"Wade!" Charlie rushed over to him.
Wade was lying on his stomach, pinned by the wooden door.
My heartbeat boomed in my ears. I could practically feel my pulse reverberating in my arms, especially my right arm. I examined my hand. It was no longer that dark cerulean blue. My cerulean veins were slowly receding to a turquoise color beneath my light brown skin and back into my arm.
"What the hell is happening to me?"
For as long as I can remember, this definitely wasn't my normal. My fist was dark blue a second ago. Up until I punched Wade. That sensation of the punch was weird as well.
As I sat there trying to stabilize my breath, Luke came up to me. His face was awestruck as he stared at the scene near the doorway. Charlie was struggling to lift the huge wooden slab of a door off of Wade. Wade lay there, shocked and defeated.
Luke turned back to me, "Kevin, I'mma need you to put me on your diet plan cuz WTF."
Before I could respond, Mr.Jones arrived at the doorway entrance.
He froze.
"Lord have mercy_"
His eyes dart to the feet and arms under the door. He jumped back in horror, "Charlie, who is under there?"
"Wade."
Mr.Jones immediately assisted the struggling Charlie and lifted the door and put it horizontally on the floor, leaning on the wall.
Wade rolled on the floor side to side, writhing as if he were being whipped continuously. He looked like a snake on the floor, which wasn't far from the truth.
"Ahhh, my back! My neck and my back!" Wade hissed.
Mr. Jones took a deep breath through his nostrils, "What on earth happened here, while I was in the bathroom!"
Wade didn't even hesitate,
"Kevin, it's all his fault! He's the reason your door is broken!"
His finger pointed at me like a pistol.
Mr.Jones rested a steady gaze of death on Wade, " Last time I checked, you're not a part of this class period, Wade. Mind explaining why you chose to drop by?"
The class snickered. I couldn't help but smirk at Mr. Jones's choice of words.
Mr.Jones stared at us, "Enough!"
His voice boomed, coinciding with the thunder outside the classroom.
"Somebody better confess now, or you'll all have detention."
I glanced around, half expecting somebody to spill the beans. But to my surprise, everybody was silent and trying to act nonchalant. To be fair, my classmates were in a tough spot. Snitch on Wade and Charlie and get the snot beat out of them, or stay silent and leave the mummy and the silent emo kid to face injustice on their own.
Either way, Mr.Jones wasn't happy.
Mr Jones face-palmed and sighed, "Alright, that does it..."
I did not like his defeated tone. Luke and I glanced at each other. Mr Jones next words confirmed our fears.
"Everybody get in a single file line! We're going to pay Officer Black and Principal L a visit."
The entire class erupted in protests.
"Why are we getting punished? Wade is skipping class! This isn't even his 5th hour!"
"Mr.Jones, don't be like that, bruh."
Mr Jones' voice cut through all the noise, "Silence!"
The room went dead quiet. The only noise that filled the room was the rain hitting the windows
Everybody except Wade and Charlie grumbled in outrage. Nobody wanted to see either of the two disciplinary staff members. Not in the last week of school.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Officer Blacks poster of MLK's quote flashed in my head as I saw my classmates hang their heads in defeat. Stanlee's big grin, which he had on his face while clearly in pain, flashed in my head.
I glanced at Wade, and he seemed content. Why wouldn't he? His grandfather always bails him out of trouble. Charlie sighed in relief. Wade stuck his tongue out at me while Mr. Jones's back was turned, like the child he is.
"Whatever, guess I'll make another vegetable today!" My expression hardened as Wade's words rebounded in my thoughts.
Not on my watch...
"Mr. Jones, it was us four."
Silence filled the room.
Then chaos broke through.
Half the class gasped at my sudden outburst. Most were surprised I had actually snitched. Wade's face was twitching in pure fury. Charlie frowned at me. Luke was initially surprised, then a smile covered his face like a rainbow during the rain.
Mr Jones slowly turned to face me, "You and who?"
I forced myself to stand up; the prickles that were slightly full ran rampant again.
I met Mr. Jones's gaze. "Me, Luke, Wade, and Charlie. Charlie opened the door for Wade and allowed all this to happen!"
Luke nodded. "It's true, Mr. Jones, Wade tried to fight Kevin even though he didn't want to fight. Isn't that assault? Also, Charlie let him in, so it's assisted assault!"
Charlie chuckled nervously, "Mr. Jones, he is obviously lying—"
Mr. Jones side-eyed Charlie, "And I'm supposed to believe you over Luke? When pigs fly!"
The class erupted in cheers and laughter. The no-snitch culture was strong at Lyons, specifically because the only squad causing trouble was Jackal's whole posse. So snitching on them meant having a quick beating by them on the same day. But I had nothing to lose; I just wanted a win after all the BS that had happened today. Something that I could bring back to Stanlee that wasn't all doom and gloom.
Mr. Jones scoffed, "The four of you are having in-school suspension for the rest of the day with Officer Black! Let me just grab my phone..."
Mr. Jones stopped mid-sentence and began to realize that with the power out, he couldn't call anyone in the school.
He sighed, "Luke and Kevin, you two will head out after I return from taking Charlie and Wade to Officer Black."
He walked over to his desk and pulled out his flashlight. He clicked it once, and the high beam light illuminated the dark gray room.
He pointed the light at Charlie and Wade, "Go on, lead the way. You two troublemakers know Officer Black's office better than anyone in the school!"
Charlie helped Wade to his feet. Wade shot me one last glare before they stepped into the pitch-black hallway with the flashlight beaming on their backs. Mr. Jones paused near the entrance and then turned to face us.
"Stay put, all of you. I'd hate to have to send anyone else to the office in the last week."
With that, he continued after Wade and Charlie, their footsteps echoing and getting quieter the farther away they went.
***
After what felt like a millennium, Mr. Jones returned. He was huffing and puffing, making his way to his desk. Sweat beaded on his forehead, gassed from taking the steps since the power was out, which also affected the staff elevators. He threw himself into his comfy rocking chair. His pot belly heaved as he inhaled and exhaled.
He grabbed his handheld fan, held it to his face, and sighed, "Kevin and Luke, go on to Officer Black's office. He knows you two are on the way. No need for a hallway pass."
Luke and I exchanged glances before heading to the doorway, which at this point was more like a cased opening. We entered the dark hallway, illuminated by windows from the stairwell, and gray light rays streamed in.
Suddenly, my legs nearly gave out. I caught myself on the lockers, causing a loud banging sound. I slid down the red metal lockers and dropped to a knee, gritting my teeth. It felt as though someone with a serrated knife was cutting into my thighs and legs. The only thing was, it wasn't just my legs this time; all my old wounds on my back, chest, and arms that had dulled earlier were currently screaming at me, high-pitched, as I leaned on the lockers on the right side of the dark hallway.
I grumbled, "Damn it, and I was just fine earlier."
Luke rushed to my side, "Kevin, you good, bro?!"
I shook my head, "Nah, I'm just now feeling the shove to the floor and the kick the Jackals' waterboy did."
Luke crouched down next to me, "Need help?"
I was going to say no, but my mind gave in, "Yeah, bro."
He grabbed my left arm and put it around his neck, and his right arm wrapped around my back, his hand supporting me slightly underneath my right armpit. The same way Keisha helped me earlier.
Luke: "On count of three?"
I nodded, "One."
"Two."
"Three!" We said in unison.
I clenched my teeth. "Alright, let's keep moving."
Luke nodded as he pushed the stairwell door open. "You got it, boss."
I sighed. "Luke, thanks for what you did back there. It was not... like you."
Luke's gaze was penetrating. "I know it wasn't on my Bingo list either. I'm just tired of it. The BS we deal with. That utter feeling of hopelessness that's stemmed since last year and has only seemed to have gotten worse since then."
I stayed silent. His reply rang home and hit hard. That feeling that nothing I or anybody else does will amount to changing a thing about this school. Not while it's run by Principal L. In fact, we really were just punching bags. We were all too scared to fight back after what happened in seventh grade. Then Jason came and shook things up. Someone untouchable. A problem that Wade and even Jackal didn't have an answer for.
Luke glanced up, his eyes focused. "But today, seeing you stand up and fight again and again, knowing we're without Jason. Then with what went down with Stanlee..."
My expression darkened, "Luke, I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner."
Luke shook his head, "It's not like you guys put him in the infirmary to begin with. You and Keisha were looking out for us. Barry will come around."
We began walking down the steps, and I leaned hard against the railing as we went down the spiral staircase. My breaths were sharp inhales and slow, exaggerated exhales.
I stared down the steps in the spiral staircase, "I don't think so, Luke. Barry has every right to feel some type of way. Connor's hurt, and Alicia and he... aren't on speaking terms at the moment."
Luke's eyes widened. "Man, that's just life. None of us can see the future. This reminds me of what Stanlee said this one time: 'Like rowing a boat, we enter the future backward. All we see are the scenes of the past, and no one can see the views of tomorrow.'"
I stopped dead in my tracks, surprising Luke. That boat line—no, not just that, but the whole quote. I've heard it before. It felt like déjà vu.
But who said it?
I closed my eyes and tried to recall. But frustratingly enough, my mind did nothing but return blank images. It was like the reference pages of a history book were ripped out. I couldn't remember who it was or when it was.
Luke looked me up and down," Uhhh, Kevin, you good, bro?"
I shook my head, "I'm straight, I think I'm starting to go crazy from all these hits."
Luke had a flash of concern on his face, "We could stop by the infirmary?"
"Nahhh, I still have the Tylenol Mrs.Brown gave me. I'll walk it off."
Luke gazed at me quizzically, "Kevin, what is it that keeps you going?"
I stare at the ceiling as we get closer to Officer Black's office, "With Stanlee down and Jason out for today. I have to be strong and brave. I owe it to them and the rest of the squad. No matter how much some of them may hate me."
"But won't it be tough. Especially with people like them dictating everything in these four walls?"
I look at Luke, "If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
Luke hung on those words before nodding, "That's really deep, bro."
We entered Officer Blacks office. Charlie was seated at a desk doing his study guides while Wade was writing on the chalkboard 'I will not skip class to be in another class' multiple times. He glared at me with the intensity of a volcanic eruption.
Officer Black stood from his desk and came to us, "About time, boys! Luke, this is the first time I've had you in here all semester. Don't let these three ruin your education."
"But—" Luke started
Officer Black wagged his chubby white finger, "But nothing! Go sit in that far corner and read the dictionary until the final bell."
Luke released my arms. The pain and weight returned instantly, buzzing like I had five phones on vibrate on my person.
Luke patted my back twice before walking to the desk, his head hanging in defeat.
Officer Black panned his focus onto me, "As for you, Mr. Veyron, you have a very special conference awaiting you."
My eyebrows furrowed, "With whom?"
Officer Black glanced at Wade, "Principal L. He would like to speak with you."
Just like that, my Tuesday went from disturbing and painful to straight-up dreadful.