Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2001 16:34:42 -0500 (EST)
From: inverse@mindless.com
Subject: The Out-Crowd (Part 1)

The Out-Crowd

Part 1:  Falling into Place.


We had been there since about 7:00pm and all of the big hard-to-put-somewhere
things had been put somewhere.  There were, of course, still boxes upon
boxes of miscellaneous things spread all throughout our new house.  It was
cluttered, to say the least.

It was now well into 2:00am, and the hideously awkward wardrobe had finally
been shoved up a flight of stairs and through a hallway into my parents'
room.  Needless to say, it was not an easy task.  However, it being the time
it was, and that wooden monstrosity being the last of what my dad called "the
big stuff", I motioned to my parents that I would be going into my newly
instated room, falling on the bed and dying of exhaustion.

With an "Mmm" from my father, and a wave from my mother, neither of which
actually turned to face me, I headed off to open the door to my room.  With
a sigh, I ventured into the massive array of misc. debris, made it to my bed,
as planned, but instead of dying, I simply fell asleep.

I woke up in the morning to my father banging on the door.

"Get up.  Food."

I waited a moment, and heard nothing else, which meant he must have gone
down for breakfast.  My father was not a lingually stunning man in the
morning.  I took a few moments to look about me, forgetting for a second
where I was.  I remembered.  Then I looked down at myself and noticed that
I had slept in my clothes last night.  Then I took another few minutes to
get the signals from the back of my brain registered and approved by the
front of my brain, and then processed through to my body, that I wanted to
get up and get a shower then get the breakfast that my mom had undoubtedly
prepared half an hour ago.

I got up from my bed and tried to take a step, but instantly tripped over a
box that appeared from nowhere, and fell right on my face.  With a thud.

I looked around and then remembered that the box had been there since last
night, as well as the boxes that filled the entire room, and the two I just
crushed under my arm and chest.  Thankfully, they were just clothes.

After a ten minute shower in the bathroom just across the hall from my room,
I put on a pair of dark blue jeans, a black T-shirt, and a safety orange
dress shirt over it, which I left unbuttoned.  I rushed downstairs and got
tackled by Wallop.  We'd named him well.

I fed the dog, or rather, the gigantic dog-like hornless wildebeast, and sat
at the table.  My intuition on mom's breakfast had proven itself correct.

"Good morning, one and all." I said cheerily.  I don't know why, but once
I'm actually awake, I get really happy.  Go figure.

"Mmm" was all I got from my dad, he being already indulged in his paper.

"Good morning, hun," said my mother, scraping the last of the scrambled eggs
onto a plate for me.  "Your father and I ate a little while ago, but I heard
you thundering down the stairs and made sure you got the last of everything."

"Huh!  I never will get over how fondly you think of me." I said, grinning
as she placed the plate in front of me.

"Just don't forget it, either." she said over her coffee cup.

"So, what are you doing today, Casey?" said the newspaper with a human body
at the side of the small kitchen table.

"Oh, I was thinking of a day full of selling children to Castro for slave
labor in the salt mines of Cuba, expressing my inner-most feelings on public
properties with spray paint and vulgarities, and, if I have any time left,
I was considering about finding an old lady to tar and feather."

"Not funny, young man." said the newspaper.

"You would be the worst heckler ever."

"I'm sure you'd be treated to the best."

"Oh-ho-o-o-o, dad makes a clever retort."

"Yeah, just don't kill your mother today.  I have to leave."  At this, he
put the paper down, folded it into a quarter of it's size, and set it down
by his empty plate.  "And try to have some of your stuff put away when I get
home, huh?"

"Yeah, dad.  I'll try."

He looked at me like he caught the line, then sort of rolled his eyes and
walked out to his car.  A Taurus.  Ug.  We heard him pull out of the driveway
and down the road.  I honestly had no idea where he worked or what he did,
but he had to wear slacks and a tie.

"So, what are you going to do today?" my mother asked.

"I dunno.  Walk around, I guess.  I'll take Wallop with me.  He's a good
conversation peice in case I see any kids around."

"Good idea."

Believe it or not, I had emptied my plate of scrambled eggs, six strips of
bacon, and three sausage patties during the course of that silly conversation.
I called Wallop, put his leash on his collar, and headed out the door.

We were walking down our street, taking in the 10 o'clock air.  We just
moved in from Ohio last night, but the fridge, stove, hot water;  all
that stuff was taken care of days ago.  We'd also made a few trips out here,
checking out a few different houses in the neighborhood, and, being a kid,
it naturally bored the hell out of me.  At sixteen, looking at empty rooms
in empty houses is not excitement.  Needless to say, I made excuses to go
roaming neighborhoods a few times, so I knew where a few of the streets led.

After about twenty minutes of weaving through different streets and avenues,
we ended up at a good-sized park.  I let Wallop do the leading here, since I
was taking in as much of the scenery as he was.  I looked around and noticed
a lifeless row of four see-saws, a few sets of swings, with only three or four
kids actually swinging, and an exiled jungle gym.  Near that, about six
yards away, was a basketball court, asphalt of course, and a slightly rusted
pole with white plastic backboard and red hoop at either end.  Once I saw
that, I saw something that did not need to be in a park for a stable,
fun-filled environment.

Some big guy, in a white shirt and a green baseball cap, was holding a basket
ball and getting in to some other kid's face.  Green hat boy was about six
feet tall, I'm guessing, and the other kid seemed about my height, maybe a
little bigger;  5'6 or so.  I noticed that the big guy was talkin' all
pissed-off like, and would poke the little guy in the chest every once in a
while.

I stooped down and unhooked Wallop's leash.

"Hey, boy," I whispered to the dog.  "Come with me.  Slow," I said, holding
on to his collar.  We crept over to a rhodadendron bush and watched.  I could
hear what they were saying now.

"...back here again." said the big guy.

"No, you said you never wanted to see me here again.  I figured at 10 in the
morning, you'd have a hard time seein' me."

"Well, you figured wrong, now, didn't you?"

"Give me my ball back, Rudy."

Mental note:  Dislike Rudy.

"No.  I warned you I'd have to do this."

"Give me my ball...back."

'Uh-oh,' I thought, 'Little guy's gettin' pissed!'

"No." said Rudy, and shoved the kid so hard he almost fell over.  The kid
was flaming now, and tromped right back.

"Give it to me.  Now"

"Fine."  Said Rudy.  Then, without warning, a suckerpunched the kid right in
the face.  This shocked me, but it made me mad, too.

The kid hit the asphalt.

"Faggot." said Rudy.  "Now get--"

He was going to finish, but I cut him off.  Pointing at him I yelled,
"Wallop--bad guy!"

Instantly the dog ran the few feet to the court then leapt into Rudy's chest
and slammed him down on the asphalt.  Wallop stood on Rudy, snarling and
baring his teeth.  I walked over and stood between Rudy and the other kid.

"Good boy.  Stay."

I knelt down and touched the kid's shoulder.

"You O.K. man?"

"Uhh....Yeah.  He just got a lucky one."

"Yeah, I saw it.  Here."  I held out a hand and helped him up.  He took his
hand off his face and saw Wallop on the obviously terrified Rudy.

"Whoa!  Is that yours?" the kid asked, looking in awe at my growling beast.

"Yup.  That's Wallop.  He's on our side," I said, smiling.  "What's your
name?"

"Jeremy," he said, then looked at me for the first time.  "Wow."

"What?"

"Uh...nuthin'."

I knelt down by Rudy, getting close to his face, almost as much as Wallop.

"Hey there."  I said in a cheery voice.

"Fuck you!" He yelled.  I snapped my fingers and Wallop snapped at his face,
but didn't get him.  He's trained to scare, not really hurt.

"Now, you ready to talk?"

"Yeah," he said, more scared than ever.

"Good.  Now, granted, I'm new around here, but I really can stand it when
the big guys push the little guys around.  Especially to the point where
the big guys start telling the little guys where they can and cannot go.
Now, I would very much appreciate it if you apologized to my friend Jeremy,
here, and revoked your little rule about seeing him in the park."

"Get your fucking dog off me, first."

I snapped my fingers.  CHOMP!!!

"O.K.!  I'm sorry!  I'm sorry!!!  You can be here whenever you fucking want,
now get the damn dog away from me!!"

I stood up and backed away.

"Wallop.  Com'mere."

Wallop jumped off of Rudy and sat beside me.  Jeremy was behind me to my
right the whole time.  Rudy got up and dusted himself off.

"I'll get you, asshole.  What's your name?"

"Casey."

"Yeah, I bet."  He muttered as he backed away.  "You're a dead man, Casey."
After these words, he turned and ran off.

"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen."

I turned around and saw Jeremy, with an enourmous grin on his face, and
blood running from a cut above his eyebrow.

"Well, jerks like him piss me off."

"Yeah, me too."

"You live around here?"

"A couple blocks down.  Why?"

"Because you're leaking face fluid."  I said, pointing to his cheek.

"Oh, shit."  He said, touching his wound.  "I gotta get this cleaned up.
You wanna come with?  You're new in town, I could show you around, all the
really cool stuff.  It's the least I can do for gettin' Rudy off my back."

I was going to decline until he made the point about Rudy.

"You got sodas?"

"Absolutely."

"Let's go."