Status: Please buy the book for Kindle if it does become available. If it becomes available I will likely take down all but the first 12 chapters.
Firestarter
First Impressions
Finally, the next day arrives. After another boring day of school, I’m excited to get the heck out of there and head off to the new family’s house, when I’m suddenly stopped by a group of thugs.
“Hey, Tommy.” One of them spits. I always hated that nickname, and they knew it too. “Where you think you’re going?”
I turn around to see the face behind the voice is none other than Jim Wilson. 9th grader. 220 pounds, has been suspended 3 times, school keeps him in only to say that they’re the only people never to expel him.
“I’m afraid in order to cross this bridge, you’re gonna have to pay the toll.” Another one of them says, chuckling about how absolutely hilarious he was. John Dackamar. 9th grader. 140 pounds, the second member of Jim’s gang, only joined so he could avoid getting picked on.
“Just get out of here.” I say, spitting on the ground behind me. “You’re nothing but human waste, you know that?”
Whoops. My tongue slipped a bit there. Due to my limited interactions with people, I’ve been told I often speak rudely to just about everybody. Maybe if I lived in a bigger city with more unique characters then thugs, rednecks, and gossip girls…
“What’d you say, punk?” Jim said, pushing me up against a bike rack.
“I’m afraid you seem to be going deaf. You might wanna see a doctor about that.”
“Oh, you’re just asking for it now.”
Jim grabbed me and slammed my head into a bike. I responded by kicking him. Then he got his goon on it too, and John grabbed my underwear and tried to give me a wedgie before I turned around from behind and hit him right on the nose, causing him grab his nose and flinch down onto the sidewalk.
After Jim broke through of my teeth, he began to slam me against everything he could – so I responded by kicking him in the face. He cursed as he bent over in pain, and his goon was trying to take care of his nose, so I just walked past them smirking. Why would I wait for them to get up again? So they can hit me some more? Yeah, sounds like a great idea. I’ll just tape a bunch of “KICK ME” signs all over my body while I’m at it.
I deliberately avoided my house and went past it to the new neighbor’s house. It was yellow with a wide open fence out front. I went past the fence and peered into one of the windows. In one room, there was nothing but blank white wallpaper. Boring. So I peered into the next window and found a bathroom. Except there was someone…in this bathroom. Through the shadow, I was able to recognize who was in there. It was the young girl from before, and she appeared to be cleaning. I guess she saw me peeking through the window.
“Voyeur!” She yelled. “Somebody help!”
“Hey, wait a second!” I said. “I’m not trying to be weird, I’m just curious!”
“That’s what they all say!”
She came outside and held me in a choke hold while still screaming for help.
“Stop, stop, stop!” I screamed.
She took the choke hold off of me and held me down in the bush while yelling for somebody to help.
“Stop it!” I yelled. “What’s your problem, psycho? Gosh, can nobody in this town just be interesting for once?”
She stopped screaming for a second, and paused to look at me, as if she was processing slowly what I had just said.
Then she let go of my shirt and ran back inside her house. I sighed. I guess I’m not really one for first impressions. Still, couldn’t there be at least one normal, understanding person in this town? How did I get stuck being forced in constant interaction with people who…well, are like this? Couldn’t they give this to a person who wants this kind of interaction? I just want a normal life!
I left her house, closed the gate behind me, and went back to my house. My hopes of anything exciting happening in this town were now crushed. I knew my luck couldn’t be that good.
“Hey, Tommy.” One of them spits. I always hated that nickname, and they knew it too. “Where you think you’re going?”
I turn around to see the face behind the voice is none other than Jim Wilson. 9th grader. 220 pounds, has been suspended 3 times, school keeps him in only to say that they’re the only people never to expel him.
“I’m afraid in order to cross this bridge, you’re gonna have to pay the toll.” Another one of them says, chuckling about how absolutely hilarious he was. John Dackamar. 9th grader. 140 pounds, the second member of Jim’s gang, only joined so he could avoid getting picked on.
“Just get out of here.” I say, spitting on the ground behind me. “You’re nothing but human waste, you know that?”
Whoops. My tongue slipped a bit there. Due to my limited interactions with people, I’ve been told I often speak rudely to just about everybody. Maybe if I lived in a bigger city with more unique characters then thugs, rednecks, and gossip girls…
“What’d you say, punk?” Jim said, pushing me up against a bike rack.
“I’m afraid you seem to be going deaf. You might wanna see a doctor about that.”
“Oh, you’re just asking for it now.”
Jim grabbed me and slammed my head into a bike. I responded by kicking him. Then he got his goon on it too, and John grabbed my underwear and tried to give me a wedgie before I turned around from behind and hit him right on the nose, causing him grab his nose and flinch down onto the sidewalk.
After Jim broke through of my teeth, he began to slam me against everything he could – so I responded by kicking him in the face. He cursed as he bent over in pain, and his goon was trying to take care of his nose, so I just walked past them smirking. Why would I wait for them to get up again? So they can hit me some more? Yeah, sounds like a great idea. I’ll just tape a bunch of “KICK ME” signs all over my body while I’m at it.
I deliberately avoided my house and went past it to the new neighbor’s house. It was yellow with a wide open fence out front. I went past the fence and peered into one of the windows. In one room, there was nothing but blank white wallpaper. Boring. So I peered into the next window and found a bathroom. Except there was someone…in this bathroom. Through the shadow, I was able to recognize who was in there. It was the young girl from before, and she appeared to be cleaning. I guess she saw me peeking through the window.
“Voyeur!” She yelled. “Somebody help!”
“Hey, wait a second!” I said. “I’m not trying to be weird, I’m just curious!”
“That’s what they all say!”
She came outside and held me in a choke hold while still screaming for help.
“Stop, stop, stop!” I screamed.
She took the choke hold off of me and held me down in the bush while yelling for somebody to help.
“Stop it!” I yelled. “What’s your problem, psycho? Gosh, can nobody in this town just be interesting for once?”
She stopped screaming for a second, and paused to look at me, as if she was processing slowly what I had just said.
Then she let go of my shirt and ran back inside her house. I sighed. I guess I’m not really one for first impressions. Still, couldn’t there be at least one normal, understanding person in this town? How did I get stuck being forced in constant interaction with people who…well, are like this? Couldn’t they give this to a person who wants this kind of interaction? I just want a normal life!
I left her house, closed the gate behind me, and went back to my house. My hopes of anything exciting happening in this town were now crushed. I knew my luck couldn’t be that good.