No one dressed in such a definitively girly way could possibly be a boy, could they?

In the fall Earl started preschool. The hoped for socialization with age-mates failed to materialize. He steadfastly refused to play with the girls or do anything that might earn him the much dreaded label of ‘sissy’. At the same time he didn’t enjoy typical boy activities and play. While he half-heartedly played with the boys, he did so angrily which usually degenerated into violence. The violence discouraged the boys from wanting to play with him and Earl wound up in time outs. As had become his normal, he never smiled or laughed and it seemed as if his face was frozen in a demi-frown. He would answer questions and even asked questions, but for the most part he was intensely quiet. By the end of the second week, he’d earned the enmity of the other boys and the frustrations of the teachers and aides. They did discover that he seemed happiest, at least relatively compared to his normal anger, if he was allowed to be alone. At least while alone he stayed out of trouble. With no one willing to play with him, when they went outside for free time play, Earl simply ran around the playground. As the weeks passed, he incorporated jumping and tumbling over the outdoor toys developing a style of kiddie-parkour. The teachers were concerned as he leapt and tumbled about the playground but he never cried or complained when he landed hard. They were more concerned some of the other boys would try to copy him but Earl’s dour demeanor kept others from following his lead.

Part Eleven

Blue Impact ran into the equipment chamber just as Energia finished cooling the thermite charges below the combustion point. There was some damage, but she thought that most of the equipment would be fit for study. The place was half full of smoke and completely full of odd odors, but an air current from somewhere was already moving all that out.

"Hopefully there's enough left to tell us how to reverse the effects on Stone's test subjects," said Energia.

"Did you see Stone?"

"The only person here ran down that way!"

Getting Dark Again