City Dogs: The First Generation.

Chapter 1: Howl At the Moon.

Some things you just can’t tell your folks. Sometimes you just have to handle things your own way. That’s life I guess.

I used to think I was just your normal, everyday teenager. You know, hang out with friends, go to school, and make some money.

Ok, let me tell you a bit about me. My name’s Paul Newman. Like I said, I was your average 17 year old. I was. But I won’t get into that right now. Ok let me fill you in. I live with my dad, Andrew, in a quiet little town called Gaitsborough, Montana. My folks split up nearly a year ago now. My mom, Sandra, I didn’t have a lot to do with her since she moved to Canada but I still spoke to her. It’s all good. I’ve got some pretty good friends here. You’ll hear about them later. Then there’s my girl. Elizabeth. Hot damn. She’s everything to me. Again, more about that later.

I’ll start from the beginning.

I go to a decent school, Middlefield Academy of Technology. It’s just your average high school. That’s where everything started for me, I guess. And that’s where I’ll start for you.

It all started off as just another day. Up around seven in the morning. Out to school around half past eight. See. Normal. I didn’t really like school that much. I mean, some classes were fun. P.E. mostly, basketball, football, anything where I could use my size to give me an advantage. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m half-caste, not mixed race, half-caste, I’m 6’2 and 220 pounds. Anyway, back to the story.

When I get to school, I usually spend some time with Elizabeth, but she’s in the 11th grade, I’m in the 10th. The end of year exams was taking most of her time, so I didn’t see her much these days. So I went to my backup plan. My friends, Richard, John, Porky and K.L., these guys always have my back.

I took my usual route to form. I met up with my normal crew, Louise, Jane and Moon. Always good for a laugh. Louise is a little twisted, but she’s a decent friend. Jane is to, when she’s in a good mood. And if I’m honest, Moon’s a good guy, a little wimpish at times, but a good guy. Jane and Louise are pretty much inseparable. They play a big role over the next few months.

So there I was, in my physics class. I was sat with John, when I got called out to go see the headmaster. I thought, “Ok, they can’t get me for anything, I didn’t do anything”, so I followed the shmucks that got sent to get me. They knew something I didn’t. There were three of them. A few weeks before hand, some chump tried to get to me. I’ll admit, he got to me, but then I got to him. I still haven’t seen him since. I really don’t know how I wasn’t expelled there and then. But then again, the headmaster seemed to like me, so that’s a bonus. It was smart sending three guys for me though, I’ll give him that.

Ok, so I got there. Mr. Black (a big old bald guy, at least 6 feet tall, and built like a brick wall) was sat on the other side of his desk.

“So Paul, you know why I called you here?” He asked me.

I had to stop the usual sarcastic answer. He’d helped me in the past. One of the few adults I actually trust.

“No Sir, I was wandering that myself.” I said truthfully.

“Well I’ll tell you. You remember the small incident you had with the Foreign Exchange Student a few weeks ago?” He asked. One of the Shmucks coughed at this. I turned to him.

“You got something to say? No? Then shut the hell up.” I growled at them. “Yeah, I remember. He was asking for it.” I said as I turned back to face Mr. Black.

“I’m sure it was a provoked assault, but it was an assault none the less Paul. Now before you say anymore. I’m going to give you a piece of advice; you need to keep that temper of yours under control. If you don’t, you’re going to find yourself in trouble.” He said as if he was warning a friend out of trouble, not just telling off another kid.