Mysterious Skin

The summer I was

from my life.

Lost.

Gone without a trace.

Last thing I remember I was

sitting on the bench...

at my Little League game.

It started to rain.

What happened after that

remains a pitch black void.

Brian?

Brian?

You, dork.

What the heck are

you doing in there?

Hey.

You're bleeding.

Whew! It is

terrible out there.

Mom!

Hello, sweetheart.

What happened to you?

Brian got a bloody nose

hiding in the cellar.

Whatever on Earth were

you doing down there?

Are you okay, sweetheart?

You poor little baby.

They had me cooped up all

night in that awful mailroom.

I didn't even know it was

raining till I got off work.

Hold still.

Ow.

Did one of the other moms

give you a ride home?

- I'm going to bed.

- I hope you're happy.

I knew he'd get hurt playing

sports out there in the field.

You know, when I was a kid, I wasn't

exactly a star player either.

But at least I gave it my all,

I wasn't a quitter.

Sorry, Dad.

- Good night.

- Good night.

I told your father that

Little League thing...

was a stupid idea.

Hold your nose.

Mom made me quit baseball

the very next day.

This was when

the nightmares began...

...and the nose bleeds.

I wet the bed several times...

...and then there

were the blackouts.

I'd feel my eyes

roll back in my head.

I'd crumple to the floor

like a dropped puppet.

The darn thing's not

even a year old yet.

Maybe it's screwed up from

all the lighting last week.

Oh, your father's going to be

overjoyed about this.

What time's Dad getting home?

Not for another hour,

at least, honey.

Mom. Deborah.

Come look!

It's a UFO!

Oh please, it's just a

weather balloon or something.

No, look what it's doing to the TV.

It's flying over the house!

Let's go up on the roof.

No, wait!

Children, be careful!

That summer, those were the

two things I'd never forget.

The cramped, stale

darkness of the crawlspace.

And, equal in power

and mystery...that UFO,

out there somewhere traveling

across the universe.

The summer I was 8 years old,

I came for the first time.

I was watching my Mom going at it

with her boyfriend of the moment,

Alfred, in my old swing set.

Alfred was all Marlboro man,

dumb as a f***ing rock.

What I would, years later,

come to call "my type".

And only the most boring,

stupid things...

have ever come out of his mouth.

But seeing him like this,

whimpering and grunting...

like a helpless animal, I

couldn't take my eyes off of him.

I'd been masturbating for

years, but it wasn't till...

that summer that jizz actually

squirted out my dick when I came.

Couldn't wait to show Coach.

Oh, maybe I should start

at the beginning.

Back in June, my Mom signed

me up for Little League.

It was Alfred's idea, a way

for them to f*** freely,

without the expense

of a sitter.

Are you excited?

Coach Heider?

Desire sledgehammered me.

He looked like the lifeguards,

cowboys and firemen,

I'd seen in the Playgirls that my

mom kept stashed under her bed.

Back then, I didn't know

what to do with my feelings.

They were like, a gift I had

to open in front of a crowd.

- Hello.

- Hello.

I'm Ellen McCormick.

And this is my son, Neil.

Hello, Neil.

Honey, don't you want to

say hello to your new coach?

Don't worry, it takes him a

while to warm up to strangers.

I quickly became the

team's star player.

Which wasn't saying much

considering the other kids...

were a bunch of

hopeless spazzes.

Our first game,

bottom of the eighth,

I whacked a triple

with the bases loaded.

The crowd went f***in' nuts.

But I didn't care about that.

All that mattered was

it made Coach proud.

After that first victory,

the coach called my Mom...

to tell her he was taking the team

out to a movie to celebrate.

Hey, big guy,

ready to go?

- Coach?

- Yeah.

Where's everybody else?

Well, it looks like it's just going

to be you and me today, bud.

- Really?

- Yup.

Cool.

I picked "Blood Prom," an

R- rated slasher flick...

with tons of cool gore

and murders in it.

When this one really

annoying blonde chick...

got her head chopped off,

I cheered.

After the movie, we

we picked up a pizza...

and headed back to Coach's.

Coach's house was awesome.

He had a giant TV, an Atari with

Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Frogger.

All my favorite games.

Hah. You exploded.

My turn.

Sure your mom's

not expecting you?

No.

She works.

She's probably got a date

with Alfred afterward.

My guess is you spend a lot

of time by yourself, huh?

Yeah.

But I kind of like it.

I just ride my

bike and watch TV.

It's cool.

Oh sh*t!

You made me mess up!

Sorry.

Hold on.

Come here for a sec.

Bring one of those

bottles of Peach Nehi.

Now, this might seem a

little weird at first.

But I need to record

my team's voices,

especially my best players.

Okay?

Take this.

Now just speak into it

using your normal voice.

Well, what should I say?

Whatever you like.

Start with your name.

Neil.

Now take a big sip

of pop and belch.

Sh*t.

Good.

Say that again.

Sh*t.

Again.

Sh*t, sh*t,

sh*t, sh*t, sh*t.

Sh*t.

Hell!

Damn!

Now, look up

into the camera.

Now stick your tongue out.

Make a funny face.

Good. Good.

Yeah.

Yes, Neil, yes.

Yes.

Open your mouth real wide.

Neil, that's perfect.

July 2nd.

We had a 7:
30 game against

Hutchinson Taco Hut.

I know you're gonna kick

their butts tonight?

You gonna knock one out

of the park for your poor,

hard-working mom?

So you're gonna get a ride

home with Coach, right?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

You're mine and I love you

and don't you ever forget it.

Boy, were you

on fire tonight!

It's the best

you've ever played!

Thanks, Coach.

Hey, can we play some more of

those game cartridges tonight?

Sure we can.

But I gotta show

you something first.

Ew.

I look stupid in this one.

No.

You look perfect.

Your expression.

Like you're having

a wonderful dream.

Neil, I've been thinking

a lot about you this week.

I'm hungry.

Sure.

You want a pizza?

I might have something

here you'd like.

Whoa!

What'll it be, little buddy?

My mom never buys

these things.

She says they're a

big waste of money.

Let's eat then.

Which one do you want?

I don't know,

what are you having?

Corn pops.

Then I'll have uh...

Cocoa Krispies.

Sh*t.

Sorry.

You do one.

Whew!

Here we go.

I like you, Neil.

I like you so much.

When I really, really

like someone...

...there's a way I

show them how I feel.

Shhh.

Angel.

There's nothing wrong with

kissing someone like this.

Don't ever let anyone

tell you that it's wrong.

It happened.

That's what I told myself.

It just happened.

And after it was over,

I looked down...

at the mess on the floor.

It was like a kaleidoscope

had shattered.

And when I swallowed, the taste

of Coach's tongue seared my mouth.

You liked it.

It's okay that you liked it.

Everything's gonna be okay.

Do you know him

or something?

I met Wendy Peterson

when I was ten.

She was eleven, one grade

ahead of me in school.

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