Chapter 4

Wednesday

Renée has been eyeing me all day in class. I thought I saw tears in her eyes a couple of times. Then again maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part. I mean, I didn’t want to hurt her. Besides if she was crying over this, which meant at the very least, Lucy told her what I had said. I didn’t think she would keep it a secret from her. Heck, there was a rumor that the two of them were lovers.

Lunchtime finally came. When I got to the lunchroom, there was a gaggle of girls at the table with Renée and Lucy. Since there was no room and Renée looked so unhappy, maybe it would be better to sit elsewhere. So, I headed to the table with my friends Danny and Ben. No sooner had I sat down than Danny started in on me.

Danny said, “Dude, what did you do?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Guy look, Renée has been crying all day. Every time she sees you or anytime someone calls her mouse, she breaks down in tears.”

“I don’t have the vaguest idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t even talked to her since lunch yesterday.”

Ben “Heads up Tim, here comes Lucy and she sure looks pissed.”

Lucy started halfway across the lunchroom, “You asshole, what did you say to Renée?”

“What are you talking about?” As soon as it came out of my mouth, Lucy was at the table, and I felt her open hand smack me. It was right across the face.

“Ouch, that hurt,” I said, as I was holding my cheek in my hand. Then the PE teacher, the coach, grabbed me by the collar from behind. “That will be enough of that stuff,” was all he said before he dragged me off my feet towards the office. So here I am flopping around, trying to get back on my feet. I wasn’t having any success at all and could hear Renée wailing in the back of the room. Even as Mr. Handily jerked my body by the collar, I thought he must have been part pit bull. Buttons were popping off the front of my shirt as he continued to drag me to the doorway. POW, my head hit the doorframe and it was lights out time.

I awoke sometime later in the hospital emergency room. Mom was hovering over me like a wet hen. Well, I didn’t see dad, and since mom works here it made sense that she would get to me before dad did.

The ER nurse said, “I will go get the doctor now.”, and she left the room.

Mom said, “What happened, what did you do?”

“Mom, I was eating lunch and Lucy came over shouting at me, and then she slapped me. Then that gorilla PE teacher grabbed me by the collar like a pit bull and dragged me from the room. He didn’t even give me a chance to walk, he just dragged me until smack, my head met the doorframe. Then I woke up here.”

Mom, “That’s not what Mr. Handily claims happened.”

“Mom, have I ever lied to you?”

“No son, I can’t say that you ever have.”

“Well, if you don’t believe me, you can ask the other kids in the cafeteria at the time.”

The doctor came in just then and came over and checked my eyes with a light.

Then he said, “It’s a mild concussion, the x-rays show no cracks. We will keep you overnight in the isolation ward and release you tomorrow to the police.”

“What?” I spoke.

Mom looked at him in disbelief.

He didn’t answer, in fact, he just turned, then walked out of the room muttering something about punk scum and juvenile delinquents. Shortly after he left, the door opened back up and two police officers came in and one of them started to read me my rights.

My mom was outraged, and yelled, “What’s going on here?”, to which the larger cop backhanded her, then twisted her around and cuffed her.

“Hey, stop that”, I started to say but the other cop’s nightstick was quickly against my throat. The smaller one then said to me, “Do you understand these rights, Maggot.”

I couldn’t talk, hell I couldn’t breathe but somehow, I nodded a yes.