Strung

Sorry

Gym Class
2:00 pm

The cigarette burns on my face and neck are healing again. I'm worried. Gary found out about my silent treatment thing with Jimmy. I feel terrible. I'm way too much of the pussy to face him as Petra and Vincent can't handle being with Gary any longer. "Sorry, Vincent. I never wanted to drag you in this." My plan for the jocks is not canceled. Later today there's supposed to be a game. "I don't mind it too much. However, when this all over, could I talk with Gary?" I know what he means. "Sure."

"What else do you have on your list of goals?" Jamie asks.

"Getting revenge on the jocks, figuring myself out, then coming out, getting away from my mother, taking care of my pests issue, graduating, and confessing successfully to Jimmy." I hold nothing on anybody.

Zoe and many of the others used to date, Jimmy. I honestly don't blame them. He's attractive and for someone with attachment issues, I would never see myself with him. With or without the interactions. I need him somewhere, sticking around me and being my backup.

He's the player two to my player one. And the feelings I have for him aren't dead. They're slowly coming back and falling very fast. I gotta do something. It's already bad enough that Johnny Vincent and his boys are pissed at him. I don't wanna be the reason why he'd get jumped.

"Here an idea. Team up to beat those bastards. I'll either ask for or make you a puppet." Why'd he say puppet with a growl at the end? "How would Puppetry work?" Vincent laughs nervously. "You'll see."

Three minutes later

Vincent is standing at the bleachers doing hand signs. Jimmy is playing basketball with the Preps.

Petey got Gary to chase him out of the gym. Josie and Jaime are watching out for Gary at the pool and gym entrances. The girls are sitting at one end of the benches watching us. Where am I during this? I'm cartwheeling around the court to ease myself.

"Woah! Look at her go!" Gloria shouts. The bootlicking preps whistle and gawk at me as I flip around the room. As an attempt to land a round-off move, I slip and fall flat on my face. As my face hits the ground, everyone yelps loudly. "Holy fuck. That looked like it hurt." I just embarrassed myself.

Okay, let's stay on the floor and sulk. "You better not've broken anything." I crawl off the floor and see a hand in my face. "Your nose is bleeding..." Jimmy cringes. I cover my nose using my sleeve. "It's something else. I'm fine."

"I can see that... Let's go before you bleed everywhere and get caught by your little pesty boyfriend." Yeah, we should hurry.

Lighthouse
3:30 pm

The nose bleeding stopped and I snuck out of the school with Jimmy to talk. We're on good terms and all the harsh tension has been dropped. Of course, I haven't said anything about my identity yet but that'll wait. We still have bigger issues. "Are we done here?" Boys are so impatient. I was waiting for him at the Preppies' old hideout and now he wants to leave? "Not yet. I need you to do me a favor." He's listening now.

I sit on one of the barstools and cling onto a random bottle. Jimmy sits with me and stares deeply into the right side of my face. "What's with those burn marks on your cheek." I have makeup on? How did he see those? "huh?" He grabs my chin and turns my head to face him. "Those are cigarette burns? What happened? Did that weasel Smith, do this to you?" I shake him off. "NO! I- I mean, no. He didn't. It's a funny story."

"There's nothing funny about cigarette burns." He moves my hair out of the way of my neck and lifts my chin for a better view. "Your neck. Tell me what's going on." Jimmy sighs. "Remember my arrival? After I saw you and Zoe, I went back to the funeral which was at the cemetery. My mother was drunk and more abusive than usual." Jimmy holds my hand and rolls up my sleeve to check for anything else.