The Out-Crowd ============= by Servo Blue
DISCLAIMER: ==========
This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. The author asserts all legal and moral rights (copyright (c) 2000 - Inverse@mindless.com) to this work and you may not copy it or transmit it in any way except in its entirety and with this disclaimer.
Author's Note ============= Wow! I never expected a response at all, much less one where everybody complimented me. I feel all smug now. :) Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for mailing me, and I hope you enjoy the third installment.
--Servo Blue P.S., This is the first "average length" chapter.
Part 3: That Afternoon
We got to my house and I introduced Jeremy and Wally to my mother. I got Wally a Pepsi, but Jeremy declined, claiming to have had his fill of dark carbonated liquids for the hour. I fed Wallop, told my mom that I was going back out for a while, and that I'd be back in time for bed.
We all said our goodbyes, and the three of us left for yet another destination.
"Where are we going now?" I asked, suddenly realizing that I didn't know where they were taking me.
"Micheal called me earlier," said Wally. "He said that Kate was there and I should come over to watch a movie with them."
Jeremy laughed a bit and Wally smiled.
"Why is this funny?" I asked, honestly lost.
"Because," Wally statred,"Micheal has it really bad for Kate. He's so messed up, he needs a third person around so he doesn't think that she'll think it seems like a date."
"Wow," I said, smiling, myself. "That is pretty bad."
Jeremy laughed again. "Yeah," he said, "but I don't know what he's worried about. It's not like she thinks he's a 'styoopid git'!"
At this comment, Wally and Jeremy both burst out laughing. I was lost again, but was kind of impressed with the fairly good brittish accent on 'stupid'.
"Oh, wait. We didn't tell you," said Wally, recovering from his laughter. "Micheal is English."
"Very English!" Jeremy corrected.
"Is that why he's not a 'Mike'?" I asked.
"Exactly." Wally confirmed. "He says that shortening a name like that just besmirches its dignity!"
Here they burst into laughter again, Jeremy starting to shed tears. I smiled in anticipation of hearing the little Brit speak.
"This is all very funny," I said, "but how does an English kid live in California?"
"I don't know," said Wally, "I think his dad is some kind of international banker, or something."
"They moved in from Bolton last year. Him and his whole bloody family!"
More laughter, both of them holding their stomaches and leaning a bit to comfort the pain of their abs.
"I DO say, Jere-meh," said Wally in a brittish accent, "you truly are TOO funny, good show, good show!"
"Thannnnnng-kyah!" said Jeremy. "Fancy a game of cricket, lad?"
At this point, we actually had to stop walking. I had a broad grin, looking at my two new but foolish friends, whose faces were red, and whose mouths, though they obviuosly were gasping for air, made absolutely no sound; only hung open in dopey grins. They both grabbed their stomaches and keeled over. Jeremy fell onto his back, and Wally slowly lowered himself to his knees. I shook my head at both of them.
"Are we almost there? You two are gonna suffocate before we make it to 'is flippin 'ouse!"
I should've thought before making a brittish joke about a kid I didn't know, but they seemed to think it was just as funny as anything they'd said, and I only served to make them gasp-laugh more.
"Seriously, get over it. I wanna go meet your really cool friends."
After a good ten minute period in which they would calm down and then give a stupid remark, like "Blimey, that was funny!" and start laughing again, over and over, they were again able to stand under their own power, and we continued our quest to Micheal's house.
We got there after just one more block. It was a big ol' 3 story mansion lookin' place, but I was told before we finished the walk to his front door that it bothers Micheal if you mention the niceness and expensive looks of his home. I was also reminded not to ask about Micheal and Kate being 'Micheal and Kate', if you know what I mean.
Jeremy rang the bell, and a minute later a thin boy with short black hair, parted on the left, and two very bright blue eyes, answered the door.
"Oh, hullo, Wally," he said. Then he saw me and Jeremy. "Hullo, newcomer. Ah; I see you brought a smeghead with you." Then he looked at Wally. "Is he on the low-down, Wally?" he asked.
There's something about English people and ebonics that will crack me up until I die. Wally looked at me.
"Him? Yeah, he's cool. I still don't know why you don't just say that."
"His name is Casey," Jeremy said, through giggles.
"No, I meant the smeghead." said Micheal, shifting his thumb at Jeremy.
"Yeah, he's cool," said Wally, chuckling. Jeremy was smiling, but trying to look mad. Micheal turned his attention to me.
"Ah, Casey, is it?" said Micheal, extending a hand. I shook it firmly. "That's quite a grip you've got there, Casey!"
"Well, what can I say? I used to run the lift back home." I said. Wally and Jeremy did their best to hold back the snickers, but turned red.
"Yes," said Micheal, releasing my hand and stepping aside to let us in. "Jolly good."
All three of us fell apart, almost collapsing in laughter. I don't know why it was so funny, it just was. Micheal just closed the door and led the way.
"Right. Just follow me, you stupid gits."
We couldn't move. He turned around at the heightened noise.
"Right! Well. Kathryn and I are in the study--"
More laughter.
"--the DEN, preparing to watch a film. You can join us whenever you wish, provided you keep quiet."
With this, he walked away.
After a good five minutes, we stood and started our way to the den.
"Man, Jeremy, you were right. Your friends are a lot of fun."
"I told ya," he said.
We entered the den and saw a fairly small room. On one wall was a couch. There was a recliner at either end of the couch, and across the room on the other wall was an entertainment center with a 36" tv.
"Alright," said Jeremy, "You've just met our foreign friend Micheal, but the raving beaty next to him is Kate. Kate, this raving beauty next to me is Casey."
That got a bit of a laugh, but then I kicked him.
"Ow! What?"
Then Wally kicked him.
"Ow! Wha--oh. Casey BLAZER." Then he pointed to Kate. "Kate GILLIAM."
Wally and I laughed, then Jeremy and I sat on the couch to the left of Micheal and Kate, and Wally took the recliner closer to the door.
"Is this it?" asked.
"What?" said Jeremy.
"Is this all your friends?"
"What, isn't this enough?" asked Micheal.
"No, I was just going to explain the lasted addition to Jeremy's head, and it's a simple story, but I only wanted to explain it one more time."
"Oh, I see." said Micheal.
"Rudy won't quit, huh?" said Kate. She had a nice, soft voice. You know: like a girl.
"Well, I think he has now." said Jeremy, smiling.
"Look, here's what happened; I was walkin' my dog--"
"Horse!"
"He is not a horse, he's a big dog. Now don't interrupt."
"It's my story."
"Silence, nave. Anyhow, I'm walkin' my dog, and I see a big guy pushin' a little guy around. I hate it when that happens. I get really close, and Rudy knocks Big Man over here on his ass. I jumped up and yelled, 'Wallop-- bag guy!' and my dog--Wallop's his name--jumps on Rudy and knocks him down, then just sits on him and growls. I made Rudy apologize and promise to let Jeremy do what he wants without bein' harrassed."
For a few seconds, the group just stared at me. I got kinda uncomfortable.
"Hello?"
"Wow," said Wally in astonishment. "That took guts."
"Not really. Just took a big dog." I said.
"Rudy isn't gonna like you," said Kate.
"So what?" I asked. "I don't like Rudy, so I guess we're even."
"You might wanna think about that," said Wally. "Um, did you ever say anything about him leaving you alone?"
A sudden pang of realization just slapped me in the face.
"Oh, shit."
"Yeah," said Kate.
"Uh, I need a drink. Anybody else?" I asked, my mouth gone dry. Was Rudy really that resourceful in his thinking?
"Good idear, Casey. I'll get some refreshments, and you can help."
At this, Micheal got up and led the way to his enourmous and elaborate kitchen which I was told not to compliment him on. It was hard, too.
"I know it's not very rich being new about town," said Micheal, as he reached into a cupboard and pulled out several glasses. "When I got here last year, not only was I knew, but I was, as yet, an alien." He opened the gigantic refridgerator and got out a bottle of Coke. "My father had received his transferrence in June, and we'd moved here in July. School wasn't about to start until September, and I spent July and August in our luxurious home."
I could sense sarcasm in that last part, but kept quiet, not quite sure where he was going.
"When school did finally begin, I was still new. You know, there are people who are xenophobic--" here he set the bottle on the table, with two glasses left to fill, and looked right at me. "do you know what xenophobia is, Casey?"
I shook my head, indicating a 'no'.
"It's the fear or hatred of foreigners." He said it sounding rather sardonic. "What's worse, at least for my liking, is Anglophobia, which, by the way, I was stunned to find that four very large people in our school at least claim to be. Anlgophobia is the fear--or hatred--of English people."
He finished pouring, and put the bottle away. There was an odd silence while he put a bag of popcorn in the microwave, which, by the way, also seemed "luxuriously" expensive.
"I mean, a thrashing every other day because I have an accent. Fancy that."
He took a moment to study the floor, then looked up at me.
"I didn't have a single friend until December, Casey. Not one bloody friend. Then, one day after school, one of my four daily adversaries clubbed me in the back of my head with a rock. I collapsed right away, and my vision got really blurry. I couldn't see, but I could hear jolly good. Kate had seen my folly, and run over. She started cursing the brute, and soon Wally cantankered his way over. Kate was his friend, and he threatened to practically dismember the mongrol, or any of his friends, if they ever hit me again. I don't really remember how I got home that day, mainly because of the concussion, but when I returned to reality, there was Kate looking down at me and smiling. I knew right away that she was the one who'd warded my assailants until Wally arrived, and I also knew that she was the one...for me."
With those last two words, he looked at the floor again. I couldn't believe that Micheal had been in love for a year and Kate hadn't caught on. But, then again, Wally and Jeremy knew, so maybe she'd figured it out, too. Still again, perhaps he'd told them just as he'd told me, and she was still oblivious to his feelings. I was lost in my head until he spoke again.
"Look at that, I try to talk man to man, and end up all flaunty like a lousy poofter. What I'm saying, Casey, is that you're very lucky to have friends right away, and if you ever require anything--anything at all-- just come see me."
He poured the popcorn from the bag and into a large bowl. He passed me on his way out, then turned to me and smiled.
"Then again, I guess Jeremy is very lucky he found you. Come on."
He led the way back to the den. I picked up the tray with the drinks, and followed. I was in overdrive, mentally, trying to figure out everything that Micheal had just said. I only understood two things: A) He was in love with Kate, and 2) They were all my friends, and he would do anything to help me when in need. Eveyrthing else was an accented flub in my head. The closest I could get from our...well, his conversation, was that he'd had it rougher than he'd wish on anyone else and he complimented me on getting Rudy off of Jeremy's back, but that seemed kind of irrelevant. I didn't get it, but hey, he was Brittish. They're a confusing people.
We made it to the den and everyone got a drink, and the bowl of popcorn was placed on Micheal's lap. If anybody wanted any, they'd have to reach over and steal it from him.
Kate started the movie, and it was only ten minutes before I couldn't take any more. It was from the '50s, for cryin' out sakes! I got up and said I'd be right back, but walked into the enourmous, fantastic kitchen. There was a countertop that went around the entire perimeter of the room, save for the sections where the stove, fridge and sink took their claim. There was a built-in table/counter section in the middle of the room, probably where things were diced up or tossed, or gernerally fixed without being cooked. There were several wooden stools around the table thing, so I rinsed out my glass and got a drink of water, then sat at the table to drink it.
I looked at my situation: It was my first real day in Stonewood. I'd stopped a fight, befriended the victim, met three of his friends, hit it off well with all of them, the only female I'd met so far was pretty good lookin', what with the shoulder length brown hair and those deep, dark brown eyes, a Brittish kid had lost me in what now seemed like a mind boggling conversation, and now was forcing us--or trying too, at least-- to watch a terrible, gutwrenching movie called "Terror at Party Beach". It was even black and white!
"You O.K.?"
I almost fell off my stool.
"Yeah," I said, seeing it was Jeremy. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Whatcha doin'?"
"Just thinkin' and drinkin'."
He laughed, "Not too common together, are they?"
"No," I smiled,"I guess they're not."
"So what's really on your mind?"
"I don't know. Lots of stuff. You guys are all pretty cool, you know that?"
"I had a good idea."
"But tomorrow's not gonna be any fun, really."
"I bet it is. Even if we don't have any classes together."
"Don't say that, it'll happen. I want at least one class with at least one of you guys once a day."
"Well, that'd be great an' all...but, you know...Rudy will be around."
"Yeah, Rudy's gonna find me, no doubt about it. But I do doubt he'll bother me."
"It's possible he won't. But if he does start somethin', and Wally and I aren't around, do you think you could handle it?"
"If it's just him, no problem. Maybe him and a friend. But I don't want a suspension day one."
"Oh, he won't try anything during school. We all make fun of him and his goons, but they're not stupid. Ignorant, yes, but not stupid. They'll wait and nail you the minute the last bell rings."
"Ah, a criminal mastermind. But why? Why is he an ass?"
This was the first lull in the conversation. After a moment, it started up again.
"Rudy has a problem with...people."
"I kinda noticed that."
"Yeah, well...if people are at all different, in any way, he tries to beat 'em up so he can feel that he's better than the weirdos."
"I see."
"For example, and don't tell Mike I told ya this, but when he first came here, Rudy beat the crap out of him the second day because he had an accent, then the third day because he was English. He was runnin' with some kid named Barry, or something, and he claimed to be Anlgorophobic."
"Anglophobic. Micheal told me."
"Wow. He hates that topic."
"Well, you and Wally and Kate seem normal. What's the grudge there?"
"Hey!!"
We both jumped that time. We turned around and saw Kate standing in the doorway.
"What'd you sit on?" said Jeremy in a mock angry voice.
"Would you too quit hiding your deviant sexual activities in the kitchen and come watch this movie?" she asked in a demanding, motherly tone.
"But that movie really hurts," said Jeremy.
"Yeah, and we can't very well hide our deviant sexual activities right in front of you, now can we?" I said in an exasperated voice.
Kate giggled and demanded we return to the horrible, horrible movie.
"If I can watch it, so can you big, strong men."
There was still an hour and a half left in the nausiatingly painful horror movie, but we survived it. It hurt, a lot, but we survived it.
When it finished, it was about 3:30, and though Micheal was pleading for another 'cinematic masterpeice', I told him that I'd really hate to watch another movie like that. He looked shocked, what with his mouth hanging open and his eyes falling out of his skull, but the others just laughed.
"I oughtta go home, guys. You're all pretty fun, except for the 'cinematic masterpeice', but I gotta put some stuff away. I told my dad I'd have my room at least partially squared away, and I must admit, I'd like it better like that anyway."
"You want any help?" asked Jeremy. "I got nothin' to do the rest of the day."
"I'd offer, but I got work tonight," said Wally.
"Don't look at me, you hate my movies," said Micheal, in a 'given-up on you' kinda voice. "You just take your smeghead and go."
"I can't help, either," said Kate. "I gotta stay here and make--I mean, watch another movie with Micheal." She winked at me, and Micheal's ears turned a little red, but he hid it very well. I kinda figured she knew.
"Well, Jeremy," I said, heading for the doorway of the den. "Let's got clean my room."
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....To Be Continued....
Any Comments or Criticism go to me at Inverse@mindless.com