TAKING CHANCES

CHAPTER THREE: The Come-All Party

Bryce was a bit disappointed to see that neither Edison nor Theora had shown up at Reg's party. Thinking on it a bit, he realized that the reporter and his controller where probably working on an important assignment. He'd have to watch it on TV in his lab that night.

"Hi, Reg," he said, cheerfully talking loudly to be heard over the sounds of Twisted Sister's 'Burn in Hell'.

"Oh, hello there," Reg replied. "Girlfriend?"

"An old classmate of mine," Bryce told him.

"In other words," Jenny told Dom in a stage-whisper, "I'm working on it."

Bryce raised an eyebrow. "We'll talk about it later."

"Glad you could come," Dom told Jenny. "I hope things will work out for you two. Bryce is a good kid. But he needs someone his own age whom he can relate to."

"I'll let you in on a little secret," Jenny told Dom in turn. "Bryce is a really good singer. And not a bad lyricist either."

"Oh?" Dom turned to Bryce. "Is this true?"

"I'm okay," Bryce said. "Jenny's good, too."

"Why don't you give us a demonstration?" Dom asked.

Bryce and Jenny shrugged and began the song they'd been singing during the walk over:

'There is a battle that will never end

A conflict that cannot be won.

A war in a theater that's ever-changing

Arms and combatants rearranging.

We are the children who arm the soldiers

We are the young ones who bear the scars

Minds like swords, we are the heartbreakers

What will become of ours?'

Then Bryce continued:

'There is a conflict that's inside of me

A war between heart and mind

Perhaps the truth is right there in front of me

Or did I leave it behind?'

Inspired by Bryce, Jenny threw in her own lyrics:

'On the other side of the wire that surrounds me

You are the one I give my heart

There are no others you compare with

Now I won't this war tear us apart.'

Together they repeated the chorus:

We are the children who arm the soldiers

We are the young ones who bear the scars

Minds like swords, we are the heartbreakers

What will become of ours?'

When they finished, the rest of the party-goers broke into a spontaneous round of applause.

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