This is an unlinked page made only for the editors of Under the Sun literary magazine to consider this short story with its embedded companion song
– Mark L Berry
(The essay is 2,400 words. Word doc also submitted via Under the Sun Submission Manager.)
“Sorted by Speed”read by author
with companion song “Outside of School 14:29
Words by Mark L Berry
Music by Simon Ashby
Companion song “Outside of School” 6:18
Words by Mark L Berry & Simon Ashby
Music by Simon Ashby
Performed by: Simon Ashby – Vocals, Electric Guitar
Outside of School – lyrics
The bullies couldn’t see me in the safety of the trees
Stevie wasn’t so lucky when Andy yelled, “Hey fem, freeze!”
“Don’t beat me up,” Stevie replied. “Come on pretty please.”
But they all formed a small circle and made him get down on his knees
They opened up his lunchbox and chewed up what they found
Which they all spit into his face and then knocked him to the ground
They tore pages from his notebooks and they kicked them all around
I could tell Stevie was scared but he didn’t make a sound
(1st chorus)
Whatever you do
Don’t let them see you cry
Go ahead and let them punch you
And beat you ‘til you die
Those guys are just jerks
Their parents don’t love them
So don’t take their bait
When they call you a fem
At recess that day I went out to play
But the bullies just chased me while I tried to run away
They called me a baby, momma’s boy, and a fem
Then I made the mistake of talking back to them
You’re just a bunch of losers with muscles for your brains
They told me if they caught me they’d teach me ‘bout pain
I told them to shove it and that they could kiss my ass
Then the bell rang to end recess and I ran back to class
(2nd chorus)
Whatever I do
I won’t let them see me cry
Even if they punch me
And beat me ‘til I die
Those guys are just jerks
Their parents don’t love them
But I did take their bait
When they called me a fem
‘cause they were waiting for me when the school day let out
The first one who saw me, he let out a shout
“There he is. Let’s get him, that wise-acre fem.”
I ran for the woods but I failed to outrun them
They took turns punching me ‘til my nose started to bleed
Andy yelled, “We finally get to give the beating that you need.”
So I kicked him as hard as I could, right in the nuts
And I screamed in his face, “You deserved that, you puttz!”
The rest started chanting, “The little baby kicks like a fem.”
So I lived up to the title and started kicking them
(bridge)
The rest of the story isn’t so pretty
They beat me up more and gave me a wedgie
Until they finally got bored and finally let me free
I limped home with torn pants and a badly skinned knee
(3rd chorus)
But whatever they did
I didn’t let them see me cry
Even while they punched me
For reasons I know not why
They’ll always be jerks
And I’ll try to avoid them
But I got in a few good kicks
While they called me a fem
But whatever they did
I didn’t let them see me cry
Even while they punched me
And beat me ‘til I died
They’ll always be jerks
With parents who don’t love them
So never take the bait
When they call you a fem
Lyrics Copyright©2010 by Mark L Berry
13,760 Feet–Living with TWA Flight 800