Chapter 3: A Legend is Born!
Sam lay in the nurse's office, waiting impatiently for the nurse to finish her job. He wasn't hurt that badly – honestly, it was just a waste of time. The nurse tenderly wrapped his twisted ankle in gauze; dressed his wounds with alcohol (that stung) and bandages; gave Sam some painkillers (his kidneys were killing him). When she was done the nurse discharged him with a friendly farewell.
"Have a nice day", Sam said to her.
"Don't tell me what to do", she retorted. The door slammed in his face.
Sam smiled. He liked Polk more and more with each passing second. He turned around and began to walk towards a preoccupied DJ. She was staring at a bulletin board, with several pieces of paper attached to it. DJ was particularly interested in one spouting something about Volleyball Tryouts. Very interested, as she didn't notice when Sam tripped and began to scream bloody murder for about several seconds. That was a first.
Sam cradled his still throbbing ankle; pain shot through it like fire. He didn't even notice he was yelling. DJ snapped out of her self-induced lethargy and ran to the injured Sam.
"Yeah, thanks DJ." Sam muttered when she helped stand him up properly. "It would help to move a little faster, though. It's not like I have a twisted ankle, or something."
DJ chuckled, chagrined. "Sam, you never were good at the art of sarcasm."
He pouted. "Am I really that obvious?"
"Sam, you're an emotionally straight-forward kind of guy. It's not in you to be subtle and all that stuff."
"I can be subtle!"
DJ laughed out loud, causing some passerby to stare. "Yeah, right. You can't even keep a secret."
"I can, too! I've kept plenty of secrets for you!"
DJ eyed him, amused. "Oh yeah? Name one."
"How about the one where you curl up a lock of your hair every time you lie?"
DJ's jaw dropped. "I do not." She began to nervously curl up a lock of her reddish-gold hair. Sam grinned, his point proven.
Surprised, she stopped herself. "I didn't even know that I did that." She eyed him warily. "What else do you know about me?"
"Lots of stuff", he said casually. But there was a sparkle of mischief in his clear blue eyes. "More than you might know yourself, DJ."
Sam was more observant than he let on – DJ made a mental note to get a lock installed on her bedroom door.
The two good friends made their way to lunch.
Larry was impressed by Gordy's collection of 'toys' that he had acquired over the years. Most of them were illegal, or patented by the military.
"Gordy, where did you get this stuff?" he asked in awe.
"Heh, EBay I guess."
"Ah. Makes sense."
The bell rang shrilly. Larry jolted.
"Guess that means lunch time! I'll come with you; the cafeteria isn't far from here." Gordy stood up and led Larry towards the cafeteria where his friends, Sam and DJ waited. Gordy escorted him to the door; then stopped remembering something.
"Something wrong, Gordy?" Larry asked.
"Ah, no. I just remembered I have people I need to meet." He checked his watch. "Like right now! I've got to run; tell Sam and DJ to stop by anytime if they need my help."
Larry nodded. "Will do. Thanks, Gordy."
He smiled. "No problem, Larry." Gordy sprinted back towards his closet, and freshened up a bit.
Ned, Moze, and Cookie should be arriving any second.
"Hey Larry!" Sam waved him over to their table, which was crowded by many unfamiliar faces. Larry hesitated – then began to walk slowly toward the table. Who were the new people?
He suddenly wished that he had his vest – but he had left it behind with Gordy, for safe-keeping. Larry's heart was beating like crazy.
"Larry, I'd like to introduce you to some new friends of mine."
Porcupine – a small, scrawny kid (not unlike Sam) with beady black eyes and extremely spiky hair that looked like the tip of a knife up close; Veronica Ragweed– a blue eyed, brown-haired beauty (that Sam was clearly smitten with); Dora Remy – a shy, dark haired girl with large spectacles that blew her eyes way out of proportion; Chad "Chatty" Garrulous – his mouth never seemed to stop moving; Prissy Meany – clean blonde hair, a cynical smile, she has 'control freak' written all over her; and then there was the odd boy – Jak Kaz (Author's Note: Ha, ha, ha! A little joke of mine – hope you'll understand) a medium sized boy with black wavy hair, and warm brown eyes hidden behind smart looking glasses. DJ eyed him with some interest.
And there you have it – the gang and all.
"Wow, Sam. How'd you get so popular?" Larry wanted to know. He sat down on the table and began to munch down on his pizza.
"Eh, I guess they heard about my Guide", Sam said modestly. DJ rolled her eyes and consumed several slices of pizza.
"Nice manners – I take it your parents must be pigs?" Prissy asked DJ. She was offended by DJ's lack of manners.
DJ did take this pretty well – 11 years of not having parents hardened her from the inevitable teasing and insults. She replied, "Go screw yourself."
"You know you're already growing a mustache? Go shave it – it looks like you've got a dead weasel on your lip or something", Prissy retorted.
"I'll shave mine when you shave yours", was DJ's witty reply.
Prissy sat back and narrowed her eyes at DJ; DJ did the same. Sparks flew and a mutual dislike of each other bloomed that very day – one that would last the rest of their school years together.
Sam quelled the fight between the two girls. "No fighting, please. I've seen enough of that for today."
"Actually, Bigby, we don't think you've seen enough."
Sam froze and slowly turned around. That voice . . . it couldn't be –
Jerk and his pals stood behind Sam, their arms folded. Jerk's eyes burned with an intense rage. Sam smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Jerk, how's it going?"
Jerk seized Sam and hauled him upwards. Sam's lunch spilled onto the floor from the chaos.
"You duped me, Bigby."
"No I didn't – I gave you the money." Sam was nervous.
"Yeah, you gave me the money all right – PLAY MONEY!" His friend, Buddy, pulled out a wad of play bills (courtesy of Monopoly) and threw them onto the ground. The cafeteria grew hushed at this confrontation.
DJ and Larry stood up. "Put him down, Jerk", DJ commanded.
"Stay out of this DJ!" Jerk snarled. He began to drag the terrified Sam away – presumably to beat the living snot out of him in a less private place. DJ took immediate action; she stood up on the table and leapt at Jerk's head. She was on him in mere seconds, beating her fists against his head. DJ was a pretty tall girl for her age, and had a slight advantage.
"Ow – ow – OUCH! Get her off me!" Jerk couldn't hit girls – bully code of ethics or something – so he was helpless. His friends scrambled to his aid, trying to pull her off him. In the confusion, Sam was dropped onto the ground. His bad ankle hit the floor first, and he shouted in pain.
Larry was panicking – DJ was doing her best to help Sam; what could he do –
A light bulb turned on in his brain. He had an idea! Larry grabbed a piece of pizza from the plate, and threw it at Jerk. It hit dead on. The cafeteria grew silent, and with wide eyes everyone turned to Larry. He nodded.
"FOOD FIGHT!"
And it began. Food flew everywhere and with a great cheer, the middle schoolers of James K. Polk began battle.
From the doorway of the cafeteria, three very familiar faces watched the unfolding mess happen before their eyes. Ned, Moze, and Cookie observed with grinning faces as they watched Sam, DJ, and Larry waging battle.
"Huh, I remember those days." Ned was reminiscing.
"Good times, eh?" Cookie asked.
"Both of you are a little too sentimental." Moze rolled her eyes, but she too was remembering good times.
"Oh, what's this? You don't think that girl over there reminds you a little of yourself?" Ned was smiling, his eyes staring at her own big brown ones pointedly.
Moze eyed the struggling DJ. "Maybe", she said grudgingly.
"That Larry is a genius – he's enlisting the help of the entire cafeteria to help beat down the bully. I have to admit that's something I probably wouldn't have thought of."
"Yeah, you would have been cowering in the corner – screaming like a little girl", Moze replied sarcastically. Cookie's expression turned sour.
"She's just teasing, Cookie. But seriously, you do scream like a girl sometimes. Sometimes it's embarrassing to have you as a friend." Ned said matter-of-factly.
The three watched their younger counterparts continue to fight.
"Crubbs will be here soon. Think we should help?"
Ned shook his head. "Nah. This is their battle – we shouldn't interfere. Besides, we promised to visit Gordy." He reluctantly turned away from the food fight, and began to walk towards Gordy's closet. Cookie followed him several seconds later.
Moze stayed several minutes more, though. She eyed the struggling DJ and the pained Sam on the floor. She noticed that despite his newly broken ankle, Sam still tried to crawl his way to help DJ. The kid had guts, she had to admit. Guts, heart, and determination – this Sam reminded her of Ned. They could almost be related, too; their eyes were the exact same shade of blue.
She muttered, "Why does this look familiar?" She scrutinized the red-haired DJ and her fiery personality. DJ punched viciously at Jerk's head, and managed to create some very nasty bruises. Jerk would be in a world of pain for a while.
"Hey, Moze! Come on, we don't have all day." Ned motioned at her to hurry up.
"Good luck, DJ. You're going to need it." She caught up with Ned, and gave her a spontaneous kiss on the lips.
"What was that for?!" he gasped.
"Oh, nothing. Just remembering why I love you so much."
"Oh. Why?"
Moze smiled a secret smile. "Because you're you."
Ned was confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She kissed him on the cheek. "Nothing, Ned. I just love you."
He shrugged, still not understanding. "Yeah, right back at you, Moze."
They continued on their way to visit their old friend, Gordy. And with that, they passed the cafeteria and walked out of the rest of the story.
Back to Sam and his First Day.
His ankle was hurting like hell – Sam groaned, yet he still continued to crawl his way through the mess towards the fighting DJ. Jerk was thrashing about trying to shake her loose, but it was an impossible task with all the pizza being thrown at him. Normally, he would have been calling for the help of his friends, but they had been long been overpowered by the mass of eleven-year olds throwing pizza on them. They had collapsed to the floor and were assuming the fetus position to protect themselves.
Jerk, seeing that defeat was imminent, decided to give up. He prepared to kneel –
"What the HELL do you think you're doing?" A nasty sounded voice resounded above him. Jerk looked up – and immediately regretted it.
It was his older brother – Total Jerk (Author's Note: Lame, lame, lame! But you get the idea, right?). He did not look happy.
"Total! What are you doing here?" Jerk gasped.
"You are such a loser, you know that? You're making me look bad – a little girl? You're going to let yourself be beat up by an eleven year old little girl?! Don't make me laugh." Total laughed anyways.
DJ didn't take the insult lightly. She leapt at him.
Total caught her and pulled her up by the hair. She thrashed and kicked but to no avail – the guy was too freaking strong. Total studied her with a dangerous glint in his eye.
"Pretty. Shame, really." And with those casual words, he threw DJ with all his might. Her body crashed into the opposing wall with terrifying speed. DJ thudded onto the ground, and lay still – she didn't move at all.
The cafeteria was silent before; but now you could have heard a feather drop.
Total looked casually around and said, "Anyone else wishes to challenge me?"
Larry looked sick; Jerk, surprisingly looked horrified; and Sam looked –
Where was Sam?
There was a tap on Total's shoulder, and he turned around to find Sam looking up at him. The difference in their sizes was stark and obvious; it was like comparing a bear to a dog.
"And just who are you?" Total asked. He smirked at the scrawny Sam.
Sam's eyes were obscured by a bang of hair, thus removing them from view. But if Total could have seen them, he would have been undoubtedly been chilled by the coldness and emptiness that radiated out of them.
"My name isn't important", said Sam coldly. Larry from across the room, heard him and felt a chill go down his spine. This wasn't Sam talking – who was this person?
"I just want you to know one thing." Sam motioned for Total to lean closer to him.
"What's that?"
Sam whispered close to Total's ear. Upon hearing this, Total stood up and laughed. "You're going to do WHAT to me? That's funny, little man." He laughed and laughed and laughed.
Sam's hand moved fast –
It connected with Total's chest –
He flew backwards –
There was a large crack in the opposite wall –
Total slid down and didn't move. Sam's fist was extended forward, frozen in mid-air. He stared at Total with eyes that were too old for his face. Much too old. He muttered to no one in particular:
"I keep my promises, Total. To friends and enemies alike."
Several feet away, Larry shivered.
Vice Principal Crubbs arrived on the scene, and screamed with horror at what he found. Pizza covering the walls and the floor – Sam holding a recovering DJ; Jerk helping his injured friends back up; Larry talking to Sam in hushed tones; and an injured Total on the floor. Chaos.
"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?" He roared.
Larry spoke up. "Food fight, sir."
"AND WHO STARTED IT?!"
Larry glanced nervously at Sam. Sam spoke for him.
He pointed at Total. "He did, sir. We all saw him."
Vice Principal Crubbs eyed the injured Total on the floor. "Is this true?"
Everyone in the cafeteria nodded. Even Bigg.
Crubbs sighed, and began to drag the injured Total away. "Very well, then. He's been screwing around for quite some time now. I've been trying to catch him, but no one's been brave enough to turn him in . . ." He noted the mess. "Uhhh – whatever. It's the first day, I'll let you all off. But with a warning!" He eyed them all in typical Crubbs fashion, and then left with the inert Total in tow.
As soon as he was gone, the whole cafeteria erupted into cheer. Everyone crowded around Sam, the new hero. What he had done was amazing – he had the guts to stand up to Jerk and his big brother! A feat worthy of legend, no doubt.
Sam however was confused.
"What did I do?"
They all thought he was just being modest; but Larry saw the sincerity of the confusion in Sam's eyes. He really didn't know. Larry didn't know what to make of that – but he decided to keep quiet for now.
And so the first day ended at last.
Later on, in the confines of the bus, Sam was writing down another tip. He really was on a roll today. Tip #6: Strength in numbers – if you are ever facing a bully, make sure that you always have friends with you. They can't take all of you at once.
"Oh, man – I forgot the vest!" Larry groaned.
DJ seized him and whispered, "Good."
Sam gently pried the two apart. "DJ you should be resting. You have a nasty bump on your head that's going to be giving you headaches for days to come."
"Says you! You have a broken ankle, and too many bruises to count. I'm getting advice from you?" She snorted.
The bus arrived at their stop. The three friends got off – with people cheering them good-bye. The three friends had grown quite popular thanks to the incident at the cafeteria. All three waved good-bye at the bus tiredly. It had been a long day.
Sam and DJ waved good-bye to Larry (well, actually, DJ waved a fist) and retreated into their house. The only thing the two friends wanted was a nice, hot shower and some bed rest. DJ especially – she felt a little sick. Looks like she had just caught a cold. Great. No, seriously great. It gave her a legitimate excuse not to go to school tomorrow; her head was killing her. Sam was right about the bruise.
Sam.
She smiled in spite of herself. DJ had always thought of herself as an independent girl; strong willed, rebellious, and capable of doing anything herself without any help. But Sam proved her wrong – it wasn't the first time, either. Time and again, DJ found herself enlisting Sam's help over and over. It was actually kind of embarrassing, really. But it was something she would never take for granted. Sam was like a loyal dog, really.
She stepped outside her room, and knocked on Sam's door.
He opened it. "Hey, DJ. What's up?"
DJ gave him a peck on the cheek. Surprised, he asked, "What was that for?"
"For saving me, idiot." She gave him a 'light' punch on the arm that would surely leave a bruise. "Thanks."
He smiled – and continued to rub his arm. DJ turned her back and entered the sanctity of her room to finally rest. It had been an interesting first day – Polk was a good school. She planned to try out for its Volleyball team – who knows? She might even make Captain. The previous one was a legend – she planned to surpass that.
Oh, yes. Her days at Polk were just beginning.
In the dead of night, that mysterious woman named Mary Jane Rapier appeared on the Bigby's front doorstep. She was 18 years old, really. A tall, slender form with dark black hair flowing out from behind her. She wasn't beautiful – but she was attractive. Her eyes matched her hair. They glowed with a faint fire.
The door flew open, and the alert face of James Bigby appeared.
"You should not be here, MJ." His voice was quiet.
Mary Jane laughed. "Good to see you, too, James. I'm just checking on the family." She peered inside and spotted another person. "Marilyn, you're here too. My, my, the gang's all here. Speaking of which, how is little Sam doing?"
Marilyn Bigby's right eye twitched oddly. "Don't you dare mention my son's name, you bitch."
MJ put up her hands in defense. "Oh, still touchy after all these years. You still haven't gotten over that, yet?"
"Over what?" Marilyn spat. "The fact that you killed –"
"Marilyn, hush!" James voice was still quiet, but held the unmistakable quality of command in it.
"I had no choice. They used me."
"They were your parents."
"Let's not talk about the past, shall we? I came here to talk about the future. I'm here for a little vengeance, you see. For what you did to me. For what you took away." MJ's voice had turned bitter – unnaturally bitter. Her dark eyes glowed with intensity.
James Bigby stepped in front of his wife, acting as a shield between MJ and her. "What do you want?" he asked calmly.
"Oh no, James. I won't be doing it today. Maybe not for awhile. But it'll come. And when you least expect it."
"Your parents knew the risks. They tried to protect you."
"They turned me into something I'm not! And YOU helped." Her voice had gone silky smooth. "And if that wasn't enough, you did the same to your own son, Sam. How is the little freak doing anyway? I heard about the fight at school. Total is in the hospital right now for rib fractures and some internal bleeding. Boy doesn't know his own strength, eh?"
James turned pale. Marilyn made a move towards Mary Jane –
But MJ was gone.
Marilyn turned toward her husband. "What do we do now, James?"
"We do nothing. Let's see how this plays out."
"But the children . . ."
"They'll be fine. Sam can handle himself."
Marilyn looked troubled – she had been keeping a dark secret from her son since birth. One that would surely have devastating consequences if he ever found out. It was something that had been eating away at her for quite some time.
"Maybe we should tell Sam."
"No. He is still too young."
"But when will he be ready, James? When?"
James Bigby's face went dark as the night itself. "I don't know."
He looked out into the night, and the vanished Mary Jane.
"But it'll be soon, I think. She always was the impatient type, Mary Jane was."
Marilyn nodded. "Just like DJ."
"Yes. A little too much like DJ." He sighed and sat down in a kitchen chair at the table. "Do you think she'll turn out just like her?"
Marilyn shook her head. "No", she said firmly. "DJ has something MJ never had during her childhood. And that will ultimately keep her from becoming like her sister."
"What's that, Marilyn?"
"Our son, James. DJ has Sam."
James smiled tiredly. "Yes – but for how long?"
Whew, another chapter done! Man, I'm bushed. Oh well – it was a labor of love. 'Cause I definitely am extremely grateful to all those who continue to review my newest story. Just to let you all know – that was the last chapter. But don't worry! I'm already on my next Sam's Declassified Story. You should be seeing it soon. They'll all probably going to be short like this one – I find it hard to keep a story afloat after a certain number of chapters. So I opted to do this instead – and it works! So yeah, read and review (please for the love of God keep reviewing, I'm up to 5!) and the next story will come soon. Thanks again, and later.
BlueRoyKaz