Installment two – Fear
Mister Strickland scares me, I'll admit it. He offers no mercy and lets my tormentors go free while lecturing me about being a slacker. I'm not a slacker, though…can I help it if I'm not popular?
Sighing to myself, I kneel down again to pick up my books, cheeks burning in shame. I can't believe I let them push me around like this sometimes, but I'm just too scared. I know I'll never be able to stand up to them; I'm so afraid of pain.
I'm even too scared to go back to the Baines house and ask how that guy is doing. I almost did it; I stood across the street and watched for any sign of him, but I never saw him. Maybe he was so badly hurt that he's in the hospital. Maybe he's dead! Maybe I shouldn't try to find out; if he is dead I'll be so guilty…
"George, buddy, I have been looking all over for you!" a strangely-familiar voice says cheerfully, and I look up at the speaker as he hands me one of my books. "You remember me? The guy who saved your life the other day?"
I can't help but stare at him in shock. It's him, the guy from the café! He's not wearing odd clothes anymore, but after what he did, I'd recognize him anywhere. "Yeah…" I stammer in surprise.
What does he want? Does he blame me for letting him get hit? Maybe he wants to beat me up, too…I can't help but flinch slightly as he places his hand on my shoulder, leading me somewhere…avoiding witnesses? "There's someone I'd like you to meet," he says evasively. Fear consumes me as I meekly go along with it, shifting my grip on my pile of books. He may be smaller than me, but I'll bet he hits hard…
To my surprise, he leads me straight to a group of girls, including the gorgeous Lorraine Baines! My jaw drops in shock as he steps right up to the beautiful young woman. "Lorraine," he calls out.
Lorraine, gorgeous Lorraine, turns around and immediately backs straight into her locker. "Calvin!" she exclaims. Calvin…so that is my rescuer's name? It sounds so…impersonal, intimidating, and generally not-friendly. Is he planning on humiliating me in front of her? I cannot, for the life of me, understand what he's up to, and that frightens me more than anything.
"I'd like you to meet my good friend, George McFly," Calvin announces, clapping me on the shoulder.
Oh…
The fear of talking to such a beautiful girl overwhelms me for a moment. What if she laughs at me? Can she tell I'm desperately in love with her already? What if us mere mortals just don't register in her heavenly mind?
"Hi," I say almost automatically, my voice quiet with shyness. "It's really a pleasure to meet you."
My heart plummets down to my socks as she doesn't even acknowledge my existence. "How's your head?" she asks Calvin instead, reaching out as if to caress his hair.
"Oh, uh, good, fine," Calvin responds uneasily, leaning back to avoid her touch. Almost as if…he was afraid of her?
"Oh, I've been so worried about you ever since you ran off the other night," she persists. "Are you okay?"
So…he must have been afraid, if he ran away from her. I understand completely, but I can't tell anyone that. The bell rings, and I'm too afraid to be late to class. Who knows what might happen?
Besides, staying there is pointless. Lorraine obviously doesn't even know I was there. Sighing to myself, I clutch my books a little tighter to my side and slip away into the crowd. However, my thoughts stay with this strange boy named Calvin, and what new torments he might unleash upon me.
Everybody does sooner or later, and I fear not knowing what to expect.
