on Karl. Trent stuffed the rag against Karl's face as Davis tied him up. Karl let out a little squeal as his eyes rolled to the top of his head. The prefect passed out from the stench that flooded his mouth and nostrils. Bif screamed and booked it down the stairs. A loud series of thuds could be heard as he had apparently tripped and fell down the flight of steps.

    The Bullies casually entered Gord's room and prepared to leave with their new toy. As each Bully slid out the window and down the rope, their excitement could no longer be contained. They all cheered and high fived each other as they jogged off towards the dorm. With their new aquisition, the Bullies were practically invincible.