Gifted by Beth Evangelista

bad then.
    Okay, maybe more than a little, but then I was suddenly glad she was gone. The Bruise Brothers were heading my way.
    â€œLook! There’s my man,” Sam shouted. “It’s the Worm!”
    The Worm?
Not a name I would exactly relish, but one I would accept in a generous spirit. Tim Simpson looped a heavy arm around my neck, then gave my head what I believe is commonly known as a noogie.
    â€œWe wondered what happened to you!”
    â€œYo, what’s this?” The stage crew directions were ripped from my hand. “You’re in Zimmerman’s Follies?” Gabriel Arno chuckled, shaking his massive head. “You’re into that? That’s for geeks.”
    â€œIt was an accident,” I replied truthfully. “A horrible accident. I don’t know how it happened.”
    â€œNot to worry, buddy. You’ll slide outta that situation, ’cause you’re the Worm!” It was Sam who said this, and from the way he said it, it sounded as if what he meant to say was “You dah Man,” and all of a sudden I realized that I was one of Them.
They liked me now!
We were friends! I was part of the brotherhood! And even though I still counted myself a little higher up on the food chain (okay, a lot higher up), I thought,
At the rate They seem to be evolving, who knows? They might even catch up to me in a few years!
    So when the time came for us to head in for dinner,Sam, Jason, Drew, Gabriel, Tim, and I (together as a team)
muscled
our way through the Compound and into the mess hall. And after we’d gotten through the doorway, Sam, Jason, Drew, Gabriel, Tim, and I (once again, acting as a team)
crushed
our way through the crowds and into the dinner line.
    At least I think that’s what happened. Being trapped in the middle of our team, I couldn’t really tell what was happening around me. But I think it’s safe to say we did a fair amount of
crushing
and
muscling
.
    And all I can tell you is,
Boy, did it feel good!

Chapter 11
    â€œHere,” Jason said, shoving a tray into my ribs. I craned my neck and smiled up at him.
    â€œBy the way, that was very kind of you,” I said. “Offering to switch bunks with me this morning.”
    â€œWe still can if you want,” he said. We moved down the line, and he started slopping macaroni and cheese into a big mound on his tray. I watched him, fascinated. The cheese looked like yellow Jell-O and smelled like chemicals, but maybe that’s what built muscles. All I had so far was fruit cocktail and a pair of oatmeal cookies. The two safest foods up there, but probably not great for bodybuilding. I hesitated and put a dollop of macaroni and cheese on my tray, then immediately wished I hadn’t. The yellow stuff spread right over into the cookie section.
    â€œC’mere if you want to hear something,” Jason said. He moved to a table, and I followed him. When we sat down, I noticed Anita sitting alone at another table a couple of rows away, staring down at her food, not looking at me, but it felt like she was. My heart bled for her inthat moment, and I wished she could have made more of an effort to mix with other people instead of being such a loner. But I forgot all about her as soon as Jason started speaking.
    â€œEver play Smear the Queer?”
    I shook my head. My eyes must have doubled in size.
    â€œIt’s a football thing. We play it sometimes just to mess around. See, one of us has the ball, and the guy with the ball has to make it through the line and the rest of us try and take him down. It’s fun as hell.”
    I gave him a weak smile.
    â€œWe’re gonna play it tonight, only a
different
kind of Smear the Queer,” Sam grinned at us from the other side of the table. Gabriel and Drew slapped Their trays down next to his while Tim knocked me aside in a sharp, friendly fashion and placed his meal beside mine.
    â€œAnd guess who the queer’s gonna