And now for Chapter Eleven:
It took Rick three weeks, but he was able to talk the school board into lifting Mark�s expulsion. Mark was elated to be able to go back to school. When the day came for his return, he clung to my side like a lost puppy. It was kind of cute, the way he followed me around school. It was the first time anyone ever paid attention to me in school, and I sort of liked it.
While Rick was talking to the school board, he was able to arrange for Mark to have the same classes as I did. The school board was very uneasy with the idea, solely because of what Mark did to me, but Rick reassured them that whatever differences Mark had with me, they were long gone, and he showed them a video of Mark and me playing and rough-housing with each other, which eased their minds a little.
Rick suggested that I walk Mark home and help him with his homework, so the first day back, I walked and talked with Mark. It seemed that he always had problems with math, and with the help I had received from Rick, I felt confident that I could help Mark. We had been walking for about 10 minutes, when I heard some laughing coming from behind us. I didn�t want to turn around, because I already knew who it was. It was the laughter of two very nasty boys, Billy and John.
�So, you turned our friend into a faggot like yourself, huh, Trevor?� Came from an angry Billy.
�He was a cool guy like us, until he started hanging out with you.� John said with disgust in his voice.
I looked over at Mark and said, �RUN!� He looked at me with a look of fear on his face. �To your house,� I said as I took off running. As soon as I took off running, I yelled for Rick in my mind. After of few seconds, I heard Rick say, �don�t look back, not matter what you hear.� I knew what he had planned, so I looked over to Mark and said, �Whatever you hear, don�t look back.� He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face, �why?� �Just trust me, don�t look back for any reason.� I told him. I just ran harder, not looking back. Not even a minute after I told Mark not to look back, I heard John yell, �who the fuck are you?� Then I heard screams of pain and saw a bright flash of light, and with that; both Mark and I fell to the ground, and passed out.
We woke up on Marks front lawn. I looked around to gather my bearings and saw that Rick was sitting next to us. About the time I sat up, Mark started to rustle. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked over to Rick and me and asked, �what just happened back there? Where did that bright light come from, and what made John and Billy scream like that?� I looked over to Rick, knowing that he was thinking that we were going to have to tell Mark about Rick�s� little secret, I just nodded. �I think we better go inside, for what I�m about to tell you, Mark.� Rick suggested. With that, we all got up and walked up to Mark�s front door. He unlocked it and led us up to his room.
When we got up to Marks room, Rick looked at Mark and asked, �does your dad have a pair of welding masks, Mark?� With a puzzled look on his face, Mark disappeared for a few minutes; then returned with two welding masks. �Put them on, both of you, I�m about to show you where that light came from. With that, he started to get undressed. I hurriedly put on my mask, while Mark followed suit, not wanting to take his eyes off Rick, but knowing that he had too.
To Be Continued . . .
