Gabes Guardian Angel E-Book

Beverly Stowe McClure

• Herausgeber: Dancing Lemur Press LLC
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 267

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Gabe never asked for an angel…

Gabe Montana’s clumsy. He’s overweight, and he’s dyslexic. Worse yet, the bullies make his fifteen-year-old life even more miserable—so miserable he wants to die. 

Charley, his guardian angel, says no to that idea, and comes up with a different plan. He’ll give Gabe self-confidence so he can solve his problems, not run away from them. But Gabe wonders why the angel doesn’t just help with the bullies. What’s with this self-confidence stuff? 

Can Charley help Gabe stand on his own two feet? Will Gabe give up hope life can improve for him? Or will he finally listen to the angel’s advice?

Leseprobe

By Beverly Stowe McClure

FREEDOM FOX PRESS

Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

Pikeville, North Carolina

http://www.dancinglemurpressllc.com/

“An important read for young adults and their families. For McClure’s expert writing will surely bring important issues to the surface for discussion.” - Donna McDine, multi-award winning author of stories for children

“This story touches on two very real problems young people face today: bullying and suicide. It takes a tough subject and handles it in a positive, uplifting way. A must read for teens and tweens.” – Sandra Cox, author

“Gabe’s Guardian Angel is a good read for any youngster who has ever felt isolated and bullied. This is a story of self-reliance, building confidence, seeing the humanity of others, and building strong bonds with family and friends.” – L.G. Keltner, author

Copyright 2020 by Beverly Stowe McClure

Published by Freedom Fox Press

An imprint of:

Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C., P.O. Box 383, Pikeville, North Carolina, 27863-0383

http://www.dancinglemurpressllc.com/

ISBN: 9781939844675

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system in any form – either mechanically, electronically, photocopy, recording, or other – except for short quotations in printed reviews, without the permission of the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Cover design by C.R.W.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: McClure, Beverly Stowe, author.

Title: Gabe's guardian angel / Beverly Stowe McClure.

Description: Pikeville, North Carolina : Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.,

[2020] | Audience: Grades 10-12. | Summary: Fifteen-year-old Gabe

Montana, clumsy, overweight, dyslexic, and bullied, is considering

suicide when his guardian angel appears, offering a plan to begining

stand up for himself.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019044077 (print) | LCCN 2019044078 (ebook) | ISBN

9781939844668 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781939844675 (ebook)

Subjects: CYAC: Guardian angels--Fiction. | Angels--Fiction. |

Bullying--Fiction. | Suicidal behavior--Fiction. |

Self-confidence--Fiction.

Classification: LCC PZ7.M13375 Gab 2020 (print) | LCC PZ7.M13375 (ebook)

| DDC [Fic]--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019044077

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019044078

Dedication:

To my sons: Rex, Scott, Kelly, and David in Heaven.

And granddaughter Sierra, with the angels, too.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-one

Chapter Thirty-two

Chapter Thirty-three

Chapter Thirty-four

Chapter Thirty-five

Chapter Thirty-six

Chapter Thirty-seven

Chapter Thirty-eight

Chapter Thirty-nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-one

Chapter Forty-two

Chapter Forty-three

Chapter Forty-four

Chapter Forty-five

Chapter Forty-six

Chapter Forty-seven

About the Author

CHAPTER ONE

Gabe stood at the glass doors and looked outside to see if the coast was clear. He glanced to the right; he checked on the left. Students scrambled aboard school buses or darted to cars where parents waited. Older students rushed to their own vehicles and soon sped down the street. Except for a few stragglers chatting with friends, the almost empty school grounds appeared safe for him to pass through.

With a deep sigh, he swiped a hand across his sweaty brow. “I’ve done it. I’ve survived another day at Harmony High, without even a rumble from the terrors of the school. Now to find Lindy and go home.”

He opened the doors and stepped outside into the warm sunshine. Too late, he saw the foot shoot out. He tried to jump over it but lost his balance and fell forward. His arms and nose skidded on the cement entrance of the school. A low groan rumbled in his throat. His cheek burned. A thin stream of blood flowed from his nose and scrapes on his hands when he slid to a stop.

As if he wasn’t in enough pain, a familiar male voice cackled, “Ha-ha! What are you doing down there, Blubber?” He nudged Gabe in the side with the same foot. Not gently, either.

Mick, of course. And Bud. Dang! They sure snuck up in a hurry. I never saw them coming. He clenched his jaws tight. If only I had the guts to fight back. A vision of what he’d like to do to Mick and Bud flashed before his eyes.

He almost laughed, but Mick’s voice screeched in his ears, interrupting his pleasant thoughts. “Haven’t you learned to walk, yet, Blubber? Oh, wait! I bet you’re a late bloomer. Right?” He cackled at his own joke. “And who in the world came up with a dumb name like Gabe? They must have been drunk or stupid or both.”

Gabe, teeth clinched together, leaped to his feet and glared at Mick. Ignoring the pain in his face and arms, he doubled his hands into fists. “You have no right to make fun of my name,” he said and raised one fist, ready to smack the ugly grin off Mick’s face even though he’d get smacked back. Putting Mick in his place would be worth another black eye or bleeding nose.

Before he could swing his hand, Bud stepped between them and clapped Mick on the shoulder. “Hey, cool it,” he said. “We’ve got company.”

Gabe glanced in the direction Bud pointed, took one look at Miss Blaire, the girl’s gym teacher, heading their way, and moaned. “Caught. Oh, man, Grandpa’s going to kill me for getting in a fight. Well, almost a fight.”

A couple of boys who’d stopped to observe the fracas skedaddled.

Mick patted Gabe on the back. “See you later, Blubber.” His mouth one huge grin, he leapt off the school steps and ran, Bud on his heels, but not fast enough.

CHAPTER TWO

“Stop!” Miss Blaire called, her voice amazingly strong for a small woman. When the boys slid to a halt but didn’t turn to face her, she added, “Get back here, this instant! I want to talk to you.” The way she snapped out each word left no doubt they’d better do what she said, and they obeyed without further hesitation. Gabe stood still, head ducked, ashamed of the way he looked with his bruises and cuts and how he’d let the boys trick him. To add to his troubles, a teacher now saw him in this pitiful condition. Can the day get any worse? he wondered.

Miss Blaire glanced from Gabe to Mick to Bud and back to Gabe, her arms crossed over her chest. She did not comment on his injuries but simply said, “What happened here?”

He sighed. Great! What do I do, now? Tell the truth?Lie? Either way, I’m in trouble.

When he offered no explanation, she turned her attention to Bud. “Do you have anything to say?”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am.”

Her forehead wrinkled, she focused on Mick. “How about you?”

“Yes, ma’am, I think Gabe had an accident,” he said, a hint of worry in his voice. “We didn’t see what happened, but he may need help.”

Whoa! What an actor, Gabe thought.He said every word with a straight face. I should have smacked him one and suffered the consequences. Think, brain, think how to explain.

“Um, you see, Miss Blaire.” He chewed on his thumbnail. “I’m clumsy sometimes. I don’t know how I did it, but I tripped over my own feet.” He touched his nose. “A bloody nose is no big deal. I’ve had lots of those.” He swiped at his face with his shirttail. “Anybody have a tissue?” he said, trying to sound funny.

No one laughed.

In fact, Miss Blaire frowned, clearly not amused. “You need to go to the nurse’s office and let her tend to your injuries.”

And have to explain to her how I really got them. No way. He shook his head. “No, no, thanks. I’ll take care of them at home.”

She frowned. “You’re sure?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

She scanned his other scratches. “Well, your injuries don’t appear to be too serious. All right, you may go. Be sure to show your parents what happened and put medicine on them. We don’t want an infection to set in.”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am, we sure don’t.'”

A frown still on her face, as if debating whether she’d done the right thing or not, she turned her attention to the other boys, who stood still, their heads bowed, perfect do-no-wrong students. “Is that what happened?”

“Yes, it is, exactly, exactly,” Mick said, answering her so quickly his words ran together.

“It is, Miss Blaire, what he said.” Bud pointed at Gabe.

Gabe almost snorted but managed to keep his mouth shut. Not so his thoughts, however. Liars, liars. Listen to me. I’m as bad.

She eyed each of them. “All right. You may go, for now. I have to write a report when accidents occur on campus. Ms. Raven, the principal, may contact your parents later for additional information.”

Mick and Bud both mumbled, “Thanks,” and sprinted toward the bicycle rack where they kept their motorcycles. They never looked back.

Gabe limped off as fast as his stinging legs could carry him and didn’t see Lindy until he almost mowed her down. She dodged to the side barely in time to avoid a collision. Her eyes opened wide, and he hollered, “Don’t ask,” as he limped along. His scrapes and bruises must have frightened her, for on the walk home she never said a word. A first, for his little sister. When they stepped up on the front porch of their house, he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “I have a favor to ask.”

She nodded. “I know. I won’t mention the…accident at school. Grandpa has enough trouble raising us without worrying about your fights. Our secret, if…”

He squished his eyes closed for a second then opened them. “Hu-oh, I figured there’d be a catch.”

She shook her head. “No catch, just stay away from those guys. I know they’re bugging you. Ignore them. Please.”

He stared past her, unable to look Lindy in the face. She trusts me, he thought. I’ll try. No promises.Avoiding Mick and Bud is next to impossible since we have classes together, but I’ll never tell her. She wouldn’t believe me, anyhow. “I’ll do my best,” he said.

She frowned. “Do I hear a but in there somewhere?”

Dang she’s smart. “Hear whatever you want.” He reached into his pocket for his house key. Empty. He must have lost it when he splattered his body on the school grounds.

Lindy held out her key. “Don’t worry. I’ll get the door. Maybe someone at school will find yours and turn it in to the office.” She ran inside.

“Yeah, maybe,” he said, following her. When pigs fly.

CHAPTER THREE

Gabe hurled his backpack onto his bed and paced the room, too tense to relax, going mostly in circles since his bedroom was a small back porch when they moved into the house two months ago. Grandpa said they each needed their own room, so he had turned the porch into Gabe’s bedroom. It gave him a special sanctuary where he could be alone with his thoughts and his dreams of being able to read like everyone else. Oh yes, once he had believed it could happen. Before he learned better.

He paused and stared out the window of the back door, where a slight breeze whistled through a thick crack in the glass. He smiled at the sight of a cardinal perched in the tall pecan tree in the middle of the yard. According to Grandpa, a cardinal’s visit meant someone you loved had passed on and would always be with you, in good times and bad.

He sighed. “To think I once believed the story.” He glanced at the bird again. “What if it is true, though? Is it my mother visiting me, or is it simply a bird searching for food? Who are you, bird?”

With a flutter of wings, the bird flew away.

“Yeah, I thought so. A bird trying to survive, like the rest of us.” He squeezed his lips together in pain. “Ow! Talking makes my mouth hurt. It feels weird, too.” He ran his tongue over his upper teeth and then the lower. “No wonder my mouth feels strange. Got a chipped tooth. Great. What next? On second thought, I don’t want to know.”

He laughed to keep from crying. “Big boys never cry, right?Right. They don’t worry their grandpa, either. Oh, and another thing, Miss Blaire, in case you’re interested.I’d doctor my wounds like you said. I really would. One problem. No medicine or bandages. Guess I’ll wash the scratches and let it go.” He blew out a puff of air. “I’d also better stop talking to myself and clean up before Grandpa gets home and sees me in this mess.”

After a quick shower where he cleaned his cuts and scrapes with some old medicine of some sort he found in the bathroom, along with a check of the chipped tooth which he could do nothing about, he changed into a pair of faded jeans and a T-shirt with a tear across the stomach. He slipped his feet into his work shoes, an old pair of sneakers with holes in the toes, and had his hand on the doorknob to his bedroom to go outside when Lindy rapped on the door.

“Hey, big bro, can we talk?”

He groaned. He’d bet a hundred bucks he knew what she wanted to discuss, but he asked anyway. “What is it?”

So softly he barely heard her, she said, “Tell me about her.”

Bingo. Exactly what he thought. But not now. He rubbed his forehead where a headache threatened. “Later. I’m going to mow a couple of yards.”

“Oh, okay.” Her footsteps moved away from the door, one slow shuffle at a time. Silence filled the house.

He scrunched his eyes together. Why do I feel like a monster? I told her the truth. He sighed. Dang, I am a monster, but I must make her understand.

He flung his bedroom door open and limped—his skinned knee still protesting fast movement—to her room. He knocked on her door. “Hey, take a rain check. Please. We’ll talk after supper. All right?”

A voice, muffled by the closed door, said, “It doesn’t matter.”

He squeezed his hands into fists. “I’m sorry, Lindy.”

Only quiet answered him. He almost stayed home, but they needed the extra money he earned mowing neighbors’ lawns. The sun set earlier every week. The grass no longer grew higher. Soon, no more job.

“Don’t be angry with me,” he said, leaning against her door. “When I get back, we’ll talk all night, if you want. About her.”

He went outside, filled the ancient lawn mower with gasoline, and set off to do his work.

***

After supper—Lindy’s specialty of spaghetti and salad—Gabe and his sister sat on the living room sofa, Grandpa between them, the way they did every evening before he went to his nighttime job cleaning offices at a building downtown. He always wanted to hear about their day, except today for some odd reason. “Sorry, but I can’t talk with you this evening.”

“No?” Lindy’s lips turned down in a frown. “Why not?”

“I’ve added another office to clean every night to the ones I already have, so I need to get going. When I’m better organized, we’ll get back to our evening talks.”

“Okay,” she said with a shrug. “Sounds good.”

“Don’t work too hard, Grandpa,” Gabe said. “Oh, let me give you this before you go.” He dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out the wrinkled bills he’d earned from mowing. “Here you go. Made this today. I have a couple more jobs lined up.”

“Thanks, Son. Time to pay the rent. This will help.” He patted Gabe on the back. “Someday, after you graduate, you can stop mowing and get a great job earning big bucks.”

He shrugged. “Maybe.” He rose and stretched his arms and back. “Now, I’ve got homework, and I’m so slow it’ll take me half the night. See you in the morning, Grandpa, Lindy.”

“Night, Son.

“I have some reading to do, too,” Lindy said. “Sweet dreams, Gabe.”

Most likely I’ll have nightmares of Mick and Bud cutting off my fingers and toes and ears. He shuddered and decided he might stay awake all night.

As he headed toward his bedroom, he heard Grandpa call to him. “Son, I’d like a word with you before I leave.”

In a small house like this one, you could hear what went on in every room. He frowned. What had he done now? “Oh, no, I bet Grandpa noticed my cuts and bruises.” He chewed on his bottom lip. “How do I explain?” Forcing a smile to his lips, he moseyed into the living room where Grandpa patted a spot on the sofa beside him.

“Take a seat, Son. Since your sister is busy, I have a couple of questions for you.”

Gabe nodded and sat down. He suspected what Grandpa would say but hoped he was wrong.

Grandpa got right down to the basics. “Where did the scratches and bruises come from?”

He had noticed, of course. Gabe hated to lie, but to tell the truth… No, he didn’t want him to think Gabe a coward who couldn’t take care of himself. Better if Grandpa didn’t know the whole story. So, he said, “I fell at school. No big deal.”

Grandpa shook his head and sighed. “Poor kid. Guess you get your grace from your old grandpa. My folks always teased me about having two left feet.”

Gabe’s eyes almost bugged out of his head. Grandpa believed his story, sort of. Trying to hide his surprise, he said, “Your folks did? You did? You never told us.” And thanks for changing the subject.

“I never told anyone, until now.” When he patted Gabe on the shoulder, the gleam in his eyes revealed he didn’t buy his grandson’s story but accepted it. He added, “Remember, you can talk to me anytime you want. I’ve been there. Life is tough. So is our family.”

He rose to his feet. “Have you ever noticed one leg is shorter than the other?”

Gabe nodded. “Yes, I have. What happened?”

“Careless driver. Me.”

“Accident?”

“I guess you’d call it an accident. I saw the green light. Didn’t look both ways. Started across the intersection. Another car ran the red light. Slammed into me. I spent two months in the hospital.” He sighed. “We live with our mistakes, so make yours few. Understand?”

“I understand.”

They knocked knuckles. “Time to go to work. I’ll be home at midnight. Make sure the doors are locked.”

“Yes, sir.” Gabe followed him to the door and locked it, his mind still whirling at his grandfather’s revelation.

After he finished his tour of the house, making sure he’d secured every window and door, he discovered Lindy waiting at his bedroom door. “Tell me about her. Please,” she said.

The scratches on his face burned, and a dull stiffness made it hard to bend his leg. He’d rather go to sleep and forget this day, if possible. But Lindy had said please. What could he say? He slipped his hand in hers. Besides, he loved to talk about their mother, too.

CHAPTER FOUR

Lindy perched on the foot of Gabe’s bed her legs crossed. The only picture they possessed of their mother rested in her lap. A hint of tears in her eyes revealed her hunger. Not hunger in the sense of food, but in the need to talk about the mother she never knew, to learn more, the whole story.

What can I say? he thought. Our mother died the day Lindy took her first breath. Our dad went away and never came back. Grandpa became our mother and father.

She wanted to hear a different story, however, so he leaned back against the headboard to tell her his version of their mother, again. When he spoke, the words came out right, unlike when he tried to read from a book where some of the letters looked backwards or all jumbled up, confusing him.

He closed his eyes, remembering only one thing about his mother. “She kissed me,” he said. “On the cheek. Then she went to Heaven, Grandpa told me. I was one year old and did not understand what he meant or why she left us.”

He opened his eyes and smiled at his sister. “Mama had cinnamon-red hair, like yours and mine.”

She leaned forward. “Like ours. Yes.”

“Her eyes, as green as tree leaves, sparkled when she laughed, the way yours do.”

She sighed. “Oh, I wish I could remember her.”

“You were a baby, newborn.”

“Yeah, right.” She wrinkled her nose and gave him such a look that teardrops formed in his eyes. “I want to know everything, Gabe. Did she hold me and kiss me, the way you said she held you?”

He had no idea. He only knew what Grandpa told him, and he’d never mentioned their mother holding Lindy. In Gabe’s mind, however, she held the baby and kissed her, so he always told her his version.

He crawled over to his sister and held out his arms. She curled into them and rested her head on his shoulder. He looked deep into her eyes. “Mama held you close, Lindy, kissed you on your perky little nose, your cheek, and your lips and said, ‘I love you, my baby girl.’”

“She kissed my nose and said she loved me.” Lindy sniffled. “I wish—”

“I do, too. I do, too.” With a corner of the bedspread, he wiped away a tear rolling down her cheek. “You know what else?”

She shook her head.

“Grandpa said she gave you her name.”

“Yeah. I’m Lindy, like my mom.” Her lips curled in a lopsided grin. “Aren’t you thankful she didn’t give her name to you? Imagine the teachers calling you ‘Lindy.’”

He shuddered and rolled his eyes the way his sister did when he teased her. “You bet I’m thankful.”

He yawned. His body ached from the scratches and bruises of his so-called accident. Time to call it a day. Lindy looked tired, also, and she did not protest when he said, “Hey, I’ve got a couple more mowing jobs for tomorrow. I need my sleep. C’mon. I’ll walk you to your room.”

She giggled. “Like it’s how many steps from here to there and I might get lost?”

He grinned. “I can’t count.”

They knocked knuckles. Seconds later, he left her at her room.

CHAPTER FIVE

Gabe finished the mowing jobs he’d started at the first hint of sunrise by noon Saturday. With one hand, he pushed the lawn mower home, a spring to his step, as springy as his clumsy, aching feet could walk, anyhow. He whistled a tune he’d heard but could not remember where. No matter. He liked it. Every few minutes, he slid his free hand into his jeans pocket and checked to make sure the bills still nestled in its depths. After deducting his expenses for gasoline, helping Grandpa pay some of the bills, and adding the money he already had saved, he might have a little extra. He’d have to wait and see before planning how to spend it.

He shoved the lawn mower into the carport and dashed inside the house, waving his money in the air. “Lindy! Grandpa! Look what I got!”

Only the thud, thud, thud of Gabe’s shoes on the wooden floor answered him. No sister ran up, begging to see the money, asking if she could have a new dress. No Grandpa slapped him on the back and said, “Good boy.”

Instead, he found two notes on the kitchen cabinet.

He read the first one: I’m ta krow, Gade. eeS uoy siht qnineve. aqbnarG

He shouted, “Dang it, stupid letters! Stop jumping around.” He pressed his lips together and leaned closer to the paper, determined to read the note correctly. He said each word out loud, one at a time, focusing on the letters, putting them in a different order when necessary. On the third try, the note finally made sense. “I’m at work, Gabe.” He grinned. “Yeah, I got it!” he shouted. “Of course, I should have remembered. Grandpa’s at his day job at the hamburger joint. No problem, I’ll tell him about the money later.”

He picked up the other note from Lindy and unfolded the paper. Again, he had to interpret the message. tneW to s’anelE esuoh. gnibneqS eht thgin. aqbnarG swonk. “Went to Elena’s house. Spending the night. Grandpa knows.”

He wadded the note up in his hand. “Have fun.”

His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since early this morning. He might die of starvation if he didn’t get food soon. After two sandwiches, a glass of milk, and a couple of Lindy’s famous chocolate chip cookies, his belly cried, “Enough! I’m stuffed,” and he rushed to his room to add his money to the rest of his savings.

He dug under the T-shirts in his chest, pulled out the bills wrapped in a rubber band, and added the day’s earnings. “It’s not a fortune, but it’ll help. Someday, I’ll—”

Outside, engines roared. Loud and clear. The room shook. Gabe clenched his hands into fists and squeezed his eyes closed. “No! No!” he whispered. “Not them. Not here. My home.”

His jaw muscle twitched. He opened his eyes. “No, Mick,” he yelled. “You may taunt me and laugh at me at school, but you’ve crossed the line.”

Gabe raced out the door as two motorcycles spun around the corner and disappeared. He shook a fist in their direction. “Run, cowards, run. Next time, I’ll be ready for you.”

Only the wind heard his threat.

Still fuming at the guts of those guys to drive by his house, he marched back and forth across the lawn, his hands clinched so tight his fingernails dug furrows in his flesh. A low roar rumbled in his throat. “Brave guys, aren’t you?” he yelled after them. “So, why’d you run away? Scared of me? Ha, ha! You should stick around. Show how brave you are.”

He stopped. Stared at the corner. Nope, they’re not coming back. And, I know why. They got what they wanted. They know where I live. Better make sure the locks are all tight.

CHAPTER SIX

Monday morning, the rain poured down, so Grandpa dropped Gabe and Lindy at school on his way to work. They rushed into the building to keep from drowning, along with dozens of other students scurrying to get out of the wet, chilly day. As Gabe shook water out of his hair and his jacket, he said, “See you this afternoon,” and limped down the hall, his legs still sore from his accident.

He followed a trail of wet and muddy footprints. Gabe stopped once and turned to make sure she was okay. He smiled at the sight of Lindy and Elena chatting away. Although Lindy’s voice mingled with the other students—some talking on their cells, others texting whoever—and he could not hear her words, her face crinkled up with laughter as the girls dashed up the stairs to their class, leaving a trail of water behind them.

Gabe, hoping he’d have something to laugh about today—like a passing grade on the science test—swung back around and collided with a rock-hard chest. His backpack fell to the floor with a thump.

Mick snarled. “Hey! Blubber! Watch where you’re going.”

He gulped and stared at his worst nightmare. Move away, ran through his brain. Good idea. He stumbled back a step, but Mick kicked the backpack aside and moved with him, his nose drawn up in a sneer.

“Look, Bud! Blubber can’t even walk right,” he said, his voice taunting. They stood inches apart. Mick’s eyes, usually a blue violet, now stormed dark as a thundercloud. “What do you say, Blubber?”

Say? Gabe breathed in, out, in, out, his mind blank. What does he mean? Then like magic, he woke up. Oh! He wants me to apologize? Wait. For what? I’ve done nothing wrong.

Mick’s set jaw and hot breath on Gabe’s chin showed otherwise.

He swallowed, hard.He should stand up for himself. He couldn’t. “I’m…sorry.”

Mick raised an eyebrow. With an elbow, he jabbed Bud in the ribs. “He says he’s sorry. You hear him? Do you believe him?”

“Come on, Mick. Let it go.”

The warning bell rang, and Gabe jumped higher than a scared rabbit. He hated bells. This time, however, it might have saved his life or, at the least spared him from being called more names. He held his breath when Mick reached out and ruffled his hair.

“Yeah, Bud, you’re right. The halfwit here isn’t worth a trip to the principal’s office.” Mick stared at Gabe, his eyes as cold as a snowstorm. He spoke so softly Gabe barely heard him. “Why don’t you go kill yourself? Nobody will miss you.”

Bud gasped. “No.” He slapped Mick on the arm. “C’mon, we don’t want to be late for class.”

“Don’t panic. I’m with you.” Mick grinned and strode past Gabe, Bud a step behind.

A shiver ran up and down Gabe’s spine, and he leaned against the wall to keep from collapsing. “I k-know he h-hates me,” he whispered. “He made it clear the day I enrolled here, new in town. But…he told me to...” He could not repeat the words.

He shook his head. “No, I imagined it. He wouldn’t say such a thing. Would he?”

***

At lunchtime, he checked the cafeteria for any sign of Mick and Bud before he went in. All appeared clear. Even though he couldn’t eat a bite, very unlike the boy who lived to eat, he got a tray with some meat, veggies, and dessert and carried it to an empty table in the corner.

He kept shaking his head in disbelief. “Mick did not mean it. He only wanted to scare me.” A shudder ran through him. “No, he meant every word, and I’ll remember what he said forever.” He pushed his plate aside. For the first time in his life the smell of food sickened him.

The chatter of students, laughter, and scraping of chairs on the floor, surrounded Gabe. His head throbbed. His stomach rolled. “I’m suffocating. Have to get out of here.”

He leaped to his feet, grabbed his plate and utensils, dumped them in the trash, and ran, ignoring staring eyes as he passed by, not stopping until he reached the boy’s restroom. He stuck his face under the water faucet and let it flow full blast.

“Maybe I’ll wake up and discover this is all a nightmare,” he said, bubbles and water spewing from his mouth. He dropped to the floor and buried his face in his hands. “I’m stupid. stupid. Man! What am I doing? What would Lindy think if she saw me like this? And Grandpa? Don’t lose it, Gabe. They need you.”

He stood up, snagged a handful of paper towels and dried his face and hands. Luckily, his shirt only had a couple of damp spots, not noticeable. He straightened his back, ran a hand through his hair, not caring that he tangled it more, and marched down the hallway to his locker, chin held high. His only classes after lunch were math, gym and study hall, so he’d have time to pull himself together before he saw his sister after school.

“Ignore Mick and Bud,” he repeated over and over on his way to math class. “If I do what they say, they win. Nope! I shall win this one.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

A