The Inexplicable Exploits of the Dork Corps

Part XII - Damn... Its Like Lion King Here

"Hey Nems-"

"Don't call me that Carter,"

"Fine. But Nemesis? How are we getting there?"

"We're taking the underground."

"Huh?"

"The subway." the rest of the group awkwardly looked at one another and Nemesis sighed, "None of you have ever taken the underground have you?"

"No."

"Just follow me and don't look anyone in the eye." Nemesis paid using a metro card and some extra cash and shoved them on before her,

"Find a relatively empty carriage and grab a seat or a pole so you don't fall over. I'll let you all know when we get off." After a quiet ride, Nemesis gestured for them to leave and they followed her through the station and up the other set of stairs, and found themselves in a sea of men, women and others dressed in bright costumes,

"We should grab hands so we don't get lost!" Carter shouted over the crowd. He grabbed Nemesis' hand, she grabbed Fire's, Fire grabbed Kat's and Kat grabbed Shat's hand, who blushed. They weave'd through the throng, towards a stage, passing flying flags and crudely made cardboard signs declaring equality and freedom. They passed couples kissing under confetti and when they finally made it to the outdoor stage set, the pressing volume of loud music and cheering people threatened to make them burst, There was applause and a boy in a red hoodie stepped back up to the mic and yelled,

"Does anyone else have any more stories to tell us?" Nemesis looked around and tentatively raised a hand, the boy pointed down to her and gestured to the stairs Nemesis dragged her friends up the slaphazard stairs and let go of Fire's hand to grab the microphone, yelling,

"Hey everyone! My name is Nemesis, and we are the dork corps!" the audience cheered for her. "Thrown out of our homes and lives for who we are, we take comfort in each other, and all of you suffering the same!" The boy, Michael as she later found out, asked,

"Any other stories?" Shat, carefully walked over and took the microphone from Nemesis, adopting a strong stance and said,

"My name is Shat. I used to do pageants for my parents, but when I told them I wasn't a girl, they didn't listen to me. After an excruciating year, I met Kat and she dragged me off to meet my other friends. I'm grateful everyday to be who I am!" There was loud cheering and Shat passed the mic to Fire who said,

"I'm Fire, and my parents abandoned at age 7 when they found out that I liked both girls and boys. This happened after they did horrible, should be left unspoken acts to me my whole life. I lived on the streets for a few years before I met the corps, and they've changed my life for good. I'm ever so glad that I made it out of that hellhole of a house and am here today speaking to you." Fire tried to put the mic back on the stand, but Carter, still on his stilts, hip bumped her and grabbed the mic, nearly dropping it.

"H-hi everyone I'm Carter, and I'm not usually so nervous, my friends will tell you, you normally can't make me shut up, but I figured this is necessary. My mom used to beat me at home... I never knew it was wrong because it had happened my whole life... you see my dad left when she got pregnant..." he rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat continuing, "My grades dropped, I stopped eating, sleeping, and hell... I nearly killed myself," there was an awful silence as Carter laughed dryly and Nemesis and Fire each wrapped an arm around him, "She threw me out two years ago because in her eyes, I was, 'A worthless f-fag that ruined her life.'" Carter had started to cry, spreading dark mascara down his cheeks and cutting sharp lines through his carefully applied eyeshadow. He took in a sobbing breath and quickly collected himself, and said, "I ran into... literally, Nemesis, then I met Fire, Kat, Shat, our friend Maddy," he had carefully not mentioned the girl who had betrayed them all, "And finally have a reason to live." Nemesis Gripped him in a bear hug, Fire did the same, followed by Kat and Shat and the audience cheered and clapped wildly, whistling and whooping for them. The group broke apart and grasped hands again. They were all crying now, and Nemesis raised her hands, followed by the others and yelled,