Soldier of Satan - Part 2 - Katie's feelings

Stanleigh walked quickly down the smelly corridors to his locker. He passed the choir room, where the chamber choir was already practicing for the opening assembly later that afternoon, where all the students would be formally greeted by the staff. He could hear them singing the school song, something which was quite painful to his ears. He gritted his teeth and strode on to his locker, his head bowed.

He spun the lock and threw open the metal door. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the distinctive laughter of the Jock Squad. Please, he begged silently, don't come near me and make my first minute of this year miserable. Not today.

When James materialized in the hallway, Stanleigh stuffed his book bag inside. He didn't look forward to getting stuffed in a locker or beat up. Before James and his friends could even reach him, he pulled a book out of his bag and slammed the locker shut.

"Hello, Stanleigh Kretsch." James greeted Stanleigh with a false grin.

Stanleigh said nothing. He tried going through them, but Scott and Chris grabbed his arms, holding him securely. "You're not going anywhere, Retch," Scott hissed.

Katie stood behind the group, holding her breath in anticipation of something bad to come. She didn't like having to watch her friends torment the young man; she'd seen enough of it last year and didn't want to watch anymore.

"You are going to learn your lesson this year, Mr. Kretsch," Courtney said sweetly, running a long, polished fingernail up and down Stanleigh's bare forearm. She could feel some of his bones and, slightly disgusted by how thin he was, pulled back, repulsed.

Stanleigh's fingers dug into his soft-covered book, acting as if he had to hold onto it for dear life. He stared in wide-eyed horror at his enemies, wondering what they were going to do with him. Maybe they would just stuff him in a locker and get it over with. Or else they were just going to fire insults at him. He couldn't tell, but he was angry that they would dare do anything to him on the first day.

"Stupid Idiot in our school...what do we do with someone who ain't cool?" James chanted, stroking his chin.

"Stuff him in a locker!" Danny shouted.

"Oh, puh-leeze, Danny! That's so...Junior year! We're seniors, now!" James said with exasperation. He grabbed Stanleigh by the front of the shirt and gave him a shake. "Pick your punishment, Loser...or we will stuff you into a garbage can!"

"Garbage can Stan!" Scott hooted loudly. Stanleigh tried tugging free of his red-faced, zitted-up jock captor, but Scott was too strong from him. After having worked out in the weight room for hours on end, he and the other jocks were all by far more muscular than Stanleigh, who did no more exercise than his nightly sessions of yoga and pilates.

A million commands ran through Stanleigh's mind; what could he do without having to open his mouth and say a word? He hated speaking and he needed to do something to get free of his enemies. He bowed his head low until his lips were right near Scott's hand. He sunk his teeth into the flesh, breaking the skin and causing blood to run.

Scott let out a scream and clutched his bloody hand. Enough time. Stanleigh managed to push through the crowd of cruelty and run down the hallway. His breath burned his throat as he escaped into the nearest boy's bathroom.

He stayed in there for the remaining fifteen minutes he had before his first hour class was to begin. The torture device? They called it gym class...

Katie Bryant's breath was taken away when Stanleigh rushed past her to escape the confines of her clique. She breathed in the sweet scent of his incense-scented cologne, nearly choking on the great amount he put on himself in the morning. James noticed her coughing and immediately came by to put a muscular arm around her. "Are you okay, Honey?" he asked.

"Sure." She nodded.

"In gym class with me?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I have Biology first thing."

"Bummer." James frowned. He glanced quickly at his schedule. "I have gym class with Mr. Steel." He smiled, glad to have Mr. Robb Steel as his teacher for the fourth year in a row. He didn't want any of the other five teachers, for he found them all to not be as good of teachers as Mr. Steel was. Besides, he wouldn't have an ally if Stanleigh Kretsch was in the class with him if there was no Mr. Steel. But of course he was glad to see that Courtney, Scott, and Chris all had gym class with him. He prayed that he wouldn't have to deal with Stanleigh during that class period.

"I hope to see you around, Katie, doll." James pulled her up close against him and gave her a quick peck on the lips. She responded eagerly to his passion.

Katie had to admit to herself that she was lucky to date James Edson. And she had since she was fourteen years old in the eighth grade. But she still couldn't help but feel angry at the way he constantly tormented Stanleigh. Sure, she'd joined along in the I-Hate-Stanleigh-Kretsch brigade, but now that she was a Senior, she wanted to act like one instead of a freshman, like all the others were.

James's powerful, muscular arm made her feel secure, though. She leaned against his shoulder, loving the feeling of pride overwhelming her. He was the most sought-after boy in Winslow High School and any girl who had a crush on James was pretty envious of Katie. But Katie had a secret buried deep within her that she would never confide in James. Had she admitted that she thought Stanleigh was handsome, she would have been banished from the group, never again to be spoken to. And the main rule of the popular kids was to not speak to Stanleigh in a kind voice; you always had to be mean to the young man in this group.

"Well...I'd better get going to gym real soon," James said. He stuffed his school bag into his locker, which wasn't all that far from Stanleigh's, and slammed the door as loud as he could manage.

"I'll talk to you...third period," Katie said.

"Yeah." James smiled. He kissed her quickly. "Can't wait. What do you have for second hour?"

"Art class." Her upper lip curled in disgust. "I can't draw a straight line, but I needed one more half credit to graduate and that was the only one being offered," she explained.

"Well." James kissed her again. "I wouldn't worry about it. Let's get to class before the bell rings."

*********************

Mr. Steel seemed like God Almighty as he stood in front of his first period class. He looked over his clipboard at the names written there, making sure everyone was present. The only person who wasn't in sight at the moment was Stanleigh Kretsch, who was to come in not even ten seconds late.

Of course, Mr. Steel had no sympathy for boys who came into class nine seconds late unless they were the "select" in the school. In other words, jocks or popular girls. Not that Stanleigh cared what the man thought of him. In his opinion, Mr. Robb Steel could suck a hundred eggs and he wouldn't care.

Stanleigh stepped into the gym with the expression of someone who just discovered someone talking bad about him. James glared hatefully at him, sending poison in his direction with just one lift of an eyebrow. The young man sat down on the closest seat available. Of course, an uncomfortable bleacher that would undoubtedly give him a bad case of "bleacher-butt" if he sat down long enough.

"Nice to see you back, Edson," Mr. Steel said to his star football player, as well as his favorite student, with a grin.

"I'm glad to be back in this class, too, Mr. Steel. Us Winslow Warriors are going to kick some Huskie butt!" he declared.

"That's right!" Mr. Steel gave him a thumbs-up sign.

Lies that Mr. Steel tells:

1) I grade everyone fairly

2) Physical Education is something that will help you in the long run

3) You will be able to pass this class easily

4) I don't play favorites

5) I treat everyone equally

6) James Edson is a great role model.

7) Stanleigh Kretsch smokes pot.

8) Our team is the best.

Stanleigh knew that the hokey rules of Mr. Steel weren't exactly true. And he never stuck with the equality rules, either. It seemed like he instinctively knew who was good enough and who deserved the lowest grade possible.

Mr. Steel was ugly, too. The man was certainly built like steel and everyone could see how well his name fit him. Armed with a jock-ish buzz cut the color of ashes, barrel chest, fat neck, and long, muscular arms, he was very much the stereotypical gym teacher. He even wore a whistle around his thick neck. Stanleigh was stuck with the sexist jerk all four years and wished that he would get another one of the six gym teachers for once.

Parent letters were passed out to all of the students. Stanleigh's heart dropped down to his feet. He didn't look forward to having to have anything to do with his father, Bailey. If anything, he just wanted to avoid the man, if possible. He hated even going near him, for it meant that he would have to open his lips, say something, and shatter what he really was.

"The first thing we're going to do in this class is flag football..." Mr. Steel announced, bringing smiles to the faces of all the jocks. Hell, all the boys, besides Stanleigh, were jocks in this dumb class. There was a chubby girl who he'd never seen before in his life, but other than that, the girls were all popular clones of Playboy bunnies. It made him sick to see that none of them had any form of individuality. In his mind, he saw a big factory spewing out clones, all of them alike, while in front there was a sign that said: NO INDIVIDUALISM!

Stanleigh shuddered and focused his attention on the ceiling. How many more minutes until art class? Forty? He rested his chin upon his fist and watched the teacher begin to explain about locker assignments, football, and how great of a school year this was going to be. Stanleigh cracked open his vampire book and scanned the pages, reading rather quickly.

It was only a few moments before Mr. Steel realized what he was doing. He stopped talking and the young man felt all twenty pairs of eyes resting upon his inert form, save for his eyes skimming the pages. Mr. Steel coughed and charged at his student. Before Stanleigh had time to slam his book shut, it was ripped out of his hands, taken away from him for the rest of the period.

"I don't tolerate reading in my classroom, Mr. Kretsch!" Mr. Steel said loudly enough so that everyone could hear. "If you care caught reading again, you will be sent down to the office, is that clear?"

Only an ignorant jerk like you wouldn't tolerate reading! Stanleigh inwardly raged, but he kept his mouth sealed and didn't say anything. He concentrated on the stitching holding his shoes together.

Mr. Steel looked at the cover of the book. "Interview with a Vampire?" He smirked. "You should be reading real stuff, such as Sports Illustrated," he snapped.

"Yeah, only dumb people read freaky stuff such as that," James chimed in.

"Yesss..." Mr. Steel nodded, agreeing with James completely. He shoved the book into his back pocket. "Let's move on."

Stanleigh seethed as Mr. Steel paced back and forth in front of the bleachers, bellowing at everyone about football. In his daydreams, he saw himself, powerful and stealthy like Spiderman, jumping down the bleachers, and retrieving his stolen possession. But he wasn't Spiderman. He was just a freaky vampiric looking young man who wore all black every day.

Twenty minutes dragged by with Mr. Steel mercilessly teaching them the rules of football. James and his friends were talking. Stanleigh wished he had someone to talk to. Maybe that chubby girl was nice, he thought, but he didn't dare going near her in fear that she might be a preppy girl in disguise who would be cruel to him.

Everyone was lead down to their locker rooms. Mr. Steel handed out locks to all the victims, but Stanleigh was never given back his book.

Stanleigh listened to the other boys laugh around him as he walked with his head down. James was boasting about how good he would do at this game, how easy and fun it was. In his deepest, darkest thoughts, Stanleigh imagined how fun it would be if James broke his leg and couldn't play this year. He would love it if James wasn't in his gym class. Unfortunately, he had been all four years. It was as if the authorities wanted him to suffer miserably.

"This game is so easy, you guys. Just pray that you don't have any of the nasty people on your team." James shot Stanleigh a look of disgust.

Trying to ignore the jock, Stanleigh thought of other things. It was hard for him to tune out the raucous sound of James's voice; the boy yelled so loudly.

Unfortunately for Stanleigh, Mr. Steel assigned football teams. Four separate groups which would work together for a month. Stanleigh was on a team with James, Chris, Scott, Courtney, and the new girl, who was named Lila Van Dursen. He hated the other four with a passion and didn't know Lila yet. He wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be some jerk like Courtney or...James.

"Dadgummit it!" James yelled. "We're going to lose for sure!"

Stanleigh looked at Mr. Steel with wide eyes. Is he deliberately trying to torture me?

He looked over at James and his friends as they huddled together in a group and tried to think of plans.

"Girls!" Mr. Steel raised a hand in the air. "Go to your locker room immediately so Mrs. Hanson can give you your locker assignments."

The girls shuffled out of the room like prisoners in World War Two. Stanleigh felt as if he was locked in a gas chamber, suffocating. The locker room looked enough like it could be used as one with the vents all over the place and the pipes in the ceiling. He was suffocating from the hatred and James's insults.

Mr. Steel left the room, muttering some lame excuse about having to check up on something in the office. As usual, he left James in charge, thinking him to be the most responsible boy in the class. James beamed when Mr. Steel asked him if everything would be all right. Stanleigh grimaced, wishing the floor could swallow him whole. As soon as Mr. Steel disappeared, the full-fledged attack began.

"So...Kretsch, how was your summer? What did you do all summer? Did you finally learn how to get a life?" James taunted, stepping up close to Stanleigh.

"Did you learn how to act your age?" Stanleigh asked, narrowing his eyes. Last year, he never really defended himself against James, but he made the risky decision to do that this year. So what if James killed him? It would all be for a good cause anyway.

James stepped back, stunned that Stanleigh defended himself for once. "You're such a freak,” he sputtered. "A complete freak."

Stanleigh shrugged. "And you're an ignorant jock."

James stepped forward, undaunted. "Listen here. I hope you didn't forget what happened last year. It's going to be no different this year, Kretsch. If you bother smarting off, I am literally going to kill you. Nobody is going to defend you, not even your fat friend, Gabriel Garwood, or that drug-injecting loser, Beth Kennedy!" James exclaimed.

Stanleigh glanced at the door quickly, hoping Mr. Steel would come to his rescue, though he knew the jock-lover probably wouldn't. The man wouldn't defend him even for a million dollars. Seeing that the gym teacher was nowhere in site, Stanleigh knew that he was on his own. He narrowed his eyes at James, prepared to dart out the doorway. "The only reason you tease people like me, James, is because you have no freakin' life!"

The other boys in the locker room widened their eyes, looked at each other, and covered up smiles. All but James, that is. His face turned fire engine red as he tried to control his temper. Stanleigh had a sick feeling in his stomach, but he knew that he had to learn how to take care of himself if he was going to last this year.

Before James could actually do anything physical to him, Mr. Steel sauntered into the room. "What's going on in here?"

"That dweeb is being a total jerk to me." James pointed an accusing finger at Stanleigh.

Mr. Steel lifted an eyebrow at Stanleigh. "You're going to have to grow up real soon, Mr. Kretsch." He handed him his book.

Words rose in his throat, but he couldn't force them out from between his stiff lips. Instead, he just held Mr. Steel's gaze, trying to get a hold of his temper. From the intense look on the student's eyes, the gym teacher had to look away. He turned to the rest of the boys. "All right, guys! Remember your gym clothes tomorrow. I decided this; before we begin playing touch football, we're going to get into the pool!"

Stanleigh felt his heart sink lower than it already was. It wasn't that he couldn't swim or anything; he was, in fact, a really good swimmer. The only problem was that James would be really nasty to him and would be showing off his washboard abs. It made Stanleigh sick with the way he constantly posed like some Calvin Klein model. In his opinion, the jock was far from it. He was more like a model for the ugly dot com website. An evil laugh bubbled up in Stanleigh's throat, but he clamped his lips shut and held it in.

"That sounds like a lot of fun, Mr. Steel," James said enthusiastically.

"Oh please," Stanleigh groaned under his breath, rolling his eyes. He was lucky that Mr. Steel blocked his view. James hadn't seen that.

When the bell rang loud and clear, Stanleigh darted out of the locker room and up the cement stairs. He heard James talking about the football game that Friday and boasting. "I'm going to do so good on Friday!"

"I hope he falls and busts his leg," Stanleigh grumbled. Clutching his Ann Rice book tightly in a sweaty hand, he walked quickly to his next class. Art.

**********************

Katie was stunned to see that she had assigned seats in art class, when she thought that she'd at least be able to sit by whoever she wanted to. But instead, she was forced to sit next to Stanleigh Kretsch, the very man she was forbidden to speak to. She found him sitting by himself at a table, reading a thick novel. She drifted over to where he sat and took a seat beside him.

"Hello." Katie smiled at the young man.

Stanleigh, ignoring her attempts at being friendly, immediately set his feet on the floor and scooted his chair over from her as far as he could. She was at first hurt by his actions, but she then remembered why he was doing what he was. She had been mean to him all these years and he was obviously expecting it of her right now. He buried his face in the book, sneaking sideways glances at her quickly.

The art teacher, Mrs. Robinson droned on about the class for a good five and a half minutes before she allowed them to start on their first project. As Stanleigh was an independent student, he could pretty much do whatever he wanted to. Katie, on the other hand, was an introductory student, so she was stuck with drawing a perspective drawing.

Stanleigh closed his book and opened up his sketchbook to proceed drawing a very accurate, very mean drawing of James. He stuck his tongue out, clutching the pencil tightly in his long, slim fingers as he sketched the mullet hairstyle. Katie glanced over his arm quickly to see what he was doing. She frowned when she saw that he was drawing James.

"Who is that?" She demanded angrily. "James?"

"Maybe it is," Stanleigh began in an angry voice. "Maybe it isn't." He slammed his sketchbook shut. "Either way, it isn't any of your business." He pursed his lips together.

"That's really mean, Stanleigh," she snapped.

"Oh...what are you going to do? Have James beat me up?" He rolled his eyes.

"Why do you have to be so mean?"

Stanleigh let out a small, amused chuckle. "What do you mean, why am I being so mean? I should ask you the same question, only in a different context: why have you been so mean to me since we've been in elementary school?" he asked.

Katie sputtered, but couldn't find any words to say. She never knew why she was mean to him and she didn't want to say anything cruel to him any more. She was through with acting childish towards him; it was high time he got a break from all the cruel torment he received. Besides, was it really worth it, being mean to him?

"Ummmm." Stanleigh pressed his lips tightly together, nodding. He picked up his book before he proceeded to read again.

"I'm sorry," she grumbled.

Stanleigh shook his head, ignoring her and her feeble attempts to make peace with him. He didn't want anything to do with her or James and his friends. And after the incident in the locker room, he was sure as hell through with them and their cruelty. He didn't want to deal with it anymore.

"Stanleigh...I want to make peace with you this year. I want all the hostility to pass. I'm sick and tired of treating people like crap and I'm about ready to call a truce," she explained.

Stanleigh turned away from his book for one moment. "I'll think about it." He then ignored her, appearing to be deep into the novel. Katie nodded, somewhat satisfied with his answer, and went back to figuring out how to draw a perspective drawing. She didn't know what she was doing and, since she knew Stanleigh was a very good artist, she reached over and tapped him on the shoulder, something he didn't react too kindly too. He jerked his shoulder away, as if she'd burned him, and stared at her with wide, frightened eyes. What made him react in such a way was a mystery, but maybe he was stunned that she would treat him kindly.

"What?" he asked.

"How do you draw in perspective?" she asked timidly.

Stanleigh took her piece of paper from her and began explaining in a low voice about how to draw a good perspective drawing. He seemed to calm down quite a bit from when she'd touched him. Clutching a pencil tightly, his hand moved over the paper quickly, drawing figures and lines. Katie watched with amazement, wishing she had the talent that he had.

"Do you understand this?" he asked gently.

She nodded. "Kinda."

He sighed and rested his forehead against his fist. He stared down at what he drew so far and continued to show her different ways to draw in perspective. She leaned close to him, watching him draw a building from a bird's eye view. She could feel his hot breath on her cheeks as he demonstrated how to make the building look realistic. Her body tingled all over with a strange feeling that she'd never felt before when talking to any boy. Not even James. There was something about Stanleigh's aura that made her feel good, but not in a way she was allowed to feel. Oh, how could she be so mean to him? She regretted every word she ever said to him.

(scumbag!)

(loser)

(freak!)

The words echoed in Katie's mind like a resounding gong. She shook her head quickly to clear the memories and then found Stanleigh with the right side of his lips curved into a small, but slightly distinctive smile. She wondered what he looked like when he grinned. He laughed, but he didn't smile as he did so. She had made him smile a small bit and it was somewhat of an accomplishment. For anybody. If Stanleigh ever smiled, she'd never seen it. Nor had anybody else. Oh, he probably would look so handsome if he smiled!

Katie stared at Stanleigh's beautiful face as she tried to concentrate on what she was doing. He had such sexy, juicy lips that looked good to kiss. A sweet little nose, and such beautiful eyes. She couldn't think about cheating on James, though. To him, looking at Stanleigh with admiration, was as much as a sin as killing someone in the bible was.

But now, she felt like she was drowning.

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