" I don't want it," I said, taking a defensive stance. "Whatever it is,you can keep it." Come now," she said. "Where are your manners?" Finishing scho...l wasn't on the list," I told her."No matter, just catch," she told me. Casting her arm out, a ball of goldlight shot from her hand, and hit me head on, forcing me to the ground. Ilanded on my back, and then quickly flipped back up on to my feet, butshe was gone. There was no trace of her at all. It was like she justdisappeared. I had to go tell. Part of her wanted him to leave, part of her didn’t. She shook her head, trying to clear it. Her mind was awhirl with memories of what she and Bobby had done, and the strong emotions those memories evoked. Deep inside her warmth glowed. ‘I’m sorry to have to do this…’ she murmured. She had to get Bobby to leave before she lost control and compounded the problems she’d made for herself that summer. ‘I…I think you better go.’ Bobby sensed her confusion. ‘Are you sure that’s what you want me to. He threw on a towel around his waist, and walked into his house all the way to the front door. He looked through the peephole to see who it was. It was James! He got all nervous and yelled "hold on!" He ran to throw some clothes on, than he thought about it and decided to stay just the was he was. He walked back to the front door and opened it.James stood there with one hand against the porch wall and the other on his neck. He stood there looking so damn good Nick could hardly stand it. James. I won – my first big win and it almost made me a grand-master. I was excited about having won, felt happy that I had something good to tell Mom. She had taken pills, then hung herself for good measure, she really meant business. They said she must have done it right away when I left. I guess that she hadn’t had the time to rot all that much, but to me the stench of putrifying mother decaying flesh was like a wall of slime when I got home. That’s why I can’t bear the smell of rotting meat.