The Bullworth Never Ending Story

[BloodChuckZ]

The remaining Greasers, minus Ricky and Norton, headed back to the Blue Balls Bar in a sort of victory parade after the Court Hearing where Hal had been clearly exonerated, eager to let Johnny know what had happened in Court. On their way, they were just passing by the new Radio Station, WPIG, and old Rock Music was blaring from it’s outside speakers.

“Oh, I dig dis song !”, Lefty exclaimed, as a Springsteen song was playing.  The group stopped to listen and rock out there on the sidewalk.  They could see Lou Jacks, becoming better known as Wolfman Jacks, and Janet From Another Planet, the other DJ, inside through the plate glass windows.  As the song ended, his voice issued from the speakers, “ROCK ON, ROCK WITH THE WOLFMAN AT THE NEW MIGHTY 93 AND THE WAY IT USED TO BE !!”

Lou Jacks put on a Bon Jovi track then, and spotted the Greasers hanging about outside.  He motioned them in, and they crowded into the building. “Say, whass happenin’ ?”, the Wolfman said as he came out to greet them.  “Great to see you kids rockin’ out to the music out there !  Howzit going ?”

Peanut told him, “Eyy, we be celebratin’ !  Our man Hal here got acquitted on that bogus charge today!”

“Err, what kinda charge wuz that ?”, the Wolfman asked. “We ain’t got no News Team yet...Will have, come next week, guy named Andy from Cincinnati is gonna join us for a Vale Valley News Division.”

“It was Assault, and dem Preps was accusing Hal !”, Peanut exclaimed.  He went on to tell Wolfman Jacks the story, finishing up with, “Hal was Framed, Man, Framed !!  Dem dirty Bastards tried to stick da frame on Hal, but IT DIDN’T FIT !!”

The Greasers cheered anew at the conclusion of Peanut’s tale, and the Wolfman grinned.  “I gots just the thing to broadcast this News to the entire Valley...Waits right here !”  He rushed back into the Studio to change tracks and went back on the air.

“BREAKING NEWS, BOYS AND GIRLIES...OUR DUDE HAL FROM THE HOOD HAS BEEN AQUITTED OF OF BOGUS ASSAULT CHARGES LEVELED AGAINST HIM BY THOSE BLUEBLOOD PIGS OF TYRANY !  FACT IS, HE WAS FRAMED !!”  The Wolfman spun the disc as he talked, and it began to blast from the speakers and out to the Vale Valley over the new 50,000-watt antenna just erected over by the Junkyard at the Eastside of New Coventry.

Cheech & Chong Framed

I was sitting in the coffee shop, just minding my own affair,
When all of a sudden, this Policeman caught me unaware.
He said, “Is your name Pedro ?”  I says, “Uh, yeah, I guess so.."
He said, “Then come with me cause you're the man we been looking for !!”

I said, “Hey, man, I been framed !!
Hey, no, really, man, I was framed !!
Aw, I never do nothing wrong, man,
But every time I get the blame !
I been framed !!”

They put me in the lineup and let the bright lights shine,
There was ten poor dudes like me standing in that line.
I knew I was the victim of somebody's evil plan,
When this scroungy looking dude came up and said,
“Yeah, That's him, man !!”

“Hey, wait a minute, man, I been framed, man,
Aw, listen to me, Judge, I was framed !!
I never do nothing wrong,
But every time I get the blame !
Hey, I been framed !!”

Then the Prosecuting Attorney started prosecuting on me,
That dude gave me the First, Second, and Third degree.
He said, “Where were you on the night of July 29 ?"
I said, “Man, I was home in bed !"
He said, “Judge, that man's lying !”

I said, “Wait a minute, man, I was framed, man,
Hey, Judge, listen to me, man, really,
You gotta believe me, I been framed, man !!
I never do nothing wrong,
But every time I get the blame !
Oh, I was framed !!”

“Now look, I deny the charges of having any weed,
And I also deny the charges of taking any speed !
I deny the charges of selling any grass !"
But when the judge looked down and said “GUILTY !"
I said, “Judge, you can kiss my ASS !!!”

Framed !!!!!!!!!!
“Judge, I'm telling you the truth,
I was framed, man !!
I never do nothing wrong,
But every time I get the blame !
Hey, I was framed !!”

Oh, Framed !!!
“You gotta believe me, Judge,
That wasn't even my stuff !!
I was holding it for a friend, man !!
Could this face lie, man ?
Oh, come on, Judge,
Don't send me to camp, man !
I just got my car fixed, man !
Look, I just got a new Tattoo and everything, man.
Oh, man, what a bummer, man.”
Oh, come on, Judge !!
Gimme a break, please !!
Aw, Judge, come on, man,
Don't take me away, I was framed !!
Man, really I been framed !!!”

As the song wound down, the Greasers jittered their way down the street, in a high celebratory mood.  But Hal, the center of all the attention, became pensive as he walked, and eventually dropped back to the end of the procession that was making it’s way closer to the Blue Balls Bar.  Peanut noticed, and dropped back to join him.

“Hey, man, youse Ok ?”, Peanut asked.  “Ain’t you mighty glads to be outta dat place ?”

“Oh, yeas, fer sure, Daddy-O, don’cha know”, Hal replied, “Glader than glads....But dere was someptin strange abouts that Hat.”

“How’s so ?”, Peanut asked, wondering what the Hell Hal was going on about.  “It wuz just an old Biker Hat, rights ?”

“Rights”, Hal agreed.  “But, I copped a look inside its, just afters I tried it on, and dere was someptin marked in it, marked in da brim....It was a faints letter H...And, I thinks I knows whose hat it wuz.”

“Yeah ?”, Peanut asked, a faint icy finger leaking into his brain.  “So...Whose hat do’s you thinkin’ it wuz ?”

“I think it belonged to...Henry Hinkler”, Hal said.  “I remembers hearin’ dat he used to mark his stuff like dat...Wid just his initial.  I bet dats his old Cap !”

Peanut was stunned.  Henry Hinkler was a former Greaser Leader, back some 30 years ago.  He was as famous in Greaser lore as Piff the Skull was to the Nerds.  Henry had been a smaller fellow, such as Peanut himself, but he took shit from nobody and would stand up to anyone, even if they were twice his size.  The story was that he had even beaten Derby Harrington’s father in the Boxing Ring.  “How...Hows can dat be ?”, Peanut wondered.  “Hows cans his hat be found at da scene of da crime ?”

“I...Donno”, Hal said.  “But fer sure dat hat don’t belongs to any of us...It wuz too old.  It weren’t nuttin but a setup !”
_________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Coach Sanders returned that evening to Bullworth Academy.  Initially, he had gone to Warwick to get the fall Football games scheduled, but wound up going to Cranston and Pawtucket, then downstate to Wakefield and North Kingstown.  Although he hadn’t planned on extending his absence, it was better to get these all out of the way at one time, he reasoned.  Now, set with a complete fall schedule, he was back.  A Taxi had delivered him to the Parking Lot, he disembarked  and paid the fare.  Clutching his briefcase and suitcase, he made to trek down to the Football Field. 

Strangely, he didn’t see a whole lot of Students milling about as usual.  There were a few in the Back Quad, but as he approached the fountain, the dividing area between the Preps and the Greasers, he saw no one about.  Peering towards both Harrington House and then the Autoshop revealed both places to be empty.  He shrugged and moved on, the snooty rich and the throwback poor were no concern of his, only the Jocks mattered to him, and one Jock kid in particular.  He continued on, and in a couple of minutes was standing at the top of the steps overlooking the Football Field. 

Many of the Jocks were down on the Football Field, though not all of them.  However, they were not, as he might have expected, just goofing off.  That Quarterback, Ted Thompson, had several of the Team out on the Field, running plays.  Others were doing laps, and he noted that Kirby was running also.  The kid was determined to make the starting lineup, the Coach knew, and Kirby had spunk.  A lopsided smirk came to his face, for Kirby was going to be giving something more than just effort soon in exchange for his ambitions.

Across the Field, he saw the Head Cheerleader Mandy working it with some of the new girls, and they were looking better.  In the Bleachers sat some of the Jock’s girlfriends, he noticed.  Actually, he knew that was a good thing, most straight boys loved to preform and show off in front of the girls.  Now, if he could devise a way to make sure they were here on game days, the Season might go better than expected.  The Coach watched for awhile, then nodded, satisfied.  It appeared they hadn’t been slacking off in his absence.  He turned and made his way between the Gym and the Pool buildings, headed for his office.  There was still some work to do this evening.

After a few minutes, Mandy stopped hustling the wannabee Cheerleaders and went over to Ted.  “Looks like it worked”, she told him.  “We can knock off now.”

“Guess you were right”, Ted said. “Hustle’s the name of the game, even if it’s only fake hustle.  But you think he really won’t find out about the weekend ?”

“Nah”, Mandy replied, “He’s clueless.  And if you’ve never noticed, he rarely goes up to the School itself except for their Staff Meetings, and never interacts with the other Students at all.  Beaver-Face is lost in his own world.”

Ted grinned at Mandy’s use of the nickname for Coach Sanders.  “Yeah, mebby so.  I’ll go tell the others to pack it in for the evening.”

“It’s all about appearances, Teddy dear”, Mandy said with a smirk of her own.  “Rumors only live if somebody listens to them, and that’s a fact...I oughtta know.”

Ted went off to tell the others, and Mandy dismissed the new Cheerleader girls.  As she watched everyone relax though, nagging thoughts about the new Coach and his intentions still continued to fester in her mind.
__________________________________________       

[BloodChuckZ]

The Convoy arrived at the U.S. Penitentiary near Allenwood, Pennsylvania a bit after midnight, bringing Gurney awake.  Through bleary eyes, he gazed from his bench in the back of the Army Prisoner Transport where he had rode shackled for the entire trip at Otto, sitting on a similar bench across from him.  The Soldier who was guarding them rose, stepping between them to the back doors of the vehicle, where he waited.  A speaker activated with a code word that was said by a Soldier outside, to which the Soldier inside responded with a code word of his own.  The code words were different each time this had been done on the long, 400 mile journey from Blue Skies, as a precaution that if the prisoners somehow got free and overpowered the Guard, the doors would not be opened without the proper code words, if the wrong word was given, the compartment would be flooded at once with knockout gas.

Gurney and Otto had been able to only piece together the long trip since leaving the Vale Valley.  They knew there had been four APT Vehicles, as they saw when they were being loaded into one before leaving the Blue Skies Jail, and knew that Jerry and Duncan were loaded into another one.  The first stop after that had been Providence, to pick up the four Junior Townies of  Floyd, Nate, Sam, Ian, who were being held there.  Since they were the least injured of the group, they had been transferred as soon as possible away from the Bullworth Town Jail to much more secure facilities. They had been an hour there before getting on the road again, flanked by sleek black Government Vehicles.

There was nothing left to chance on the journey.  All of the vehicles were in constant radio contact with each other and the drivers gave status reports every two minutes.  There was an open con at all times between the two Soldier-Drivers in the front and the Guard in the back, who wielded a mean-looking high-power rifle at the ready.  As in the Clinic and Jail, no conversation was allowed, if the Townies got even a little verbally out of hand, a nasty electric shock would be suddenly applied via their metal bench to their ass-quarters.  Shackled down hand and foot as they were, there was no chance to get away from that.

The longest stretch of the journey had come next, some five hours of it, from Rhode Island across Connecticut, lower New York, upper New Jersey, and into Pennsylvania.  Then came the first stop, at the US Penitentiary at Canaan, where the Junior Townies were dropped off, escorted in under heavy Guard.  Gurney and Otto were unshackled just enough to be allowed to eat a couple of Granola Bars and drink some Beam Cola, afterwards being given some plastic jugs to piss in, all at gunpoint.  After an hour, the convoy began again, with only two ATP vehicles now.  This trip was shorter, about two hours, and the next stop was the US Penitentiary at Lewisburg, where Jerry and Duncan were to be incarcerated.  Gurney and Otto plainly heard Jerry call out to them, although they could not see them, and also heard Jerry’s cry of pain as some punishment was dealt to him for breaking the no-talking rule.

Gurney was expecting that he and Otto would be taken in next, but after an hour went by, the convoy was on the move once more.  It was then that Gurney knew they were all being separated from each other, and it would be unlikely they would see the others again before their Trials.  He wondered anew as to just why they were being treated the way they were.  They were Kidnappers, yes, and that was a Federal crime, but it seemed to him that they were being treated more like Terrorists.  Finally, at this last stop where he and Otto would be taken into the US  Penitentiary at Allenwood, while the Guard was waiting for the doors of the APT to be opened from the outside and away from the controls that would shock them, Gurney broke the no-talking rule.

“Man, whatta you Clowns doing ?”, he uttered.  “We want our rights, we want a Lawyer, you Pigs can’t treat us like this....”

The Guard, who was not a kid but rather a well-built Sargent, whirled around and stuck his Rifle into Gurney’s face, the tip of the barrel splitting his lip.  “You Fucking Rapist Trash”, the Guard hissed, “You’re gettin’ far better that what you scum deserve for what you done to them Little Girls....Just Give Me A Reason, Asshole, Just One !!”

Otto’s eyes were big and a look of horror came to his face, as it seemed that he was about to see Gurney’s head get blown away in an instant.  Gurney tried to keep his face a mask of stone as he closed his eyes and awaited a bullet.  Just then, the locks released and the doors of the APT swung open.  A bevy of Solders awaited them.

“Sargent, is there a problem ?”, one of them asked.  All had their Weapons at the ready.

The pressure of the muzzle on Gurney’s face lasted a few seconds longer, and then the Guard stepped back.  “No Problem”, he said harshly, “Get this Trash out of here.”

Gurney and Otto were led out of the APT, their legs chained and their hands chained at their waist, much as they had chained Karen and Melody not so long ago.  Led into the Prison to await their fate, Gurney would later learn that not only were they charged with Kidnapping, Confinement, and Rape, they were also to be charged with Treason.
_____________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

A curious thing happened the next day that furthered Tad’s reckless plans for total domination over the Prep Clique.  It had just so happened that Bif had not regained consciousness from his severe beating, and in fact his condition was growing worse. Unable to handle Critical Care cases, the Clinic and Doctor Bambillo were forced to call in an Ambulance Transport from Warwick and have Bif sent to Butler General Hospital in Providence.  There, he would most likely undergo a procedure to drill holes in his head to reduce Brain swelling.  The transport was done quietly, without fanfare, but the Press caught on by seeing Bif being wheeled out and loaded into the Ambulance, which sped away soon after.  The Preps found out after the fact, when Chad went to the Clinic later that afternoon that to check up on Bif’s progress.

Emboldened by the news of the transfer and also his belief that Bif would be unable to identify his attacker, even when he did awake, prompted Tad to put the next part of his plan in motion. Less than two hours after classes ended for the day, he gathered the Preps around the Fountain to await the Greasers return from New Coventry so that he could issue a direct challenge to Hal for a fight.  They didn’t have to wait for long, as the Greasers had been zealously  protecting their Autoshop territory in the evening ever since Hal’s arrest, after visiting with a still-recovering Johnny at his and Lola’s apartment above the Blue Balls Bar.  They were soon spotted coming up the pathway by the Library and into the Back Quad, the entire group of them along with their girlfriends.

As they approached the Fountain with impunity, the Greasers were somewhat surprised to see the Preps blocking their path, and they came to a halt at the bottom of the short steps that led up to the Fountain.  “What youse up to, Spencer ?”, Peanut asked sarcastically.  “Youse wanna rumble ?”  The other Greasers guffawed at that, even though the Preps were back together, they were still outnumbered by the Greasers.

“Hardly”, Tad replied.  “Since the Law won’t give satisfaction for the dastardly attack on our Prep brother, I’m issuing a challenge to the guilty party for a fight under the terms of the Binding Agreement.”

“What do that mean ?”, demanded Peanut.  “If’n youse wants to throw down, rights heres and nows, then let’s get it on !”

“Oh No, that’s not the way things are done now at the Brave New Bullworth”, Tad said snidely.  “Don’t you remember that Agreement we all signed just last Friday ?  It’s my right to challenge, I’m the aggrieved party here.”

Peanut didn’t quite understand, but he said, “Fines, den...I’ll kick youse snooty ass rights now, if’n dats whats youse wants so bad.”

Tad laughed, a really full laugh that made the Greasers wonder if he had gone mad.  “No, you clueless Peon, my challenge is for your guilty fat buddy Hal right there.  We have unfinished business.”

Hal piped up, “I’m not Guilty !  The Hat didn’t fit, so I’s was Aquit !”

“That doesn’t really matter, now does it ?”, Tad answered smugly. “Besides, we haven’t settled our disagreement from the Carnival, as I recall.”

Peanut turned to Lucky.  “Go finds Tony, so’s we can settle dis.”

“Yes, go and get Calderone”, Tad said, almost jovially, “I’m sure he’ll find this most amusing.”

Lucky ran back in the direction of the Front Quad as the two Cliques began trading insults. Fortunately, he was able to find Tony quickly, as they had just seen him on their way in, assisting a hobbling Karen back to the Girl’s Dorm.  Lucky found Tony just leaving the Dorm, and filled Tony in on the confrontation as they trotted back to the Fountain, and just in time.  Weapons had been drawn by then on both sides, although no rounds had yet been fired.

“What Is This ?”, Tony asked loudly.  “What are you pulling here, Spencer ?”

“Why, I’m just issuing a challenge to a fight, that’s within my rights under your Agreement we all just signed, Lord Procter”, Tad said, barely keeping the derision out of his voice.

Tony sighed.  “Ok, first, everybody put down your Weapons.”

The two sides were a bit reluctant to lower their Weapons, but did after their Leaders signaled them to do so. “Alright....”, Tony continued, “Second, what is the basis for this challenge, Tad ?  It better not be about what happened to Bif, cause everyone in Court could plainly see that Biker Hat didn’t fit Hal’s head.”

“Oh, most certainly not !”, Tad exclaimed sarcastically.  “I just never got satisfaction from that Oaf attacking me over at the Carnival last month.  He busted my nose, you know, and I demand to even the score !”

“Weren’t you the one who started the fight to begin with ?”, Tony inquired wirily.

“I most certainly was not !”, Tad said, self-righteously.  “That Cretan rudely shoved me while I was still playing, and then just savagely attacked me !  I demand a match with him to settle this once and for all, as the Agreement states !”

“Youse can’t demands anything, Prepwipe !”, Peanut said hotly.  “Sides, dat was before any Agreement thingy was in place !”

Tad’s lip curled.  “Show me where in there it says I can’t”, he said smugly.

“Well...I donts have it rights here wid me, but you just cants demand that !”, Peanut said uncertainly.  He turned to Tony.  “He cants, can he ?”

Tony was on the spot.  While it had been said at the Friday meeting and signing that the agreement was in force from that date, the issue of past wrongs had not been addressed, at least not in writing.  It was something that obviously needed amending, but that should be done with a vote of all the Cliques, not just an arbitrary decision of his own.  To do so would make the Binding Agreement look just like a personal power grab on his part, and that certainly was not what he had intended.

Everyone was waiting on Tony’s answer.  If it was the wrong one, the Agreement would be no more than just yesterday’s trash.  Finally, he said, “Tad...Has the right...To issue the challenge.”

There were exclamations of disbelief from the Greasers.  “Tony held up his hands.  “Look, I know....New things aren’t always perfect.  When we have our first council, we’ll vote to amend that, but for right now, a legal challenge has been issued.”

“So that’s settled”, Tad crowed.  “Now, I want an answer....Unless Dunce Cap Boy there is too Chickenshit to fight me !”

“I aints afraid to fights nobody !”, Hal exclaimed.  “You’re on, Prep Scum !”

“Good !”, Tad shot back.  “Meet me at the Glass Jaw tomorrow night at 8 O’clock, and we’ll settle that once and for all in the Boxing Ring.”

“Boxing Ring ?”, Hal repeated.  “I ain’t no Boxer, Ima Street Fighter !”

“Oh, are you backing down ?”, Tad asked smugly. “Afraid to go a few rounds ?”

“Hey, he cants do that !”, Peanut interjected.  “He donts gets to dictate what kinda fight to have !”

“Well...Um...Yes, he does”, Tony said slowly.  “The Challenger gets to choose the place and method...That was negotiated, remember ?”

“Shit”, Peanut commented. “Dats a load of crap.  Hal don’t know how to Box !”

“So, is my challenge being refused ?”, Tad called out mockingly.  “Is the fat Greaseball too much a weakling to take me on ?”

“I aints no weakling, Mudderfucker”, Hal shot back, “Wid a big glove, I cans punch your whole face in !  Youse is On !!!”

“Excellent !”, Tad beamed.  “Challenge Accepted !” He turned to his Clique. “Let’s go, boys...I got to prepare.”  As they walked off, back towards Harrington House, Tad gleefully called out, “Tomorrow at Eight, don’t be late !”

Tony, Peanut, and the rest of the Greasers watched them go, and Tony was realizing that it wasn’t just an accident that the Preps were suddenly back together.  Something had been planned.
__________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Later that evening, under the Sodium Arc Light at the Football Field, the Jocks were putting on an exhibition.  A scrimmage, that was, where they turned out in full dress uniforms and played against each other, offense to defense. It was something they hadn’t done in a long while, not since last summer at least.

It had been Mandy’s idea, but she had played Ted along, in the way that girls do with their boyfriends, making Ted think it was really his idea.  At the root of it all was her nagging suspicions about the Beaver-Faced Coach Sanders. She wanted to watch the new Coach a little more closely. Mandy stayed close to the sidelines, with a couple of her new Cheerleader recruits, Claire and Misty.  She kept an eye on the Coach as he watched his players, occasionally shouting instructions to them.

Word of the impromptu scrimmage had spread quickly, mostly through Gloria’s blabber-mouthing, and many of the newer Students had come down to watch from the Bleachers.  Surprisingly, the Bullies had shown up, mingling with the new kids in the Bleachers and actually behaving themselves, with the exceptions of making a few taunts here and there.  Downfield, in the other Bleachers, the Nerds were watching, having trailed out of the Observatory gate.  Although things had been fairly peaceful among the two Cliques since the Chem Plant raid, they still watched with a wary eye.  Not forgotten were the numerous raids the Jocks had mounted against them at their Observatory Castle in the past.

“Say, who’s that boy ?”, Claire asked Mandy during a break in the action. “Number 1 there, with the ginger hair under his helmet ?”

Distracted from her spying on the Coach, Mandy looked around to where Claire was pointing. “Oh....That’s Dan Wilson”, she replied, “He’s a Junior....Well, he’ll be a Senior if he gets his credits from the summer here.”

“He seems a little short for a Jock”, Claire commented, gazing at him. “He looks about my size !”

“Yes, well he used to be a Nerd, when he first came here with his half-brother Thad Carlson”, Mandy told her.  “But, he was different from them, tougher I guess....He used to show up at the Gym all the time, even though the boys would harass him and beat on him all the time.  But he worked out with weights and got Coach Burton to let him on the Wrestling Team, when we had one, that was....Anyway, he eventually gained enough respect from the boys and was invited to join the Football Team, became the only Nerd to ever do that.  He’s all Jock now, can’t ever tell he was a Nerd once.”

“That’s....Fascinating”, Claire said, staring at Dan as the Jocks set up another play.  “So small and yet....So Manly.”  She dragged he gaze away from Dan and looked at Mandy.  “Could you....Introduce us ?”

Mandy shrugged.  “Sure, why not ?”  Inwardly, Mandy was thinking the more the merrier, as far as potential girlfriends for the Jock boys were concerned.  Maybe their lackluster performances of the past was due to the fact of their not having any girls around....They certainly were looking much better playing in front of the small but mostly all-girl crowd today. Besides, more girlfriends would add more spice to the Rumor Mill, giving her the opportunity to fan the flames, deflecting them away from Mandy herself.  She was going to see to that personally.  And, an added plus was that if the boys played better, maybe better Scholarship Offers would be forthcoming, particularly where Ted was concerned.

Claire had happily set her sights back on Dan, knowing nothing of Mandy’s thoughts.  But Claire had thoughts and ambitions of her own, which were the reason she had come to Bullworth Academy in the first place.  This was just the start....She was only a wannabe Cheerleader now, but eventually she would rise to be a dominant force among the Jocks and on Campus itself, filling the void that Mandy was leaving behind.
_____________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony sat alone in his Mediator’s Office, pondering.  It appeared to him that things were slipping out of control, somehow.  The most bothersome was Tad and the Preps, with Tad’s challenge to Hal for a Boxing Match.  Clearly, it was a bid for revenge because of the attack on Bif, not for the reasons of the fight at the Carnival.  If Tad had wanted redress for that fight, he could have done that already, long ago.  But Tony felt it went much deeper than that.

It was a fact that Bif had been attacked, and likely it had been in this very building.  But that was the only fact that there was.  Who had done the attack, or why, was only a matter of speculation.  Since the exact time of the attack had not been determined, it left the door open to all sorts of suspects. The Greasers all alibied each other as to being at the Blue Balls Bar that night, but they had been at the Autoshop earlier that evening.  And there was as yet no answer as to just what Bif had been doing in the School alone at such a late hour, if indeed the attack had taken place there.  One thing that was certain was that he was alone, somewhere. 

Just as Tony rejected the idea that the Greasers had attacked Bif, he also rejected the notion that any of the Preps had attacked him either.  While fights within a Clique were not uncommon, the members had never gone to the extremes of savagely beating and nearly killing one of their own.  Tony considered that Winkie may have had something to do with Bif’s attack, because of how he had strung along and played Christy.  But that made no sense, as that had happened months ago, and the result of Bif’s deception was what brought Christy and Winkie together. Tony was later to find out that Winkie had an airtight alibi for the night in question, he had been playing a gig in East Greenwich that night, and didn’t return to Bullworth until later the next morning. 

Tony also considered the other Cliques, the Bullies, Jocks, and Nerds.  Bif had not been well-liked on Campus by just about everyone, certainly because of his deception of Christy, but also for being Derby’s hatchet man and enforcer.  The Preps were a weaker lot without him, for his fighting skill, stamina, and health were twice that of the others, with the possible exception of Bryce.  Even bushwhacked, it was hard to imagine him going down without a fight.  From what Tony had been able to find out, the Jocks had been engaged in a wild party that night down at the Clubhouse, the Bullies had been chilling over at the In-and-Out Motel, and the Nerds...Well, nobody had even seen them around Campus that evening.

But the oddest thing in all of this is that if the attacker had wanted to strike out at the Prep Clique, it instead had produced the unintended result of reuniting them, thereby making them more of a threat than they had been apart.  That’s the thing that Tony couldn’t understand.  Tad would never have been so bold as to confront the Greasers at the Fountain and issue any kind of challenge without the others backing him up. And, he had seemed so smug and arrogant while doing it, almost gleeful.  It was like....Well, it was like something planned.

Tony leaned back and sighed.  Karen was laid up for the evening, and wasn’t here to bounce ideas off of.  Nick was still down, although not for a whole while longer, he hoped.  Constantinos had gone missing again, and Tony suspected this time for good, although he couldn’t exactly say why.  Laurent was the only one of his effective posse available at what might be a critical time, but was not well versed at unobtrusively gathering information. Ray, who was a good kid, was basically worthless for anything other than eating Burgers.

Again, the idea surfaced that he must do what Jake had done, and as much as he didn’t want to become a person like Jake, he could see no other choice.  He hadn’t brought it up to Mr. Riddle earlier when he saw him, but now he was out of options.  He had to know, and hoped Mr. Riddle could help him to obtain what was needed.  Tony hauled himself up out of his chair and headed down to the School Basement.
_______________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

The Scrimmage over, the Jocks gathered around the benches at the side of the Football Field.  Coach Sanders gave a few words of praise for their performance and left, but not before pulling Kirby aside and saying something to him.  Kirby nodded, and Mandy noticed that he also left a few minutes later, headed off in the direction of the Gym.

Some of the girls watching filed down from the Bleachers and mingled with the Jocks, while the Bullies just left, unable to compete for their attentions.  After a bit, Mandy took Claire over to where Dan was at, taking off his pads.  “Hey, Dan...This here’s Claire.  She’s going to be one of the new Cheerleaders.”

Dan looked up. “Whoa, nice !”, he exclaimed, eying Claire’s figure, then backtracked a bit.  “I mean....Nice we’re gettin’ some new Cheerleaders....I didn’t mean, uh....”

“That’s alright”, Claire laughed, then said, “I was, er....Watching you out there.”

“Really ?”, Dan said, “How’d I do ?”

“I thought you did great”, Claire responded.

“Well...You know, playing Football defines my life.”

Claire liked what she was hearing.  Dan had a strong and fairly deep voice, although his face was rough-looking.  But that didn’t matter to her.  They chatted on, and Mandy left them to let nature take it’s course.  She wanted to follow Kirby and the horse-faced Coach up to the Gym.  She went over to Misty.  “Com’on, let’s get out of these sweaty uniforms.”

But Misty had her eyes on another boy who was still up in the Bleachers. “Who’s that boy up there ?  He looks like he’s asleep !”

Mandy followed her gaze up to the Bleachers.  “Oh...That’s Ivan.  He’s got some kind of sleep disorder or something. Probably due to that weird roomie of his, that Brakus boy.  Besides, he’s a nobody, really....Sorta friends with Ted, but not really exciting.”

“I still wanna meet him”, Misty said wistfully. “He’s got nice hair.”

“Well, meet him later when he’s awake”, Mandy said impatiently. “Right now, we need to go to the locker room to change.”

Misty reluctantly pulled her eyes away from Ivan and followed Mandy up to the Gym.  Really, Mandy didn’t give two farts about changing her uniform just yet....But she didn’t want to go up to spy on the horse-faced Coach all alone.  Something in her told her that wouldn’t be such a good idea.
_________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

“You want a What ?”, Mr. Riddle asked.  “A Listening Device ?”

“Yeah...Uh, like a Bug, you know”, Tony said, “I really think...Well, it’s the only chance I have....”

“You sure ?”, Mr. Riddle inquired. “Sounds a little extreme. What’s this all about ?”

Tony told him of the trouble brewing between the Preps and the Greasers, supposedly over the aquittal of Hal for the attack on Bif.  “It’s gonna get outta hand, and I need information.  There’s something going on, and I think Tad Spencer’s behind it all, somehow...He wants to trash the Binding Agreement, and if he has his way, it won’t be worth Toilet Paper !”

“Now...Why would he want to do that ?”, Mr. Riddle asked.  “He signed on to it, just like the others, right ?”

“Well...Because...I sorta tricked him into doing that....”, Tony admitted.

“How in the world did you do that ?”, Mr. Riddle asked, genuinely interested.

“I, uh...told him I’d expose him for being in cahoots with Gary Smith”, Tony said in a low voice.

“Smith...Smith...Wasn’t that the boy that tried to take over the School ?”, Mr. Riddle mused, “And that Brown boy too ?  I heard things about them...”

“Yeah...Gary and Jake”, Tony said, “They was Cousins, Grandkids of Mr. Smith in town....They terrorized this School for two years.”

“Mr. Smith in Town ?”, Mr. Riddle said. “Wasn’t he the one that went over the Dam with that Punk Sid and got blown up ?”

“Yeah, that’s him”, Tony said. “I heard he was into some shady shit, but also heard he wasn’t in league with Harrington’s bunch...Kinda hard to know what to believe about him, but the Townspeople think he’s a Hero now for somehow keeping Sid from blowing up the Dam.  Heard they might even put up a Statue to honor him or something.”  Tony paused. “You seem to know things about this place...?”

“There were some things I had to learn before being sent here”, Mr. Riddle allowed.  Before Tony could question him further, however, he said, “About a Listening Device...I’ll have to check around.  If you’re sure you really need it.”

Tony nodded. “I’m sure.”

“How soon do you want it ?”, Mr. Riddle asked.

“Tomorrow night, if possible”, Tony Replied.

“I’ll see what I can do”, Mr. Riddle said.
_________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

The Locker Rooms actually served two areas, as they were located in a downstairs area between the Gym and the Pool buildings, with a set of stairs from each building leading down to them.  In effect, they were directly underground of the wide pathway to the Football Field that cut between both the Gym and the Pool buildings.  Mandy led Misty through the Pool building to access the stairs that led down to the wide hallway where the Boys and Girls Locker Rooms faced opposite of each other, she didn’t want to take the chance of having the Horse-Faced Coach see her lurking around.  If Misty thought this was odd, she made no comment.  Before long, they had gained the Girl’s Locker Room.

Her whole school career, Mandy had hated the way the Locker Rooms were set up.  First off, there was no door on either one of them, which had never made any kind of sense to her.  Plus, there was only one Shower Stall, which meant that each girl had to wait her turn to shower, if she chose to do it here.  Most girls, like Mandy, preferred to shower in the Girl’s Dorm, where there were four Stalls with glass doors.  Granted, that wasn’t always foolproof, for that was where those naked pictures had been taken of her that had been eventually been put on posters and hung up around the School and Bullworth Town.  Though Mandy had never really found out who had taken those photos that nearly ruined her life, she suspected that Pervert Ernest had done it.  If it hadn’t been for Jimmy Hopkins going around and taking those down for her, she would have been finished at Bullworth Academy.

But Misty had no compunctions about getting a quick shower here, she had stripped off her uniform and gone right to the stall to shower.  Mandy had quickly stripped as well, but she put on some sweats and took the opportunity to sneak out of the Locker Room and go up to the Gym.  Poking her head around from the top of the stairs past the Bleachers, she could see nobody in the Gym itself.  That had to mean that Coach Sanders was in his Office under the South Bleachers, and likely Kirby was there as well. Mandy crept over to the section where the Bleacher opened up to the Office, it was closed, but she placed her ear against it to see if she could hear anything.

Muffled voices were speaking.  Mandy strained to listen, finding a crack where she could hear better.  Then, she heard Kirby’s voice speaking. 

“Gee, Coach, you really think these new 'Roids will help me bulk up ?”, she heard Kirby say.

“Sure they will”, Coach Sanders replied, “They’re in pill form, and in cumulative doses will work a lot better than injectable ones you were getting from Burton.  Here, try this and we’ll see how it makes you feel.”

“I sure hope you’re right, Coach”, Mandy heard Kirby say, “I really want to be the starting Running Back again.”

“I’m sure you will be, M’boy”, Coach Sanders assured him, “You’re making great progress...In no time at all you’ll be the Star of the Team.  Here, have another pill.”

Mandy imagined she heard a noise then, but when she looked toward the Gym doors, nobody was there.  Still, she didn’t want to be discovered eavesdropping, so she pulled back and silently returned to the Girl’s Locker Room, just in time as it turned out, for Misty was just finishing up with her shower.  She stepped from the stall and quickly dried off, then started putting fresh clothes on.

“It’s all yours, I guess”, Misty said to Mandy as she finished dressing.  “Hey, you don’t mind if I go off ahead, do you ?  I want to see if I can catch that sleepy boy.”

Mandy smiled at that.  “Sure, go on ahead....One thing about Ivan though, he’s holding out for a French Girlfriend.”

“Ha, that’s Ok”, Misty tittered, “I’m part French on my Mom’s side. Bye now !”

Misty left then, and for a long while, Mandy sat on the bench, puzzling out what little she had overheard from her eavesdropping.  It was no surprise that Coach Sanders would be giving out Steroids, Coach Burton had done the same thing with all the Players, only he called them 'Vitamin Boosters’.  But the strange thing that came to Mandy’s mind was...Why was only Kirby getting these pills ?  Why not the rest of the Team ?  Mandy hadn’t heard any of the other Players mention anything about them getting Steroids, and Ted would have certainly told her if that had been happening.

Quite a bit of time passed, and Mandy decided she should try to overhear more.  She rose and was almost to the doorway when she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the steps from the direction of the Gym.  Mandy backed up and flattened herself against the inner wall of the Locker Room, so she couldn’t be seen from the wide hallway.  Voices drew near.

“I...Feel kinda funny, Coach...”, she heard Kirby say. 

“That’s all right, M’boy, it’s just a little side effects is all....Get to the showers, that’ll make you feel better”, the voice of Coach Sanders said.

“Alll righs, I’suppose....”, Kirby replied, his words appearing to slurring.  Listening, Mandy thought his walk wasn’t too steady, it sounded as if he were dragging his feet.  She stayed against the wall as the voices diminished somewhat, she thought they may have entered the Boy’s Locker Room.  Then she heard a Locker door bang, and the talking resumed, with that echo quality that is heard in Locker Rooms.  Mandy chanced to peek around the open doorway into the hallway.  Nobody was there, and the sounds were definitely coming from the Boy’s Locker Room.  She heard the showers come on. For a few minutes she stayed there, then suddenly went across the hallway and flattened herself against the outer wall, next to the doorway to the Boy’s Locker Room.  Still unable to make out what was being said, she took a chance, poking her head cautiously through the open doorway.

What she saw froze her.  She was looking directly in a line of sight into the shower area.  Kirby was naked in the running shower all right, but he was strangely slumped against the side of the stall, facing outward.  His eyes seemed cloudy, and he appeared disoriented.  But what shocked Mandy the most was the sight of a naked Coach Sanders, his back to her, heading towards Kirby in the shower stall.

Suddenly, Kirby’s eyes seemed to clear somewhat, and it seemed to Mandy that he was looking at her, staring back into her shocked face.  Kirby raised his arm and pointed at her.  Coach Sanders begin to turn around.

Seeing Coach Sanders turning, following Kirby’s pointing finger, broke Mandy’s paralysis.  She yanked her head back from the doorway and turned and ran for the stairs to the Pool building, and she didn’t bother to try to do it quietly.  What she had seen somehow terrified her, and she ran faster once she had cleared the Pool and hit the door to the outside, making it bang with an audible noise.

Coach Sanders had grabbed a towel and wrapped it around him before going to the doorway and poking his head out into the hall.  He saw no one, but heard the running footsteps and the door banging open.  Spooked, he hurriedly dressed, abandoning his plans for Kirby.  He reached into the stall, turning off the shower. 

“Who was that, Boy ?”, he asked Kirby, “Did you see ?”

“Ummm....No....Ise-a juss....Ghosts....”. Kirby mumbled.

The Coach swore to himself.  He had probably given the boy too many Roofies for him to be coherent.  He pulled Kirby out of the shower stall and told him to get dressed.  Kirby did so, but slowly, and the Coach fumed.  When Kirby was finally ready, he guided the stumbling boy back up to the Gym and put him in the other room under the North Bleachers, where Kirby used to stay.  Kirby lay down and quickly went to sleep.

Coach Sanders had no fear that Kirby would remember anything about this evening past the time of being in his Office, as the drug he had given him was well known for wiping out memory.  But to be on the safe side, he left the campus and went to the Vale, renting a room at the Shea Lewis Hotel.  He wasn’t sure if anyone had actually seen him in the Locker Room or not, but it would be their word against his.  As for Kirby, he would wait for awhile longer before making a move on him again, and be more careful next time.
_________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

By the next day, the School was abuzz with anticipation of the coming fight between Tad and Hal.  By word of mouth and Cell Phone, the news had spread like wildfire.  The only disappointment was that it wasn’t a Hole fight...One of those hadn’t been done in many months, way before the Town bombings....But it was something.  It was Excitement.

But Tony was on a different mission.  Seeing Mr. Riddle after classes, he found he was in luck.  It seemed that in the seven years he was here, Mr. Luntz had been up to quite a few things more than anyone would have ever expected, including....Electronic Eavesdropping.  Mr. Luntz hasn’t bothered to bug the Cliques or the Students, he was after bigger game.  But he had bugged the School it seemed...Places like the Teacher’s Lounge and Dr. Crabblesnitch’s Office.  “I recovered those two, last night”, Mr. Riddle told Tony, “And I found the Receiver, Luntz hid it in the Basement before he left, since he wasn’t coming back and wouldn’t have any use for it.”

Mr. Riddle showed Tony the two tiny transmitters.  They were about the size of a round knob from a dresser, flat, only a half-inch thick.  One flat side had tiny holes in it that Tony assumed were for tiny speakers inside that would pick up voices.  The other flat side was coated with what felt like a clear, rubbery substance. “That’s that new stuff they invented years ago, that will stick to just about anything, but can pull off easily”, Mr. Riddle told him.

Tony examined the Bug. “Where’s the Antenna ?”. he asked.

“It’s internal”. Mr. Riddle said, “Just like the light-rechargeable battery.  These are some top-of-the-line Listening Devices.  Not sure about the range, but I’d bet it was considerable.”

“So....Do these work ?”, Tony asked, fingering the tiny object.

“Sure do”, Mr. Riddle said, “I checked them out myself a while ago. Apparently they’re voice activated, so that saves on battery time. I have the receiver set up down in the Basement in a secure location...You’ll have to listen from there, it’s too risky to have anywhere else.”

Tony nodded.  “Guess that’s all I need then...Now, I just gotta plant them.”

“Tony...Are you sure you want to go down this road ?”, Mr. Riddle asked.  “There’s no turning back once you do.”

“I have to”, Tony replied.  “I feel...Know...That the future of the School is at stake...I have no other choice.”

Mr. Riddle nodded, understanding.  “Well then, good luck Tony.  I’ll be waiting in the Basement tonight.”
______________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

It was growing late, although there was still a couple hours of Summer daylight left.  Tony waited on the back Balcony of the school, hunkered down to conceal himself and peering through the slats of the railing around the Balcony to conceal himself.  Someone looking closely enough would be able to spot him from the Back Quad, but it was rare that anybody looked upwards in this direction. 

Tony watched as the different Cliques made their way through the Back Quad, headed on their way to the big fight shortly after 7 PM.  The Nerds made their way from the Observatory first, having the farthest to walk.  They moved as they always moved, slow and ambling, Fatty hampered by his bum leg.  Next came the Jocks, the whole group of them, girlfriends and all, eager to see the fight.  A while later, the Greasers appeared from their Autoshop territory with their girlfriends.  All were headed to a rare night's entertainment in Bullworth Vale at the Glass Jaw, such an event hadn't happened for quite a while, not since the early Spring, at least.  The Bullies wouldn't be coming through here, Tony knew, so that just left the Preps.  They finally emerged at 7:30, gathered around Tad, who was walking with a definite swagger, Vanessa at his side, acting for all the world that the fight was already a decided event.  The Preps as a whole even had their old arrogant walk about them, as if they were conquering Heros about to claim their kingdom back.  Again, Tony couldn't help but feel there was something out of kilter, a plan in the hatching, some mischief afoot.

Tony waited ten more minutes for any stragglers before standing and then climbing down the trellis and the hopping down from the wall, moving quickly across the Back Quad to the fountain.  Still seeing no one, he turned down the path to Harrington House.  The new booth was unguarded and Tony made his way onto the Quad in front of Harrington House. Soon enough, he found that the front doors had been locked tight and most likely dead-bolted against intrusion. Tony wished he could have brought Karen along on this mission for her lock-picking skills, but she wasn't too stealthy hobbling about in a cast.  There were other ways to get in to the building though, Tony knew....He would have to rely on his own skills. 

Over to the right of the building, there was a ten-foot wall.  Behind it was a small side yard with a narrow path that led around to the back.  Tony sized up the wall and backed up on the Quad to get a running start, then ran full speed at the wall and easily Parkoured over the wall into the side yard.  Tony took a moment to get his bearings. There was another wall to his right, where an old Dumpster had been pushed up against it for easy access to a dirt pathway that Tony knew led down to right by the Pool Building.  That path had become notorious as the spot where Mr. Hattrick, the former Math Teacher, had used to sell test answers to the Preps.  On the side of Harrington House was another door, but it too was locked up tight.  Tony glanced upwards and saw the small balcony from the second floor with an outside stairway that led to the third floor back Balcony.  Tony judged the distance to the small Balcony, and saw it would be an iffy thing, there wasn't much room to run for Parkour.  Tony backed up against the wall and tried anyway, failing in his first two attempts.  Undaunted, Tony made a third attempt an managed to grab hold of the railing and haul himself up onto the small balcony.

The glass entrance doors were open, and Tony cautiously entered.  The lights were always left on in Harrington House, as the Preps had no concept of the meaning of Thrift, and this would work to Tony's advantage as the Bugs were light-rechargeable.  Across the wide upper room were some card-gaming tables, the largest being at the far end next to a couch facing a Television. To the left of that was a small new-looking Kitchenette. The large table looked sturdier than the others, and Tony decided to plant the first Bug there, correctly guessing that it was the one that was used the most.  He got down underneath the table and selected a suitable spot that was hard to see unless one was looking directly at it.

Tony then found his way downstairs to the large open common room.  He considered placing the second Bug in one of the two massive chairs in front of the Fireplace, which was always lit, but instead decided to put it there, under the lip of the Mantle, where there was just enough of an overhang to keep it out of sight.  The constant light from the Fireplace would keep it charged.  Tony made sure it was stuck firmly and then stood up.  It was time to leave.  Tony exited through the front doors, setting them to lock behind him, and set off for the Preps side yard where Chad kept his Dog, Chester.  Tony was prepared for this however, he pulled out some Jerky from his pocket and tossed it to the growling Dog, keeping Chester occupied while he crossed the side yard and went over the gap in the wall, which had never been repaired.  This led to a short dirt path to the Library, and a climb over two short walls found Tony on the Library Quad. 

From there he left the Campus, which appeared deserted, and headed towards the Glass Jaw in the Vale.  He hoped his absence had not yet been noticed by anyone, for it certainly would be conspicuous if he didn't show up.
________________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

By the time Tony arrived at the Glass Jaw, the Boxing Match between Tad and Hal was in the third round, and Hal wasn't looking so good.  Tony
pushed his way to the front of the Ring and found his way to Hal's corner, where the other Greasers were gathered.  Tony was able to get a
closer look.  Up close, Hal looked battered.  His lip was split and bleeding, and there was fresh bruises on the sides of his face.  In Contrast,
Tad was dancing about the Ring in apparent glee, punching Hal at will. 

As the bell sounded and the round ended, Hal walked slowly back to his corner and sat down on the stool provided, as the others went to work on
his cuts and gave him some water.  "Little fuckin' Fairy", Hal spat, "Jumpin' around lika little Queer." 

"You got dis, Buddy", Peanut encouraged, "Bash his face in !"

"Corner him", Norton advised him, "Back him up so's he cants get away !"

"Get him in the ropes !", Ricky exclaimed, "Punch him outs !"

Tony took the moment to look around.  It seemed practically the whole school was there, packed into thr Glass Jaw in rows deep. Over by Hal's
corner were also the Greaser Girls of Binky, Jessica, Angie, and one other Tony didn't recognize at first until it dawned on him that she was
that thin Reform School girl who looked like a Crack Addict.  Angie herself looked highly agitated and worried as the bell rang for the fourth
round and the fighters returned to the middle of the Ring, circling each other.

Hal bored at Tad like a lumbering express train, but Tad just danced away, not planting himself in any particular spot, always moving.  Hal got
close enough a few times to take swings and punches at Tad, but even the few that connected did little damage with Tad moving away from the hits
and dispelling their force.  Tad though would dive in every so often and quickly unload a two or three hit combo on Hal's head or over-sized
guts.  Hal was slow to defend himself and many of Tad's strikes found their mark.  By the time the bell rang to end the round, Hal was lurching
around, seemingly aimless, and Tad was able to land a good one upside Hal's head as the round ended.

Hal staggered back to his corner and sat down heavily on the stool provided.  "Lil Fucker won't stands still", he huffed through puffy lips that
had taken more than a few punches already.  "Just keeps jumpin' around likes some freakin' Fairy inna Dairy."

"Hang Tough, Hal, he's bound to be gettin' off his guard sometime", Peanut said, putting some stop-bleed on a new and nasty cut over Hal's left
eye.  "When he comes in to attack, go for his guts, knock the wind out of him !"

"Will if'n I can catch the crum-scum", Hal muttered just barely loud enough for Peanut to hear.

Angie had worked her way around the side of the Ring to where she could get a better look at Hal, and what she saw upset her.  "Oh Hal, Please
Be Careful !!", she pleaded.  Hal looked around at hearing her voice and winked at her with a eye that was going to black.  At that moment, the
bell rang for the next round, and rose stiffly to his feet and tottered out into the Ring.

Hal didn't fare so well in the fifth round either, with Tad increasing his attacks as the round progressed.  Hal was unable to move fast enough
to box Tad in anywhere near a corner, let alone get him trapped against the ropes.  Time and time again, Tad danced in and walloped Hal with
some fair-sized hits, wearing him down some more.  Virtually untouched, Tad stayed clear the whole round, Hal's attempt at his own punches met
only empty air.  As the bell rang to signal the end of the round, Hal staggered back to his corner, fresh blood coursing down his face.

"You gots him on the run !", Peanut encouraged, but even he could see it would take a miracle for Hal to get anywhere near landing a knockout
blow.  "Keeps hangin' in dere, he's gettin' tired !"  Norton washed Hal down briefly with a splash of water and then stuck some smelling salts
under Hal's nose before sealing up his new cuts.  Hal said not a word as the bell rang for the sixth round, getting jerkily to his feet and
moving out.  Angie hid her face in her hands, unable to watch.

Hal came to the center of the Ring, the crowd noise swelling around him, and tried to imagine he was Rocky, going in for the kill.  Unfortunately, Hal was no Rocky, and Tad danced circles around him, punching and connecting at will.  Now it was Hal who was being pushed closer to the ropes as Tad continued to dive in, punch with increasing combos, and back away before Hal could respond.  At two minutes into the round, Tad was able to land a heavy punch to Hal's midsection.  As Hal reflexively dropped his gloved hands to cradle his belly, Tad stood his ground and delivered huge roundhouse left to Hal's temple, stunning him.  Hal staggered backwards a couple of steps, closer to the ropes, and dropped to his knees.  Tad followed this time, ready to deliver the knockout blow.  But Hal never regained his feet, instead falling to his side onto the mat.  He weakly grabbed for the ropes and tried to pull himself up before failing and laying there stunned.  The noise from the crowd of Students increased sharply, and Angie screamed.

"Go To Your Corner !", Chad, who was refereeing, told Tad, and he complied.  While dishonest in many of their dealings, the Preps were
strangely scrupulous when it came to the art of Boxing, observing all the rules.  That fact was not lost on Tony, as he watched Chad do the
countdown on Hal.

"ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN !!", Chad intoned, "YOU'REEEE OUT !!!!!!"

Bedlam erupted inside the Glass Jaw from the crowd of Students who had just witnessed Hal's takedown.  They pressed up close to the Ring and
began booing as Tad raised his arms in triumph.  While the Cliques had little use for one another, they universally disliked the Preps more than
their dislike for each other.  As they pressed closer, Tad shouted "A HIT FOR THE ACQUIT !!!  THIS ONE'S FOR BIF !!!"

Tad's parody of Hal's Courtroom statement only served to enrage the Greasers, who began to climb the ropes into the Ring, intent on going after
Tad for his impunity.  Right then, Tad called, "I WOULDN'T DO THAT, MY CRETIN FRIENDS !!  LOOK !!", and he pointed behind and up to the second
floor balcony walkway that led to the upstairs Bar and Observation Room.  Unnoticed and unseen, three of the Preps had climbed the stairs and
were lined up, facing the crowd down below.  Justin, Parker, and Bryce were aiming loaded modified Egg Gun Launchers on the Ring and on those
attempting to climb over the ropes and get to Tad.  Tony watched it all unfold with a feeling of icy dread that an all-out hard-boiled shooting
fest was about to happen, but everybody froze in place, mainly because they were unsure what kind of damage the Prep's modified Weapons would
do.  The noise died down to almost a silence.

 "Ah, That's Much Better !", Tad exclaimed.  "Now, The Fight Has Been Decided, And I Am The Victor.  All Of You Can Now Leave Our Boxing Gym,
Posthaste, Else Suffer Our Eggbourne Wrath !!"  Nobody moved for a period of about 20 seconds, and Tad sighed.  "Did You Hear ?  All You Peons
Can Leave...NOW !"

Slowly, the Students withdrew, and began leaving the Glass Jaw, the stunning defeat of Hal sinking into their adolescent brains. Peanut, and
Ricky entered the Ring to recover Hal, who was coming around at last, helping him to his unsteady feet and getting him through the ropes and to
the floor.  Chad brought Tad his Victor's Robe and they also started to exit the Ring.  Before leaving, Tad said, "That Means You Too,
Calderone...And Don't Show Your Face Here Again.  You're Not Welcome Here." 

With a sneer, Tad left the Ring and swept grandly up the stairs, his Robe flowing out behind him.  Tony turned away disgustedly and followed the
others outside.  By then, the Greasers were walking away, Hal between them like a man coming off a bad drunk.  It occurred to him suddenly that
not all the Greasers were there...Johnny and Lola had been missing, but that wasn't it.  Like Nick, Johnny was still recovering from the Chem
Plant Raid.  No, the missing Greaser had been Vance.  And although he wouldn't realize it until much later, a Prep had also been missing at the
fight...Gord had not been there either.
_____________________________________________________     

[BloodChuckZ]

Gord VenDome hadn’t returned to summer classes at Bullworth since the Chem Plant raid, although he was recovering better than most of the more seriously injured Students.  Long before all the nonsense of Jake and the Punks bombing the School and the Towns, he had intended on working as an apprentice at his Father’s Law Firm of VenDome & Associates over the summer.  But with the fall of the Rich Families that had been associated with the Vale Valley, coupled with the subsequent decree by the State that everyone must return to School and make up their disallowed credits, that had put a fork in those plans.  It also appeared that Gord’s longtime plan for Law School in his future were now in serious jeopardy.

Gord himself had always been a conflicted sort of person.  He came from money, but always seemed to have a growing obsession with the Poor Class.  While he outwardly shared the same contempt for poor people and the Working Class as his fellow Preps did, he was nonetheless fascinated with them.  Added to that was the fact he had been a closet bi-sexual for years, not unusual for those of his kind, but not as common either.  His attempts to put the moves on Lola had proved disastrous, as Lola only played him for his money, and worse.....He was seen and photographed while on a date with her, bringing the wrath of Johnny Vincent down on him.  But it was his secret association with another Greaser, Vance Medici, that proved to be a more lasting relationship.  True, they had been 'outed’ the past spring, and there had been repercussions for both of them, but in the wake of the events right before the end of the semester, they had both been accepted back into their Cliques. 

Being shot in the Chem Plant raid had fundamentally altered Gord, however.  Even though being lauded as a Hero by the Press along with the other injured fighters, his future plans for Law School were no longer assured.  Alone and virtually isolated except for visits from Bryce and Pinky in the Vale Clinic gave him plenty of time to ponder about his future life.  When Vance came to secretly visit him there with his plan for the Pirate Bay Resort, Gord’s future view suddenly shifted.  It was like a spotlight had suddenly been turned on in his dark cave of uncertainty.  When Gord had gotten out of the Clinic and was able to get ahold of a Cell Phone, he called the only person whom he could think of to see if there was a possibility of making such a thing happen...Not his Father, who was now embroiled in legal problems of his own....But his Uncle Donald in New Haven, Connecticut, who was a big-time investor.

That very morning Gord had heard back from his Uncle Donald, before he left the Beach House.  It was indeed a possibility, his Uncle told him.  The barren rock that was Pirate Island could be bought cheaply from the Township for a song, his Uncle said.  Would Gord come to New Haven soon and discuss the particulars with him ?  Gord  asked a few more questions, then hung up and left the Beach House where he was now staying by himself, and caught the last Bus to Bullworth, which was empty aside from the driver and himself.  Going into the School after the bell rang, he located Vance’s locker and tucked a note into it, directing Vance to meet him under the Boulevard Bridge that evening, while the big fight was going on nearby at the Glass jaw Gym.

So it came to be that Gord was waiting under the Bridge, not having gone to the fight, when Vance came looking for him, giving the secret Pirate Whistle they had worked out for secret meetings so long ago.  Gord gave a whistle back, and Vance approached.

“Gordy ?  Youse here ?”, Vance said quietly.

“Under here”, Gord replied, just as quietly.

“Wots up ?”, Vance said as he came into view.  “I hads to sneak away afters we gots there.”

“I did what you said, looked into the Resort idea you had”, Gord told him.  “Talked to my Uncle, and he wants to meet with us as soon as possible to discuss it.”

“Really ?”, Vance said, growing excited, “Like, whens ?”

“Tomorrow”, Gord said, “He’s sending a car around to take us to New Haven in the morning.”

“Where’s dat at ?”, asked Vance, known for not being well-schooled in Geography.

“It’s in Connecticut”, Gord told him, pointing. “Next State over from here, that ways.”

“Tomorrow ?”, Vance hedged.  “Wot about School ?”

“There’s only a week left to go”, Gord said, “And I haven’t attended since the Chem Plant raid, being injured and all.  Don’t tell me you have a perfect attendance record either ?”

“Well...No”, Vance admitted.  “It just seems like...Sudden, y’know ?  Won’t anybodys miss us ?”

“Not me”, Gord replied.  “Do you really think anybody will miss you ?”

Vance thought about that.  Even though he had come back to the Greasers some time ago, he was still virtually ignored by the others. “Naw....Guess not”, he replied.

“Come along with me back to the Beach House, and I can tell you more”, Gord said.  “Nobody’s there but me now, and we can both go in the morning.”

“Yeah, sounds lika plan”, Vance asserted, and they both began walking the Beach in that direction. 

And so it was that Gord and Vance left the Vale Valley the next morning at 10 AM, not knowing that Hal lost the fight in the Ring with Tad.  But that really made no difference, since they would finally be together.  Gord knew full well that Tad was planning to attack the Greasers, and by removing himself and Vance from the possibility of fighting each other and destroying their future dream, this was the best solution all around.  They would be gone for well over a month, making plans, and when they returned, Pirate Island and the future Resort would be theirs.
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[BloodChuckZ]

After the Boxing Match, Tony returned to the School.  Briefly, he stopped in at Girl's Dorm to see Karen, who was faring much better and could again put some weight on her foot.  Having snuck up to her room, he found her alone, as her new roommate Hannah had gone off to see the fight with Bob, the big Jock, and hadn't returned yet.  Briefly, her told her what had happened at the fight, and what he had done with the Listening Devices and why.

"I don't want to become a Jake, eavesdropping on everyone's on everyone's conversations", Tony sad, "But I really can't see any other way in this case...Those Preps are up to something, I can feel it !"

"Tony", you should do it", Karen said, grabbing his arm. "Do it to everyone."

"What ?", Tony replied, shocked.  "What do you mean ?"

"Bug them all, bug all the Cliques !", Karen said.  Tony started to protest, but Karen shushed him.  "Listen, what kind of power over them do we really have ?  So you got them to sign an Agreement, but how do we back that up ?  No matter what they agreed to, they can NOT agree anytime they want.  Everybody is armed...I know, I know, that had to be done to get them to agree to sign the thing...But what I'm saying, how do we enforce it ?"

"Well, there's the sanctions that can be put against whoever violates the Agreement..."Tony began, but Karen's laugh stopped him.

"Do you think that's going to mean anything to them, really ?", Karen said, "Half of them are so full of themselves, and the other half are dumbasses.  They will just go back to doing what they've always done.  Oh, they'll be more careful, more sneaky, but it will still be the same thing.  And what do we have ?  You, me, Nick, Melody, Laurent...Ray ?  How can we stand against the whole school, if it comes to that ?"

"Maybe you're blowing this out of proportion", Tony said, "We can handle whatever comes up..."

"Oh, Really ?", Karen said, rising and hobbling over to her desk.  She retrieved a paper that she had apparently been working on, returned and thrust it into Tony's hands.  "Look.  All this went on in just one week....The Agreement gets signed, then the very next night, Bif is attacked and nearly beaten to death inside the school.  The Greasers get blamed because a Biker Hat is left at the scene, and someone implicates Hal.  But it turns out it isn't his hat, and it's pretty clear that someone left it there so the Greasers would get blamed.  But that doesn't matter to the Preps, so Tad tricks Hal into having that fight over on his own turf and under his rules...And he beats Hal like a little pussy because Hal doesn't do that kind of prissy stuff, he's a street fighter.  And now you think the Preps are up to something ?  Of course they are, they're always up to something, and so are all the others !  And we are always going to be one step behind unless there's a way we can find out what the're up to, instead of after the fact."

"Woah", Tony commented, 'You put a lotta thought into this, didn't you ?"

"Well, I've sorta been trapped up her for a few days cause of this cast on my heel, so I had lots of time to think", Karen said.  "But don't you see ?  This is our future.  If we have to control the School for the next two years or whatever, we have to be on top of things...And that means Information.  Knowledge is Power, y'know...And if it takes bugging everybody and hiring a Goon Army to back us up, then so be it.  Because I don't want another year like we just had, not the bad times anyway, and you don't either.  In this place, you can't lead from a position of trust or even authority...It has to be from a position of Power."

Tony dwelled on what Karen had said.  He was glad for her opinion, as he had come to value it highly.  It was just talks like this one that he had desperately missed while she was being held by the Townies.  He really felt lucky just then, to have her with him.  They made a good team.  "I, um...I think you're on to something there...I used to rely on Constantinos to bring me information.  But that's not happening anymore, at least until he comes back."

"I don't think he's coming back", Karen said, "Not this time."

"What makes you say that ?", asked Tony with surprise.  "He's always came back before."

Karen sighed.  "I don't know...Just a feeling, I guess.  From what you've told me from when I was...Gone...He must have fallen hard for that girl, Tiffany. He's never had a real Girlfriend that I ever knew of."  She paused, then resumed, "I know you consider him a friend and all, but the truth of it...Is that Constantinos has always been a real creep.  He used to sneak in here at the Dorm all the time, hide in the girl's Wardrobes and whack off while we undressed.  He got caught a lot of times, but a lot of times he didn't."  Karen saw the look on Tony's face, and added, "He didn't much hide in our Wardrobe, me and Melody were a lot younger then...He mostly hid out in the rooms of the older girls...Mandy, and Lola and Pinky, when they lived here, and even Beatrice and Angie.  When Mandy would catch him, she'd kick him in the balls."

"Well...It was kind of common knowledge that he could sneak around everywhere", Tony said reflectively.  "That sure was a big help last Fall, when the whole Jake thing was just starting up."

"And, just my point", Karen said, "We don't have access to whatever Information he would come tell you about. That's why we need an edge over the others...We haven't got a clue as to what's going on around here, and we don't have an Enforcer to back the Agreement up, not while Nick is laid up.  We NEED to put those Bugs...Listening Devices...in the midst of every Clique, if we are going to ever have a chance to keep on top of things."

"Even the Jocks ?", Tony asked, well aware that Karen was aligned with them.

"Yes, even them", Karen said.  "Do you know what they did over last weekend ?" 

Tony shook his head.  "No, I just heard it was some kinda party..."

Karen continued, "They had a HUGE party in the Clubhouse, got themselves and some girls drunk and had sex with them !  One of those girls was Hannah, my new roomie....She got Poled by Big Bob, and laid in that bed over there for two whole days, couldn't hardly walk !  Gloria and that Nina were down there screwing too, it was like some kind of Orgy."

Tony was mildly amused, but tried not to show it.  "So why didn't your friend Mandy put a stop to it ?"

"Put a stop to it ?", Karen exclaimed, "She Instigated It !  Set the whole thing up, to feed the Rumor Mill, I'm sure of that."

"Why would she do something like that ?", Tony asked, but he probably could guess why.

"Because...", Karen sighed again, "Because Mandy is a Social Climber.  She slept her way up to the Quarterback, discarding the other players along the way.  She has to be on the top of the Social Order, that's just how she is.  I found all this out when I went to the Jocks for protection last summer.  It's really no big secret.  But here's the thing...Ted broke up with her over that Naked Poster thing, the one that Pervo Ernest did to her, before you came here...She got him back, though, and is always afraid something like that will happen again.  So, she needs to be in control of the Rumor Mill, and have dirt on everyone else in case she needs to Blackmail them."

"So, she's like...Real Catty, huh ?", Tony observed.  "But, when you girls were...Missing...She made up posters, had them put up all over.  She never impressed me as being all that bad..."

"She's not, really", Karen sighed yet once again, trying to explain.  "She's just...Complicated.  But if it had been one of the other girls, she wouldn't have bothered herself doing that.  She's tied herself to Ted's future, and when they leave School after next term, she's gonna go with him.  And when that happens, the Jocks are going to be in disarray, It's hard telling just who's going to take over.  I'm guessing things will go to Hell in a hurry, without someone strong enough to lead them.  So, yeah...Bug them too, for future insurance.  Anything can happen after Ted and Mandy leave."

"You present a compelling argument, my dear", Tony said.  "I'll see if I can't get any more Bugs from Mr. Riddle, and then I can plant them also.  It just might give us an edge."

"Yes, you should...WE should", Karen said. "And, we should keep this just to ourselves, Ok ?  Never tell anybody, ever."

Tony frowned.  "What about Nick ?  He should know, shouldn't he ?"

"No, because he'd tell Melody, and Melody can't keep her mouth shut", Karen said.  "She's a friend of mine and all, but...She's a little blabbermouth.  When we were smaller, she'd run to the Prefects all the time about being Bullied.  She's the second biggest Rumor starter here after Christy, maybe the biggest one now since Christy graduated and moved up to the Office. No, we can't tell anyone, this has to be kept secret between just you and me if it's ever going to work for us."

Tony considered, and concluded Karen was right.  "You're right, of course.  We keep it totally secret."  Tony knew all about keeping secrets, a couple of them anyway, that he hoped Karen would never have to find out about.  "Let's shake on it...Or better yet..."  Tony moved over to Karen and embraced her, and soon they were kissing deeply.  In no time at all, they were removing certain articles of clothing for a blissful intimate encounter.
______________________________________________________       

[BloodChuckZ]

Afterwards, Tony went to the School Basement and sought out Mr. Riddle.  He already had the Listening Receiver set up on a table near to where his quarters was, awaiting Tony’s arrival.  Tony sat at the Table as Mr. Riddle showed him how to tune the unit to the specific frequency the Bugs were using to transmit on.  There seemed to be an infinite amount of frequencies that could be used in that bandwidth, or so it seemed to Tony.  The unit seemed of newer design, and therefore the frequencies were UHF above 800 MHz (Ultra High Frequency) of less that 1 Meter wavelength in height, as opposed to the Walkie-Talkies Jake has stolen from the Nerds and used, which were pegged to 49 MHz HF (High Frequency) which were 6 Meters wavelength in height, Mr. Riddle explained.  The more compact waves made for a clearer signal and less interference from atmospheric conditions.  The Receiver, Mr. Riddle told him, had been stashed by Mr. Luntz just prior to his leaving Bullworth for good.  Mr. Riddle was able to find out from his contacts just where, and some other interesting information as well.

“Seems my predecessor had a lot of places bugged”, Mr. Riddle said.  Some Businesses and places in Bullworth Town, the Vale, and Coventry, and especially the Blue Skies Industrial area.”

“What about the School and the Campus ?”, Tony asked.  “Are there more Bugs here ?”

Mr. Riddle shook his head.  “Just these ones in the School that I gave you.  I don’t believe Mr. Luntz had any particular use for you kids most of the time, except right near the end of his stay here.  From what I could find out, he mostly used the Bugs to track the shipments of goods and....Weapons.”

“Something to do with the Harrington bunch ?”, Tony asked.

“Probably”, Mr. Riddle said, “But I can tell you no more.  Security constraints, you understand.”

Tony nodded.  He had come to find out from their past conversations that Mr. Riddle had been sent here to look after him and his friends, somehow, and that Mr. Luntz probably had a hand in that.  Tony still didn’t know the whole story on Mr. Luntz, and probably never would, but it was a small comfort to know that someone had his back.

Tony tuned into the frequencies of the Bugs he had placed, but heard nothing but background sounds of things like a Refrigerator running and the gas fire burning that the Preps always left going in the Fireplace downstairs in Harrington House.  The Preps must not have returned from the Glass Jaw, Tony thought, and on that he was right.  Tony listened for another two hours, then gave up for the night.  Before leaving, he asked Mr. Riddle if there was a way he could obtain more Listening Devices, to Bug the other Cliques.

“Are you sure this is the course you want to follow, by spying on your fellow Students ?”, Mr. Riddle asked.  “That’s how Tyrants are made, you know.”

Tony explained the conversation he had with Karen earlier, and her concerns of how chaos would return to the school, and how their small reduced group would be no match for it.  He also related his own concerns that the Binding Agreement that he had worked so hard to craft would not withstand in the face of new Wars between the Cliques without something powerful to back it up. 

“Information is that Power”, Tony concluded, “It can keep them in check.  It’s what I’ve used before, when I had access to it...But now I’m in the dark, and I need to know certain things to keep the place from exploding.  This School is a powder keg, always has been, and it’s up to us to prevent someone from lighting the fuse.  I’m not out to be a Dictator or King of the School...I’m just the Mediator.  We want to be able to go to School in peace, not at War.  But to be able to do that at this place, we have to be on top of things, to have a chance to stop any evil plans before they can be carried out.”  Tony paused, and then said, “Y’know, even in a so-called Free Society, the Governments listen in on Cell Phone conversations and snoops Social Media”

Mr. Riddle considered Tony’s arguments, and finally said, “That’s very reasoned approach.  Karen is one smart girl you have there.”

Tony smiled.  “I think so, too.  So...How about it ?  Can you help us ?”

Mr. Riddle drew a breath, and said, “Remember, as I told you before, you must also help yourself.”  Tony started to object, but Mr. Riddle raised his hand.  “My job is just to guide you...So here’s what you need to do.  Riddle me this...From the place where things come and where things go, search it all both high and low.”

Tony absorbed this latest puzzle.  “There’s....Lots of places like that....Where would I start looking ?”

Mr. Riddle smiled.  “From underneath you were already there, look it over but take some care.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tired, Tony had left the Basement and the School, starting the long trek back to his room at the In-And-Out Motel.  He wished Karen could join him, but it would be another few days before she would be mobile enough to walk that far.  He couldn’t take his bike to the Motel for fear of it being stolen, as the Motel was still a seedy place, populated right now with the Bullies, the Non-Cliques, and some of the new Students.  His thought about Mr. Riddle’s latest puzzle along the way, but his brain was too tired to come up with anything.  He needed some sleep.  Entering his room at last, he fell to the bed and into his dreams.
_____________________________________