"She giggled. "I guess so! That's okay, I understand. We can just wait and see how things turn out."We arrived at math class together and she turned t...ward her desk near the front, while I headed to where I sat, in the third row.There was quite a stir, of course, when I walked in naked like that, my hardon leading the way. I saw someone whisper something to Beth and I saw the tips of her ears turn pink and I wanted to slug them."Good morning, Mr. Walker," Miss Gallison, the teacher greeted. Both Cassius’s father and Cassius had a high emphasis on research which had led to a steady development over a long time. He explained the steady decline in population that had arisen from the poisoning and the wars with The Mob. He finally showed how Jason had both saved his life but also the Empire by exposing the priests and their malicious intent. He wondered if somehow either the octopi or the slug species was influential in the construction of the poison. He said how grateful they were to. The normalcy of it all highlighted the alien-ness of his cursed body. He wanted desperately to tell his parents what had happened, but he held his tongue.After dinner, his father invited him out to the garage with a couple of beers. The elder Mr. Korman was a tinkerer and he had the engine of his suction pump partially disassembled on his workbench. As Nick passed tools or held a piece in place he got up the courage to ask the unasked questions."Dad," Nick began with a casualness he didn't. " You...okay?" Yeah, I guess. I just needed someone to talk to, you know?" Zach's voicecracked a little."Of course. You know I always have your back." This wasn't just an emptyplatitude; we both knew that we could talk to each other about anything.Well, almost anything, I thought, tracing a finger down the pink strap ofmy cami."God, I feel so fucking stupid," he sighed. "And I know this sounds dumbbut I was really looking forward to tonight."Unlike me, Zach loved Halloween. Every year, he.