The Bullworth Never Ending Story

[BloodChuckZ]

Kurt, Tibo, and Winkie ran into the hallway of the Girl’s Dorm, startling Algie, who dived behind the couch where he had been sitting and opened fire with his Spud Gun on the them.  All three flattened against the wall and returned fire, taking care not to hit the girls or the matrons being held prisoner behind Algie.  While Kurt and Tibo provided cover, Winkie crawled on the floor out of Algie’s vision to the back side of the couch.  When he was in position, Kurt and Tibo stopped firing.  Algie popped up to fire, only to be met by Winkie’s huge meaty fist to the side of his head.  Algie was knocked to the floor, his Spud Gun clattering from his grasp.  Winkie leaped over to couch, grabbed up Algie, and slammed him into the Beam Cola Drink Machine.

“Please Don’t Hit Me !”, Algie screamed, “I Have Glasses !”

“Fuckin’ Fat Pervert !”, Winkie growled, sinking his big fist deep into Algie’s large guts.

“Ooohhh !!  Critical Hit !!”, gasped Algie.  “You’re such a....a....LOOSERHEAD !!!”

Winkie planted a fist dead straight in Algie’s face, smashing his head back into the drink machine and busting the plastic facing.  Algie slumped to the floor and lay there groaning.

Kurt and Tibo quickly began releasing the bonds of the Girls, Mrs. Carvin and Mrs. Peabody, while Winkie freed Christy.  She threw herself into his arms, covering him with kisses after her long ordeal.

Just then, Seth the Prefect burst through the doors, shouting, “ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY DOWN ON THE FLOOR !!!”  

“Leave Them Be, Seth !”, Mrs. Carvin ordered.  “These Boys Saved Us !”

“No Need For Complex Reasons When A Simple Beating Will Do !”, Seth replied, fists at the ready.

“Back Off, Seth, And That’s An Order !”, Mrs. Peabody said sternly.

Seth took in the scene, then dropped his fists.  “Yes, Ma’am”, he said humbly. “As You Wish.”

“Here’s Your Villain”, Kurt said, pointing to Algie on the floor.  “Not Us.”

Seth looked closely at Algie, then exclaimed, “Algernon !  Where Have You Been Hiding ?”

Angie, Gloria, Eunice, Pedro, and Sheldon prepared to be escorted off by the Matrons to their rooms, all badly shaken by their ordeals.  Christy refused to leave Winkie's side.

“We’re Leaving Now”, Kurt said abruptly, and began heading towards the door.

“Yeah, Be Seeing You”, Tibo said sheepishly, eying Eunice looking dreamingly at him and wanting no part of it.

“You’re coming with us”, Winky said to Christy, “Back to the Hotel.  Pinky’s waiting for us.”

“Oh...Yes !”, Christy said, her eyes sparkling.  “I can’t wait to show you your Reward !”

The group walked by Seth, who stood shaking his head, and left the Dorm.
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Nate had just barely heard the Police car come in over the wind.  Nervously, he checked outside the door of the Boy’s Dorm, and saw the lights of the Cop car at the school steps on the quad flashing reflections.  He lingered a few minutes, unsure as to what to do, until he saw the figure of Seth dashing for the Girl’s Dorm.  That decided him that the operation had gone south, somehow.  He abandoned his hostages and ran down the steps, heading for the front gate.

However, he had delayed his departure a bit too long.  As he came running down the pathway, Max the Prefect came tearing around the corner, running at him.

“STOP, IN THE NAME OF BULLWORTH ACADEMY !!!”, Max yelled.  Nate let loose a shot on the run, which Max easily dodged.  Nate then dashed around Max, but was suddenly tackled from behind.  Max bashed his face into the pavement, saying, “You’ll Be Prosecuted To The Max !!  Nobody Takes Over Bullworth Academy !!”
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Mounting their bikes, with Christy on Winkie’s handlebars, the group left the school grounds, seeing Max the Prefect mashing some kid’s head in the walk up towards the Boy’s Dorm.  After they went through the gate and up the street a ways, another Police car screamed past and skidded to a halt at the gates, blocking further exits.

“Looks Like We Got Out Just In Time !”, Tibo Hollered to Kurt in the lead.

“Got That Right !”, Kurt yelled back.  “Mission Accomplished, Though !”

Christy leaned forward and planted a sexy kiss on Winkie’s lips that almost caused him to lose control of the bike, and then giggled.  They were both going to be in for a very special night tonight, after all.
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The other Police car had smashed through the Parking Lot gate and continued on the the back quad by the fountain steps before halting, Cops exiting and scattering to Harrington Hall.  A few minutes later, Officer Morrison buzzed in riding a Motorcycle, which he took back to the Football Field.  Behind him had come a final Police car, stopping short of the parking lot gate at the path where the old rail line met the side road.  Nobody would be getting out this way tonight.
_______________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Jake dropped down on the massive rock formation behind the wall, then made for the V-shaped slot that would lead him down to the ground.  He had been through this way so many times in the past the he could clamor down with his eyes closed, which was just about what he was doing in the darkness with the rain still pouring down.

His initial emergency escape plan had been to take this route from the back of the Autoshop, along the old rail spur and then out on the side road that went to the parking lot.  Spotting the flashing lights up ahead in the distance told him that option was out.  Instead, he zagged left into a tunnel cut in the rock face to the West. The tunnel was a short one, coming out to a small beach area near to the water’s edge.  There was no place to hide on the beach, but Jake knew that already.  Taking a bearing on the flashing Buoy that floated near the North-East end of Pirate Island, he jumped into the cold water and began swimming towards it.
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Atop the rock formation, Nick had shouted to Tony, “I Saw Him !!!  He Went In Some Kind Of Hole There !!”  Getting down to the ground, both boys ran to the spot where Nick had seen Jake disappear.

“Huh...It’s another tunnel”, Tony said.  “I didn’t know this was here.”

“I haven’t been here long enough to explore”, Nick replied.  

“Let’s go careful”, Tony said, “Might be an ambush.”

Both boys proceeded slowly through the pitch-black tunnel, weapons at the ready.  Almost before they knew it, they emerged on a small isolated beach area.  The was no ambush, in fact there was nothing at all on the beach.  Both boys searched in different directions, from the rock face to the water, and came up empty.  Meeting at the choppy water near the shore, Tony and Nick stared out into the distance.  The rain was slacking down somewhat, but it was still difficult to see much of anything.  Close by was a large rock out in the water known only as 'No-Name Island’, which was a misnomer, for it in no way resembled an Island.  It looked, in fact, like some giant had dropped a large boulder out into the water.  There was no place to land a boat, and no place for a swimmer to gain hold on the steep slippery sides.

“Wonder where he went”, Nick said.  “Maybe....He had a boat ready.”

“Maybe”, Tony replied,  “Not likely, though.  Not even a madman would take a small boat out on a night like this.”  Indicating the waves still blown by the wind, he added, “Even in a calm dark night, you can’t tell the water from the sky.  This ?”  He shook his head.  “There’s no way.”

“Well....He woulda had to swim, then.  The Rock Face is too steep to climb”, Nick said, indicating the rock face behind them were the tunnel had emerged on the beach.

“Swim ?”, Tony said, “That’d be suicide.  The temperature this water is, a person would get hypothermic in just a few minutes without some kind of wet suit.  And I don’t think he was wearing one.  Can’t run that fast in them things.  And he sure didn’t have time to change.”

“Well, he had to go Somewhere”, Nick said, “He didn’t just get beamed up by Aliens.”

“Not in this weather.....”, Tony said absently.  He was staring intently at the far-off, bobbing,  flashing red Buoy, and the dark shape behind it.  “Maybe....Over there...”, he said, pointing.

“What is that ?”, Nick asked, squinting at the dark shape.  “An Island ?”

“Island....”, Tony murmured.  Then, sudden memories flooded back....A midnight ride with Karen on a borrowed Go-Kart.....The view from up at Lookout Point......

  “Someday, I want to see what’s on that Island”, Karen had said.

Another memory crashed through.....Pete on the ground, dazed, a Pellet in his eye, Blood.....Saying something....Trying to tell him something.....In shock, saying......

  “Ahh.....Island......Pirate.....Island....Grid.....67“", Pete had said.

Somehow, he had missed it.  That must be Pirate Island.  Pete hadn’t been babbling, he had been trying to tell him something important about that place.  What was it ?  And now, Jake was there....He was sure of it.  There was no place else to go, not tonight.

Tony stared, mesmerized, at the flashing red of the Buoy anchored near the Island.  By tomorrow, Jake would be gone, he knew, disappearing yet again, making new plans to attack Tony, his friends, and the school.  What hell would he bring next, when would it all end ?

At last, Tony broke his gaze away from the dark shape of Pirate Island.  The rain had dwindled to a heavy drizzle, and he was soaked to the bone.  Jake would have to wait, he knew....Again.

They had saved the school.  That was something.  He turned to Nick.

“Let’s get back to the Girls”, Tony said.  “We’ll have to deal with this another time.”

Nick nodded, and the two boys left the small beach and entered the tunnel that would take them back to school.  Somewhere a bell began ringing.  It was Easter.


------{{ END OF CHAPTER FOUR }}----------

_______________________________________________

[Mike_W]

                              THE BULLWORTH NEVER ENDING STORY

                                                          {{CHAPTER 5}}

                                                The Bullworth Redemption


Ray had finally been released from the clinic and felt as free as ever. "Oh boy ! What a wonderful day !", said Ray happily as he walked down the halls of the Academy.  Ray had been up in Tony's office to show his friend the new and improved Ray, but nobody was there.  While he was there, Ray poked around and found some flyers that Tony had made up.  The posters advertised a bike race that was to be put on and each poster had an area for students to sign up.  Ray thought he would be an even better friend to Tony if he hung up the posters around the school for him. 

Ray went and taped the posters throughout various locations on the Academy grounds, but decided to hang the largest and final poster in the cafeteria, where it would be seen by everyone.
______________________________________________________

[Mike_W]

    At lunch time, the students came into the cafeteria in small groups, here and there. Most just walked over to the tables, not noticing the big poster on the wall above the tray racks. The students paid little attention to any announces be them on the intercom or on the wall. At Bullworth it was basically just the same bullshit, different day. Most of the notices on the wall were nothing but stupid things regarding a student looking for a lost pocket protectors or something like that.

    Half way through lunch however, Damon noticed the poster on the wall as he was hanging around with his Jock friends. Damon had come out of the previous events unscathed as he usually did. Damon was used to getting roughed up and as he likes to say "A cement truck couldn't hurt me, and come with that piece of crap ?  Damon slowly read over the poster, mulling the words over in his pea sized brain.  When he realized it was a race, or in his eyes, a test of physical fitness, he couldn't resist.  Ricky soon walked over too.  Ricky had been damn lucky the night the firecrackers had exploded in the seat of the car, he had seemed to be just in the right spot to avoid serious injury.  Ricky was a motor head, anything cars or bikes got his motor runnin' (so to speak). Ricky and Damon began gloating to each other about who would be the better competitor.

Soon, Peanut walked over and joined in. "Hey, remember last winter when we caught that faggot, Algernon, riding a girl's bike?", jeered Ricky.

"Hehehe, yeah, real clever !", laughed Peanut. Unfortunately for Algie, he was never going to live that down. The previous winter, Algie and Chad had a secret rendezvous with Lola in what he thought would lead to the end of his single status.  Instead, Algie was just being used for his brains, Chad for his money, and the Greasers were on their way to kick ass.  Jimmy Hopkins had come to the rescue just in time, but in order to escape, Algie had to ride a girl's bike while Chad rode with Jimmy on a better one. To the dismay of the Nerd, he had been spotted on the bike by Peanut and Ricky, and could never live it down.
___________________________________________

[Mike_W]

Melvin was sitting with Thad at an adjacent table and heard Ricky dissing the Nerd.  While Algie had been shunned by his former brothers, the fact that a Nerd was being made fun of didn't sit well with Melvin. He was obligated to bring justice for Nerds everywhere. "Hey, why don't you go pay a visit to your girl ? Oh yeah, that's right....You don't have one !", mocked Melvin.

"Oh, a fuckin' smartass huh ?", replied Ricky, as he discretely picked a banana from a basket on a table nearby.  Ricky chowed down in the banana and took careful aim with the peel, nailing Melvin in the Nads.

"OW !! Oh, right in my Jabberwockeys !", screamed Melvin.

The sudden splat of the banana peel made every ear of every student perk up. Ricky grinned as he realized what he had just started. "Ha-ha-ha! FOOOOOD FIIIIGHTTT!", yelled Wade as he flung an apple across the room. The students all stood up at their seats, some screamed and ran away, while most joined the fun. Melvin went to retaliate by throwing an apple at Ricky, but he dodged it and the apple nailed Edna right in the knee cap. "You punks are on borrowed time !!", she yelled.  As apples and banana peels rained down, a fight soon erupted as a result of the pandemonium.  Students of many different cliques began pounding on one another, confused and thinking that they had been attacked by someone else.  Edna was fed up. She wasn't an ordinary cafeteria lady, as she didn't take no shit.  While covered in the protection of the Serving Counter, she picked up a large apple and aimed and threw it with ferocious velocity.  The fruit hit Melvin square in the head, knocking him on his face. "I was second string shot put for the '76 Olympics, BEAN-POLE!", she screeched.

Ray Hughes had come into the cafeteria to eat, but also to see if anyone would sign up for Tony's race. Ray felt like a failure. His goal was to help Tony stir up some friendly competition, but instead, the students were beating the snot out of each other.  Ray was dismayed, what would Tony think ?  Ray was then suddenly filled with a different emotion.  Ray's life-long desire for popularity took over.  Completely fueled by desire and impulse, Ray bounded in and jumped into the fray. "Nobody's getting out of here alive !", he screamed. 

Ray had a rather bad habit of repeating many different dialogues from the many books he read, but it usually got him into unintended trouble.  Edna heard Ray's little outburst and hastily called for the Prefects.  Ray took in a mighty breath of air and unleashed the only violent move he knew on Damon.  Ray's shove did little more than the get Damon's blood pressure up. "I'm gonna lay yo butt out like a newborn baby !", yelled Damon, and he planted a fast and furious elbow strike on Ray's innocent face with enough force to knock him out instantly.  Ray crashed to the floor where he began drooling and speaking incoherent sentences to himself.

Seconds after Ray had his lights knocked out, the Prefects had arrived. "Stay calm everyone, I'll catch them !", said Karl. The fight broke up faster than one could say 'SHIT', as in a frenzied panic, the Students ran in all different directions like birds after a sudden noise.
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[BloodChuckZ]

On Easter morning, Tad had also been released from the much larger Vale Valley Clinic due to the influx of injured Townies and Students.  He had gone to Spencer Manor for dinner with his family.  Tad had been fortunate enough not to have suffered the indignanty of being captured and held prisoner by the Townie Force.  Even though the aborted attack on the Rockers had aggravated his injuries, he was nowhere near off as bad as Derby, who still had to remain in the Clinic for a while longer.  Derby wouldn’t be lacking for company, however, since Bif was brought in soon after in Serious Condition, sporting a huge burn on his chest in the shape of a 'T’ that would scar into a permanent reminder of Saturday night’s ordeal.

Quite a number of other students were out of commission for awhile as well from Saturday night’s attack on the school.....Russell, shot in kneecap with Pellet from an Air Rifle, in Serious condition....Constantinos, shot in guts twice with Pellets from an Air Rifle, in Serious condition.....Ted, shot by pellet from an Air Rifle, suffering a Broken Rib and Collapsed Lung, also in Serious condition.

Others taken to the Clinics that were hurt, but not badly, included Norton, shot by Pellet from an Air Rifle in the shoulder, Bad, but not in Serious condition....Laurent, kicked in the head....Kirby, shot in head by a Spud.....Corneluis, hit by an M-80 Firecracker......Mandy, thrown around by the Tornado winds.....Benny, taken very ill after his desperate journey to get help for Christy.  Even Ms. Danvers would be hobbling around in a cast for her broken foot for the rest of the term.

The Townies had turned out to have the most injuries of all.  Every one of them who had took part in the raid on the school, except Nate, had been injured enough to require a stay in the Clinics for a week or more.  They were chained to the beds in the two Clinics of Bullworth Town and New Coventry.  Upon their release they were to be taken directly to Jail to join Nate and await trial on multiple charges of  Aggravated Assault With Deadly Weapons, Assault and Battery Causing Bodily Injury, Breaking and Entering, Damage to Private Property, Confinement, Theft, Trespassing, and Violation of Civil Rights of over 60 individuals.  There was to be no bail.  A slick lawyer might have been able to get the charges reduced, but unfortunately for the dirt-poor Townies, the best they were going to get was a lethargic Public Defender.  The Police and the powers that be in the Vale Valley had been waiting a long time to close down the troublesome Townies and weren’t about to miss their chance to lock them up in the State Prison and throw away the key.

The prize catch of the night, from the student’s standpoint, had been the capture of Algernon ‘Algie’ Papadopoulos, the pee-stain Nerd who had engineered the Terror-like attacks on many of them right before Christmas.  Locked up under heavy guard in the Bullworth Town Jail, the former Nerd had called his Mother at last, although it would be too late to save her ‘Prince Algie’ this time.  He was going down on Juvenile charges of Hostage-Taking and Confinement.  No longer would he be 'The Beardless Fat Man’ at the Carnival, but an inmate at the State Boy’s School.  

All of the injured students had been first run through the School Clinic, the more serious ones had been sent to the Vale Clinic, with the intent to keep them separated from their attackers.  It was considered too risky to use the Blue Skies Clinic, as it was located in the middle of the Townies territory, and at any rate their hands were full treating injuries from the residents and workers of the area who had been unlucky enough to be caught in the Tornado’s winds.

Some areas had been damaged by the Tornado, particularly the Football Field, where the Sodium Arc lights were ripped from their poles and smashed.  There was a tree down on the Jock's Clubhouse roof, fortunately Karen, Melody, and Lance had been spared any injuries.  At the Carnival, some of the rides were damaged, and the false facade hiding the only exit road out of the Towns had been ripped away.  The Go-Cart track had been virtually destroyed and the Go-Carts themselves had been picked up and flung away, most winding up sunk in the bay.  Over in Blue Skies, the roof of Spencer Warehouse was partly ripped off, as were other areas of Blue Skies damaged from the wind.    

Though a number of trees were down on Pirate Island and Vance was trapped in the hidden cavern, he was not injured.  Vance had plenty of water and provisions, although how he was going to escape his underground retreat that had saved him and was now his prison eluded him.  Nobody, with the possible exception of Gord, even really knew about the Island.  It had been a long time, he knew, but maybe Gord had been missing him and wondered what happened to him.

Maybe He’ll Remember, thought Vance, And Come To Rescue Me.
_________________________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony finished working on the Flame Job BMX Bike in Monday morning’s Shop class.  He was tired.  The previous day, he had made the rounds with Karen to see their friends in the Clinics, and filling them in, as far as he could, about what he had learned about Jake.  He was hoping to enlist their help in ridding the school of this scourge who had now four times attempted to take over the school, but he feared he was barking up the wrong tree.  Most had not recognized 'Leo Cash’ as Jake and were surprised to find out that he was once more responsible for their latest round of misery.  Tony tried not to lose hope, though.  Fore-warned was Fore-armed, and perhaps the injured students would keep a better watch out this time.  Jake might be underground for now, but like a bad penny, he was sure to turn up.  There was only a couple months left in the school year, and Tony was positive that Jake would try once more to take over the school before summer vacation.

Tony had spent the rest of Easter evening in his office with Karen, brainstorming over the new connections on his now-massive wall chart.  His focus was now on Pirate Island and just what Pete was trying to tell him the night he was shot.  What was most puzzling was what 'Grid 67' meant.  Tony, for the life of him, just couldn’t figure out what that might be.

“Maybe it’s a code”, Karen suggested, sitting on the desk watching Tony work.

“No...”, Tony said, staring at the chart for the hundredth time, “That don’t make sense....That’s something a Nerd would do.....”  He trailed off as an image of the keypad for the Nerd’s gate sprang up in his mind. “Wait....Maybe you’re on to something.....”

Tony tried to think of just what ‘67‘ could mean in relation to the Island.  Was there a keypad on the Island ?  Somewhere to put in a code, perhaps ?  If so, where could it be ?  Tony had gotten the binoculars and returned to the beach earlier that afternoon.  Zooming in on Pirate Island, it was pretty obvious that most of the scraggly trees had been flattened.  He saw no sign of life anywhere, not even a bird.  In contrast of the night before, it was now dead calm, and nothing was stirring.  If there was something there, it was likely the Tornado had flattened it.  He shook his head in frustration.

“Isn’t a grid like some kind of map ?”, Karen asked, throwing out another suggestion.

“I guess that could be”, Tony answered back absently, “But what on Earth could that....”

He stopped.  Earth....What On Earth.....The image of the keypad floated in his mind over the image of the Island, one on top of the other.  He visualized the images as they became closer....Merged....

“That’s It”, he whispered.  “The ‘Grid’ means an overlay of co-ordinates on the Island !”

Karen hopped off the desk and came over to him.  “A map, right ?”

“Not just any map”, Tony said.  “A map that has Grid Lines marked on it....Numbered Grid Lines.”

”Yes, that makes sense”, Karen said.  ”Ordinary maps won‘t show that.”

“Where could we find a map like that ?”, Tony asked.

“Maybe the Nerds”, Karen said.  “I hear they have all kinds of maps.”

Yeah....”, Tony said slowly, “They’re always doing those Role-Playing and Battle Simulations.  Do you know where they might have them ?”

Karen shrugged.  Nope....Never seen any.  Maybe where they hang out.”

“Hmmm....Never seen any in the Library”, Tony said.  “Maybe at the Comic Store....Or the Observatory.....I’d have to get a look....”

“Maybe”, Karen said, “You could just ask them.”

Tony grinned.  “Ask-A-Nerd, is that it ?”

“Sure”, Karen said as she snuggled up next to him.  “Just don’t tell them what you need to look at them for.”

“I guess that could work”, Tony said, warming up from Karen being so close, “Since I don’t really know what I’m looking for.”

But suddenly, he did know.  Grid 67 on Pirate Island was where Pete had buried the secret file.
______________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

“You all Done there, Tony ?”, a voice said, startling him out of his reverie.

“Huh ?”, Tony said, disoriented, as he looked around to see the figure of Mr. Neil, the Shop teacher walking towards him.  “Uhh...Yeah, sure, all done !”

Mr. Neil examined his work.  “Fine job there, Tony, fine job”, he said, patting the bike frame.  

“Yes, sir....I did some mods on it too”, Tony said. “It oughtta go real fast now.”

“That is should”, Mr. Neil said, caressing the frame like a fine woman.  He hesitated, then turned to Tony.  “This is your last assignment, Tony.”

“Last assignment ?”, Tony repeated.

“Yes, Tony....You’ve passed shop class for this term, and two months early, I may add”, Mr. Neil told him.  “Don’t get many like you that understands this sort of work.”

Tony jerked his thumb towards the Greasers working on other tables.  “What about them ?”

“Oh, they’re Motorheads, all right”, said Mr. Neil, lowering his voice, “But they just don’t get the.....Finer Points, shall we say.  A boy like you, a smart boy, just seems to come by instinct.  You got a knack for figuring things out.”

“Well....Um...Thanks, Mr. N”, Tony said, a bit uncomfortably.  “So...I’m...Done ?”

“Done and Done”, Mr. Neil said cheerfully. “You can still drop in and work on stuff, if you feel like it though, anytime.”

“Well, gee....That’s great !”, said Tony, gathering up his bike tools.

“Oh...There’s one other thing”, Mr. Neil said.

“What’s that, sir ?”, Tony said, eager to get to lunch.

“Any student who finishes the coursework early....Gets to keep their last project”, Mr. Neil beamed.  He patted the bike.  “She’s all yours, Tony.”

Tony was momentarily speechless.  His eyes roamed over the Flame Job BMX.  Could this beauty really be his ?  “I....Er....Don’t know what to say....”

“Nothing to say, Tony”, Mr. Neil smiled, “You earned it.”

Tony hoisted the BMX off the table and set it on the floor.  It was just Perfect.  He should know, he had spent many hours on the bike in the past month making it just so.

“Oh...Almost forgot”, Mr. Neil said, reaching into his shirt pocket.  He pulled out a key and pressed it into Tony’s hand.

“What....What’s this for ?”, Tony asked.

“It’s to the East Side Garage Bay facing the Parking Lot”, Mr. Neil said with a big grin.  “You get your own storage space.  Wouldn’t want anybody swiping that baby, now would you ?”

“Wow”, was all that Tony could think of to say. “Thanks so much, Mr. N !!!”

“One thing...”, Mr. Neil said.  “You gotta promise to come back when you’re a Senior, so you can work on cars.  These Bozos over there are good, but I’m betting you’ll be much better.”

“Hah...”, Tony exclaimed, “You got it, Mr. N !!!!!”  Happily, he pushed the bike out of the shop, then got on and rode around back of the Autoshop to the Parking Lot.  He took a few minutes, just riding the bike around the Lot, skidding 180‘s and doing bunny hops.  The bike was FAST, he discovered, just as he thought it would be.  Just perfect for the event he had coming up, the bike races.  Tony had worked out a deal with the Shiny Bike Shops to sponsor a series of bike races, similar to the ones that were held last year.  Then, it had been the Preps making the sponsoring deal with the bike shops, but this year they were in no position to do that, having been involved in all that trouble with the Rockers and dealing with their internal split problems.  Tony had heard of the races, and had been asked by several students if it could be brought back.  They were eager to race without the Preps, who always seemed to cheat a bit to make the races come out in their favor.  They had been stymied in their efforts last year by Jimmy Hopkins, who won all the races despite their underhanded ways.  

Tony finally rode to the Garage door, fitting the key to the lock and raising the door.  He lovingly parked his bike in the stall, gazing at it before he shut and re-locked the big door.  He glanced around.  For the first time, he realized the Parking Lot had been empty the whole time.  It must be lunch, and he was supposed to meet Karen quite a while ago.  He began to run, but came to a stop when he noticed one of his posters advertising the first bike race hanging on the wall opposite to the North.  He jogged over to make sure.  It was Tony’s responsibility as part of the deal he had made with the bike shop to put on the first race, which would be based around the school.  After that, the next series of races would be held in various areas around the Towns.  Tony had had the posters made up last week, and they had been sitting on his desk.  With all the activity in the last week, he hadn’t gotten around to hanging them up.

Tony frowned.  It was one of his posters, all right.  Now that he remembered it, they hadn’t been on his desk last night after all, for he didn’t have to move them when things had gotten a little hot and heavy with Karen.  He shook his head.  He’d have to find out who did this.  It wouldn’t do to have someone just busting into his office.  Both Constantinos and Laurent had been in the Clinic since Saturday night, and they were the only ones authorized to be in there besides Karen and himself.  Looks like it was time to be changing the locks again.

Tony entered the school by the back door, taking the hall around his Chem Class, which he hated.  As he passed the drink machine, students suddenly began running through the Great Hall, many with splatters of food on their clothing and faces.  Tony could guess what happened -- Food Fight.  He hurried to the Cafeteria to find it in disarray, with food all over the floor, and several students wallowing around, some being busted by the Perfects.  Looking down, he saw the form of Ray laying on his back directly in front of him, his head lolling back and forth.  His eyelids fluttered open and he found himself staring up at Tony from, to him, an upside-down perspective.

“Uhhhh....Ohhhh.....Hi, Tony....”, He muttered, barely audible above the noise.

“Hey there, Ray.”, Tony replied, “Nice to see you.  When’d you get out ?”

Errrrr....Yesterday”, Ray said, sounding groggy.  Tony didn’t know, he and Karen had spent the night in his Mediator’s office.

“Com’on”, Tony said, hoisting the boy up with some effort, “Let’s get you to the the School Clinic.”  He began the slow trip, propping up Ray as they navigated the steps and headed towards the Clinic.  “I gotta tell you, Ray.....You might wanna think about taking a vacation from the Clinics....Maybe get back to a normal life, Hey ?”

“Ahhh....Believe....You’re right there....Tony....”, Ray muttered as Tony half-carried, half-walked him down to the School Clinic and helped him inside.
______________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

The two men stood in what had been disguised to look like a small Parking Lot before Saturday, looking towards the West where the sun angled down.  The false facade of the wooden wall was gone, revealing a roadway stretching off into the distance, where the men could see some highway crews cleaning up debris from the road thrown there from the Tornado.  A rock face led from the mountain to their right out to the West bordering the road, and a small stream fed between the road a rock face.  Past where the false fence had been was the wreckage of what had been the Go-Kart Track, it’s fencing reduced to kindling.  A shed that had housed the Go-Karts, as well as the grandstands, was gone as if it had never been.

“We got to get this taken care of”, Mr. Harrington said, “And Quickly.”

“There’s not enough workers to do anything about it right now”, observed Chief Carcer, “Not to mention there’s not enough materials to build another fake wall.”

“There’s an alternate way”, Mr. Harrington intoned, “That won’t take but just a few people and hardly any materials.  It’s been our back-up plan all along, we just hadn’t installed it yet.”

“And just what would that be ?”, said Chief Carcer sarcastically, “Hypnosis ?”

“No”, said Mr. Harrington serenely, “Holographic Projectors.”  He pointed to the rock face.  “Mount one there, and then another one farther down.  One on the light pole here, and down there”, he said pointing to the left.

“That would work ?”, the Chief said doubtfully.

“Oh, Yes”, Mr. Harrington said confidently. “Fact is, they’ve been sitting over in Spencer’s Warehouse since last summer.  Just hadn’t gotten around to getting them up.”  He stared at where the false facade used to be. “Frankly, I’m glad that fake wall is gone.  It was a real bitch moving it in the winter to get through.”

And it was.  Those with small enough cars could skirt around the very edge without having to open the wall too far, but most had to open it all the way.  The fact was though, very few residents of the Vale Valley even knew of it’s existence, and that was just how Harrington liked it.  The more the Towns were cut off from the outside world, the better.  Which was why it was important to get this taken care of.  The Crane Carnival wouldn’t be shut down for long.

“All we need is somebody with the technical expertise to install and calibrate the projectors”, Mr. Harrington continued.  “That’s why I called you up here.”

“I don’t see what this has to do with me”, the Chief observed.

“What we need”, Harrington went on, “Is one of those Techno-Nerds to rig this up and maintain it....But not one of those geek kids from the school.”

“So, who you got in mind ?”, Chief Carcer asked.

Harrington turned and faced the Chief.  “Release Alfred Owens from Jail.  Drop the charges.”

“What !?”, the Chief reacted.  “I can’t do that !”

“Can, and Will”, Mr. Harrington “Don’t forget, you work for me.”

“But...”, the Chief sputtered, “He’s already been arranged !  The Judge will never...”

“The Judge works for me, also”, Mr. Harrington said smoothly. “He’s going to be persuaded to go along.  He realizes the importance of this project here.  We can’t have the wrong people deciding just to up and leave the Vale Valley just because suddenly they see a way out and want to get curious and investigate the outside world.”  He indicated the highway crews in the distance.  “And we don’t want outsiders poking around in here.  Wouldn’t be too good for business.”

“What’s this got to do with....”, the Chief began.

“It’s got to do with the Status Quo”, Mr. Harrington said testily. “Before yesterday, nobody on the outside could find their way in here without specific directions.  All this road appeared to be was a dead-end a few miles away from the main trunk highway.  Now, any fool can wander down this road and find this place.  Give it a few months and we’ll be overrun by Paupers from the outside.  This area’s remoteness....It’s Exclusivity....Will be lost.”

The Chief sighed. “It’s going to take some time to get him released....”

Harrington turned angrily on the Chief.  “What Time ?  Open the Fucking cell door and let him out !  How long does that take ?”

“There’s procedure......Paperwork....”, the Chief responded.

“Damn It All To Hell, Man !”, Mr. Harrington raged.  “What are you even holding him for in the first place ?  The Fat Shit didn’t even do the crime.....That dropout kid as much as gloated to Crabblesnitch that he did the bombings !  Your so-called Force should be out looking for HIM, instead of holding a Fat, Asthmatic Geek in a cell for months and sitting on your ASSES !”

“I don’t think that’s a fair assessment”, the Chief said stoically, “We had Evidence....”

“Evidence !”, snorted Mr. Harrington.  “You know well enough Evidence can be manipulated to fit the crime.  That Fat Fuck can’t even walk down the street without wheezing and you think he could have planted all those explosives and set them all off in 180 minutes without being seen by a single soul ?”

“There were timers in the store’s basement that matched the ones used in the blasts”, the Chief persisted.

“I Don’t Give A Shit !”, Mr. Harrington retorted.  “Spring him, Today !  Tell him he can have his Comic Store back and his case dismissed in exchange for this little job for us.”

“If this gets out, it won’t go over too well”, Chief Carcer grumbled.

“Those boys at the Academy just dumped a present in you lap of the entire lot of those Townie misfits”, Mr. Harrington said, “Nobody’s gonna bat an eye.  Them dropout kids are the front page news right now”, he snorted.  “I guarantee you, it won’t go public.”

“How can you be so sure ?”, the Chief asked.

“I control all the media here”, Mr. Harrington said. “You ought to know that by now.”

“What about Crane ?”, Chief Carcer asked, pointing to the Carnival.

“Billy Crane knows which side his bread’s buttered on”, Mr. Harrington said.  “He’ll do exactly as he’s told unless he wants his Traveling Carnival to go traveling again.”

Mr, Harrington strode to his car.  “Get a few workers from Blue Skies that can be trusted to keep their mouths shut in exchange for a little compensation.  I’ll handle getting the Projectors here from Spencer’s Warehouse.  Have Alfred Owens brought to my place for instructions when you release him.”

Mr. Harrington opened his door and slid in. “One more thing....Get one of your flunkys to guard the tunnel.  Nobody gets through without my approval, got that ?”

Without waiting for an answer, Mr. Harrington slammed the door, then jockeyed his car around the 90 degree turn that led across the small narrow bridge and into the tunnel.  Then he hit the gas and was gone.
________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

WEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOONK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sleeping Jocks were jarred awake by the sound of the incredibly loud Air Horn.  They crawled out of their sleeping bags laid on the scattered wrestling mats covering the South end of the Gym floor.  Still sore from their Saturday night battle at the football field, the groggily came awake to see Coach Burton standing near the center of the Gym with a shit-eating grin on his face holding the Air Horn.

“Allright, You Slackers !!  Get Your Asses Out To The Field For Some Practice Runs !!”, he hollered.

The Jocks groaned. “Aww, Coach, have a heart !”, Dan Wilson said.

“Yeah, com’on, we’re like, still recovering”, yawned Bo.  “Cut us some slack.”

“Field ain’t even cleaned off yet”, grumbled Damon.

Coach Burton just stood bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, seemingly possessed by an excitement he could barely contain.  “It’s Clean Enough For A Little Workout !  Let’s Move It !  That Means You Too, Olsen !”, he said to Kirby, who had just emerged from his spot under the bleachers.

Mumbling and Griping, the Jocks slowly drug themselves down to the locker room to change into their sweats.  It was Tuesday morning, and much too soon for any workouts, they felt.  What was the Coach’s deal anyway ?  Didn’t he know that they were the Heros of the school now ?  Everywhere they went, they were respected and admired.  Other kids stopped them and fawned over them, just like they were celebrities.  Hell, they WERE celebrities.  They had saved the school.

The Coach was already down on the field by the time they stumbled down the steps leading down to the turf.  The smashed Sodium Arc Lights had been removed, and work was progressing on removing the tree that had been dropped down on the Clubhouse roof.  The debris had been nearly cleaned off, mostly limbs, branches, and pieces of fencing, that had littered the Football Field.  As they jogged onto the turf, they suddenly came to a halt in shocked amazement.  Coach Burton was standing there, all right.  But he was not alone.

A large, hulking figure of a boy stood next to the Coach, nearly dwarfing Burton with his immense size.  He stood at least six and a half feet tall on legs that resembled tree trunks.  His arms looked like huge hanging slabs of beef.  He had hands that looked like they could crush skulls with little or no effort.   He had a chest like a barrel, muscular with particularly broad shoulders.  He was dressed in grey sweats with a pullover blue Bullworth T-shirt sporting a huge letter 'B’ on it.  His bull neck was topped by a massive head with a bland, stupid-looking face, brown hair clipped in a crew-cut style.  It looked like he could take out 10 guys simply by just standing there.  Bo estimated his weight at over 300 pounds, and not a bit of it fat.

Coach Burton was doing his excited little bouncing again as he blew on his whistle and waved the stunned Jocks over to where the two were standing.  The Jocks walked slowly over to where the pair stood and halted a few feet away.

“Good Gawd, he looks like a Gorillia !”, muttered Damon in awe.  The other Jocks kept silent, not knowing what to say.

“Boys...This Is Bob Southby !”, Coach Burton proclaimed.  “Our Newest Defensive Lineman !”

The Jock boys looked agape at Bob and the Coach’s pronouncement.  This had to be some kind of late April Fool’s joke.  A creature such as this surely belonged in the Carnival Freakshow.

Turning to Bob and looking up at the massive figure, Coach Burton said, “Introduce yourself to the boys, Bob !”

From under the cro-magnum brow, flat eyes reflecting no emotion, a gravelly voice issued forth that sounded like a Garbage Truck dumping trash.  “‘Lo...ME BOB.”

The Jocks waited in shocked silence for Bob to continue speaking.  When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to say anything else, they began to mumble among themselves.

“Shee-it, looks like we got ourselves a Russell !”, Said Dan.

“Naw, Russell’s only about 250“, said Bo, “This dude’s over 300, easy.”

“Not very friendly, ain’t he ?”, commented Juri.

“Don’t have to be”, observed Damon, “Just gotta be tough.”

“Here...Comes...Our...Poundcake”, whispered Kirby.

Coach Burton was grinning, barely being able to contain his glee.  He had been trying to get this kid into Bullworth Academy for the longest time, but the sheer stupidity of the boy had always been a big stumbling block.  Even though there were already a lot of dumb kids in the school, Bob was dumber than any of them, even Russell.  Personality-wise, he was like the most anti-social android that the world had ever seen, utterly lacking in social skills of any kind.  Coach Burton didn’t care about any of that.  All he wanted was the ultimate defensive lineman who could smash down opposing offensive linemen and sack a quarterback without working up a sweat.  Dr. Crabblesnitch had acceded to Burton’s desires at long last, boosted by the fact that the Jocks had defeated the Townies invaders and saved his precious school, and his job to boot.  Bob had been transported overnight into the Vale Valley on a Semi to began his academic career at Bullworth Academy.

Burton blew his whistle again, quieting the Jocks.  “Allright now, I want Jackson and Olsen to get some balls out of the Clubhouse.  Harris, Luna, bring out some of those tackling dummies.  Karamazov, bring out those tires to teach footwork.  West, since Thompson and Loiselle aren’t here, you’re in charge.  Your mission today is to teach Bob here how to play Football !”

“Uhh....Coach ?”, Damon asked as the others began making their way to the Clubhouse to retrieve the necessary items, “How we gonna...Teach him anything ?”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that”, Coach Burton said, patting Bob’s massive shoulder, “He may not be the brightest of bulbs, but he can take direction, all right.  Just tell him what to do, and he’ll do it.”

Damon looked at Bob uncertainly. “But....Can he understand plays ?  He don’t seem.....”

“He’s not very talkative”, the Coach confided in a low voice.  “As for learning the plays, well, that’s what we’re going to find out.”  Burton glanced at Bob, then resumed.  “We got a lot of time till the season starts next fall.  I want him ready to play by then.”  Taking Damon aside, he said, “He’s a bit slow.....But he can learn, I’m sure.  Just run him through the plays over and over till he gets it.  He can understand when you show him what to do.”

“Weell....Alright, Coach”, Damon said doubtfully.  “If you say so.”

“Good”, Coach Burton said. “I’ve got some....Er....Work to take care of in my office.  I’ll be back to check on you boy’s progress.”  He began to walk away, then turned back.  “Oh....One more thing....Try not to make him mad.  I hear he’s got one Hell of a temper.”

Burton left the field at a fast walk.  The Cheerleaders might be coming back this morning, and he didn’t want to miss his chance to spy on them through his peephole in his office under the bleachers.  It had been far too long, and he was horny as hell.  Damon watched him leave, then turned and approached Bob.

“Yo”, He said, “Why don’cha come with me over the 20-yard line.  We can....Umm...Run some plays.”  Damon saw the others bringing the equipment Coach Burton had sent them for out onto the field.  He began to walk out into the field.  Partway, he looked back to see if Bob was following.   He Was.
______________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

It took Tony three days to get a boat, and that was only because Nick had managed to steal one he found from under the big pier over at Bullworth Vale.  Tony was a good swimmer, but the water temperature remained very low as the weather had not improved much since the storm.  The V-hull battered aluminum boat Nick found actually came equipped with a 15 hp. Evinrude motor, which made getting to the Island a whole lot faster than having to row.

As Tony and Nick motored to Pirate Island, they began to see close-up the incredible amount of damage the Tornado had done.  There were trees down all over the Island.  Rounding the Red Buoy, they could see limbs and other debris floating still in the water.  With Tony at the bow guiding Nick at the tiller, they made made the beach area, grounding the boat on the sandy shore.  Tony hopped out and ran a line out to on of the downed trees laying on the beach to tie off.  

Nick followed Tony up on the beach, picking their way over the uprooted trees there that had been thrown from the higher rocky plateau of the Island.  The boys searched the beach area for any clues for ant evidence of Jake’s being there, but could find nothing.  The storm had eradicated all traces of any kind of possible habitation, human or animal.  Tony and Nick climbed up the rocks to the plateau, and here the devastation was even more evident.  Scores of trees lay in random disorganized piles all around.  Incredibly, a large steel tower still remained standing at the North end of the Island with the high-voltage wires still attached to it.  

The boys picked their way across the strewn rockscape in the face of a brisk chill wind.  Reaching the South end of the Island, they discovered another beach area, smaller than the first.  A series of small rocky outcroppings stretched from here to the mainland cliffs across a small channel.  Finding nothing here, they returned to the rocky plateau and began making their way to the North.  Unknowingly, they passed within 20 yards of the opening to the underground cavern, where Vance was slowly pacing around in a circle, bored out of his mind at not being able to get to the outside and down to the beach, where he spent most days, dressed up in his Pirate outfit and reliving the swashbuckling days of yore, lustily singing ‘It’s A Pirate’s Life For Me.”

As Tony and Nick made their way towards the steel tower, Tony stopped suddenly and held up his hand.  “Wait....You hear something ?”

Nick strained to listen over the brisk wind.  

woooooooooooooooooheeeeeelllllpooooooooooooooooooooooo............

“Just the wind”, Nick replied.  “You hearing things, man.”

“Maybe it’s Ghosts”, Tony joked nervously.  “Kind of eerie out here.”

“Got that right”, Nick said, as the pair continued their trek to the steel tower.

Coming closer, the two saw there was some damage to the tower as well....Some of the girders were lightly twisted at the base, setting the tower slightly askew.  Tony poked about the base of the tower for awhile, looking for any indication of what ‘Grid 67‘ might mean, as the tower was the only man-made object on the Island.  Tony was hoping that he could find some kind of markings on one of the four huge concrete pilings sunk into the rocks that bore the weight of the tower, but searched in vain for anything inscribed in the base or the metal.  Finding nothing, the boys made their way back to their starting point on the beach.

“What was you looking for back there ?”, Nick asked.

Tony took a last look at the Island in the stiffening breeze.  “Something that wasn’t there”, he said at last.  “Let’s shove off.”

Jake was here, I’m sure of it, Tony thought. And Grid 67 is here.  I just gotta find where....For the both of them.
_____________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

After having stayed a few days with his family, Tad returned to the Academy Campus Wednesday afternoon.  He strode purposely towards Harrington House with a plan.  The afternoon classes had not yet let out, and Tad wanted to be inside the Prep’s domain to greet the his returning comrades after school.  

He encountered no one as he made his way to Harrington House.  Tad had regained enough of his strength to walk from the Vale, although doing so was making him rather tired.  He was glad to reach the doors of the House and get inside out of the chilly wind, a little unusual for mid-April.

The downstairs was deserted.  He plopped down in Derby’s favorite chair in front of the fireplace, the one that had been replaced after the bombings.  He reflected that he liked this chair just fine.  It was just like sitting in the seat of power, and it made it easier for him to steel his resolve for what he was about to do.

Although the Tornado damage had taken his Father away to supervise repairs, before he had left Mr. Spencer had sat down and had a revealing talk with Tad.  Now, sitting in the power chair at Harrington House, Tad knew more than enough to bring the situation to heel in his favor.  And he was prepared to use that information now to his benefit, to take a giant step forward and claim what was rightfully his.

After ditching classes for more than two weeks since being beaten by the Rockers, the Preps were told they must attend classes or face detention, an unheard-of thing for any Prep.  It didn’t help that the Jocks were now the darlings of the school after having saved it from certain takeover.  Even the Nerds were garnering more respect for the role they had played in it, defeating Otto and Floyd, plus taking out the remainder of the Townies before they could escape.  For the first time in Bullworth history, the Preps were at the bottom of the pile.  Everybody dis-respected them.  The Preps found themselves greeted by openly-hostile students wherever they went, spit on and having rotten fruit from the cafeteria thrown at them in the school hallways.  The Prefects looked the other way as the abuse continued.  If a Prep tried to fight back, he quickly found himself outnumbered five-to-one, and had to back down or get beaten down.  They found themselves having to huddle in a group as they traveled, enduring the cat-calls and jeers from the other Cliques and even the students who were not in any Clique, an event which had never before happened.  

Tad heard the outer doors open and moved the chair around just as the inner doors were flung open.  The remaining Preps, now only five in number, came straggling through like zombies in the worst horror movie ever, their eyes haunted with shock and shame, their movements slow and jerky like that of dead men.  They advanced halfway into the room before they saw Tad sitting in Derby’s chair, and stopped, staring.

When no one spoke, Tad rose and said, “Hullo, Chaps.  So good to see you.”

Gord moved to the front.  “Uh....Well, Hello Tad.  We....Uh....Didn’t expect you back so soon.”

“I can see It was time for me to come back”, Tad said, “All you look like something the Cat dragged in.”

It was a strange comment, seeing as how there weren’t any Cats in the Vale Valley.  It was the reason why the Rats were so rampant on the Campus and elsewhere.  There were some Dogs running around, including Chad’s Dog, Chester.....But strange as it was, no Cats.

“I’m glad you’re all here”, Tad continued. “I believe it’s time that we made a few changes around here, starting today.”

“Uh, what ever do you mean ?”, Justin asked.

“Mean ?”, Tad said in a confident voice.  “Why, I mean I’m taking over.”

The Preps just gaped at him.  “Derby will never allow that !”, Bryce exclaimed. “You just can’t take over !”

“I can, and I will”, Tad replied smoothly.  “And what’s more, all of you are going to support that.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible”, Justin said.  “You just can’t expect us to go through that again !”

“Can’t I ?”, Tad said, flicking off an imaginary piece of lint from his Aquaberry sweater, “Tell me, Justin....Just who really owns the Beach House ?”

“Why.....My family does....That’s who”, Justin sputtered.

“Afraid not”, Tad said sadly, “Since you signed the deed over to Jimmy Hopkins more that a year ago, remember ?”

“That doesn’t mean anything !”, Justin said heatedly, “He’s a minor, just like us....”

“That’s not what the law will say”, Tad interrupted. “Gord’s Father will tell you that, won’t he Gordo ?”

Gord, whose Father was a trial lawyer, just slowly answered. “Probabaly....It could be tied up in litigation for years, but......”

“And Bryce”, Tad resumed, “You still going to be working at the club this summer to pay for school, since your family’s about broke because your Father is gambling away all your inheritance on loose women at the state casino ?”

Bryce blanched.  “How could you know about that ?”

“And Chad”, Tad went on, “You still taking steroids to bulk up, so you can run track and sing in the Glee Club with all the other Nerd Peons ?  Another nose job, maybe, so you can look like Michael Jackson, your secret hero ?”

Chad glowered.  “That’s nobody’s business......”, he spat out.

“And Parker”, Tad said, turing his attention to what everyone considered the mystery Prep. “What happens when people find out how your family Really gets it’s money ?  How are you ever going to buy a girlfriend then ?  And even if you could, how do you think she would feel to know you make out with your own sister ?”

“It Isn’t Like That !”, Parker said.  “We just did it the One Time, to see what.....”  He trailed off, staring at the floor, knowing he had said too much.

“And Gord”, Tad said, looking sadly at his friend, “Dear, faithful Gord.  Does your Father REALLY own eight hotels, or is that just a sham ?  Too bad you won’t be wearing such nice clothes once your family goes bankrupt.  No longer the best-dressed student in school.  That could be bad for a trans-gendered person such as yourself, now wouldn’t it ?”

Gord stood with his mouth agape like a fish, saying nothing.

“Plus, all you fellows....Still buying test answers from Mr. Hattrick and selling them double to the other kids ?  Those Paupers ?”, Tad asked.  No answer was needed to that one, their guilty looks told Tad he was right.

“The point is, my dear fellows”, Tad said, striding back and forth in fromt of them, “Is that ALL of this is going to come out, unless we regain our status around here.  And do you know how it all came to this ?  DERBY led you down to ruin, going off with his half-baked plans for revenge and ill-conceived plans for power.  In his arrogance, he disregarded the true tenants of absolute power over the masses.....Fooling them into thinking we are mighty and bending them to our will.  Under my leadership, we will regain our standing at Bullworth Academy and once again Rule this school !”

“That sounds all well and good, Tad”, Gord spoke up, finding his voice.  “But what about Bif ?  He’s loyal to Derby.  They just won’t take this laying down.”

Tad smiled, really smiled, for the first time in weeks.  “Fact is, they’re both laying down right now.  Derby won’t be in fighting shape for weeks.  As for Bif”, he continued, “I know something about him that would ruin his reputation forever in this school if it ever got out.  He’ll play along, or he’ll be gone.”

The Preps just stood staring with amazed looks on their faces as they suddenly realized that Tad just might be successful in his overthrow of Derby’s iron grip he had had over them all this time.  With their support, it could happen.

“So, what do you say ?”, Tad said, standing in front of them. “Are you with me ?”

The Preps looked at each other, then nodded.  Tad was to be the new leader.

“Good”, Tad said, satisfied.  “You fellows freshen up.  We’ll meet later tonight upstairs and go over the plan for taking back our rightful place around here.”

“How are we going to do that ?”, Bryce asked.

“Simple”, grinned Tad.  “We’re going to buy back their respect, one Clique at a time.  When that’s done, we will rule over those Paupers just as nature intended.”
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[BloodChuckZ]

Mr. Luntz came tooling down the road after turning from the main trunk highway late Wednesday afternoon.  It was just a few miles, but he drove carefully, for he had heard that a Tornado had been through the area.  He expected to see some sort of debris on the road, waiting to give his small car a flat tire along the way, but to his surprise, the roadway was clear of any kind of litter.  As he approached the Back of the Carnival though, he slowed to almost a crawl.  Where before the road had run roughly parallel to the back wooden fence of the Go-Kart track, all he could see was a jumble of smashed wooden slats tossed about everywhere.  The Grandstands which had once rose above the fencing was destroyed, it’s remains thrown around the area like so many popsicle sticks.

Mr. Luntz returned his gaze to the road ahead, expecting to see up ahead the back of the false facade that hid the entryway to the Vale Valley.  Instead, though, what he saw was what appeared to be a solid rock face, rising ten feet up in the air right across the road.  He pulled up to the front of the obstacle and stopped the car a few feet away.  

“What in the Blue Blazes is THIS ?”, he muttered to himself.  After sitting in the car for a couple of minutes trying to comprehend what he was seeing, he popped open the driver’s door and jacked his large frame out of the tiny vehicle, cussing as he did so, like always.  He approached the rock wall in confusion and growing rage.

“How the FUCK am I supposed to get back in there ?”, he asked out loud, but there was nobody around to answer his question.  He looked right, then left, and went closer to the rock wall.  As he did so, the rock face seemed to grow fuzzy and out of focus.  

Mr. Luntz blinked his eyes, then rubbed them with his hands.  When he looked again, the wall still looked fuzzy.  He looked around at other objects.  Everything else was just fine.  It was the damn wall.  Something was not right with the damn wall.

Tentatively, he reached out with his hand to touch the wall, but his fingers went right through.  Startled, he pulled his hand back quickly.  Seeing there was no damage to his hand, he took a breath and suddenly stuck his whole arm out.  It too went through the wall.  Carefully, he walked forward and disappeared, coming out the other side into the scam parking area near the Carnival entrance, which was actually a continuation of the road into the Towns.  He turned, and behind him was the tired-looking board-fence wall, just like before.

It was an illusion.  Mr. Luntz scanned the lot area and the small mountainous rock to his left, catching a glint of the western sun on something.  He looked closer and saw the glimmer of reflected light off the lens of something that resembled a security camera.  Looking over and up to his right, he saw another mounted high up on a pole.  He smiled a cynical smile in understanding.  What he was seeing was a Hologram.  Doubtless there were two other Projectors on the other side as well, behind him.

He walked back through the fake wall and sandwiched himself back in the small car, cursing as he did so.  When all this was over, he was going to get himself a Limo.  He dropped the car in gear and drove through the false wall, feeling a bit like the Road Runner fooling the Coyote.  Pretty clever of someone, he thought, and knew who had probably ordered this to be rigged up.  Had to be Harrington.  

As he slowed to make the ninety-degree left turn to go through the tunnel, he reflected that this would probably be his last time returning to this shitty place.  Michael “Big Mike” Tortelli had told him that Vincent “Bloody Vince” Fonzerelli and the remainder of his minions had been squeezed into an area only a third of the size as their former territory in the Big Apple, and it wouldn’t be long now.  A matter of weeks, perhaps, and the Godfather of New York would crash as those had done before him.  Once Big Mike and the boys took over the operations, Mr. Luntz could return home for good.

As he drove the road through Bullworth Vale towards the school, he sighed.  Seven years in this craphole, just to avoid having to wear cement overshoes and take a swim with the fishies.  His crime hadn’t been big -- Running some side scams for Big Mike -- But he had been found out.  Keeping his silence, he hadn’t ratted out that Big Mike was involved in running the side scams.  Furious that someone was scamming money from the organization, Boss Fonzerelli had ordered his execution.  In gratitude for keeping his silence, Big Mike had spirited him out of the city, and had arranged this job here in the Vale Valley at the school.  It was the perfect cover, for just like the Carnival people, nobody ever pays attention to a janitor.

Big Mike Tortelli’s intentions were also two-fold.....By hiding Mr. Luntz here, Big Mike could also keep an eye out on the doings of all the rich overlords who worked in tandem with the Mob.....The Harringtons, The Spencers, and the others.  Mr. Luntz became very good at ferreting out information on the dealings in the Vale Valley, and part of his reasons for returning in secret to the Big City so often was to report back to Big Mike on what he found out, like the increased shipments going through Spencer Warehouse.  Mr. Luntz became very adept at infiltrating himself at various locations around the Towns.....Businesses, the Bank, the Courthouse, and most importantly....The Docks over at Blue Skies.  All the while playing the role of a somewhat inept janitor at an Academy for misfits.  It was perfect.

Mr. Luntz turned down the access road leading to the Parking Lot, and drove down through the gates, which he saw were damaged again.  Lying askew, it looked like they got hit by a car.  That was no surprise to him.  The Cops had probably raided the place again.  There were a few Bullies hanging about in the Parking Lot, as usual, but he didn’t see the big dumb one, who had been here just about as long as he had.  Russell, his name was, he remembered suddenly.  He would have liked to just run down all the worthless shits in the white shirts, but he had to keep his cover and not be noticed.  He weaved the car around them, and pulled it up to the middle garage door facing the Parking Lot, where he got out, opened it, and put the car away.

Closing and locking the garage door, he turned and made his way to the side basement entrance to the school.  He often bunked down here, and had a cot and small TV set up in a room just right off the loading door.  Crabblesnitch would be pissed that he had taken so much time off, as usual, but fuck him.....It wasn’t like anyone else was willing to work this shitty job.  Besides, he just about had everything he needed to take down that pompous ass before he left here for good.  He would bide his time, endure Crabblesnitch’s lectures and cold stares for just a bit longer.  His day would soon arrive, and he intended to see Crabblesnitch locked up before he was gone for good, and maybe that little bitch Danvers as well.

He switched on his little TV and settled back on his cot to rest.  It had been a long trip, and he was no spring chicken anymore.  He would wait until tomorrow to see what damage the little bastards had done this time.  For now, it was time to rest up.
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[BloodChuckZ]

Tony was speeding down the old rail line that ran around the perimeter of the school on his Flame Job BMX, in practice for the upcoming bike race, which would use this route, as Tony learned was traditional.  He had never been to most of old rail line, so it was a new chance for him to explore as well.  Zooming along the wide dirt pathway, he had found a large tunnel cut through the rock at one point, with some rail ties still intact within.  Going in a ways, he discovered an area that looked as if someone had hidden out there once....A couple of raggedy-looking blankets, discarded food cans, cigarette butts, and what could have been the remanent of a fire-pit.  Looked like a Hobo had maybe made his home there once upon a time.

Not knowing that he had stumbled on to one of Jake’s hiding places from last fall, he exited the Tunnel and found the pathway had a detour around the large rocks that held the tunnel.  Following it, he came to a area with many downed trees, some across the wide dirt pathway.  He practiced hopping his bike over these until he was confident he could master that part of the course.  His attention was drawn to some grassy areas to the left that looked like a small path, so he followed that to explore some more. 

Soon, he found himself at a wide ravine where a large tree had fallen across. Tony left his bike at the edge, unable to resist the challenge of walking across the tree trunk to the other side.  The tree had been big, and he had no problems navigating his way across to the other side.  There, he saw that the path continued.  If he wanted to explore more, he would have to go back for his bike.  Tony went back across the big tree.  About halfway across, he spotted something at the bottom of the ravine.  He stopped and looked closer.

It was a Go-Kart.  It was laying upside down with it’s little tries poking up in the air, and it appeared to be a little battered.  Tony marveled as he realized that the Tornado must have carried this Go-Kart from the Carnival that night and dumped it here.  Tornados are said to do strange things like that, so he heard.  From what Tony could see, getting it out of the ravine would prove difficult.  Then he hit on an idea.

I should tell Mr. Neil about this, Tony thought, He’ll know what to do.

Mr. Neil was just about the most-liked teacher at the school.  Most of the students and all of the Cliques, except the Preps, never had a bad word to say about him.  Mr. Neil had always treated Tony fairly, and had just gifted him with the BMX he was now riding.  Tony knew that Mr. Neil’s Go-Kart, the one he and Karen had taken a sneak ride in on that night last fall, had been stolen.  Tony also knew that Mr. Neil had been trying to obtain another one, and he felt that this would be a great way to repay him for his kindness. 

Tony reached his bike and shoved off, retracing to the old rail line.  He had heard that this went all the way around the school, which meant that if he kept going, he would encounter the huge cavern where the tunnel was that led to Jimmy’s secret cave.  He intended to stop in and talk to Jimmy and tell him of the events of the past few days.  Unbeknown to him, Jimmy had some things to tell him as well.
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[BloodChuckZ]

Jake was jolted awake by the sound of train rumbling by the boxcar he was hiding out in on the siding located on the elevated rail line over the West side of Blue Skies.  It was close to 3 AM.  He had been in the empty boxcar for more that 36 hours, waiting for just this very thing.  He rose and stretched, then grabbed his backpack and peered out the open door of the boxcar.  The train was slowing down.  That meant that there would be some switching going on shortly.  Time for him to get a move on.  His plans didn’t include getting busted by the Railroad Bulls.

Jake dropped from the opposite doorway of the boxcar, keeping it between him and the train.  There were three sets of tracks on this part of the elevated portion, which stretched for a mile from the mountain tunnel to the unique roundhouse terminal where individual tankcars and boxcars were uploaded and downloaded to supply materials to the Chemical Plant Complex at the South end of Blue Skies. The two sets of tracks to the East were used as Siding Tracks, where boxcars and flatcars were set aside for delivery and emptied ones for recovery.  The track on the West side was the main line track, or Branch Line Track in this case.  A ways up the line, a Spur Line Track from the main track led across a small inlet to the South-East side of where Bullworth Academy was now, and had at one time gone through the cavern that contained the tunnel that led to Jimmy’s secret cave.  The spur line had continued all the way around the South and West side of Bullworth Academy, but long ago the rails and ties had been removed when the mining in the area had played out.

Near to where Jake had dropped out from the boxcar, there was a 150-foot Tower Crane, used to lift loads off of flatcars and drop them right at the docks area, which was directly West of the elevated rail line.  Incoming loads from the barges could be loaded onto the flatcars in the same manner.  Jake was at the edge of the furtherest tracks from the train, along a row of empty boxcars.  He knew that after the train had dropped off their fully-loaded cars, they would be picking up the empties to haul back.  Moving North along the line of empties, he came to the place where the siding tracks merged into the Branch Line before going across the bridges that went across the river and then was the dividing line between New Coventry and Bullworth Town.  Jake didn't see anyone here, and it was a good bet that most of the operation was automated.  But that didn't mean that there wasn't somebody up ahead.  After all, somebody had to operate the switch that had opened the large doors the were usually secured across the tunnel entrance.

Still seeing no one, he stayed to the far side of the train as he made his way through the partially-moonlit darkness.  At last he reached the large tunnel-like structure that was set into the mountain.  The large doors were opened inward, allowing for the train to pass through.  The train itself was a long one, and Jake cautiously walked into the tunnel alongside the train.  After he had walked just a few yards, he saw a small recess in the side of the tunnel with a door set into it with a small window.  A light was on, and Jake snuck a peek through the glass.

A man stood facing away from him, operating some kind of controls in front of a board in a small room.  Jake decided to keep going, melting away away again in the darkness.  He walked further into the tunnel.  After another 10 minutes or so, he came across another recessed place in the wall, and with another door.  The window behind it was dark.  At that moment, the train began pulling forward.  Jake tried the door and found it unlocked, then slipped inside into the darkness.  

As he watched the train through the glass, it became apparent to him that the whole train had been backed into the tunnel from somewhere in the outside world.  He heard the sounds of diesel locomotives grow louder and louder as the train reversed course and began backing up, then suddenly he saw them....Two giant locomotives, chugging by, pushing the line of rail cars back towards Blue Skies, presumably to hook up with the empty boxcars, one of which he had just spent the past day and a half waiting in.

Jake’s mind drifted.  He would have to wait until the train had completed it’s business and left.  He was taking a big chance, he knew.  His goal was to meet a group that had very rarely been seen in the Vale Valley, but they were considered the toughest criminals in these parts.  Jake had learned that they often times hung around in this very railroad tunnel, raiding the Towns at will.  They had never been caught.  

Jake settled down against a wall.  He knew he had a long wait.  His thoughts went back over the events of the past few days.......  
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Jake had been having a rough week.  After a bone-numbing swim to Pirate Island on the night of the failed attack, he had to shelter as best he could for the night under a downed tree.  Barely keeping from going into Hypothermic Shock, he had found Vance’s rowboat overturned and wedged between a tree and a rock the next morning.  Using a limb as a lever, he had been able to free up the rowboat, which still had it’s oars attached to the oarlocks.  Jake had managed to right and then launch the craft soon after, and the steady rowing had helped to keep him warm.  

Jake had rowed to the North, looking for a deserted spot on which to beach in the much calmer waters.  He had passed No-Name Island, and went under the Vale Boulevard bridge, electing not to land under there as he saw people walking across and feared the Cops might already be on the lookout.  Passing Rock Island on his right, he made for a landing spot under the North Bullworth Vale Road bridge.  Finally reaching it, he jumped out and pulled the rowboat ashore underneath.  Exhausted, he had rested there awhile.  He was in a place where he couldn’t be spotted.  As he sat on the Beach, his gaze wandered up the waterway to the North, where the Bullworth Dam was located.  A germ of an idea floated through his crazed mind and settled, slowly taking root.  He patted the waterproof ziplock bag under his shirt containing Crabblesnitch’s resignation and confession.  It wasn’t enough just to try to take over the school, he saw now.  All of those attempts had failed.  No, the real key was to bring the whole Vale Valley to it’s knees.  

Jake had risen.  He knew it now.  He had to hit them where they lived.  For that, he would have to have some help.  Not anybody like those worthless Townies had turned out to be.  He knew of a group, though small in number, who was a whole lot tougher.  The Punks.
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