CHAPTER NINE

The Chase

Terry tossed and turned all night, his dreams reflecting the confusion he was feeling from the experience of the dance. He was glad when morning finally arrived and he climbed out of bed early. It felt good to pull on a pair of denim pants and a coarse shirt. He grabbed his sneakers and went into the bathroom. As he washed his face he suddenly realized that he still had nail polish on and his hair was a mass of flattened curls. He had dreamt of taking a shower so many times in his sleep he woke up believing that he had.

He stripped off his clothes and was in the shower in a flash. He lathered his hair with shampoo and as he washed it he kept finding the bobby pins that had held the curls in. Eventually he managed to locate them all and take them out. He reached for the cream rinse but changed his mind. "I want my hair to look like it used to today," he said to himself. He turned his attention to his nails but no matter how much he scrubbed with soap and hot water the bright red polish did not budge. "I'll have to ask Susan what to do about it later," he mumbled, a little aggravated. He dried himself quickly, dressed, and hurried outside. He had a lot of things to think about and he couldn't wait to take a long walk alone.

By the time Susan woke up he was long gone. At first she was alarmed that he might have left for good but a quick check of his room told her

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that he hadn't. She knew that in time he would get hungry and come back. He couldn't eat out because she hadn't paid him yet and he didn't have a dime to his name. Of course he wouldn't need it as long as she fed him and gave him a place to sleep.

Terry had walked a great distance. For awhile he had stood pitching stones into a creek but then he realized that someone in a passing car might see his painted nails. So he put his hands back into his pockets and trudged on. His mind was a jumble of questions and problems and it reeled on like a computer that had gone berserk. "What am I going to do?" he asked himself for the hundredth time. "I need the money and I like Susan but this is getting to be too much! Enough is enough! I don't know why it's bugging me So much. Lots of kids dress up for Halloween but this is different. All of the women seem to really like me when I'm dressed as a girl. They fuss all over me! But I'm not a girl I'm a guy! Maybe if I got a haircut they'd quit bugging me. If I could only afford to leave .. But what about Tina? I really dig her but why did she do that to me in the car? I was so confused anyway and then she starts playing with my earrings and stuff. Why did I get all excited? Guys aren't supposed to be submissive. I just don't know what to think anymore... When I saw myself in the mirror I couldn't believe it... I was beautiful... and...

out.

Jed!

...

...

A car rounding the curve caught his attention It slowed up alongside of him and a voice called "Hello there, Terry! Need a ride?" It was Terry burst into a dead run. If Jed got a good look at him he'd be dead! The car easily caught up with him and the voice shouted again. "Playing hard to get?" He cut inland across the creek. He stumbled for a second in the wet rocks and then dashed into the woods. He ran until his heart and lungs screamed for mercy and then he ran some more. He pushed himself until he thought he would faint. Susan's house loomed up ahead and minutes later he dashed into the kitchen and col-

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