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Finally, it was Friday after school and the day of the

football game was here. Everyone was pumped up for

the first game of the year despite the expectations for the

team’s success being quite low. A very low ceiling in

fact. Nonetheless, school spirit was abundant within the

majority of the students’ spirits.

Just not Craig who still had a great disdain for the school in general. These thoughts crossed his mind as he

headed towards the club room. All mixed in with the

thoughts of the party. The imagery of hanging out with

Rachel and Isabelle was beginning to develop an issue

within Craig. The larger part of him wanted to make it

happen. But, how was he going to be able to handle

this?

Walking into the club room Craig looked directly at the

center and saw Leanna, waiting, just like the very first

time that he had entered the club room. She was sitting

there, smiling innocently. The kind of smile that would

wear out Craig’s cynical mood and turn him a

sentimental like being.

“Well fuck, here he comes.” Leanna said, greeting Craig

in a cutesy sort of way. What’s going on?”

“Not much, just glad that this first week’s over.”

“Tell me about it. All these teachers give out SOOO

much homework the first week. Why Craig, why?”

“Because they hate us as a way to cope with having to be

in this situation to begin with? They want to see us

squirm? Observe and find who is going to be worth their

Time and effort and who they are going to discard to

wayside?”

“Yes! That’s it! That has to be it!”

“You’re always the first person here, aren’t you?”

“Yup. What? Am I weird for that?”

“When I consider that, yes. Yes, you are weird for that.”

“Well that sucks. But, to answer your question, I have

nothing better going on at that time of the day, so why

not be the first one here? I can get myself settled in and

relax. It’s a sweet deal.”

“Does sound appealing. I tried being first on day one,

but you just had me beat.”

“You were too slow. That’s the difference between you

and me. I set my clocks early so I’m never late.”

“Wait, how do you leave class though? Do you just

walk out? Or do you announce that you’re leaving.”

A sweet-sounding laughter was burst into the air as

Leanna began to laugh. Craig was really beginning to

adore her laugh. It was so loving and full of life. There

was also no way that she could be on the list of suspects.

She was just way too much of a ball of joy and fun.

Craig could rest assured knowing that at the very least.

Greatly shifting the energies that laid inside the room.

Amy entered the club room with Ryan and Claire in tow.

Ryan shot Craig a look of acknowledgement, which

Craig quickly scoffed off. As Amy approached the

center of the front of the room, Craig and the others

could sense a change in her vibe. Something was up and

it appeared like she was about to be spilling some of

what was whirling up with her..

“What’s going on Ames?” Leanna asked.

“Just shut up and take notice.” Amy said as she got

herself together.

“Shit, it’s truly great to see how good you’re feeling

Amy.” Craig said, very sarcastically.

“Let me ask you something Craig. How seriously are

you taking your mission that your future self has

aligned you with?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just asking. How much work are you putting into

it?”

“I think about it all the time.”

“Every second of everyday?”

“I’m going to have to say no on that one.”

“Then clearly you are not thinking about it enough.”

“Where is this all coming from Amy? What the fuck

happened to you?

Amy took a deep breath, a sign that did not please

Craig at all. That was the kind of deep breath that one

takes when they are about to let something off of their

that is actually a big deal. At least a big deal to them.

And that would make it some sort of concern to

everyone in the group as well.

“I’ve been communicating with my future self a little

more again.” Amy announced. A nice lump developed

in Craig’s throat as Amy uttered that sentence. Was

there just going to be another ordeal that needed to be

attended to? Was this just her way of asking for help?

“What’s going on Amy?” Leanna asked, feeling a deep

sense of concern for Amy.

“She just texted me out of nowhere last night. She began

talking about something that just made no sense to me. I

asked her what was up and she decided to go all cryptic

on me. Talking about how I needed to look beyond the

masquerade.”

“What do you think she was talking about?” Claire

asked.

“Sounds strange.” Ryan asked, causing Craig to shoot

him a look. Craig was well aware of what Ryan’s true

identity and self were now, so this version of him that

was being presented just did not ring very true to him.

Not in the slightest. It felt a rich guy trying to act poor.

“It was strange. I dug in a little bit and here’s what I

think she is saying. “There’s someone among us who

really isn’t who they are truly presenting themselves to

be.”

The classroom suddenly became silent. Craig

understood why Ryan would be acting that way.

Although, he was taken aback by Leanna and Claire’s

behavior. He just did not expect that they would have

anything to hide. Then, he stopped and examined

himself for a second. What did he have to hide?

“Wait, are you trying to call someone fake?” Leanna

asked, trying her best to cover up his anxiety over what

Amy said.

“That may be a touch too strong of an accusation to

make currently. Though, this person isn’t being

completely honest. They are afraid to show who they

truly are. At least, afraid to show an aspect of

themselves that they deem needs to be hidden away.

And I would say that there is a somewhat complex

reason for this.”

“Like what?”

“It’s hard to say. I mean, maybe, just maybe there is

something that needs to be done. So, the individual

needs to stay covert to be able to get it done. Or perhaps

they are some sort of asshole and need to keep that under

wraps. It’s really hard to say with these types of

people.”

Craig observed Ryan’s body language while all of this

was being said. At first glance Ryan did not seem to be

too affected by this. Then Craig caught a peek of his

legs and feet which conveyed a different story. Ryan’s

legs were moving around, and he was tapping his feet

like he was prepping for an Irish tap dancing

competition.

“What is the course of action that you want to take

then?” Craig asked, enjoying being able to put just a

little bit of pressure on Ryan.

“There are a few ways to go about this.” Amy started as

she took out pad and pen from her bag. “There’s the

nice, simple and easy way where this person can choose

to reveal themselves. And there is the hard way where

we do a process of elimination and eliminate the person

in question.”

Everyone stared silently at Amy once she stated this.

Yes. Amy was frequently in some kind of mood and this

was surprising to no one. However, this current state

was different. The claws were out. She was out for

blood. And wasn’t going to back down until she got it

whatever it was that she was craving for.

“Sound aggressive.” Ryan said as Craig made sure to

hold back his delight over Ryan’s nervous state.

“Why do you say that Ryan? Should we start with you?”

“No, I’m not…”

“STOP IT!” Claire shouted, bringing everyone inside

the room to a dead halt. “Why are you acting like this

Amy? I mean, what do you think that one of us could be

hiding?”

“Therein lies the problem. I don’t know. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it’s huge. Perhaps it earth shattering. I have no way of knowing. And when I don’t know something, I like to be educated. And if I can’t be educated then well, I get upset ya feel?”

“Yeah, but this is a bit much isn’t it?”

“Why do you say that Claire? Don’t tell me, you’re one

of them aren’t you?”

“AMY STOP!” Leanna shouted, once again bringing

everyone inside the room to a dead halt. Possibly even

more so due to Leanna rarely gets animated like that.

The vibration was able to even shake Amy.

“Why should I?”

“Because this is not the fucking Salem witch trials. It’s

just a damn club!”

“With that attitude it certainly is.”

“You mean a realist one?”

Everyone felt that shot fired. Amy felt a very slight,

yet poignant shot to the heart from Leanna’s words.

Craig could see Amy’s face going from one of a fighter

or offensive lineman to one of a cat has had just

witnesses an event that caused her to jump from her

seats. It was something else.

“What are you trying to say Leanna?”

“You always get carried away with this shit! Yes, it’s

cool that we can talk to our future self. That’s different.

But, there’s no evil conspiracy! No one in this room is

evil! When are you going to get that?”

Amy looked down at the ground with shame running through her veins. Up until this point, Leanna has just been a nice, supportive figure in Amy’s life in just about every way. Even when she disagreed with Amy, Leanna did it in a playful never.

The thing was though that this day rang a different

tune. Like Leanna just had a dynamite ignited in her.

She was just done with what Amy has been doing. Like

she was going to stand her ground to Amy no matter.

Like she had been concealing and bottling all of this

inside for a minute. And now, it was time for all of that

pent of tension to be freed.

The silence in the room just grew more and more

awkward. Craig took stock of everyone’s body

language. Outside of Amy, Leanna struck a strong pose,

showing that she was in no shape or form backing

down. Not now, not ever.

Claire was fidgeting around in a very anxious manner.

For the most part, Clare came across as the type of girl

who was not only conflict adverse, but really didn’t put

herself in the middle of awkward moments like the one

that was playing out right in front of them. She looked

like a fish not only out of water, but that she’d rather

enter a shark’s mouth than stay on the surface.

Ryan on the other had had appeared to calm down.

Instead of being nervous with the outcome, it appeared

that he had made his peace with it. More than likely it

was because the heat was now off of him. For now.

Craig knew that he had to break the silence somehow.

He couldn’t just allow this to continue and destroy the

group. He had at last found what seemed to be a stable

home base and it was falling apart right in front of his

own eyes. It just did not seem right.

“Look.” Craig started, hoping to draw everyone from

their current frames. “Why don’t we just all just relax a

bit and talk about the next thing that we want to do?

Amy, I know that you’ve been discussing being able

to…”

“Craig, don’t fucking insult my intelligence.” Amy said,

getting back into her normal aggressive stance, more

invigorated. This was an improvement at least. Even if

it spooked Craig a bit.

“What?”

“You heard me. I don’t even really know you. None of

us really even know you. You seem like a smart guy. A

nice guy. And even kinda cute.”

Craig couldn’t help but crack a smile at what Amy said.

Amy caught this and was dismayed with him for making

light of what she was trying to say.

“Please, don’t let that go to your head. It isn’t like I said

that you were hot or anything. Just cute. Kinda at that.

Moving on, none of us really have seen all of you. So,

none of us really know your true intentions, your true

desires.”

“You never asked.”

“Didn’t look like there was any kind of invitations. I

don’t rush through closed doors.”

“Try knocking.”

Craig and Amy were staring at the each other the same

way that Ali stared at Frazier. There was a level of

intensity had not been felt between the two before.

Everything felt cranked up a great deal of notches.

Claire was just about jumping at this point.

“Craig, I want to ask you a question. Who are you?

Just who the fuck are you?”

Craig stood there, taking in the active assault on

himself. Amy’s question just felt tarnishing and

dismissive. Who are you? What kind of question was

that? How the hell was he supposed to be able to answer

that? What were her intentions with that? From Craig’s

vantage point, she was just being a straight up bitch.

“I’ve got to get ready for the game.” Craig replied.

“Take it easy guys.”

“Leaving when shit gets real huh?”

“Would you shut the fuck up!”

Now, not only did everyone stop to a dead halt, but

everyone stared at Craig. Nobody saw that coming and

knew where that kind f energy had risen from. Craig had

just not presented himself to be that kind of guy,

especially towards Amy since it did appear as though he

had enjoyed her jabs. At least on some level. It looked

like other levels weren’t in agreement with her actions..

“What?”

“Just shut the fuck up! You think that you have power

over everyone. The sad fucking truth is that you don’t

even have any power over your damn self!”

Craig stormed out of the room, slamming the door,

hard. The room was rushed with a new kind of cold-

blooded silence. Everyone stood still and did not know

what to do. Amy decided to pack up that pen and paper

and leave. Leanna tried to stop her, but Amy just swiped

away her hand and was on her way. Ever exit looked

like a lonely leaf from off a tree during autumn.

Pacing the halls with a great sense of kinetic energy,

furious at what just took place. He could not believe the

way that Amy was acting. He kept on wondering she

what he had gotten himself into. Ever since he met her,

his life had turned into a crazy series of events that he

had no real control over outside of taking action on what

was burdened to him. He began to wonder if he should

have had just considered the youth club.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Close to the exit, Ryan, once again just popped out of

nowhere. Now that this was the third time, it didn’t

quite have the same effect on Craig as his earlier efforts.

Ryan was visibly upset by everything that had happened.

“Sorry, not surprised anymore.” Craig said.

“Just as well. So… What did you think about all of that?”

“I don’t know. It just seemed random to me. Why do

you think that her future-self told her all of that?”

“My honest opinion? Amy is, how should I put this

delicately? She is a bit shaky in terms of her mentality if

you will. And women are different than men when it

comes to mental shakiness. If a man doesn’t get it

together, unless he is rich, he is going to be screwed

when it comes to the game of life. But, with a woman,

an attractive one no less, there is just more room for

error. Especially concerning the young ones.”

“So, her future-self is a basket case.”

“It does seem as though that’s the picture that has been

painted.”

“Sheesh man. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for any

of this.”

“Do you truly believe that?”

“Huh? What are you trying to say?”

“We all have wants and desires. That’s obvious to

anyone. What’s not is that we have what we think our

desires are and what our true desires are. And our true

desires are always connected to our core beliefs. Look at

Amy. She may say that she wants the truth. But what

does she really want? She wants to feel safe. You see,

all of our true desires will find a find to break free of the

subconscious mind and met us on the surface. It’s as

simple as that.”

Craig took a pause after Ryan’s little speech. What had

happened to Amy that she needed to feel safe about?

Was it about how she had to save Debra before? Was it

just so that she could have control? Or was she

legitimately scared of getting hurt? Suddenly, all kinds

of scenarios were running through Craig’s mind about

the current situation. His mind began to be filled with all

sorts of ideas about Amy. And then the question of who

was she popped into his head.

“You alright Craig?”

“Yeah man. This is just not what I’m used to.”

“But of course. You are but a mere young man. But, a

boy, in all reality. Your childhood was just yesterday. It

is to be expected that the situation could weigh you

down in some respects.”

“How old are you Ryan?”

“Ha, that doesn’t apply to me.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“I’m ageless. I can morph myself into whatever I need

to be for my mission. If I had to go undercover in a

kindergarten, I’d morph myself into a five year old.

That’s all there is to it.”

“All that there is to it huh?”

“You seem skeptical.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Yet, it does. If something needs to be said. Go ahead

and say it. You needn’t not worry about how I or

anyone else reacts to it.”

“I’m just wondering if we’re the only people on earth

who talk to our future selves. That can’t be the case

right? There must be smart kids than us doing it.

“A lot of people contact their future selves, seeking the

guidance that they offer. What makes you and the group

special is that you were able to talk to them. Hell, you

are able to have a continuous dialogue with them.”

“And that makes me special?”

“The universe seems to think so.”

“Ugh, this is such a fucking headache. Class is already

enough. Now I have to deal with all this.”

“Look at the bright side.”

“And just what is the bright side of all time.”

“I wanted you to be able to figure that on your own.”

“Shit, you are useless. I got to go and get ready for the

game.”

“Ah yes, your investigation of that Rachel girl.”

“Rachel girl?”

“Her last name eludes me.”

“Kemp. “Rachel Kemp.”

“Oh, okay cool. Got it for as long as I remain in this

body.”

“Sounds good.”

“Before you dip, just remember…”

“Yeah, yeah man. Have fun, I know.”

“No, actually. Pay attention. Really try to see into

Rachel. It’s going to be a party so it’s going to be

easy to get caught up in everything around you.

Exercise some futility and be as clear minded as

possible.”

“Are you saying no drinking?”

“Yup.”

“Fuck. Just as well. I’ve got a second girl that I have to

investigate too. I guess it’s all for the best.”

“What? A second girl? Since when? Who is it?”

“Since last night. And her name is Isabelle Sanchez.”

“Hmm. I don’t think I’ve seen her around.”

“She’s that hot weird looking girl that nobody talks to.”

“Oh, right!” I’m guessing that the date with Marcy did

not go well.”

“We can safely say that she is no longer a suspect.”

“Gotcha. Well, with two that goes doubly. Are you sure

that you are going to be able to balance them out? You

might want to check the market for a wing man.”

“Nah, I’m good. But thanks for the offer. Even if it

came out of nowhere.”

“I’m always here to help bro.”

Later in the evening Craig was walking back to school

as the football game neared. At the bottom in the pit of

his stomach were feelings of excitement and anxiety that

were constantly overlapping each other like an infinite

loop. His main goal as he strolled through was to just

stay out of his and focus on what was right in front of

him. As he began to do a good job with this, a great

pattern interrupting text from his future-self came in.

“You need to convince Rachel to not cheer tonight.”

Craig was starting to run out of facial expressions for

the things that his future self would ask him to do. All of

these things were always demanding in their own unique

ways. Though, this to be sure took the cake as far as the

level of difficulty. Nothing presented itself to be more

impossible stop Rachel from cheering the night of the

season opener. Nothing.

“I can’t do that! And fucking respond!”

Craig kept his cellphone in front of his face the whole

time. Just that it was to no avail, his future self was done

texting himself for that session. Right at that moment,

Craig just wanted to punch something extremely hard. A

case of why me fell over him. He saw no way that he

was going to pull this off. No way in hell.

All kinds of thoughts were now flooding through

Craig’s cranium. First it was all about how this wasn’t

fair. How it really sucked that all of this was happening

to him. Then it turned into how Rachel was going to

hate him now. That there was no way that she would

forgive him for what he had to do. It took him having to

trip when he finally was able to become present again.

Craig finally understood what Ryan was telling him. It

wasn’t just about staying sober the whole night long. It

was about not letting these negative thoughts clutter his

mind. Keeping a clear and conscious mind was going to

be vital tonight. If he couldn’t stay in control of his

thoughts and emotions, he was going to fail. That was

the one thing that he was sure of.

While approaching the school, Craig was able to come

up with a game plan to get Rachel to not go up. He had

to do something to himself that would get her riled up so

much that she simply couldn’t go up. It also had to be

something that she couldn’t

possibly hate him for. But short of dying there wasn’t

much that he could do.

Then, he saw Joe and Mark walking on the other side.

A nice big ole smile came across Craig’s face one an

idea was connected to their presence. Now, everything

was falling in line. He now knew just what he needed to

do. And it would be easy to get Rachel’s attention from

it.

He was going to start a fight with Joe and Mark. It was

as simple as that.

Craig walked up to the gate where Joe and Mark were.

It wasn’t hard for him to muster up enough anger for him

to get into a fight with them. Just looking at them filled

him with an insufferable rage. Thinking about what they

did to him last year and the fallout from it just added fuel

to those rage flames as well.

Craig decided that he was just going to be playing a

character. He was going to essentially bully them. But,

it would be done with style. His style of course. This

would ensure a response. And the key would be to time

so Rachel could spot just before she would go out.

As everyone filed into the stadium, Craig looked

around and saw where the cheerleaders were. There was

Rachel, drinking a bottle of Gatorade and stretching as

the other ladies were applying their makeup. All of this

just made Craig fall for her more. While all the other

girls were concerned about how they would look, Rachel

just wanted to be ready to perform. It was a shame that

he couldn’t let it happen.

Craig bought some chips and a soda and sat down,

waiting for Joe and Mark to enter. When he got half

way through his soda, he saw Joe and Mark walk up the

stadium stairs. A glint suddenly became plain in Craig’s

eyes.

It was showtime.

Craig had some clay from his art class that he hadn’t

disposed of during class. Before the plan came to him he

felt lame for having it. But now it was the perfect fight

instigating tool. There was just no way that it wasn’t

going to pan out.

Craig balled up the clay and chucked it at Joe’s head. It

bounced off someone’s pizza and went right in Joe’s

face, now covered in pizza sauce. Craig smiled

devilishly as Joe and Mark turned made eye contact with

him. Their eyes were filled with pure contempt. Just

like what Craig wanted.

“Slut, just what the hell do you think that you’re

doing?” Joe asked, wiping the pizza sauce off of his

face.

“I was bored, so I figured that we’d play a game.” Craig

replied, egging Joe on perfectly.

“And what kind of game was that?”

“One where you are not good at clearly. What part of

that did you not get?”

“Too bad you can’t say that to my face.”

Boldly, Craig rose up and walked up to Joe and Mark.

Both Joe and Mark had to do a double take. They knew

that nine times out of ten that Craig was ready to go.

But, it seemed like he wanted to fight. All this did was

make them angrier, which was of course working very

much in Craig’s favor.

“What do you want dude?” Mark asked.

“I just want to see you guys actually profess your love to

each other.”

“Fuck do you mean cuz?” Joe asked as he and Mark

looked at each other, both confused with the request.

“I’ve just always wondered why you two always made

these homophobic jokes. I always found them mean

spirited and not very progressive. Then one night, it just

hit. You two are in love with each other and just can’t

admit it. It’s such a tragic love affair isn’t it?”

“Shut the fuck up.” Mark yelled, starting to get the

crowd’s attention.

“Sorry. I just want this for you two. I know that guy

that you two tortured last year would want it too if he

knew. Maybe, just maybe he’s here. You two make

amends. How does that sound?”

“Are you looking for a fight or something Craig?”

“Sorry. I only fight worthy opponents. When you find

one, let me know. Well square up.”

That last little insult was just enough to send Joe over

the edge. Joe swung and missed Craig head. Craig

threw the rest of his soda in Joe’s face as Mark tried to

kick him. Craig was able to miss him and trip Mark.

Everyone in the crowd watched in awe as Craig took on

these guys with ease.

However, Craig was a little disappointed. It was clear

that Joe and Mark were high and drunk, while he was

completely sober. They weren’t able to concrete and

fight him properly. This kind of fight was only going to

get security’s attention and get them kicked out as

Rachel performed and whatever fate would happen

would happen. He needed to really force the issue now.

As Joe and Mark got themselves together, Craig rushed

the two of them with full force, falling onto the football

field. This really was able to get everyone’s and I mean

everyone’s attention on the fight. Craig socked Joe in

the face as Joe began to fly swat. Mark was under Joe

and immobile.

Craig had to constantly look up and see if Rachel’s eyes

were on him now as security drew closer. He rolled over

and was able to drive Joe and Mark more closer to where

the cheerleaders were. Now he really needed to do

something to seal the deal.

“You two have always been the biggest fucking trolls

around! There’s nothing that you do that adds value to

this school! Your test scores drop us out of the top 50

percentile!”

Finally, Rachel looked up along with all the other

cheerleaders and was shocked at what she saw. Sudden

indecision was fused inside of her. She was ready to go

and perform. But there was no way that could just let

them fight.

“You are fucking tools!” Rachel yelled as she rushed

out onto the field and went towards the middle of the

fight.

Just as she got there, security came and separated them.

Then police officers showed up and began to put Craig,

Joe, and Mark in handcuffs. Rachel watched in horror as

she ran to Craig, hoping that somehow, she could aide

him.

“Let him go!” Rachel shouted to the officer that had

apprehended Craig.

“Do you know this guy?” The officer asked Rachel,

almost appearing confused at the idea of her being

associated with Craig.

“Yes, I do! He’s my special friend!”

“Special friend?”

“He’s my boyfriend!”

Craig’s face turned to a face of pleasant shock when

Rachel said this. He knew that she was doing all of this

just to get him out of the situation. But, he couldn’t get

over how flattering that sounded. A hot cheerleading

proclaiming publicly that he was her boyfriend. It was

like a dream come true.

“Well, you can hang with him in the office if you want.

But, he isn’t going to be free anytime soon now.”

The amount of indecision that was on Rachel’s face

could be read from a mile away. Rachel went through a

whole range of emotions. She had to choose between

not being able to cheer or to be with Craig and help him

out. As self-doubt came upon Craig, he was sure that

Rachel was going to choose to cheer. It just made too

much sense. At the end of the day, he was not her

boyfriend.

“Okay.” Rachel said, deciding to go with them.

You could tell that even the police officer himself was

struck by this. While he couldn’t externalize it, Craig

was internally over joyed. Everything had actually gone

according to plan. Rachel was going to not cheer. And

she would be spared of any ill fate that was coming her

way. At least for the moment, that is.

“Okay. Follow us then.” The police officer told her,

still working on figuring out just what the fuck was

going on.

Rachel walked right beside Craig as security and the

police officer him in. He inspected Rachel as they

walked. It did not take much deductive reasoning at all

to see that she was in fact not happy with him at all.

Disgusted wouldn’t be the right word to use. More

along the lines of mind boggled. Nevertheless, she was

at the very least royally pissed off at not being able to

cheer.

As they walked on, Craig figured that he had to say

something to make her feel better about what was going

on. Anything at all would help. The more spontaneous,

the better it would be.

“Rach…”

“Please, shut the fuck up.”

Shut out.