[ WP ] Two victims of bullying make a plan to shoot up their high school together . However , they both secretly plan to betray the other in order to become a hero .

Kyle winced. *Too damn cold... * 
 
 `` Honey, do you know what happened to the frozen veggies that were in the freezer?'' 
 
 *Shit. * 
 Kyle turned down his music and called down the stairs, `` huh?'' 
 
 He had n't heard her come in, but he heard her work heels climbing the stairs and her knuckles on his door. 
 
 `` There was a plastic bag of frozen peas and carrots and things in the freezer downstairs but it't not -- oh my god!'' 
 
 *Shit. Shit. * 
 He had hoped she would n't notice the black eye he was sporting, but it was one of the most impressive one's he's ever received. So that was more than wishful thinking. 
 
 `` Kyle what the hell happened? You said this shit would stop!'' 
 
 He pointed to his eye. `` Sorry, mom, I'll be sure to tell the ape that did this that I promised my mommy, and that'll put a stop to it once and for all! I mean Jesus Christ, think of the justice we could have in this world if only we all promised our mothers! Think of it... Hitler could have been stopped if only all of those non-aryan people promised --'' 
 
 `` I'm not in the fucking mood, Ky. We have ice-packs, you know.'' 
 
 `` Yeah I know, none of them were frozen.'' 
 
 `` Well at least put a paper towel around that, you're going to give yourself nerve damage.'' 
 
 *Paper towel. That's right. Hell, I'm experienced enough, I should have known that. * 
 
 `` I have to figure out something else to make now, so dinner will be at 8.'' 
 
 `` Ok, thanks. I really am sorry, so you know.'' 
 
 `` I know, just... try? Ok?'' 
 
 `` Yeah, mom, ok.'' 
 
 `` I have to get out of these goddamn heels. Do your homework.'' 
 
 Kyle took out his stats book as she walked out. 
 *Christ, there's still blood on here... * 
 
 His phone rang. 
 
 `` Hey man, what's up?'' 
 
 `` Ky, please tell me you're not going to back out of this. Just please fucking tell me you're not gon na pussy out. Do n't be a bitch, Ky. This shit has gone on long enough; you know it and I know it. I'm just... I'm just tired of it, you know?'' 
 
 *And I'm not? * 
 
 `` I mean shit, you got your ass kicked today and you did n't do anything! That guy, he does n't give a shit about us, but we can change that, I told you. Look at the news; look at who makes it on the news. It's not the kids who get their asses kicked and do n't do anything, I can tell you that fucking much. It's the kids who do something. We can be something, man, does n't that appeal to you like a little bit?'' 
 
 *More than you know. * 
 
 `` Jesus Christ, Kyle, say something, huh? I'm rambling here.'' 
 
 He thought for a second. The last thing he wanted to do was make Sam think he was n't serious. 
 `` Look, dude, I know all that. Yeah, of course I want to be somebody. Just lem me know, you do n't think this is too like... extreme? Or, or anything?'' 
 
 `` Extreme? It's been 6 years. 6 years of this shit! I was n't made to just take this, no one was! It's not just something that happens. Dude, it's in the fucking bible. It says right there,'an eye for an eye.''' 
 
 *My eye does hurt like a bitch. * 
 
 `` Look, my dad does n't lock his gun safe because he's a fucking retard. He's also as far right as fucking possible so he has like ridiculous shit in there. He's also gone for like a week so there could literally be no better time to do this. Think about it, Kyle. Do n't be a pussy; it's time to act.'' 
 
 *There are other ways to get noticed. * 
 
 Sam did n't say anything for what felt like an hour. Then, 
 `` Dude I got ta know if you're with me, because I swear to god I ca n't take another day. You know what Roberts said to me today? He told me he was going to cut off my dick and donate it to charity. First of all, from a gay perspective, that's kind gay. Kinky, and gay. Second of all, that was just the latest in his creative portfolio. I'm done, Kyle. I'm done getting my ass kicked. I'm done spending the day afraid. I'm done worrying about how far they're gon na go. I'm just done. I'm going in tomorrow and I'm not going to be the one who's afraid. You got ta come with me or not come at all. Think about it, and call me back.'' 
 
 He hung up. 
 
 Kyle turned on his computer and opened the pages he'd been opening every night for weeks. He sifted through article after article; it was everything he could find on school shootings. These stories could go one of two ways: 
 
 `` MASSIVE TRAGEDY AFTER SOCIOPATHIC VICTIM OF BULLYING FINALLY BREAKS'' 
 
 or 
 
 `` GYM TEACHER NAMED A HERO AFTER STOPPING A HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING'' 
 
 Kyle did n't do his stats homework. Instead, he read the same articles he had read about 50 times. He could almost recite them; he absolutely knew all the headlines. He heard his mom swear downstairs and turned his music back up. 
 
 `` All the other kids with their pumped up kicks --'' 
 
 `` Fuck!'' He said, and he shut off the speaker. He had n't noticed that song was even playing. 
 *That's horrifying. Ironic, but horrifying. * 
 
 So he sat in silence, too afraid to call Sam back and too afraid not to. Nobody ever wrote an article about the day before, so he was n't prepared for this feeling. He had prepared himself for everything else. He had thought about the screams, the shots, the blood, and the end. He just had never thought about what it would be like just before. This limbo was unbearable. 
 
 Sam was more ready than he was. Then again, Sam was angrier than he was. He came out as gay in the 7th grade; Kyle had n't heard of anyone coming out that early. He did n't even know how you could know for sure that early. He had been beaten, abused, yelled at, shoved in cabinets, lockers, and dumpsters; Sam had seen it all, and he was done seeing it. Kyle thought about how effectively their peers had broken his friend's spirit. They reduced him to some shell of a person when he used to be so full of life. He remembered the day Sam came out; he remembered how happy he was on that day. He remembered when Sam started dating this guy from a different school. He was one of those super flamboyant, super openly gay guys, and that was fine where he was from because apparently he came from a place occupied by actual human beings. They dated for a whopping 2 months. That was when some assholes, the usual assholes, found out and decided Sam was n't allowed to be happy. They broke into his boyfriend's house and trashed it, and that was the end of that. 
 
 Sam was n't the same after that. He was angrier. He stopped talking back to the guys who called him names. He lost what fight he had. That was when he first started talking about fighting back for real. One day when Kyle got beat up pretty bad, Sam called him to tell him about his plan. It was pretty simple: walk into school and start shooting. 
 
 Kyle had to admit, it was a fairly appealing idea. The part he could n't reconcile was the inevitable collateral damage. It's not like every single person in the school had made his life hell, just a whole lot of them. It took a while for Kyle to get fed up enough to verify the plan, but of course he eventually did. Now it was just a waiting game, but the game was almost over. 
 
 Yet, Kyle could n't tear his mind away from that headline. 
 `` GYM TEACHER NAMED A HERO AFTER STOPPING A HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING'' 
 A hero. 
 
 Hero. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

