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Tony decided not to go to his locker. It was the norm for him to leave his locker alone for the year after the first few days of school. He had a hang of which classes required books and he would use his car when need be. In a week or two he would forget the combination to his lock, but he anticipated that and wrote it on a piece of paper that he stuck in the glove box of his Firebird. Sometime during the last week of the semester he would pull out the textbooks he didn't use and return them to the proper teacher and life would go on. Tony preferred teachers who didn't use the textbook and just gave notes, but wished that those who knew they didn't use the textbooks would simply not hand them out.

Tony sat through his morning classes, more focused than he was the day before. Peter was spreading rumors that Courtney was a boy; it was laughable. At least it wasn't the rumor Tony had feared, that before she got to high school, Courtney was promiscuous, got pregnant, and had an abortion. He assumed he was wrong, but there was that nagging doubt in the back of his mind.

It didn't matter, rumors got started every year, and some were more damning than saying a girl was actually a boy. Perhaps if Courtney wasn't so delicate, it may have been believable. There were other girls at the school who looked more masculine that the rumor would have been cruel. Tony tried to shake it off, there were more important things to worry about during the day; like whether or not the line at lunch would be long. It always depended on what the other entrees offered were.

“Tiny,” Peter straddled up next to Tony as they made their way to the lunchroom.

“Peter,” Tony said as he slowed his gait so the other boy could say his piece and depart before they got to the cafeteria.

“I saw you still gave that thing a ride home yesterday,” he said openly.

“If you mean Courtney, yes I did.” Tony maintained his cool.

“Don't be deceived, man, that thing isn't named Courtney.”

“That's the only name I have for her.” Tony was curious as to why Peter was trying so hard to ruin this one freshman's life by insisting on the rumor.

“You know, its always a risk to tell you anything,” Peter said as he stopped.

Tony stopped as well. “Why is that?”

“Because no one ever knows what you're going to do.”

“Nonsense. I'm going to do what's right.”

“If you did what is right, then you would have grabbed that little twerp by the neck, pulled it out of your car and beat it to within an inch of its life.”

“So I can throw Thou shalt not commit murder right out the window.”

“I didn't say murder. I said to within an inch of its life. Some people need a good beating.”

“I suppose some people could see it that way, but that's not the way I go about things.”

Peter grew frustrated. “The other students here look for you to set an example and your doing the wrong thing here. We don't need a freak like that at our school.”

“So we beat up people who we don't like and chase them away instead of let them live and stay away from them? Is there another student rule book around that I haven't seen yet.”

“You disappoint me Tiny. It's my fault . I should have told you early on about that queer pretending to be a girl before he fooled you. I wanted to, but I thought I would leave you out of it. I mean, I know you want to get some big time wrestling scholarship and it wouldn't help if you got in trouble at school for just doing the right thing. And Tiny always does the right thing, right?”

“I try,” Tony said, amused at the passion the boy was displaying.

“Then why isn't Tiny doing the right thing? Okay, I see your point about beating it up. I mean, you'd get into a lot of trouble, maybe even go to jail. We might not see eye to eye on a lot of things, but I wouldn't want to see you in jail. That would suck. But we still don't need freaks going to our school. Everyone else was pretty much on board with either not talking to it or making it known it wasn't wanted here, that is, until you and your little group of Christians had to change things. But, I figured once you knew the truth, you would get on board and everyone would follow your lead.”

“So you want Courtney out of the school, why?”

Peter groaned. “How can I spell it out to you. A boy pretending to be a girl is wrong. R-O-N-G. Wrong. I thought the Bible said being a queer is wrong and they should be killed or something.”

“So you're interested in what the Bible says, because if you are, we can talk about things.”

“Not really. What is your problem? Why don't you do the right thing?”

“Because I don't believe what you think is the right thing is the right thing, that's why. First off, what you say doesn't even make sense. You say Courtney is a boy, right?”

“Right,” Peter said, still hopeful he could sway the more popular teen.

“But how would you know? You didn't go to school with her last year or the year before and maybe not ever, so how would you know?”

“I just know?”

“I know you don't live in the same neighborhood , so I doubt you saw her through a window. Did you somehow see her with her clothes off to know that she is a boy?”

“No.”

“It sounds to me like your trying to spread a really bad joke. If you have a problem with her, whatever it is, just back off. You don't want to deal with her, then don't. I'm sure she won't mind. But stop spreading this ridiculous story, it isn't funny.”

“God, Tiny,” Peter spat. “You're hopeless.”

“Watch that,” Tony said at hearing his Lord's name taken in vain. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm running late for lunch.”

Peter stood there speechless as he watched the Senior walk away from him. “It's not a joke,” he decided to call out, but was unsure if Tony could hear him over the din. “But perhaps I haven't spread it around enough,” he said in a much lower register.

Tony walked into the cafeteria, made his way through line and went to his table. Everyone was already there, some were half way through their lunches. He was glad to see the Courtney was also there, even though she seemed to be disengaged.

“Look who's late today,” Carl said jokingly.

“Yeah, I had to deal with someone.” Tony sat down. “Some people really don't know when to give up.”

“You never give up,” Shannon said. “Just like the poster says.”

“You mean the one with the frog choking the bird,” Courtney said quietly.

“She speaks,” Shannon said boisterously. “Tiny must have the magic touch.”

Tony gave the football player a sideways glance.

“I didn't mean anything by it. Yes, that's the picture. I have three copies of it. One in my football locker, one in my school locker, and one on my wall at home. Where did you see it?”

“She snuck into your home,” Dave offered.

“I told you she is part ninja,” Ted countered.

“Maybe a sniper, she could have used a long range scope to see into his bedroom.”

“She could have the power of invisibility.”

Courtney grinned. “No,” she giggled. “I saw it during camp.”

“Space camp?” Dave and Ted asked in unison.

“No, just regular sleep away camp.”

“Oh,” the pair sounded downcast.

“Dave and Ted are looking for the fastest way off the planet,” Tony explained.

“We want to find a planet that supports life, this way after we ruin this planet we have a place to go.”

“No, we want to find intelligent life, this way they can help fix the problems here. ” Dave said.

“After the conversation I had before lunch, I wonder if you can find intelligent life here on Earth.”

Carl raised his eyebrow.

“I'll tell you later, maybe after school.”

Carl cleared his throat. “Speaking about after school.” He motioned towards Courtney.

“Oh yeah. Courtney.”

“Yes?” The girl looked up from her tray.

“After school today we're going to roll around on the mats for a little while, so I'm not leaving to go home right away. You're welcome to join us though.”

“That's bold,” Tracy said.

“Wow, Tiny. You really cut to the chase. No diner or dating or nothing,” Stephanie added. “Straight to rolling around on the mats.”

“And here I thought Tiny was a gentleman,” Tracy continued.

Tony blushed. “That's not what I meant. Carl and I and a couple of other guys are going to roll out the mats and wrestle. The gym is going to be open and you can come and watch or use the mats however you want to. Or, if you don't want to wait around, you can go home if you think its okay.”

“I knew what you were saying,” Courtney said, she was as red as Tony. “It might be fun to watch.”

“Are you guys going to wrestle in your tight little bathing suits,” Tracy teased.

“They're called singlets,” Carl corrected. “They are not bathing suits.”

“What's a singlet?” Courtney asked.

“It's a tight little bathing suit that guys wear to wrestle in. It's like a one piece, but not as cute.”

“It is not a one piece.” Carl was growing annoyed. “A singlet is a wrestling uniform that is made out of Lycra that guys wear so their opponents don't have any clothing to grab while competing.”

“Okay,” Courtney said.

'Bathing suit,' Tracy mouthed to the girls direction.

“Either way,” Tony stepped in, knowing the girls would tease Carl endlessly if he didn't. “We won't be wearing our singlets, they're only for matches.”

“Will you be taking your shirts off?” Stephanie asked.

“Maybe,” Tony said. “I can't speak for the other guys.”

“Can we watch too?” Stephanie giggled.

“Behave,” Tony said firmly.

The rest of lunch was spent in light banter, most of which Courtney simply listened to even though Tony tried to include her every now and then. Her nervousness was lessened, at least, and Tony took that as a sign he was at doing something right. Lunch never lasted as long as he liked, but he was glad it was over, only because that meant he was closer to getting back on the mats after a summer off.

When the bell rang, everyone filed out. It was the first time that Courtney didn't wait for the dining hall to empty before leaving. Sh walked with the group to empty her tray and they all left together. As they made their way through the center hall, bits and pieces of their group broke off to go to their classes. By the time they made it to D-wing, it was just Tony and Carl, Courtney had left a building before.

“So,” Carl said as the two mulled about, they still had a few minutes before the bell to start class rang. “Can I guess who held you up for lunch?”

“I'll give you three guesses, but you'll only need one.”

“Peter?”

“Bingo. How did you know?”

“When you said 'some people don't know when to give up,' I had an inkling.”

“An inkling, huh?”

“Good word, right. Picked it up in English.”

“Good for you, you should learn something at school.” Tony smiled.

“What did he want?”

“More of the same. He was wondering why I didn't beat Courtney up yesterday.”

“Because he thinks she is a boy?”

“That's the story he's sticking to.”

“I was thinking about that this morning after we went to class. Do you think he's right?”

“No chance.”

Carl was skeptical. “What if he is?”

“What if he is right? I don't know. I don't think in what ifs.”

“If he is right and Courtney turns out to be a boy, would you still be his friend?”

“Carl, you're being ridiculous. Courtney is not a boy. Have you ever seen her in one of our bathrooms, or in our locker room?”

“No.”

“She doesn't look like a boy, dress like a boy, talk like a boy, walk like a boy. There is nothing about her that shows a shred of evidence that she is a boy. Don't let Peter's deceit get into your head and sway you to the dark side.”

“But why would he be so bent on spreading such a rumor if there wasn't some truth to it?”

“Because that's what he does.”

“He seems0 sure of himself.”

“You talked to him?”

“We have class together third period, he made mention of it.”

Tony took a deep breath. “You ever think about how he knew such a thing? The first time he knew Courtney existed was when school started. It's not like they live in the same neighborhood, Peter lives way down by where I do and Courtney lives right across from the school. For him to know that she is a boy, he would've had to see her naked or something, and he already admitted to me that he hadn't.”

“Maybe he knows her from church, she said she had problems there?”

“Peter go to church? Since when?”

“Then why would he say something like that?”

“Because he thinks its funny and Courtney was an easy target. You saw her the first few days of school, scared of her own shadow. He knew she wouldn't say anything and he could have his fun and now he's taking it too far.”

“I hope you're right. I don't know why he would go on and on about it.”

“Why should we care? Until we know something for certain, we got to believe she is telling us the truth. Even if Peter was telling the truth, I don't think that would change things much.”

“Even if she was a boy.”

“Quit thinking about it. She's not a boy. I'll see you after school at wrestling practice. You got thirty seconds to get to class, don't be late.”

School couldn't get over fast enough for Tony. As soon as the final bell rang, he made a bee-line to his car to get his workout gear and wrestling shoes and then went straight to the boys' locker room. He practically had to fight his way to get in as a few gym classes were leaving and hadn't learned to leave the right way. Tony made his way to one of the double lockers toward the back wall, it would be his for the year. Even though he doubted anyone would deny him his choice of lockers for wrestling season, it was a good idea to lay claim to one as soon as possible.

Tony stripped to his underwear and put his school clothes in his locker before putting on a gray pair of shorts and a black Dunedin High wrestling t-shirt. He walked in socked feet out of the locker room, past a small portion of basketball court and into the small wrestling room that was just big enough to hold the school's two mats. He didn't remember if it was a rule or a superstition, but you never wear your wrestling shoes anywhere other than on the mats, unless you were competing during a meet or tournament when it was impractical to keep removing your shoes.

Tony was the first person in the wrestling room, which didn't surprise him. Most of last year he would be there before anyone else. A few times Coach Walker would be waiting, but usually no other wrestler. He took his time to roll out a mat half way. He told most of last years wrestlers that the mats would be opened, but didn't receive many commitments. He hoped the others passed the information along to guys he didn't come across.

The next person in the room was John Sharp. He was in his workout gear and sneakers.

“Where are your wrestling shoes?”

John shrugged. “I couldn't find them. I needed a new pair anyway.”

“Wrestling in sneakers. Sacrilege.”

“You going to teach me a lesson Tiny,” John Sharp said as he stepped on the mat. “Come on, you ain't nearly as big as you were last year. I think I can take you.”

Tony squared up against the lightweight, knowing that he wouldn't put a move on the smaller opponent. That didn't keep John from diving at his legs and attempting to bring him down.

Tony stood there, trying to shake down the hundred pound sophomore from his leg. John did his best hold on, but eventually his grip gave way and he found himself being tossed aside. He tucked into a ball, did a side roll and sprang up to his feet.

“That was fun Tiny,” John said with a huge smile. “Can we do it again, huh, can we?”

Tony was amused, but he certainly wasn't going to get a workout this way.

“Stop picking on the light weights,” Carl said as he came into the wrestling room.

“He is a lightweight now,” John said as he ran up to Tony and tried to put him in a bear hug. “See, I can get my arms all the way around him now.”

“You look like a tick trying to ride a bloodhound,” Carl said as he began to stretch.

“Anyone else in the locker room?” Tony asked.

“A few guys out playing basketball, but no wrestlers.”

“We need more wrestlers at this school,” Tony lamented. “I would love to at least win one dual meet before I graduated.”

“From my count,” Carl said as he waved his outstretched arms in small circles, “we have ten weight classes filled.”

“That still gives us four forfeits, meaning we start twenty-four points behind every meet.”

“You'll give us six back.”

“You're assuming I'm going to pin all my opponents.”

“Aren't you?”

“Tiny is a pinning machine,” John Sharp said.

“I do my best, now get off of me,” Tony said as he broke the grip of John's bear hug.

“Think coach will move me to varsity?” John asked.

“I don't see why not.” Carl squared up against the lighter weight. “You look like you added a few pounds, we won't need to stuff you before weigh ins.”

“Next time I say we just weigh him in with his clothes on and drench him in the shower,” Tony offered.

“I wish that were allowed Tiny,” John said as he shot for a low level single leg take down. “I always felt slow or sick during my matches.”

“Look at him,” Carl said as he countered the move, wrapping his arms high on his assailants leg. “At least he is still fearless.”

“I'm an animal,” John Sharp screamed as he drove forward with all his might, forcing Carl to his hip.

“Go for the tilt,” Tony called out from the sidelines.

Carl shifted his hips, and pulled on John's groin, causing him to roll towards his back. He wasn't at risk of being pinned, but in a match, he would be losing points.

“Three points near-fall,” Tony called out. “Do something else?”

“How many times can I tilt him for points?” Carl asked while keeping lock on his hold.

“You got to break your grip, establish a different hold and then come back to it,” Tony explained.

Carl released his grip, but before he could latch on somewhere else, John spun around and took control on top.

“Two points reversal,” Tony announced.

“Isn't that two points take down,” John asked as he tried to work in a half nelson.

“No,” Tony explained. “As soon as Carl tilted you for back points, he established control and would've earned a two point take down and three more points for a near fall. You're down five to two.”

“Nuts!” John worked even harder to turn Carl.

“Have some fun on Tiny,” Carl said as he worked to his base. “I'm trying not to be killed during a simple roll around.”

“Come on John.” Tony got on his hands and knees in the referee's position. “I'll let you work top.”

John jumped off of Carl and right onto Tony. Starting in the standard top-bottom position.

“Wrestle!” Carl called out as he rolled his neck.

“I prefer the optional start,” Tony said casually as John chopped the bigger wrestler's arm to break him off his base.

“That's because you can crash down on heavyweights,” John Sharp said through heavy breaths. “Lower weights move before you flop on them.”

Tony pinned John's elbow to his side with his arm and tilted hard, causing the smaller kid to fly over him and land on his back. John scrambled to get to his stomach, but couldn't get away.

Courtney silently walked into the room and watched what was going on. Outside of television, she never saw wrestling before. She walked over to Carl and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey,” Carl said. “Not much going on, we're the only ones to show.”

Courtney looked around. “Where are the ropes?”

Carl laughed. “Hey, Tiny,” he called out. “Courtney wants to know where the ropes are.”

Tony looked up from pawing at the smaller man beneath him. “In real wrestling we don't have ropes, we don't fly off the top turnbuckle and we don't hit each other with chairs.”

“Says you!” John squirmed under Tony's weight. “When I get up, I'm going to find that chair.”

Courtney daintily made it to her knees, being sure not to display anything she didn't want to show off. “I thought you said you had weight classes?”

“We do,” Tony said, amused at the fight of his opponent. “John is a weight class above me, if we list them in a circle.”

“Tiny thinks that joke is funny,” Carl whispered to the girl. “It never is, but John is a glutton for punishment. He loves this or Tiny wouldn't be so rough.”

“Hey, new person,” John called out. “Why don't you join in and wrestle with us, it'll make a real man out of you?”

Courtney's face turned downcast.

Tony hit John with a hard cross-face, driving his fist across the nose and then grabbing the opposite shoulder. He pulled the far arm tightly, causing it to cut across the boy's throat. In essence, John Sharp was choking himself out as he was turned to his back.

“Pin,” Carl called out as he slapped the mat.

Tony released his grip and let the boy up. As John stood, Tony gave him a look that let him know his comment wasn't appreciated.

John Sharp was oblivious to the fact. “That was awesome, Tiny,” he said as he ran the back of his hand across his face to see if there was any blood. “Cross-face from hell.”

Carl and Tony was surprised by the boy's resiliency and sadomasochistic tendencies.

“I'm done for the day,” Carl announced. “I think I pulled something in my neck.”

“I think this is good for one day. Got a sweat going, had some fun.” Tony stood up and started his cool down stretches. “I think on Thursday we should go over some moves and not do any live wrestling.”

“Sounds good to me,” Carl said.

“Not much fun,” John added. “But you can show me that cross face. I'll still feel it tomorrow.”

“I'll meet you by the car,” Tony said to Courtney. “I need to put my wrestling shoes in my locker,” he added as he kicked them off.

“Okay,” Courtney said sheepishly.

The three wrestlers made their way to the locker room.

“I see Tiny already grabbed the good locker,” John said as he and Carl hung around.

“What is your problem?” Tony was not happy.

“I don't have a problem,” John said defensively. “It's your locker, you earned it. I'll get it next year.”

“That is not what I'm talking about.”

“Okay?” John was confused. “Then what are you talking about?”

“Oh boy,” Carl said. “If he has to explain it to you, I don't want to stick around. I'll catch you guys tomorrow. Besides, my mom wants me to do some chores or I'll be on restriction.”

“Why don't you join in and wrestle with us,” Tony did his best to mimic John, though exaggerating his voice on the whiny side. “It'll make a man out of you.”

“What's wrong with that?”

“I know you are friends with Peter and that group, but don't go around copying there idiocy.”

“I didn't mean nothing by it.”

“Then why did you say it?”

“I don't know,” John said, trying not to be forceful. “I thought it was funny.”

“You think its funny to tease someone who hadn't done anything to you?”

“I think its funny that a boy would dress like a girl?”

Tony was trying his best not to get angry. The problem with John was Antonio could never tell when John was being serious or trying to push his buttons. “Is that what you think about Courtney?”

“I don't know, but that's what people are saying. Peter seems sure about it.”

“So now you follow Peter's lead?”

“I don't follow anyone,” John said with a sense of bravado.

“It sure doesn't look like you're thinking for yourself. Let me ask you this, have you seen her with out her clothes on to know for certain that she isn't a girl.”

John raised his eyebrows. “Do you think she'll let me?”

Tony popped John on the chest with an open palm, stunning the smaller wrestler. “Try that again.”

“No, I haven't seen her naked,” John said.

“Did Courtney tell you she was a boy?”

“No.”

“Basically you're going by what Peter said. That makes you a follower. I would pick someone better to be a disciple of.”

“Tiny, I was just making a joke. I didn't mean nothing by it.”

Tony bit his bottom lip to keep from lashing out at the boy. “Let me give you an update; words hurt. This girl is doing her best to fit in and make friends and you go around spreading some stupid rumor. How is she suppose to feel?”

“I'm sorry Tiny.”

“If it comes up, I'll explain it as you being stupid. Try not to do it again.”

“Okay, Tiny. But,” the boy paused as he formulated his response in his head.

“But what?”

“She knows the rumor is going around, right?”

“I'm sure she does, especially after your dumb comment.”

“Why don't she show people the proof and then people won't say it any more.”

“You mean, why doesn't she get naked in front of the school to prove what she already is?”

“If she's got nothing to hide, yeah.”

“You really are a moron sometimes,” Tony said in disgust. “That's got to be the single most perverted thing I've heard from your mouth, and you've come up with some nasty things in the past. She should embarrass herself, to disprove a stupid rumor. How about you come to school naked tomorrow and prove to everyone your a boy?”

“I'd do it if I wouldn't get in trouble.”

“You're hopeless. I got to go. Maybe you should spend some time thinking about things, see if things clear up for you.”

“Come on Tiny,” John pleaded. “Don't be sour.”

“Drop it and quit bothering the poor girl. If Peter has an issue, which he shouldn't, let that stay between him and Courtney. They don't need you adding fuel to the fire.”

“I'll be good, Tiny. Promise.”

Tony wanted to say 'seeing is believing,' but figured if he did that the whole debate about Courtney revealing herself would start all over again. “I'll catch you tomorrow.”

John Sharp sat down by the lockers as Tony left. “True or not, I still think it is funny,” he said to himself when he was sure Tony couldn't hear him.

Tony made his way to his Firebird, Courtney was standing beside it watching as he approached.

“Hope I didn't keep you waiting that long,” Tony said.

“No. Is your little friend okay?”

“Who, John or Carl?”

“John, it looks like you punched him pretty hard. I thought his head was going to come off.”

Tony opened the car door for Courtney. “John will be fine, he likes when we play rough. Besides, I didn't punch him, I gave him a good old fashioned cross face. It might look like I punched him, but my hand went over his face, not through it.”

“It didn't look comfortable,” Courtney said, sounding downcast.

“I hope not. By tomorrow morning the whole school will know I beat up on him during practice.”

“At least they'll be talking about something new. But, how will they know?”

“John is probably calling people right now on his cell phone. He'll be bragging about it for months. By the time the week is over it'll be I did a cross face and broke my arm on his chin. He is really one for telling whoppers.”

“Yeah,” the sadness in Courtney's voice was evident as she settled into her seat.

Tony got in on the other side. “I wouldn't worry about what people say anyway. Rumors start and stop all the time.”

Courtney looked down but didn't say a word. Tony could tell the girl wished that the rumors about her would finally end.

“Last year, there was a rumor going around that Coach Walker mixed alcohol in with his coffee every morning. I can tell you this, he didn't find it funny, it could have cost him his job.”

“Rumors aren't cool,” Courtney replied as Tony pulled out of the student parking lot.

“No, they aren't. But they're part of life, especially during high school. I have a theory about why rumors get started though.”

“Really?” Courtney looked up. “What's that?”

“I think rumors are started by people who think poorly about themselves. Instead of trying to get better or fixing whatever it is about them that they don't like, they bring other people down. When I hear someone spreading a rumor, I feel sorry for them.”

“Anyone ever spread a rumor about you?”

“I'm sure there have been some. Some funny, some mean, some that make me out to be some sort of super hero. Most of the rumors are just exaggerations of stuff I've done on the wrestling mat. Not surprisingly, the most outlandish ones have been started since John Sharp has joined the team.”

“I don't think John likes me very much.”

“I wouldn't say that.”

“It looks that way.”

“You got to realize that the John people see isn't the John that actually exist. John likes to put on this show that he's a tough guy that likes to bully people. But it's nothing more than an act.”

“He has me convinced.”

“I'm sure he's thrilled that you're at the school.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because there is finally someone at school who is smaller then him.” Tony laughed.

Courtney folded her arms and pouted.

“I was only teasing. Don't be mad.”

“I'm not. It's hard being small though, you can't go on some of the rides at Busch Gardens.”

“Same thing is true when you're too fat. When I went last year there were rides that I couldn't go on.”

“That's sad.”

“I know,” Tony said. “But, instead of making fun of other people and bringing them down, I decided to do something about myself. The only thing I got to worry about is to make sure I didn't lose the fat to inflate my ego.”

“I don't think you have. I don't hear you brag at all and I know guys who, if they had your muscles, they would brag all the time and stand around and flex and everything.”

Tony laughed. “I sometimes do that in the mirror at home, just to make sure they're real. Anyway, about John, don't take anything he says to heart. Deep down he is a good guy, he just tries to impress the wrong people.”

“Who are the right people to impress?”

“Outside of God and Jesus, no one for me. Hopefully you will figure out the same thing. As soon as you do, you won't care about what idiots say, and once you don't care, they stop spreading rumors and find someone else.”

Courtney grinned. “I haven't thought about it like that.”

“It's easy to say, but hard to do.”

“How do you know all this stuff?”

“A lot of it I learned the hard way. I was once a dopey freshman who had trouble fitting in. That's part of the reason why I got involved in wrestling. I wanted to fit in somewhere, but didn't like the football team at the time. I didn't know what I was doing and the other players made fun of me, so I quit. When wrestling came around, Coach Walker asked me to join and I figured why not. I was worse at wrestling than I was at football.”

“No way!” Courtney said as Tony pulled into her driveway.

“It's the truth. But, the one thing I do, is try to become better, no matter what the task. As long as you're competing against yourself, you'll always win. You'll see, in no time you'll find yourself fitting in, and you won't worry so much.”

“Is it obvious that I worry?”

“The first day of school when I first talked to you, I think if I would've went 'boo!' you might have collapsed on the floor and had a heart attack.”

“I might have.” Courtney giggled. “But thanks to you, I'm starting to fit in more. People don't bother me as much, except Peter and his gang. I hope you're right though. I hope they get bored and find someone else to bother.”

“I'm glad I could help. You're kind of like the kid sister I never had.”

“I better get going, I see my mom peeking through the blinds again.”

“Tell her I said hello,” Tony said as the girl got out of his car.

“I will. I'll see you tomorrow at lunch.”

“We also got youth group tomorrow night,” Tony reminded her.

“I don't know.”

“At least think about it.”

“I'm not promising, but I will think about it,” Courtney said and then shuffled off towards her home.

Tony waited until the door closed behind her before backing out of the girl's driveway. “A boy my foot,” he said as he turned up the volume on his car stereo.

---

Author's note: One thing I like about my writing is the characters I create. Tony is simple, because he is me. But I think I nailed John Sharp and Carl Stevens. I like that my characters aren't copies of each other and are distinct. John has a mouth, and Tony showed some force, interesting. Tony still doesn't believe the rumors, but I'm sure things will intensify.

Please comment and Kudo, they've been sparse.

Tired of waiting around for the end? You can read the entire story now if you buy it from Amazon. Wouldn't it be nice to put it on your kindle or pc or smart phone? Why waste away at work playing Angry Birds when you can see what happens with Tony and Courtney. You can find the link here http://www.amazon.com/Wrestling-Against-Myself-ebook/dp/B00B... or by clicking the title art.

Also, to be fair, once I post the last post on this site I will be offering the book free on kindle for three days. If you don't wish to buy the book, you can still help by clicking the like button on the amazon page.

Thank you.

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