At the exact moment the stone gave him CTS, Derek was still walking home from school (his head hung downward, causing his long emo hair to hang down over his face, as usual). As he walked, he passed Chesapeake Park, where a group of guys were playing basketball. He looked up towards them and immediately recognized them as Tom Welles and Danny Foster (both from the high school football team), Nick Lachey (from the high school swim team), and Jason Knight (from the high school basketball team).
They seemed to be really involved in their game, until Tom spotted Derek, that was. They stopped immediately, tossing the basketball aside, and then approached Derek.
Why does everyone always have to pick on me? he thought, hanging his head low again and quickening his pace.
"Hey, fag! Where do you think you're going?" Tom yelled. Then the other guys began to laugh.
I mean, it's bad enough my life is hell. Why do they have to make it worse?
He heard footsteps coming up from behind him, then suddenly his body lurched forward and he fell to the ground. Derek looked around and saw Tom towering over him, with a grin on his face. And just a few seconds later, his buddies came too and had Derek surrounded.
Derek tried to get up, but Danny pushed him back on the ground, causing his straight black hair to totally hide his face.
"What a freak," Danny said.
Derek curled into a ball, hoping it would protect him. Derek was an emo, so that was almost like permission (to guys like these) to beat him up. He felt someone hit him in the arm. And then one of the guys made a grunting sound, as if he had cut himself or something.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw one of the guys rubbing his hand and arm. It was ...
