"Bring that step over here! Quickly!"Burt jerked into action, hurrying over with the step. "Sorry sir. Sorrym'lord; m'lady. So sorry." He bowed repeat...dly, placing the step in frontof the carriage door and looking up for a nod of approval."Well get out of the way then you miserable cur!" snapped the Earl andBurt backed away anxiously, terrified that he might be thrown in thestocks again. He lowered his eyes as the quality ignored him, climbingaboard. He dared not raise his eyes to look at them. Iate as I normally would with Kris there with me and saying how much betterI did look and sound. I headed out to my art class that was a nice walkunder the clear blue sky."You're looking better," Hayden commented right as he saw me before weentered the class."Feeling better too," I stated as we walked inside the room and grabbed adesk. My eyes scanned the room and didn't see Reilly among us but theclass seemed about empty."I heard Corey took care of you..."I smiled, "He did." Must be nice,". 'I've got business with this guy.' She gathered her bag and got up, and I realised that she was one of the hostesses from the club. I hope she's under some heavy pressure. Alberto sat stock-still, his eyes darting round the bar as he tried to think. I thought of Elena and Monica and wanted to hurt him.'Alberto, pay the girl. Talking to shit like you is a stomach-turner and she's earned a tip. Give her your wallet.' He didn't move, and I took my hand out of my pocket. The knife blade glinted in. He was the only one of us who wasn’t bullied, beaten on by the jocks, and when he was with us, in the cafeteria, wherever, the jocks stayed away. Given his intimidating size, they wanted no part of him.That changed, though, in gym class. Like us, Lenard wouldn’t regularly participate and would sneak off with the rest of us fags, running off into the woods behind school, like escaped convicts, to smoke cigarettes and sip on alcohol stolen from someone’s parents.But, and I don’t know why, he.