Chapter 8: School Daze

It had been a few days since Tyler transformed into Magna Man. The only other person to know–Jennifer–had been quiet, and somewhat apprehensive, but he knew her reasoning.

Mr. Kirkpatrick, the writing teacher, spoke aimlessly about something that most of the students had fallen asleep. Tyler himself began to nod off as well. Though he could function days on end without so much as a cat nap, listening to Kirkpatrick was brutal. And he had been though some brutal stuff.

Tyler checked his watch. Another thirty minutes until lunch. Damn, he thought to himself. Trying to keep himself entertained, he fiddled around with his necklace. When that failed, he began to doodle, on a piece of paper, a picture of a police motorcycle he saw on a website and wanted badly. A black and white 2005 BMW 1150 RT-P, the "p" meaning "police model." Entranced in his drawing, he absentmindedly stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, concentrating on every minor detail of the bike.

Man, I gotta get one of these, he thought to himself, finishing up the last few touches on his dream bike. He remembered the first time he actually saw a police motorcycle.

Tyler sat in the passenger seat of the now parked jeep. Eva had ran inside of a gas station to make use of their restroom. Recently, she had bought him some new clothes to replace his torn and blood stained medical scrubs. Now, he sported a clean tee shirt, some blue jeans, and a clean pair of red and white Nike basketball shoes. To him, his new garb seemed too fresh and somewhat flashy. Something he wasn't used to at all.

"Are you sure you don't need to pee?" Eva asked as she opened the driver side door and hopped back in.

Tyler scrunched his face up, disgusted by her question. "No, I have no need to use the facilities. But thank you for asking."

"Whatever," she scoffed, then handed him something in a plastic bag. "Here. My dad used to buy me these when I was a kid."

Tyler looked in the bag and pulled out a small black pouch. In colorful bubble letters were the words 'Pop Rocks.' He studied the package, then looked back at Eva confused.

"Here. Let me get that for you," Eva took the packet and tore off a corner. "Hold your hand out."

Tyler held his hand out and Eva poured some of the grainy contents into his palm. "Okay, now pop it into your mouth," Eva instructed, trying to contain a hint of laughter she felt building inside her.

Tyler cocked an eyebrow. He knew something was up, but he shoved the granules of candy into his mouth. He closed his mouth and the sweet tasting candy melted in his mouth. Next, Tyler felt something pop inside his mouth, followed by another, then another, then dozens, then hundreds. Tyler's eyes shot wide open and he shot a horrified look at Eva. Eva, on the other hand, busted out laughing in a hysterical manner.

"Don't worry, kid," she said, still giggling and wiping her eyes. "I gave my pa the same look when he first gave me Pop Rocks."

"If candy makes such a violent chemical reaction when eaten, then why do people like candy so much?" Tyler asked, popping noises still audible from him mouth as he spoke.

"Not all candy pops." She clarified.

"Oh," Tyler responded in an elongated gasp. "May I have some more?"

"Sure. It's all for you," Eva answered with a warm smile. "But don't eat too much more. I asked the guy inside about some real food and he said there's a diner about a mile or so down the highway that makes the best burgers and steak fries."

She started up the jeep, then drove off, getting back onto Route 66. Tyler opened the bag of candy and shuffled through the contents of Snickers bars, Pop Rocks, Bazooka bubble gum, a packet of Skittles, and a large bad of peanut and regular M&M's.

"Thank you very much for the candy," he said, muffled because he was shoving a Snickers bar into his mouth, and enjoying chocolate for the first time.

As they drove off, Tyler spotted a couple of Arizona Highway Patrol Kawasaki police motorcycles roaring eastbound on the highway, the riders driving them side by side. Time seemed to move at a stand still as he watched the bikes go by.

"Uh Eva? May I ask you a question?"

"Sure, kid. And if I'm going to be your stand-in parent, you may wanna start calling me mom." Eva advised. "Guess I better call you son, or one of those other names my friends call their kids. So what's up?"

"Can I get a police motorcycle? I saw two go by."

"Well, as your 'mom'"–the word mom had a strange sound to Eva–"I'm inclined to say... no."

"Oh, okay." he shrugged, going back to his candy.

"Well because they're dange–" Eva began, "wait, did you say okay?"

Tyler nodded.

"Aren't you supposed to, y'know, bitch and moan to try and get your way?"

Tyler looked at her. "How would that possibly help?"

Eva scrunched her face up. Most of her girlfriends who had kids old enough to talk always complained about their children demanding their own way or were being quoted as "ungrateful little monsters." She had just found a kid who clearly didn't have anything to call his own except for the scraps of clothes on his back and was content.

"Hmm," she pondered aloud. "Maybe more kids should be sent to boot camps."

Eva laughed to herself, whereas Tyler shot her a glare that could burn through the polar ice caps.

"Ahem, sorry," she cautiously apologized, knowing what he was capable of, and that could set him off like a bomb.

The bell for lunch broke Tyler's train of thought. In unison, those who had fallen asleep awoke, gathered their things, and made a mad dash for the door, some getting stuck or entangled, trying to leave Mr. Kirkpatrick's class as soon as possible.

Once in the crowded halls, he could hear the discussions about Magna Man spread from student to student and staff member to staff member. If they only knew, he thought as a small smile crept on his face.

Back on Sunday, he tried to see if he had any powers when he didn't transform. Tops on his list was flight. Instead of just jumping from his backyard, Tyler climbed up to the roof and dove off–

–Face first into the grass.

Not one of his brighter moments. He was just his regular normal self, if one could qualify his already engineered traits as 'normal.'

Raven, Chelsea, Eddie, and Eddie's girlfriend, Chantel, sat in the cafeteria with their lunches. Raven and Eddie winced at the lunch–meatloaf.

"Gosh, can't they ever make a quality vegetarian lunch?" Chelsea whined. "It's always something with meat."

"Girl," Raven snapped in, "I don't think this is meat."

Eddie shook his tray a tad. "I don't think this is food, period. Is meat 'posed to wiggle like some jell-o?"

While Chantel wolfed down her food as if it was nothing, the other three leaned in close to examine the alleged meat-like substance; Eddie semi stabbing at it with his spork.

Tyler came up behind them and leaned in next to Chelsea. His eyes nearly rolled back in their sockets, but he soon regained his composure.

"What are we looking at?" Tyler whispered.

"Tying to figure out if this schoolhouse delicacy is actually some sort of life form." Raven clarified.

"Yeah, I'm testing with this scientific object–my spork," Eddie added in.

Chelsea also chimed in. "I think I saw it breathe. We should set it free."

Raven, Eddie, Chantel, even Tyler shot her a look saying, 'what the hell?' So as not to make her feel out of place Tyler noted, "It might morph into some sort of B-movie sci-fi monster if it gets free."

Chelsea looked over at him, her brown eyes twinkling and a soft smile on her rose hued lips as if saying a silent "thank you." Tyler gave a barely distinguishable wink, acknowledging her and silently saying "your welcome." Chantel let out a loud scoff, Took her spork, jabbed it into the specimen–the meatloaf, and shoved the whole thing into her mouth.

"Aww!" The four examiners groaned as Chantel chewed the wiggly meat, then swallowed.

"Does that answer your question?" Chantel asked sarcastically.

"Well," Tyler though for a moment of what to say. "I applaud her bravery."

"I ain't got no food now," Eddie complained, his jaw quivering as if he was going to cry.

"I'm sorry, Cookie lips." Chantel apologized sincerely. "But you can have a taste of me if you want." she informed seductively, causing Eddie to perk right back up.

"Well after what you just ate, you might want some of these." Raven handed Chantel and Eddie a piece of Dooublemint gun and a travel packet of Listerine Breath Strips. The two then walked off and out of the noisy lunch room.

"They always like that?" Tyler asked as he took a seat.

"Nah," Raven shrugged. "This is actually one of their less lovey-dovey moments. Usually their riding that ever-so popular roller coaster."

Both Chelsea and Raven moved their arms in a rhythmic wave motion, as if they were riding a roller coaster. Tyler nodded as if he understood what they were talking about. Honestly, however, he hand no clue about this hypothetical 'roller coaster' that they spoke of.

"So, did y'all here 'bout that 'Magna Man?' He's a real life Superman, y'know," Raven spoke. " Wonder what he looks like?"

"I dunno, Rae. It seems kinda weird. Some guy in a black suit that can fly?" Tyler implied, a barely noticeable hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Well I think it's awesome," Chelsea chimed in, "I mean, how he saved those kids and all."

"Oh, me-me too." Tyler quickly snapped in.

The two girls gave him a strange look.

"What? You girls always change your minds." Tyler exclaimed defending himself, his eyes darting back and forth rapidly.

"Well I think the guy's a lunatic," Ben proclaimed, sliding a chair in between Chelsea and Tyler and taking a seat. "The last thing we need is some guy–"

"Who saves people, Ben?" Raven cut in. "I think this is exactly what we need."

"I agree with Ben," Jennifer quietly said as she too came to the table and sat next to Raven.

Tyler gave her a look. Not one of anger, but one of being hurt on the inside. Something he hadn't really experienced in his life. Well, he had, but he never outwardly showed it to anyone, not even his mom.

"I have something I need to take care of," Tyler grumbled with his voice somewhat lower than normal.

With that, he slid his chair out, grabbed his book bag, and walked away. Of all the people in the world, he would have thought that his best friend would be on his side.

"Tyler? Hold on a sec," Jennifer raced up behind him. "Please?"

He stopped, looked up at the ceiling tiles for a moment wondering why he stopped, then turned to face her. "What is it, Jay?"

It was the first time she had seen Tyler hurt in such a way. Since she had known him–about seven years–he had always been a happy-go-lucky sort of guy, even with his past.

"I'm sorry. But you've gotta understand that I care about you, y'know?"

"So you care by going against me?" Tyler whispered so as on eavesdroppers could hear. "I may not know much about feelings and all that other stuff that make up a person, but I do know betrayal."

Jennifer grabbed him by the strap of his backpack and led him to an empty hallway. "I didn't betray you. Yes, you are special and have abilities I or someone else could only dream of. But you aren't invincible. What if you get killed?"

There was genuine concern in her words and though he didn't really like it, it was nice to have others care about him.

"Well, Jay, if I'm killed, then I'm killed. But as Magna Man, I can be a symbol of hope. Show the people that even when times are at their worst, there's always hope if they believe."

After Jennifer and Tyler left, Ben, Chelsea, and Raven sat at the table in the cafeteria. The three remained silent as they ate their lunches, the two girls seeming uncomfortable for some reason.

"Hey baby, we should go out on Friday. I was thinking dinner on the wharf, maybe?" Chelsea finally spoke up.

"Can't. Gotta game then." Ben said, his mind seeming to be elsewhere.

"Well, how about after your game?" she offered.

"Won't feel like going on then," Ben protested.

"Okay. Well then maybe Saturday we could–"

"How about you stop smothering me!" Ben snarled, causing the packed lunch room to stop what they were doing momentarily. Once things went back to normal, Ben spoke, "Why don't you ask that jerk-off Tyler to do something with you?"

With that, ben slammed his sandwich down, grabbed his stuff, and tromped off. Chelsea's lower lip quivered as this was the first time Ben had ever yelled at her.

"Girl? I'ma be right back. I'll talk with Ben," Raven offered as she got up from her seat and chased ben down.

"Ben, what the hell is your malfunction?" Raven asked, her tone full of irritation.

"I saw him earlier. He was getting to close to my girl. My girl!" Ben griped.

Raven had noticed that Chelsea and Tyler seemed to click. Whenever the two were close together, they seemed to light up, as well as Chelsea telling her that thing between her and Ben were on the rocks. Back when they first started going out and getting serious, Ben and Chelsea were almost the perfect couple with the two of them sharing the same interests and all. The last thing Raven wanted to see, however, was her best friend in the world get hurt, knowing that Chelsea had been burned by boys in the past.

"You know something Ben?" Raven said with an angry calmness, "Chelsea doesn't belong to you. She's not some piece of property that you can just claim."

Ben remained silent as his animosity continued to manifest.

"Maybe Chelse should be with Tyler. At least he seems to care about her." Raven continued.

She then turned around and marched back into the cafeteria, her heels clacking against the hard linoleum floors of the school's hallway.

Ben knew that she was right. But it would be a cold day in hell if he let Chelsea get away and start something with Tyler. I'm not gonna let that happen, he thought. No way.