FB5-16 "The Winds Of Change"

A Chapter by dw817

"Well good for you. You know who I am. Whaddya want, a medal ? Yeah I toldja - I am your WORST nightmare. So get your stuff and let's get this over with. The bell's gonna ring soon."

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Secret Technology, Unrequited Love, Absolute Vengeance

© October 2022 - Written by David Wicker
Please do not reprint without permission

CHAPTER 16 - "THE WINDS OF CHANGE"

[ CHOOSE A DIFFERENT CHAPTER TO READ ]

* * *

This chapter is Rated: TEEN

Slice Of Life (10-21-22)

Here now you didn't already eat the rest of the pie waiting for me, did you ? :)

Hello again. Wow, it's been a-while. Well, what can I say except that I've been busy working in Pico-8 - here now, has it been 2-months ?

While I have many projects up in the air in coding, the one I finished was a utility that would take the existing spritesheet and convert it to a single PRINT statement that would neatly install a custom and either fixed or proportionally spaced font, your choice, and your choice of characters in it.

Neat stuff.

Yet you are very patient to have waited for me to return, haven't you ?

So, what all is happening in the world ?

Well, I guess we can start at the top.

[ M E D S ]

Medications. Can't live without them. Can't live - well, without them.

I may have mentioned earlier that Tuesday is my Red Hour, well, all day really. And what is that ?

[ T H E R E D H O U R ]

The term is taken from the Star Trek episode, "Return Of The Archons" which refers to a time on the planet when between 6pm and 6am - I'm not sure what day, well, you get to do what you want.

I'm human so I take care of - human needs and desires, without anyone to interrupt me. And the best way for me to do so is by NOT taking my anti-psychotic pill every Monday evening.

Let me explain. It is Seroquel and considered the strongest anti-psychotic on the planet. While I don't inertly suffer from depression. I do suffer from euphoria. That - might be difficult for me to relate to you.

Imagine this. I don't take my pill Monday evening so that night I am treated to the most fantastic and incredible dreams one could ever have, far surpassing any I have ever written about. Full of sparkles, colors I have never seen before, long dead people, alive and happy, young and beautiful, and an incredible future of technology.

The problem is the dreams are so intense - I am having convulsions in the night. Literally bouncing in bed because I am so excited and happy at what I see - despite being asleep.

And Tuesday morning, I am on FIRE. Not just in my mind but in my body. I am burning up both in my brain and physique. I am sweating all over, my eyes are bloodshot and a million thoughts are racing through my head. And my sensitivity to touch - is enhanced a hundred fold.

Essentially, I am psychotic and Seroquel keeps the demons (or angels) at bay both when I sleep and when I am awake.

But, I can't do skip the pill anymore. Since last Tuesday I was so flipped in the head I couldn't stop laughing and crying at the same time. I felt like I was a wax candle being treated to a super-heated torch and melting literally at both ends.

Do you remember the movie, Paprika ? The chaos in it. The madness. The absolute insanity of what happens to an unrestrained brain.

There were words in it that stay with me today. Not because they are nonsensical, but because in my fevered brain without my meds, they make perfect sense to me, showing my insanity.

The shade of the tree with the flowers that bloom at night -

... is where the residents of darkness rest!

The widow who tells fortunes in the shadow of roof tiles!

The response is sunny! The sign of a good fortune!

The ceiling fan brings a message releasing epithets!

The maiden who sleeps under the veranda has a pulse!

The high pressure holds the grab bag and looks a lot like milk!

The dense forest turns into a shopping district!

The 24-bit eggplant will be analyzed!

Strange these words I think to most people. Random sentences thrown together by careless dice and probability ?

Yet to me, they have meaning, especially when I am off my meds. And they shouldn't have meaning. They're not supposed to. But that is how powerful the brain is when you release its harness. When you let it roam free. There is meaning - to everything - and to nothing.

I mean recently my Godfather lost the key I gave him to my place. Not only did I change my lock and get new all keys, despite my lock getting replaced I insisted on keeping the old keys that no longer fit anything.

It is as if have the belief that somehow someone could visually look at the old keys that no longer fit anything and determine what the new key to enter my place would be and construct it based upon that information of the previous ones.

That to me makes sense. Though it might not to most.

So - no more. I know many a Tuesday I enjoyed myself but, I can no longer go a day without missing a pill. It is too much.

Despite how happy I was, despite the millions of nerve endings saturated in endorphins, I can't do it anymore. So - while I can still have my Tuesday, I must - MUST take my daily medication and not skip a single pill. Not anymore. Not with what I went through.

And today as I write this is now Tuesday, well, Friday. I have taken my meds and the fire in my belly is not there. Maybe this is a blessing. It certainly feels different as I have deliberately been skipping my meds Monday evening for better than a year now to get that "Tuesday high."

Gone now, but I feel better in my head for it.

. . .

[ILLNESS]

Katy my niece is definitely showing some signs of fragility. Her condition is that now she has thrown up several times and even been to the hospital for it.

This is too long a time for her to continuously have this - so I am chalking it up to a delicate system and fragile physique from her lifetime of putting up with her own sister's, Mother's, and Grandmother's smoke from them smoking cigarettes.

There's a lesson to be learned here. Don't smoke, if you won't do it for your own health, then, please don't do it for the health and safety of others.

The homeschooling she is going through ? Well, she is learning German. Maybe more, I'm not sure. I'll just leave it at that.

. . .

[CARNIVAL]

While I don't think the carnival will be coming to town anytime soon, it was quite nice to go to Octoberfest, and my, did I spend a bit of money ! $95 to be exact !

I bought all kinds of things though. I think the most of it I spent was in a candy store and while I didn't focus so much on the candy they had great little knick-knacks and tchotchkes. I even got something for Rose.

After that I received a flyer on my front door for a church having quite the celebration. It was nowhere near the church that was held though. It was not a rock concert advert which is what I usually received. No, this one had quite a bit going for it.

Bouncy House for the kids, ride the mechanical bull, petting zoo, food trucks, car show, and gifts. Carlos and me went and I took several videos of the occasion. We also stumbled upon the tribute to John F. Kennedy !

A real presentation with a statue of him standing at least 11 feet tall and words of his life etched in marble that was lit from the front. I was more impressed by this than the hullabaloo of the church outing.

Nonetheless I did return to it and saw one stand that was selling T-Shirts with religious motifs and words on them. I picked out one for $25 that would be perfect for me to wear when we had outdoor church activities.

But for now - let's now return to Dev, back in Middle School, and the adventure that he has.

. . .

I reel my head for a minute, not just because I'm dizzy from being kicked to the ground by - someone I didn't know. My glasses have almost fallen off when I push them back up my nose.

I look to see who my assailant is yet I clearly do not recognize him. "Who - are you ? Am I dreaming ?" I ask in a quiet voice more to myself than to him.

"Haw haw !" he laughs roughly, "Don't think you're going to get out of this that easily ! In case you forgot I'm Buford, your worst nightmare. You can dream on your own time - but with me, there'll be pain - if you don't do exactly as I say !"

As if to emphasize his point as I am still down on the ground, he kicks me in my face, straight at my nose and I didn't even bother to protect it ! He looks down at me for a second when a teacher comes by and he suddenly makes himself scarce.

"Blood." I tell myself, now tasting it in my mouth. No, I was not dreaming. I've had dreams of being bullied many of times let alone in real life, but no dream ever let me taste my own blood.

So - what happened ? Wasn't I in High School anymore ?

And with that thought, with REALITY pushing me in from all sides it squished out with an almost audible POP the memories I had of graduating Middle School. It was as if my brain could not accept that I was in High School because of the taste of blood, and because of the school I recognized. Clearly Middle School.

The teacher comes by and glances down when she suddenly clicked her tongue. "Careless of you, Dev. To fall like that. I don't want you bleeding in my homeroom. You march yourself straight to the nurse's office, right now !"

I nod respectfully, "Yes'm, Ms. Arable." and shoving all my school supplies back into my backpack, I pinch the side of my nose and go to the nurse's office as directed.

Inside I see the nurse I had back in Middle School, so there was no doubt about it. Maybe when Buford pushed me to the ground I hit my head or something. I still remembered the plugin though, and if I really got into a fix I was pretty sure I could call on Darceon for help.

I stepped inside and pulled away the two fingers from my nose when my nose started to visibly bleed in front of her.

"God, Dev ! What did you do to yourself !?" she admonished.

I sighed. She knew as well as I did that I was being bullied - yet she made no move to intercede as clearly that would've gone against me in the long run.

But I did have a question.

"Where's Scant ?"

"Who ?"

"Scant, you know, Theodore Merriwether. Where is he ?"

She shook her head. "Got hit in the head too did you, Dev ? There is no 'Scant' or Theodore Merriwether anywhere in this school. And I know every student in this school."

I nodded, "Yeah, I got kicked in the head I think."

She held up two fingers with a grape loop lollipop between them. "How many fingers am I holding up ?"

I was pretty sure the right answer was to take the lollipop. I did so and she smiled, yes I was still a kid at heart. Seeing I was distracted looking at the wrapping of the treat she spoke, "Alright, let's look at your nose now."

She had me sit on the examination table and taking a practiced finger touched the tip of my nose. No pain there. She gently pushed it to one side and that's when it hurt, "Ow !" and started bleeding again.

"Nothing broken." she said in a professional tone. "You'll need to wear this for today." and she reached around to get a bandage to bandage up my nose entirely. Now I looked like I might've touched a mummy or something and my nose got magically bandaged up because of it.

I touched the bandage and groaned. It was bad enough I was wearing glasses. A band-aid might've been fine but to actually put real white bandages all over my nose making me look even sillier, bullies would be drawn to that like a magnet. They loved making fun of anyone who looked different from other people.

I tugged on it a bit when she suddenly reached over to slap me, "No, Dev ! You keep that bandage on all day. Tonight you can take it off. Wash your nose, the bleeding should stop and you'll be alright."

I put my hands back in my lap and nodded, "Thank you."

She stood suddenly to open her door. "Alright, Dev. No more mischief, go straight to Home Room."

I hopped off the table and left to the hallway.

Demitri was there, I recognized him anyways. "Where's your hall pass, Dev ?" he asked then noticed the bandage on my nose.

He laughed, "What'd you do, escape from a hospital ? My gawrd don't you look ridiculous !"

I groaned, "Don't rub it in, Demi ! And no, no hall pass. Obviously I just came out of the nurse's station - on my way to Home Room."

He nodded. "Alright then, get along."

I smirked and thought to myself. It was only by a narrow fraction of a vote did he get to be hall monitor for this month. I sometimes wondered if he cheated in putting in fake names, I never did trust Dimitri.

Dismissing that thought though I entered the class.

Ms. Arable looked at me for an instant and suppressed an obvious grin. The class however was not so kind and laughed out loud.

Ms. Arable smacked her ruler down on the desk loudly, "Now, class ! Dev was involved in a - fracas. Leave him alone and be ready to say our Pledge Of Allegiance."

I sat down and Marty nudged me with his foot from behind.

He started to say something to me when the loudspeaker crackled. "Good morning, students. Won't you please join me as we say our Pledge Of Allegiance."

I stood in time with the rest of the classmates, not trying to bring any more attention to myself than I could and placing my right hand over my heart I recited the stanza.

After that, Ms. Arable started to take roll call. "Danny F." "Here." "Paul M." "Here."

She paused for a second and taking a deep breath spoke, "Tyr."

"Here Miss Marble !" Tyr said suddenly standing up on her desk and jumping up and down and shouting. There were catcalls from the other male students. Tyr was quite the catch for her ripe old age of 12. She grinned toothily to her noisy fans.

"Class ! Settle down. Settle down !" Ms. Arable smacked the ruler on her desk again. "Tyr, it is not ladylike to stand up on our desks !"

Tyr wrinkled her nose in thought, "Yah well who said I was a lady, huh ?"

The other students laughed to that but the teacher then came by with her ruler.

Mirth quickly drained out of Tyr's face to be replaced by fear and she suddenly sat down in her chair facing forward and her hands folded on the desk.

Ms. Arable came by her with the ruler. She was thinking of smacking Tyr's desk with it when she paused. "No more nonsense out of you, young lady, or it's off to the principal's office you go !"

Tyr continued, silent, her pose like a statue. The perfect model student.

Ms. Arable nodded, satisfied Tyr had been properly reprimanded and started back up to the front of the classroom. Suddenly there was hushed laughter and giggling. I don't know what Tyr did because I was looking at Ms. Arable at the time but looking back at Tyr she had a goofy face on as if she did something incredibly naughty - I just didn't know what. Not too surprising considering her. She was always this way.

Challenging authority any way she could.

I shook my head. Plenty of time to talk to Tyr during lunch.

Class continued as normal where the principal returned on the speaker to make further announcements including lunch. Bleah. I never ate the cafeteria food. There was a rumor doing so would turn you into a zombie and I wasn't about to take the chance !

Instead like Tyr I had brought my own lunch in a brown paper bag.

Class ended and we left the room to go to our other assigned classes. Math first, then science, history, and lunchtime.

Like before I took my lunch and went out to the old tree that was just outside the recess area to see Tyr waiting for me, waving her hand.

"Hey, Tyr." I nodded at her.

"Hay is for horses, Dev Boy !" with that she fair glomped me and gave me a big cherry-cinnamon-lipstick kiss on my mouth.

For a moment I was gagging as she was giggling, enjoying every moment of my discomfiture.

Then she, too, noticed the bandage on my nose.

"What happened !?"

I replied, "Buford, did. Although I've never seen him before today. It was Scant. You remember Scant, don't you, Tyr ? Theodore Merriwether ?"

Tyr shook her head, "It's always been Buford, Dev. Did you hit your head when you fell ?"

I grimaced, "Not you too ! That's what the nurse said."

"Maybe she was right." Tyr offered innocently.

"I gone to beat up his a*s ! Nobody but nobuddy picks on my dev, 'scept me !"

There was a moment of quiet before she spoke again.

"Say Dev." she started to ask in that silly tone I knew all too well and not wanting to become a seat-cushion this time I hurriedly pulled out my Suzi-Q dessert and opening the palm of her hand, placed it there, closing the fingers around it.

She looked at me for a second with wide eyes, I think a little perturbed at being robbed the chance to once again as she did every day, 'put me in my place.' However after a moment she nodded and quietly added, "Okay. You're learning, boy." Then set about to eating the dessert.

Seeing Tyr was settled down of her naughtiness I had questions.

"Tyr, yesterday I was in High School. How am I in Middle School now ?"

* * *

She looked at me for a second and finally said, "You crazy, man. We always beened in Middle School. Maybe High School later, not now."

I persisted, "No, I really do remember it. Not clearly now because everything is so REAL here."

She laughed, "Welcome to reality, bub. Population, me, myself, and mine !"

I shook my head, "No, I mean it. I know - I know everything in Middle School and half of High School. I was there !"

She smirked, "That's just cause you got such a big brain, boy ! Maybe you dreaming you in High School ?"

I reluctantly nodded, "Yeah, maybe you're right. I mean, I can't time travel. Not yet anyways."

She smiled, "So big brain here is going to make a time machine now ?"

I shrugged, "We could with the plugin."

She had a faraway look in her eye now. "Yeah, the plugin, that little box of miracles. It's still in you yes ?" and she tapped the middle of my chest.

While there was no visible sign of it existing I could FEEL it in me. Yes, the plugin was still with me. I nodded.

"But you shouldn't." she said suddenly. "You remember those weird guys that lookered like us they telled us messing with time was wrongo ? Back when we were giving Stefani her bath ?"

How could I forget. Stefani was just falling down into this huge vat of - well, crap. It was the sewage treatment plant.

But these guys that looked like us. I would never forget them. They looked just like us but had hollowed out black eyes with old a red glowing pin-point in the center. And they didn't walk. Their legs just floated behind them as they glided from one spot to the next. What did they call themselves, "The Chronotrons" ?

No, they did not say what they were but they they were from the "Chronosphere." Apparently a place for guardians like themselves protecting existence from people such as Tyr and me who calling on the mighty powers of SIM moved time in a non-linear way.

Yeah I remembered them. I nodded. "No, no time machine. Likely that would call them again. But - something - SOMETHING happened. I =WAS= in High School."

Tyr's face which was normally leering all the time, softened and she smiled. "Maybe you really do wanna been in High-School, but not yet. Not really."

I answered that by finishing up my lettuce and bologna sandwich.

I licked my lips, still a little hungry. "Hey, Tyr. If you got my dessert, what do you normally get for dessert ?"

She reached in her own paper lunch and pulled out a little clear bag that had 2 brown squares in it.

"Fig Newtons. Ugh ! They are the worst !" She then thrust the bag to me.

I smiled, "I've had these before, they're not so bad."

"All yours, bucko !" she said and then unexpectedly stood up to go around to the other side of the tree where I couldn't see her.

"Tyr ?" What are you doing. I was curious to her movements, seeing if she was going to do something unpleasant to me when suddenly Buford and two other cronies were standing right in front of me.

"Tyr ?" I called again. "Tyr !?" As I was still sitting I looked behind the tree but she was not there !

"Buford ! What did you do to her !?"

"Do to whom, shrimp ?"

"Tyr ! She was just here, she - " I tilted my back hard now to look all around the tree - she was definitely not there. And there was nowhere else she could go ! Fear gnawed a big part in my brain.

Buford on the other hand was losing patience. "If that's the hottie from Home Room I'm sure she wants nothing to do with you, loser !"

I started to stand up when his left crony suddenly kicked out a leg from under me and I fell back, painfully, against the tree.

"Haw haw !" Buford said in a meaty and deep voice. "My doing ?" he said, pointing to my nose which was still bandaged.

"It looks good on you." he commented, nodding. "Maybe now I can break your glasses so you gotta wear scotch-tape to hold 'em on your scrawny noggin, huh ?"

I pushed the glasses up with my finger, "Please, leave my glasses out of this."

"Alright shrimp boat, I'll leave your glasses alone - today, but you know what you have to do now, doncha ?"

I actually wasn't certain. While I had strong memories of Scant bullying me, this new bully whom I had never seen before, was new. My brain was racking too, trying to figure this out. Wait ! Wasn't this Buford from the party ?

But he was so much older then. But let me think. Let's say Buford went to my school instead of Scant. Well that would be about right then.

"I remember who you are !" I said with a big smile, then suddenly couldn't bite it back quickly enough as this was just fuel for Buford's fire whatever he had planned for me.

"Well good for you. You know who I am. Whaddya want, a medal ? Yeah I toldja - I am your WORST nightmare. So get your stuff and let's get this over with. The bell's gonna ring soon."

"Get what over with ?" I asked.

Buford suddenly growled and grabbing my arm with an incredibly muscular grip jerked me straight up from the tree. "I got no time for games, Poindexter ! Now get your s**t and let's get going !"

I didn't want to anger him further so I grabbed both Tyr's empty bag, my bag, and my trash, and wadded it all up in my hand.

Buford was not expecting me to lead now which apparently I did in the past and grabbing my other arm roughly directed me back into the school where I dropped off my trash in the binnister there.

"Your good deed for the day, huh ?" Buford cackled.

I shrugged.

He turned to speak to one of his cronies, "Hey, Mincemeat. Where are we in the schedule ?"

MM pulled out a rolled up piece of paper and I immediately recognized it was a map of the school, both floors.

I could see that someone had used a red checkmark for every toilet in the bathroom except those on the 2nd floor, there were only a few red marks there.

"2nd floor. Near the workshop, boys, last stall to the wall."

"Well, that's where we're going."

"A swirly ?" I asked, certain this was the answer.

"Well what else do you think ? All this week your little nerd head has been cleaning every toilet in the school. 'My' good deed for the school is to keep the toilets clean - with your head ! So let's get going."

He tightened his grip on my arm and now I was hurting quite a bit. I staggered and fell. He didn't loosen his grip one bit. "Don't try to pull away. I'll break your fncking arm !"

"No. No, that's fine. You want to float me - just please, ease up on the arm. You're hurting me !"

He guffawed again, "God gentlemen, what we gots here is a shrimp on the barbie. Or maybe he's a Barbie Shrimp. I'm not sure. Anyways, onwards !"

He did ease up on the arm and no way was I going to fight him.

We climbed the stairs and entered the appointed bathroom.

I had questions now because I honestly did not know.

"So - you've already swirled me in these other - " I quickly counted - " seven ?"

"Yeah, short-term memory huh short-stop ?" You did a real nice job too, wanna see ?

I nodded, eager to let the clock run out where we needed to return to class.

So saying he punched open one of the stall doors and stuck my head in to look.

"See ? Nice and clean. I think we're making real progress here."

"How about the other one ?" I had hoped he would show me the #2 - #7 to use up valuable minutes but no.

"You can look at 'im on your own time. Right now - " and with that he thrust open the door to the last stall, #8 and with a grip I clearly could not fight shoved my head down in the toilet to look.

"You see all that crap in there ?"

Despite better thinking I did look and it was nasty. There was caked yellow stains and brown what I hoped was rust for the hole exiting the toilet.

"Let's get started, men !"

And like clockwork Buford held on to my head as the other two got me into a forced kneeling position over the toilet.

"Alright, Dev, and this time I don't wanna have to do any work. YOU get in there and clean it - all by yourself. Show me you can do a good job of it."

I felt my lunch lurch up in me in disgust and swallowed it back down. "Do you have a cleaning rag ?"

He shouted now, "Get your head in that toilet now and start cleaning !"

When I didn't move he moved his head from side to side like an angry boarish animal getting ready to charge and grabbing the back of my neck bodily shoved my whole head in there and worked at scraping the sides with my head and face.

As he did so the other two cruelly laughed at my plight.

Suddenly Buford pulled my head out, water splashing everywhere, and I could smell it now - and it wasn't the toilet. It was me ! I smelled awful ! I could even taste it.

He gave me a moment to catch my breath, then pushed my head back in. This went on for a few more minutes before he pulled my head out deciding whether or not a 3rd pass at cleaning the bowl would be needed.

END OF CHAPTER 16