Annie and Clark
by Mark (Marknew742@aol.com)
Annie Ample's brother's friend Clark tries to persuade Annie to be more gentle.

The following is a special Ample Annie story, based on a sweet young 13 
year old girl invented by Michele LeMuscle.  Posted with permission from 
Michele. 

1 

Brad walked gingerly over to his locker and groaned as he dumped his 
books into the bottom part. Maybe tomorrow he'll have healed enough to 
use the top part again, he thought, that is, unless Annie decided to 
have another squeezing session tonight.  Maybe if he got home late 
enough, she'd let the day go, but what would his excuse be?  He was too 
sore for tennis again.  He sighed, thinking with dismay how his chances 
of a tennis scholarship at State were being squeezed right out of him by 
his sister's prodigious biceps.  With his grades, he'd be stuck at the 
local college, and four more years of torture by the ever more powerful 
Annie. 

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice his friend come up behind 
him and slap him on the back. 

"Aggh!" he cried. 

"Hey, what's the matter Brad?  I didn't think I'd hit you that hard, did 
I?" 

"Nah, Clark. It's not your fault.  It's my sister." 

"Your sister?  I never knew you had a sister." 

Brad nodded.  "Yeah, well, ever wonder why I never invite my friends 
over anymore?  It's her. She's a freak, a dangerous one.  Ever since she 
turned 11, instead of growing breasts like most girls she's been growing 
muscle.  I've never seen anything like it.  All she has to do is try to 
lift something heavy, and before too many days pass, her muscles grow 
and she can pick it up like it's a feather.  Damn, she's 13 now and she 
makes me look like an anorexic.  And it's not just the size of her 
muscles.  I've never felt anything so hard in my life." 

"You don't actually feel up your sister's muscles, do you?" 

"Are you crazy?  I'd stay as far away from as I could.  If I could."  He 
groaned and slowly reached down to pick up his physics book for the next 
class. "But she won't let me." 

"I don't get it.  She's not, uh, taking advantage of you, is she?" 

"No, no, that's not the problem, thank goodness.  She's still pretty 
innocent, I guess.  Look Clark, let me explain.  You're lucky, you know.  
You're an only child.  But you know, when you have brothers or sisters, 
you always wrestle with them.  Usually the older one gets to push his 
little brothers and sisters around.  And I used to do that to Annie too.  
But now she's turned the tables on me, and I'm getting it much worse 
than I'd ever given it to her.  Almost every night she calls me into her 
room.  She does curls with my body, throws me onto the floor, makes me 
arm wrestle her and smashes my hand onto the table, and then the worst 
part is she gives me 'hugs' at the end to 'thank' me.  She wraps me up 
in those unbelievable arms of hers and then tightens every muscle in her 
body.  I swear it feels like being in a tunnel with the walls collapsing 
around me, her muscles are so hard.  I always pass out from lack of 
oxygen, and when I wake up I'm lying on my bed, bruised and exhausted.  
I don't know how much more I can take.  I think I'm going to have to run 
away from home." 

"But that would be horrible!  You're just about to graduate, and you're 
supposed to go to State next year.  You'd never get in if you left 
school now." 

"State?  Hah!  I've got as much chance of that as going to the moon!  
I'm so sore I can hardly lug my books around, much less play tennis.  
And you and I know I'm not getting in to State on my grades.  Nope, if I 
go to college, its going to be Smallville Technical College for me.  And 
four more years of beatings, if I want to stand for it.  But I won't.  
I'd rather cut out and join the Marines or something." 

"Oh no!  Don't do that!  Hmm.  Maybe I can help, Brad." 

"Thanks for the thought, Clark, but I don't see how." 

"Maybe I can talk to Annie or convince her somehow that she should stop 
hurting you." 

"Why should she listen to you?  She doesn't even know you.  I don't 
know.  I'm so discouraged. Mom and Dad don't even believe me that their 
'little girl' is doing this to me.  They think I've joined some frat 
group or cult involved in violent beatings or something and they're 
threatening to ground me.  No, the only answer is to run away." 

Clark gently put his hands on Brad's shoulders.  "Tell you what.  Give 
me one week to straighten Annie out.  If things don't improve, then I'll 
help you get out of town.  We'll think of something. Together.  Is it a 
deal?" 

Brad smiled.  "You're a real friend Clark.  OK.  I'll wait a bit.   But 
what are you going to do?" 

"I promise I won't hurt her or anything, but, uh, it would be better if 
you didn't know exactly what I have in mind.  Just introduce us tomorrow 
after school and then leave it to me." 

2 

Brad walked home that day, head held a little higher.  He spotted the 
dinner his Mom had left before she went off to meet his Dad at their 
weekly club dance, dumped his books on the table and marched right up to 
his room for a little relaxation before he tackled his homework.  
Peeking into Annie's room, he noticed with relief that she wasn't there 
and practically flew by, safe for the moment. 

He pushed the door open and walked right into the brick wall of his 
sister's body.  He bounced off, staggering a little, as she turned 
around with a smile. 

"Brad!  You're so late again!  I was just going to write you a note to 
ask you to stop in, but now I don't have to!" 

Brad gulped.  She was wearing her exercise t-shirt and he could see from 
the stretch marks that she was especially pumped up, even for her.  She 
looked down at her right arm, and casually flexed it, giggling as the 
soccer-ball sized muscle popped up even beyond its usual 36" size, 
stretching the thin cotton material to its breaking point. 

"I was so excited today.  I curled 750 pounds for the first time.  And 
you know how I like to celebrate!"  She held up her hand higher and put 
more pressure into her flex.  Brad's jaw dropped as he saw the 
frightening mound of her muscle expand further, even higher and rounder 
than he'd ever seen it before. 

She smiled, "Mmmmmmm!  Just a little more, and -- " Pop! The sleeve 
shredded into half a dozen strips of cloth, the force of the break 
tearing the entire top corner of her t-shirt, leaving her thick slab of 
pectoral muscle plainly visible, as well as the pink ribbon modestly 
covering Annie's right nipple.  "I just love doing that!  It's a good 
thing these t-shirts aren't too expensive.  Now, Brad, won't you help me 
celebrate?" 

"Annie, please I --

She stepped forward and took his hips in her hands, lifting him in the 
air so that his head stood just beneath the ceiling.  She sighed.  "I'm 
getting so strong that you're just not heavy enough to give me much of a 
workout anymore Brad.  That's why I have to work out so hard before I 
see you. But you're still fun for beating up and other brother-sister 
games!" She moved her hand to his belt and started spinning him around 
like a baton, faster and faster, switching hands and twirling him up and 
down and from side to side. 

"Annie!  Annie!  I'm getting dizzy, I'm going to --

She stopped him suddenly, and held his drooping body straight in front 
of her, her arm fully extended.  "That was a nice warm-up for our games.  
But you're very green Brad.  Do you need to run to the toilet or 
something?"  He shook his head, his color slowly returning.  "Goody!  
I'd hate to have to start all over again.  Now, how about a little 
boxing?"  She dropped him onto his feet, his knees bending woozily as he 
struggled to clear his head.  "You can have the first shot." She put her 
hands on her hips and waited.  

Brad had long ago lost any compunction against hitting his sister, his 
gentlemanly upbringing being completely overwhelmed by his knowledge 
that not playing along would only anger her and make her hit him harder.  
He steeled himself, clenched his fist and fired a punch at her abdomen. 
Annie saw where it was coming, and tensed her stomach, creating a 
massive wall of muscle that sprang outward at twice the speed and four 
times the hardness of her brother's fist.  Knuckles met muscles, and 
muscle won, with Brad screaming in pain as his hand jerked backwards, 
his arm exploding into a paroxysm of blinding pain from his shoulder to 
his fingers. 

She looked down at the ridges of muscle boldly outlining her abdomen.  
"Mmmmmm!  They're more and more like steel every day!  Those situps 
really firm up the old tummy.  You should try it Brad, a thousand sit 
ups on a 70 degree incline in twenty minutes, while holding a hundred 
pound weight with your arms stretched over your head really gets 
results.  But, who's kidding who?  You probably couldn't even do one 
situp like that!"  She traced a finger in a circle around the middle of 
his stomach, marking the place where she was going to strike.  "How sad 
for you that I got all the muscle genes.  But, enough teasing.  Now it's 
my turn," she said brightly. 

Brad watched with horror as she neatly folded her fingers together.  His 
eyes darted left and right, but with his tank solid sister between him 
and the door, he knew there was no escape.  She reached back and threw a 
punch in the middle of his stomach, plowing through his blocking arms 
like her hand was toppling a house of cards and sending him crashing 
into the wall of the room and toppling to the ground unconscious. 

"Oooooh, I must be even more pumped up than I thought.  That was just 
20% of my power. These sessions are getting too, too easy, and it's so 
boring waiting for him to come around each time." 

She flipped onto a handstand and started pushing herself up and down on 
her hands, looking back every now and then until eventually Brad's eyes 
started to flutter and he came back to life. 

"Just wait a minute, Brad.  I'll be with you in a moment.  One hundred 
ninety eight, one hundred ninety-nine, two hundred!  I didn't want to 
lose momentum." 

"Annie, you're going to kill me one of these days!" he wheezed, his 
hands fingering his crushed stomach. 

"Oh Brad, you're exaggerating.  I'm careful!  I don't try nearly as hard 
as I used to.  But it's true, I am getting stronger, every single day!  
It's so exciting for me!  And now, just to show you how much I 
appreciate all you've done, I'm going to give you my biggest bestest 
hug." 

"Annie no, please, no.  I can't --

She scooped her ailing sibling into her arms, so that their heads were 
on the same level, letting his legs drag loosely on the ground and 
wrapped her thick arms around him, her little hands pressed hard against 
his back. 

"No, No!" 

She started to squeeze, her biceps slowly expanding and compressing his 
softer arms inward, then she began expanding her chest, as blocks of 
muscle grew outward, irresistibly squeezing his body toward her 
thickening, unyielding forearms. 

"Mmmmmm", she sighed as she squeezed harder. 

"Ooooff," he groaned as he felt the precious oxygen forced out of his 
lungs. 

"You're such a good brother to me, Brad.  I just want you to know how 
much I appreciate you,", she said as she continued to flex her muscle-
plated chest, the waffle sized slabs of muscle pushing further and 
further outward as the last bits of air left Brad. 

"Grggghh! he coughed. 

"Like music to my ears, my darling big brother.   You're so much fun to 
play with!"  She felt his body go limp again and pushed her muscles out 
more, enjoying the sensation of his soft, lifeless body inside her 
diamond hard muscles.  "Mmmmmmmmmm, girls are made of sugar and spice 
and everything nice.  Well, so am I.  Sugar and spice and nice big, 
round, hard muscles.  What could be nicer!" she said, letting Brad slide 
to the floor and flexing her body into a final spectacular display of 
muscular beauty.  She looked over at her unconscious brother.  "Too bad 
you can't see me right now, Brad, but there's always tomorrow!  
Tomorrow!  Tomorrow!" she sang out at the top of her lungs, her high-
pitched and enthusiastic voice clear as a bell as she sang the favorite 
song of her namesake. 

3 

Brad didn't awake until almost five in the morning, finding himself 
fully clothed and laid out on his bed.  He noticed a note on the night 
table and turned on the light to read it. 

"Bradley -- Your father and I are very concerned about these beatings.  
We've already called the police to investigate the magic cults.  And 
now, with you falling asleep like this, dressed, your homework undone, 
and completely unable to be awakened, we're concerned you're getting 
involved with drugs as well as satanic cults.  Think of your parents, 
who love you dearly, not to mention your dear, innocent younger sister 
right next door! We've tried to be understanding, but we cannot let this 
go on forever.   You must straighten yourself out, or we will have to 
turn you in.  

Love, 

Mom" 

Brad groaned and slowly lifted himself out of bed.  He showered and 
slowly dressed, leaving early so that he didn't have to see his family 
for breakfast. 

He knocked on Clark's bedroom window. 

"What are you doing up here!  You're going to kill yourself!"  Clark 
opened the window and pulled his friend inside.  

Brad showed him the note and Clark shook his head.  "I'm sorry buddy.  I 
talked to Ma and Pa Kent.  They'll let you stay here a couple of days if 
you need to.  Ma knows your Mom from church.  Maybe she can tell her --" 

Brad waved his hand.  "Whatever.  I don't care.  But if you're going to 
do something, it's gotta be today.  I don't think I can live one more 
day at home." 

Clark nodded in agreement. 

4 

At four in the afternoon, Clark knocked on the door of Brad's house.  He 
heard the clanking of weights upstairs, which stopped after the second 
knock, then heavy footsteps racing downstairs. 

The door opened.  Annie was in her usual t-shirt and shorts, her face 
flushed from her workout. "Hi.  Are you looking for Brad?  We haven't 
seen him all day!" 

"Uh, not exactly.  I actually came to talk to you. Can I come in?" 

"Me?  What do you want with me?"   She looked at the handsome dark-
haired boy.  "I"m not supposed to let strangers in." 

"You must be Annie. It's alright.  I'm a friend of Brad's." 

"Well, if you know Brad, I'm sure it's okay.  Come on upstairs!  I was 
just getting into the heavy lifting part of my workout.  Want to watch?" 

Clark was a little taken aback by her confidence.  "I guess so, but I 
really wanted to --

"Well come on then!  I've got lots to do!" 

She bounded up the stairs and Clark followed. 

"I bet you've never seen a girl with so much muscle, have you?"  She cut 
a double biceps pose, her hard muscles rising in twin globes on each 
arm, each as large as her head.  "Mmmmmmmm.  It feels so good to be big 
and strong!  They're not fully pumped up yet, but if you stay, you'll 
really see something!" 

Clark was surprised again at the size and definition of her arms.  
"They're very impressive, Annie," he said, trying to keep his voice even 
toned.  "You must be very strong." 

"Oh I am!  Do you want to see?"  She walked toward him, ready to lift 
him in the air. 

"Uh, not just now, Annie.  You know, being very strong places some 
special responsibilities on a person.  You must help people who aren't 
as strong as you, and not take advantage of them." 

Annie stopped short, then shrugged and went back to her curls, lifting 
400 pound weights like they were her father's morning newspaper, the 
motions of her arm puffing her biceps out more and more each time.  "Oh 
yes, I know just what you mean!" she answered, her breathing relaxed.  
"I always help my teachers with the heavy boxes, even though sometimes 
they say they don't want help.  And I helped the principal make a new 
dress code policy, just for me!  I'm very helpful!" 

Clark raised his eyebrows.  "Yes, well that's good.  But you must never 
use your strength to hurt people, you know." 

She paused for a moment, then stepped up the pace. 

"Um, well, I guess I do that a little.  But never so much that they 
really get hurt.  I mean they always heal, because I'm careful.  And 
it's so much fun!  What's the point of having big, powerful muscles if 
you can't really use them once in a while?"  She put the weights down 
and added 150 pounds to each side. 

"You use your muscles exercising, don't you?  Isn't that enough?" 

Satisfied with the weight, Annie started lifting again at the same pace, 
her muscles bulging more and more.  She smiled.  "Oh sure!  But that's 
different.  It's so impersonal! It's more fun playing WITH someone than 
by myself.  And since nobody's strong enough to play the same way I do, 
I make up my own games."  She paused, holding the weights in mid-air.  
"Is this about Brad?  Did he send you to talk to me or something?" 

"Actually, he did.  You know, he's hurt very badly.  And what you're 
doing could really hurt his life, as well as his body.  He can't play 
tennis these days, and without tennis, he won't be able to go away to 
college.  His whole career could be jeopardized." 

Annie started lifting again, double time, as she thought.  "Yeah, I see 
what you're saying, but I don't want him to go away.  I like having him 
right at home.  We're a family.  We should be together!"  She nodded to 
herself.  "Anyway, I think I'm entitled to my fun.  He used to push me 
around when he was stronger.  It's only fair." 

Clark reached out and put his hand on the bar, stopping the weight in 
mid-air.  "Now listen, Annie.  This isn't just a matter of what pleases 
you.  It's a matter of right and wrong.  Just as --

Annie was staring at Clark.  "Wow!  I didn't think you were that strong!  
You don't have very big muscles!" 

"Yes, well, you never know how strong someone is, just by looking at 
them.  That's why you --

Annie started jumping up and down, her weight making the floor shake.  
"Oh, then we can play some games together.  And no one will get hurt, 
just like you said!" 

"Annie, I didn't say that I'd --

"Oh please, please!" 

Clark sighed.  Maybe this is the only way to teach her, he thought.  
"Alright.  Just this once.  What do you want to play?" 

"Oh goody, goody!  Let's start with arm wrestling!" 

Clark nodded.  They sat down on chairs around a small work table in the 
room and joined hands, Annie's hand almost lost in Clark's larger one. 

"Are you ready?" she asked.  "Then let's go!"  She immediately started 
pushing, and Clark's hand dropped down an inch before he stopped her and 
moved their hands back to vertical, then started pushing hers down 
toward the table.  Annie's biceps bulged, filling the space between her 
forearm and her shoulder, while Clark's grew slightly. 

"Cool!  You ARE strong, even though your muscles are a LOT smaller than 
mine!  I'm really going to have to try harder."  She pursed her lips 
and, incredibly, started to push Clark's hand toward the middle.  Now 
Clark looked surprised.  He pushed harder, and with effort pushed her 
back, watching with surprise as Annie's muscle ballooned further, even 
while he touched her hand to the table. 

"That was GREAT!" Annie said.  "Can we do it again? Left arm, this time, 
'cause I'm a lefty!" 

Clark stared at her.  He hadn't used all of his strength, not by a long 
shot, but she was far, far stronger than any human he'd ever tangled 
with before, even ignoring the fact that she was a 13 year old girl.  
How was this possible?  He looked at her eager face, her pert nose and 
bright blond hair.  She sure looked normal, except for those enormous 
muscles, which even considering their size, seemed to exert power beyond 
what he thought possible.  He narrowed his eyes slightly, using a 
combination of his X-ray and microscopic vision to examine the workings 
of her cells. But other than the unusual density of her muscles, she 
seemed absolutely normal. 

"Tee hee!  I'm feeling such a funny tickling on my ears when you look at 
me like that.  What are you doing?" 

Clark quickly turned off his X-ray vision.  This was odd too.  No one 
should be able to sense the use of his powers.  He looked at her ears 
and noticed her earrings were glowing slightly. 

"Oh it stopped!  I LIKED that.  Can you look at me that way again?" 

Clark cleared his throat.  "I'm, uh, sorry I stared like that.  Those 
are unusual earrings.  What are they made of?" 

She put her hands up to them.  "Oh these?  Gee, I don't know.  I found 
these funny little gems in the big meteor crater in Arizona when I was 
eight.  We all took a big trip.  It was so exciting! Then for my tenth 
birthday, Mommy took me to get my ears pierced and Daddy got them set in 
earrings.  I just love them.  I never take them off, ever." 

"I see.  Well, I really apologize for staring.  It isn't right." 

"Oh, that's ok." she giggled.  "You can stare at me if you want.  I like 
it when people notice my muscles." 

"No, I really am sorry.  It was not polite of me." 

She waved her hand.  "That's silly!  But it's nice of you to be such a 
gentleman.  Well, can we play some more?" 

"Uh, sure."  Well, he thought, I know that she's extraordinarily strong.  
Now it's time to teach her a bit of a lesson about not hurting people. 

Annie stretched, and flexed her arms to warm up, then they sat down 
again, matching left hands this time.  Clark nodded and they started 
pushing.  Clark was more determined this time and pushed harder, moving 
her hand steadily downward.  Annie bit her lip and strained, and then 
suddenly, she stopped the advance of his hand and pushed Clark's 
upright, over the top and slammed his hand hard onto the table, 
shattering it into splinters. 

"Wow!  I beat you!  Now we're even!" 

Clark stared at her.  "That's not possible!  I --

"Aren't big muscles the greatest?!  If you worked out as much as I did, 
just think how strong you could be.  Now let's wrestle!" 

She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down.  Clark tried to 
resist, but he could no more keep himself upright than he could see 
through lead.  She grabbed his wrist and pushed it behind his back, then 
pushed her knee on top of it while with the other arm she circled his 
legs, compressing him into a tight ball.  Clark pushed his legs out with 
all of his power, but her arms were even more rigid than the steel bars 
he could bend with ease.  Why, she was beating him using nothing more 
than her arm strength.  This was impossible!  He fought to escape, but 
Annie had him locked solidly in her control, and was slowly forcing his 
legs further and further into his stomach, pushing all of the air out of 
his lungs.  

"You can end the round by submitting, or we can keep going, ok?' 

Clark panicked, not from lack of air, as he didn't have to breathe, but 
from the knowledge that somehow, Brad's sister must be many times 
stronger than he.  He had never felt so overwhelmed by another person's 
strength, not even when he'd lost his powers temporarily and had only 
the strength of an ordinary human.  He tried to flail his arms to twist 
away, but they were not his to move.  He had no other choice but to give 
in, before his own invulnerable knees began to crush him. 

"Ok, ok, I submit," he managed to say. 

She gave him a final squeeze, then let him get up.  "Funny, how you 
seemed like you might be stronger than me before.  I guess when it comes 
down to it, there's nothing like being big and hard!  That's why I love 
working out so much!  I just keep getting bigger and harder every day. 
What can we play next?" 

"Uh, I really should be going Annie, I --

"Oh!  Do you have to?"  Clark nodded, fearing that somehow he'd made a 
bad situation many times worse.  He had to know what was happening to 
her, even at the risk of detection.  He looked at her earrings this time 
again and cautiously turned on his X-ray vision.  At once, he saw what 
had happened.  Somehow, the material set in the earrings had reacted to 
the radiation from his vision and were now absorbing the energy 
generated by the unique Kryptonian cellular processes in his body.  
Instead of feeding his muscles, it was feeding hers.  Fortunately, the 
effect would be dependent on being in close proximity and --

"Tee hee, you're tickling me again!  I don't know how you do it." she 
giggled. 

He turned it off and backed slowly away from her.  "Um Annie, I hope 
you'll think about what I said about protecting the weak..  You know, 
every --

She laughed and moved forward quickly to take his hand.  "Oh I can't do 
that.  Leave that stuff to Superboy!  I'm just a normal 13 year old 
girl.  Between school and  my workouts, I can't take time out for that 
stuff.  But are you really leaving?  We were having so much fun!" 

Clark pulled at her hand, trying to get away, but he was unable to break 
her grip.  He had just intensified the process.  All of his energy was 
pouring into her.  He had to get away!  "Yes, I have some homework to do 
and --

She sighed.  "I hope you come again!  Brad never brings his friends home 
anymore, even though I know they'd like me.  You like me don't you?" 

"Yes, of course, but --

"I like you too.  And I want to show you how much."  She put her arms 
around Clark, pushed him down onto his knees and started squeezing.  
Immediately, Clark felt her arms push his vertebrae inward, while his 
own arms were trapped inside and his head was pressed against her chest. 
"Mmmmm, I think hugs are the nicest thing, don't you?" 

"Mmmph!" he replied. 

"It just makes you feel so warm and cuddly."  She squeezed harder, then 
started to push out her chest, the steel plates of her pectoral muscles 
pressing hard against Clark's sternum, driving it closer and closer to 
his vertebrae, as felt his organs collapsing into each other.  He 
drummed on her back with his fists, trying to get her to release him, 
but she just said "Oooooh, that's so nice, like a massage.  But I do 
wish you were stronger.  My muscles are so hard that nobody's ever been 
able to give me a proper one, not even at the health club where you pay 
for it!  But don't stop.  It's fine, just the way you're doing it.  I 
just feel so happy, so cuddly with you. Mmmmmmmmm!" 

Clark could feel his ribs bend to the breaking point while his chin was 
being thrust backward by her iron-hard cleavage.  He'd never felt such 
pain.  She might kill him straight off if she didn't stop. 

"Ahhh," she sighed, releasing him and letting his body fold down to the 
floor.  "And see how careful I was, just like you told me.  Brad usually 
passes out when I hug him, but you're still awake!" 

Clark felt his bones slowly return to their natural shape.  He nodded 
and stepped out of the bedroom door trying to create some distance to 
reverse the effect.  "So long, Annie.  Uh, just keep being careful." 

"Oh I will.  And please come back and play.  Maybe you'll get a little 
stronger, so it'll be closer next time!" 

Clark hurried down the stairs, without looking back.  He gulped, 
wondering what he would tell Brad, and hoping he was correct that she 
would return to normal once he got far enough away. Unfortunately, there 
was no way to know for sure, because he could not be close enough to 
watch and he didn't dare use his supervision on those stones again! 

5 

He bicycled quickly back to his house, pondering what he should do about 
Annie.  How was he going to stay away from her, now that she knew him.  
He couldn't take the chance of her gaining his powers again.  So 
absorbed was he in his thoughts, that he was surprised when he saw Brad 
waiting for him in the parlor room, eating some of Ma Kent's brownies.  

"Well?  Did she listen to you?  Will it be safe for me to go home?" 

Clark made a quick decision.  "I'm sorry, Brad.  I've failed you.  But 
look.  I'm going to Metropolis.  Forget about college for now.  Let's 
see if we can get a job with a newspaper there. If things work out, we 
can go to night school.  It'd be great!" 

Brad looked down.  "Aww, Clark.  I can't do that.  You're great at 
writing and all that stuff, but it'd never work for me."  He sighed.  
"Besides, I'd miss my folks.  Annie too.  Nope, I think I'll just have 
to go back and face the music.  Somehow I'll convince my parents I'm not 
in trouble. Besides, maybe Smallville Technical's the right place for 
me.   Thanks anyway for trying."  He clapped Clark on the back, and 
noticed that his sturdy friend grimaced a bit.  Brad smiled 
sympathetically, then trudged slowly home. 


The End