Author's Note: I really am sorry this took so long for me to get out. My grandma got really sick at the end of February and she passed away in March. My grandpa went a week after her, which I think was him trying to be romantic in some sick away. I was really close to them and it's been hard. More difficult than I thought it would be. After I got back from their funeral I was greeted by all the classwork I managed to get extensions for and the current papers and projects and my job. Anyways, I guess I'm just trying to say that it's been hectic and I wasn't trying to be a jerk or anything. I haven't read any comments yet (to be honest I'm a little afraid to).

Happy note: I only need three more chapters to finish. Thanks for putting up with me!

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Troy had been surprised to find a note slipped into his locker. The first thought that crossed his mind was that of a girl he had been trying to put moves on. It was folded way too perfectly for her with creases sharper than the edges of the paper. He opened the notebook paper up, shielding it inside his locker. Gary Smith's name was scrawled at the bottom. It was written larger and with more care than anything else on the page.

It's been awhile. I've thought of a really great game to play with you. A way for you to impress every moron in that worthless school. You should really have left a mark as large as the legacy of the great Jim Hopkins by now.

Meet me in the football field at fifteen past eleven. Sharp!

And I really do mean sharp,

Gary Smith

Troy was not as dumb as most assumed him to be. He sensed trouble as he slowly pulled the note into pieces before throwing it into several trash cans. Still, he would meet his friend there.

At eleven fifteen Troy's small figure crossed through the gate and onto the pristine grass of the field. Gary was sitting on the closest bench, one leg crossed over the other. He didn't appear to be worried about being caught.

"Troy, Lawford, buddy!" Gary rose and mocked a bow at the kid. "Looks like you take after your mummy much more than your daddy." His words were sneered and his eyes wild. Troy clenched his fists tightly at his sides, trying to keep his face apathetic. "Jimmy never bothers being on time. He'll probably be late to his own funeral." Gary approached Troy and took one of his shoulders in this hand. Shaking it, Smith said, "Smile! Sheesh, what's your malfunction? It's a beautiful spring evening, the weather's been nice, and you get to see me. Haven't you missed me?"

"Sup?"

"Oh what elegance!" If it had been anyone else, troy would have thought the man was drunk. "We're going to have a scavenger hunt of sorts. I took the time to write down everything you have to do and how long you can take to do it. I even made you a goodie bag!"

Troy warily accepted a paper and backpack that was offered to him. He took note of the baseball bat sticking out of it. Skimming the paper, everything on the list seemed to include vandalism. He shook his head and extended the note back.

"But Troy, don't you want to weave your own great tale of misdemeanors, or possibly worse?"

He shook his head again.

"You know what Jimmy used to do? He'd go around thrashing things. Didn't matter what. Pop machines. Windows. Cars. He even smashed a teacher's greenhouse before getting the guy fired. Don't you want to be like him?"

Troy stared blankly.

"Hm, you're not just going to blindly go along with this. Well, that makes things a bit more unpleasant. I'll just let you know now that you will be doing everything I tell you to."

"I should go." Troy set the bag down and started to turn away.

"If you leave, then Petey's going to be expelled." Well that caught his attention. Gary explained, "Good old femme boy has been blowing off a lot of Head Boy work to come see me. How do you think Crabble-bitch is going to react when I fill him in on all the time Pete's been wasting with me?"

"Nobody will believe you."

"I've got proof. I got that lug Trent to take some nice pictures of us. It's the Bullworth way."

Troy thought about his options, but only for a second. Gary was desperate enough to hurt the one person that really cared for him, the only one to stand by him. What would Kowalski do if he was expelled? It would ruin his flawless record and all the work and effort he's put in. And what would happen if he himself were expelled. He'd move on, probably forget most of Bullworth in a few years. He was used to this sort of thing. He'd be fine.

"What time is it?"

Gary pushed a button to light up his digital watch. "Twenty-six past. You've got four minutes to get to the library. I packed a keychain flashlight if you need help reading in the dark."

Before leaving to start his mission, Troy turn and stared Gary in the face. "I guess I'll miss you."

"I know you will."

Troy let himself into the silent library, taking the route Gary planned for him. He had just twelve minutes to finish. He had been half surprised when he didn't run into any prefects. That was Gary for you though, a mastermind. The boy quickly got to work, locating the collector's and special edition shelves. He whipped a few of the heaviest books off the shelf, tearing away clumps of pages from each. For some of the other rare and expensive finds he used the two bottles of ink from the backpack. He tried not to think about Beatrice or the other nerds while he spilled the dark liquid into them. To make this task complete, Troy located the fire extinguisher on the wall. After pulling the pin, he liberally sprayed down as many shelves as time would allow.

Next was a gift for the greasers. Troy found the lock on the garage broken. Gary's suggestion was a pocket knife and the words, "Get creative."

There wasn't much time and there were at least thirty bikes stored away. He figured Gary wanted him to slash tires, something he had never personally done before. He was a little scared they would explode in his face. Too bad time didn't allow for the air to be let out first. Cautiously, he put the small but sharpened blade to rubber. He pushed down. Air gushed out and hissed furiously, but that was better than a loud bang and possible fatal injury. He was able to get at least one tire on every bike and tear open a few of the nicer seats as well.

Once he got to the third part, Troy was no longer feeling extremely anxious of getting caught. He was tired and wanted to get it over with. A part of him was curious as well.

Following the times and paths to take, Troy successfully spray painted the mascot statue. He covered the lawn in front of Harrington house with particularly smelly eggs that had been left for him. The school windows he could reach were smashed with the bat (this took an enormous amount of running and hiding).

Finally, Troy arrived back at the football field. It smelled like a Gas N Go. Two lines of fountain fireworks were laid out in the middle. A few feet in front of them another note was left for him. In large letters Gary warned him not to walk any further. He was told to take the Zippo out of the bag, light it to the ground, then run back up to the gate. Although he knew Smith was long gone, Troy raised a hand to wave out to him. His life would never be the same, but maybe it would be nice without all the drama.

The fire really was an awesome sight. It ran up and to the sides and corners of the field, creating an asterisk-like design. The loud fireworks attracted all the prefects and some students and teachers and workers. Together, they stood in amazement, or maybe shock. Troy took in the incredible heat and waited for their eyes to turn down onto him.