Generation 1, Chapter 10 - Dylan

Before we start the chapter: I published three chapters at once today. This is the first one. It's very important that you read them in order!

Dylan was hanging out with Terry at the library when they heard a crash, then a cry.

They glanced at each other. “Should we check it out?”

Terry looked confused. “What could we do about it? We’re kids. Nerdy kids. Neither of us could successfully swat a fly without hurting ourselves in the process.”

“Yeah, but… what if we can do something?”

With a long-suffering sigh, Terry acquiesced. “Fine.” Dylan’s knight-in-shining-armor routine was going to get him killed one day, but at least he was usually cautious. He might have his moments, but Dylan wasn’t stupid.

They turned the corner and found a strange scene. Nick Landgraab, Brittany Kimura, and William Langerak surrounded a blonde girl in a poofy pink dress, books scattered around them.

Terry backed up. No way could they take on the three meanest kids in their grade, especially not just the two of them. They might be able to scare them off if they went around the back, but it would be downright idiotic to confront them head on. So he backed up, thinking that Dylan would follow him.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Terry sighed and revised his earlier statement. Dylan wasn’t usually stupid.

“Does it really matter? You can’t stop us from doing anything we want. Not alone.” William smirked. He knew he was right.

Terry cursed his friend for getting him into this, stepping out of of his hiding place with an internal sigh. “But he’s not alone.”

“It doesn’t matter. I can snap both of you in half like toothpicks.” Brittany’s smile reminded Dylan of a shark. He was terrified. Now that the adrenaline had faded a little, he had no idea why he’d just done that. The gang of brats bothered him enough without him looking for a fight. He had no doubt he and Terry were about to be trounced.

But this time, at least, Nick called off his enforcers with a hand on their shoulders. “Relax. Johanna fell over and dropped her books. We were just helping her up. We’re leaving now.”

He stalked off, the other two following reluctantly. Terry held out a hand to Johanna. “Thanks,” she said, brushing the dust off her tights. “Can you help me with my books?”

As they picked up her books (mostly fantasy and historical fiction), Dylan had to ask, “Nick wasn’t really helping you, was he?”

She looked at him disbelievingly. “Of course not! He and his goons are the ones who knocked me over in the first place! They probably would have done worse if you two hadn’t come to my rescue.”

Dylan nodded, reassured that he’d read the situation correctly. He wasn’t great with social cues. He was smart, everyone said so, but sometimes he had trouble with people. He just didn’t have the innate understanding for body language and tone that most people had. He was okay most of the time, but he messed up enough that he usually played it safe and asked what was going on.

Terry picked up one final book off the floor and added it to the stack on the nearest table. “That’s the last of them.” He glanced at the cover of the book, then back at Johanna. “You really like princesses, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I mean, think about it. Wouldn’t it have been awesome to be ancient royalty? To have balls, and pretty clothes, and horseback rides, and… “

“Disease, and lice, and awful hygiene, and poisonous medicine?” Dylan finished for her. “I don’t really think that sounds like fun.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “You’re Dylan, right?” He nodded. “You’re a spoilsport. But I guess it’s okay. After all, us nerds have to stick together.”

And that’s how Johanna French-McGraw joined the crew.

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The three of them were inseparable. They spent time together every chance they got, which was honestly most of the time, especially since most of the other kids at school avoided them for fear of catching the attention of Nick Landgraab.

They spent most of their time at the park or the library. Sometimes they would go to Terry or Johanna’s house, but they never went to Dylan’s. So it was quite the surprise when he invited them over for his thirteenth birthday.

“Please say you’ll come? I really want you to be there for my birthday.”

Terry and Johanna looked at each other. “But… I thought your mom didn’t let you have people over.”

“She just doesn’t really like it. But she’s been doing much better lately, I’m sure she’ll be fine with it.”

“As long as you’re sure it’s okay.”

Terry nodded in agreement.

Dylan beamed. This was going to be the best birthday ever!

Author's Note: As I noted at the beginning of the chapter, this is the first of three chapters that I published today. The next one is a little bit... darker than the rest of the story so far, so be prepared.