AFTER

A few weeks later

Twelve-year old Cindy Jordan sat at her desk, fuming. The little snot behind her wouldn't stop his obnoxious teasing. She used to have a crush on him, but lately he'd become a pest.

It had only been a week since she'd let him talk her into showing him hers, if he let her see his. She hadn't been impressed. She'd seen her father's magazines that he hid in the basement.

Jimmie had lifted it between his index finger and thumb, and proudly pointed it at her.

"That's so teeny," she'd said. And she hadn't been able to stop laughing.

Now, all he did was tease and taunt her. He knew that she wouldn't tell.

"He tugged on her hair and whispered, "Slut." His favorite word.

She felt him grab her gold chain. Her most prized possession, the Jewel of Love, as her father had called it when he'd placed it around her neck. She grabbed it.

Jimmie jerked on the delicate chain and Cindy felt it snap.

Whirling, her pencil in her hand, Cindy, with cool precision and deadly accurate motor skills, aimed the freshly sharpened point at the black dot in Jimmy's left eye.

With a surge of joy and elation, she felt the point sink into the tough little ball. She smiled wickedly as he screamed, and had a strange feeling in her crotch as the juices flowed down his cheek.

She jumped up and started hollering hysterically:

"Oh, God, Jimmie. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. I only meant to slap you for breaking my beautiful necklace."

The teacher edged by her to see what had happened.

"I didn't mean it, Miss Davis. I only meant to slap him for breaking my necklace," she sobbed convincingly. "I—I forgot that I had a pencil in my hand."

Miss Davis nodded reassuringly, her eyes saying, "There, there, it was an accident, Cindy." She quickly guided Cindy into her seat, looked at Jimmy's closed, already swelling eye. Then loudly, "Class, Sandy is in charge. I've got to take Jimmie to the nurse."

Cindy, clutching her love jewel, sat sobbing, her right hand covering her face. She didn't want anyone to see her smile, or see the joy in her two good eyes.

Peeking between fingers, she felt it very appropriate, when to the west from billowing, beautiful, black clouds, came an exclamation of blessing that could only be meant for her.

She absorbed every quivering, shimmering detail of her very own bolt of lightning.