Doing it my way

beneficial for all of us if I just didn't show up for a couple of days."

     "You don't seem like the sort of guy who would ditch school," observed Polo. He was already thinking to himself that the bruise on the side of Ian's left eye looked like it came from something other than falling off a bike.

     "You’re right, up until today, I wasn't. Every man has his breaking point..."

     Freddy interrupted. "Well, would you like me to show you how to do a bar spin without falling on your ass?"

     "Yes, please do."

     "Watch how I lean forward and maintain a steady speed." Freddy proceeded to execute the simple move a couple of times."

     "Alright, I'll give it a try, and you tell me what I'm doing wrong." Ian gave it a try, and somehow managed to topple over sideways. He immediately got up again, ready to give it another try.

     Sonia grinned and whispered in Freddy's ear, "I'll say one thing for this guy. What he lacks in coordination, he sure makes up for in toughness."

     Ian continued to take lessons for the remainder of the hour, actually managing to learn a few tricks along the way. It was turning out to be one of the most productive days of his life. The morning was filled brutal violence. The afternoon was filled with making friends and learning some new skills. At two o'clock, the kid's phys-ed (or more specifically "recess") was over and they all bid him goodbye. Ian told them all he'd be back tomorrow at the same time, unless something else turned up.

  10:09 pm, Ian's Bedroom

     Ian had so much to ponder as he lay back on his pillow. When he arrived home that afternoon, nothing out of the ordinary happened. No calls from the school or the police asking about his non-appearance in fourth, fifth or sixth period classes. Nothing about Felix's fate. Did he regain consciousness? Was he okay? If not, who discovered him lying unconscious on the restroom floor? If so, what did Felix tell everyone about why he was late to class? If Ian were to attend school tomorrow, would he be met by scores of police officers waiting to arrest him for assault? Obviously Felix would be even angrier at him now, assuming he didn't suffer a severe concussion and forget everything that happened. Of course, there was also the other boy to take into consideration. Would he be a snitch, or would Felix instruct him not to tell, to avoid the embarrassment of losing a fight with the school's designated loser?

     One thing was for certain to him. Life was teaching him lots of things. He then fell asleep in no time.

  The next day

  8:02 am

     Ian decided to go to school as usual. It was all a bit queer. As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all. He walked by Betty and Phoebe, who would normally give him some sort of angry gesture. This morning, neither of them seemed to even notice he was there. As he passed them, he managed to hear a snippet of conversation.

     "...So Felix is going to be in a neck brace for the next few days."

     "What exactly happened to him?"

     "It seems the floor of the boy's bathroom was wet and he tripped..."

     Bingo! His decision to attend the school was worth it. Now he knew for certain that Felix was either incapacitated or not there at all, so he wouldn't have to be watching his back as much. It was also obvious that Felix was embarrassed enough about losing a fight with him to lie about it, and make sure that the rest went along with it. Once again, Ian arrived at his locker at the same time as Rita.

     "Hello Rita."

     Rita grabbed her books and walked off without saying anything as usual. Some things never change.

  11:33 am

     His first three classes went by without incident. Ian wolfed down his lunch, and decided that today, he wouldn't even wait for the bell to ring. He quietly made his way over to where all the bikes were locked, got on his, and rode off, somewhat bravened by the fact that he had got away with it once before.

     Ian arrived at the private school to find the same cast of characters that had greeted him yesterday. Before he had a chance to say "Hello," they all actually said it to him first, and called him by his first name...his correct first name. If only they had any idea how much Ian was reeling from being shown this simple common courtesy. Leaving Alamanda middle school and entering the yard of Hasting was essentially like exiting the bowels of hell and entering the land of fantasy-land.

     "Ready for today's lesson?" asked Freddy.

     "First let's see if I can still remember everything you taught me yesterday."

  Ian spent the next hour having the most fun he had ever had in his life. These kids seemed to enjoy the novelty of having someone they could take under their wing, and show the ropes to. Before departing, Ian made sure to let them all know that if there was ever anything he could do for them, to just ask. He offered to bring them all a pizza the next time. They smilingly said they'd take it into consideration.

  4:25 pm

     "Hurry up Ian!" he heard his mother yelling from outside the bathroom, where he was looking in the mirror and fumbling with his tie. He passionately hated getting dressed up in a suit. "We're going to be late."    "Yeah yeah..." Was his plaintative response. He finished up and came out. "I'm still not sure why I have to go to this thing. I don't even know Ricky all that well."

     The event he was talking about was Ricky’s birthday. Erma and Mabel were also attending. Nobody in the family was particularly enthusiastic about going, but because Ricky is the mayor’s son, Ian's parents felt it was obligatory.

     "I told you," answered his mother. "He was at yours, and it wouldn't look right if you weren't at his."

     "Of course he was at mine," observed Ian. "If everybody shows up this evening, there's not going to be any place left to sit."

     "I don't want to hear any more sarcasm. Everybody's already in the car waiting for you."

  As the Mayor started saying something about religion or other, Ian's mind and eyes instantly began to wander, just as if he were in another boring class at school. Although he had never said it out loud, religion meant nothing to him. Ian just started to look around to see if there were any familiar faces in the crowd. He didn't have to look for long. Sitting about two isles back towards the middle of the hall, were Rita and Phoebe and their mothers. The moment he laid eyes on them it became obvious that at least Phoebe was already aware of his presence. She showed him the finger. She wasn't looking directly at him, but no doubt had Ian in her peripheral vision. The angry smirk on her face said it all.

   It was then that Rita whispered something in Phoebe's ear, left her seat, and exited the hall. Probably going to the restroom, Ian figured. Suddenly he had an idea. He knew that the lady's room was on the side of the hall where his family was sitting, and if he were to exit the door that they came in, she would have to pass him in the lobby to get to it. Mabel was sitting next to him, and he whispered in her ear, "I'll be right back." With that, he got up and headed for the exit.

     As soon as he entered the lobby, he turned left and started walking. Sure enough, Rita appeared around the corner, walking right towards him. As their paths crossed, he greeted her with his usual mantra, "Hello Rita." And as usual, her response was to continue to ignore him.   At this point Ian was downright indignant. It's one thing to pull this sort of crap in school, but this was the community hall, where everyone is supposed to be nice to one another. There was no way he was going back into that place. He opened the door, managed to get his younger sister's attention, and motioned her to come over. As Mabel approached, she looked perturbed.

     "What are you doing?" Mabel was giving him the same kind of disapproving glare he was used to getting from his parents and teachers.

     "I'm leaving."

     "You're what!?"

     "Tell Mom and Dad that I've gone over to Steven's to finish an important class project...which by the way, happens to be the truth."

    Mabel shook her head "They're going to be pissed."

   ?
? "I know, but there are just too many people in this audience who hate my guts, and believe me the feeling is mutual. The fact is, Ricky doesn't know or care whether or not I'm here, and I'm sure his dad doesn't either. I'll see you all this evening."

     Ian stormed out of the building vowing never to return. Luckily, Steven lived fairly close to the hall, and he didn't have too far to walk. At this point, he no longer cared if his parents disowned him. For once, he was his own man. Walking at a brisk pace, it only took about fifteen minutes to arrive at his friend's house. Ian knocked on the door and Steven's mother answered.

     "Hi Eon. Come on in. Steven's in his room."

     Ian didn't even bother to correct her. By this time, he realized that it would just be an exercise in futility. He went directly to the room in the back of the house.

     Steven was sitting at his computer writing something or other. He looked over his shoulder and saw Ian, who was still wearing his suit, although he had loosened his tie a bit. "Hey, you didn't have to get dressed up just for me."

     "Steven, I've decided what we're doing tomorrow, and it's not going to take much time to put together. The subject practically writes itself."

     "Alright. And what would that be?"

     "Religion."

     Steven thought about that for a moment. "Which religion did you have in mind?"

     "All of them, Steven. I