4-TV FICTION CLASSICS

Me, I was the high school star, a "jock". I lettered in every sport...it was a small school but my 6' foot large frame and athletic form made the coaches always picked me to be captain.

Being a farm town community, some of the other guys were equally big and lets face it, sports in a small town in Indiana are important. Friday night during the season, basketball was the hot ticket. Sometimes people offered me money just to get a sold out ticket. Yeah, sports were it.

When I walked down the street after a big game, either a hero or scum depending on how I played.

I was

My neighbors were an elderly retired couple on one side and Mrs. Woodside and her son on the other. Her husband and my father were killed in the same accident while going to our "duck hunting" cabin up state. Her son, Kelly (who's name means "warrior") and I grew up together. I'm afraid "warrior" didn't really match Kelly's prowess. As kids we were once the same size and played together until eighth grade. Suddenly I shot up while Kelly barely grew an inch.

When we were young, we were best friends and told each other our most intimate secrets. In high school, I guess I was too busy with sports to spend much time with Kelly. I felt sorry for him. The other guys teased him about his size, five foot, five inches and his skinny funny build. The worst ribbing was in P.E. class. If I wasn't captain, he was always the last to be chosen...If I was captain and I chose Kelly, the other guys would sneer at me, "Hey, he's no good!" Teenage boys can be so cruel.

Kelly never showed any anger when I didn't pick him. He seemed to assume his place as the "last pick". Besides short, his physique was funny. The other guys wore large shirts and small shorts around their skinny butts. Kelly was tube shaped and relatively broad at the bottom causing him to have an awkward run. Kelly wore a small T-shirt that hung loosely and a medium sized shorts that fit tightly around his wider pelvis.

"ALL DOLLED UP" -5 When we played sports in P.E., the other wouldn't guys give the ball to Kelly and just sort of "ran over him." Oh, I stood up for him. There was a bully named Buzzy who used to pick on Kelly every day, sometimes stealing his lunch money on the way to school.

Kelly never complained. I saw him sitting alone at lunch one day without any lunch. My team mates were at another table where we usually ate to talk about the latest game. Anyway, Kelly says, "Oh, I wasn't hungry." But he looked over towards Buzzy's table who had TWO milks and several candy bars. It all made sense.

I asked, "Did Buzzy steal your money?"

Kelly looked down in embarrassment. That night I went over to Kelly's house and had a talk with him.

The next day, Kelly walked to school as always. Near the corner snack shop where all the hoods hung out, Buzzy and a few of his buddies stopped Kelly.

"Hey sissy!" Buzzy yelled. "Come over here." Kelly as usual, stopped.

"Kelly, Kelly, Kelly," Buzzy sang. "I hope you have your 'road toll' this morning...$1.00 as usual. I know you're watching your girlish figure so you won't need lunch."

Kelly dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out a bill. It was a ten. Kelly looked at Buzzy and said, "All I have is a ten."

"Sorry kid," Buzzy said, “Exact change or more only. We'll just take the ten."

Kelly folded the bill in half length wise and started to give it to Buzzy, pulling it away at the last second. "Oh," Kelly said, "This is enough for ten days...how about credit?"

Buzzy laughed to his buddies, "Look guys, she wants credit. Ok, the new 'toll' is $2.00 a day. That will pay you up for a week."

Kelly smiled and stuffed the bill in his shirt pocket. "Buzzy, all you have to do is get it..."

Buzzy, angered by this confrontation stepped toward Kelly to take the bill. One of Buzzy's henchmen suddenly whispered, "BUZZY, over there!"