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Part
Seven
It was a Ruger semi-automatic and there was a box of ammunition on the
shelf right next to it. Dane had taught her how to shoot at targets
years ago. She loaded the gun expertly, made sure the safety was
on, and placed it in the book bag which she discovered she was still wearing
on her shoulder. She felt numb. She didn't know what she was
going to do with the gun, just point it at those boys and make them pee
their pants, she hoped. She walked back to the family house, said
hello to her mother, apologized for slamming the door earlier, went upstairs,
and put on dry clothes.
"Don't forget to feed the horses!" Mrs. Tilssen called to her as she left
the house.
Nick probably still lived where he used to live, on Walnut just a block
from her church. That was her goal anyway. If he wasn't there,
she would look him up in a phone book. His mother's name was Alma.
No one was at the bridge. With her heart pounding she went down under
it just to be sure, holding the gun in both hands, but there wasn't even
a beaver. No reason for Nick and his friends to hang around there,
of course. She did see a Dr. Pepper can in the muddy water.
At the edge of town she saw Dane's car turn onto the county road from a
side street. She ducked behind a tree until he passed, heading for
the farm. Naturally he hadn't found them. He didn't even know
what they looked like.
If they didn't pee themselves at the sight of the gun, then she would shoot
them in the legs. She didn't want to kill them, just make them really
sorry that they had messed with her. She turned off the county road
and headed for Walnut Street. Someone she knew waved at her from
their yard; she waved back. That made her feel strange, like she
was waving across a huge gulf, like she was on a different planet than
anything safe and normal.
She passed the high school and there they were, all four of them, sitting
on one of the outdoor lunch tables. They hadn't seen her. She
stepped behind a big sycamore tree and took the gun out of her bag.
As she walked across the lawn, they saw her before they realized what she
was carrying. "Back for more?" Murph said, getting off the table
and coming towards her. She lifted the Ruger. "Whoa!
Put the gun down!"
"Girl, what are you thinking?" Nick said, backing away. "You don't
want to do that."
"Sure I do," Stacy said, sounding more certain than she felt. She
was nervous. She reminded herself that she had to go through with
this or she would never feel safe. She kept walking towards Murph.
"Pee your pants," she said.
"What?"
"Pee your pants or I'll shoot you in the leg."
He looked at the gun and sneered at her. "You're not going to do
it."
"Oh!" She flicked the safety off. "Thanks."
Murph started backing away. Nick and the others were already halfway
across the lawn. Nick was the one she really wanted to humiliate
but if Murph was the one who stayed, he would have to do. "Stop!"
she told him, and he stopped. Holding the gun in both hands, she
pointed it at his right thigh. "I don't see any wet spots yet."
"I don't have to go right now," he said, raising his hands in the air.
"Come on, kid, calm down."
She squinted, getting ready to pull the trigger. Or maybe not.
Dane's guns always had stiff triggers but that wasn't the problem.
When she got right down to it, the idea of putting a bullet in living flesh
was fairly horrible. On the other hand, so was what almost happened
at the creek.
"Stacy Tilssen, what are you doing? Put that gun down right now!"
It was a man's voice and Stacy glanced up to see Principal Marsh coming
out of the school building. Her stomach clenched. Murph started
to back away from her.
Principal Marsh had two teachers with him, Mr. Bartlett who taught math
and Miss Perkins who taught all the science courses. They all looked
shocked and their combined aura of righteousness was like a physical weight
that forced Stacy's arms down until the gun was pointing at the grass.
Back to Part Six
Continue to Part Eight
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