Chapter 19

It was an overcast, cold windy day, though unpleasant it was better than a dark and stormy night. After running I was definitely awake. When I got dressed I noticed that my new shirt really fit better.

I weighed myself and came in at two hundred and ten pounds. My height was still six foot four inches. I hope I had stopped growing up. Size-wise I was as big as or bigger than the seniors at school. I made the rest of the ninth grade look like midgets.

I was very fortunate. Most kids that grew to my size were very awkward during their growth period. That happened to me in my first growth spurt, but not this time around. I hadn’t lost my coordination while growing. I wonder if all the exercising I was doing had helped.

Mum had the radio tuned to WOHP listening to the local news while we had breakfast. The announcer came on with some very bad local news. Last night on the Mad River Road a car careened out of control. Two local teenagers were killed. They were Steve Hamilton and Bill Cairns. It is suspected that alcohol played a role.

That was a terrible shock. We quietly finished breakfast. School was going to be pretty grim today. Tom was waiting for me as I came out of the door.

“Did you hear,” were the first words out of his mouth.

He looked extremely upset.

“I just heard it on the radio.”

“It’s my fault!”

“How come it’s your fault?”

“I saw Bill sneak out of his window last night, and didn’t tell anyone.”

“How does that make it your fault? By the time you could have told someone he was gone.”

That stopped Tom. He let out a large sigh.

“I guess you’re right, and if I had tried to stop him, it wouldn’t have worked.”

“I thought Bill was being sent to a Military Academy.”

“His parents let him talk them out of it. They were trying to work out a deal with the County Prosecutor. Since they are related he wasn’t forcing the issue.”

We had walked to Eleanor Prices’ house by that point in the conversation. I had seen very little of Eleanor recently. She came out as we arrived at her house. It was obvious she had been crying. Being guys we knew exactly what to do, we ignored it.

“Good morning Eleanor I guess you’ve heard.”

“Yes, I have.”

“It is a real shame. They had their problems but didn’t deserve that.”

“No, they didn’t. I just started dating Steve. I thought he was turning himself around. I was wrong.”

“I’m sorry Eleanor.”

“Well as my Mother told me, Life must go on. I’m really not looking forward to this day, but it must be done.”

We silently walked to school. We were young teenagers, we weren’t supposed to die, and we’re immortal. I knew better than that. I had dealt death, to two men. It just didn’t seem fair for these two young men to die. The ones I had shot were hardened criminals, murderers even. These were just two guys out on a lark.

It was hard to believe they were gone. I knew they would be at the school door laughing about the trick played on the town. They weren’t at the door.

Eleanor was met at the door by a group of girls, her friends I guessed. They converged on her and the wails started. Tom and I kept moving. I understood now what Eleanor meant by having to get through the day.

Something else dawned on me. Eleanor would have to get through this raw grief. There were parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents and the rest of their families. They would all have to get through the day.