Stand By Me

chapter three; "Chopper, sic balls!"

When I return to the guys, I saw that there was no trace of them. I searched for a few seconds, catching them jumping back over the fence.

"Hey! Hey you kid! What're you doing there?! Come over here!" Milo shouts as I take off. Shit, he's early. "Come back here! Come back here goddammit! I'll sic my dog on you!"

Perry, Jess, and Lee was hollering for me to run faster. "Chopper, sic him, sic him, boy!"

Now he said "sic him boy". But what I heard was "Chopper, sic balls!"

I scream as I finally make it to the gate and climbed up, throwing myself over with my heart thumping in my ears.

I hear Lee's loud, taunting laugh and I look to see a Labrador retriever that could probably gnaw on me than actually bite me.

"That's Chopper?" I pant.

Chopper was my first lesson in the vast difference between myth and reality.

"C'mon on, Choppy! Kiss my ass, Choppy! Kiss my ass! Come on bite shit!" Lee teases the dog and it takes a hold of his shirt, which he broke from, still laughing.

We all were at this point.

"Come on, Choppy, sic balls, Choppy!" Jesse says, holding himself.

"Hey you kids! Stop teasing that dog! You hear me? Stop it! Sonny, I'll beat your ass teasing my dog like that!" Milo threatens as he comes to the gate, making us look at his ugly sweaty face.

"Yeah, like to see you try to climb over the fence to get me, fatass!" Lee laughs louder.

"Don't you call me that, you little tin-weasel peckerwood loony's son!" Lee's smile fades into straight anger. "What did you call me?" He grits.

"I know who you are. You're Lee Pinnock. Your dad's a loony. A loony up in the nuthouse at Togus. He took your ear. And he put it to a stove. And he burnt it off!"

Lee glares at him through his glasses, "My father stormed the beach at Normandy."

"He's crazier than a shithouse rat. No wonder you're actin' in the way you are. With a loony for a father," Milo further provokes.

"You call my dad a loony again and I'll kill you," his tone had gotten darker.

"Loony, loony, loony-," Lee starts to climb up, but we hold him back. "I'm gonna rip your head off and shit down your neck!"

"You come on and try it you little slimy bastard!"

Me and Jesse hold Lee back as he struggles. "He wants you to go over there so he can beat the piss out of you and then take you to the cops!" Jesse says while looking at the old man.

"You watch your mouth, smart guy! Let him do his own fighting!"

"Sure you only outweigh him by five hundred pounds, fatass!" I flip him off.

"I know your name. You're Thirlwall! I know all you guys. And all your fathers are gonna get a call from me!" He looks right at Lee.

"Except for the loony up in Togus."

Lee tries to go back to the gate, but we drag him off,  "Son of a bitch! Nobody ranks my old man! My father stormed the beach in Normandy! He stormed the beach, you fat fuck! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"

I grab his bag, glaring at Milo, "You're a bitch and your dog is too."

"One more outta you, and you're done, Thirlwall," I glare at him, clenching my jaw. "What're you gonna do? Hm?"