The Acolytes of Crane "Updated Edition" Read Online Free PDF Page A

passing, I saw Travis and Jason, who were descending the stairs.
    They
didn’t even seem to care for my bedraggled appearance. ‘Hey Theodore,’ Jason
said, ‘You want to hang out with us?’
    ‘I
can’t. I don’t feel well,’ I said.
    Travis
chimed in and said, ‘I saw him falling from the tree through the window of my
house.’
    Jason
swiveled his head to face me, and for once, showed concern on my behalf. ‘Are
you okay? We can hang out some other time.’
    I
told Jason I was fine, and he carried on past me down the stairs, while Travis
hung back slightly. Travis had a menacing look in his eyes that momentarily
terrified me.
    When
he ensured that Jason was out of earshot, he spoke to me deep and quiet. He
said, ‘If I ever catch you looking through my window again you little jerk, the
pain that your dad puts you through will be nothing in comparison to what I
will do to you.’ Glowering, Travis turned from me and walked down the stairs.
As soon as his back was turned, I sprinted for my apartment.
    Back
in my “safe” refuge in my bedroom, I mulled over what Travis had said. I also
pulled my amulet from under my T-shirt, staring at it blankly, since my head
was unable to formulate anything resembling a thought. Then I shrugged. 
    Travis
and I had a lot in common, I thought. And it wasn’t pretty. No wonder he hated
me.  
    The
days grew long, and the buzz of fall slipped away. I was experiencing a weird feeling
of fatigue almost every day, and sometimes it was accompanied by annoying
aches. The winter was full of action figure battles, and time spent pondering
over boredom. Winters were usually depressing and slow.
    Fortunately,
the expected long days of sheer drudgery of winter zipped by with a new video
game system—thanks to my mother, who made me swear to have a story ready for my
dad if he ever asked—it was a gift from her parents. Weeks and then months
passed. Spring was gone and summer approached. I had a birthday, which wasn’t
interesting—unless turning thirteen was exciting—and it wasn’t. Although, I
thought I was cooler than before, because now I was a teen.
    My
friendship with Jason became stronger, and that made me happy in the midst of
my situation. Only, that meant I had to be around Travis more, because he and
Jason were best friends to begin with. I still dreaded Travis.
    A
girl at school provoked my interest that year. Her name was Mariah Espinosa.
She was amazingly gorgeous. Not to be cliché, but I figured she was out of my
league. She was the only one who made school bearable for me—because that’s the
only place where I was certain to grab a view of her.
    I
kept finding trouble at school. The principal mandated that I take a note home
every day. It was a form signed by my teacher to confirm that I had been well
behaved. I was a distracted kid. I had the smarts, but lacked the drive.
    During
class one day, I left without permission to visit the drinking fountain in
order to avoid the “rush hour” in the school’s hallways that inevitably took
place during intermissions in between classes. During such times of
pandemonium, there were kids pushing, pulling, and pinching.  Proud of myself
for plotting ahead, I strolled down to the drinking fountain through the quiet,
empty hallway.
    Actually,
not so empty. With a sense of impending doom, I saw Travis, who had altered
course and was purposely attempting to intimidate me. I didn’t like the scowl
on his face. He looked over at me and gestured with his fist, driving it into
his opposing hand. Glancing away, I started drinking from the fountain.
    With
his hip, Travis quickly but decisively shunted me aside, away from the
fountain. A volcano of crescendoing anger rose within me, ready to spew forward
at this jerk, who was calmly sipping away right in front of me.
    Raging,
I spun him around, and kicked him square in the nuts. Water shot out of his
mouth, but I ducked in time. In a combative stance, I sized him up, waiting