Stand by Me

Chapter Eleven "Nobody I Love More"

"Alright, alright. Mickey's a mouse. Donald's a duck. Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?" Gordie asked. I started feeling tired and felt relieved as the pain in my foot started to go away.

"Goofy's a dog, he's definitely a dog," Teddy said for certain.

"He can't be a dog. Wears a hat and drives a car," Chris said.

"God, that's weird. What the hell is Goofy?" Vern asked.

"Guys, Goofy's a cow! It's so obvious, don't you remember his "lover" Clarabelle.. The cow!" I said and the guys thought about it a second. Soon after they we all agree and we continued in other pointless small talk.

None of us mentioned Ray Brower but we were all thinking about him. I shivered a little at the thought of seeing him. I guess Chris noticed my shivering so he pulled me closer into him and the sleep drained from my eyes. I was wide awake.

We were all ok, sitting in silence until a loud howling broke through the quietness."Oh my God!" Vern exclaimed.

"It's that Brower-kid. His ghost's out walking in the woods," Teddy said and I was wide eyed.

"I promise I'll hawk no more dirty books. I promise I won't say no more bad swears. I promise I'll eat all my lima beans!" Vern started saying and Teddy went behind him and tapped him on the shoulder "Ah!"

"Two for flinching."

"What is it, Chris?" I asked and he didn't seem scared "maybe it's coyotes."

"It sounds like a woman screaming," Gordie said and Teddy kept trying to scare us.

"It's not coyotes. It's his ghost," Teddy said.

"Don't say that," I said sitting up and Teddy started walking away from the clearing.

"Hey Teddy, sit down!" Chris called after him.

"I'm gonna look for it. I wanna see the ghost!"

"Don't say that!" I said again.

"I just wanna see it! I wanna see what it looks like. ...!" Teddy said was cut out by a loud howl and he fell because of it.

"Maybe we should stand guard," Vern said and I nodded.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Chris said taking out the gun.

"Gimme the gun. I'll take the first watch," Teddy said and Chris hesitantly gave it to him.

I was asleep, as peacefully as I could be, when Teddy woke me up. "Twenty-three hundred hours. Corporal Teddy Duchamp stands guard. No sign of the enemy. The fort is secure."

"Shut up, Teddy. Mallory's sleeping, keep your eyes peeled," Chris said to him and I was fully awake now. I kept my eyes close until Teddy started to "play the trumpet".

"Hey, Teddy, cut it out! Trying to sleep!" Everyone shouted and I was no longer tired.

"The dogfaces rested easy. In the knowledge that Corporal Teddy Duchamp was protecting all of what dear to them," Teddy said and I groaned putting my hand over my ears.

"Teddy!" I exclaimed, and soon I fell asleep again.

I knew I was dreaming but it seemed so real, too real. I couldn't get myself to wake up. It was almost too much to see my mother. I couldn't even say it.

I looked down at the hospital bed in my dream and I barely noticed I woke up through my tears, "Aahh! Ohh."

"Are you okay?" Chris said worried and I wiped my eyes "huh?"

"You were dreaming," he said and I nodded my head. "Go back to sleep," he said but I was no longer tired. As he went back to sit by the tree I followed him, putting on my sweatshirt.

He looked a little upset and I asked "what's wrong." He looked down and he shook his head, but then he looked up at me.

"It's the way people think of my family in this town. It's the way they think of me. I'm just one of those lowlife Chambers-kids," he sighed.

I rapidly shook my head and held his hand "that's not true."

"Oh it is. No one even asked me if I took the milkmoney that time. I just got a three-day vacation."

"Did you take it?" I wasn't just saying that, I didn't know if he took it or not. People could have just as easily accused me of taking it.

"Yeah I took it. You knew I took it. Teddy knew I took it. Gordie knew it. Everyone knew I took it. Even Vern knew it I think. Maybe I was sorry and I tried to give it back," he looked broken.

"Tried to give it back?" I asked.

"Maybe, just maybe. And maybe I took it to Old Lady Simons and told her. And the money was all there. But I still got a three-day vacation because it never showed up. And maybe the next week Old lady Simons had that brand new skirt on when she came to school."

"Yeah, yeah. She wore it the last day of summer school. It was brown and had dots on it!"

"Yeah." He nodded almost exhausted from thinking about it "so let's just say that I stole the milk money but Old Lady Simons stole it back from me. Just suppose that I told the story. Me, Chris Chambers, kid brother of the Eyeball Chambers. You think that anybody would have believed it?"

I didn't want to respond, I didn't want Chris to think of himself the same way as most other people do. But in spite of myself I said "no."

"And d'you think that bitch would have dared try something like that if it would have been one of those douche bags from up on The View if they had taken the money?" He asked already knowing the answer.

I shook my head "no way!"

"Oh no! But with me! I'm sure she had her eyes on that skirt for a long time. Anyway, she saw her chance and she took it. I was the stupid one for even trying to give it back. I never thought - I never thought that a teacher--" He started to cry and I hugged him, listening to his heart beat. "Oh who gives a fuck anyway? I just wish I could go to some place where nobody knows me." I nodded knowing the feeling, we came from the same place. We felt the same thing. "I guess I'm just a pussy, Mallory."

I shook my head "no. No way, no way."

He looked down at me, he stopped crying and I automatically said the words I wanted to say. "Chris, I love you," I said and then regretted it knowing he probably didn't feel the same way.

He smiled and said "I love you too." I sighed relieved and started to drift to sleep. When I woke up, I was back in my sleeping bag lying next to Chris. The freight woke all of us up, except Gordie who was on watch.