The Last Chance

Autumn Blues

Chapter Two - Bruised And Afraid

October 10th, Wednesday

The cafeteria was abuzz with conversation by the time Double D entered the spacious room, his eyes scanning for his compatriots. His time at the nurse's office had taken up more time than anticipated and he winced, hoping that his friends had not left for classes just yet. The icepack in his hand sat firmly against his eye socket, so finding his pals with only one eye was proving difficult. Finally in the back sat Ed, his back against an adjacent wall a handheld video console in his hand. And directly across from him sat Eddy, his loud din audible from six or seven tables away as he chanted something to Ed. Double D hastily made his way towards the back table, noting that no other person sat at the table before taking a seat beside Eddy.

"Sockhead!" He bellowed in a grandiose bark, clapping his hand against Double D's back with a loud thwap. Double D shook off the sting of pain washing over his back with a stifled yelp. Then Eddy stopped if only for a moment, his eyes fixated on the ice-pack in Double D's hand.

"That bad huh?" He asked in an almost concerned voice. Though the facade quickly shifted when Double D waved him off with his free hand. Eddy, in all his scandalous glory, then half stood up from his seat at the table, his arms stretched to the table like a serious businessman. Even Ed was caught off guard and momentarily halted his game to listen to whatever important speech Eddy was about to give. Eddy cleared his throat dramatically and his eyes narrowed towards the faces of his two friends, still struck with confusion.

"Tonight young Eds...," he began, his voice clear and stalwart as if he was to give a great speech. Double D rolled his eyes, hand under his chin watching his friend in chagrin. If today's speech is anything like last nights, someone was going to get hurt, he concluded to himself.

"We have yet another party!" Eddy half yelled the last part, causing the table behind him to become moderately animated by the sudden outburst. A cold sweat broke out all over Double D's body and he swallowed hard, trying his best to appear less nervous than he was.

"Pardon me, Eddy, perhaps I didn't hear you correctly," Double D started, his eyes shifting around for any sign of Kevin, "But I thought you said we were going to another party."

Eddy looked towards him, a wild smile of absolute devilishness sprawled wide across his face.

"That's what I said, sockhead," He retorted, his smile never wavering. Double D slumped down, his eyes downcast, and his legs weak. He didn't want a repeat of last night and he made no secret of this.

"Relax, Double-Doubter, we were all invited," Eddy stated matter-of-factly. Double D blinked, a sense of small relief replacing his unadulterated terror for only a second before returning.

"I-invited? B-but why?"

Eddy rolled his eyes, though his smile still remained plastered to his features. "Obviously because we're famous!"

Double D looked close to passing out at these words, but Eddy continued. Loudly.

"Everyone knows about last night! And it seems that a few interested parties want us to come around and show them a good time." Eddy was unflappable. Double D could feel the ever so slight twinge of anxiety creeping its way into his gut like the flu. There would be no use arguing with Eddy in this state, and so Double D made no attempt to do so even though he could feel his intuition telling him how awful of an idea this would be.

Ed had said little during this conversation, though that was little surprise as he often sided with Eddy on whatever he wanted to do. Probably due to boredom to be frank.

"Me and Lumpy will be at your house by 9, be ready when we come knocking or we'll have to drag you out in your undies," Eddy joked with a hardy laugh. However Double D was in no mood to jest, and he was going to make his stance known. Then the lunch bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and the beginning of the passing period. Eddy and Ed shot up and in the few seconds after said bell both vanished into the crowd.

So much for standing up to him, Double D sighed, picking up his bag and moving to his fifth-period class, mind nervous.

When school had finally gotten out, a note had been left on his locker by someone with a suspiciously familiar handwriting. Double D crumpled the small half-torn note into a small ball and placed it inside his pants pocket, a look of frustration across his face.

'We gotta run some errands before our big debut tonight. We'll come to get you in an hour or so.' The note had read. Double D sighed, watching the onslaught of rain pouring down and across the rather small parking area. With a defeated slump he moved towards the front door, making sure to stay as close to the underside of the awning as possible before sitting down against the wall, textbook in hand.

"Guess I'll wait," Double D said aloud, returning to a bookmarked spot in his calculus book, the light din of water hitting thin metal lulling him into a quiet peaceful trance.

Despite the amount of work Double D had to complete only an hour had passed before he was completely finished with his assigned homework. He placed the last of his homework within his messenger bag and stood up from his spot, back aching from the hour of sitting on hard rock and concrete. With a quick stretch, he looked out towards the now mostly deserted student parking lot, noting for the 5th time this evening that Eddy's van was nowhere in sight. Double D huffed once more and began the long trek home. On foot.

As if preordained, a great squall overtook the languid skies just as Double D had set foot on the highway connecting the cul-de-sac to the main school building. With the rain coming down worse than it had before, Double D was now fully soaked to the bone. A shiver went through him as the harsh winds battered his body and he struggled to stay in a straight line along the course of the highway's small shoulder. A great frustration rolled into Double D's body and he fought the rather pressing urge to curse his friend's names for abandoning him in such a horrific autumnal storm.

Then came a loud honking from just behind him and a car pulled up just beside him. Eyes covered in the rain he could barely make out the face of someone in the driver's seat coaxing him into the car, 'before you die of a cold'. Hesitant but very much insistent on being rid of the cold wind and oppressive rain he quickly leaped into the passenger seat of the small pickup truck. After a moment's pause, the figure reached back from the driver seat and produced a dark gray towel offering it to Double D hastily. Double D took the towel in both hands and began wiping his face clean of all the rainwater, doing his best to dry out his beanie before it could begin to stink.

"Ya know I haven't seen you without your beanie. It looks good."

It was just then that a fresh wave of terror ripped through Double D's body. His body stiffened, and his palms went slick with sweat. Taking the towel from his head he could see that it was indeed Marie Kanker, her black tank top and dyed blue hair a sharp image in his stressed mind. He felt sick suddenly and his eyes watched her for every move she made.

"Relax dreamboat," She cooed in a half-interested voice, "Not gonna bite 'ya, just looked miserable is all."

Yet Double D couldn't relax, not around the person who had tormented him for years. So he held his guard up, his eyes watching and evaluating every move she made with hawk intensity until he could see his house coming into view. After what seemed like a literal eternity the car came to a full stop and Double D hastily exited the vehicle with a quick thank you and half-ran half-walked to his house and shut the door behind him with a thud.

It was only after a warm shower and a small anxiety attack that Double D was able to finally think clearly about the entire situation. With a flop, he landed atop his bed, uncaring of how wrinkled his pristine bed sheets would get if he did so. He stared up at the ceiling, watching the small fan rotate gently; creating a small breeze as it passed overhead.

What did she want from him? Not just once but TWICE Marie Kanker, a sworn enemy of himself and his friends, had shown some amount of stilted compassion towards him. He sat up, his mind almost dizzied from the onslaught of possible motives swarming his mind like angry bees. Perhaps she had some new scheme up her sleeve that she needed to try and get close to him to achieve? He placed his head over his forehead and sighed loudly. His own paranoia was beginning to get the better of him and it made him itch at the mere possibility of her coming back into their lives.

After the cul-de-sac kids had finally reconciled their difference between one another the Kanker sisters had turned a corner. Despite their love of torment and other such cruelties, they stayed largely away from the three Eds whenever permitted. And on the unlikely occasion, any of them would perhaps see an Ed, they would either ignore their presence entirely or make a short comment about them before disappearing in a sea of students. And yet, twice had an occasion played itself out to lead to direct contact with at least one of the sisters. Something was definitely off and Double D felt slightly nauseated by the horrid idea of the torment continuing into their final year of high school, so close to freedom and another life beyond the small community of Peach Creek.

Finally, he stood up, eyes poised forward as he moved towards his closet. He needed a distraction; something to stop himself from the impending anxiety that was building at the thought of the Kanker sisters.

For the first time in his life, he announced, with a small smile "Perhaps I am due for some fun." Then he found his favorite tie and slacks and set to work dressing for the coming party.

With a few hours passed and some preemptive chores done ahead of schedule, Double D was gussied up and ready for a night on the town. Though the anxiety of meeting strangers scared him he had realized that it scared him far less than the implications of Marie Kanker trying to worm herself back into his life in any way. With headlights bouncing off the single living room window not obscured by a set of drapes, Double D could see that Eddy and Ed were outside and ready to go.

Honk! Honk!

The old van bellowed to which Double D hastily made his way outside into the cool autumn morning and into the horrific smelling van.

"Well look at you, Sockhead!" Eddy chided, a thin smile on his lips. "You look half-excited about going to this party." Double D gave a weak.

"Yes, well I have had some change of perspective. I think a good distraction is in order."

Eddy looked on, hollow as if the words he had just heard could not be understood. With a quick glance at Ed, who simply shrugged, Eddy shook his head, "Whatever you say beanpole."

Then the van began its trek to the house party.

A brisk twenty-minute drive finally came to an end as the clunker barreled its way onto a rather busy-looking suburban street, filled to the brim with cars and young teenagers. The pace of Double D's heart picked up as they neared the epicenter of the commotion, noting the loud music and throngs of people swarming about the front of one particularly large three-story estate. In a moment the van was parked a little way up the road and the boys were ready for a night out.

"Can you freakin' believe this!?" Eddy piped up in an almost shrill, but excited voice.

"This is extensive..." Double D chimed back, his eyes ever fixed on the bright strobing lights just a few house lengths in front of them.

Ed let out a small laugh, before turning to his compatriots, "Think they'll have video games inside?"

Eddy sighed with a renewed gusto before punching Ed in the arm. "No blockhead, they definitely won't have video games inside. It's a party, not a DnD meet-up." Though slightly disappointed Ed made very little sign of wavering. Perhaps he could convince some new friends to share a game or two with him? Double D snickered with a smile, noting both of his friend's exuberance and noting to try and keep up with them.

Finally, the front yard came into view, a barbeque pit poised at the center of the grassy lawn, smoke erupting from its top and a delicious smell wafting into the humid air. Ed immediately broke off from the group towards the purveyor of the barbeque, hell-bent on getting a nice juicy hotdog. Eddy sighed, though his smile never left his face as he tracked down Ed through the crowd to make sure he didn't get lost.

Suddenly, Double D realized he was alone, in a deep sea of warm moving bodies, all preoccupied with drinks and hotdogs. A sudden passing thought came to him as he moved off to the side, slightly away from the main body of people. Whose house was this exactly? Surely it was somebody from outside the cul-de-sac, but who would throw such an elaborate house party at Peach Creek High? Though the answer lay silent at the moment it did intrigue him enough that he did not notice the figure steadily approaching him from the corner of the house.

A deep chill ran down his spine as the shadow of said someone came closer, looming above his head until they finally spoke up.

"Nice weather, huh? Double-Dweeb," that grating voice could only come from one person and Double D stiffened up as he took in the full features of Kevin, looming above him.

"K-Kevin!" Double D exclaimed, though not loudly enough to be heard over the raucous din of the loud pop music."I-I didn't realize you would be he-here," he protested with a small shiver in his voice as he did so. Kevin scoffed, rolling his eyes before downing the rest of his red solo cup and crushing it.

"Whatever dork. Just stay out of my way, Naz's cousin put a lot of work into this," he said placidly, his eyes ever trained on Double D's quivering frame. Then he left, taking his trashed cup with him back inside the nearly jammed pack living room. Double D sighed in relief, a little too audibly as Eddy and Ed finally came back, hotdogs in hand.

"What's that sigh for?" Eddy asked, through mouthfuls of hotdog. Double D grimaced, almost entirely forgetting the recent interaction with Kevin as he looked towards Eddy.

"Manners please, Eddy."

Eddy rolled his eyes and handed him an extra hotdog, loaded to the brim with numerous condiments. Double D smiled a small smile, taking the offering in hand and nibbling at its rather enlarged figure. So far the night is shaping up to be one to remember.

"Come on, let's head inside," Eddy interrupted, his mouth still stuffed with a half-eaten hotdog.

October 11th, Thursday

Double D was alone at his locker, a rare occurrence but a necessary one. Both Ed and Eddy were currently undergoing tutoring courses and as such would be indisposed until the next passing period. He was honestly quite proud of them for actually taking some amount of seriousness about their studies, even if it was only to get their grades past an F for the grading period. With a thud, Double D closed and locked his cubby, and made his way to his first-period French class.

The class was empty when he arrived, it was still very early in the ten-minute passing period and many students were still in the hallways conversing amongst themselves about the previous night. Double D on the other hand, could barely contain his excitement to dive right into the French language once again and quickly enveloped himself in a rather hefty textbook.

Then came a loud shout, almost inaudible at first but quickly growing into numerous calls and chants from just outside the door of his classroom. Though he loathed the distraction, something about the way the voices were yelling caught his attention. With a veil of worry, he closed his book, noting the page he was at, and moved towards the open doorway and into the hallway.

Two bodies were in a heated argument, voices loud and curses flying through the air. Though it was difficult to see he could make out a male and female figure was definitely locked in a verbal battle, each becoming more and more heated. Curiosity prevailed over self-preservation and Double D pushed his way past the growing crowd and into the inner circle of the fight. It was then he noticed Marie, her eyes locked tightly onto, of all people, Kevin. Both were tense, hot in the face, and ready to swing as Double D finally broke from the group into the fight. Then he could finally hear what was being said.

"Look bozo, apologize to her or I'm gonna rip you a new one!" Marie yelled. It was only then that he could see May standing close behind, eyes red with tears. A pang of sympathy overtook him and he truly felt bad for her. Whatever Kevin had said had truly rattled her and Marie was not taking any of that from the upstart quarterback. Kevin scoffed, folding his arms over his chest in a defiant snarl.

"You and what army?" His voice was viperous, callous, and was on the verge of snapping into a rage. Marie was on the verge of exploding, her face a piping hot red and her hands balled into a tight fist. One of them would swing, but which was unclear. It was out that very moment that Double D did something he never would have done in a million years.

He stepped forward, both hands out, and with a nervous voice simply said, "Can we not settle our differences more a-amicably?"

Both the jock and the delinquent looked at him with utter shock all over their previously angry faces. He continued.

"Would it not be more effective to simply converse about your gripes with one another than to start a row?" His confidence had flown through the roof, if only so that he could clearly say what he meant to the two interacting parties. Every single person involved bore a look of complete surprise, some of which mouths hung open, slacked by the acts of the once incredibly shy Double D.

No one dared move a muscle. That was until the sound of a male teacher came booming throughout the hallway. At which everyone scrambled away from the area like cockroaches caught stealing, leaving only the four offending students locked in a heated stalemate.

"You four! Principal's office now!"

Double D had never been to detention before.

And for the first time in his life, he truly questioned himself. Try as he might, his pleas would go unheard by the principal in his lack of involvement in the disruption of the student body. As such he was to be punished just as harshly as the others would and so there he sat, head hung low, eyes fixed on a small crack in his desk rather than the assignment given to him.

He felt frustrated, sure. But moreover, he felt defeated, defeated for trying to stop a full-blown confrontation even if he had nothing to do with it. He had always been taught to speak through things as opposed to letting fists and harsh obscenities lead the conversation. In his attempt to help he simply made himself a target, and as such his untarnished record would sting from this transgression.

A small wad of paper hit the side of his head just as he began to wallow in yet more self-pity, knocking him from his loathing. He looked up and finally noticed that Marie was only one desk length away from him eyeing him like a cat would a mouse. Her gaze was strong and sharp and it made his frustration and depression fizzle away. She pointed down at her desk, gesturing for him to look at the paper. He hesitated for a moment but eventually did as he was bid, taking the wrinkled page into his hands and reading the contents to himself.

"We need to talk," was all the paper said. He looked towards her as if to inquire, but her eyes were long transfixed on something away from him and as such was thoroughly avoiding his questioning gaze.

He sighed.

Then the bell rang, signaling final classes. The teacher spoke loudly over the raucous of freed captives escaping their bonds. Though his message was unclear and he soon gave up trying to say anything at all, resigning to his menial paperwork. In less time than she could have conceivably approached, Marie stood there, her hand palm down on Double D's desk, faded red nails on full display as she stood over him menacingly.