Author's note:

My Word believes I should write Hebrew, therefore there are bugs in every step of the way, and that's the reason for a somewhat strange look of the story.





"It's shrink day," Chloe said in a low voice.

"Shhh" Whitney hissed her.

He glanced nervously around the cafeteria to make sure no one listened.

"I'll be at your house at four," He said in his regular voice.

"What's going on in your war front?" She asked.

"Not here" He got up and so did she, they went to the yard and set themselves on a bench.

"I think everything is going fine" He told her. "Lana looks at with those me with those puppy eyes of hers whenever she sees me, she even murmured something about "you being happy as I am"

Chloe shrugged. "Sounds like Lana."

"How's the Kent thing going?"

"The same, more or less. They're much alike, our Joey and Dawson."

"Told you."

She shrugged again, it was just the time for the bell to ring.

He took her hand, and they went back to the building.















Whitney rang at Chloe's door at four.

She smiled to him as she opened the door, and he smiled back. He's nice, she thought. Maybe, after everything is over, they would stay friends. Probably not. He was a football player, popular, good-looking.all the things she wasn't. Other than good-looking, of course. They had nothing in common, except the happy pills and a broken heart.

"You want to go first?"

He asked her as she entered his track.

"Couldn't care less. I'm not too fond of him anyway. We need more shrinks in Smallville. I want to be able to choose."

"But that will ruin our "Pleasantville" image, Chlo. We couldn't possibly allow that. Nobody in Smallville ever needs mental help. We're all happy here, between cornfields and meteors. Most people here think people like us should be in hospitals, away from their quiet little town."

"You're almost as cynical as I am, Fordman. I like that. Maybe you can give lessons to Clark."

"Maybe you can give lessons to Lana. And while you're at it, throw out all her pink sweaters."

After that they kept comfortably silent for a while.

For the hundred time Chloe wondered why didn't anybody notice all the town's weird events. Like Whitney said, they all insisted to close their eyes. There's nothing wrong in Pleasantville. Just lots of corn, meteor rock, and two disturbed teenagers who didn't belong. Even if one of them faked it admirably.

"Say, Sullivan, what Kent has that I don't?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Isn't that other way round? You're the popular quarterback, the handsome All-American guy. You're an American myth, almost equal to Mom's apple pie.

"So why does he date my girl? And why are you so into him?"

He demanded.

"Well." Chloe stopped. What can she possibly tell him?

"Clark is very handsome, beautiful, even. He's smart, he's innocent. People are attracted by his farm boy charm. In his way he's another All-American boy- Good, honest, helps poor???, protect the weak."

"As opposed to?"

"You're going to have another accident, driving like that."

She warned him.

"Fuck that"

"I guess that's the reason you lost your other tracks. You don't give a damn, do you?"

"Not really. Does that count for death wish?"

"You need more Prozac."

"Give it to Kent. He got my life. Let him have the Prozac as well."

"Why do you feel so sorry for yourself?"

"Because my life is ruined, Chloe!" He hit the wheel with his fist.

"What? So Lana left you. Ok, it happens. It's not the end of the world. Every girl in school would be glad to go out with you."

"It's not Lana. Lana was the last straw, I guess. It started before. The day I've lost my scholarship, maybe. Forget that, it started the day I was stupid enough to hang damn Kent in the damn cornfield."

"That wasn't very nice of you."

"Don't you think I know that? Ever since, things got worst. I would have apologized, but he's so annoying I'm afraid I'd end up kicking his ass instead."

"You need more Prozac."

She repeated.

"I need a new life."











"Chloe" The voiced was hunted.

"Hi, Fordman."

She looked at him. His face was blushed, his eyes.an animal running away from its hunters.

"We're the talk of the school"

"I know that. That was the whole point."

"No, forget the stupid dating thing. Somebody saw us at the shrink's office. The coach had a "talk" with me today."

"A talk? What was the "talk" about?"

"High school pressures."

"God" Chloe began to laugh, almost hysterically.

"Wait, there's more. The rumor says, apparently, that we know each other from a mental hospital in Metropolis.

"What?!" Chloe almost screamed.

Whitney set down, head between hands.

"I'm dead." He murmured.

"Don't be ridiculous. So you see a shrink. So you take Prozac. So what?"

"So what? I'd tell you. You should see the way they look at me when I went through the hallway to get hear. They gossip. Yesterday they worshipped me, today I'm a subject of their pity."

"Bullshit, You're still the quarterback. You hold the damn team on you shoulders"

"It doesn't matter. It's a small town, I told you. You're from Metropolis, you can't possibly understand.

But Chloe understood. They were both labeled now. The label said: "Nut cases. Do not touch". It didn't matter much to her. Pete wouldn't mind. And Clark.she wasn't sure they were friends anymore But all those who looked up to Whitney, who were always jealous of him, would be thrilled to find out he was that something's wrong with him. But she couldn't tell him that.

"Hi, it's ok" She got up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Those narrow minded idiots shouldn't get to you. You're still the best football player in town."

He looked up to her

"That means our little game is over. No way Lana would date me now. She's going to treat me as another one of her charity cases."

Chloe coughed.

"Maybe I should have told you that earlier, but better late than never: Lana is an idiot. The only things she cares about are her parents, and they died thirteen years ago! Do you think it's normal to carry a piece of the meteor that killed your parents around your neck? I don't!"

That made his laugh.

"No, I guess not. God, I got to get out of this little town. Now more than ever."

"Whitney?"

"Yes?"

"Ever thought of getting an academic scholarship?"

"What?"

To be continued.