[Author's note : My science is bunk, don't learn anything here.]
"Lyle Winters?"
"Present" Lyle replied, taking a momentary pause from his frantic crunch-time cram session. He'd been revising for finals all week and he was feeling confident in what he knew, but he figured he could always use an extra glance at his notes. After all, it might mean the difference between letter grades, but now he knew his time was up. The familiar cadence of the afternoon roll-call was nearly at an end.
"Amanda Young?" "Here"
"Alright class, I hope you're all ready to prove the last five months haven't been a giant waste of time." He smiled a friendly knowing grin, earning a few chuckles form the students.
"Everyone clear your desks and put away your study materials. The test will be two hours long. Keep your eyes on your own work. Turn your test over when you are done and sit quietly so that others can continue to work. Good luck, and good hunting." Mr.Edgar pattered effortlessly as though he were reading from a script.
Lyle was about five questions into the test feeling fully engrossed and brimming with confidence when he noticed his left leg was in an uncomfortable position. He reflexively jerked it to the left spreading his legs a bit more forcefully than he'd intended knocking Ricky's binder out slightly from under the desk in front of him. Nobody around him seemed to notice and the binder hadn't moved so far that it landed in the isles between desks so he continued to focus on his work when out of the corner of his eye he saw a sheet of paper that looked suspiciously similar to the test he was trying to complete. His immediate thought was that Ricky had dropped his test but upon closer inspection he saw that it was still mostly concealed within the binder and that the answers had all already been filled in.
"Ricky is cheating!" he thought to himself as the truth dawned upon him. He wasn't sure what to do with this information, he knew it was serious but the fact that it was distracting him from his own work wasn't really acceptable at the moment so he decided to consider his options when he was finished.
After a few minutes of reapplying his focus, Lyle found it was easy to lose himself once again in his work. Ultimately he didn't even have a chance to consider what to do about Ricky because at about the exact moment he finished the test, the class was over. He handed his test to the front like the rest of the class and without thinking dragged the test from under Ricky's desk with his foot, hiding it discretely within his own pile of papers.
As everyone was leaving class Lyle tried to get Ricky's attention. He had to confront him about this personally. Ricky and Lyle used to be good friends, before Ricky started filling out with muscle, hanging with the cool kids, and joining the wrestling team. Lyle didn't want this to ruin his academic future. Eventually he was able to get the boy's attention over the din of the crowd and divert his path to a private spot in the doorway of an unused classroom.
"What's up?" Ricky asked, a little confused by the sudden interaction with his old friend.
"It's about the test" Lyle begin, "I saw your cheat sheet, and -"
"That's bullshit man. I didn't even use those answers!" Ricky said, cutting him off aggressively. "Coach gave everyone test answers but I didn't want 'em. I'm not a cheater and I'm not gonna take the blame for this, and if you tell anyone I had test answers, I'll kick your ass!"
With that Ricky walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Lyle didn't know how to feel. He'd felt like he was being more than fair with Ricky or he would have been if he'd been given the chance, and then to just be aggressively shot down like that. Lyle had worked hard to study for the test. He had earned his grade, and no matter what Ricky said, he didn't believe for a second he wasn't using those answers. On top of that Coach must have given him answers to all his tests and all the Jocks were in on it. The level of academic dishonesty was astounding. He needed to do something, and if his old friend was going to treat him like shit just like the rest of the jocks, he might as well do it now.
Back home he got the test out of his backpack and using a highlighter wrote "Coach Worth's Cheat Sheet For Dumb Jocks" in big letters over the first page. Then he made 100 copies using his 3 in 1 laser printer.
The next day he distributed the copies through the halls, ducking out of study hall early to beat the rush between class periods. The results were almost immediate and the fallout was widespread. By the end of the day all jocks were on provisional academic suspension and Coach Worth was fired as director of the male athletics program. After hours of deliberation, the jocks were allowed to complete the school year by retaking their finals but the tests would all need to be rewritten, and the teachers were not in a generous mood. The Jocks would also all be barred from participating in any sports for the next academic year...
Lyle felt he had done right by Ricky. He never ratted him out personally and everything turned out pretty well for all the Jocks as far as he was concerned. If there hadn't been a huge cheating conspiracy, Ricky would have been expelled, and rightly so.
On the final day of school it seemed like the madness of the giant cheating incident was dying down. People were still chatting about it, but most people were more interested in summer vacation. Lyle sat at his desk for the last day of third period when an announced came over the intercom.
"Will Daniel Craig, Bert Wallenstein, Dave Smith, and Kevin Olson please report to the nurse's office?"
Lyle had zoned out, ignoring the message the moment it became clear it was just a list of names being requested to report somewhere. It was a common occurrence and not worth thinking about, but the messages kept occurring throughout the day with a peculiar frequency, especially for the last day of school. He'd never noticed this happening before, but assumed those students must need to pick up the leftover medications they left with the nurse over the course of the year.
A few hours later, the chatter about the oddly persistent nurse visits was beginning to burn through the student body.
"I heard it's a lice check" "I heard there was ringworm in the weight room" "I heard Mr.Phelps needs a new kidney and they're looking for a compatible donor" "I heard there was a 5G radiation leak and we might all have eye cancer."
"It's nothing, they're probably just getting their old meds or something." Lyle explained to his friend Camden in the cafeteria, rolling his eyes dismissively.
"Then why aren't any girls being called in?" Camden said with a cheeky grin, knowing he'd gotten the upper hand in the conversation.
"I hadn't noticed that." Lyle admitted "I don't actually listen to the names."
"Well I do." Camden said energetically "and I don't recognize a lot of the names cuz they're from other grades, but the people getting called from our grade never seem to come back."
"That's weird. That's.. really weird." Lyle replied, starting to get concerned.
"I think it's awesome!" Camden admitted with excitement "Those lucky stiffs get to go home early on the last day of school. It's a dream come true... A few extra hours of summer, how cool is that?!"
Just then another announcement came over the speakers in the cafeteria.
"Will Daren Epstein, Jason Moro, Camden Fisher, and Zachery Avery please report to the nurse's office."
Lyle got a sinking feeling in his stomach at hearing his friend's name being called but his unease wasn't reflected in Camden reaction.
"Oh, man!" Camden exclaimed "I guess I get to see what this is all about! I'll come back and let you know before they let me go home." He promised
"You're making quite a few assumptions there Camden. I hope everything is OK... Do you want me to come along?" Lyle offered gently.
"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about. People don't go to the nurses office when they're in trouble.............. Unless...." he trailed off solemnly.
"IT'S A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!!!!" he shouted holding his arms in front of him in mock zombie fashion.
"Well, take care man. We should hang out over the summer." Lyle offered, feeling his tensions relieved by Camden's clowning around.
"You bet!" Camden agreed heading out into the hallway.
The day continued on with fewer and fewer boys in attendance. Lyle was starting to take his own interest in the names being called and noted that none of the jocks seemed to be getting called either. It had been over an hour since lunch and Camden had never come back to tell Lyle what the big mystery was. His mind was racing with thoughts and concern for his friend's welfare. The whole situation was so bizarre. Could all the boy's parents have gotten into car accidents or something? Some giant pileup on the highway?
"Will Lyle Winters please report to the nurse's office?"
Every head in the classroom turned to look at Lyle. He felt like a firing squad had just taken aim at his face. They'd never asked just one student to go before... Why was he being singled out? What business did he have in the nurse's office. The day was almost over, couldn't he just go home with everyone else?
"Better get going." Mrs.Gleason said gesturing for Lyle to heed the request.
"Yeah." Lyle said. "I'll just leave my things here." Lyle suggested a little desperately.
"Go ahead and take them with you. I don't know what this is about... You may not need to come back." She replied barely looking up from her desk.
"Sure" He said reluctantly, picking up his things and weakly shuffling himself out the door in a daze.
The halls were quiet and littered with more bits of paper and trash than usual from students cleaning out their lockers. The scene made for an especially eerie march to the nurse's office. Lyle could imagine there actually was a zombie apocalypse going on...
Finally arriving, in spite of his conscious efforts to drag his feet, he opened the door and stepped into the office.
"Nurse Allen?" He inquired timidly announcing his presence to the room, but the nurse was nowhere to be found.
Just then a fit looking younger man came out of what Lyle assumed was a storage room accompanied by three very large men dressed in medical clothing.
"Lyle?" The man questioned expectantly "Hi, I'm Coach Dun. I'm just starting here after your old coach was dismissed. I know the part you played in bringing that nasty affair to light and I just wanted you to come in to clear the air before school lets out for the season. It's going to be hard to rebuild an elite athletic program without any of our star players but you did the right thing exposing Coach Worth's cheating program. We want well rounded players. Those boys could use a break to focus on their academics for a change."
"I'm confused." Lyle began slowly "I thought I was here to see the nurse. How did you know I was involved with the expose?"
"That's not important, and it's alright, you're not in any trouble. The nurse was kind enough to let me use her office when she left for the day. Seems Coach Worth dead bolted his office out of spite when they fired him, they need to get a locksmith in or something..."
"So, this doesn't have anything to do with the other kids that were called to the office today? Do you know if they're OK?"
"They're fine." He said waiving his hand dismissively, "I think they all went home... Now, I'm as new as can be around here and I'd like to know from you if there is any sort of animosity toward the 'Jocks' in this school. What do people think about them? Are they held in high regard?"
"I wouldn't say high regard, no. I think most of the stereotypes tend to apply as far as the jocks are concerned. They're kind of mean in general, quick to anger, aggressive, unintelligent, always thinking about sex..." He explained honestly but cautiously...
"That would explain this." Coach Dun said presenting one of Lyle's photocopies. "Dumb Jocks, it says."
"I thought I wasn't in trouble." Lyle said cringing slightly
"You're not. I just wanted you to understand that there's very little difference between you and any 'Jock'. They're just normal human beings." Coach Dun explained.
"I know, I'm sorry." Lyle said sinking in his shoes a bit.
"Tell, me" Coach Dun said seemingly unmoved by Lyle's contrition "What do you know about the endocrine system?"
"It's the network of chemical channels the body uses to regulate its various systems." Lyle replied bemused by the non-sequitur
"It is that indeed. And I've always found endocrinology to be a very fascinating branch of study. Did you know a bee's roll in a colony is determined by chemical fluctuations that occur in its endocrine system during the pupil stage. No bee is genetically a soldier or a worker, they merely develop that way according to environmental factors. Similarly with dogs, if they are castrated before puberty it drastically effects their mood, temperament, libido, development of scent glands and so on permanently for life. They become more friendly and patient they lack certain territorial behaviors and of course they don't seek mates. Humans are no different really. The endocrine system shapes us more than any other facet of our biology. Physically, at a base level, we're all extremely similar. It's the developmental drivers of the endocrine system during puberty that make a hairy, hulking, aggressive, territorial, horny male..." he said gesturing toward himself, "or a passive, whiny, impotent, effeminate worm." he continued, gesturing toward Lyle.
"I see." Lyle said disappointingly "You called me here to insult me."
"I apologize for that, it was a cheap shot." He said smiling apologetically. "What I really want is for you to have a chance to understand what it's like for Jocks. The pressures they're under to perform, the anger and impatience, the distractions that constantly pull their attention away from academics onto physical activity and mating conquests. To understand that you are not morally superior to them any more than they are to you just because of their developmental reality. There but for the grace of god go you..."
"I understand." Lyle said turning and heading for the door. "I appreciate the insight. I'd never considered the cognitive and physical changes of puberty and how they might be driving my classmates to act the way they do. I'll try to be more understanding in the future."
"Well, I'm afraid that isn't enough...." Coach Dun said uncomfortably.
Suddenly the three mean grabbed Lyle restraining him tightly and covering his mouth. They carried him to one of the beds and drew the curtains around him. He struggled to break free but they had him restrained by the arms and legs, the most he could do was thrust his pelvis upward but one of the thugs was beginning to get his core restrained as well. His attention was drawn to the coach who was filling a hypodermic needle and readying it for injection by squirting out the air at the top forming a delicate stream of liquid falling in a slight arch. Couch Dun nodded toward Lyle's midsection and one of the thugs forcefully pulled down his pants and underwear exposing his crotch.
Lyle redoubled his efforts for escape as the coach approached his scrotum with the needle. As he neared, Lyle began to scream though the thugs clenched hand.
"I wouldn't struggle so violently if I were you." The Coach warned cupping his package and lifting it to expose the back of his scrotum "This needle is going in whether you like it or not and trust me, you don't want it to go in any deeper than it has to."
Hearing that terrified Lyle and finding he had no choice, he seized up his body in an attempt to keep from moving and brace for the inevitable pain.
"Atta-boy." The Coach cooed softly taking the opportunity to plunge the needle into the boys ball sack and deposit the unknown substance.
Lyle was relieved to find that the pain was not so intense as he'd feared, a sharp prick and an uncomfortable pressure followed by the men easing their hold upon him.
"There now." Coach Dun said with relief. "Looks like we'll be having full rosters next year."
Just then Lyle's balls began to ache with a deep pain that grew and grew exponentially. It hit him like a kick to the balls he couldn't breath. He tried desperately to fill his lungs but they wouldn't expand. He began to panic, his eyes wide with severe fear and pain. The thug at his side began to rub and pat his back urgently encouraging him to take a breath. "Breath... Breath!" He coaxed. Just when Lyle thought he was about to pass out he inhaled deeply and loudly, finally regaining control of his lungs. Just then the thug who had spoken placed a respiratory mask over his face and encouraged him to breath naturally. Lyle breathed deeply and quickly trying to pull his face away from the gas he was being forced to inhale but his body began to slow and his mind grew dark and his eyes faded out....
Piece by piece, Lyle became aware of his surroundings. His lap was cold and heavy. He was sitting in a chair and there was something on his finger... He could hear muffled voices speaking around him and the sound of medical equipment beeping. He moved his left hand to remove the uncomfortable clip form his finger when he was stopped by someone fumbling to return it to its place. "Don't touch that Lye." Came the familiar voice.... His mouth felt funny, it was dry and his cheeks felt puffy. His mouth felt numb and his tongue tasted bitter. He tried to remove the clip again but the guarding hand held it in place. "Lye, sweetie" the voice said "You need to leave that on your finger, they're monitoring your vitals." He became aware that his mouth was hanging open when he tried to speak. "Do you know what happened to you." Came the voice again... Lyle thought deeply but his mind wandered forgetting the question. "Lye, honey? Do you remember what happened?"
"Mruru Freeg" He said slowly
"You can remove the cotton." Came a clear voice from places unknown.
He felt fingers reach in and pull wads of cotton logs from his cheeks wanting to speak but forgetting what he was supposed to say.
"Lye, honey? Do you remember what happened?" The voice said again. Lyle recognized the voice this time as his Mother's.
"They.... took... my... wisdomteeth." He replied with effort staring blankly into the distance
"No honey, that was last fall. Honey you're at school. In the nurses office. They think you were attacked by one of the boys that got suspended for cheating. They don't know who it was but someone or a group of students has been going around... They've been kicking boys in the groin. It's terrible. They've finally decided to close the school and send everyone home, which they should have done ages ago." She explained beginning to sound upset.
"Oh sweetie you're starting to drool again." his mom said gently.
"Too early to take these out then." Someone said stepping into his view, refilling his cheeks with wadding.
"Murprr Frrwapooanwaag" He said trying to communicate.
"It's alright honey, just sit quietly. The pain was so bad. They had to sedate you. The school nurse isn't here but Luckily Dr.Dun was here. He's a trained physician specializing in sports injuries. I had him check... well... I had him check your testicles and he says they'll be alright." She said smiling.
"It's a common sports injury, the groin is vulnerable but fairly resilient. There is no long term damage but the pain will be debilitating for a few days." Came the disembodied voice he didn't know. "Looks like his vitals are stable you'll be able to move him to the car in a moment."
"We're going home sweetie!" His mom said delicately but with enthusiasm. "You'll be able to rest and take it easy, you'll be alright."
The clip was removed from his finger and arms appeared around his shoulders appearing to coax him from his chair. He rose prematurely feeling a wave of cold roll down his crotch and over his legs. He looked down and saw people fumbling to recover what appeared to be a bag of ice.
"Hold on honey. You're going too fast." His mom said, getting a hold of the bag of ice "We'll need to put this back on you when we get to the car."
A dull throbbing was accentuated with every step he took. He began to moan and his head was loose and wobbly. He struggled to keep it upright. Eventually they got to the car and he became situated in the passenger seat with the cold weight returned to his lap. His mother thanked the stranger and his door appeared suddenly at his side, startling him and causing him to give a delayed jolt away from the door. He began to stare at it uncomprehendingly.
"I can't BELIEVE they allowed so many boys to get struck in the gonads before doing something..." His Mom said in frustration. Lyle realized they had been driving and were well away from the school at this point. He hadn't noticed anything since the car door closed.
"I'm so sorry dear, It must hurt so bad." She said, feeling gutted for her little boy.
"Aarrphhmmphmmmab EEMG AGEUM bm bmm mbmm" his attention being drawn somehow to the pain in his lap, he moaned and wined in agony appearing to hold back tears.
"Oh sweetie." His mother said holding his shoulder causing him to seem to forget the pain and continue staring with his mouth agape.
Not knowing what to do and feeling tired he allowed his head to fall clumsily against the window, buttering the cold surface with his face.
"Try to stay awake Lye. You need to stay awake." His mom encouraged, trying to follow the prescribed medical advice. "Everything will be alright... You'll have plenty of time to rest. This is the start of your summer vacation."
Lyle was no longer listening. Mesmerized by the moving scenery that he had discovered outside his window.