From: hamlet@tamuts.tamu.edu (Jeffrey Lynn Holsinger) Newsgroups: alt.ql.creative Subject: Re: Roundtable Story B-2, part I Date: 7 Mar 1994 11:39:26 -0600 Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station Message-Id: <2lfose$frs@tamuts.tamu.edu> References: Roundtable List B, Story 2, Part I -or- "Billy's Idol" February 8, 1987 "Billy, you come out of that room this instant!!" As Sam's head cleared from the leap, he realized that the pounding that he heard was someone banging on the door of the room that he was in. He was seated at a desk in what was obviously a bedroom. On the desk was a computer. Looking at his reflection in the monitor, Sam saw a teenage boy with glasses -- the typical computer nerd. "Billy, you come down to dinner right now!" yelled the woman outside his door. "All you do is sit in front of that computer day and night. It's not normal" Sam looked back to the monitor and saw the words that the kid had typed before Sam leaped. On the monitor, in large letters, were the words "OH BOY!" "William Thomas Kerr, get down here right now! Dinner is ready!" _Good, for a second there, I thought my name was going to be Cameron!_ Sam looked around the room examining it for clues about Billy. Sam determined Billy liked sci-fi and fantasy, from the books and posters around the room. _Wow, an orginal Star Wars movie poster! That thing must be worth a fortune....well maybe, depending on what year it is...._ Reluctantly, Sam saved the file Billy was editing for some other time, and headed down to dinner. As he opened the door, an oddly disgusting odor was emanating from the kitchen. Something about the smell turned his insides out. He headed down the hall, into the kitchen just in time to see Billy's mom? place the bane of every child on the dinner table: liver and onions. "It's about time you came down here and ate your dinner, young man. I beginning to think that in spite of what your father says, getting you that computer was a mistake. You never socialize. I worry Billy." "Well, uh... ",_What do I say?_,"thanks, Mom, I'll be okay." Just then, Sam heard the voice of the only constant companion through all the leaps from over his shoulder. "Oh.....gross....Sam....liver and onions....blech....you know, my second, or maybe it was third wife, well at any rate, she made liver and onions about once a month. That was one of the reasons I left her...I can't STAND liver and onions. Disgusting." Disgusting would be what some might call Al's attire. A bright purple high gloss metallic looking suit, with an equally bright green shirt, that somehow managed not to clash with the wide lapelled suit. Truly an amazing sight. "Al!" "What was that, Billy?", his "mother" intoned. "I'll be right back, um, I forgot to wash my hands." "Since when have you been so concerned about washing your hands?... Well, hurry up, your father should be here any minute." Sam stepped into the wrong room first, a home office of some sort, which had a much nicer computer than the one Billy had in his room. The next door he tried was the bathroom. He walked in to find the observer with his feet in the toilet, or rather, they looked like they were in the toilet. "Al, what am I supposed to be doing here? What year is it?" "Well, Sam your name is William Kerr, and you are a 15 year old high school student in Crystal Lake, Illinois. It says here that you are a senior, though. You have man.. managed to skip a couple of grades and you are a senior this year, which is 1987." "Okay, what am I here to do? Any guess?" "Well, Ziggy gives it a 74.5% chance that you are here to keep Billy in school." "Well, why does he leave? What makes him leave?" "Uh, well.....the FBI...seems he was involved in some sort of computer crime. He was cleared, but went on to commit several electronic crimes, most notably for a large securities corporation during the early '90s as part of the banking fiasco. He's now serving a twenty five year prison sentence. He's a really sharp kid, Sam, he just got headed the wrong way." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ When Sam met Billy's father, he was not too impressed. He was a nice enough man, he just didn't care for Billy. The only thing he seemed to care about was his computer, and making sure he had enough food for his considerable girth. The resemlbance to a hog was amazing, Sam jokingly thought that perhaps old John was the successful result of the genetic splicing of human and swine DNA. Above all else, he had the attitude to match his appearance: he was a swine. He thought he could buy his son's love. To be honest, Billy had a pretty miserable home life. A smart, but lonely kid. These thoughts were further reinforced when he ready Billy's journal, which was being added to as Sam leapt in. The most recent two entries intrigued Sam beyond the others: ]February 9th [ ]I am really beginning to hate most the people at school [ ]they treat me with intolerance. The worst are the girls.[ ]You would think they received great delight about making[ ]my life miserable. They act like they like me, but most [ ]of the time, they just want me to do their homework for [ ]them. The rest of the time, it is on a dare, or just for[ ]kicks. Except for Lynne. She may be a bit weird, but she[ ]is very pretty, and acts like she likes me. She gets [ ]made fun of a lot too. People call her names like tramp [ ]and slut. I would never do that to her, I would do [ ]almost anything to help her out. The only problem is her[ ]twin brother Dan. He is truly a dork. A big dork, but a[ ]dork nonetheless. [ ] [ ]If I could just get up enough courage to ask her out. [ ]But I don't want her to say no. It would be pretty bad.[ ]Why would she go out with me anyway? [ ] [ ]February 10th [ ]I saw her in class today. She actually smiled at me! [ ]But then her brother saw me looking at her and came up [ ]to me after class. He told me if I wanted to go out with[ ]her, I needed to do the family a favor. I wonder what it[ ]could be? It can't be too bad. I can't believe I may get[ ]to go out with her! She is truly a "babe". I don't know[ ]what to do for a date, maybe a movie or something. [ ] [ ] OH BOY! [ ] [ ](EOF) [ Sam sighed deeply. _This kid is headed for trouble! I gotta help him out._ Sam soon found himself drowsy, considering the long day he had ahead of him at school. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The next day, Sam was awakened by Billy's mother, as rudely as he could imagine would be possible. He went downstairs, and with a little luck found a box of Super Sugar Crisp, one of his favorites, and some orange juice. After pouring himself a bowl of cereal, and a glass ofjuice, Sam found the Chicago Tribune for the day. Scanning the morning paper, he saw that the nation was in the middle of the Iran-Contra scandal. Robert McFarlane had just attempted suicide, because of the pressure surrounding the investigation. The Soviet Union, although still intact, had begun to embrace the principles of glasnost and perstroika by releasing 140 former dissidents. Scanning the rest of the paper, he found the AIDS scare was in full swing. Two children with the virus were petitioning to get into the city's preschool program, and the Surgeon General gave his backing to condom ads to help stave off the spread of the disease. Against this backdrop of disease, scandal and change, one teenage boy named Billy was trying to fall in love and keep out of trouble in an ever more hostile world. The kid was extremely intelligent, but lacked enough self esteem to stand up to those who would have him do wrong. Sam felt himself empathizing more and more with Billy. They both missed out on a lot because of their advanced intelligence. Both never had a lot of luck with women, and it was only the strong family that Sam came from, where he was loved and nourished, that prevented Sam from becoming lonely and depressed like Billy had become. Sam was jolted back from his thoughts by Billy's father. "Come on Billy, time to leave, I've got a long day ahead of me." The ride to school was anything but pleasant. Bumpy, rainy, you name it. All Billy's father did was expound to him the virtues of planning for the future by proper education. "You wouln't want your mother and I to be ashamed, now would you Billy? I would hope that being as intelligent as you are Billy, that you would live up to your full potential." "Yes sir," said Sam broiling, wondering where this oaf got off talking to his son like this. It was no wonder Billy about lost it. If only.....just then, the car came to a halt in front of the school. _Now comes the real challenge_ ,thought Sam, _Where do I go from here?_ End of Part I From: hamlet@tamuts.tamu.edu (Jeffrey Lynn Holsinger) Newsgroups: alt.ql.creative Subject: Roundtable Story B-2, part II Date: 10 Mar 1994 18:44:58 -0600 Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station Message-Id: <2loeua$l8a@tamuts.tamu.edu> References: <2lfose$frs@tamuts.tamu.edu> Roundtable List B, Story 2, Part II -or- "Billy's Idol, Pt II" As Sam reluctantly headed to the building, thinking of ways in which he could possibly find out where he was supposed to go, a large kid of 6' 2" or so put his hand on Sam's shoulder, saying, "Well, Billy-boy, good to see you. Tonight is your big date, if you can call it that. All you will be doing is studying in our house, but thats really what you want isn't it, Billy-boy?" "I wish you wouldn't call me that!" "You don't like the name Billy-boy? Thats your name, isn't it? Well, here we are, your first class. Oh, enjoy yourself today, cuz we'll figure out what you can do to repay us tonight." As Sam sat down in his first period history class, he began to hate the day ahead of him. Luckily, as he thumbed through his book, he found an old copy of Billy's class schedule. _One problem solved, more to go._ As class finished, Sam walked out of the door, through the observer, and jumped back startled. "Would you stop that!" "Stop what?" "Appearing....", Sam said, soon realizing some of the kids were looking at him talking to thin air. Under his breath Sam intoned, ~Bathroom.~ As they stepped into the bathroom, a musty wave of sweat and urine smell assaulted Sam's nasal passages. The bathroom was as (or possibly more) disgusting as any high school bathroom Sam remembered. Surprisingly, though, it was empty. "Sam, what are you doing? Things are going downhill for Billy. According to Ziggy, he now gets sent to jail for what he does. I don't know what you've done, but you better fix it. I had a long talk with the kid, in the waiting room. The kid is sharp, he has figured out this is some sort of research facility." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ As Sam walked to his next class, this girl dressed in all black stepped up beside him. He hair was long, and dark brown, and she had the deepest brown eyes, and beautiful skin. She looked like she was into the growing alternative music scene as well. She was very beautiful, but in a very different way. _This must be Lynne_, thought Sam. "That was very rude of you Billy, ignoring me in class, and not waiting for me after class. If you are going to treat me like trash, I don't need your friendship if it entails a lack of respect." "Lynne, I am really sorry. I just was very preoccupied. I guess things have been bothering me." "Is Dan one of them? I hope he doesn't scare you off, like he has all the other guys. Why do you think that I never have had a long term boyfriend? He is an overprotective jerk! I really hate him at times.... Oh well, see you at lunch, then tonight to study for the calc exam. " "Bye, Lynne." She walked off, looked over her shoulder, waived and smiled back at him. _No wonder Billy fell for her, she really is a sweetheart._ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ At lunch he had really good conversation with Lynne. She was a really intelligent and articulate girl. Sam got up to leave, and she followed As they left to go to their separate ways, she kissed him on the cheek and said goodbye. "Boy, Billy can really spot them...she is..what is the current term? ....oh yeah: she's a babe." The observe then puffed on his cigar. "Al!" "I can't help it Sam. I look at her and think of...." "Al! I have figure what to do tonight. I think this is when Billy gets in trouble." "Well, just don't do anything illegal, Ill go back to Ziggy and see if I can get any more info for you." With that, and a squeal from the handlink, the imaging chamber door opened and Al disappeared from view. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ That night, after school, Sam caught a ride home with one of Billy's friends, Jeff. Jeff was really a nice guy. It seems he and Billy had known each other for a while. The next thing Sam knew, he was really enjoying himself. Jeff was a strong person who Sam hoped Billy confided in regularly. Jeff brought up the subject of Lynne, rather tentatively, as if he knew Billy didn't like to talk about it. "I know it's not my place to talk, but Lynne is nothing but trouble. You know how much she sleeps around. She could cause you a lotta problems man." "Well, I appreciate your concern, but remember, people aren't always what they seem. I don't think Lynne sleeps around, and if she does, that's her business. I know about AIDS, I'm not about to do something foolish." "God, Billy, I'm not accusing you of stupidity! It's what could happened to you. I don't want your feelings hurt. Geez, gimme some credit." "Just because I'm young doesn't mean I am stupid." "You're right I'm sorry. So what are you supposed to do for 'the family'?" "I'm not sure yet, but I am kinda worried. I think Dan want's me to do something shady." "Well, I'm gonna be okay." Jeff gave him a sort of blank look then said, "Well, here we are, your at home. See ya man." "Later.." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ After he had finished dinner (a much more appetizing beef stroganof), at about 7:00, there came honk from outside. _Must be time to go. Time to take care of business, so to speak._ Without much aside from a "have fun, take care" from Billy's parents, Sam stepped outside. Dan was behind the wheel of a large, beat up, rustbucket. Lynne was with him on the front seat. "Hop in Billy-boy." "Dan, stop that. His name is Billy." "Okay, okay sis....well, heres the plan, my dad is letting us use the foreman's office down at the construction site to study in. Its really quiet, and you guys can get some studying done, while I do a few errands for Dad." _I've got a bad feeling about this._ "Are you sure this will be a good idea, after all, my parents think I am going to be at your place." "Don't worry, there's a phone there you can call your parents from, if you need to report back to them like a little elementary school kid." Dan then glared at Sam, as if to scare him into submission. "Billy, it will be all right, my parents know we'll be there, it's not in a bad part of town anyway." When the arrived, Sam's got his hopes up. _There's no way I can commit any sort of computer crime here!_ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The night's studying went well, Lynne was quick to learn, and she paid attention. He hoped Billy and her worked out. She seemed to enjoy the studying, and Sam knew he was. Then Al appeared. "Sam, nothing is changing." "Um....Lynne, Dan, I just want some air, I will be back in just a sec." "You better be, Billy-boy!" "Dan!" As Sam stepped outside, Al continued, "he still gets caught, and Lynne and he never work out. She gets into one abusive relationship after another." "Why? I'm not going to do anything!" "Well, just be sure." Dan then came out through the door. "Hey Billy, it's payup time. Come inside, to the office." "Sam! Be careful." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dan took Sam into the office, and showed him the computer. "Here's the deal. I want a new car. If my dad were to get a raise, or something, he could buy me one. SO, you are going to give my dad a raise, got it?" "Dan, I can't do that. That would be illegal and wrong. I won't do it." "You little weasel....", Dan whispered harshly, as he threw a roundhouse punch toward Sam. Sam deftly ducked the punch, and countered with a jab to the solar plexus. Dan, was big enough to take the punch, and swing back, knocking Sam against the cabinets. The door flew open from the lounge, as Lynne screamed, "Stop it Dan! What the hell are you doing?" Dan swung again, but Sam blocked and spun around, knocking Dan down with a roundhouse kick to the temple. "Billy-boy, your one tough sonofabitch." "Dan, don't touch him, or you'll never get my help with school again, or get any dates from my friends. You'll end up being nothing. A big dumb nothing." Dan slowly got up, avoiding Sam and replied, "You'll see, I'll fix it!" The observer walked in, without the use of the door, "Billy still.... what happened here? You didn't do anything illegal, did you?" "Dan wanted me to break into this computer, but I wouldn't: that's illegal." Lynn spoke again, saying, "Dan, you didn't think Billy would be that stupid did you?" "Sam, I don't get it....why is Billy still in trouble.", Al spoke feverishly as Sam walked out the door, Lynne following right behind him. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sam looked around outside, spotting the familiar car, and started to walk towards it. The driver tried to start it, but it wouldn't turn over. He walked to the driver side, and pulled open the door. He grabbed the lone occupant, and pulled him out. "Why? Why do you want to do this to me, Jeff?" "What are you talking about Billy?" "You were going to go in there and fix things against me, weren't you?" "No..." Sam tightened his grip. "Well, maybe, I just wanted to go out with her, but she wouldn't. I heard she put out, but she would have nothing to do with me." "Of course not", Lynne retorted, "I only go out with guys who show some semblance of respect. I've never slept around, but you heard that because of some very immature little boys who felt I wasn't worth anything since I didn't shake any pom-pons, and didn't fall to pieces like every other girl they had ever been out with. My brother scared them off, and they needed an excuse, so the old 'slut' routine was convenient." "Jeff, you can just find yourself another friend, maybe you and Dan can go to prison together," Sam spoke with an acid laden voice. The observer finally spoke to Sam, "You fixed it! Billy and Lynne get married, and have a few kids. Jeff ends up in prison, and tries to commit suicide, but thanks to some counseling, he gets a steady job and does OK. Not great, but okay. Oh...here's something interesting. It seems Billy writes some AI routines for Department of Defense. You know some of those routines personally Sam. Even though they were top secret, Ziggy tells me she traced them back to Billy, and you implemented them when your created her. Way to go Sam." "Billy, I want you to know, well....", at which point Lynne grabbed Sam and kissed him, fully on the lips. "Bye bye Sam." Suddenly, Sam felt the electrical pulse of leaping coursing through his being. The leap energy dissipated, and Sam's vision clarified and he began to discern his surroundings. As usual, he found himself somewhere, sometime that he did not know. One of the things Dr. Beckett had gained during his many leaps, is the ability to react quickly, and in this case it saved his life. Sam looked around, just in time to see the late model Chevy sedan barrelling towards him. Sam leapt out of the way, just as the car crashed into the tree standing behind him. He looked into the cars front see to see a boy of no more than ten or twelve behind the wheel of the car. Upon further examination, he saw a women of about forty sitting ...or rather laying... in the front seat. The young man, with a look of terror on his face, turned to Sam and weakly intoned, "Oh boy." -- Any questions comments etc, should be directed to me at the address below. Authors notes follow in the next post. +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+--+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |"I believe in coyotes and time as an |"These are days you'll remember, never| | abstract. Explain the change, the | before, never since, I promise, will | | difference between what you want and | the whole world be as warm as this." | | what you need." -REM +-----+-----+--+--+-----+-----+-----+--+ -10k Maniacs| +-----+-----+-----+----/Jeff Holsinger (Hamlet@tamsun.tamu.edu) \-+-----+-----+