I decided that I was simply not going to go to school anymore. It made sense in my head (a lot of things do), but not in the real world. I knew I couldn't drop out of school at fifteen. I was a ninth grader, for UltraLord's sake! Who would hire me? How would I make money? I'm sure my dad wouldn't let me live at home forever... but it made sense in my head.

My dad didn't take it too well. "Of course you're going to school!" he objected as soon as I told him that I wasn't. It wasn't fair, but he made me get dressed (by practically dressing me himself) and eat (I did that without protesting. Hey, I was hungry!), then forced me out the door. I walked slowly, kicking stones along the sidewalk. Usually I walked with Jimmy and Carl, but I was running late and they'd already gone without me.

I stopped myself from kicking a pretty rock on the edge of the curb. It was shiny... kind of like the soup can trophy had been shiny. I stared at it, feeling more and more depressed. I couldn't go to school. Nick had revoked my title of the fastest kid in ninth grade. Everyone would laugh at me! The guys probably hated me for not returning their calls... and Libby was probably mad at me for hurting Nick. I hoped I got him good. I kicked the shiny rock as hard as I could, and it went flying into a car windshield. It wasn't all that big a rock... but it left a pretty big chip in the glass.

I started running. Just running, with nowhere to go. I wasn't going to school, that was for sure. I would just run forever; yeah, that was a good idea! I like running. I'd just run forever and ever and eventually everything bad would just go away. Everyone would forget that I failed grade one. Everyone would forget that I'd lost the stupid friggin' trophy. Everyone would forget that I was even there, if I ran far enough. It all made sense, in my head.

I had to pee. My weak bladder was my only problem with my plan. I was near the park, so I quickly made a beeline for the Port-O-Potties and relieved myself (Libby said it was impolite to pee in public unless you were in a Port-O-Potty after I had to pee on a walk to the park... and I picked a bush to do just that). When I was finished, I rinsed my hands in the fountain (there aren't sinks in Port-O-Potties, and Libby says you have to wash your hands when you go to the bathroom), then continued my run. But I was getting tired.

Halfway through the park, I stopped at a park bench to catch my breath. I'd been running for what seemed like forever (it was a big park!) and I wasn't even out of Retroville yet! I sat down on the bench to think, dropping my backpack on the ground. Would the school call my dad when I didn't turn up at school? I hadn't thought of that. Would he be worried about me? I hadn't thought of that, either. Would Libby be worried? Probably, even if she hates me for hurting her best friend's boyfriend. I was so screwed.

Everyone was going to hate me. My dad. Libby. Jimmy. Carl. Nick. Cindy. The school. Even Butch! This was a bad idea, a dumb idea. I was just going to make things worse by playing hooky. I went to stand up, when something shiny caught my eye.

"Ooh," I murmured, entranced. Like I said, I'm easily distracted. "Shiny." I stumbled over to the shiny thing. It was a bracelet in the grass. Some girl must have lost it. I bent over and picked it up. It looked familiar. Did it belong to Libby? No, I would have remembered her wearing something so shiny and awesome. It was silver with little charms on it. A heart, a star, a butterfly, a crown, a 'C,' and a rocket... of course! Jimmy had given this bracelet to Cindy for her birthday!

I looked around in confusion. Why had Cindy left her bracelet in the park? Had she lost it be accident? Cindy's house wasn't all that far away, right? I should really return it to her. I looked around the park again. Which direction was her house, again? I racked my brains. Libby's address, Jimmy's address, home, school, the Candy Bar... Jimmy's house. Didn't Cindy live across the street from him? I smiled. I knew where Jimmy lived! I would go to Cindy's house and put the bracelet in her mailbox for her.

Jimmy's house was north from here. I looked around, trying to figure out exactly where I was. I spotted the edge of the trees that lead to the Retroville Forest. If I was correct, north was that way. So if I cut through the forest, I could get there faster! Then I could go back to school, so my dad didn't worry, and I could apologise to Libby.

I strode purposefully into the woods, forgetting about my backpack (which I left by the bench, I think). I was determined to return the one piece of jewellery that Cindy had actually liked (she even said thank you to Jimmy, and didn't call him a geek when he gave it to her!).

I walked north. I walked north and north and north. North was starting to get boring. I'd forgotten where I was going, so I stopped and looked around. Where was I? I began to panic. What was I doing in the woods? Was I dreaming? Why did everything look the same?! Every single tree looked the same as the other... I spun around in a circle, trying to figure out why I was there.

I realised I was holding something, and looked down. "Ooh, shiny," I murmured, looking at the bracelet. It was really pretty... I shook my head. I was supposed to be going north! I remembered. To Jimmy's house, so I could find Cindy's house, so I could return the bracelet.

...But which way was north? I looked around; trying to remember what Jimmy told me to do when I got lost. "Look at the moss on the trees," he had told me. "It always grows on the north side of trees." I looked at the moss on the trees. It was mostly all on one side; so that must be north! I grinned, and started walking in the direction.

I stopped. My smile faded. Moss did grow on the north side of trees, right? What if he said south, or east? I couldn't remember exactly what he said. I was always misremembering things. I was probably wrong about it growing on the north side. So which way did I go? Which side did it grow on?!

I sat down on the dirty ground to think.

It was relatively warm for mid-November. At night it still got cold enough that early in the morning there was frost on the ground, but it warmed up pretty quickly. It must be about noon now, because it was warm. My stomach growled to confirm that. I'd missed half the day of school! Dad was going to be so mad.

So, north. North, north, north, north. Which way to go... I had no clue. But dang, was I starving! I reached over my shoulder to open my backpack, but my hand was met with air. I wasn't wearing it. My stomach growled again, reminding me that I didn't have my lunch with me.

I stuck the bracelet in my pocket and started walking in a random direction, hoping it was north. Even if it wasn't, the woods had to end some place, right? I'd find my way out, then figure it out from there.

"Dad is going to kill me," I said to myself with a groan. And he would. My new beige pants were all dirty! And I'd skipped school! He was going to be so mad.

The trees thickened. This was not my best idea, but I kept going, walking in a straight line. It wasn't long before I had to push low branches out of my way. The smaller ones kept snapping back before I was through them and hitting my bare arms. They stung like a bugger, leaving little red lines all over my skin. One hit me across the cheek, and I actually yelped out loud. It hurt!

That was about when I started getting nervous. Trees pressed in on me from all sides. They seemed to be getting closer to each other and to be. I felt claustrophobic. I had to get out. I ran for my life, getting whipped by branches, trying to fend them off by randomly flailing my arms. "Arrrg!" I yelled, sounding much like a pirate, as a much larger branch swung back after I had pushed it away and caught me in the stomach. It hit me so hard, I fell over.

I was on my butt in the dirt, covered in cuts and bruises, with Cindy's bracelet in my pocket, and very, very hungry... I hate to admit it, but I started to cry. Sometimes life just sucks, you know? I had no clue where I was, the tiny cuts on my arms were stinging like hell, my stomach ached from hunger and because the stupid branch had caught me, and I was sitting on my butt in the dirt, getting my pants even dirtier!

"I want a hug. I want food. I want my UltraLord blanket!" I sobbed uncontrollably. I shivered, suddenly feeling cold. "I want to go home!" Wind whistled through the trees but didn't answer me. "I WANT TO GO HOME!" The forest gave no reply.

I don't remember how long I wallowed in my self-pity before getting up and trying again. I don't remember how many times I tripped and fell. I don't remember how many times I felt like I was going to die, alone in that forest. Eventually I gave up and found a semi-comfortable tree to sit against.

It got darker, then colder. November, I realised, was a very bad time to get yourself lost in the woods. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. "I want to go home," I whispered, "I just want to go home." It became a sort of comforting chant, whispering "I want to go home," over and over. It kept things from becoming too quiet.

The forest sounds began to make me more and more nervous as it got darker. But I am Sheen, Fearless Warrior. The only thing I'm scare of is the crawlspace under my house, and only because there are creepy-crawlies under there that hate me. I am not afraid of the dark, or aliens, or space, or other dimensions, or Butch, or Jimmy testing things on me, or even Cindy Vortex when she's angry; and that's saying something. So why was every creak of a tree, every howl of the wind, every snap of a twig, every rustle of leaves startling me and making me hug myself and shiver? I am Sheen. I am not afraid.

"I want to go home."

I gulped as an owl 'whoooh'ed somewhere not too far away. "I want to go home," I repeated, then, in a whisper I'm not even sure was audible, "I'm scared."