Prologue
Spring was in full in the small community of Peach Creek. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and nature was returning to its former beauty following the cold winter months and no one was more invigorated by this time of year than Eddward as he approached the main doors to his high school.
Yes, the season had brought about a new energy to the young man. But that wasn't the only reason for his jovial attitude that morning. No, there was something much more important to Eddward, and something he had been anticipating for some time.
He nodded and voiced a positive greeting to the fellow students he passed by them in the hallway, none of whom returned the gesture, much less the energy that seemed to radiate from him as he pranced down the halls with his head held high and his arm wrapped around his aging messenger bag.
Today was a wonderful day indeed, and nothing could ruin it for the smartest of the three Ed boys as he continued to wear a wide smile, showing off the gap in his teeth, and humming the tune to his favorite song, a rendition of the Periodic Table of Elements. He almost burst in glee the moment he saw his two comrades gathered by their lockers.
"Good morning, gentlemen." he beamed to his best and longest friends.
"Yeah, yeah. Nothin' good about it, Sockhead." Eddy mumbled to his friend. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked exhausted. Eddy was many things, but a morning person wasn't one of them.
"Hiya, Double D!" Ed smiled with the same enthusiasm he always held for his friends.
The trio had changed in many ways since their misspent youth of running around the cul-de-sac trying to scam their neighbors. But, in many ways, they had remained the same. Gone were the days of trying to trick their way into quarters for jawbreakers, but in its place were newfound financial issues. These days they needed money for gas and other expenses, cash to go to the movies or to grab a bite to eat during the weekends, and in the case of certain individuals in the group, money to go on dates or for booze and pot. It's true what they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Ed was still the tallest, he towered over much of the student body and his physical strength was still revered. But following a few discoveries, his weaker attributes started to be explained. Ed was always considered a little more dense than most of his peers, something they just chalked up to bad luck. But after he was diagnosed with ADHD with the help of a few more caring and attentive members of staff the laughing matter surrounding his intelligence dissipated. It took a lot of work, and it was a struggle Ed hid well, but he now performed much better in his studies and had been since he got the help he needed.
Eddy had changed the most in some ways, but the least in others. Unfortunately for him, he was still the shortest of the group, but his greed was squelched and in its place, his interests had shifted to parties, girls, and cars like so many his age. He still held a love for money, but the relationship had suffered following a summer stint he had working at a fast food joint in town. He was still the most bombastic of the trio and very much just as hotheaded as he was back in the day but following the confrontation with his brother and the acceptance the other kids held for him in the aftermath it seemed Eddy had a lot less to prove on a daily basis.
Eddward, or Double D, or Sockhead, or one of his many other nicknames had changed the least. He was still an intellectual and maintained a keen interest in all things mathematic, scientific, historical, only to name a few, and he was still the cul-de-sac's go to problem solver. Even if the fires he put out these days had more to do with homework due dates and upcoming exams, he was as enthusiastic as ever to help his friends. And while his appearance was the same, being of average height and a lanky, unathletic build, he had learned to cope with many of his problems too. When they were kids, they would have called them quirks, but much like Ed suffered from ADHD and Eddy suffered from an abusive sibling, Double D suffered too. His crippling OCD was under control now, again thanks to the right help he was lucky enough to receive and the days of having to label his surroundings and sanitize everything in sight had almost come to an end. Of course, he still suffered from the occasional flare up, but he was getting better.
"Well, I for one think today is a most exuberating day." Double D exclaimed, eager for his friends to ask so that he could elaborate. His face dropped when they paid him little mind.
"I think they make a cream for that, Double D." Ed whispered, his face contorted in worry.
"Would you two pipe down out there?" Eddy sighed as he leaned into his locker. He scribbled down answers onto the homework which was due in a matter of minutes.
Double D tried again, "It would seem that today brings many good tidings for the future, gentlemen. Why I happened to have received some parcels in the mail this morning, and with the assistance of your parents I bring excellent news."
"My mom says you're one of the good ones, Double D!" Ed smiled.
"Uh-huh. Hey, Sockhead instead of talking nonsense out there how 'bout ya hand me your homework for first period." Eddy groaned.
Double D deflated again. Why did his friends have to be so impossible? But he persisted, "Can either of you think of anything important that was supposed to come in the mail around this time?" he asked.
"Eddy says he doesn't have to pay for those any more thanks to the internet." Ed nodded. Eddy peered over his shoulder and wore a disgusted expression.
"Like you don't." he murmured.
"The college acceptance letters!" Double D bellowed out, having finally had enough. "We've been waiting on the college acceptance letters!"
"Say it, don't spray it." Eddy scoffed wiping his friend's spittle from his brow.
Defeated Double D reached into his bag and produced three envelopes, one addressed to each of them. He passed them out to his friends who swiped them out of his hands. He already knew his acceptance status and wasn't surprised by the results. The trio had found a nearby college with reasonable acceptance rates that was something the three of them could all enjoy together. Double D being as studious as he was had his pick of any university the country over but knew his place belonged beside the friends that he considered to be his brothers. It was a difficult conversation he had with his parents who thought it more prudent for him to focus on his future than his friends, but Double D had come to terms a long time ago that Ed and Eddy were more of a family to him than either of his ever absent parents were.
Eddy wore an eager expression while Ed looked more reserved. "Finally!" the shorter one grinned as he slammed his locker shut, "Once we get out of here it's gonna be all about parties and girls and more parties!" he mused as he tore into the envelope. Ed just held his and stared with a look of fear on his face.
It was no secret that Ed struggled in school, his disabilities made it even more difficult for him. But, with the right help and under Double D's guidance he had turned around his academic career. But the stigma still followed him. Was he accepted given his mediocre grades? Would they want to deal with someone that struggled like he did? And even if he were accepted it would just be another hurdle to leap. College couldn't be any easier than high school had been, and he had already struggled enough with it.
"HA! Accepted!" Eddy beamed with a sly, toothy grin. This shook Ed from his thoughts, and he stared with a newfound fear at the envelope. Could this be goodbye between him and his friends?
Double D placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled up at him, "It's alright, Ed. Open it."
Ed nodded and opened the envelope with an amount of reservation rare to the teen. The folded up piece of paper dropped out of it and into his free hand. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he opened it up and started reading. His fear was replaced piece by piece with pride and joy as his eyes glided further into the letter.
"Well, what's it say?" Eddy asked, sliding up and leaning onto his taller friend trying to get a glimpse of the letter.
"I'm going to college, guys!" he shouted with a big smile. He couldn't contain his joy as he shifted his weight back and forth between his two feet, bouncing as he fought off the tears that threatened to break the thresholds of his eyes.
"Very good, Ed!" Double D smiled up to his friend, knowing firsthand how difficult his journey up to this point had been.
Eddy gathered his two friends up in his arms and led them down the hallway, each of them smiling and voicing their excitement for the upcoming years together. Unbeknownst to them, they had dropped their acceptance letters, which drifted down onto the polished tile floor in front of their lockers.
And there they remained as another trio began their march through the school. The remaining students made themselves scarce upon spotting them as they approached, walking shoulder to shoulder down the halls, glaring at their peers who retreated and avoided eye contact, it was crucial to their survival to do so. The Kanker Sisters had arrived.
Like the Eds, the Kankers had changed in some ways but remained the same in others. For one they had grown into women and enjoyed the accompanying benefits. They had even adopted better hygiene and care to their appearances in their own individual styles.
Lee, the oldest, stood the tallest, her curly, red hair styled framed her face and revealed her fierce green eyes that seemed to burn holes into people. To either side was Marie, the middle sister, who paid little mind to her classmates as she passed, her blue died hair as bouncy and short as ever, and May, the youngest, who stared forward with a confident expression knowing that when she was with her sisters she was bulletproof. She had embraced her femineity more so than her sisters, but was still a Kanker through and through, while Marie had taken an interest in what was considered more "Tomboyish" pursuits but maintained her love for hair styling and make-up, while Lee sat somewhere in the middle.
At the same time, their obsession with the Eds hadn't dissipated with age. No, the girls were just as interested in their childhood crushes as ever and had to, literally in some cases, fight off a few male suitors in the past. They had also gone to great lengths making sure that the female student body knew exactly who the Eds belonged to. It was well known across the campus that the Eds were the Kankers' "boyfriends" no matter how much they protested.
While their physical harassment had, almost, come to an end, the sisters were still the ire of the boys. Eddy had the most difficulty with them as he had tried and failed to cultivate romances with almost anyone who would look his way. He blamed the Kankers, but most knew that was only part of the problem.
The sisters came to a stop when their shadows fell on the three abandoned pieces of paper that littered the floor in front of their boyfriends' lockers. "Well, well, well." Lee chuckled as she retrieved the letters and passed them out to Marie and May, "What do we have here, girls?"
"Looks like our boyfriends are trying to run out on us!" Marie feigned shock as a coy smile coiled its way onto her face.
"We can't let them get away with this!" May grinned as her manicured eyebrows arched and her eyes narrowed.
"Oh no, we won't." Lee sneered, "Come on girls, let's stop by the guidance counselor's office before class. I think I'm interested in learnin' about my college opportunities." her face twisted into a sick grin.
"Count me in, I've heard college guys are to die for." Marie chuckled.
"Real hunks!" May agreed with a laugh.
Lee joined in the laughter as the trio stalked their way down the halls with a new goal in mind. No, it seemed the Eds wouldn't be rid of the Kanker Sisters that easy.