Prologue: Like Waxing Nostalgic About Being Bullied In High School!

"Shmidge!"

I pushed my lunch tray forward and bounced my head against the cafeteria table.

"That's my job, schmidge!" my nemesis said. He grabbed my hair, pulled my head up, placed the tray back to its original position, and shoved my face into the meatloaf.

I took a mouthful and chewed, which sounds pathetic but my foster brother rarely let me finish lunch. It's not like my foster parents were going to give me an extra plate of dinner to make up for it either. They were more likely to ignore when their precious son made yet another meal of the day inedible. Starvation beats dignity!

"Shmidge, are you eating?" My foster brother sounded shocked. I nodded, distracting him long enough to grab another piece of meatloaf and shove it in my mouth. I eyed the plastic cup of soda mournfully.

"Rob, let him go!" Kellie Connolly shouted. Kellie was the only cheerleader--the only member of the high school social elite--who stood up for the downtrodden. I glanced at her; she stared disgustedly at my chewing mouth.

"What did you say?" My foster brother asked her. He didn't appreciate being challenged.

I grabbed my cup and gulped down the soda. Kellie gagged and looked away.

"Come on, Kellie," Tara Long, the captain of the cheerleading squad, said. She put a hand on Kellie's shoulder, pulling the blond girl away.

I snorted!

Tara wasn't doing it to save Kellie from the sight of my nemesis sinking to the depths of high school depravity or me doing whatever was necessary to survive. Keeping the peace further cemented Tara's place as our high school's Queen Bitch.

"Where were we, little Bro?" Rob turned to stare at me. I tilted my head, pretending to think it about while I stuffed a fistful of mashed potatoes into my mouth.

"Oh yeah!" Rob grunted as he lifted me up on his shoulder.

Garbage days weren't bad! At least, he didn't steal my pants after shoving me down the garbage can. His posse did it once and had been unhappy to discover I was all-state in the cock department. Unfortunately, it made my tormentors more willing to take things further, as proven by my bloody nose. Someone must have punched me on my way into the garbage can!

The better part of a full lunch and a visit to Nurse Josephine Mansfield ... a good day in my life!

"Are you sure you don't want me to file a complaint, Miguel?" Nurse Mansfield asked. If she sounded more like SHE wanted me to file a complaint, it would have made her case stronger.

"I'm sure it was an accident," I said, staring at her.

I, long ago, ran out of other things in her office to study. Nurse Mansfield expected the attention, understanding she couldn't be hot and surrounded by teenage boys without being 'saluted'. Josephine was the best looking female in the school: brown hair, average height, big blue eyes, and a slim build. The nurse uniform only added to the yearly embarrassment of a hernia check! Josephine made the cuts and scrapes from the bullying, which required nearly daily visits to her office, worth it.

Okay--almost worth it!

"How was the last checkup?" I asked.

Josephine caught the serious tone of voice. She got up to lock the office door.

"I shouldn't talk to you about it." She sat down across from the exam table. I jumped off and took her hand in mine.

"It's fine!" I told her. "We've been through a lot in the last three years."

Josephine witnessed the worst that high school bullies could do. My foster brother was the county's star quarterback and ranked number two in the state. Nobody wanted to rock the boat! If I had spoken up, the school administrators would have been forced to act. As long as I didn't, they could turn a deaf ear to what was going on under their noses. Strictly speaking, my friendship with Nurse Mansfield was neither ethically nor politically correct; the principal had brought the point up to her. I'm not sure how exactly the conversation went, although I'm sure it had something to do with storms nobody wanted to see make landfall.

Chapter 1 »