It must be the heat that's getting to all of them.

Summer in a small town;

It boils,

The air thick and wet.

Running from building to building,

Trying to avoid the harsh glare of the sun but finding no relief

In the shade,

Thin sheens of sweat developing on

Everyone's faces.

Some wear it better than others.

A month ago all you could see were

People outside,

Sleeping and playing and running

The air just as thick with Frisbees

And music and laughter.

Now, the campus,

The town,

Might as well be deserted.

People only stir to go from building to building

Sighing in relief if it's air-conditioned,

Sighing in frustration if it's not.

Now, the heat,

No one wants to do anything productive

Anything right.

Restlessness wars with humidity.

People can't sleep

People can't eat

People roam and wander

Feeling blood

Itch

In their veins.

"We bait them,"

the boy next to her says.

She doesn't look up but plays with her fork

Dangling small pieces of macaroni and cheese

That was stupid to order; too hot to eat.

These college boys,

So intellectual, so self-righteous,

So forgiving and understanding until

One of their own is threatened.

Then they're protective,

Then they're eager.

A chance to do something.

"I say we send a girl out and follow her,"

He tears vigorously into his sandwich.

"She looks like she's walking alone."

Last night,

A friend of theirs was attacked

On the edge of campus.

Two boys from town

Punched him in the face

Gave him a concussion,

Then two more with a video camera came

And chased him

Laughing

Until he managed to reach his house.

Two days ago,

A friend of theirs was grabbed

On the edge of campus.

Someone seized her from behind

And covered her mouth

And shoved her to the ground

And laughed and ran before she could get up

And see who they were.

Three girls have been molested.

Two weeks ago,

A friend of a friend was followed.

It's all anyone talks about these days.

Boys acting all big and strong tell every girl to call them,

Tell them that they'll walk them home.

"So they see this girl, right, and they think she's alone,

and the bastards try to grab her, attack her."

He grins suddenly, excited by his plan.

"Then me and about four other guys jump them,

beat the crap out of them."

She drinks some of her water and still doesn't look at him.

Through her peripheral vision,

She sees his glee.

Everyone else is watching, entranced.

The red-haired kid on his other side is nodding encouragement.

"That'll teach them to mess with us."

The girl across from him laughs and volunteers,

Smiling sheepishly when the guys look at her approvingly.

Still she doesn't look, but sips her water slowly,

Feeling the cold sting of it dissipate as it warms up

The ice melting quicker than usual.

"I wish I could stab one of them,"

the boy next to her says,

And it's all she can do to not choke on the liquid.

The girl across the table is wide-eyed.

"You carry a knife?"

The boy smiles proudly.

"Course I do."

They all talk and jeer and laugh and plan how

To best scare the townspeople

The "townies,"

Us against them.

The only people that are not participating are her and

The boy with those eyes

The ones that carry more heat than even the weather

The ones that firmly gaze at her now.

He is not laughing or jeering

Or coming up with brutish plans.

He watches her with eyes that are anything but simple

And everything but gentle.

She hears herself speaking.

"That's a really bad idea,"

She manages to get out,

And they all frown at her.

"Why?"

The boy-who-grins asks,

Looking at her in a way that makes her forget

That she's taller than him.

"They attacked first. All we're doing is defending ourselves."

What is it about these college boys?

she thinks,

grappling for a retort.

"This is serious, guys. You don't realize what could happen

if you start this.

This could so easily grow out of control."

They all stare at her,

The boy-with-the-eyes and the boy-who-grins

And the red-head and the girl-who-wants-them-all.

They all stare at her and three of them start to laugh again,

Three of them ignore her and roll their eyes

Or flip their hair,

And her face burns and she tries to explain

To herself at least

Why

Why this is so bad.

The three turn away

But those eyes still watch her and she hates him

Hates those eyes and that heat

And the fact that he can see what's happening

But won't speak up.

She hates that she sees her sweating body

Reflecting in those eyes.

She wants/wanted/will want him

And she hates that he knows it.

These stupid, cocky, college boys.

"We've got to show them who's boss.

They can't just invade our turf like that."

She eats her macaroni and cheese,

Now unpleasantly cold and warm at the same time.

She silently looks down at her food and

Refuses to look up

And something inside of her

Shudders to a stop

When she realizes that because of all this

Because of this threats and these war cries

And because of those burning eyes

She won't walk home alone tonight.