Beneath the Mask

Beneath the Mask 40

Written by J.P.G.

{"Beneath the Mask" is pure fiction. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it's in realistic balance in the characters' lives.

Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are underage, (according to your state laws, a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.

This story cannot be distributed in any way, shape or form without the author's expressed written consent.}

Story Written by: J.P.G.

Love Scenes Written By: Daddy Rick

Edited By: Daddy Rick

Edited By: Ed

Chapter 40

When Kimberly rejoined the group without Patricia at her side, no one thought anything of it, except Chase. He kept looking at Kimberly and trying to figure out what happened to his girlfriend. Then when he saw small scratches on her hand, he knew that those two did not have a friendly chat as it looked they were going to have when they left.

Chase walked over to Kimberly and started to whisper. "What happened between you and my girlfriend?" Kimberly turned and shot Chase a dirty look. "I know you two fought, look at your hands." Kimberly put her hands in her pocket. "Come on Kimberly I know you two had a fight that turned physical. All I really want to know is Patricia sitting in a corner somewhere bleeding, unable to move."

Kimberly turned to look at Chase in the face. "The only thing that happened to your bitch of a girlfriend is an extra shower this morning. She has to learn to stop messing around with my boyfriend and his friends. They will not hit her because she is a girl, but I have no problem opening a can of whoop ass on her. You let her know that when you guys talk again. Today was just a shot across her bow. If she continues her ways, well you know."

He did not need Kimberly to explain the last part because he knew exactly what she meant. The only thing he needed to know was where Patricia was and Kimberly told him the restroom they saw them go into. Chase excused himself from the group but no one acknowledged him. That got him thinking when nobody paid any attention to him.

As he walked into the main building, he ran right into Patricia coming out the door. He took one look at her and knew what Kimberly meant when she told him that she gave his girlfriend an extra shower. Pulling her back into the building and over to his locker to help straighten her out before anyone else would see her the way she is.

"That girlfriend of Carlos' does not know who she is messing with. The only reason she was able to get me was that she jumped me from behind. I am going to show her. I am going to get her, Carlos and Alex back for this. All three of them are going to wish they did not mess with me."

"Stop it right now Patricia! Stop it! Let the whole fucking thing go! You have caused a lot problems and a huge rift between my friends and me. To this point, I have not said much, but I am going to now. You are going to take this and just leave it alone." Patricia could not believe what she was hearing from her boyfriend. "You know you are very lucky this is all that has happened to you or me with the stunts you've pulled."

"What stunts Chase? What have I done so bad that your friends do not like me? All I have tried to do is fit in with them, but they are the ones that will not let me in. Are they this way with every new person, or just me?"

"You know the answer Patricia to all that. Just look at the way they took in Derrick. That alone should answer your question about treating new people that come into the group. So do..."

Patricia slammed the locker door almost getting Chase's fingers. "That's bullshit and you know it Chase. The only reason they are taking to Derrick is that he is just like them, gay. In order to belong to this group you either have to be gay or bi. If that's the case I can see why you are thinking what you are thinking about yourself."

Chase looked around to see who was around them that heard Patricia. She is not talking in a low voice. In fact, she is yelling and anyone in the hall will be able to hear what she is saying. Lucky for Chase, no one was at their lockers. That saved him headaches trying to explain to people what his girlfriend meant.

"I know you are upset, but you need to lower your voice. There is no way I am going to allow you to out me like you threatened to do to Ethan. If you continue to talk in the high voice you are talking in, I am gone. So lower it so we can have a normal conversation." Patricia wanted to hit something, or someone.

Knowing that she will not be able to control her voice level, she walked away, leaving Chase standing there at his locker. Chase just looked at her as she walked down the hall and decided not to go running after her. He knows that is what she wants and he will not play into her mind games. Instead, he went back and rejoined the group.

Shortly after he rejoined the group, Patricia showed up. No one looked over at her except Chase and Kimberly. They saw that she combed her hair and straightened up. She looks like she did when she showed up to school this morning. Except a few spots on her upper shirt that are still damp no one would notice them unless they knew what happened.

Trying to mend fences with her boyfriend, Patricia grabbed Chase's hand as she jumped into the conversation. When she did that, several of them looked at her with disgust on their faces. That caused Chase to lash out in anger at them.

"I do not know what all your problems are with Patricia, but whatever they are let's put them all out in the open now. The way you all are treating her is not right. We never treat anyone the way you are treating her. The only thing she has tried to do is be your friends, which all of you are making it very difficult for her to do."

Everyone looked at each other with the same thought going through their mind. They could not believe that Chase is actually said what he said. They know he would not like the answer they have for him, so they started to wonder why he asked the question. Finally, after a minute or so of silence, David broke the silence.

"We all here made a promise to each other when we first became friends to never let our boyfriends or girlfriends ever come between us. Patricia here has caused many problems in the few weeks you have been going out with each other. None of us cares to reopen those issues. So for the sake of our friendship and the promise we made each other, let's not get into that conversation."

"No, that isn't good enough David. Yes, Patricia made a few mistakes and did things that she should not have, but that does not warrant the reaction you all are giving her. She is being treated worse than someone we hate and I want to know why."

"Chase, I agree with David, not because he's my boyfriend, but because he's right. We aren't going to stand here and justify to you or her..." Tom pointed to Patricia, "why we feel the way we feel about her because she knows, and so do you. The things she has done are wrong and you know it. No one has ever come into our group of friends and gotten away with what she has done."

"Yeah she is a wolf in sheep's clothing," Tony jumped in. "She puts on an act that she has no problem with who some of the guys in this group are, but behind the scenes she actually hates them. You, of all people Chase, should not stand for it since she hates your best friend for being who he is. But yet here you are defending her and everything she has done." Everyone nodded in agreement with what Tony said.

Everything the guys have said so far is true. It hurt hearing it, but Chase asked for it. She has caused many problems and he cannot defend her actions. Now he wished he never asked the question because they are letting him have it. The truth does really hurt and more so coming from those you truly care for.

"So if you want us to continue we will because there are plenty of things she has done that warrants our behavior." This time Chase did not answer Carlos' question. He just wanted it dropped and the conversation to move on to another subject. "Okay then guys let's go back to what we were talking about before Patricia jumped in".

Chase got his wish and they moved on. Patricia let go of Chase's hand and stomped off. This time Chase ran after her to try to cool her down, but could not. When it looked like he was getting there, the first bell rang and she left with her friends, once again leaving Chase standing there with his mouth hanging wide open!

Back at the new Detention Facility, Ashton had just finished eating breakfast when a guard banged on his door that he was going to be back in fifteen minutes to get him for court. That surprised Ashton. He thought that his court date was tomorrow, not today. However, here he is being asked to get ready to go to court.

Jumping out of his bed, Ashton quickly put on his shoes, but did not lace them up since he will be taking them right off. He wondered what was going on, but knew better not to question the guards. Whenever they tell you to do something, you do it. If the inmate does not listen, they lose the few privileges they have.

After going through the procedure on getting out of the cell, Ashton was handcuffed and was on his way down the hall. They stopped at the end and he was asked to face the wall while they waited for another inmate. When he looked to see who it was, he could not believe it was Bobby. They smiled at each other, which the guards saw and told them not to talk or even look at one another.

Half-suspecting to go get on a bus to go to court, Ashton was walking towards the doors they came in through the night they were brought here. One of the guards tapped him on the shoulder with his nightstick and pointed towards another set of double doors. As they entered through those doors, they found themselves in another long hallway.

They headed down the long hallway until they reached another set of double doors. Just as they walked up to them, they buzzed and one of the guards pushed them open. This time when they walked through the double doors, the hallway was short and well lit. Besides that it looked freshly painted the hallway someone had put up pictures.

Halfway down this hall, there was a set of wooden double doors. On top of the doors it read 350th District Court. These doors were not locked so the guards pushed them open and escorted Ashton and Bobby in. As they made there way to the front, Ashton and Bobby looked around the new courtroom.

Everything from the judge's bench, to the witness stand to the seats for the viewing audience to sit in is brand new. It had the brand new smell in the air as well. Ashton was afraid to touch anything. He did not want to get it dirty. He looked at the nameplate to see who the judge is, and he did not recognize the name, Harold Evans.

One of the guards jerked Ashton to the right because he was not listening to his voice. Ashton looked at the guard with anger in his eyes. "You wipe the look off of your face if you know what is good for you. You were told to sit in the chairs to your right and you ignored me. You are lucky that I do not just take you right back to your cell for refusing to follow instructions."

Ashton did not say a word. He just sat down where the guard was pointing. Shortly after he sat down, his attorney walked through the doors on the right hand side of the courtroom in front. When he found Ashton, he walked over to him pulling out several files from his briefcase.

"Ashton it is good to see you this morning. I was hoping that the guards were going to bring you down since you were not originally scheduled for court today."

"Yeah I was wondering why I was coming down today since my court date was not until tomorrow, at least that's what the letter said. What is going on? Why did my court date change from tomorrow to today?"

"It isn't anything for you to worry about. In fact it is good for you because that means you are going to get out a day earlier." When Ashton heard that, his heart started to beat faster. "I know it is a lot of things I am throwing at you, but you are going to get out. My office found a huge error made by the District Attorney's office. It's an error that cannot be pushed under the rug and they will have no other choice but to release you."

"What is the error you are talking about and what about this judge? Do you even know anything about him?" Ashton looked his attorney squarely in the eyes. "You know as well as I do some judges do not care about the facts. They will keep the original ruling in place since they were not the ones that made them."

"This judge was handpicked by the Governor. He went outside the state to get him. So he does not know any of the judges that have been sitting on the bench here in El Paso. That will work in our favor in this case. Even if he did know the judges, he cannot ignore the wrong that was done to you. Like it or not he will have no other choice but to rule in our favor here today. The..."

The bailiff asked everyone to rise, not letting Ashton's attorney answer the other questions. They all got up as the Honorable Judge Harold Evans walked out and took their seats. He hit the gavel a couple of times and asked everyone to sit down. Before saying anything else, he looked around the courtroom. Ashton did not think this judge was going to see it the way his attorney is seeing it. He looks mean.

"Everyone in this courtroom is a guest here. That includes the officers and attorneys. This is a brand new courtroom and it will stay new as long as I am on the bench. So every rule that you see posted on the plaque on the wall near the doors you came through will be executed. Do not be the first person to try and see if you can bend or break those rules."

He called up his first case right away. He does not look like a man that likes to waste any time. The attorneys started to talk at the same time and were scolded for doing so. Every passing minute this judge scared Ashton even more. He is indeed a judge that you do not want to fool with. The guy is a no nonsense kind of judge Ashton figured right away.

"No sir I will not allow this to be admitted into evidence. Either you have real evidence to present here or not. If you do not, stop wasting the court's time. I have a full schedule and I do not like attorneys wasting my time with frivolous motions."

"Your honor, have you been back there where these guys are being kept. No human being deserves to be treated the way they are being treated. In fact I can promise you that the previous inmates here, you know the gay inmates, had it a lot better than these guys do. If they had it better, don't you think those that are in here now deserve the same?"

Harold wanted to jump over his bench and strangle the attorney. "Sir, did you see this place with your own eyes when the other inmates were being kept here?" The attorney answered no. "I did and let me tell you the inmates now are in Heaven compared to the ones that were here before them, Heaven I say!

The night this place was closed down, I was here. I walked back there to those cells and saw how those poor kids were living. Not one of those rooms had a bed or even a mattress on the floor. Not one of those rooms had a table, sink, toilet, or lighting like the one they have now. They had a can to urinate in for crying aloud.

You are telling me that it is better than what they inmates have now, let us go ahead and transfer everything back to the way it was before the state took this place over. The inmates were naked and had to eat off the floor if they were lucky to be fed. Every morning they were dragged out of their cell, hooked up to a machine and electro-shocked. Alternatively, they were connected to another machine that kept their eyes wide open to watch videos.

Your motion before me is denied. I should fine you for bring this kind of motion before me. Those inmates are getting everything that is required by law. There has not been any shortcuts or rights violated here. Your client is going back to his cell and will stay there till either he gets paroled or serves his entire sentence."

Harold slammed his gavel and asked for the next case. Ashton and Bobby were glad they were not next because the judge is angry as hell. You can see the anger in his eyes. Every one in the courtroom could see that the attorney got the judge so angry it looked like the judge wanted to kill him.

Ashton's case was called before Bobby's. When his name was called, Ashton got up and walked over to the side of his attorney. The bailiff read the case and then the attorneys introduced themselves to the court.

"I really hope this isn't another frivolous motion. The inmate that is standing before me was found guilty and was sentenced. His first appeal has been denied. There should not be any reason he is in front of me here today. So before you say a word, think about it. If you are coming in front of me with a lame motion, you are going to be on my bad side."

"No sir the motion I have is real and needs to be ruled on." Ashton's attorney walked over to the bailiff and handed him a document. "The documents I handed your bailiff sir are a list of items that were not turned over to the defense during the trial by the prosecution. If we knew about some of these things, there was no way my client would have been found guilty of the crime he was convicted."

Harold looked over the list and then at the District Attorney. "What do you say about this Mr. District Attorney? Why wasn't this material handed over to the defense before trial? Heck, why wasn't this stuff handed over to the defense during trial so they could at least see if it could have helped them with their case?"

"Sir, I cannot speak for the District Attorney before me, but I can say even if they had this evidence, they would not have gotten a not guilty verdict. None of the items on the list you were handed would have moved the case one direction or another. But I do agree it should have been handed over and for that I am sorry."

"I do not want your apology. Your office screwed up and I do not like these kinds of screw-ups even if it would not have moved the jury one way or another. With that said, I have to agree with the District Attorney on this. What I see on this list would not have made much of a difference, if any at all, in reaching a verdict. You are going to have to point out what on the list would have changed the jury's verdict in this case."

"Your honor it does not matter how small it is, it should have been handed over in discovery, and it wasn't. Let us go ahead and let that go for now. Item six on the list is a witness description that is way off the other descriptions that were given. To make matters worse, this witness was standing closer to the person that committed the crime than the other witnesses that testified were."

Harold nodded his head in agreement. "I have to say that's true. Why did not your office bring this witness to the attention of the defense? This witness description of the person is no where near the defendant here." Harold looked over at Ashton. "Did you have cosmetic surgery since you were convicted of this crime?"

The courtroom broke out into laughter. "No sir I haven't had any kind of surgery."

"Your honor I talked with the ADA that prosecuted this case before coming down here. She told me that the reason she did not bring this witness account to light was because the witness at the time the crime to place was drunk and high on drugs at the time of the crime. The witness could not even remember his last name when she interviewed him. So he wasn't a reliable witness."

"Reliable or not, that witness should have been brought to light. They should have given us his name during discovery, his accounts of that day, and what he saw, but they did not. That precluded us being able to make the decision to either use this witness or not."

"I have to agree with the defense on this one. It is not the job of the prosecution to decide which witnesses are reliable and which ones are not. Your office should have brought a motion in front of the presiding judge. Let him throw out the witness on the proof that your office had at the time. Trust me he would have done that. Before I make my ruling here, is there anything else that will help your client."

"Yes sir the fourteenth through the sixteenth items on the list are fingers prints they found at the crime scene they matched to other felons. If you look at their arrest record you would see that two of the three have been either convicted of the same crime or were being looked at by the police for a similar crime when this one took place. If that was presented in court to the jury, it was enough to raise reasonable doubt in this case."

Harold had enough. He did not like what he had to do, but he knew he had no other choice but to do it. The DA's office screwed this case up and now he has to clean up their mess. This is not what he wanted to do his first week in his new job. He wanted to come in here and keep the bad ones locked away from the public.

"Your office really dropped the ball on this one." The ADA tried to interrupt Harold, but he did not allow him to speak. "Enough! This case has taken up too much of this court's time this morning. When you return to your office let the DA know I would like to see him in my other courtroom downtown tomorrow.

"Now I am going to rule on what has been presented to me on this case." Harold looked at Ashton. "Put aside that the DA's office dropped the ball here and did not follow the letter of the law, we both know you did this crime. Put aside what your attorney has done here, all the evidence clearly points to you and the jury did convict the right person for this crime.

However, I cannot sit here and let either side not follow the procedures that has been in place since the founding of our court system. If I would allow one side or the other to bend the rules because some of the evidence does not fit their case, I should not be sitting in this seat. Your attorneys should have gotten this evidence and if the District Attorney felt it was not reliable or something was not right, they should have drafted a motion to throw out these pieces of evidence, but they did not.

The ruling I have no other choice to make is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth, but we both know I will be seeing you again. I am setting aside the jury verdict and releasing you from detention." Ashton looked at his attorney with a big smile on his face. "Do not jump the gun here young man. Although I am setting aside the original verdict, it does not preclude the District Attorney's option to prosecute you again. I truly hope they do.

When that happens, it will be in this courtroom. I will not allow the witness that described another person to take the stand. Simply we do not know who he is describing due to the fact he was drunk and high as a kite when the crime took place. I also will not allow your defense attorney to bring up the past acts of those other two individuals that are on this list of fingerprints found at the scene. He can present to the jury that three other sets of fingerprints were found at the scene, but nothing more than that.

The rest of this list we will look at in discovery. I will decide what to let in and what to throw out. I believe even with the new evidence your side has to use, you will be found guilty again. Once the jury finds you guilty again, I will throw the book at you and sentence you to the longest term I am allowed to by law. So enjoy your time in the free, because you will be returning here for a very long time. This case is dismissed."

Harold hit his gavel and asked his bailiff to call the next case. Ashton and his attorney walked off to the side. He did not hear anything after the judge said I have no other choice but to set aside the jury verdict. After that, all he could think of is going home, sleeping in his bed, and eating real food.

"Ashton this judge isn't a judge you want to fool with. You saw how he was with the attorney that tried to get his client out by human rights violations. The District Attorney's office has mud on their face with this case. They will want to clean that mud off. Therefore, they are going to re-file these charges and I figure they are going to do it quickly. So if I was you I'd get your personal life in order."

"What, you do not think you can win this case with the new evidence you found? I thought you were a better attorney than that."

"Did not you hear what the judge told you? He is going to throw most of this out. Without this evidence, we are back at square one. The best thing I can do is delay this case as long as I can. If that works, it will buy you maybe one, maybe two years, but you will be right back here again. Please do not break the law and make it easier for these guys to lock you up again. They are itching to put you back behind bars."

Ashton promised to be good, but he was lying. He started to make a list in his mind of people that wronged him. People that he plans to pay a visit to and pay them back no matter if it will make the District Attorney's job easier to lock him back up. No matter if he is good or not, he will be back here again in a couple of years at the longest.

Bobby was the last one on Harold's docket. Once the courtroom was empty, Harold's bailiff called his case. Bobby stepped forward with his attorney. "Before anything is said here I am going to say this once and once only. What is said in this courtroom stays in this courtroom. No one gossips about anything that happens here. Am I making myself clear on that point?" Everyone answered in the positive at once.

"Good let's move to the last case on my schedule." Harold typed into his computer not looking at Bobby, his lawyer or the District Attorney. None of them knew why this inmate was called before the judge. They all thought all of the pending charges have been handled already and there was nothing left to deal with as far as sentencing.

"Your honor I have no idea why my client..." Harold put his hand up.

"No one speaks in my courtroom unless you are given permission to do so. That is the only way I am going to be able to keep order in my courtroom. If any of you speak again without me asking you to, I will find you in contempt of court. Whenever I find someone in contempt of court I not only fine them, they will serve some time behind bars."

The attorneys looked at each stunned at how this judge was addressing them in front of inmates. They heard he was rough, but they never imagined he was this rough. Now they see why the attorneys feared him in Alamogordo. He does not tolerate any kind of bull no matter who it is coming from in his courtroom.

"Several things have come to light on how you, Bobby de Polo, have been turning your life around since your accident in juvenile detention center. Although I do not like the fact that you were part of one of the largest gangs in the prison system, you have been making strides to leave that life. I like to reward those that see the error of their ways and leave the bad part of their life behind.

Without going into detail on what you have done, I am going to grant the motion your attorney placed before your old judge before your accident. I am granting the motion for two reasons. One is what I have already said and the second is that this facility is not set up right now to handle your kind of injury. I can send you back to the juvenile detention facility, but that I feel is not warranted in this case.

What is warranted in this case is for you to be released on probation with a monitor around your ankle. You will have a somewhat normal life. You will be able to go to regular school and live at home, but there is going to be many restrictions on top of that. First, you will have to be in your home by five in the evening, every evening for starters. If your probation officer looks at where you have been and he finds that you were back in your old neighborhood or talking with your old friends, he will revoke you, and I will sign off on that revocation. All the other restrictions will be explained to you by your probation officer when you see him or her for the first time Monday."

"Your honor one of the reasons the original judge turned this motion down is that he does not have a place to go. His parents moved away from El Paso County. Not only do they not live in this county they do not even live in Texas anymore. There is no where for Mr. De Polo to go. I am asking the court to reconsider it decision on that basis."

"Do not you think I have looked at the prior transcripts before making my decision?" The judge looked at the Assistant District Attorney angrily. "I pride myself on finding out all I can about a case before I rule on any motion that comes up in that case. So I am aware of the fact he has no place to live and that's why I got him one."

Turning his attention from the District Attorney to Bobby, Harold looked at him with a very serious look on his face. "You are going to be one of the first residents in a new halfway house that's being set up in Central El Paso. There are no security guards at this shelter, which means you can come and go as you please, but your probation officer will have an office in the facility there as well because you will be reporting to him or her three times a week.

You will have your freedom, but with a very short rope. Do not mess this up Mr. De Polo. You are the first to get this and that means many eyes are going to be on you. If you end up being revoked, the program can be terminated leaving a lot of others that deserve a second chance out of luck. Do you understand me Mr. De Polo?"

Bobby looked over at his attorney and then back up to Harold. "Um yes sir I understand what you are saying. I will not mess up a second chance you are giving me sir. Thank you sir, thank you very much!" Bobby said, barely able to control his emotions.

"Good then I will take your word and that will be that. The motion is granted. Please sign your probation paperwork before you leave my court. Good luck Mr. De Polo I will be seeing you at the shelter every day since I will also be there. Take advantage of this second chance and show your old judge, the District Attorney, and all the naysayers that they are wrong about you."

Harold adjourned his court and got up from his bench. The last case he ruled on made him feel a little better from the case he had to rule on prior. Although it is still bothering him that he set free a teenage killer without any kind of supervision, he knows the kid will be back in a matter of weeks. Until that happens, Harold is hoping that the kid does not hurt or kill anyone else because the DA messed up.

Meanwhile as Ashton was being set free, Alex and Matt were going on with their day. They had no idea that their lives were about to be changed in a bad way. They were happy and the only thing weighing on their minds is Ron's funeral. Although his family is here in town, they know they are going to be responsible for the funeral. From the expenses to all the planning and arrangements, they will have to do it.

When lunch finally came, Alex could not wait to talk with Jacob about what happened in the morning after he left. No, not the incident between Kimberly and Patricia, but rather the speeches from the other students running for positions on student body council. He knows once he tells Jacob what was said about him, Jacob would fight back.

Alex and Matt almost ran out of their third period class to the cafeteria to beat the lunch rush, which they did. They were one of the first in the lunch line and the first to sit down at the table. That surprised Alex because normally when they arrive everyone is either here already or walking up with them. None of that's true today.

As soon as Jacob walked up, Alex started to tell him what happened this morning before Jacob was able to sit down. Alex could see that Jacob knew about the speeches because he was not surprised hearing that they happened. That took the fun out of being the first to inform Jacob, but he is listening and asking question, which made up for not being the first person to tell him about the speeches.

Before Alex could finish telling Jacob everything, the other guys started to sit down. At first they did not care about eating their lunch, just like Alex, they started to tell Jacob about this morning. The only difference between them and Alex is that they kept asking Jacob if he has any plans on fighting back and if so, how?

Each time they asked, he said not right away. That answer threw them through a loop, but before they could talk Jacob into responding quickly, one of the guys running for student council president jumped up on a table. Jacob and the others at the table quieted down to hear what he had to say.

They knew what was coming with the speeches and they were right. This time though the speech was even harsher than the ones in the morning. Maybe because Jacob was sitting right there or they just were meaner students. Whatever the reason was, the speeches were hurtful, and they actually pointed Jacob out.

Once the first student finished his speech, the students started to clap. None of the guys could understand how the students could approve of hateful speech like that. Before the students could settle down, another student got on the table and another and then another. Each of them asked for the students votes and told them what they are going to do if they get a chance to lead. They also bashed Jacob, but nowhere nearly as bad as the first student did. It seemed to Alex that these guys got together before lunch because their speeches were so similar.

By the time the fifth student got on the table, Jacob walked out. Alex saw anger in his face as he left. He really wanted to do something to help his friend, but he had no idea how. He was not running for any position that would allow him to get on the table and make a speech. However, as soon as the fifth person finished her speech, someone that the guys did not know jumped on the table to defend Jacob.

"None of you guys know me, but why should you? I am a no-body as the majority of us at this school are. We allow ourselves to be pulled along like little lap dogs by the popular kids and jocks. Why do we allow them to tell us what to do? We out number them and they know it. That is why they are up here saying the things they are saying because they fear that we are going to get smart and take back the school.

Just as Jacob said yesterday during the assembly, we can run this school if we stop following those jocks and popular kids as if their word is gold. They cannot deliver anything they have promised. Even if they could, they will not. They want this position to pad their resumes for scholarships; nothing more than that.

Jacob is the right person for the job and we need to come together and vote for him when the time comes." The jocks that spoke started yelling out Patrick is just like Jacob, a fag, over and over again. "Yes they are right, I am gay, but there is nothing wrong with that. Being who Jacob and I are does not mean we are not equal. Perhaps we are better than those jocks that are spewing out hate words to all of us.

Come on, look at yourselves. They call me and Jacob fags, but they have called most of you names as well. Some of you they called nerds and made you either do their homework or make your lives a miserable hell here at school. Others they have called you "wannabe" this or that. However, one time or another they have belittled each one of us. Now they are asking us to forget the hell they have put us through and vote for them. I say to them FUCK YOU! You will not get my vote and I hope they will not get yours."

The cafeteria broke out in cheer of "fuck you" as they looked over at the jocks that spoke before Patrick did. He got off the table and walked back over to Immanuel and his other friends before Alex and the rest could catch them. They really wanted to go up and thank him for standing for Jacob, but they did not get a chance to.

The cafeteria was getting so loud that Alex could barely hear himself think. Then the food started to fly, which told Alex and the others it is time to get the heck on out of Dodge. They did not even bother to put their trays up. Instead, they just ran out of the cafeteria so they were not caught up in the food fight that started.

The rest of the lunch period was uneventful. Even the drama from this morning dealing with Chase, Patricia, and Kimberly seemed to have been settled, but they were wrong. If they would only have known what Patricia was planning to do to get her revenge on the group. Now it is not just Alex, Carlos, and Kimberly, she has added everyone in the group to her revenge list.

Never before has she been treated the way she has been treated by Chase's friends. In the past she has been successful with her ex's to have separated them from their friends. No matter how long they were friends, she was able to wedge them apart within the first couple of weeks of them dating. Not here though. She is seeing the bond in this circle of friends is very strong, which means she will have to work a little harder to get the result she wants, having Chase all to herself.

Lunch ended without arguments or anyone storming off. Alex and Matt got their books from their locker for the afternoon classes and headed to class. They were passing a note to each other when they were called to the principal's office. Their teacher told them to gather their books because they most likely would not return.

That got Alex thinking, or should be said worried. All the way down to the principal's office, Alex went over in his mind what he has done. He wanted to see if he could figure out why he and Matt were called to his office. Since he could not figure it out, he gave up trying when he and Matt reached the doors of the office. Good or bad, he will find out soon why he was summoned.

The secretary asked Alex and Matt to take a seat when they signed in. Before they were able to settle in, Principal Michaels walked out of the conference room. He looked around as he walked up to the boys. When he reached them, he leaned in and started to talk so low, the boys could barely hear him.

"There are several attorneys in the conference room waiting to talk with you boys. They refuse to let me know why they are here. Something about client privilege, which I understand. Therefore, if you want, I can sit in there with you. At anytime you do not want me there, just ask me to leave and I will."

Alex spoke up first. "Principal Michaels I know I can say this with confidence and Matt does not disagree with me, you aren't only welcome to sit in, we prefer it. We have no idea what they want, but it is always good to have an adult there to help us if something is not right. You have helped us in the past and Matt and I trust in you to keep our secrets, of which have been many."

Principal Michaels smiled at Alex as he stepped back pointing to the conference room. Both of them got up, grabbed their bags, and walked over to the conference room with Principal Michaels behind them. When they walked in, they did not recognize the attorneys sitting at the conference table.

The attorneys got up and introduced themselves to Alex and Matt as they made their way to the seats on the other side of the table. Before anything was said, Alex asked for their business cards, which they freely provided.

"We aren't District Attorneys if that's what you are looking for." Alex looked up from the cards giving the attorney that spoke a dirty look. "We are Mr. Ron Baird's private attorneys." When he said that, Alex and Matt relaxed. "I am sure you know why we are here. First let me say how sorry we are over the passing of Mr. Baird."

"Thank you he was a very good person taken away from us too soon." Alex said as he handed the cards to the Principal to look at.

"As you two are aware, Mr. Baird changed his will a couple months ago, naming you two as the only ones to inherit pretty much everything he owned. He did leave some things to his kids and family, but most of the liquid assets were left to you two to evenly divide. That part we are going to leave up to you two to handle.

What our job today is to let you know what was left to you. We have already had the will reading with the rest of the family this morning. Now we..."

"Ron just passed away yesterday, isn't it a little fast to be having his will read? After all the guy isn't even buried yet, but here we are trying to see what he left each of us. I do not like this, to tell you the truth; I really do not like it. I think it is way too soon for this."

"Alex, am I correct with your name?" Alex nodded his head. "Normally a will is read within the few days of the person's death in our law firm. The reason for that is so the grieving family will know the wishes dealing with the funeral of the person that passed away wanted. In addition, if there is any money to be given, it is given incase the funeral is not paid for. The family and friends are already hurting on the loss. We do not want them to be burdened about what the person wanted as far as his or her funeral.

In Mr. Baird's case, he knew he was sick and made sure his funeral was completely paid for. He already arranged how he wanted to be buried. Therefore, you guys do not have to worry about that part. All you have to do is make sure is that his wishes are carried out, that no short cuts are being made or anything like that." The attorney handed Alex a file that contained everything that Ron paid for as far as his funeral.

"Okay if Ron dealt with everything of his funeral, what are we supposed to do? I mean it seems that Ron thought of everything so he did not leave anyone any work. It is as if he knew the future and he knew he was going to leave us sooner rather than later."

"I cannot tell you what was on Ron's mind at the time he worked on all this. All I can say is that he did change his will, which did not make his family happy, but they were not surprised. I guess Ron did have the talk with his family before he passed as he promised he would. That conversation I surely did not want to be part of and glad I wasn't"

The attorney looked over to his fellow attorneys with a smirk on his face. "Anyway, we should get down to business here. Ron had savings in the bank that stands right now with interest and all at eighty- two thousand, six hundred and seventy dollars, and sixty-four cents. Plus his life insurance he has that will pay out to you two in the amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars."

Both Alex and Mat knew about the life insurance and the money in the back. Ron was off on what was in his bank; he had more. However, neither of them cared about that. They would give it all back if they could have Ron back, but again they knew that will not happen. So instead, they are going to invest the money right and save as much as they can.

"Now here is something Ron forgot about and it goes to you guys as well because how Ron worded his will. He had some stock in the stock market that will transfer to you guys. Do not ask me if the stock is any good, because I do not know. It had to be because it has been paying out very good dividends.

Plus he forgot about another life insurance that he has that he took out when he entered the military. He must have gotten so used to paying the bill and that is why he forgot about it. That life insurance is not as big as the one you guys know about. It is only twenty five thousand dollars." Both Alex and Matt chuckled at the last part that was said.

"Sorry we do not mean to be rude but twenty five-thousand dollars is a lot of money. Yes it isn't the two hundred and some odd thousand his other life insurance paid, but it is money that will be used correctly, right Matt?" Matt nodded his head. "Now I have a question about the stocks. Do we have to keep them or can we sell them?"

"You can do either, but he has never lost on this stock. Even when the stock market was at its worse, he made money. Maybe not a lot, but he made money. If I were you two, I would keep the stock and take the checks. It is money you all can save or use on what ever you need at the time when the checks come.

One last thing all his belongings at the retirement community are yours since the family is refusing to take it. Therefore, when you have a chance to go down there and pick all that up, they will open the door for you boys. Just give them a call a head of time before you go. Also, try to go with in the next couple of weeks. They would like that room back so they can get it ready for another resident that's on the waiting list."

They talked nailed out the details before the attorneys left, leaving Alex and Matt in the conference room going over how they are gong to go and get Ron's stuff. After seeing the attorneys off the school grounds, Principal Michaels returned to the conference room. Before writing the boys a pass back to class, he wanted to make sure they were okay.

"I know you two missed yesterday morning because of your friend being in the hospital. When I heard that, I thought you guys were starting to skip school. I am sorry for thinking the worst when you two were actually doing what your mother said you were doing. Are you boys okay to return to class, or do you need to go home?"

"If we were just delivered the news that Ron past away, Alex and I would want to go home, but he passed away late last night. We were there and said our goodbyes to him. Just like you, he gave us the benefit of the doubt and never looked at our past. He chose to get to know us and judge us on the persons he knows, not the person he heard about. Principal Michaels, thank you for everything, but we are okay to return to class."

Principal Michaels walked out of the conference room and asked his secretary to give the boys a pass back to class. Before heading to his office, he told the boys if they need anything, his door is open. This time when Alex thanked him, the Principal said it was his job as he walked down the hall to his office.

Meanwhile back at the detention facility, Ashton could not believe how long it was taking the guards to process his release. The judge released him around nine forty-five and it is already after three. He thought that he was going to get out no later than one or so. That is why he refused to eat his lunch. He was going to go out and have real food for a change.

Now he is frustrated and hungry, which is not a good combination with him. Whenever that happens, he normally has a short fuse and this is not the time to have a short fuse. He wants to get out today and if he back talks to the guards, or raises his voice to them, they can keep him overnight to be jerks.

Just as he was settling down a little, he heard the familiar bang on the nightstick on his door. The guard yelled into his room, B and B. Quickly he jumped out o his bed, gathered his stuff that he had already packed and walked over to the door figuring the guards aren't going to go through the same process they normally do when ever he leaves the room.

"Place your bags at the entrance of the door and step all the way back facing the wall." Ashton did what he was asked. Once he got to the back wall of his cell, the door opened and he could hear his bags being picked up and then the door shutting again.

"Okay you know the drill inmate." Frustrated that he actually has to get naked, Ashton started to pull off his clothes. Once he did everything he was supposed to do, he got dressed again when the guard gave him permission. As he pulled up his pants, he could see the guard looking at his butt. That got him even angrier. He thought that the stupid guard just wanted him to strip so he can see him naked one last time; what a fag.

Putting his emotions in check, Ashton put a smile on his face when he walked out of the cell and faced the wall. The guard did what he needed to do. Once he was done, he ordered Ashton to pick up his bags and walk down the yellow line. Not saying a word, he did what he was asked to do.

Walking from his cell to the front of the building felt like the longest walk he has ever made. Once he got there, the guard pulled crate out and put it on the desk. Not knowing what to do, Ashton just stood there until the guard told him to get his street clothes and put them on unless he wanted to go home in the jump suit.

Grabbing the crate, Ashton walked over to where the guard was pointing, the boys' restroom. Not wanting to stay in the building any longer than he has to, he changed as fast as he could and went back out to where he was.

The guards were talking, ignoring Ashton. Finally, the guards turned their attention back to him after twenty minutes standing there holding his balls. The guard that gave him back his street clothes opened up an envelope and dumped the contents of it on the desk. He waved Ashton over and started handing Ashton item by item as he read it off.

"Is this everything you were booked with when you were arrested?" Ashton answered yes. "Okay I need you to sign this form saying that you got everything back that you had in your possession when you were arrested." The guard handed Ashton a form, he signed it and gave it right back. "You have one hundred, thirty two dollars and sixteen cents in your commissary account. Please count it and then sign here that you got agree with the amount and you received it all."

One hundred dollars of it was in a check and the left over amount was in cash, which made it easier for him to count. Once Ashton counted the money, he signed the form and stepped back putting his money in his pocket. The guard quickly signed the paperwork and gave Ashton his copies.

"Okay you have two choices here. You can use the pay phones and call for someone to come and pick you up or you can walk it. If you chose to walk it back to El Paso, it is going to be a long walk since we aren't in the city."

Ashton looked at the glass front doors and saw that his attorney did tell his family he was getting out because he could see his mother's car there. He thanked the guards and told them that his mother is already outside waiting for him. They escorted him to the door. As he walked out, instead of wishing him good luck, they told him they would be seeing him very soon again. Ashton gave them the bird, but not so they could see it.

Once outside, Ashton ran to his mother who was already standing outside of her car crying, holding out her arms talking in Spanish. He hugged his mother and thanked her for not giving up on him repeatedly. They did not break the hug for a few minutes, but when they did; his mother tossed him the keys.

In Spanish she spoke to her son. "Your drive my son, you drive. I am so excited that you are now coming home with your family. You are finally coming home. Your brothers and sisters at the house waiting for you as well your dad, grandpa, everyone! When we heard the news my little boy is coming home, we started to cook lots of food for you to eat."

"Ah ma, thank you for doing that! You know you did not have to go through all that trouble. All I want is to see everyone without the bars between us, to be with my family again." Ashton leaned over and kissed his mother on the cheek. "I promise mom I will not leave you again. I am out for good this time and nothing is going to change that."

Ashton's mother said a little prayer, holding her cross in her hand as Ashton backed up. As he pulled out of the parking lot he saw Bobby getting into a van in his regular clothes as well. The two guys getting into the van did not look like officers. That got him wondering what was going on with him. How did he get out and why is he leaving in a van?

So many thoughts and questions started to go through his mind, but there was one that kept coming back. Is Bobby now a nark? Is he giving the police information on the gang procedures and members? That is the only logical explanation in Ashton mind. He needs to find out why he is getting out and if his assumptions are right, he will add Bobby's name to his list of people that he plans to get rid of.

As the van drove by Ashton's car, Bobby saw him and his mother. He tried to hide, but he knew Ashton saw him because he made his hand into a gun sign and fired at him. He is now a dead man and he knows it. Knowing Ashton the way he does, he knows that he is thinking the worst thing possible.

Gary saw Bobby slumping down in his seat through the rear view mirror. "Bobby, do you know the kid in the car we just passed? If you do and he is a threat you need to let us know where we can make sure he does not cause you or anyone at the shelter any problems." Gary kept looking at Bobby through the rear view mirror.

"Um yes sir I know him and he is not a good guy at all. He runs or did run the gang in the dorms when we were at the juvenile dentition facility. The guy probably thinks I said something about him, another member of the gang or the gang as whole in order to get released. Until he gets the answers he is seeking, I am not safe." Bobby straightened up in his seat. "Really I do not think I am safe even after he gets the answers because he will not believe them."

"Well we will do what we can to make sure you and everyone at the shelter are safe. Since you are the first in this program, you will be all by yourself on the floor. That will not last long because we are going to get a lot more kids like you in the next couple of weeks." Gary turned his attention to the road as he made his way down I-10.

"I thought there were already teenagers at the shelter like me. You just said that you want to make sure that the kids at the shelter are safe. Are all the teenagers that are there now gay?" Bobby felt bad asking the question bluntly, but he wanted to know what he was getting himself into. He did not want to react wrong when he met the others.

"Yes there are already kids at the shelter, but they aren't in the program you are. A long story short, the shelter was originally a shelter just for gay teens that were kicked out of their homes in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Joey Alvarez put the shelter together and then when he and his family moved back here to El Paso, they brought the shelter here. Again I left a lot out because it is a long story I will tell you another day."

"Oh so everyone that's in the shelter right now is gay? Am I going to be put on the same floor where they are sleeping?" The other guy in the van, Angelo, turned and shot Bobby an ugly look. "I mean I do not mind if that's the case as long as there is a door I can close at night. Not saying they are going to do anything or I do not like..."

"Do not worry about explaining what you meant Bobby. I hate to tell you that you are just digging the hole deeper and deeper. So let me help you out. You and the other guys that are in your program are going to be on one floor, not the floor with the other guys. We knew you guys would react this way and that's why we aren't going to have the straight guys on the same floor with the gay guys."

Bobby breathed in a sigh of relief when Gary interrupted him. He knew he was digging his hole deeper and deeper as he talked. He could see himself digging the hole and the more he talked, he was throwing the dirt in on top of himself. There seemed to be nothing he could do to stop himself.

"Bobby, just do me a favor when you get to the shelter, show the guys respect. They are very cool kids if you give them a chance. None of them will ever make a move on you because you are straight. Remember that and please if any of them gets under your skin, do not get physical. Come to me, Janet or the other adults to fix it."

"Oh I promise not to ever get physical with anyone at the shelter. The judge is looking at me not to make a mistake so this new program stays around for a long time. I got this chance to make things right in my life. Others that are in my shoes deserve to get into this program if their judge approves it."

Gary could not ask for a better answer from Bobby or anyone in his shoes. Everyone that was involved in the decision making of this new program knew that at first things were going to be bumpy. It is hard to bring in a new program and even harder to try to make two different lifestyles get along. The guys that are going to be in the wing with Bobby were brought up tough, hating gays. They all are hoping that when both groups leave the house, they have a different outlook on how each of them think and live.

The rest of the afternoon Alex could not stop thinking about the money he and Matt inherited. He felt bad thinking what he was thinking, but he could not stop his mind from doing it. By the middle of sixth period, he wrote down what he owed Jacob from the business, the house all the way to the other loans he and Matt owe him. When he added it all up, he felt good because he was going to be able to save a good chunk.

Alex could not wait for the bell to ring so he could tell Matt what he figured out, so he tore out the paper he wrote the numbers on. He wrote a little note explaining what the numbers were and passed it to Matt under the desk. Matt looked at it, but could not make heads or tails of it. Just as he looked up, he saw the teacher coming towards him.

"Matthew, give me that paper that Alejandro passed to you this minute." Matt quickly ripped it up so where she could not see what was written on it. "You just got a pass to the Principal's office young man." The class started to make noise as the teacher walked back up to the front. "Matthew, gather your stuff and go down to see your Assistant Principal."

He did as he was told and put his books and notebook into his bag. As he got up and started to walk to the front, Alex followed him. He kept asking Alex to go back to his desk, but he would not listen. Instead, they walked up to their teacher's desk together.

"Ma'am that note that Matt ripped up had something to do with the business that we own and operate. Because it had information on how we price things and what we charge our customers, he did not want anyone else to see it. You always take notes that are passed in class and read them aloud to the other students so you can see why he did what he did."

"That's no excuse for disobeying me, and you both should know that. I am writing him up and sending him to his Assistant Principal's office. Let him decide what to do about this for disobeying me in front of my class."

Leaning forward and whispering Alex said, "Okay you can do that, but if you do you are leaving us no other choice but to go to Principal Michaels". That grabbed the teacher's attention. "Forget about you reading our private information out loud. That's nothing compared to me informing the Principal about the little thing you have going on with another student in this class."

Alex's teacher leaned forward on her desk, whispering so low he could barely hear her. "Wait just a minute there young man, you better watch yourself. A lie like that can get you both kicked out of this school. So why don't you just take your seat and I will forget you ever approached me on that subject".

Out loud she said", both of you take your seats and do not be dealing with your business matters in the classroom. The next time I catch you guys doing that I will write you both up and send you to your Assistant Principals." The class started to boo. "Since you all have a lot of energy, instead of just doing the odd number problems, you will do them all!"

The class went down silent. All the students looked down at their books and started working on the problems. Alex and Matt made their way back to their seats and did the same thing. The rest of class their teacher kept looking over at them giving them the evil eye, which freaked Matt out.

The second the bell rang, they were out of their desks and in the hallway heading to their lockers. All the way there, Matt kept asking Alex what he told their teacher to get her to change her mind. The only thing he got out of Alex is `wait'. Finally, when they got to their locker, Alex opened his mouth.

"You remember a couple weeks ago when we found her and another student from our class kissing in her classroom as we passed on our way to the parking lot?" Matt nodded his head. "Well I told her that I will go to Principal Michaels and report her. She did not want to listen to reason, so I had no other choice but to play that card."

"Alex I am not mad that you saved me from getting into trouble, but I thought we agreed to tell on her. I figured the only reason we had not is everything that has been going on. We need to report her no matter that us knowing is going to give us a leg up on her. What she is doing isn't right."

"I agree with you, but I do not want to be one of those students that go running to the Principal every time I see something wrong. It's not like we are black mailing her to give us an A in her class. I only used it this time to get her to see reason and she did. Trust me Matt, if we know, other people know. Soon the Principal will know as well."

Matt did not like how Alex was thinking on this. They already had the conversation before and he won out. The next day they were supposed to tell the Principal, but things started to hit the fan causing them to forget. Now here they are using it for their benefit. Alex is half-right when he said they are not blackmailing her. They were not until today.

"Okay I will meet you halfway Alex. We will not tell on her, but we will go to her and tell her that she needs to come clean. If she does not we will then go and report her. At least then we can say we gave her a chance to save herself."

"Fine, I will do that, but only because I love your sweet little butt. The only thing I want is when we do confront her, we have someone with us so where she cannot go to the Principal and spin it. I am pretty sure this isn't the first student she has gotten involved with, and it will not be the last if she isn't stopped."

Both of them looked around and once they saw there was no one around, they leaned in and kissed each other on the lips. The kiss wasn't long because they did not want to be caught by other students. They broke the kiss, closed their locker door and headed out to catch up with the guys for their walk home.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/

WRITER'S CORNER:

{Welcome one and all back to "Beneath the Mask". I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. There was a lot going on in it. I hope you were able to keep up with all the new plots that were opened up in this story. They are gong to be played out in the chapters to come, but not all at once or all in this story.

The chapter picked right up where it left off, as usual. Like I said in the last chapter, I liked seeing Kimberly stepping up dealing with Patricia, but it looks like Patricia isn't done yet. She is angry and wants her revenge. At first, it was just Kimberly, Alex, and Carlos, but now it is the entire group.

Chase opened up a can of worms he should have known not to. The guys tried to stay away from it, but Chase kept at it. Finally the guys told Chase what they truly felt about Kimberly. He did not like what he was hearing, but what did he think the guys were going to say? He knows his girlfriend and what she has done.

I threw in the first twist in the chapter dealing with Ashton. He went to court and was released because the DA screwed up. Judge Harold did not want to release him, but had no other choice. Hopefully in the future this stuff does not happen in his courtroom. By the looks of it, it will not because he runs a tight ship.

Now we know Ashton is out for blood. He not only is going to go after Alex and Carlos, he is also going to go after Bobby. He has no idea why Bobby is being released, but he is not going to wait around to find out. I wonder what he is going to do. I also wonder if he is going to ignore the standing order to leave Alex and Carlos alone. By the sounds of it, he has no plans to follow orders. We know what happens to guys that do not follow orders; they are dealt with by losing their lives.

Now I want to touch on this really quickly. I am hoping by the time this chapter is posted, sixteen and seventeen of "Regrets and Heartaches" will be posted. Those chapters explain everything on what is going on with that story. If you guys haven't read that story or read those chapters, please go over to that story page and do so if the chapters are posted. If you all do not read that story, many of the characters I talked about in this chapter you will have no idea who they are like Harold, Gary and Angelo.

Now Harold is going to be in this story as well as in Joey's. Mainly in this story he will be in the role as judge. I will not repeat the same plots in both stories, but I need to make sure you all know how the character is going to play out. Plus other characters from Joey's story will be in this story and also the other way around. Bobby for example will be in both stories and become a major character.

It looks like Ron's family was trying to get around the will by having it read without Alex and Matt there. They must be stupid because attorneys are required to follow the will of the person that hired them. These attorneys did just that and did not go against what Ron had wanted. The boys are going to come into some money. I truly hope they do the right thing with it, not just say they will to make themselves feel better.

Now before I talk about the end of the story, I will like to say this first before I get mails about the plot. Some of you may ask when did these guys see that and why did not they say anything about it. Keep in mind this story and my other ones jumped back and forth between plots. Things do happen when we aren't around the guys. They saw this when we were looking at the others guys getting their anklets off.

Now that I explained that, let's get on with the last twist in the chapter. I love it and I love the way Alex used it. We all have seen on TV about teachers dating their students, so this is nothing new. This teacher got caught by a couple of her students. But I agree with Matt that they need to turn her in. The only reason for that is that she seems to be an evil person. She will turn this around on the boys and they will end up looking bad, not her. So I hope they follow through and do what they've said with this issue.

I know I went into a lot of detail dealing with Harold, how he runs his court and deals with his day-to-day rulings, but did not summarize them here. I hope I was clear in that plot. It is easy to get lost in the ins and outs of court proceedings, I even get lost as I write them. If you have any questions on that plot, please send them to me in an email.

I do not want to say too much more and spoil the future chapters to come, so I will not. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacob@jacobmillertex.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER:

Chase just cannot get it through his head. Patricia is wicked. There, that said it all in three words. Chase is still defending her yet, with his talk to her, he does see the threat she poses to him and his relationship with all of his friends. We have seen in the past what damage an obsessed and vindictive person can cause. I hope that everyone in Chase's life will be on guard and not let Patricia hurt anyone.

Judge Evans is the type of judge we need to clone and put on every bench in the country! The man is sharp and he tolerates no nonsense from anyone in his courtroom. He is also painfully fair and solid in his interpretation and administration of the law. He had no choice in his ruling to overturn the verdict and set Ashton free. He knows that it will only be a matter of time before Ashton screws up or the DA re-files the charges and retries him.

Ashton is dangerous and is a serious threat to anyone he is focused on. He seems to be devoid of any fear. He understands the consequences of going against orders, yet he is dedicated to carrying out his own form of justice. I do not understand how he can be so two faced. He is with his mother promising her that he will not do anything to cause him to be incarcerated again. As he is assuring her, he is planning his revenge. Now he has added Bobby to the list.

I am glad that Bobby is out on parole and has a chance to make a somewhat normal life. Somewhat normal...Bobby's injury was spoken of in this chapter. If you do not recall what that injury is, you can refresh your recollection in Chapter 8 of this saga. I went back and checked to be sure that I recalled it correctly. If you do not recall, you should go back. I am sure the nature of his injury will be a huge factor in his story as time goes along.

I am very concerned about Aston targeting Bobby along with the rest of the people he has targeted in his mind. I am glad Bobby did not evade the questions when asked about the situation. It will be to his advantage to have adults knowing of the potential threat and being able to be prepared for any malicious actions that might come his way.

Bobby going to the shelter for the new program will be a source of a lot of plots and drama, I expect. It is going to be interesting to see how blending gay and straight cultures in the same facility will work out. Evidence of this is Bobby's concerns. He seems to have a fear of gays.

That is something I could never understand. What is there to fear? If a gay should make a move on a straight guy, what harm could it cause? What is the danger that evokes such raging reactions? The only thing I can come up with is that the straight guy fears he might actually like what happens. It is an attack on his self-image. It is born of fear that he might find out he has repressed homosexual tendencies. In the time we are `living' in the stories, being gay was a difficult way to go through life. Even though gays had been out and visible since 1969, the lack of understanding and familiarity in the public in general, has (and still does to an alarming degree) fed fears in the uninformed or bigoted.

I am not the least concerned about Alex and Matt handling their inheritance. They are both level headed and will put the resources to work rather than squander them. I am sure that before it's all said and done, Ron's family is going to cause some minor drama. In situations where there is money and family involved, it seems the worst will come out in one or more people.

Until next time,

"Daddy" Rick