My Untitled Story

[jallain]

Okay so I've posted the first two chapters before. but that was a long time ago, ive made some improvements and some changes since reading Civil War. Its funny cuz i wrote it before reading civil war and already had the idea for a mutant registration type plotline. anways, ive made improvements and so im starting this thread over again. ive only just started the story but i love the criticism or encouragement. and im not a little baby that cant take advice hah. so yeah please help me out any way you can, i know it starts out kinda vague but bear with me.




Chapter 1


In the interior of a bedroom all is quiet. The door is shut and the window is closed. The light coming from outside showed it to be about two or three in the afternoon. The room was quite messy with clothes strewn about as if there were a war between pants and shirts and the casualties were still lying on the battlefield. The walls were splashed here and there with posters ranging from sports to music to movies: Boston Red Sox, Dispatch, and an evil looking bunny rabbit's face that appeared to be made from metal. The bed was not made and the blanket looked as if it were trying to escape from the sheet.

The dresser, from the front, appeared to be chestnut in color, but from the top, you could only see the wood in a few spots between the debris. Papers, books, deodorant, a used plate, a few cups, and many other random objects were scattered about covering bureau's surface. The mirror that was attached to the dresser's back had many papers wedged into the sides along with about thirty movie stubs. There was also a nametag stuck between the wood and the glass, and a 'Hello My Name Is' sticker on the mirror, both with the name 'Keegan' written on it messily.

Without warning the door was flung open and a teenage boy walked into the room. He was carrying a number of books under his left arm. A disgusted smile graced his face as he looked at the cluttered dresser. Shaking his head he decided against adding more to the current mess. He was wearing a white t-shirt with brown lettering on it. Khaki shorts adorned his legs as he kicked aside some clothes to make a spot on the floor for his books. His fingers swept through his brown hair that curled over his ears and ran down his forehead stopping just before his eyebrows. He squinted his green eyes while dropping the books with a thud which prompted a bark from somewhere in the house. Sitting on the edge of his bed he reached underneath and rummaged around for a couple of seconds. Emerging with a victorious smile on his face, he placed two old shoes on his bed. After switching them out with the cleaner, newer ones he had been wearing, he ran out the door closing it behind him.

"Ma, I'm goin' to Kurt's house." He shouted as he grabbed a package of cupcakes from a cupboard. He hopped out of the small kitchen, turned the corner and quickly made his way for the door.

"Did you change out of your school clothes?" A warm voice came from another room. The question would remain unanswered as the door had already been shut and the house was silent once again.

The suburban neighborhood looked quite friendly. Houses cozily lined either side of the street. A few small children were playing in an empty field, as two teenage boys slowly coasted by on their bicycles. One boy had a football in his hand and was steering calmly with the other.

"Did you catch the sox game last night?" The same boy with the khaki shorts and white t-shirt asked his friend. His friend's attention was focused on the children in the field as they were tackling each other. "Ty!"

"What?" Tyler shook his head as if he were daydreaming. He was about 5'10", a muscular fifteen year old with buzzed, brown hair.

"Did you see the end of the red sox game last night?" He repeated with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Yea, Papi came through again baby!" Ty tossed the ball over to his friend and both starting pedaling a bit faster to pick up some speed.

They skidded into the front yard of Kurt's house and hopped off their bikes before they even stopped. A white and black dog ran to the front door and started barking at them as soon as their feet had touched the grass. A boy that looked to be around ten years old came to the door wearing a football jersey and shorts. Disappointment took over his previously happy face as he saw the two boys standing on his front step. As he quickly made himself scarce a shout was heard that sounded like 'fatso' and the two guests looked at each other and smiled.

A few moments passed and a much larger boy pushed past the dog and opened the glass door. If any of the three could have matched the description of 'fatso' it would have been Kurt. He was an inch shorter then Tyler and a couple inches taller than Keegan but he outweighed them both by a good sixty pounds. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and black mesh shorts. Dirty blonde hair sat on top of his pimpled face and he was smiling from ear to ear.

"What's up fellas?" Kurt said as he snatched the football from under Keegan's arm. Tyler immediately broke into a sprint away from Kurt as he threw the ball high into the air. It came down into Tyler's left hand on the opposite end of the yard and the three friends smiled with delight. They had been friends their whole lives, growing up in the same neighborhood with no other children their age in the small community. Their friends from school were great and all, but at the end of the week they were always there for each other. Kurt and Keegan were in the last couple of months of their sophomore year in high school and Tyler was finishing up his freshmen year.

* * *
​

They threw the football around for an hour or so and then filed into Kurt's house for some drinks and television. The three dropped onto the large couch that wrapped around the walls of Kurt's living room. Kurt's younger brother sat on the computer chair reading some information on his latest video game purchase.

"Hey Kurtis," he laughed as he spat out the words, "mom and dad are gone for the weekend to help grandma move in!"

"What do you think I'm an idiot? They told me yesterday that they were going." He said while flipping through the channels.

"Hey wait go back for a second." Keegan sat up straight as Kurt passed a news channel.

"You wanna watch the news?"

"Yeah didn't you hear about that attack in the city last week. Said it was something about some mutants, stole like eighty grand from this hotel." Keegan recalled, as his gaze was fixated on the TV screen.

"Muties, what ah they good for?" Kurt spoke in a thick Bostononian accent. He looked uninterested as he put the remote control on the couch beside him.

"Yeah right they're awesome." Tyler poured the rest of his lemonade into his mouth as he sat up straight to watch the news report.

"Your just jealous. I wish I had some mutant powahs. Of course then everyone would hate me." Keegan thought out loud.

"Yeah it would be pretty tight if I could fly or something." Kurt agreed.

"Or lose eighty pounds in a single bound!" Keegan said as Tyler spit out some of his lemonade laughing and Kurt's younger brother giggled while he sat down on the arm of the couch near Kurt. Kurt pushed his brother off the arm and pretended like he didn't hear Keegan's joke. The four looked intently at the screen of the TV as the reporter spoke.

"However this is just an assumption and there is no proof yet. The damage done to the building was extensive and estimated that it would cost sixty-five thousand dollars to repair. That along with the stolen money adds up to one hundred forty-five thousand dollars. This would be out of character for the mutant terrorist, he doesn't make a habit of stealing money from businesses like this, but experts believe that he is accumulating funds for a massive project to aid in his world domination schemes. Fourteen hotel employees were seriously injured in the attack, and twenty-five of the hotel's guests are also being hospitalized. There were no casualties fortunately. There was a brief message carved into the wall of the safe. It read 'Three of Ten'. Authorities are unsure of what this could mean at this time stating that it is highly unlikely that the message is referring to two other robberies that took place several weeks ago. The other robberies were much different, and much less money was stolen. Authorities also believe to have captured the perpetrators from the second of those two thefts. This is Maria Bautista from Boston, Massachusetts signing off for Channel Twelve news."

"Well that's one way to do it." Kurt said as his search for a suitable show continued.

"One way to do what?" Ty asked without looking away from the screen.

"Get rich. You guys wanna rob a store or something?"

Keegan scoffed as he looked at his sweaty friend. "Sure, you got some kinda powah mutie?"

"Yeah this," Kurt lifted one leg off the couch and farted in the direction of Keegan. Kurt's little brother pretended to pass out and Tyler and Keegan started throwing pillows at Kurt who deflected them with a smug grin on his face.

* * *
​

Hours later Keegan and Tyler were slowly making their way back home in the dark. They took their time since they knew that homework was waiting for them when they got home. The only light to guide them was a streetlight every hundred yards or so and the occaisonal porch light, but there was no reason to fear in this neighborhood.

"So if you could have one mutant powah what would you pick?" Keegan broke the silence with a question that let Ty know he hadn't stopped thinking about the hotel robbery. "And you can't pick flying."

"Hmm, well probably supah speed, or strength. I'd be unstoppable with the ball in my hands." He replied while tossing the football in the air a couple feet and catching it again.

"You already ah my friend. Just wait 'till your racking up the yahds next year for the JV team." They both chuckled.

"What about you?"

"I dunno, I've been thinking about it and I can't decide. I guess it would be cool to be able to juggle some cahs, but its so cliché. I think I'd choose to be a shape-shiftah."

"Huh?"

"Y'know, then I'd be able to just transform my body into anything. So I could make myself a bodybuildah and then be supah strong." Keegan explained to his friend.

"Yeah that'd be sweet. I'd transform into Jessica Alba's boyfriend." Tyler said as the two started laughing. They reached Ty's house and said their goodbyes. Keegan rode a couple of houses down to his yard and kept pedaling through the gate in the fence and into the backyard where he leaned his bike up against the house and slid open the glass door to his home.

Inside his mother and father were in their bedroom watching the news. His sister Bridget was on the couch watching a show about surgeries, and his Collie Oscar was lying on the rug panting heavily. Keegan sat down in front of his computer, clicked a few buttons, then swiveled around and started to watch the show the show with his sister.

"Eww." Keegan grimaced as an unidentifiable organ was removed from a bloody hole in a poor patient's body. "Isn't there some kinda sitcom on or something?" Keegan looked at his sister disgusted as she munched on some popcorn.

"I like this stuff." She shrugged at him while throwing some more kernels into her mouth. She was twenty-one years old but wasn't worried about moving out from under her parent's roof anytime soon.

A chubby black cat with gray and white splotches leapt up onto the back of the couch and looked for a spot to lie down. He decided on a spot directly underneath a row of pictures. The pictures were of the three children in Keegan's family. There was a boy, followed by Bridget, and last but not least was Keegan. Their older brother had moved out and was now married living in New Hampshire.

After only a few minutes of chatting with his friends, Keegan's mother walked out of her bedroom and into the kitchen. He knew that she would ask him about his homework and he hadn't even started it yet.

"Keegan?" She spoke from the kitchen. He opened up a document on the computer to make it look like he was typing up a report. "You finish all your homework already?" The question was like clockwork.

Near perfect grades his whole life still hadn't earned him the trust from his parents when it came to homework. Rightyfully so because Keegan could procrastinate with the best of them, and he knew somewhere deep down inside that his parents only pestered him about school because they loved him and wanted him to succeed in life.

"No, sorry ma. I'll get on it in a second." A couple of seconds later he had slid the keyboard back into the computer desk and marched off to his bedroom. He struggled through a lab he was finishing up for biology, rushed through some algebra, and easily handled the vocabulary words for English class. After two hours of homework, he stood up triumphantly. On his way out of his room he glanced at his alarm clock and groaned as he realized it was already 11:13. He hit up the kitchen one last time for a quick snack and after brushing his teeth and saying a quick prayer he lied down and stared out his window.

Keegan had always had trouble falling asleep, and it wasn't getting any better. His thoughts raced about the events of that day, he thought about what would happen tomorrow, and worried about the results of his homework. He thought about his friends, and girls from school that he liked, anything and everything that could run through his head did. It wasn't until after one o'clock that he finally fell asleep, but his slumber would be short-lived.

 

[Dark Carnage]

I like what I've read so far, I'm just not sure what kind of story we're in for. Are we going to get a taste in the next chapter?

 

[jallain]

guess ya gotta keep readin, of course, i have to keep writing, im only three chapters done so far, but i have the whole plot written down, just need to flesh it out.

 

[spdrknight]

Is this going to be a novel?

 

[jallain]

yea if i ever finish it

 

[jallain]

Chapter 2



Keegan rolled over in his bed, eyes opening slowly. He peered over at the clock, it was 4:08. One leg slipped out from under the blue comforter and allowed its foot to land softly on the ground. His shade was closed, but you could tell that the sun was not up yet, and in his head he questioned why he was. Feeling, and looking, very groggy, he dragged himself out of bed and stumbled over the mess in his room into the hallway that his door lead to. Without turning on the light he relieved himself in the bathroom and then made his way to the kitchen.

Stumbling over to the sink he reached for a cup in the cupboard. After downing a glass of water he shuddered at the taste of it. His thirst had been quenched, but now he needed some flavor to rid him of that morning taste in his mouth. Shielding his eyes from the light emanating from the refrigerator, he grabbed a container of orange juice. The orange liquid hit his tongue and his cheeks puckered. After finishing it he placed the glass in the sink and reached back into the fridge to return the juice.

Just as soon as he let go of the carton he leapt in terror. His head smacked off the bottom of the freezer door with a thud. Was that an actual noise he heard or was it all in his head? Terror took over him. He stood frozen in place, quarter past four in the morning, in his boxers in front of an open refrigerator. Goosebumps covered his body; they could have been from the cold air blowing past him or from the state of shock that he was in.

He thought about closing the door and he heard it again. The noise was indistinguishable, but instead of freezing him, this time it freed him. He peeked over the top of the fridge door, it was very dark and he couldn't make anything out. There was a small section of the wall that the moon was shedding light on. He was starting to calm down as he let go of the door and it began closing slowly. Then he saw a shadow move across the light on the wall. It looked like it was a person but he was too frightened to keep watching. Turning, he tiptoed quietly and quickly away from the fridge.

His heart was beating harder then he could ever remember. The noise came from the living room area and the only exit from the kitchen led right through it. Instead he slid open the wooden door to the small pantry and squeezed inside. Slumping down into the corner he tried to be as silent as possible. Peering through the slats in the door he could barely see anything, just darkness. He sat back against the wall and drew his knees up to his chest. Taking several deep breaths he rested his head on his knees and wished that he had just remained in his bed. Slowly he began drifting off again, and eventually he was asleep.

* * *​

"AHH! Keegan you scared me! What are you doing in there?" Keegan's mother stood above him in a pink bathrobe. He looked up slowly, feeling very confused.

"Mmm, where am I?" He muttered very disoriented.

"You're in the pantry, now get out please so I can make some breakfast." He crawled out from underneath a shelf feeling very sore from being scrunched up for a couple of hours. "Go get dressed please, I'll have some waffles ready for you."

Keegan showered and got dressed all the while trying to remember what had happened the night before. He sat down on the couch with a plate of waffles and before going to ESPN like every other morning, he decided to stop on the news to see if there was anything new about the hotel robbery. Sitting through a piece about some stray cats and a new statue being erected, he finally got what he was hoping to see.

“For those of you who haven't heard, a group of people, believed to be a mutant terrorist faction, attacked a hotel here in Boston last week. This act of violence has pushed the President to finally pass the anti-mutant act that was proposed recently. The act states that any mutant using his or her powers in public without a license will be arrested immediately. Also, any suspicious activity will prompt a visit from local law enforcement to try and prevent any future 'mischief'. The President issued a statement saying 'These mutants are dangerous people. They have an advantage to us physically and mentally, so we have to do all we can to prepare, and prevent them from causing harm to us and our families.' Mutants will be forced to be exposed with their identity open to the public, and they must register with the government to be allowed to use their powers in public. They will receive a license depending on what their powers are and if they can use them to help society. There will be many obstacles since the government has not developed a method for displaying all of the powers any given mutant may posess. Also, a prison capable of detaining every type of mutant we are aware of has yet to be designed. The backlash has already started pouring in from mutants around the United States. In an anyonomous letter that we received here at the station states 'That is just like the government to point fingers at mutants any time a crime is committed. It is enabling normal people to break laws and get away with it when all eyes turn to a mutant. Our powers are just like athleticism or intelligence, its a gift that we were born with and don't deserve to be persecuted for it.' In a poll that we conducted this morning, about thirty-seven percent of the people we talked to agreed with the President's decision, only six percent disagreed, and fifty-three percent said that he was too lenient."

"How were the waffles Keegan?" His mother interrupted.

Keegan turned the TV off and brought his plate and fork into the kitchen. "They were fine." After throwing out the paper plate and leaving his fork in the sink he stood in the kitchen scratching his head. He just couldn't remember why he had woken up in the pantry this morning. Then the all too familiar sound of the bus barreling down his street drew his attention and he watched the bus drive by his house. He looked back to his mother with an apologetic smile. She sighed and walked off to her room to get dressed.

* * *​

On the ride to school, Keegan tried remembering what had happened the night before, but it just wouldn't come to him. He felt badly about his mother finding him in the pantry that morning, and even worse that he had no explanation for it.

"Sorry Ma, I wish I could tell you why I was in the pantry last night." He spoke without looking at her.

"It's okay Keegan, just don't make a habit of it." It seemed weird that she accepted his explanation, or lack thereof, but she was a loving mother afterall.

He was hoping that maybe some recollection would come to him if he kept his mind off of it, and what better place to supply you with tedious information than school. For fear of total embarrassment, he had his mother drop him off down the road and he walked the rest of the way, anything was better then his mom dropping him off in front of other students.

He joined his first period class with only ten minutes left. This was the most unusual morning he had had in a long time. A couple of his friends were wondering why he had come in late. When he didn't have an intruiging story to tell them they lost interest and returned to the normal conversation. By the time he was sitting in third period English, he heard the noise that he had feared all morning.

"Keegan Cain please report to the office. Keegan Cain to the office please." The speaker on the wall let him know that it was time to explain his tardiness. When he got to the office he noticed another boy waiting, he was sitting silently, staring down at his feet.

Keegan approached the secretary’s desk and waited for her to look up at him. "Hi I'm Keegan Cain, I was just called down here."

"Oh yes, Mr. Howard would like to speak with you. Take a seat next to Jonathan over there and Mr. Howard will be with you in a few minutes." The secretary instructed him and then continued doing her paperwork.

Keegan sat down next to Jonathan. He looked like a normal kid, not one that you would usually see in the office, although, appearances could often be deceiving.

"Hey, what ah you in for?" Keegan asked the boy.

Jonathan continued looking at his shoes. "I dunno man. I don't remember doing anything. How 'bout you?"

"I was late today."

"That's it? I've been late before and never got called down here."

As soon as Jonathan had finished his sentence the door to the assistant principal's office opened and an attractive blonde haired girl came walking out holding an envelope. She had green eyes that matched Keegan's and the two held eye contact as she exited the secretary's office. The assistant principal came out of his door soon after wearing an impressive blue suit.

"Ahh Jonathan. Please join me in my office." He extended an arm in Jonathan's direction and smiled warmly at the two boys. Jonathan finally looked Keegan in the eyes and let out a sigh of nervousness. As Jonathan entered the office the door was closed behind him and the secretary picked up her microphone to speak a message to the school.

"Emily Phillips please report to the office. Emily Phillips to the office." The secretary looked up at Keegan and smiled then went back to her work.

A few minutes later another equally pretty blonde came into the office and had a similar conversation with the secretary that Keegan had had moments earlier. She sat next to Keegan and spoke up immediately.

“So do you know why we're here?" She spoke loudly and looked Keegan directly in the eye.

Keegan nervously played with his fingers, "Nope. How 'bout you?"

"I don't know either. I better not be in trouble, I haven't done anything." She defended herself although no one was accusing her of anything.

"Well Jon Carter is in there with Mr. Howard now, and Tracy Stevenson was in there before him. She came out with an envelope I think, but then she went back to class." Keegan's nerves began calming down.

“Oh yeah I saw her reading some paper in the hall on my way down here. What could this all be about." Emily took a small book out of her purse and started turning pages. "Hey only a few weeks left till summer, got any big plans?"

"Not really, gonna go visit my brother in New Hampshire. You?"

"No, nothing much. I'm gonna throw a pool party in July. You should come!"

Keegan smiled half-heartedly. He figured she only asked him because they happened to be sitting together in the office and wouldn't have otherwise invited him. "That sounds cool. Let me know when." Emily nodded and smiled and as she did the door to Mr. Howard's office opened once more and Jonathan walked out.

Jon walked by the two teens and out of the office winking at Keegan. Keegan was looking out into the hallway that Jon just walked into when he heard "Mr. Cain. Right this way please."

Turning, Keegan saw Mr. Howard standing in his doorway smiling. Keegan shot one last glance at Emily, stood up, and finally entered the assistant principal's office.

Mr. Howard's office was the pinnacle of organization. There wasn't a single object that didn't have a correct location, and Keegan searched the room for any signs of dust but couldn't seem to locate any. There were two envelopes on his desk, and Keegan figured that one was meant for him.

Even though Tracy and Jon both came out of this room relatively happy, he still imagined the letter inside to be a notice of suspension or something equally as horrifying.

As far as assistant principals go, Mr. Howard was pretty large. In all actuality he was probably 6'3", and about two hundred twenty-five pounds, but to the students under his jurisdiction he appeared to be the biggest man alive.

They sat there silently for a few seconds; Mr. Howard was looking over a few documents. He finally looked up at the anxious Keegan and chuckled lightly. "Don't be nervous Keegan, you’re not in any trouble. I've asked you to come down here today to extend an offer to you." His voice boomed as he looked down at his papers, "I'm looking at your grades here and they are very solid. In the two years you've been here I haven't had to discipline you at all. You are on the track team, baseball, yearbook staff, you are a very bright kid and obviously you’re concerned about your academics, and how you will look to potential colleges. That is why I think you will be pleased to accept my proposal.” He smiled at Keegan.

Keegan raised an eyebrow and leaned forward in his chair to show that his interest had piqued.

“This summer, from June twenty-fourth to the thirtieth, a group of twenty Junior High students at the top of their class will spend the week up in Boston learning more about local history, and some information on the fields they are interested in pursuing. There will also be time for sightseeing, shopping, and general recreational activities. Now I have been chosen to select four of our most promising High School students each to lead a group of five of the younger children. You’re obviously intelligent enough to figure out that I am now asking you to be one of the student leaders. The children that would be under your responsibility would be five males that are interested in similar, if not the same field of work that you hope to pursue. There will also be two teachers acting as chaperones for the week.” Mr. Howard picked up the envelope with Keegan’s name and handed it to him.

“This sounds like fun and all Mr. Howard,” Keegan said as he took the envelope, “but what am I getting out of all this?"

“Ha, I was just getting to that. This would count as another extra curricular activity for your transcript, and it would also go down as fifty-six hours of community service, and you probably already know how good that would look to future colleges. In addition to that, you would receive a free ride to and from Boston, a free week at a hotel in Boston, and two free meals a day for the duration of the week.” He leaned back in his chair with a grin showing how proud he was of this generous offer. “Now before you give me an answer Mr. Cain, take that envelope home to your parents, it has all the details about the trip, and have them sign it if you all agree to go through with this. If not then you can throw that out, tell me you’ve decided to decline my offer, and I’ll go to the next name on my list.” Mr. Howard stood up and walked over to the door. “You are dismissed back to class now Mr. Cain.

Keegan got up and walked out of Mr. Howard’s office thanking him for the opportunity. He smiled at Emily who was still waiting patiently in her chair. Remembering their conversation from before he shook the envelope in her direction and she smiled back at him.

“Excuse me Mr. Cain.” The secretary spoke as he was on his way out. “Third period has ended now, so you’ll need to get a pass from me to go get your things from your last class and join your fourth period class which has already started.”

“Oh, sorry.” Keegan walked over to the desk and waited for the pass to be written out. He peered behind the counter and looked down on the secretary’s desk. There was a letter on top of a pile of papers and he tried to read it although it was upside down. Scanning over the words he saw his name in the middle of one of the paragraphs. His eyes widened and he cocked his head to the side in an attempt to see it more clearly. The words ‘Keegan Cain as one of the student leaders’ leapt off the page at him. Stunned he wondered whom the letter was from. The letterhead at the top said BHFTC.

“Here you are Keegan.” Keegan jumped as the secretary spoke and placed the hall pass on the counter. “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“That’s okay, thank you.” He grabbed the pass and hurriedly walked out of the office as Emily made her way into Mr. Howard’s office looking at Keegan confused.

Keegan searched his pockets for a pen oustide the secretary's door, his lack of preperation had caught up with him however as he came up empty handed. Instead, he walked briskly through the halls repeating the five initials in his head as not to forget them. He needed to get to English class so he could write down BHFTC before he forgot. Unfortunately for Keegan, just down the hall from his classroom was a teacher with a clipboard. This particular teacher was a stickler for checking every student’s hall pass.

“Hewwo, in quite a huwwy there. I hope you have a pass.” The teacher's speech impediment was quite funny sounding to Keegan, but he wasn't in the mood for laughing.

“Yeah its right here.” Keegan handed him the pass looking very anxious.

“Mmhmm, from the office huh? Judging by the look on your face I’d say that you are in a bit of twouble today.” The teacher insisted on making conversation.

“No, no trouble.” Keegan was trying to end this quickly.

“No twouble? Then why were you sent there if you don’t mind me asking?”

Keegan finally gave in figuring that this would be the quickest way to get rid of him. “Uh see, there is this trip that some junior high kids are taking in June. They ah going to Boston and Mr. Howard was asking four high school students to go along and lead some of the groups and he wanted me to be one of them.” He smiled and looked at the clipboard, which the teacher still hadn’t written anything down on.

“Oh weally? That’s vewy interesting Mr.” He looked down at the pass “Cain. My name is Mr. Pulaski, I teach eleventh and twelfth grade science. As a matter of fact I am going to be one of the teacher chapewones for that vewy twip. Isn’t this a coincidence? So Mr. Cain are you going to be joining me on this twip to Boston?” Mr. Pulaski smiled and put his arms down by his side.

Keegan looked down at the clipboard worried. “Uh well I have to talk to my parents about it but I’d like to.” Keegan decided to make a desperate effort to get out of the conversation with the old, balding professor. “I’m sorry Mr. Pulaski but I’m kinda in a hurry, I’ve already missed about ten minutes of Algebra, and once you fall behind its almost impossible to catch up.

“Oh, say no more Mr. Cain, I’ve been in that situation before.” He jotted down some information on his clipboard and handed the pass back to Keegan. “Well Mr. Cain you seem like a very nice young man and I hope to see you in June.”

“You too Mr. Pulaski.” Keegan waved and then frantically tried remembering the letters from before. His classroom was in sight and then from a doorway a few feet in front of him Tyler came walking out holding a hall pass.

“Hey what’s up?” Tyler seemed happy for a little conversation to pass some time.

“Nothing just came back from the office.”

“What for?”

“Mr. Howard wants me to go to Boston for a week this summah with some junior high kids. So he was just telling me about it and stuff.”

“Oh cool, you gonna do it?”

“Probably, I gotta talk to my parents about it and stuff. Hey I gotta go though 'cause I’m late for algebra, watch out for Mr. Pulaski, he’s roaming around somewhere.”

“Alright, catch ya latah.” Tyler headed off in the opposite direction running his hand along the wall as he walked.

....continued in next post....

 

[jallain]

Keegan’s face twisted as he tried to remember what those letters were. He knocked on the door to the classroom and walked through the open doorway. “Excuse me, I left my books in here when I got called down to the office, I just need to grab them.”

“Go ahead” The room was being used as a study hall and he wasn’t familiar with the young, female teacher that was in charge this period. When he got to his seat he picked up his books and was greeted unexpectedly.

“Hey Keegan.” A happy female voice sounded. Keegan looked up and saw Tracy’s green eyes once again locked in on his, her expression was very friendly and Keegan's nerves returned.

“Hey Tracy.”

“So did you get the same talk I did about Boston and stuff?” She asked holding a similar envelope to Keegan’s.

“Yeah. You, me, Emily, and Jon are the lucky four I guess.”

“Yep, so…are you going to go?” She seemed genuinely interested in Keegan’s response.

“Uh yeah, well I mean I want to. I just got to clear it with my mom and dad first, but it sounds like a sweet deal with the free meals and everything.”

“Yeah same here, but I don’t know what free meals your talking about.”

“Didn’t Mr. Howard tell you that we’re getting two free meals a day?”

“I don’t remember him mentioning that, maybe he forgot.”

“Yeah, maybe I imagined it. I was just talking to Mr. Pulaski, and he is going to be one of the chaperones.”

“Oh, I’ve heard some interesting stories about him.” She laughed as she finished her sentence.

“Well I should probably get to my class, wouldn’t wanna miss out on any exponential equations.” Keegan regretted his joke immediately fearing that he would sound too nerdy.

“Oh boy, sounds like fun. Well I really hope you can go to Boston, it should be a good time.”

“Yeah we should talk on Monday to see if our parents said yes.”

“Sounds like a plan, I’ll catch ya later Keegan.” She waved to him as he walked across the room. He turned and smiled at her, then his eyes scanned over to meet the teacher sitting at her desk. She had a magazine open in front of her, but she was staring directly at Keegan.

"See you later Keegan." She said smiling.

Keegan was taken back. He wasn't quite sure how she knew his name. Muttering something not quite coherent he stumbled out of the class and back into the hallway.

There was a little extra bounce in his step this time. His uneasiness about the teacher was quickly usurped by thoughts of Tracy and Boston. He put his English book in his locker, retrieved his Algebra textbook, and rejoined his class just in time to go over the homework from the night before. The rest of the day was as normal as any other. Keegan had a lot to think about today, he woke up in a pantry, got an exciting offer to visit Boston, a juiced up college transcript, and a conversation with a really cool girl all in a few hours time. However, the combination of these things was just enough to make Keegan completely forget about those five elusive letters he tried so hard to remember, and they might just be more important than he thought.