"Into the dragon's lair he strode, what lurked in the dingy gloom unknown. Sword in hand and shield on arm daring all manner of things to do him harm. For Gailley Bedight was a gallant knight in sunshine and in shadow."

The small excerpt slid from his lips as Samuel neared the bottom of the
steps. The old quote brought a smile to his face for the shear sound of it in his current situation. Walking through a dark dungeon where what lay ahead was masked in secrecy and shadow; it was something all too much out of a work of fiction. Very bad fiction at that, come to think about it. The would-be hero with a dark past walking through caverns that hidden treasure completely invaluable to him. It definitely sounded like a piece of bad fiction.

Sword in hand, his steps moved closer to the light at the end of the tunnel, a deep and heavy breathing permeating the air filling it with an oppressiveheat. A cold bead of sweat dripped down his spine creating a rippling attack of goose bumps.

“Samuel!”

“What Ma!” Sam spun on his heel and looked down the hallway he’d come
through on his way to the kitchen. The unfinished brick work having given that entire section of the house a drafty aura.

“Are you bothering your grandfather again? You know his oxygen tank is
getting low."

His mother's bagpipe-like voice droned on from the living room, and to make matters worse, she was coming this way. Quickly stuffing the stale loaf of French bread he'd been using as a "sword" down the back of his tucked in shirt, Sam spun around to meet the dragon queen head on.

“No, I’m on my way to the kitchen.”

“Likely excuse, remember the last time I came back here and found you trying to turn your grandpa’s oxygen mask into a flamethrower.”

Samuels’ mom is a diminutive woman standing at an impressive four foot
eleven. With hair beginning to gray she could almost pass for his grandmother. And in many ways, she was, in fact his grand mother. Especially in moments like this where her inner nag reared its ugly sable head.

“Hey! I had permission dammit.”

“When a sleeping person nods their head and says yes, is definitely not
permission. Sam.”

That rebuttal elicited a few choice mutterings only to get him The Look. That singularly defining attribute all women have. From ages five to 50. All females seemed to be able to give that look. A look that clearly states you are one step away from having your soul ripped out and getting beaten with it.

“Alright, alright, enough with the look! Christ in a nightey.”

Brushing past her, Samuel headed back towards his room. Imagination left behind for another time. After all, his mother couldn’t take off every night to watch over granddad’s precious air tank. The need to laugh maniacally was quickly suppressed of course.

Back in his room Samuel closed and locked his door, one of those petty
revenges to jab at his nagging mother for thwarting his plans. Stereo thrown on, he dug out a pair of headphones. His favorite pair in fact. Only twenty dollars they had lasted him through four years of high school and 3 bitch fests with his exes over his various games receiving more attention than they did. He loved this set because they were his most comfortable pair.

Volume turned up completely on his system with a steady stream of Disturbed, Korn, and Enya rolling through his eardrums, Samuel loaded up World of Warcraft and gave himself over to the fantasy world once again. Choosing to spend the night talking online with faceless friends he would never meet; over a quick shower and a short drive out to the football fields where Ben Wilkinson was throwing his eighteenth birthday party.

“Probly gonna get broken up by the cops. Then again…SHE could be there.”

‘Phones tossed off, Samuel left his character to the fate of his fellow players and bolted from the house, keys in hand, and squealed out of the driveway of his suburb life to go party.

The trees flashed by dangerously on the path to the fields. It was a cool night to be outside now that he had time to think on it. It was one of those almost perfect nights, the moon high in the sky, nearly full, a light breeze carrying the scent of the upcoming autumn in the air. It was turning into one of those almost perfect nights to be outside. Perfect would involve Rachael Coswell curling up with him under one of the USC Trojans blankets that the cheerleaders started selling for their fundraiser.

Rachael Coswell, the everyman’s dream girl. The crush on her had developed halfway through last year in Government class. The students were practically asleep that morning and then, right with the bell, she walked in the room. Newly turned Sweet 16, and in a mood to flaunt it; Rachael had come into the class wearing the naughtiest outfit the school dress code loopholes allowed. Purple spaghetti straps left no illusions that she wasn’t wearing a bra as they curved down to the leather dress adorning her ample features.

Now there was an image to wake up every male figure in the class. Several of the girls too! That purple seduction extended down to mid-thigh followed by tanned legs and a set of purple heels. Oh yea, Rachael held every guys’ attention.

And she sat down right beside Samuel.

His heart beating faster than Thumper’s foot in Bambi a million things played through his mind, each one sounding absolutely retarded. She was like the Venus of the school; and he, the disfigured Hephaestus.

Wait. Bad analogy, as they married in Greek mythology.

“Hey, shut it! You’re ruining the story ya douche” Samuel’s mental voice bitched at the narrator.

And perhaps you should keep your eyes on the road.

His eyes snapping back to the road, Samuel just barely cranked the wheel to the right as a deer vaulted across the road just feet from his speeding Neon. The night became filled with the sounds of squealing tires, flying gravel, and screaming animals startled by the near-miss. Samuel flexed his fingers on the wheel for several moments as his heart tried to slow down and crawl back into the hollow cavity that was his chest.

“Jesus you’re morbid”

And you’re talking to a disembodied voice no one but you can hear. Which of us really has the problem?

“Point taken. You’re still a douche bag. Least you could sound cool about it. Like Sean Connery, or that guy from Montey Python. That Cleese guy.”

Yes? Well at least I don’t collect Star Trek action figures

Rolling down his windows Samuel finally refocused on driving and not talking to the voices in his head.

“Wish there was a mute button for you.”

In the span of minutes he reached the football fields unscathed to find Ben’s party fully under way. Parking space found, Samuel locked up his car and began the arduous task of walking between bon fires as the outcast he truly was.

“Hey Sam!” came a call somewhere to his left. And there she was.

Just behind James Abel, one of the few people he could call a friend, stood Rachael. And Samuel stopped dead in his tracks. Hand barely up to return James’s wave, Samuel looked right at her. Too bad for him the distraction was enough for Ben and his cronies to “School Boy” poor Samuel.

For those who don’t know, “School Boy” is the acts of pushing an individual over by having a friend kneel on their hands and knees behind this person.

“And you could have warned me!”

Not my job. I just state the obvious.

“Welcome to the party Sammy!” came a jovial yell from Ben as he stood over Sam grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey, Ben, Glad someone is having fun.” Slowly Samuel got back to his feet and brushed off his shoulders. This was exactly what he feared with coming to Ben’s party; running into Ben himself.

“Didn’t think to see you here, who ya with?” From his tone, Samuel knew that Ben was looking for a reason to publicly humiliate him; again.

“I invited him, Ben.” Sweet Lord in heaven, it couldn’t be? Turning to the new voice, Samuel felt his heart stop in his chest.

“What’s with you and chests tonight?”

“R…Rachael, didn’t know you were friends with Sammy.” The look of shock couldn’t have been more priceless than if someone had pulled down Ben’s jeans at a pep rally.

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Those melodic words were a sweet surrender to Samuel as he watched her bail him out of the situation. “Come on, Sam. Let’s ditch this party, nothing is really happening anyway. And…I just called the cops to be a bitch.”

Samuel had never seen a bigger group of people vanish into the night in his life at the mention of police on their way to the football fields. Eyes wide, he turned to Rachael only to find her laughing, delicate little hand up and covering her mouth.

“I swear, they’re all so stupid. Like I’d call the cops. Half the people here are my friends. Still a good joke though.”

“Yea. A good joke.” Not entirely sure what to do now, Samuel just glanced around at the people still on their way to the cars.

“So, why did you come here?” Rachael’s voice interrupted his thoughts again for the briefest moment.

“Well…I…,” She’d moved in front of him now, blocking his path and keeping him from being able to look anywhere else.

“Well…what?” She just kept pressing, starting to seem like a bigger nag than his mother.

“Hey, no nag analogies about her and my mother. That’s a mental image I don’t need.”

“I thought you’d be here.” There! He’d said it, the truth finally out in the open.

“No need to gloat about it, yeesh”

I have to find amusement somewhere in this moment. So far I’m watching a bad soap opera.

“So, you only came here because of me? That’s so sweet. In a stalker-ish sort of way.”

Wait. Did she just call Samuel a stalker? Now that’s priceless.
“Shut it!”

“Guess I should be heading home, might as well finish leveling up my character on WoW.”

Now that stopped Samuel in his tracks once again. Rachael played World of Warcraft. A girl, that plays a computer game other than SIMS?

Inconceivable!

“I do not think that word means what you think it means”

“I didn’t know you played WoW.” Samuel was truly shocked about this development. And a little intrigued at the possibilities this opened up.

“No one does, kinda my little secret. I got it just to see what all the hype was about, now I’m addicted like everyone else.”

"Why, oh why, did she have to stand that way?" The moonlight caught and reflected the blond highlights in her hair as they outlined that tanned face. This was a perfect night.

“Mind if I come over and see how far you are? Been playing it for about a year or more myself now. Can always use one more ally.”

For Samuel, the night was definitely looking up. And his senior year truly held some interesting possibilities.

Like Samuel actually getting laid.

“Hey now, the possibilities are there!”

You stand a better chance at stealing your grandfathers air tank, than that girls’ virginity.

“How do you know if she is or not?!”

That I’ll save for another night.