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goddamn cripple, he
thought, the words thundering in his head. But he knew Tara was
only repeating her idiot boyfriend so he didn’t say anything.
     
    “I mean, he’s really not that bad,” she went on. “He
just acts like a jerk sometimes. But then he said something about
he always wanted to go with Alley anyway, and I was done.”
     
    To be nice Red gave a half-hearted knowing nod. Even
if he hadn’t been worried about talking in class, there wasn’t much
to say. There didn’t seem to be much point in asking why sometimes seemed to be every time Red saw the guy. Besides,
if the best she could say about him is that he’s ‘not that bad,’
why was she dating the jerk? And he could barely bring himself to
think about the prospect of Chuck dating Alley. It made him want to
throw up. He dismissed it from his mind, remembering Alley had
already blown him off.
     
    Mr. Francis quickly got into his lecture on genetics
after the bell rang, and Red struggled to keep up taking notes. He
looked over at Adam and was happy to see that he seemed to be
getting everything down. Even if I need a magnifying glass to read
his notes, Red thought, they save me plenty of times.
     
    “So, can anyone give an example of genetics?” Francis
asked.
     
    Red was even more relieved knowing he would have time
to write down a couple of notes as the teacher tried to pull an
answer out of someone.
     
    “Well, we have one right in the back of the room,”
Francis said, gesturing toward him.
     
    Red felt like every muscle in his body tensed up. No,
he thought. He’s not doing this. He slowly glanced around to see
Tara and others sneaking peeks at him. His heart began to race.
Cold sweat seemed to splash over him. Making eye contact with
Francis, he felt his head nod as if he were agreeing with him.
     
    Francis continued the lecture, though Red could
barely hear him, let alone focus on what he was saying. His entire
body felt as though it was in full spasm. It was coming. Pushing
through his mind, he felt it coming. He suddenly knew it was the
same thing he’d felt the day before when Chuck had put his hand on
his chest. A wave of energy was pushing. No, he thought. He saw
dots in front of his eyes. No. Not here. Not now. He felt it
pushing through him, beyond his control.
     
    He closed his eyes and finally managed to lower his
head. Francis was still talking. Maybe he hasn’t noticed, Red
thought. He took a deep breath. The pushing eased.
     
    The scumbag, Red thought. Did he just say that? Did I
nod for God’s sake?
     
    The wave was still there. He could feel it bob like
the ocean beyond where the waves crest, where he’d only gone a
couple times when he was younger and his father could carry him. It
softly slapped against the sides of his head. Waiting. Waiting to
be released. To be pushed from him.
     
    Glancing up, he stole looks at other kids. Careful
not to keep his eyes on anyone too long for fear of pushing them.
They all peeked over at him, Francis the only one seemingly
oblivious to the absurdity of his own words.
     
    Finally, Red’s heart rate began to slow. He wiped a
drop of sweat from his cheek. Why would he do that? Gathering
himself, anger quickly settled in. Is he really that stupid?
     
    Another deep breath came to him. He sat back in his
desk chair and glared at Francis. The energy was still there, like
a current softly slapping at the shore in his head. He felt the
wave for the first time without fear or panic.
     
    I even thought he was kind of cool, Red thought. I
knew Donohue was a loser. The rest of the teachers are okay. But
Francis seemed alright. Almost likeable. I can’t believe he just
did that. I think his wife is even a physical therapist, he
thought, vaguely remembering a mention from someone earlier in the
year.
     
    The wave splashed around harder, but he didn’t mind.
He even liked it. You’re not even right, asshole, Red thought,
staring at Francis. He wanted to scream it at him. His