Ah, I don't know where this came from. Well, yes, actually I do. I felt that I didn't do enough with Tom the first time so I threw in this second interlude staring Major T. Just another little peek into what's going on at home while Kaz is stuck in the UW.


The Files of Kazdan Kalinkas

Book One: Not By Choice

Chapter Thirteen: Interlude—Tom


UnderWorld Rule #13: You only fear because you do not understand. Understand your enemies and you will no longer fear them.


School was horrible.

Everyone knew he'd disappeared heading to my house and so now they were badgering me about where he'd gone.

It hurt.

They'd try and corner me in the hallways, bother me before classes started, or swarm me in the lunch room. I ran through the halls, arrived at classes seconds before the bell would ring, and skipped out on eating lunch in the cafeteria just to avoid it all.

I was a wreck. My grades started slipping little by little and I avoided talking to anyone. People noticed but didn't question. They knew why. My best friend had vanished and there was no trace of him anywhere.

Everyday, I ported to Chaotic, linked up with Sarah and Peyton, and we attempted to get into the UnderWorld. But the guards always chased us out before we could get very far. I was pissed at myself for trading some of the inner city locations away.

But there was nothing I could do.

I had a hunch Kaz was in the UnderWorld. Why else would we be chased out?


I'd been caught eating lunch on the sidewalk in front of the school. Apparently that goes against the policy of "students are not to leave campus during school hours" because I got a talking to by the principal and was told that if I wasn't going to eat in the lunch room like everyone else then I could wait in the office for my next class to start.

There was no way I was going to sit in the office and eat my lunch like some kid in detention.

So it was the cafeteria then.

Swallowing hard, I slid into a seat in the far corner of the cafeteria, hoping I would go unnoticed for the most part.

No such luck.

"Hey Tom." Andrea slid into the seat across from me.

"Go away." I growled, not looking away from my lunch tray.

"Someone's touchy."

I glared at her. Were they all stupid or something? Why did they keep bothering me when they knew I didn't want to talk about it? Didn't they get that Kaz's disappearance was hard on me?

"You know," Andrea tilted her head but I just kept glaring at her, not falling for the fake-innocence plastered on her face, "I've kind of been worried about you lately. You haven't been talking a lot and you're by yourself a lot too. If you need to, you can talk to me."

"SHUT UP!" I shouted, getting to my feet so quickly that I jolted the table, rattling my tray, "HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS!? HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT MAYBE MY BEST FRIEND DISAPPEARING FOR ALMOST FOUR MONTHS AND NO ONE BEING ABLE TO FIND HIM HAS HURT EVEN A LITTLE BIT!?" The whole cafeteria was looking at me by now, all wide eyes, open mouths, and a scattered few guilty expressions, "DID ANY OF YOU EVEN BOTHER TO THINK ABOUT THAT!? NO! AND I'LL TELL YOU WHY! YOU DON'T CARE! NONE OF YOU EVER CARED EVEN A LITTLE BIT! YOU'RE ONLY INTERESTED IN THE LATEST GOSSIP! WELL HERE'S WHAT I THINK OF YOU!"

I picked up my tray and threw it at Andrea, smearing food all down her front. Then I ran for the door, burst through them, and started running down the hallway. Unfortunately, someone must have heard me shouting because Mrs. Rogers, the gym teacher, was in the middle of the hallway and I ran right into her. She grabbed my shoulders to stop me and I screamed at her.

"Easy, Thomas." She put an arm around my shoulders and drew me into a hug, "It'll be okay."

"Stop it!" I tried to push her away, "You don't care! None of you ever cared! Just let me go! Let go of me!"

"Calm down!"

"No!"

"How is this solving anything!?" I stared up at her, eyes burning, realized there were tears on my face, felt ashamed and childish. She gripped my shoulders tightly, "Tom, I know you're upset but venting your frustration by screaming at your classmates isn't helping anyone. Especially not yourself."

"What am I supposed to do?" My voice was hoarse from shouting, cracked with emotion, and I was embarrassed by my actions. I was being stupid.

Mrs. Rogers shook her head, "What you feel is right." Then she paused, "As long as it doesn't involve shouting or bodily harm."

I managed a smile and rubbed my arm across my eyes, stepping away, "Thanks, I guess." I turned to go, stopped. Licking my lips, I looked back over my shoulder at her and, with what I hoped was a resolute expression, said,

"He'll come back. I'll make sure of it."


Had to go and be cliché, didn't it?

Ah well, it was a good chapter. I wanted to get the point across the Tom's more affected by Kaz's disappearance than he'd care to admit. Over the past three months, things had just been building up and building up and finally he couldn't take it anymore. I feel kind of sorry for him.

On a side note, Mrs. Rogers was the name of my gym teacher in middle school. I hate gym class. I'm not an athlete (obviously). So I waived P.E. in high school by joining the marching band. That was a lot more fun. Hard and rewarding work. And free ice cream and pizza. Yum.

Anyway, thanks for reading, stick around for the next update, and please review! This will probably be the last update for a long while, sorry. Byes!