The Legend of the Rocker: Chapter 2, Part 2

Nathan followed Big D and Sonny through the dark school until they reached the teacher's lounge.  He held is breath as Sonny unlocked the door.  He had never been inside the teacher's lounge.  Sonny finished unlocking the door, turned the handle, and opened it.  Nathan gasped out loud.  It was huge! 1

There were three vending machines, a kitchenette, some overstuffed couches and chairs, a big screen TV, a private bathroom, a coffee machine, a large window looking out onto the rainy city, and other amenities just for the teachers.2

'I wish they had a student lounge here,' muttered Nathan.3

'Or a janitor's lounge.' said Big D with a wishful smile.4

'Do you guys ever come down here after the school's closed?' asked Nathan.5

'Oh, sometimes,' said Sonny, 'but we have to make sure that we clean up after ourselves.'  He chuckled a bit and fell back into one of the overstuffed chairs.   Nathan did the same.  Once he was in the chair, he let out a loud sigh.  It was like floating on clouds to him.  6

'The teachers must really need these after a long, hard day of putting up with everyone!' exclaimed Nathan. The janitors laughed appreciatively for a minute, and then all three of the people in the room fell silent.  The only sound was the rain drumming on the roof.7

'Can I get you anything to eat, Nathan?' asked Big D.  8

'You mean you guys are allowed to get stuff from the machines?' inquired Nathan to nobody in particular.9

'They won't notice one or two bags of chips or a can of Coke missing.' said Sonny scornfully.  Nathan and Big D helped themselves to refreshments from the machines, sat down again, and turned on the television.  For what seemed like hours and hours to Nathan, they watched various channels on the television.  Finally, Nathan was the first one to notice that the rain had stopped.  Big D and Sonny were too absorbed in the show they were watching to notice.10

Nathan looked around the room for a moment.  Some weak rays of sunlight were streaming through the large window.  For the first time, he noticed a door by the window that led to a small courtyard adorned with a fountain, flowers, and potted plants.  What he liked to do was play the guitar outside, for some reason.  He got his guitar from the case, opened the door and stepped outside.11

It was unbearably humid and sticky outside, but Nathan ignored it.  It was lightly sprinkling, and the sunlight was streaming through a small gap in the clouds.  He absentmindedly began to play his guitar, hearing it echo throughout the courtyard.  Then, something knocked him to the ground. The next thing he knew, he was lying on the couch in the teacher's lounge, with Big D and Sonny hovering over him, looking concerned.  12

'Nathan!  Are you okay, buddy?' asked Big D.13

'Oh man!  Oh my goodness!  You were struck by lightning, Nathan!' shouted Sonny.  Nathan sat up on the couch.  He felt just fine.  His guitar was beside him on a coffee table.  He reached over and picked it up.  Big D and Sonny backed away and sat back down in the chairs.  Nathan puzzledly played a chord. All of a sudden, a dark red ray shot out of the guitar and hit Sonny squarely in the heart.14

Sonny put his hand to his heart and fell down.  Big D looked at Nathan with his eyes wide open.  'What did you do?!?!' screamed Big D.  Before Nathan knew it, he was running to the front of the school as fast as he could.  Then, he tripped over his shoe laces and fell on the floor.  His belongings, guitar included, also fell to the floor.  His prize guitar was probably totaled after being dropped!  But when he hefted it, it was in perfect shape, with not even a scratch!  15

In a minute, Big D came to where Nathan was.  'Nathan, Sonny's going to be fine.  He's already regaining consciousness.' said Big D in a reassuring voice.  'N-n-n-nathan, you have special powers now.' whispered Big D.  'I don't know what you plan to do with them.  I just want to wish you the best of luck for the rest of your life.'  Big D bowed his head and tears began to flow down his face.  'Good-bye, Nathan.'  They shook hands, and Big D began walking back. Nathan gathered his belongings and walked out the door. Nathan never set foot in the school again, nor did he ever see Big D or Sonny again.16