Snake was the school's local gangster. He didn't get along with his folks, and sometimes he would camp out at the school. Last night after a blowup with his parents, he decided to sleep behind the shed. The sound of Chad screaming woke him. He peeked around the corner, and overheard Jeff talking with Jose. As Jeff disappeared into the Athletic Building, and Jose inched forward on the small tractor shaking his head while screams emanated from the manure spreader behind him, Snake stood up, took a deep breath, and stopped Jose.
"Yo, Jose, what's freaking you out?"
"You can't hear the manure screaming, can you?" Jose said shaking his head.
Snake could hear the muffled cries for help over the tractor engine's noise. But he shook his head, and said, "Jose, you having LSD flashbacks. I never use anything stronger than weed. I got a joint here that should help bring you down slowly. Get off the tractor, take a break."
"Someone's gotta spread this shit on the field," Jose said taking the proffered joint from Snake.
"I'll do it for you, Jose. Just give me your hate, and I'll take off my jacket, and everyone will think I'm you driving the tractor on the field," Snake said.
"Oh, thank you , Mr. Snake, thank you," Jose said staring at the nightmare of a manure spreader. He handed Snake his hat, and took Snake's place sitting behind the shed, and smoking weed.
Snake mounted the idling tractor. Then he reached behind, and disengaged the rotor, and closed the opening on the bottom of the manure spreader. Jose noticed.
"Manure won't spread with the lever off," Jose warned.
"Don't want to waste it on this lawn, it's intended for the playing field, right?"
"Oh, yeah. Good thinking, Mr. Snake." He closed his eyes and puffed away on his joint. Chad's screams of pain from the rotor grinding him up stopped, now he pleaded for help.
Snake whispered into the manure spreader, "Shut it, Chad, don't know how you ended up a pile of shit, but guessing Jeffy boy is responsible. Now just keep quiet until I tell you it's safe to talk, I want to a be a ways from the Athletic Building if Jeff comes back out. Now Sh!"
Chad shushed, and waited. He was too crumbled up to extricate himself from the spreader, so he would have to rely on Snake to help him. He hoped Snake could be trusted. He had a rep of being a mercenary, scum bag out for a buck. He would probably demand payment from Chad to help him. Chad wasn't sure if Snake could help, but the hope of someone helping as to spreading him out across the athletic field to fertilize the grass was all he had right now.
Snake drove the tractor silently out to the far end of the field. Then when he was sure he was far enough away to be recognized, he shut off the motor, and spun around to face the manure spreader. The clumps of manure had coalesced with the rotor off, and it looked like someone had made a mold of Chad's head and then used it to sculpt a head out of manure. The manure head opened its mouth part wait hesitating as it noticed Snake's hand was inches from the rotor control.
"That's right, Chad, don't speak until I tell you to speak. Now be truthful, and tell me exactly what happened. How did you become a real shit head? Then depending on whether I believe you or not, I'll decide whether to turn the rotor on and spread you all over this field or may be help you out of the spreader. Okay, no start talking," Snake ordered glaring down at Chad with his nostrils flared and a look of disgust.
Oh, yeah, thought Chad, I do probably stink like shit. Chad opened his mouth, and slowly carefully told his story. It was only part way through his story that it suddenly occurred to Chad that what Snake said was that whether or not he told the truth, depending on what Snake believed, he might use Chad as fertilizer. So even as Chad told the truth, if Snake didn't see an advantage to helping Chad or feared the wrath of Jeff, Chad could still end up ground up as plant food. He swallowed hard, and continued telling the truth. Snake's face was impassive. He had a real poker face.
When Chad finished. Snake shook his head, "So that's it?" He shrugged, turned in his seat and started the engine.