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6. Gannon Narrows

Tommy's arm swung like a pendulum as it came down and silenced his clock radio. Sitting on the edge of his bed yawning, he reached over and powered up his laptop. His Facebook page appeared on the screen. A message from Antoine. Maybe he wants to come over and play COD tonight.

Tommy double clicked his mouse. 

Hey fat ass, why do you even bother? Don't you know you'll never have any REAL friends? You're just a HUGE waste of skin taking up space. Time for you to STEP OFF this planet Twinkie Boy.

Tommy's jaw dropped. He felt his heart pounding in his chest. His hands started to shake. Sweat ran down his face, or was it tears? He couldn't believe his eyes. How could he... I thought he was... my friend...

Tommy's emotional baggage was already overloaded and this Facebook email was the last straw. Tommy broke. He broke real bad.

The crisp morning air stole each breath away like a streetwise pickpocket reminding him spring hadn't yet arrived. Old man winter still had a job to do before leaving for another season. Tommy Lee Johnson had a job to do too. The deep crusty snow was no match for Tommy's girth as he trudged along the abandoned railway line towards Gannon's Narrows.

Next to designing and playing video games, fishing at Gannon's Narrows was Tommy's favorite thing to do. Quite often, while waiting for that tug on his line, Tommy's mind would drift to the wonderful life he imagined as the Bill Gates of video games.

A tall, steel girder bridge spanned the 200 foot wide river. The Catchacoma flowed

into Jack Lake, a popular summer resort area. The double arch design of the bridge supports that ran along each side of the span earned it the nickname Mickey D Bridge. Standing 20 feet above the river the height made it a popular swimming hole during the summer months. It stood high enough for athletic teenage boys to show off to their girlfriends. Some brave teens would even scale the M-shaped girders to the top of the bridge, doubling the distance of their jump.

But late February hardly qualified as fishing or swimming season and Tommy carried no fishing gear. He had other plans.

Reaching the halfway point of the bridge, he clambered over the snow-covered railing, just the heels of his Sorrels making contact with the edge of the railway ties that stuck out like oversized piano keys.

Maintaining his balance by gripping the steel rail behind him with his gloved hands, Tommy noted the thin, glass-like sheet of ice covering the broad, fast flowing river. The only open water was directly below him where the current was strongest. His mind raced as he re-lived all the verbal torments, the endless fat jokes, and the numerous beatings at the hands of bullies. He thought about how many times he'd wanted to kill himself and now here he was on the edge of the Mickey D Bridge.

How ironic, just when it looked like things were finally working out and I actually believed I was finally being accepted for who I am. But no, it turns out it was all just another nasty, fucking joke on me. Tommy gritted his teeth as he mouthed the last few words.

When Antoine asked for Tommy's help in the Call of Duty Tournament against Terrence at Lakeview High he believed things were finally turning around for him. But Antoine's Facebook message made it all very clear. Antoine had been faking his friendship. It was just another Jackson stunt, another nasty joke to get Antoine attention at my expense.

This time it was just too much for Tommy to bear. His self-esteem tank had finally run dry. He could no longer rid his mind of the betrayal he felt, the horrified feeling of again being the fool.

He removed his glasses and tucked them neatly into his coat pocket. "Tt's...time to step off," Tommy said softly as he released his grip on the rail and leaned forward. He let gravity take over, dropping like a stone face first into the rushing torrent. 

The icy water instantly numbed his face. His reaction was to roll over to get his face out of the icy cold but the strong current quickly soaked through his clothing, encircling his body. The searing cold wrapping itself around his chest like a vice forcing him to exhale as he sunk below the surface. Tommy saw his last breath race away in a trail of bubbles much like the troubled life he was now leaving behind.

As the weight of his winter clothing dragged him deeper, the strong current swept him under the thin, clear sheet of ice. The last thing he saw through this icy window was a dark lumbering bear-like shape and what he thought was a large paw coming down on his face.

He didn't notice the giant splash that fell directly on top of him. He didn't feel the arms wrapping themselves around him as some giant struggled to pull him and his drenched winter gear from the clutches of the raging current. The current, running deeply and swiftly, had no intention of giving him up to the unknown rescuer who grabbed a passing tree limb and pulled with all his might to free the two of them from its icy grip.