_____INNER STRENGTH_____


Mathew awoke the next morning and lay in bed, thinking back to the night before. But it was no use; he still didn't have any explanations for the bizarre event. He closed his eyes, the image of the man on the motorcycle still fresh in his mind.

"What's going on in this town?" He thought to himself as he looked out the window at the new day. After much deliberation he decided it was useless to worry about it now, and started getting ready for school. Lots of people had strange things happen to them. This was probably just a one time thing….right?

With that happy thought, he hopped on his bike and headed out.

Typically, his new kid experience wasn't over yet. That was how it was for most schools he went to. He would struggle through the awkward new kid phase for about a week, maybe a few days longer, before the other students would finally welcome him as one of their own. So it wasn't surprising that when he walked into school for the second day that week, the other kids were still cautious not to be around him too much.

Still, he was almost certain that the reason the school was still treating him odd was because of Andrew's hold over the students, all except for the jocks: they ignored him completely because it was their nature. But aside from the football team, the other students were just avoiding him out of fear. They still stared at Mathew, or ran away when he got too close.

But despite all this, there were actually a few good things about school. Mathew had only been in school for a few days and he already had two friends. Normally he would have to make it though a full week before any of the other students would give him the time of day.

As the days went by, even some of the other students stopped avoiding him so much, though they still seemed a little nervous talking to him, their eyes darting around to make sure Andrew wasn't watching.

It stunned him to admit it, but Mathew considered the next few days to be some of the best of his life. Robert was a lifesaver. He answered any questions Mathew had, and was always willing to help with any problem he was having. And Emily, she was…wow.

He kept trying to tell himself that she was off limits due to the threat of a likely beating from Andrew, but it wasn't easy. He kept finding himself flirting with her anyway. A good example of this was one day that week when Mathew, Robert, and Emily were eating lunch in the cafeteria. Somehow, he had started playing footsy with Emily without realizing it, and only found out when Robert said

"Mathew I appreciate the gesture, but you're not my type,"

Needless to say, this quickly put an end to any more flirting.

Another good thing was that Mathew didn't have another encounter with the stranger in blue, so he figured he must have been right in thinking that it was a one time thing.

Mathew was having a great time, and nothing could ruin it. Except maybe the one person who had disliked him from the moment he had set foot in the halls. On Mathew's fifth day of school while he was talking to his friends by the lockers, Emily looked over his shoulder.

"Here comes trouble," she said warningly, shaking her head. She was right, Andrew was coming their way. But he wasn't alone: Alana was walking beside him.

"Huh, well, waddaya know, the bully's made a friend," Mathew acknowledged.

"What? What's going on?" Robert asked in irritation.

"Andrew's coming our way," Mathew told him. "And Alana's with him."

"The new girl?" Robert asked, suddenly on edge.

"Uh, yeah," Mathew said. It wasn't long before the two people Mathew disliked most were upon them.

Andrew shoved Mathew as he walked by, and Alana knocked his books out of his hands.

"Oops, sorry, Reynolds," said Andrew.

"Yeah, our bad," said Alana.

Mathew bit his tongue. He wasn't about to get in trouble his first week in school. Though it appeared Emily however, wasn't going to put up with it.

"Hey, you jerks, don't you have something better to do than pick on my friend?" she asked.

"Hmm, nah, it's too much fun," was Andrew's response.

"Shut up and go make out with your girlfriend," shot back Emily. Alana scowled.

"I wouldn't be so bold," she said.

"Am I supposed to be scared of you?" Emily asked fiercely. Mathew was starting to feel worried. He had witnessed enough cat-fights at his previous schools to know where this was headed.

"Um, Emily, maybe you shouldn't-"

"Stay out of this Matt," Growled Emily in such a dangerous tone Mathew decided it best not to push her.

"Don't start anything with me, sweetheart, you'll regret it," Alana said threateningly.

"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?" asked Emily, glaring at Alana with such intensity Mathew actually took a step back. If a chick-fight broke out he did not want to be involved.

"It means if you stay out of my way, you'll live longer," Alana replied. Emily raised her eyebrows. There was a tense silence in which Mathew and Robert exchanged nervous glances. Even Andrew looked stunned. Of course Alana had to come up with a threatening comeback or back down. That was the way things went in school. But that was going a little far.

"Are you threatening me?" Emily asked.

"Oh, good, you get it then, I don't have to repeat myself?" said Alana.

Emily opened her mouth to respond, but just then the bell rang.

"Like I said, don't screw with me," said Alana. And with that, they left.

As they walked away snickering, Emily helped Mathew pick up his books. Alana looked back at him with a grin. But there was something wrong, her grin seemed somewhat creepy, evil almost. Mathew shook his head, and went back to gathering his books.

"Looks like Alana's made a new friend already. Too bad he's a total jackass," said Robert.

"She's not exactly a saint either," said Emily.

"Yeah, what was up with that?" Mathew asked. "It means if you stay out of my way you'll live longer…"

Emily shrugged as she handed him his science book.

"Dunno, she probably just wanted to look tough," she said.

"Yeah, that's probably it, huh, Robby?" said Mathew. But Robert didn't answer; he was still blindly staring off in the direction of Andrew and Alana. He had an odd facial expression, he seemed…concerned, anxious even.

"Robert," Mathew called out loudly. Robert blinked and turned back to them.

"Sorry, yeah, she was just trying to keep from having to back down," he said. The strange thing was, he sounded like he didn't even believe what he was saying. There was a moment of awkward silence that Mathew decided he better break.

"Well at least Andrew stopped calling me new kid," he said sarcastically. Emily rolled her eyes.

"You shouldn't let him push you around, Matt, you've got to stand up to him." Emily had been drilling this into his mind since day one, and Mathew knew she was right. All week Andrew had been harassing him, and he was getting sick of it. But he hadn't exactly been putting these thoughts into action. He figured he would rather take the little things than become a walking punching bag.

"Hey, I agree with Matt's tactic. I know what it's like to stand up to him and end up on the ground," said Robert.

"So what am I supposed to do? Just let him pick on me?" Mathew asked

"For now, just avoid him. I'm sure he'll get bored with you eventually," Robert replied.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Mathew said with a smile.

He wasn't right.

For the next week, Mathew seemed to be dodging Andrew every day. He seemed intent on breaking some bully record by giving Mathew a swirly within the first two weeks of school. Mathew had avoided going toilet-diving so far, but he wasn't sure how long he could keep it up. If avoiding getting his head dunked in the toilet wasn't bad enough, Mathew also had to deal with Andrew's pranks. One day, he fell for the old worms in his lunch prank. Emily cleared her throat and gestured to her lips, trying not to laugh.

Mathew felt his lips, and gasped, his face burning with humiliation. He looked like an idiot in front of Emily with a bunch of worms squirming around under his nose. She took pity on him and managed to keep from bursting out laughing. Robert on the other hand was on the floor laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. Andrew snickered and smirked from his table, winking at Mathew.

Finally after enduring a few more days of torture it was Friday, and Mathew had managed to make it through the day without getting pranked. Unfortunately, his relief didn't last very long. As he was exiting history class, his attention was grabbed by a wall down by the lockers. A large poster had appeared while he was in class: It read

CF HIGH HOMECOMING

9/28/11

Many different thoughts ran through his mind as he took in this announcement; how he hated school dances seeing as he never had a date, the fact that the date of the dance was the anniversary of the day Andrew beat the crud out of the last new kid, and whether or not he was even going to come to the dance. He figured if his friends were going to be there he might as well suck it up and join them. It would at least be better than sitting at home alone while Robert and Emily were here having a good time.

"And plus…I could ask Emily to go with me,"

The thought ran across his mind slowly, like a slithering snake. Yes, he could ask her, but what would her answer be? So far they had been great friends, and he didn't want to do or say anything that would complicate that. Sure he liked Emily, but he also valued the friendship they had just as much as he valued the friendship he had with Robert.

"But if I don't ask, somebody else might…"

This was another good point. Most of the kids at this school may have been scared of Andrew, but he was sure there was at least one guy besides himself that would dare to ask out Emily. Finally, he had made up his mind: He was going to ask her, and that was that.

When the final bell rang Mathew made his way to the football field and found his friends waiting for him.

"Ah, you've heard," Robert said as Mathew approached.

"Say what?"

"Homecoming," Robert said simply.

"How did you…never mind, I've given up questioning how you know everything," Mathew said. "But yeah, I saw the poster."

"And you're not a fan of school dances?" Robert asked.

"About as much as I'm a fan of Andrew," Mathew replied. "You guys going?"

"Eh, I got stuff I have to do," Robert said.

"How bout you, Emily?" Mathew asked.

"Um, yeah I'm going," she said.

"Oh…well, you got a date?" It was short, blunt, and to the point.

"Are you asking me?"

"Busted…"

"Uh, well yeah, kind of," Mathew said, shrugging. This was it. It all came down to her answer.

"Aw Matt, I'm sorry…"

Mathew could have sworn he heard his own heart crack.

"Oh…hey it's alright, I didn't know if you already had a date, so yeah…" He tried not to feel too disappointed; he figured it would happen anyway.

"No, it's not that, I don't have a date!" Was she trying to grind his heart to dust?

"Ah, I see…"

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that!" she said quickly.

"No, it's alright, I get it. You just don't see me in that light,"

"Ugh, that's not what I'm trying to say!" she said in frustration.

"Well then what are you trying to say?" Mathew asked. "Because it sure sounds like you'd rather go with anybody else."

"I can't believe you'd think that!" she said in a hurt voice.

"What else am I supposed to think? You said it yourself; you don't even have a date!"

"Yes, and if you'd shut up for five seconds I could tell you why!"

"I already know why, it's because that jerk ex-boyfriend of yours has got all the guys in this whole damn school too scared to ask you!" Bad move. Emily glared at him with hellish intensity.

"Ugh! You know what, forget it, let Robert tell you!" she shouted. "Maybe you'll take your head out of your butt long enough for him to explain it to you!" As she started to walk away, Mathew grabbed her by the arm.

"Come on! Look I'm sorry okay! This just isn't exactly how I thought this would go!" he said quickly.

"I'm the entertainment for the dance okay!" she said without looking at him.

"You're the…what?"

"Miss Leslie asked me to provide the music for homecoming," She replied. "I was going to do some covers for songs with some of the other kids from music class. One of them was going to be "One of a kind", it was going to be a surprise for you, you big jerk!"

"A…a surprise for me?"

"Yes! But now it's ruined!"

"Emily…I'm sorry," Mathew said. "Really, I am."

"Yeah, me too," Was all she said.

"Wait…what for?"

"If I had known you were going to ask me," she started in a shaky voice. "I might not have said yes to Miss Leslie," With that she got up and started to quickly make her way back to the school.

"Emily, come on, I'm sorry!" It was no use; she just shook her head and kept walking.

"Ah man, I screwed up big time," Mathew groaned. "Did you know?" he added to Robert.

"Uh…if I lied would it make you feel better?" he asked.

"Not exactly, no,"

"Then yeah, she told me before you got here,"

"Just wonderful…"

"You think she'll be okay?" Mathew asked.

"Oh sure, everybody cries sometimes." Mathew stared at him. "Okay I can't see you but I know you're staring at me, what's the deal?" he said.

"You said she was crying, how would you know?" Mathew asked.

"I heard her sniffling when she was walking up the steps," he replied.

"But that's all the way up at the school," Mathew said.

"Like I said before, I'm blind, not deaf," Robert said, again sounding like Mathew had said something stupid.

"Forget it," Mathew said. "I asked you a simple question, all I needed was an answer." Robert sighed.

"Mathew, do you have any idea how much this meant to her?" he asked, "She loves music more than anything, and she was going to play for the whole school. Now, I'd say if she would give up that chance just to be your date, even if it was just a thought, it means she cares a lot about you. She'll forgive you man, just give her time," This surprisingly helped a little.

"Wow, Robert, that was actually a bit heartfelt," Mathew said.

"I can be a nice guy! Sometimes…" Robert replied.

"Well, thanks for that rare act of kindness," Mathew said.

"No problem, just don't get used to it," Robert replied with a grin. "So, what are you going to do now?" he asked.

"Well, I figure Emily won't want to talk to me at the moment, so I think I'm gonna head home," Mathew decided. "How about you?"

"Hmm, same," Robert said. "See ya tomorrow, lover-boy."

"Yeah, later," Mathew said dismally. As he got up, Robert said

"Hey, she'll be fine, trust me."

"I hope you're right," Mathew said. He retrieved his bike from the racks and made for the road, wishing he had been smart enough to just ignore his feelings for Emily.

When he walked into school the next day, Mathew noticed it was incredibly hectic. With Homecoming a little less than two weeks away, the students of Catalina foothills high were up to their necks in decorations. Everybody seemed to be helping out between classes, except for Andrew and Alana. They were more content to sit back on their lazy butts and watch other people work. Mathew wasn't surprised in the least. He tried to offer his help, but not many students would accept his assistance. They would just tell him they had everything under control, even when it was obvious they needed help. Mathew tried not to feel too angry, but it was really starting to annoy him.

When he entered English class, one of the few he and Robert had together, he was surprised to notice Robert wasn't there. After class was over he asked Mister Grant if he knew what was going on.

"Mister Kingett? Ah yes, I believe he's home sick, the poor fellow," was his reply. But he had just talked to Robert yesterday, and he seemed perfectly fine,

"Do you know what he's sick with?" Mathew asked.

"Oh, I'm afraid not," Mister Grant said.

"Hmm…well thanks anyway," Mathew said. He heaved his bag over his shoulder and began his trek to history class,

Talking with Robert and Emily by the football field was about the only positive thing about school. Without Robert, he would have to see if Emily was willing to talk to him. It was a stretch, but he had no other option.

When he entered music class and sat down, he glanced at Emily. She returned his gaze for a second, but quickly switched her attention to her violin: A clear sign she still wasn't ready to talk to him. He sighed and hung his head.

After class was over Emily walked right past him, avoiding eye contact. He paused in the hall, watching her walk away. After a moment he realized some of the students were staring.

"What?" He demanded. "Why don't you go back to your decorations, you bunch of cowards!" The crowd slowly dispersed, whispering up a storm. Mathew growled and continued to the football field.

He sat in the bleachers all alone, looking up at the clouds. Somehow this had gone from being his worst new kid experience to his best, and now it was even worse than when it had started. Why did he always have such cruddy luck? After a few minutes of sitting there by himself, he cursed and retrieved his bike, setting a course for home.

For the next few days it was more of the same. Emily was beginning to avoid him just as much as the other students and Mathew was really starting worry. Eventually He came up with the idea that maybe if he could come up with an amazing enough apology, Emily would talk to him again.

On the third day after his screw up with Emily Robert still hadn't returned. Mathew wasn't really expecting him to be there, that would be too good to be true. Plus he had to deal with Emily anyway. When the final bell rang he was at his locker going over what he would say to her, when a finger prodded him in the back and he jumped, dropping his books.

"Wow Reynolds, you're even more of a wuss than your gimp friend!" He recognized that mocking voice all too well.

"What do you want, Carson?" Mathew asked, turning to face him.

"Oh just to say hello to my favorite little loser," Andrew replied, grinning. Mathew clenched his fists. He had been putting up with Andrew's constant abuse for weeks, and he was getting sick of it. He was tired of getting bullied and taunted. Emily had been trying to get him to stand up to Andrew since his first day of school, and he had been too afraid of getting beat up to listen to her.
He remembered when he had called the other students cowards for not standing up to Andrew, and now realized he was doing the exact same thing. But that was about to stop. He was through being Andrew's target: It was time to take Emily's advice and start fighting back.

"I don't see Kingett around, did he ditch you already?" Andrew asked.

"Shut up, Carson," Mathew said quietly.

"What was that Reynolds? I don't think I heard you right," Andrew said. Somewhere behind Mathew a student was gesturing to them, and more students started to leave their lockers where they were gossiping with their friends, forming a crowd around them. Mathew knew what they were expecting, and he was going to give it to them, whether it meant turning into a living punching bag or not. That was when Alana seemed to appear out of nowhere and shove her way to the front of the crowd.

"Probably expecting to watch me get creamed…typical." Thought Mathew as Alana grinned and crossed her arms

"I said I don't think I heard you right, Reynolds," Andrew repeated.

"What are you, stupid and deaf?" Mathew said scowling. "I said to shut the hell up! I'm not in the mood to deal with your crap, so why don't you go screw up someone else's day!" He was slammed against a locker by his throat, and gritted his teeth when the back of his head hit the metal. Andrew was no longer grinning, but boring into Mathew with an expression of fury.

"Wrong answer, Reynolds," he growled. He pulled back his fist and Mathew grimaced, closing his eyes and bracing himself for the blow.

Suddenly he heard a voice next to Andrew yell

"Stop it!"

There was a collision and Andrew was forced off of Mathew. He coughed and clutched his throat. As he opened his eyes he saw Emily struggling with Andrew, trying to hold him back. He wrestled out of her grasp, pulled back his hand, and smacked her across the face. She recoiled, whimpering. For a second he stood there, frozen, as if he was shocked at what he had done. Then he regained his composure and his scowl came right back.

"Stay out of this, Williams!" he growled. All of Mathew's fear started to dissipate, and was replaced by anger. Andrew had laid a hand on Emily, and Mathew was furious beyond anything he had ever felt in his life. He clenched his fists, and charged at Andrew, bellowing like an enraged rhinoceros.

"CARSON!" Andrew turned to face him, bearing a look of pure hatred. Mathew thrust his fist into Andrew's gut, and he staggered back with a groan. Mathew raised his fists and Andrew bared his teeth.

"You're gonna pay for that, new kid!" he growled. He charged forward and the crowd gasped. But Mathew was ready. He pulled back his fist, dodged to the side as Andrew punched, and swung, twisting his body and putting all of his strength into that one blow. Then, something strange happened. Mathew's fist collided with Andrew's jaw, and he was knocked clear down the hall, bashing into a wall of lockers. Mathew was astonished at his own strength,
But wherever it had come from, he wasn't complaining.

"The name's Mathew!" he shouted. "Not dork, not loser, and not new kid!"

Andrew slowly rose to his feet, and the crowd started whispering. Alana had a strange look on her face…satisfaction? It was almost as if she had expected this outcome. Andrew was looking around, his face twisted with humiliation. His eyes fell on Mathew, whose fists were still raised, and he gave him the most venomous look he could muster.

"You're gonna pay for this Reynolds. I'm gonna make you regret being born!" he shouted. Then he rushed off down the hall and turned the corner. There was silence…and then…

"YEEEAAHHH!" The hall exploded with deafening cheers and applause. Students were patting Mathew on the back and shaking his hand, saying things like

"Alright, Reynolds!" and

"You showed that jerk!" and

"Way to go, Mathew!" or

"He deserved it."

Mathew was soon caught up in the crowd, kids here and there congratulating him on decking Andrew. He scanned the hall and found Emily leaning up against a locker. Her left cheek was a bit red, but she seemed fine. She smiled and hugged Mathew as he approached. It seemed she was finally done giving him the silent treatment.

"You alright?" he asked her.

"I think so. Nice job with Andrew, I doubt he'll pick on you again," she replied.

"Yeah well, thanks for the save, he would have caved my face in if you hadn't been there," Mathew said. She blushed and swept a lock of hair out of her face.

"Well…I couldn't let that happen, you would have looked like a retard if you tried to stand up to him and got beat up," she said, grinning. Mathew laughed and realized he still had his arms around her. Luckily, she didn't seem to mind.

"Emily…listen, about what I said the other day…when I said that you would rather go to homecoming with anyone but me…," Emily shook her head.

"Forget it, all that matters is that your face is still intact," she said. Mathew smiled, and noticed some of the students were beginning to stare. But this time it wasn't out of fear; it was because they knew good gossip when they saw it.

"Say, you wanna go to the football field? Less crowded," Mathew suggested.


"Good thinking," she said. The two of them walked out the doors and proceeded down to the football field, Mathew still wondering where that extra strength had come from.

It was a bright and sunny day with small clouds drifting slowly across the sky. Mathew and Emily walked all the way to the top of the bleachers and sat down, surveying the school grounds from their high vantage point. Mathew looked at Emily, smiled, and looked away. After a few seconds, he chose as usual to be the one to break the silence.

"How's your cheek?" he asked. She turned her head so he could see her left cheek. It was still a bit red where Andrew had hit her, but it looked fine.

"Well I think you'll live," he said.

"Oh thank God, I thought I was doomed!" Emily replied sarcastically. Mathew snickered and put his arm around her. They were silent again for a bit, just sitting there watching the clouds. This time it was Emily who spoke first.

"He wasn't always like that, you know…"

"Hmm?" Mathew looked back to Emily to see that she was frowning.

"Andrew…he wasn't always…well…"

"A raging psychopath?" Mathew finished for her.

"Yeah, that," Emily replied. "He used to be so different. When I ended it, he changed completely…" she closed her eyes, and Mathew knew she was thinking back to the day everything went wrong.

"I turned him into what he is," she said quietly.

"Hey, don't you blame yourself for what happened," Mathew said firmly. "It's not your fault you liked that other guy more, things happen, and sometimes those things are bad,"

"I guess," she said, shrugging. "But what am I supposed to do, be happy he's screwed up because of me?"

"Well, no…" Mathew said. "I mean…listen, my mom and I have this saying," he continued.

"Even the smallest light can shine in the dark. It means you can always find something good, even in the worst situations," Emily opened her eyes and looked at him. Slowly, a smile came over her face.

"You and your mom came up with that?" She asked.

"Well, actually, my dad came up with it first," Mathew said. "After he died, we just kept using it…I guess it was to honor him or something,"

"Aw, that's so sweet," Emily said, grinning. "Well, I know what the light is in this situation,"

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Mathew asked.

"I finally met a guy who's brave enough to hang out with me without worrying about Andrew," she said. Mathew smiled and looked back over the grounds.

"So, you think you're ready for homecoming?" he asked.

"I hope so, it's only a few days away, and the rest of our group is pretty psyched," Emily replied. "We only have one problem,"

"Oh, and what's that?" Mathew asked.

"We're short one guitarist," she said.

"Well that just sucks," Mathew replied. "Don't you know anyone in music class that can play guitar?"

"No, we don't know anybody who-"she froze, then slowly looked at him with that mischievous smile of hers.

"Okay, seriously, you're kind of creeping me out," Mathew said. "Why are you looking at me like-"he stopped in mid sentence just as she had when he realized what she was thinking.

"Oh boy," he said, face-palming.

"Come on, Matt, please?" she said. "We need a guitarist, and you're the only one here."

"Emily, do I have to remind you about how I get in front of crowds?" Mathew asked.

"I know, you have some trouble with stage fright," she said. "But we can fix that before the dance,"

"Can't you play the guitar?" Mathew asked hopefully.

"I can, but I'm doing the vocals," Emily replied. "So we need someone else who can play the guitar, and you're the only person I know who can," she continued. "if we can't get a guitarist our performance is going to be awful."

"Mathew sighed, shaking his head, but he knew what the right answer was.

"Ah jeez…alright, I'll give it a shot," he said. The hug that Emily gave him nearly cracked his ribs.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said excitedly. "We can practice tomorrow, okay?"

"You better hope you can fix my stage fright by the time the dance comes around," Mathew warned her. "Or you're still going to have an awful performance,"

"Hey, don't worry, I got this," she said, winking.

"Ha, okay, you've got my faith," he said. She smiled at him and they both looked up at the sky, watching the clouds pass by as Mathew silently wondered what he had gotten himself into.