"Lance didn't respond and continued playing the Game Boy."You didn't return my calls."No response.."And you wouldn't see me at school."Silence."Mack i... worried about you. You weren't at lunch."More silence."I'm worried about you."Lance paused the game and put it down. "I was humiliated." He turnedaround to face Zoey. "I've been bullied, made fun of, and ignored myentire life. But never like that." I should've been there for you. I got scared." You got scared?" Lance asked, tears welling up in. Who was this strange Old Man, she wondered, and whydid she have the feeling that there was more to him than met her eye?Shrugging it off, Cassie watched the Old Man take a glass bottle off ofa shelf and set it down on the counter. "What you really need," the Old Man told her, "Is selfconfidence." Then he shook his head vaguely, "But I doubt that you'd bemuch interested in that at the moment. What you really WANT is beauty.You want to be the pretty girl in school. The one that all the. He again corrected me and said to exhale all my air then breath it in and hold it. Nervously, I exhaled as he plugged one of my nostrils and I breathed it in and held it. He told me to let it go. When I did, oh my. My temples were throbbing. A wave of heat and euphoria came over me. I was dizzy. And most of all, super horny. Like hornier than I'd ever been. I also remember that all I wanted was touch. Whether it was him touching me or me touching him. Body contact was now so erotic. Losing my. We could take our time in the darkness and move almost silently. The others, who had a lot to do and only a few hours before dawn to do it, lacked the luxury of time and planning. By dusk we’d be ready to move out. Then began the waiting.Preparedness was something we took for granted, in ourselves and each other. This man might spend a couple of minutes putting unnecessary touches to the edge of a Ka-Bar or Gerber. That one might re-tape his magazines. Another might hurry to finish the last few.