14
Small Worlds
Mike Opdyke
Tommy Bryant had been far more relaxed since he had decided to kill Gregory Conlin. He had not come to this decision frivolously, and he was confident that taking two whole weeks to mull it over meant that it had to be an honorable decision. If he were somehow caught, there was no doubt in his mind that everyone would see the purity of his motives. Any jury would immediately see that he had done the right thing, and after they found him innocent they would all want to meet him and shake his hand. Afterall, he wasn’t doing this just for himself, but for all of his classmates who had suffered Gregory’s repeated attacks as far back as Kindergarten, not to mention all the little kids Gregory had punched, pushed or taunted. It had gotten worse every year, but this year he had committed the unforgivable. He had made Anne Homer cry. Tommy could not tolerate the idea of going to high school with Gregory “The Crusher” Conlin.
“Do you hear me calling you?” Tommy’s mother snapped as she swung his bedroom door open.
“No, what?” he yelled, as he sat straight up and nearly fell off his bed. He had been in that place where you drift off to when you’re telling yourself a story. Wherever that place was, it wasn’t in Tommy’s bedroom. He had been painstakingly stepping through his plan for the millionth time. “Don’t do that,” he said, “I almost choked on my gum.”
“Only an idiot chews gum in bed,” she said, “let alone falls asleep with it in his mouth. I told you this morning you had to pick up the family room because Miss Dawn is coming over to plan the Teacher Appreciation Dinner, and she’s bringing Anne. They’ll be here in an hour, so get down there and do what I ask. And what are you doing sleeping in the middle of the day anyway?” She didn’t really want an answer, and didn’t wait for one. She just turned and headed back downstairs with a parting “You’re gonna wake up with gum in your hair.”