Project X-Out

1

2

3 Back Cover Texts This planet is filled with all types of criminals. Some act out with rage and kill other people, while others are reckless and abuse drugs, but the one type that no one seems to take as seriously is, a school bully. Bullying affects everyone in different ways. It can even change a good person to become a bad one. I was one of those good people. Once upon a time.

4 Project X-Out By: Lex R King

5

6 Killers Are Made, Not Born The date is December 9, 2002, 2:10 p.m. There are fifteen days, ten hours, and fifty minutes left until Christmas morning. I am outside, alone during afternoon recess, sitting against a fence as far away from the other students as possible. I am cold, I am crying, and I am angry. Ever since I entered grade 4 at this school, I have been getting bullied and pushed around by the students and the staff. I am twelve years old, and I am already tired of living life. I have little to no friends, and I am too young to fully realise the consequences of my death. Earlier today, approximately two hours and five minutes ago, it was our lunch recess period. I was eating my lunch and looked to the right of me only to see a group of the popular kids in my grade all facing me. I didn’t think they were exactly watching me, nor did I suspect them of talking about me; however, I was wrong. Before I could finish my chicken-and-lettuce sandwich, they all got up and sat next to and around me. I had a terrible feeling, but I just assumed I was just intruding on their area. I put my sandwich in my forest-green lunch bag, got up, threw away my garbage, and walked to a new location to finish eating. They stopped me by hollering my name and asking where I was going. I told them I was just finishing my lunch, and then I apologised for sitting at their table. They didn’t like that too much. They said I was being very rude by walking away and decided to follow me. One of them—his name was Matt Holkman—grabbed me by the back of my favourite light-blue shirt that I was wearing and tugged me backward. Before I could fully realise what was happening, they were all standing around me. “What do you want?” I asked. “I don’t think we got off on the right foot back there,” Matt said with a slight grin. Everyone was looking at me; they crowded close to each other and sent one of their own, Collin, to go distract the teacher on recess duty. I had a bad feeling about this, but I couldn’t walk away since they blocked off all exits around me. “Are you trying to walk away, Mr. Rivers?” He said my name as if it was unique, and he didn’t like the fact. He mainly called me Mr.

7 Rivers because that’s what the teachers call me whenever they want me to demonstrate something or answer a question in front of the class. However, my first name is Lex. “Can I please get through?” I asked politely and as calmly as possible. I really didn’t want any trouble; I just wanted to go finish my recess break and get back to class. “Certainly!” he said, opening a gap between him and the person next to him. Her name was Bree Krumble. I walked through the gap, and he tripped me, then punched me in the stomach on the way down. I retaliated, pulled my body up, and hit him in the chin with my elbow. I did not control the hit, as I should have, and missed his nose. After that elbow hit him, all seven of them were pushing and hitting me. I fell to the ground, outnumbered by them; I was forced into submission while they beat on me. It was a wonder how the teacher did not hear me pleading for them to stop. Collin must have done an exceptional job as a decoy for the teacher not to hear. My guess was he walked with her and led her as far away from the tree at the far back right corner near the basketball court. No one would help me anyways. Everyone thinks I’m a freak. Just an outcast. A waste of space. They always said mean things to me, called me dumb, said I smelled bad—even if I didn’t—made fun of my Scottish accent, and called me ugly. The list goes on. Every day I would take their verbal and physical abuse. Every day I would pray for their deaths. So here I am now, sitting at the back left of the school grounds, as far away from the students as I can possibly get. It is snowing, and I am cold and bruised. After recess, I went back to class. I managed to finish my class without being bothered by the bullies; but during the class, I wasn’t working on just my schoolwork. I was devising a plan. I called it Project X-Out. Project X-Out will take years to prepare and will only be able to be completed and acted upon once I graduate from high school. Until then, all I can do is take names and write bios. I often think to myself about how I would live knowing I want these people dead, but with the power that their influence held, it didn’t matter. I would rather die than see them live a full life causing grief to others.

8 As the days went by, I started taking more and more detailed notes as to the actions of the bullies. I got their names, descriptions of how they treated not only me but others too, and also the names of all of their victims. My list after only eleven days is now at thirteen names. What a coincidence, that is also my favourite number. Today is also the last day before the Christmas and New Year’s break. School goes out from Friday, December 20 until Monday, January 6. I am so glad to finally be able to get a break from coming to this wretched hellhole every morning. To top it all off, I can finally find a good place to store all these papers and notes I’ve made. If my mother were to see these, she would probably force me to see some sort of doctor or therapist, and I can’t have that getting in my way. It’s now December 25, and my family is all waiting for me in the living room where our Christmas tree is set up. It’s the time of the morning where everyone decides to leave their rooms and get off their video games to open gifts, just to go back to their video games, and not spend any time with the family until New Year’s Eve. If you ask me, this is a waste of a holiday. However, I did ask for something on the off chance that I would actually get it. I asked my mother for some tools such as an X-Acto knife, stainless steel ruler, pencils, leather, various types of thread ranging from normal to nylon, a few wood planks; no more than twelve feet worth. Some plywood, a deadbolt lock, and some lined paper without any company logos, trademarks, holes, or margins. Of course, this request is far more than I can ever expect to get from them. I would be surprised if I was even able to get half of what I listed from them. No matter though. I’ll just have to open these gifts and see. I looked around the tree; it seems they had organised all the gifts by name and left mine behind the tree, scattered. I grabbed the first one I saw. It felt like a sweater, bigger than my size, but I like my sweaters to be larger. I opened it up, and sure enough, it was a sweater. I had to act surprised and very thankful for the gift I had been given. After all, even if I don’t get all or any of the materials right now, I can just buy them or even get them from school. After I had finished opening all the gifts, I spent a few moments with my three brothers and my parents. Just so I didn’t seem rude by just walking away after receiving something and then not speaking with them for the rest of the night. Knowing them, they would think they did something wrong and feel bad until they finally decided to go see what

9 was wrong with me; and I can’t be bothered today. I have far too much planning and preparing to do if I want to ever follow through with my project. After all that was done, I was finally able to get downstairs in my room where I could get to work on my notebook I will use to keep my notes and also the storage box I will be able to hide in the backyard, underground of course. Today wasn’t all that disappointing. I did manage to get the perfect amount of leather, and it was also the perfect width for the cover of my notebook. I had spent the majority of the afternoon cutting and sanding it down to the right size. After I had finished that, I took a break from making the book and started working on the box. My parents were very curious why I wanted the wood, but they, surprisingly, bought it for me anyway. The box wasn’t very hard to make. After a few small measurements, some cutting, trimming, and more measurements, I was able to make a box big enough to fit my book, once completed, and also had enough room for the deadbolt lock to be applied to the top of it. The lock wasn’t the only security mechanism inside, however. I managed to use some extra pieces of wood, nails, a spring, and some strong elastics to make an extra security lock on it in case someone tried to open the box. Basically, if someone were to open the hatch of the box without turning the knob on three times to the right and pushing it inward, it will release a spring-loaded nail into their hand once they open the door to the box. The only bad part about it is it has to be reset after it has been set off. Maybe I’ll enhance it once I have time. Once the spring season arrives, I’ll be able to dig up some of the dirt in the backyard and plant the box in the ground. After that, I will make a hidden door with the plywood I received by flipping the grass out of the ground without separating it from the soil, planting the wood along the walls and ground of the square hole I will dig for the box; then for the door part I will attach hinges to one of the sides and then attach the plywood to the top with a rope tied to it so all I will have to do is pull it up and it can be easily hidden with the grass still on top. The only thing is I’ll have to plant it behind the shed; that seems to be the only place the grass doesn’t get cut when my father goes to mow the lawn. For now, though, I’ll keep the box inside the box spring of my bed. There should be enough room to hide everything there since it’s just a large hollow space.

10 After a few days of working on everything and rewriting the notes onto my semicomplete notebook, I am finally able to take a break and celebrate the New Year with my family. Every year we have a huge party and light off fireworks at my cousin’s house, in their backyard. The fireworks this year, I assume, will be just as good as they are every year. Now with only four days left until school starts, I should start getting back to my studies. I can’t slack in my school work, or else people will start questioning why I’ve been so distant from my work in class. If I want this plan to go as I’d like, I will have to act as naturally as I can without it looking like I’m acting natural. It has to be natural, not just seem natural. All through my year of grade 7, I kept my grades low and made people think I wasn’t as smart as I actually am. Keeping grades low and my intelligence levels at a high was very difficult. I had to constantly study on the computer at home, and sometimes I would even make copies of my work just to hand in a dummy copy to the teacher so she could mark it, and I would be able to compare my real answers at home. I know it may seem like an unwise move to make, especially so early in my life, but it’s all a part of my plan to get rid of school bullies and change the way they are disciplined for their actions in schools all around the globe. Some people will thank me for my sacrifices and the risks I am taking to make schools easier for people like me to be in. After I graduate, I can finally begin a real challenge. High school. It’s finally the end of the year, and I can begin all of my next year's studies during the summer break. Everyone will be outside playing, getting into trouble, having fun, and the bullies will be out even more looking for those kids so they can ruin their days. Not me, though. I won’t give them that satisfaction. I remain inside for most of my summer studying and making notes of certain actions I will be taking in the coming years for high school. If I want to keep this low-grade score balanced, I will need to get a head start on what will be learned in grade 8. Luckily, my older brother just finished grade 8, and I still have all his notes from his

11 classes. I can study these and get a head start on almost the entire year of work that is to come. I can’t waste anymore time. The two months of summer vacation went by overnight from what it seemed. I feel like there wasn’t enough time to learn everything, but I guess this will have to do because it is now the first day of grade 8, my final year in grade school. As usual, I have a very bad feeling about going to school. I could just be worried of getting beat up again, but I could be wrong. Maybe all those bullies have changed. Maybe they grew a sort of respect for people over these last two months, and maybe I’m overthinking the entire situation? Perhaps I may be going a little overboard with this whole X-Out project, and I should just focus on what is really important. Enjoying my last year of grade school and getting top marks in my class. I’m sure that will really stump my teachers when they see how smart I really am. I walked to school with my two little brothers; I made sure they met up with their friends and also got to their class on time. On my way to my class, I bumped into Gordon Willman, one of the bullies from Bree’s group. “Oh, sorry, I shouldn’t have been looking at my feet.” It was only after that where I realised he would have probably hit me back down if I stood up. So I took my time picking up my books and papers that were dropped. “It was my fault, I’m sorry,” he replied. I was incredibly shocked. Gordon Willman, one of the most short-tempered people I’ve ever met, just apologised to me and even helped me pick up my papers. He even sounded sincerely sorry for bumping into me. After he helped me pick up my papers, he walked with me into the classroom. Maybe I was right about this morning. Maybe I was overreacting a little or maybe people do change over the summer. It seems as though Gordon had managed to grow some sort of maturity. I sat at my desk at the back left corner of the room when I saw Gordon sit three seats in front of me. Just as I was about to open my notebook to make it seem like I was doing something productive, I saw Bree pass a note to Collin, who passed it on to Matt, who then passed it on to Luca, who handed it over to Gordon. How the teachers never notice this note passing during classes amazes me. Gordon opened the note, read it, and looked over at Bree, then turned a glanced over at me for a second. Within that second, I knew that note was about me, I

12 knew what was going to happen, and, like always, I had a bad feeling about going out for the first recess. I feel like this is going to be another long and agonising year. At the end of class, I saw Gordon get up and leave with his group. Just before he left the room, he threw the piece of paper into the red recycling bin. I was the last to leave the room, and I grabbed the crumpled piece of paper from the bin and read the note. So what are you doing hanging with Lex? First recess, you are going to show him that he’s not cool enough to have friends. I could easily just stay inside during this recess break and hang out with all the smart kids. Pretend I’m studying or something. If I did that, I would probably seem like a coward for avoiding them, and they might even suspect that I had read the note Gordon mistakenly threw away in the recycling bin and then they would get even worse for avoiding them at the lunch hour. Technically it could be used as evidence toward their actions for beating me up. I could also blackmail them; this is clearly Bree’s handwriting and it is easily worth a good three-day in-school suspension. Though, she would get off with a warning since her father is the gym teacher here. I guess that would only put more pressure on me if I did something like that. Then there’s always the option of me fighting back. I have been in karate for over five years now, and I am pretty sure I can take on at least two of them without too much trouble, but if there are as many as I’m thinking, I won’t stand a chance. Never bite more than you can chew, I guess. It seems my best option is to go out there and face them head-on. If I don’t do that, all other scenarios lead to an even more painful route for me. I’ll just have to take the blow to the stomach and suck it up for the day. As I was just about to walk outside, I realised I had my notebook in my hand. If they even take a small look at this, they will notice their names are written all over it, so I turned around and went to put it in my desk, when suddenly, “Where do you think you’re going, Mr. Rivers?” asked the second grade 8 teacher, Mr. Kinder.

13 “Mr. Kinder, I was just going to put my book in my desk,” I told him. He grabbed the book and said, “This is a pretty neat-looking book you have here. Is this for school?” I prayed he wouldn’t open it. Though, he shouldn’t be able to open it anyways. The book had a string tie on it, and the butterfly knot was pretty tight, I doubt he could untie it. I held out my hand as if expecting him to give me back the book and said, “Yeah, it’s going to be for my art project. I made the book myself at home.” He looked at me almost suspiciously and handed the book back to me, smiled, and said, “I’ll be looking forward to it, Mr. Rivers.” I grabbed the book. “And, Mr. Rivers, try adding a title on it if you can. I’m sure you can get extra marks for that.” “A title, but of course.” After that, I quickly walked back into the classroom and put the book in my desk. Now with only eight of the fifteen minutes left for recess, I wonder what those bullies plan to do. With such a short time, I doubt they could do much. I made my way back to the door and glanced out the window before opening it. I didn’t see anyone there, but that, of course, doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone there. I opened the door and walked straight toward the benches where I usually sit. The benches are next to a giant tree; this tree is said to be the largest and possibly the oldest tree in the historic part of my town. So far I don’t see any of the bullies in my direct path. The only one I see is Collin. I kept walking and glanced over at him to see if the rest of the group was with him when I suddenly realised that it was Collin, of all people, that was alone. This must mean only one thing is happening. Collin is standing out there as a distraction while the others are probably closing in on me. I turned around and saw that Bree and Jonny were behind me; then I looked to my left and saw Matt and Gord. Ryan and Luca met up with Collin, and they all casually walked over to me. I wonder how the teachers don’t notice this. There are six students all focusing in a circle walking toward a specific individual. It’s quite obvious that something is about to go down here. I walked a little quicker to the benches when suddenly Tasha

14 came out from behind the tree and sat on the bench. I have absolutely no idea what is about to happen. Natasha Fidélle, commonly called Tasha or Tash, is one of the victims of these bullies. However, her situation is a bit different. Her having an IQ of 119 at the age of thirteen and being in the top 5 smartest kids in my grade, she has a slight advantage over the bullies since she can aid them with their work if necessary. I, on the other hand, hide my intelligence and cannot do such things without exposing some unwanted attention to myself. I just need to know why she is here right now, sitting at the benches where only myself and two others sit. Could she be threatened by the bullies and is being forced to block off the only possible exit I could take? No, that doesn’t seem like her. Last I heard, she had a crush on me and was a little too shy to ever really talk to me. “Hey, Lex, can I sit with you today?” she asked innocently and smiling. “Sure. I won’t stop you.” Maybe she isn’t a part of their plan. Maybe this is just my lucky day. So I sat down next to her on the left so I could have a good view on any actions coming my way. To my surprise, Bree looked over at Collin and Ryan, then Collin shook his head, and the four that were closing in on me changed directions and headed to meet up with Collin. It seems Collin was their leader for that manoeuvre. Figures as he is the most tactically intelligent of the group with his obsession with the world wars. “That was pretty close. They seem to have an interest in you, Lex,” she said, smiling still. Her positive attitude makes me both uncomfortable and relieved. “Yeah, I’m not sure why they don’t like me. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything to bother them,” I replied. Though I think I sounded a little disappointed that she didn’t actually want to just talk with me, on the other hand, she must be a lot smarter than I gave her credit to see that coming and plan herself there before I even came outside. “I would really like to get to know you a little better. I see you in class and around here at recess break, but we never really talked before. I was just wondering if you would mind me hanging out with you for recess today, would you?” “I don’t mind at all. I always noticed you too but was afraid to talk to you since I’m a little shy of your friends.”

15 “Oh, you mean Kristen and Sarah?” “Yeah, them.” Kristen Rose and Sarah Kuwait are the two smartest students in the entire school as it stands. Sarah has an IQ averaging out around 130, and she skipped grade 6 and went right to grade 7. Most people don’t like her since she is so much younger than them and also so much smarter. Kristen has an IQ around 121. From my observations, she forced herself to become friends with Sarah because she was smart; Kristen views intelligence as power. If you can’t beat them, join them, right? “You don’t have to worry about them. They also want to get to know you. They think you’re a pretty interesting person and want to get to know you more. You might even become a part of our group if they like you enough.” She said that there had to be some sort of initiation test to be friends with them. “I know for a fact that I won’t mind you being around more often.” Her face went a little red after saying that. “I would love that,” I said, smiling. The bell rang just then, and I walked with her back to class. As long as I stick with her for the rest of the day, I shouldn’t run into any problems with those bullies. Let’s just hope she’ll stick around for the whole day today. Class went by without delay, and I learned nothing new, as usual. Right now everyone is just finishing their lunches and is anxious to go outside and run around until they grow tired and have to return back to class, except for Collin’s group. At the moment, they are sitting in the library at a round table eating their lunches and most likely planning how they are going to get around Tasha without getting in trouble. They know, or at least Collin knows, that Tasha will not hesitate to speak to a teacher figure and have their entire group dealt with if they keep acting the way they do. I know they say cowards hide behind girls; though, I feel this is a more tactical approach to a greater plan than a cowardice one. Tasha said she wants to hang out with me at the benches again and get to know me a little more. I could swear she was trying to flirt with me. I just hope that Collin’s group doesn’t try to do anything stupid today. Just as I was about to ask her some questions to try and get an understanding of why she is interested in me, the bell rang to dismiss

16 everyone out for recess. So out everyone went. Tasha and I waited until everyone was out of the room before we got up. We both agreed it was much simpler to avoid the crowd and get pushed around. I’m glad we think the same way with some things. Recess that day went by without any problems. We talked and got to know each other a little more throughout the day, and by the end of the week, we were sharing notes in class. “Hey, Lex, would you like to hang out with Rose, Sarah, and myself on Monday for recess and lunch?” Tasha asked shyly. “Sure!” I think I replied a little too quickly. I am really starting to like Tasha. These past few days of hanging out and getting to know each other had sort of made me feel like I can trust her as a friend. I think that Rose and Sarah might actually grow to become friends of mine—friends I can trust, friends who can trust me. “That is, if you’re sure it’s okay with them.” “We all decided to let you join us for the day. I really want you to become part of our group; and if you need, we can even help you study for whatever tests or help you with whatever homework you need help with. It’s kind of how we roll!” It looks like I’m going to have to be really careful not to slip up during the time I am with them. Even one mistake and I bet that Sarah person will catch on to my charade. The day had ended, and I walked her down the entrance path at the back of the school. Once at the end, we said our farewells until we meet next on Monday. I was walking home and got that bad feeling again as soon as I made my first right turn on one of the side streets. The second I turned that corner, I started jogging. I looked back every now and then to see if anyone was following me, but I didn’t stop jogging. About four minutes later, I slowed down and started to walk the rest of the way. I am about halfway home now; all I have to do is make a right turn on the main street, and then I should be able to get home in no time without running into trouble. Another seven minutes of walking and I finally made it home safe and sound. I can finally rest and take a break from all of the crap I deal with at school. Even though the last few days of this week were rather enjoyable, I still feel incredibly stressed out over this whole situation. Perhaps this project has taken a larger toll on me than I realise. Maybe I don’t realise it yet, but this plan might even just

17 blow over as just another day going by. If I want to fully go through with this I’m going to have to get serious about it. From here on forward, I’m going to have to make as great of detail as I possibly can in my notes and get better at predicting my enemies’ movements.

18 Year End The Monday following, I rolled out of bed still half-asleep and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. After that, I got fully dressed, I showered the night before so I didn’t have to do so again, and then I got my shoes on, grabbed my school bag, and left the house for school. I didn’t pack lunch today because I don’t think I will be doing enough physical activity to become hungry. Though this doesn’t seem to be the healthiest of lifestyles, I just have a much harder time focusing when I’m stuffed full of food. My main focus today is to not outsmart the smart students. If I can manage to stay below everyone in the group, then they should accept me a lot easier. Sometimes you have to throw a match to win. I will be throwing away every match I valet so that when I finally decide to win, it will taste that much sweeter. I arrived at school and am now looking for Tasha. She said to meet at the benches in the morning, but I don’t see her yet. It is possible that I am just early. I don’t normally carry a watch on me, so I don’t know what the time is, and it’s also too cloudy, so I can’t tell the time from the sky. I hope she manages to get here soon, though. I’ll just wait here until she comes, I guess. I’ve been sitting here for twenty minutes now, the bell is about to ring any minute, and she still isn’t here. I guess it is possible that she is late. I guess I should just get a headscarf on making it to the door so I can get into class as early as possible now. Suddenly I saw Collin standing in the middle of the basketball court. He was just standing there looking around. If his body weren’t pointed directly at me, I might have been fooled by what he is trying to do, but since it is too unlikely he would be looking for someone and not moving around, so I am just going to assume he has something planned. “But what?” is the question. When I think about it, all his plans are for him to be a distraction while the others try and close in on me. If that is the case and he is not going to physically hurt me and my best move toward him would have to be to go straight at him. If he is planning for his group to surround me, then I have no choice but to go straight, assuming he has covered all possible exits and ways around from behind and beside me.

19 I walked right for him, and he just kept standing his ground. Either he isn’t actually planning a jump on me or he is actually looking for someone. It’s hard to tell right now since his group is spread out so widely through. I can’t tell if they were planning on jumping me or not, but as long as I can make it to that door in the next eleven seconds, I should be able to get inside without any problems. The bell is going to ring after those eleven seconds and I will be able to get into class before, what I call the ring-rush. Ring-rush is basically the moment the bell rings and all the students rush to the doors to be the “first one in.” Such a petty little competition if you ask me. I walked right past Collin without being stopped, but then he did walk away the second I passed him. That makes me certain of his intentions. I peered back for a moment and saw that his group was forming up at the courtyard bench. It’s clear now. He was definitely going to try something; but in the middle of the basketball court? That would be foolish even for him. After I got settled at my desk in class, I noticed that Tasha still had not arrived. I can only assume she is ill today since she rarely ever misses school. Without her here, I don’t know if I would be able to meet with Sarah and Rose today. It might be a little awkward if I were to meet them without Tasha there since she is the one who wants me in their group the most. Sitting here, just waiting for the teacher to start talking, Rose walked by me and dropped a note on the end of my desk. It read, Tasha is sick today, and she probably won’t be back to school for at least three days. If you still want to hang with us, you are still welcome. We meet at the library every recess and lunch. You can look for us at the back right corner when entering the front library door. Well, I guess that settles that. I’ll be meeting up with them at recess and lunch for the next few days. That will definitely give me enough time to make them grow fond of me. All my plans included Tasha being there to do most of the talking, but I’m sure I can manage this without any complications. Class went by, and yet again, I learned nothing new in it. It seems everything I studied during the summer is exactly what they are teaching. I guess school boards don’t like change; they never mix it

20 up, which is probably why students over the years get so bored of school. Now that it’s recess I can finally go meet up with Rose and Sarah. On my way to the library, I noticed Collin sitting on one of the waiting benches near the front office. The door that leads into the library is next to the office so the only thing I can do is walk into his path. After this recess, I think that Bree’s group will now know that I am in the library at recess times and will probably make plans to be there too. When I walked past him, he just stared at me. It was kind of creepy, but I think that was a point he was trying to let off. Entering the library, I immediately saw Sarah sitting at the back right where Rose said they would be. However, I didn’t see Rose. “Hi, Lex,” Sarah said in a monotone. She didn’t look too excited to see me, but she also seemed rather focused on the paper she was reading. “Hey, Sarah,” I replied. I hope I’m not disrupting her work at all. “Rose will be here shortly. She just had to go get something from her bag that she wanted to show you.” “Oh, okay.” I guess I don’t need to ask where she is now. Seconds later, Rose walked into the library with a large, brown envelope in her hand. She looked directly at me and then back at the envelope. Normally someone would not notice a connection in this slight action, but I am almost 100 percent certain that she is about to show me whatever it is that’s in the envelope. “Hey, Lex!” she said cheerily. “I’m glad you decided to come. We only have about ten minutes left of recess, but I think that should be a sufficient amount of time to start what we will be talking about at lunch hour.” I really don’t like what she is getting at. Why is she being so secretive about this? She has to be hiding something and whatever it is that envelope has the answers for my questions. “Oh? And what might we be talking about at lunch?” I asked. “Well, you see”—she paused momentarily and opened the envelope—“what I have here are a few documents of your grades dating back all the way to grade 1.” She laid out the papers ascending by date. “It looks like you were quite an intelligent child up until the start of grade 7.” She started pointing at critical grade changes from when I was in grade 1 all the way up to the end of grade 6. “You’ll

21 notice everything here is laid out and sorted from high to low for all your grades affecting marks. It seems you were rated at a grade level A all the way until the end of 6. I want to know what happened. Why did you have such a sudden drop in grades? You went from an A average all the way down to a C+ average.” It seems she is a lot smarter than I thought. If she was able to figure out all this and be able to get access to the school records for my classes, she must either be very nosey as to whom Tasha is friends with or she is looking to become close to all she deems worthy of her friendship. So basically anyone who is capable of being smarter than her. But this looks like a lot of work for her to have done. She is smart, that is a fact, but she isn’t that smart. I looked at her and asked, “So what do my previous marks have to do with anything, and why is Sarah so interested in knowing?” Sarah immediately looked at me and said, “I approve of him.” Then she went back to reading her paper. Rose looked completely shocked that I was able to conclude Sarah was the one who did all the research and she also looked a little offended that I assumed she wasn’t the one to have done it. “So you are smart after all, huh?” she asked. “No,” I lied, “I’m just really observant.” She could tell I was lying. I think I just made her grow even more suspicious of me now. Great. That was a bad move. The bell will ring any second now. “We can start talking about everything else at lunch time. We should get back to class before the bell rings,” Rose suggested. We all got up, took the side door that led right into the classroom. This door is usually shut and locked from the inside so you have to go all the way around to the front to get inside the library during recess and lunch breaks. During class I felt like Rose was observing me. I know she wasn’t, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that they were watching me ever since she showed me those papers. If I want to keep my project afloat, I am going to have to be really careful and leave nothing behind that would directly relate me to these bullies I am dealing with in the future. As long as I keep the conversations related to anything but Bree and her groupies, I’m sure I can avoid any problems in the future. Plus the odds of police investigating this far back

22 into someone’s past is very slim, but it’s not 0 percent so I can’t risk it. What seemed like minutes was actually hours, and lunchtime had arrived. I walked to the library and sat with Rose and Sarah who were already there waiting for me. Sarah had a pleased look on her face and she was shyly smiling. “Hello, girls,” I said. They both seemed to be happy to see me from the looks of it. “Hey, Lex,” they both replied in sync with each other. If there weren’t such a large cultural difference between the two, I would swear they were sisters but the way they act and present themselves. Also, the fact that Rose probably secretly hates Sarah. I’ll just be sure not to mention that small detail to them. Ever. “What are we going to talk about today?” I asked. “We’ll be talking about you and Tasha for starters.” “What about her and I?” I hope they aren’t suggesting the two of us going out on a date or anything. “Well, you two hang out quite a bit. We noticed she even ditched our regular study hours to go see you.” What is she getting at? Does she think that I am taking away their friendship or something? “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take her away from you. I didn’t even know, actually.” “It’s not that we think you shouldn’t be hanging around with her or anything like that,” she said. “We actually encourage you two hanging out. It puts her in a better mood when she does. I was just thinking maybe you can hang out with her while she is hanging out with us.” Okay, the next person to say the words “hanging out” will get a slap in the face. “As I said earlier, I don’t mind at all as long as you two don’t have a problem with it.” “Great! When Tasha returns to school from being sick, then we will all start hanging out together.” She sounded as if she was implying that I can’t meet up with them until Tasha is back to school. This could be a problem. The bell rang, and the two of them got up without a word and left for class. I guess I now have to bear through these next couple days without getting caught by Collin and his group. I think I can evade

23 them for that long. At the very worst, I can just leave school grounds and walk around until lunch hour is over; that would leave only the fifteen-minute recess breaks I would have to avoid anyone for. I shouldn’t have any problems at all now that I think about it. And I didn’t. Those two days went by without a problem. I only found it suspicious when I saw Matt and John around every other corner I turned when I was walking off grounds during lunch hour. Though, nothing happened. With Tasha around, I don’t think they would dare even attempt something as she can always refuse to assist them in boosting their grades. Since all of them are on sports teams, they are required to have a certain grade average to keep attending games and practises. This wasn’t originally part of my plan, but it is certainly a lot easier to deal with now. I waited for Tasha again at the benches on Wednesday morning, but she didn’t show up again. I thought maybe she was still sick so I walked to class a little earlier. In the classroom, I saw Collin sitting at my desk, and he had his feet up on the desk. There was no teacher around, so I can only assume he has put up a distraction for her. I walked in, grabbed a paper towel out of the dispenser that was on the wall next to the garbage, and walked to my desk. “Hello, Mr. Rivers,” he said casually. “Hey, Collin,” I replied, “did the seating arrangement change, or are you looking to talk to me about something?” “Seating arrangement hasn’t changed. I just wanted to ask you a few questions.” He put his feet off the table and immediately I brushed off the dirt that his shoes left on my desk onto the floor. “What did you have to ask?” “We, and by we, I mean my group that you’ve been spying on these last few weeks, have noticed that you have become rather close to the smart kids of the school.” He seemed surprised and also impressed at the fact. Also, he clearly knows nothing since I’ve been avoiding them, not spying on them. “Is that a problem?” I asked. “Is it a crime to observe student behaviour and make friends? If so, you can deal with the principal about it. I’m sure she’ll love to hear your opinion on me making friends.” The principal’s son is autistic, and friend making and bullying have always been a pet peeve of hers. If someone were to go up to her about a bullying issue, she wouldn’t have teachers deal with

24 it as she finds that they have biassed opinions. She would deal with it herself in person and make sure the parents were 100 percent aware of the situation, even in misunderstandings. “I’m sure she would love to hear that you’ve been following my friends at lunch hour the last two days and also been insulting them on a regular basis and spreading rumours about us.” What is he thinking?! He could never pull off a lie like that. No one would believe him. “First, you’ll have to prove that I was following you. Second, you’ll also have to explain to them my exact actions and possibly the times of these actions. After that, they will take a look at my poor grades and attendance, and you’ll have to prove to them that I am smart enough to even be capable of such thorough actions. Finally, they will have to take yours and your friend’s word over mine and my friend’s word. I highly doubt that a kid who hangs around with honour students is going to have an easier time than several students who have been reported for bullying throughout the years and also have suspension records on file.” He just looked at me for a moment and held out his hand and said, “Well played, Mr. Rivers.” I shook his hand and he got up and sat at his own desk. Moments later, the bell rang, and all the students rushed into their classes. Was he testing me, or was he actually trying to blackmail me? Normally someone who was going to try and blackmail someone wouldn’t just quit so easily. The second I told him it was useless, he just gave up. It was almost like he had no countermeasures or he didn’t think that plan through well enough. Either way, I can’t just assume he won’t do anything more. For now, I will just be cautious and watch their every move around me as best I can. Class has started, and Tasha’s still isn’t here. It seems like she still might be sick. I guess I can bear another day avoiding him and his group. Just as I let out a small sigh, Tasha walked into the classroom, looked at me, smiled, and waved hello to me. I waved back to her shyly. She then walked to the teacher's desk and gave her a late slip she received from the office, and the teacher signalled her to sit at her desk.

25 It seems like my day will be easier than I had originally thought. I can finally get away from those damned bullies for a while now. Days went by and not a single problem with Collin’s group. Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months. After a month or two, I had become, what seemed to be, best friends with Tasha, Rose, and Sarah. It’s now Friday, May 28, 2004. The spring has sprung and the warmer seasons have unfolded their beauty in our little town. Decorative flower arrangements hang from street poles, and the streets are no longer packed with cars, but with people walking instead. It’s always amazing to see people choosing to walk or ride a bike over driving these days. The end-day school bell has just gone, and I am walking Tasha down the same path we’ve been taking every day on our way out of school every day for the last few months. Just as I was about to stop and say our farewells until Monday, she wrapped her arms around me for a hug and then slipped a soft kiss on my cheek. I never knew what it felt like to blush, but for the first time that day, I could feel what it was like. With my face red and my mouth speechless, she smiled at me, waved and walked her way home. As for me, I just stood there for a moment and tried to catch my thoughts as I watched her walk away. “See you Monday,” I quietly said. I turned around and started walking home. What I didn’t realise was that Collin had been following me home that entire time, and Matt was not too far behind him. If I had not been so fluttered by that sudden kiss, I don’t think I would have walked straight home knowing they were right behind me. About twenty minutes later, I finally arrived at home. I had a feeling someone was following me, but it was already too late as I was walking up to my front door with my key already in my hand. I turned around to look and see I’d anyone was following me, but I didn’t see anyone so I opened the door quickly, got inside, shut and locked it immediately upon entering. I spent the next minute in my foyer trying to calculate the odds of him following me home. The odds weren’t in my favour. I don’t think I had ever thought of what would happen if they approached me at my own home. I don’t even think I’m prepared for such actions. I should prepare for such an incident. Starting tomorrow morning, I’ll start

26 planning, and Sunday I’ll start preparing. As for the remainder of tonight, I’ll have to calm down. I have to think if I actually like this girl or not. Of course, I like her. What am I thinking? I really like her. I just can’t do anything. According to all the marks and averages in her report she will be heading to Amherst High and the University of Windsor following that. I will be going to Western Secondary and then Amherst High after three years; then after four months of Amherst High, I will have to create an excuse to skip a few months of school for final preparations for Project X-Out. After I am finished with all final preparations, I will have a few months left of school, approximately seven and a half. Within that time I will have to attend some sort of alternative schooling so I can work at my own pace to complete six courses within three and a half months. If all goes as I planned, I will be out of school before the third quarter of my fifth year, and my total average mark should be around 91 percent. Plus I doubt I will run into very many jerks while I am there. My fifth year is going to be a breeze. That night I fell asleep very early. I believe it was only nine thirty when I went to sleep. I slept for a lot longer than I normally do: five hours. It was two fifty when I woke up and got out of bed. After I got out of bed, I walked to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair flat. It’s time for me to go out for my walk. I snuck out the backslid since it was quieter than opening the creaky front doors. At night time I usually go to the local coffee shop for a few hours and work on some of my studies while I enjoy a cup of tea. I had a dream that night. My dream was more lucid than I had ever experienced. My dream was about my project becoming a reality. I had a feeling it was only a dream, but even so, it still felt so real. My body did all the work; all I was able to do was observe. I decided to take advantage of this rare opportunity and try to catch any mistakes before they happen. I’m sure my mind can think up anything like that while I am in a meditative state. After examining that dream for what seemed like days, I learned of a whole bunch of flaws in my plans. That morning, I started rethinking a few tactics of not getting caught. Now all I need to do is work on allowing me to be able to control my lucid state of mind while I am asleep. If I can do this, then I will have a lot more time to replay certain scenarios in my head and also be able to get better

27 ideas for other scenarios. It would be like being inside of a chamber where time goes slower than the real world does, and I also wouldn’t age any faster. Though, this must be harder than it sounds and could take years for me to master fully. For now I’ll make good use of the information I have now. I grabbed my project notes, then took off the short-sleeved shirt and socks, and put on a thin long-sleeved shirt I would normally wear when I was studying. I don’t know why but loose, thin clothes help me concentrate easier. I just find it better to be comfortable when you’re looking to be focused. I slipped on my sandals and walked to the coffee shop at the other end of town. The walk there usually takes me twenty-five to thirty-five minutes. Once I arrived at the coffee shop, they had already started preparing my tea as I walked in. I put a two-dollar coin on the counter for them, they gave me my tea, and I walked to my regular seat at the back right corner of the first sitting area. Tea is always $1.80, but I always pay $2 for it. I guess I’m a little generous when it comes to service for my tea, which might be why they always have it prepared for me when I walk in the door. It also saves me from waiting in line; all I usually have to do is give them the two dollars and thank them. I guess loyal customers get greater benefits. The store is divided into two sections for sitting. The first section is the one closest to the main doors, which is mainly for those who don’t have a need for plugging in a device like a laptop. The second seating area is near the second door, which is designed to have outlets for those who do need to plug in their laptops. During these hours, there are not many people who sit there aside from a few police officers every now and then. The police officers that are just starting their shifts usually sit the first hour at the coffee shop unless they receive a call on their radios. It’s safe to say the police in this town are quite lazy. Some are even corrupt and don’t deserve to call themselves police officers. That’s not the reason I’m here though. I’m here because I find it a lot easier to focus on my studies, and I tend to get a lot more work done in a shorter time here. I sat there for four hours and drank tea each hour. After that, I packed up my notes and left the store. I was going to go home because I was feeling a little exhausted from all the studying and note taking but I decided against it and went to the park by the river instead.

28 The Navy Yard park is a publicly accessible park that is usually kept at high maintenance due to it being one of the largest attractions for this little town. The town tries too hard to get tourists in my opinion. I think that the town would be better off without tourists, but the mayor says we are too small to rely solely on the townsfolk to keep the town’s finances flowing. We have over seventeen thousand people that live in Amherstburg, and about fifteen thousand of that is within Historic Amherstburg, the main town part where I live. I don’t look so kindly toward the current mayor as he doesn’t even live within the town. He resides in the town next to us, LaSalle. Plus he is kind of a twat. After I got home, I decided to pour myself some cereal for breakfast. Breakfast is one of the only meals I eat on a regular basis. I don’t exactly feel the effects of hunger so I always forget to eat food. I guess since I always make a routine of eating breakfast I don't commonly forget to eat it. After breakfast, I walked downstairs into my room, shut and locked the door, and then started playing my keyboard. My keyboard has volume adjustment on it, so I don’t wake up my brothers or parents who are usually asleep at this hour. I don’t normally play songs from books as often as I want. I usually just put my hands on the piano and start playing whatever I can think of. I usually play my piano for an hour or two every morning. This morning I only played it for one hour; afterward, I changed into my black workout pants. They are really loose pants that I use for stretching and practising my kicks in, nothing really special or classy. I do my stretch routine for forty-five minutes, and then I meditate for three hours after that. Usually by the end of my meditation, my brothers are awake and just starting to play their video games. At this time I usually get on my computer and start playing my usual puzzle games. I find puzzle solving a great way to pass the time during the weekends, and since my computer is in my bedroom, I can easily just lock my door to prevent any interruptions from my family. If I get bored of the puzzles, I will make up some scenarios for different ways to kill someone without getting caught; then I will cross-check my theories with other sources of law. If I get bored of that, I will also create scenarios to counter my killing. In the eyes of a detective, I will study the possible evidence left at a scene and

29 question any possible witnesses in the area. With that, I will try and catch myself after I kill someone in the scenario. Running through one scenario usually takes me about two and a half hours to complete. Normally I do two or three if I have nothing better to do, but today I feel like going out for a bike ride instead. The temperature is 27 degrees Celsius right now, and the wind is almost nonexistent. It is a perfect day to go for a bike ride. I put my sports socks on and also my biking shoes and got my bike out of the shed in the backyard. Just as I was about to leave, I realised I had forgotten my helmet and leaned my bike against the railing for the stairs at the front door and ran inside to get my helmet. “Okay, now we can go,” I said aloud to myself. I have the habit of talking to myself every now and again. What’s worse is I have conversations with myself once in a while too. I put my helmet on while speeding down the stairs. I noticed my bike wasn’t at the railing where I had left it. I looked around and found it leaning against the telephone pole out on the corner of my yard, by the street. Someone had moved my bike. I didn’t want to make it seem like I was confused that my bike was moved, so I just casually walked over to it, hopped on it, and pedalled away without looking back around for anyone. There’s no need to; after all, I already know who it is. Just before I turned the corner at the very end of the street, I saw someone come out from behind my neighbour’s house from the corner of my eye. Judging by the hair colour and the height, I would have to guess it to be none other than Collin. He now knows where I live. I guess I was right about needing to prepare for this situation. I spent the entire four hours I was out biking just thinking about how I am going to prepare for this situation. Given these circumstances, I can’t risk losing any time. I could always just fight them, but that would also cause more problems in the short term if they were to get school officials involved. I could just kill them, I guess. I don’t think it would be that hard. When I got home, it was six thirty-five, and my mother had just finished making supper. She made a very delicious ham. I normally don’t eat, but when it comes to the ham she cooks, I just can’t get enough. She asked me to call all my brothers upstairs to come and eat. I figured that would be messy, and I didn’t want to hear them talk

30 about all their problems with video games, so I looked at her with a not-in-the-mood glare, and she said, “Okay, but once you’re done eating, let them know dinner is ready.” Then she walked into her room with two plates of ham and mashed potatoes and closed her door. I quickly ate my supper and then put my dishes in the dishwasher. I normally eat fast, which is a good thing right now because I would feel bad if I made them wait too long and their food got cold. After I was done, I called them all upstairs to eat. They all paused their games and ran up the stairs, fighting over which one of them would get first grabs at the food. They were arguing, and the only thing I could think of to make them stop was to say, “I already ate.” They whined about it for a minute and then Charlie, my eldest brother, said, “I got second,” and the fighting started back up. Charlie doesn’t care at all who eats first or last; he just wants to cause a riot between my brothers when the opportunity arises. I walked downstairs then shut and locked the door behind me to try to drown out the noise leaking from upstairs. Once in my room, I turned on some opera music, specifically Bravo Pavarotti, and got down to work on my next course of actions using various scenarios of what they would and could do. However, the only flaw in my plan is that I give them too much credit in their actions I imagine. I do this mainly because if I can think of how to come to a good enough conclusion with my actions against a real challenge, then I would have little to no problems coming up with an idea equal or greater when the situation is lower in risk. I started my scenario building at 1850 and stopped at three the following morning. At this point, I was satisfied with what course of action I would take in the event that any number up to four of them were to approach me at my house. As well as an entirely separate plan based on which individual decided to approach me at my house. The only thing I could not calculate would be which individual would be the one to come to my house. If they were to attempt something like this, that is. The only one who I know wouldn’t come would be Collin since he is more of a scout-decoy, plan-thinker kind of guy, and he also lacks the muscle and speed for something like that. I have also kept my mixed martial arts training a secret from anyone at school. Not even Tasha knows. I let out a sigh. I think the best thing for me right now is to go and get some tea. That always helps me clear my mind.

31 I grabbed my sandals, threw on a thin, long-sleeve shirt, jogging pants, and went to the coffee shop. As usual, it was empty, and they already had my drink prepared for me when I walked in the door. I sat where I usually sit and stayed there until seven. Once the clock hit seven,. I got up and went home to get some sleep. The rest of that weekend went by without anything happening. It’s safe to say that Collin and his group won’t be making any movement for the next week, that is to say, if I am correct. I’m sitting at the benches this morning with Rose, Sarah, and Tasha. We are all having a great time talking about the science fair projects everyone has been working on for the last month, even though the science fair isn’t until June 17. Now that I think of it, I’m not even sure what I plan to make for my project. “What do you girls think I should do for my science fair project?” I asked. Maybe they might actually have some interesting ideas. “Don’t you know?” Rose asked. “You have to be partnered with someone in the class” “Lex, I totally forgot to ask you!” Tasha said. “Will you be my science fair partner?” I did know. I was just waiting for her to ask me. “Of course,” I said calmly, “but what will we make?” I hope it has nothing to do with fire. I don’t like fire. “I was thinking we could make a bud switch display to play a simple musical rhythm.” “Sounds simple enough. What theme should we do?” “I was thinking about the Canadian anthem.” I guess that would be simple enough to make. The only problem will be getting the timing right for the lights to flash in sequence with the anthem. “Let’s do it then!” I said enthused. With no time at all, the science fair came along, and we had completed our light display for the Canadian anthem. There was only one minor detail I decided to add in at the last minute. I added in a sound to play using pieces of a music box so when the lights go on, it will be turning the box in sequence to the anthem making it both a light show and play the anthem. We got first place in the science fair for that demonstration.

32 “That was an amazing idea you had, Lex!” Tasha said so excitedly. “It was nothing, really.” I felt a little shy about her reaction toward the project. “I don’t even know how you managed to connect the sounds to play in sync with the lights. It was simply amazing!” She seemed a lot more impressed than I would have thought, “Are you secretly a genius hiding your true intellectual talent?” I didn’t know how to respond. I know she is only kidding about that, but for some reason, I want to tell her the truth. “Be honest now,” she said, giggling and smiling. Maybe I can trust her. “Of course not. I just have a passion for music,” I replied. If I tell anyone, this can completely ruin all my plans. These people need to know how much it hurts. They need to suffer as others have. I will show the world that bullying is not acceptable. Ever. After the science fair, I stayed with Tasha at the parking lot while we waited for her mother to pick her up. We were talking about other things we could have done with that project and also other songs we could have played. We were satisfied with our work; we were just comparing new ideas. Ten minutes had gone by, and her mother still wasn’t here. She had been waiting to ask me a question all week but never had the chance to, but now that she does, I think she will ask it now. “So did you have something to ask me during the week?” I asked. I am really curious as to what it is. It seems important. Her face went red. “Oh yes. I did.” She paused. Just then Collin came walking behind us, slowly clapping. We turned around and looked at him. The way he was walking seemed like he was about to start trouble. I started counting in my head the odds of me starting a fight or other sort of dispute. The numbers aren’t leaning to my favour here. “Hello, Collin,” Tasha said, smiling. “Tash.” I stood up and took a step in front of her. “What do you want, Collin?” He stopped about five feet in front of me. Tasha then stood up looking worried; she didn’t say a word. “I just came here to congratulate you two on your successful project. It was a marvellous performance.” He seemed to have a snarky attitude in his words.

33 “Thank you. We worked pretty hard on it during the week.” “Really now? I heard that you two had someone else do it while you were going out on dates.” Tasha was shocked and offended when he said that and immediately retaliated. “What?! That’s not true at all. We spent the entire week working on that project. It was even Lex who put the music into it.” “Is that so?” He almost didn’t seem surprised. “Here I thought you were an underachiever, Lex.” I just looked at him with a displeased look on my face. What is he trying to do? “He’s actually really smart when he does something he is interested in. Why are you always so mean to him?” Tasha shouldn’t be getting involved in this. I shouldn’t have involved her. “Hey let me go!” I turned around and saw that Bree had come up behind us and grabbed a hold of Tasha; the second I turned around, I realised this was also a decoy. Coin lunged and punched me in the stomach. It was a good-enough launch to knock me to my knees. “How ya feelin’ down there, Lex?” This bastard needs to be taught a lesson right now. I punched him as hard as I could in the lateral collateral ligament. He dropped to the ground instantaneously. I turned around worried for Tasha. Bree looked at me and pushed Tasha over the right and punched her in the jaw. Tasha’s glasses flew off, and at that moment I snapped. I was trained never to hit a woman unless it was self-defence. Understandably, I was also trained to help protect others. I will classify this situation as self-defence and do what I never wanted to ever have to do—beat the crap out of the bitch. “You're going to hit a g—” I punched her in the solar plexus with my left fist and gave her a solid right hook to the face. She fell down after that I had expected. Collin got up and rushed over to her to help her up. With tears in her eyes, she said, “You’re a sick person for hitting a girl. You better watch your back.” She and Collin walked away as fast as they could. I went over to Tasha and helped her up. “Are you okay Tasha?” Her bottom lip was bleeding, and her glasses were broken. I reached over and picked them up, and as I did that, she hugged me tightly. I didn’t know what to do. I’ve never been hugged like this before. My heart is racing, and I can’t think straight.

34 “Thank you, Lex,” she whispered as she started to cry. I held her tightly and noticed just then her mother had pulled into the driveway. “My mom is here, isn’t she?” “Yeah.” “I will tell her what happened. Will you be okay getting home?” “Yes. Thank you.” She then kissed me lightly on my lips and walked over to where her mother had parked. I walked the opposite way and went home. I felt amazingly energised for the remainder of the night. My mind was racing with hundreds of thoughts per second, and I was surprisingly able to keep up with them. One major thought I had was whether or not to tell her. I really want to, but I’m afraid of being rejected by her and then having her think I am wrong for doing this and for thinking this. Surely she of all people would understand. Especially now. “No. You can’t let her know,” I said to myself aloud. “Yes, she would understand. She will understand.” “She is smart, and she idolises you because of the events earlier this evening, but she will not accept us. She is too kind-hearted to approve of such actions.” “Perhaps, but I’ll never know unless I try, right?” “You’re not thinking clearly. If she doesn’t accept, then your entire plan will be ruined. We can’t risk that.” I hate it when I’m right. If I do let her know and she doesn’t approve of them, all this effort will go to waste. “Damnit!” “It’s okay. We can still use her to our advantage later on. Think about it.” I paused for a moment and then grinned. I have a new addition to my plan. Something to use as an absolute safeguard. I will do this. I will not lose to them.

35 First of Many Friday June 18, 2004 Today is going to be a great day at school. I don’t even think Collin or Bree will even show up today. With those two out of the way, the last week of school will go by without a problem. Now that I have Tasha and most likely her group backing up, I can use them as clear alibis for when the time comes that I should take any actions toward eliminating them. Everything is working out just as planned. All I have to do now is make sure I can transfer from Western High to Amherst High in my third year. After I graduate from this school, I can finally move into high school, and after I achieve my average grade at 91 percent for three years, I will be forced to transfer to Amherst. Once I make it into Amherst, I will then be able to reconnect with Tasha and her group. After that, I will have an easier time stalking Collin and his group. I will have to pay close attention to all the areas in which they spend their time if I want to successfully kill them. The best option will be to single them out and keep them as far away from each other as I possibly can. I just need to figure out the best way to lure them out. That will all come in due time, though. For now, I just need to focus on keeping my high school average at 90 percent or higher. The last week of school seemed to have gone by quickly. We didn’t even do any actual schoolwork since they have technically printed out our diplomas. We spent the majority of the time outside at the benches. Even during class hours, they allowed us to go outside; we just couldn’t leave the school grounds during school hours or cause a distraction for the other students in the other classes. So here I am sitting at my graduation. The ceremony is going by so slowly, and I am starting to sweat under my gown. Everyone is complaining about the heat. It seems the cooling system broke the night before, and they couldn’t fix it before the graduation ceremony. After hours of sitting there and listening to the speeches and watching the boring presentations displaying pictures of all the students throughout the year, they finally decided to wrap up the ceremony and set us free. I could see that everyone was thinking the

36 same thing. Finally! A point in the year where everyone agrees to something. I never thought I’d see the day. After the ceremony was over, there was a dance for all the graduates. I stayed there and danced with Tasha and the group for about three hours before we decided to go home. The night went surprisingly well, no one did anything suspicious, and at the end of everything, I walked the ladies to their parents’ cars, and we said our farewells. Tasha had offered me a ride home, but I kindly declined and decided to walk home. Before we parted ways, I gave her my address in case she ever wanted to stop by to say hello during the summer vacation. She kissed me on the cheek and said she’ll see me next weekend and then got into her mother’s car, and they drove off. July 29, Summer Vacation It’s been about a month now since school ended, and Tasha and I have become better friends than I would have ever imagined. I wouldn’t say we were dating, but we’re really close friends. I was about to take her out on a date at an Italian restaurant in the neighbouring city, Windsor. We are going to be going there tomorrow evening after I take her to the movies to watch a new release she decided on. It’s going to be my first ever date. Later That Evening, I spent the majority of my day examining criminal behaviour and studying how the schizophrenic mind works when I was interrupted by a loud noise in my backyard. It sounded as though someone kicked my shed, and I know it definitely wasn’t my brothers since they play their video games until they fall asleep, and my parents are both at work for the next three hours. I got up out of my computer chair and took the back door to my yard. I surveyed the area and grew suspicious. There was a black skid mark in the side of my shed, which indicated someone either kicked it and ran or someone had tripped and kicked it by accident. My guess is they tripped. I just need to find out who it was now. There are very few

37 places to hide in my yard, so it shouldn’t be hard, assuming they are still here that is. I walked down the stairs leading off the deck quietly and crept over to the shed. I grabbed a large stick that I found near the shed where whoever it was had tripped; it must be the same thing they tripped over. I continued creeping behind the shed and looked behind it; no one was there. So I looked at the right side of it, which left a gap between the fence and the shed. Again, no one was there. I was about to give it up and had figured someone was just passing by when I suddenly saw a small movement in between the gaps between the wood planks below the stairs. Someone was under the stairs. I didn’t want to make it obvious that I knew someone was there, so I kept my movements fluid and smooth. I walked back up the stairs, opened the door, shut it, and quietly stepped up on the ledge of the deck. From up here and on the angle, it should be relatively difficult to see me from underneath. I waited there for about a minute before I heard movement from below. Either this person is scared to come out, or they are staying underneath until they are sure the coast is clear. This could be problematic. The sun is just starting to set, and it is still too bright outside for me to actually do anything to this person without a neighbour seeing. Unless. I have to be very quick about it. The second they poke their head out from the door that leads underneath, I will have to jump down and take them down with the heavy stick. Though it sounds easy I think it may be more difficult than I guess. Another twenty seconds went by and it seems there is finally some movement going on underneath. Whoever is down there is coming out. The objective is to pounce and hit the person in the back of the neck with the stick. If they are staggered, push them out of sight of the neighbour's house and question them. If knocked out unconscious, then drag the body back under the deck and shut the door. While under the deck, I will await their awakening and interrogate from there. The door opened slowly, and then out came Matt Holkman. I jumped down, and with one solid strike to the back of his neck, he was unconscious on the grass. I quickly threw the stick under the deck and grabbed him by his legs and dragged him underneath the deck. There were some really old supplies underneath here from when we built it. Not a lot but definitely enough to tie him down with.

38 He was unconscious for about thirteen minutes before he woke up. During that time, I had tied his hands and feet together and stuffed a gag in his mouth that was tied behind head. I also had time to go inside and get a cup of tea while I waited. When he finally woke up, I could see the fear and confusion in his eyes. Unable to speak and barely able to struggle, I sipped my tea and took a moment to gather my thoughts. “So what are you doing on my property, Mr. Holkman?” I asked casually. “Oh right. I almost forgot, I will remove the gag from your mouth but on one condition.” I held my index finger up to my lips and made a ‘shhh’ sound and whispered to him, “If you scream, I will kill you.” I pulled out a kitchen knife from behind my back and held it to his throat. From there I put my tea down and pulled his gag down off his mouth. Breathing heavily and starting to cry, he said, “Please don’t hurt me. I didn’t mean any harm to you. I was forced to come here by Collin. He did this. He set me up to it. Please let me go home.” His crying was starting to annoy me, so I put the gag back on. “Wonderful, now that I know you won’t scream and that you might actually cooperate with me, here, I am going to ask you a series of questions, and you will answer yes or no by nodding or shaking your head. Do you understand?” Still crying, he nodded his head indicating yes. “Wonderful! For your first question, I want to know, ‘have you ever felt sorry for the people that you bully on a regular basis?’” He didn't shake or nod his head. “Answer the question, please.” He just kept crying. I can only assume that is a no. I picked up the knife and brought it back to his throat. “Please, Mr. Holkman. I don't want to do this if I don't have to.” I lied. I really do want to. I will. I just want to see him suffer a bit first. He then nodded his head yes. “Are you lying to me, Mr. Holkman?!” He immediately shook his head no. Suddenly I smelled urine in the air. “Hmm . . . it seems you have pissed yourself, Mr. Holkman. However, that is the least of our problems right now.” I took another sip of my tea and paused for a moment. “Mr. Holkman. Do you know why you are here, right now, underneath my deck tied up, gagged, and bleeding from the back of your head?” He shook his head no and started sniffling. “You see, you and your friends are

39 very bad people to society. Children are afraid to go to school and you are the cause of that. It's people like you that plague the schools all around the world with your bullying and arrogance. You are the very reason why someone like me has gone the extra mile into setting up a plan for the future of public education. I will be making a cure for the virus that is you, the virus that has infected and corrupted schools and students all over the world. I will kill you all one by one.” I paused again and took a sip of my tea. He was crying and I could tell he knew what was about to happen. “Mr. Holkman, the world may never know this, but you are going to be the beginning of a new educational system. Your death will be what will start this whole project of mine.” I took another sip of tea and then placed my teacup and plate on the tree stump next to me. “You, Matthew, are the start of something great. For what it's worth, I believed you could have changed. However, it's too late now.” His eyes widened when he saw me lift his head up by his chin and force him to look me in the eyes as I plunged the knife into his heart. It was only seconds after that his body went limp and he had died. I pulled out a forest-green cloth from the back pocket of my pants and put it over his face. “Goodbye, Mr. Holkman.” Now I need to find a location far enough away from my house where I can hide this body. I can't exactly dump it in the river, and simple as that sounds, if I miss anything and leave any evidence, it may lead back to me. What I need is somewhere difficult to access, where no one would look and I could hide a fat ass like him at. I thought about it for a while longer and finally realised the perfect location. I rushed to my bedroom after cleaning any blood off my hands in the bathroom and loaded up the mapping system on my computer. There is a road called Texas Road that leads to a forest at the end of it. The road is approximately eleven kilometres long, and there is a dead-end post once you've reached the forest that will then lead to a bike trail, which is rarely used because of all the broken glass on the path. It used to be used for parties but even now people can't have parties there because no one ever cleaned up afterward. Hiding a body in such a location will be perfect. I just need to dig up a hole large enough and cover the dirt with the garbage so no one notices the soil was tossed.

40 Later that night, I pulled out my large, green waggon from the shed, pumped the tires on it, and dumped his now-wrapped body in it. I wrapped it with a white sheet I had just bleached and made sure there was no trace of evidence on it such as hairs. While the sheet was soaking in bleach, I cleaned up the scene below my deck and rearranged everything to the best of my ability to make it look as if nothing was touched. I washed any blood spatter on the wood and checked the ground at night for any blood using an ultraviolet light. After everything had been cleaned, I double-checked the scene and his body for anything that could possibly lead back to me if the body were ever found. While searching his pockets, all I found was his wallet, a pen, and some change. I had a feeling I was missing something, so I decided to check his wallet. Inside was a note from Collin stating he should go spy on me and get an idea of what my regular activities are. “Not good,” I said to myself. I need to destroy this note, perhaps in the fire pit. “That would leave evidence that you burned something. It's too risky. How about you soak it in bleach and then when all the ink in the paper is destroyed you boil it and then the paper will become liquid again. From there you will dump it in the sewer drain down the street. That will ensure over 100 percent that no trace is left behind.” That seems a little overkill once I think of it, but then again, I did just kill someone. I put the note in my pocket and packed his wallet back in his pants pocket and then took the bleach soaked sheet and wrapped him in it. The walk to the end of Texas road took me about two hours. Once I arrived, I searched through the garbage and also put some into my waggon. After thirty minutes of searching, I found the perfect spot. It was in the middle of three trees in a triangle formation and in the centre was a tire with burnt garbage inside. I moved it aside without spilling any of the disgusting water inside it on myself and grabbed my spade from the waggon. I started digging a hole right where the tire was; fortunately the ground was soft because of the water that had been soaking there from before. The hole took me about three hours to dig. It was six and a half feet down and two feet in width. The hole is not meant to lay a body in it but, instead, stand it up in. Doing this will leave less of a scene on the ground. When people search for a buried body, they search for hole that is roughly the length of the person. By driving it

41 farther down and keeping it narrow, I can burn acetone directly over the ruined soil to prevent as much suspicion as possible, given they ever think to look here. I placed the body in the hole and filled it with dirt as much as I could. Afterward, I stomped the soil and kept putting the dirt over it. I don't want to leave a lump on the surface, so I'll probably need to bring some dirt back home with me if I can't pack it all down. After the body was buried and the tire and garbage was placed, I sat down on the edge of the waggon and took a small break. I've got to find an easier way to hide bodies, or I need to at least get better at digging holes if I plan to keep this up. I placed the spade in the waggon on top of the dirt and walked home. “The sun should be coming up soon,” I said to myself. “I guess I'm not having tea tonight.” “The walk home went by a lot quicker with that fatty out of the waggon, eh?” I said. “There's no need to make fun. He wasn't that fat. He was just”—I paused for a moment—“big boned!” I laughed a little and kept walking home with the sun rising behind me. Journal Entry Number 54 September 6, 2004 Labour Day Tomorrow morning is my first day of high school. So far all my plans are falling into place perfectly. As long as I don’t end up killing anyone else during my time at this school, I shouldn’t have any problems proceeding. During the summer, as I noted in one of my previous entries, Matthew Holkman is no longer an issue. There are some missing child posters around the town on street poles and near the crosswalks; however, I doubt that anyone will take much actual thought into it as it could just be another case of some kid running away from home. I know the police will be going around door to door soon, most likely within the next week. I presume I’ll have to make up an alibi for the night he went missing; that won’t even be a challenge though. I was in the presence of my brothers the whole day, so they will be the perfect backup story for my whereabouts. If they were at all

42 smart, they would figure out that he was a school bully and start questioning all the victims of his terrorism. The most I can hope for is for them to not think about that fact; however, it’s very likely they will. Enough about that, though. I will pass my first year of high school with a grade average of 90 percent or higher, and then my second year at 85 percent or higher. After which I will be qualified to transfer to General Amherst High so I can then take action on seeing who is still and still not around. At which I will observe and record their behavioural patterns and figure out when they are and are not alone. As for my grade averages at General Amherst, I will try to maintain a nice low score of 70 percent average so that way I don’t raise too much suspicion in anyone with a sudden grade increase. Finally I will finish my high school year off at an 80 percent average where I can then start making my moves on everyone. Assuming everything goes as planned, I should be able to finish my school year virtually undetected or noticed by anyone who I have my targets set on. I will just have to find some sort of extracurricular activity that I can take part in so I can use their events as a solid alibi for when certain, at the moment unplanned, things happen. I may even be able to take a few of them out during the school years. Though, it seems risky. I’ll have to consider that at a later date; right now is just too early. I will have to wrap this journal entry up with that; it’s still too early to be making any further plans. Right now all I need to do is observe and record. I hope this year goes by quickly.

43 Welcome to Western I arrived at the school far earlier than I expected. It is seven twenty-five, and the day doesn’t start until eight. There is nothing to do, my homeroom class isn’t open, and the school is nearly empty considering only my bus has arrived. I have no friends, and I have no one who I am acquainted with who is at this school. The only thing I can do is walk around the square that is this school to pass the time by, and so I did. While walking around the school, I couldn’t help but notice there was no music classroom. They have everything from welding and cooking all the way to computer tech and horticulture classes, but no music. This school already disappoints me, and it’s only been four minutes. There are only four hallways, and they are all labelled from 100 up to 400. There aren’t one hundred rooms in each hallway; it’s just like this to avoid any confusion and to keep things simple, I assume. Lucky for me, my locker was right near the front door, so I can be at my locker and out the door within seconds to avoid any after-school rush to the buses. My locker buddies are rather sketchy characters as they both look like they are drug dealers or just not very good people. Either way, I dislike them being there. I hope this locker arrangement is subject to change. With only four minutes left until the first bell rings for classes to be arranged, I start looking for my room. My schedule says it’s in the 100 hallway, room 103. What a coincidence, my locker is also right next to room 103. Now, being the first one in the classroom, I was able to choose wherever I wanted to sit. Naturally I sat as far back as I could but also in line with the teacher’s desk and field of view. I sat there and watched as the students came in one by one. Each student was trying to find a spot as far away from everyone else as best they could. It’s fascinating, really: how everyone constantly tries to avoid one another when in the end they usually end up being acquainted and more comfortable around each other anyways. Why can’t everyone just sit down and get acquainted right from the start and have to go through all the trouble to avoid what is inevitable? Either way, there’s no point in changing what cannot be changed.

44 The bell rang and moments later the teacher walked in carrying a cup of coffee and a binder with unorganised papers that he carelessly dropped onto his desk. “Hello, class.” He held up his index figure, signalling us not to speak. Just then the announcements came on. “Good morning, Western!” exclaimed a very morning-friendly person. “I’m Mr. Lewie and I’m here for your morning announcements. First off, welcome to your first day, all you ninth graders! I hope you all have a nice, warm stay here at Western. If there are any scheduling problems, start by asking your homeroom teacher for assistance; if they are unable to help you out, they will direct you to Mrs. Pepper in the library.” I looked at my schedule, which I probably should have done when I received it this morning in the mail, and already I could see a problem. All my classes were not scheduled on the time table. They showed what classes I had at the bottom of the page in alphabetical order, but they were not listed in the time chart above. I folded up my paper and waited for someone to raise their hand to ask a question during the morning announcements. This was to see if I did the same thing, what would his reaction be. Seconds later, Jay, the emo-punk-looking student at the table beside me, raised his hand and said, “Sir!” Immediately Mr. Alphont brought his hand up as he did before and signalled him to be quiet. Jay put his hand down and listened to the announcements. “That ends it for our announcements today, folks! I hope you all have a wonderful first day!” he concluded, and the speaker clicked off. The announcements were over. “Now then,” Mr. Alphont said, “plain and simple, don’t interrupt the announcements. Secondly, I don’t know a damn thing about your schedules, so if you have questions, take it to the library. If you see my name on the list, tell me what box it is in and I’ll tell you where to go and at what time.” Jay put his hand up again. “Jay, is it?” “Yes, sir,” he replied. “What is it?” “I think I have your name in the first box. Where do I go?” “If it’s spelt the same way you see it on this board, then that would be my name.” He pointed behind at the chalkboard with his name

45 printed on it. “You can sit right there; you’re with me first period. Anyone else?” Everyone looked at their schedules and went silent. “Who here is Lex Rivers?” he asked, and so I looked up at him. I didn’t raise my hand. I just gave him my normal, un-amused, uninterested, relaxed look I usually give everyone. He looked directly at me, pointed at me as if asking me in sign if I was who he had named, so I nodded my head yes, and he said, “That is a badass name you got there. Are you in my class?” I shook my head no, and he almost seemed disappointed for a moment as he leaned back in his desk chair and put his feet up on his desk. I assumed that we were supposed to wait for some sort of second notice before heading to our new classes as no one was getting out of their seats to go to their assigned classes. So I just observed the classroom to see what kind of environment this teacher worked in on a regular basis. I found that it was tidy, well drawn out, and a little dusty. Though, it was a woodworking shop, so I’d be surprised if it wasn’t dusty. The entire time I was sitting there, I noticed from the corner of my eye a redheaded girl who didn’t take her eyes off me. It seems no one could take their eyes off her either. I recall the teacher had called out Samantha Lapri just after my name, and she raised her hand shyly. She is rather pretty. If I directly look at her, I can almost guarantee she will move over to sit next to me and want to socialise; if I don’t, I can expect an awkward meeting during lunch hour or in the halls between a class change. It’s just a matter of which one will get her to clue in to the fact that I don’t want to be friends. I was about to turn my head to look at her and get it over with, but the bell rang again, and everyone got up to head for their classes. Awkward hallway get together it is, then. I didn’t want to get stuck in the group of rushing students at the door, so I inched my way toward the door timing each step approximating to not needing to wait at the door to get out of the classroom. Once outside the classroom, I had a hard time finding my way through the halls and to my new class. The hallway layout seems idiot proof; however, I managed to turn a simple square with 1 to 4 labelled on each side into something entirely different. I just walked around

46 the entire school until the halls were emptier. I’m looking for a media arts program classroom. It shows here on my schedule that it is in the 100 hallway, room 110. I walked down the 100 hallway, which was the same hallway my homeroom is in, and I cannot find this computer room to save my life. I gave up and walked toward the library as I heard the librarian, Mr. Smith, is the one who deals with all the “newbie problems.” Basically he helps first year students get to where they need to go. “Hey!” said a soft voice from behind me. “You’re Lex right?” I turned around to see Samantha standing there with her arms wrapped around her books. She seemed very shy. Her cheeks were rosy; eyes were blue and slightly glittering. I’m not sure what it was about her, but she just seemed to have this overall natural complexion that could put someone at ease knowing she’s there. “Yes,” I replied quickly. She just stood there for a moment. I turned around and continued walking toward the library. “Wait, are you lost?” she asked. I stopped, turned around, and told her, “Of course I’m lost. If I weren’t lost, I wouldn’t be standing in the middle of the hallway having a meaningless conversation with a girl whom I’ve not even been formally introduced to.” “That’s a yes, right?” She seemed so confused. I guess being pretty and smart is just as rare as ever these days. “Correct.” I turned around, and she stepped forward and walked next to me. “The librarian, Mr. Smith, is going to tell us where to go. Let’s go there and get some directions.” “Before we do that, I’m Samantha.” She held out her hand. “You can call me Sam.” “My name is Lex. Germaphobe.” She put her hand down and wrapped her arms around her books again. “What are you protecting in that book of yours?” “What do you mean?” she asked, confused again. “You’re holding that book as if to protect something valuable to you. Is it a diary, perhaps?” “Yes, it is actually.” That was an obvious guess. “Why carry around such a private article with you at a public school?” She froze in thought. I assume she never questioned her own actions, and neither has anyone else. Then it went awkwardly silent.

47 I didn’t like the feeling, so I decided to ask her something else, “What class are you looking for?” “Media arts,” she replied. Son of a bitch. This awkward hallway meeting just escalated into an entire semester of awkward conversations and oddly timed across-the-room glances. Can this day get any worse? “That’s also the one I am looking for. It didn’t seem to be as easily found as shown on this minimap of the school.” I tried to sound enthused about it, but I don’t think I did a good job at it. Just one more corner to turn and we are at the library. Hopefully the classroom seating can give me a seat at the back. Samantha seems to be the type of person to sit near the front of a class, anyways. She has a slightly difficult time reading a few of the numbers on the doors from what I can see, so I can only assume she wears glasses—supposed to, rather. Once we made it into the library, I walked toward the front desk and asked the woman sitting there if she could explain how to access the media arts classroom. She pointed to a lineup of students leading into a secondary room, which I’m going to take a wild guess and say they are all first year students who are lost. I let out a small sigh and turned around to head toward the line when Sam grabbed me by my wrist and led me out the library and into the hallway. I’m not very fond of people touching me. “Is something the matter?” I asked slightly disgusted. “No, I just don’t think we will be getting anywhere if we wait there.” She was right. If we waited in that lineup with all the other students, we would only be wasting more time than if we were to just go to a random classroom and ask a teacher for directions. Now, if I did that, it would definitely solve the problem, but it would also be incredibly rude to interrupt a class in progress, especially on the first day of school. “What did you have in mind?” “Let’s go for a walk around and maybe wait for the line to get smaller?” Her cheeks went slightly redder. “If I didn’t know any better, I could swear you are hitting on me.” She went very red and silent. I guess I was right. This girl seems to be infatuated with me and wishes to befriend me so she can

48 try and build a stronger relationship with me. I can already see the rest of this year just being one giant pain in my ass. We kept walking around the hallways. It wasn’t much of a walk, though, since the school was so small and also a square. After two laps of that and some minor chit chat about future goals and her pet cat, we walked back to the library to see the line was nearly empty. We both entered and stood there for a couple minutes in, what was left of, the lineup. “Hello!” said Mr. Smith excitedly. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say you two lovebirds are looking for the media arts class. Is that right?” “Actually, we’re not a cou—” I was interrupted. “Just go right into the art class and walk to the back. You’ll see another door, and it will lead directly into the media art class.” He smiled way too much for it to be the morning. “Hop along, you two!” I let out a sigh. “Thanks.” Sam and I left the room and headed toward the art classroom, which was at the front of the 400 hallway. “Lex,” Sam quietly said, “would you mind if I . . . uh . . . had lunch with you?” I looked at her and realised she’s probably new to this entire county. She must not have been transferred from a local school. I thought for a moment to see if there was any real way out of this, but I made an oath to be a gentleman when the time called for it back in my martial arts dojo, and I need to stick to my word. “Of course, I would love for you to join us for lunch.” Dammit, did I just say “us”? She stared blankly at me for a moment. I hope she doesn’t catch what I just said and starts asking questions. “Great, can you meet me at locker 70 at lunchtime?” “Yeah, that’s not a problem. I’ll be there.” Terrific, now to top everything that has happened on this first day she is also in the locker right next to me. This day cannot possibly get any worse than this. “Are you Lex Rivers and Samantha Lapri?” Mrs. Zjelko asked. We both answered yes at the same time and looked at each other. I thought it was awkward whereas she looked at me and blushed and smiled a little. “Well, I’ll have you know I do not tolerate lateness in this classroom. You will be on time and sitting in your seats for each class.” She seems like a nice teacher; I think I will grow to like her. “Is that understood, you two?”

49 I nodded my head in approval and sat down in my chair. “Now that those two lovey-dovies are finally here, let’s begin with our first lesson.” I think I will grow to greatly dislike this teacher. The rest of that day went by pretty quickly. Aside from everyone asking me if I was dating Samantha, it was very uneventful. Lunch break was very confusing. I managed to get lost on my way to the courtyard. I was told to take any of the doors, and it will lead out there. No one specified more than that. Samantha seemed to be getting less shy with every random topic she managed to talk about. I never knew someone who could be so quiet could have so much to say in one sitting. It was sort of nice for a change. I enjoyed having company for once. As the day reaches its end and the students are getting eager to get on their buses and go home, I start to wonder if maybe, just maybe, I might be able to put everything I had planned from grade school and everything I had already done behind me. Right now I’m sitting on the bleachers in the gymnasium, taking a break from all the running around that’s been going on in this class and just watching as all my classmates work in teams on a free-for-all game of fireball. Fireball is a game that can only have one victor. The object of the game is to hit your opponent with a ball and make them all have to sit down. The last person standing at the end is the winner. However, there are a few twists into the game. If you catch a ball that someone throws at you, they are out; if you are down and the person who hit you with a ball gets out, you are now up. If someone throws a ball and you are able to catch it by standing up, you may do so, but you are not allowed to get up to grab a ball that is clearly out of reach. At least one foot must remain in the spot you were initially taken down at. If you do, however, catch a ball while down, you are now up, and that person is down, but only you are up. Anyone else that person had taken down are now your takedowns. So if you are taken down again, then everyone that person took out is now up. You are allowed to block a ball with another ball in your hand, and if you throw a ball to deflect another ball while in midair, then the person whose ball you deflected is down, and everyone they took down are now your takedowns. If you hit someone in the head, regardless if they are already down or not, then you are now out and everyone you took down is now up. You

50 are only allowed to hold a ball for a maximum of ten seconds unless there are ten or less people on the field in which case it is then sixty seconds. If there are less than twenty people in total playing, then the timer for a player to throw a ball goes to ten seconds until seven or fewer players are remaining on the field. People who are down have to throw a ball they get a hold of within ten seconds regardless of the amount of players standing are not allowed to have more than one ball in hand. Players who are up are not allowed to have more than two balls at any given time. There was one more rule that was added as an official rule by the two schools during the last tournament. In the very uncommon chance that one person throws a ball and hits someone, but that ball ricochets and hits another person, without touching the ground in between, then all the takedowns that both players hit now belong to the initial thrower. Once it’s down to the last four players standing, if there are more than twenty people playing, then they are unable to stand back up and are forced to get off the field during what is called the “final fight.” The final fight is where the top four players fight it out to see which one of them will be the winner of the game. Last one standing wins. I find that the game is actually very fun and is even played in tournament style between this school and the school down the street, Nova Central. I’ve been told that they have money prizes for a school who wins. I’m just not sure if it’s the principal’s placing bets on who will win or if it’s a district school board action. Either way, it's still a fun game. Samantha was actually the first one down from one of the league players, which just happened to be Spencer Quince, a school bully. I’m not very fond of this guy, but he sure is a damn good player. If I were to play in a tourney match, I’d definitely want to be on his team. It was the last four players left standing now: Kenneth, Wiggle, Junior, and Shorty. They have been in an alliance until they were the last ones standing, and now it looks like a four-way standoff between them. Right now Kenneth is at a larger disadvantage because he doesn’t have quite as much skill when it comes to this game. He usually works together with Wiggle in order to pull through the game without getting taken down. Everyone Is cheering for the ones they call Junior and Wiggle.