Chris stared fixedly at the small table in the common room, rolling his empty soda can in circles on the can's bottom edge with one finger. It made a faint, metallic scraping sound that quickly got on the nerves of everyone but the one making it.
But no one said anything.
Instead, they all just watched as Chris played with the can and waited, as if expecting pearls of wisdom to drip off his lips at any moment. The pizza boxes to celebrate his release were discarded to one side, most of the cans of soda were crushed and tossed in the bin, and the conversation had died away about five minutes earlier. One by one, they had all turned to watch the blond boy as he played with his empty can. It was bordering on hypnotic….
"What?" Vin finally asked, feeling the tension building all night. "What is it?"
Josiah sighed heavily, and looked over at Buck, then Chris. Buck didn't lift his eyes from the table. He wasn't the one to answer, and, in the end, neither was Josiah. Despite being the oldest, there was no question that Chris was the one who ultimately laid down the law.
Chris's eyes lifted, meeting Vin's, then Ezra's and finally Nathan's. JD didn't return until tomorrow, so he wasn't part of this conversation. Probably for the best.
"I want us to cool it."
Vin's brow furrowed, "Cool what?"
"Everything," Chris looked back down at the table. "Fighting, cheating, leaving campus, late night poker games," he glanced at Ezra, then down again, "everything that could get us in trouble."
"Why?" Ezra said the word slowly, almost challengingly. Chris frowned, not liking the fierce look in the younger boy's eyes.
"Because…Josiah, Buck and me…if we keep acting the goat, we'll eventually be expelled," Chris looked back down at the can, "and we don't want to take you all with us. We want you to have a chance."
"Have a chance?" Nathan looked confused. "At what?"
"Having a future," Chris shrugged. "We want you to go to college, if you can." Hazel eyes lifted to glance at Nathan, then fell back down to the table.
"Obviously," Josiah said, taking the ball, "Conklin's not going to take you out of the red files just 'cause we stay out of trouble for a little while, but, if we stay out of trouble for a long while," he shrugged, "maybe he'll forget about you boys. And the teachers know your grades are good enough, some might even be encouraged to help. I know Ms. Wells likes you, Vin, and Mrs. Potter likes Ezra….."
"And everybody likes Nathan," Ezra added softly. He was watching Josiah carefully.
"Well, yeah," Josiah appeared a little bewildered at the acerbic tone in Ezra's voice. Vin eyed his roommate as well, well aware that there was more going on inside his statement. Oblivious, Nathan just leaned back in his chair, staring at Chris, Buck and Josiah with a curious expression.
"You would…do that…just for us?" the sophomore asked, rubbing at his short cropped black hair.
"Yup. And JD," Buck added. "Just because we're not going anywhere, don't mean you can't." He shook his head, staring at the sophomore, "You got a real chance at college, Nathan, and medical school after that. Even if you don't get into the best school out of the bat, I'd bet you could transfer up real fast." The junior smiled, "We're not going to be the reason you don't make it. We're hoping that, if we're all good, Conklin will lay off."
Ezra was watching the table now, following the crack between the wooden planks with his eyes. He seemed to see the world inside the dark recesses of the wood. Vin nudged him.
"You listening Ezra?"
Ezra answered by looking up again, meeting Chris's eyes. The older boy was watching him now. Waiting.
"So you want us to cool off," he repeated, after a fairly long pause.
Chris stared at him for a moment, then gave a single nod.
"Sure, why not." Ezra pushed his chair out and stood, "Now, if there's nothing else, I have some work to do before winter session starts." Without looking at any of them, he simply turned and headed for the stairs, bounding up them quickly.
Vin stood as well, watching as Ezra disappeared through the fire door to the upper hall. He was thoroughly confused, not understanding what was so wrong with what Chris and the others had just said. Frowning, he looked back at the others and shrugged.
"You'll talk to him?" Chris asked quietly, watching the freshman. "Find out what's wrong?"
"I'll try," Vin nodded, sitting back down. "But," he smiled softly, "For my part, I think what you're saying is a nice idea. And thanks for it. Not sure it'll do much, but who knows."
"Yeah," Nathan said, frowning at nothing in particular and not meeting anyone's eyes, "Thanks."
Josiah reached across the table and patted Nathan's arm. The budding healer gave him a weak smile in return.
+ + + + + + +
"You're doing it for me, aren't you," Nathan asked Buck a little later, after they had all returned to their rooms. Buck was visiting the sophomore's room–Nathan had his own space off to one side, a tiny narrow space just wide enough for a small desk, bookcase, a twin bed and a wardrobe. Nathan was sitting up on his bed now, watching as Buck scrutinized the books on his shelves. "Ezra and Vin may not have seen it, but I saw the looks you all gave me when Chris mentioned college."
Buck couldn't lie his way out of a paper bag, and Nathan knew it. The junior looked uncomfortable for a moment, obviously considering not answering at all, then shrugged.
"Not just you," Buck admitted quietly.
"JD?"
"Yeah."
Nathan nodded slowly, then leaned back on his bed. Buck was looking to borrow one of Nathan's books, his finger trailing over the spines of the pretty hefty library the younger boy had built up over the years. Nathan had suggested Buck choose his term paper book from amongst them—a transparent attempt to get Buck alone so he could ask him some questions.
"Vin's right, you know," Nathan spoke quietly, staring up at the ceiling, tucking his arms behind his head. "It won't make a difference. We could all be angels, and we'll still stay in the red files. Once your pegged, Buck, that's who you are. No one will ever see us as anything but bad kids."
"I don't believe that," Buck stated firmly.
"I do. Conklin thinks I'm dealer, or something, just 'cause I like helping Mrs. Greene at the infirmary; don't matter that I'd never do drugs. Man, I hate it--the way he looks at me, you'd think I was a frikkin' Columbian drug lord."
"So fight against it," Buck grimaced, sending an annoyed look at the younger boy. "And if we're all good, then you maybe you'll get an even better chance to do so. Level the playing field a bit, you know?"
Nathan snorted, "Buck, you noticed the color of my skin lately?"
Buck frowned, knowing full well what Nathan meant, but game to pretend otherwise, "So?"
"So," Nathan leaned up onto one arm, the better to stare Buck in the eyes, "I'm black, Buck. I'm already on a different plane. Even if I fight…I'll never win, not while I'm here."
"That's bullshit."
"You don't know what it's like, Buck."
"No, I don't, but I also don't like it when you use it as an excuse to give up, Nate. You told me, that's what your dad and your mom did. Don't let that be you too."
Nathan sighed and closed his eyes, falling back on the bed.
"Listen, we'll just wait and see, okay?" Buck stood up, gripping a book to his chest.
Nathan didn't answer, leaving Buck hanging. Shaking his head, the older boy turned and headed towards the door.
"Buck."
Buck turned around. Nathan was up on his elbows, watching him. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead stuck his chin out to indicate the book in Buck's hands.
"What'd you choose?"
"Oh," Buck grinned, lifting the book away from his chest, "Ms. Wells said it had to be an American author. So," he lifted the book up, "I chose Raymond Chandler."
"The Big Sleep," Nathan grinned. "Gotta love a good mystery."
"Yeah," Buck shrugged, "And I always fancied myself a detective." He looked up, "And you a doc. You'd make a great doc, Nate."
"Yeah, well…wait and see," Nathan smiled back.
Buck grinned. Better than nothing.
+ + + + + + +
January slipped by without a single incident among any of the seven boys. JD returned and, as Buck promised, was kept out of trouble by the older boy's constant attention. Chris and Josiah both walked away from several fights; Ezra and Vin didn't pull a single prank, even on each other; and Nathan stilled his tongue. If nothing else, it was an impressive display of restraint.
"So much for your Larabee gang," Mary said, looking up at Conklin as he passed her the month's tally of detentions and demerits. "I haven't heard a peep from any of them. Somehow I was expecting a little more from the children of the corn."
Conklin sneered, "they're planning something."
"Maybe they're planning for their future," Mary replied glibly.
"Not likely," Conklin tapped his fingers against his thigh. "They're planning something ugly. I can feel it in my bones. But before they do, one of those seven boys is going to screw up. And when he does…."
"Conklin."
Conklin's eyes were dark, "…I'll take them all down."
"Conklin!"
The vice principal flinched, turning to look at Mary where she had stood up behind her desk. She was watching him with barely contained anger.
"There are more than seven boys on this campus, Conklin. In fact, Mrs. Potter informed me that she caught Lucas James beating up two 6th grade boys last week, and yet I have not seen his name on the detention roster. Why is that?"
Conklin's eyes narrowed, "Now, Ms. Travis, you know that Lucas is a special case. No one likes what he does, but…."
"I want him disciplined, Conklin."
"Ms. Travis, please, you don't understand…."
"I see one more boy in the infirmary because of Lucas James' so called 'self-defense', and I'll put him in detention myself, you understand?"
Conklin didn't answer, just stared back out the window.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good."
Conklin frowned, looked back at Mary, then turned to leave. The young principal sighed as he did so, shaking her head in annoyance.
"Rotten from without, rotten from within," she muttered to herself. "Can this Rome be saved?"
+ + + + + + +
Vin slammed the fire door on the landing above the common room, then banged down the stairs, knowing full well he was making more noise than a bull moose. He had his snow shoes over his shoulder and a furious look on his face.
Buck and Chris, who had been playing chess, looked up as Vin stomped past, headed for the doors to the outside.
"Hey," Buck called, but Vin ignored him. The junior stood up, but Chris waved him down.
"Ezra's not talking to him," Chris said.
"Huh?" Buck frowned, "What do you mean? I saw them in the caf talking up a storm this morning at breakfast."
"I mean serious talk, Buck. Vin told me Ezra's been talking circles around him all month. Won't let him near whatever is really bothering him. Besides, what they were talking about was the fact that Ezra's not eating again." He frowned, "Vin told me that this afternoon—he thinks Ezra's maybe heard from Maude again and hasn't told us. Last time she wrote to him, he lost fifteen pounds in two weeks, remember? All because she mentioned in the letter than she hoped he wasn't gaining weight on 'fatty' school food, as that would be most 'unseemly.'" He sneered, spitting out the last word with such venom that, had Maude Standish heard it, would have convinced her to avoid ever meeting Chris Larabee.
Buck grimaced, then shrugged. "Oh well," he sighed, sitting down, "so long as he stays out of trouble, I suppose it can't be all bad. He'll get over it. Besides, you know we won’t let him get sick again because of it."
Chris stared at him, then shook his head. Reaching a hand down, he shifted a pawn across and took Buck's knight, ending up kittycorner to Buck's king. If Buck moved his king left or right, he'd fall into the line of one of Chris' other pieces.
"Checkmate," the blond boy said quietly, running a hand through his thick hair.
Buck's jaw fell. "What?" He'd been watching Chris's queen, and his bishop. "I never saw that coming! How did that pawn get there?"
Chris just smiled, settling back in his chair.
+ + + + + + +
JD walked slowly down the hall, his hands tucked behind his back, thinking about what Buck had told him again about them all staying out of trouble…so that he, Nathan, Ezra and Vin might actually make something of their lives.
To the 7th Grader, it seemed like something that was very far away.
Not that he was intentionally selfish, but when you're 12, thinking about college is a little like suggesting to the grasshopper he should start stocking up for winter.
He came to a stop in front of Ezra and Vin's door, knowing full well that the older boy was inside. He'd seen Vin head out on a walk with his snow shoes. The first day of February had dumped nearly six inches on them, then it promptly dropped in temperature to the teens and the snow had turned to ice. Vin didn't care. The freshman boy had once told JD that he'd spent time on a reservation in Montana, and had learned to deal with the cold, so he said. He'd also learned to track and to scout, things which had been JD's downfall when he'd snuck into Buck's room that first time to steal his Gameboy.
JD smiled—he still couldn't believe how lucky it had been that it had been Buck he'd stolen from. Not that JD really thought of it as stealing—the Gameboy had dust on it. Buck was obviously not using it, and, besides, JD would have returned it…once he'd played all the games on it.
The kid sighed. Reaching up, he knocked on Ezra's door.
"Come in," Ezra called.
JD grabbed the handle and pushed, seeing Ezra lying on his bed reading a book. Ezra's face fell upon seeing him, then he quickly covered it up.
That's why JD was here. Ezra was mad at him…and he didn't know why.
"What do you want JD," Ezra asked, looking down again at his book.
"I want to apologize."
Ezra frowned, still staring at the book. After a moment, his brow still furrowed, he looked up into the earnest eyes of the brown haired boy.
"What?"
"To apologize. For what I've done. I'm sorry."
Ezra blinked a few times, then looked away, then back again. "Um…for what?"
"For…whatever it is that has made you mad at me."
Ezra's eyebrows shot up, "Mad at you? I'm not mad at you." He smiled lightly, "Look, kid, I've just been a little distracted lately. It's nothing to do with you."
JD frowned. He hated being called kid. "If it's nothing to do with me, how come you're not talking to me anymore?"
Ezra pursed his lips, nonplussed. His eyebrows knotted together, and he shook his head. "JD, it's not you. You've done nothing wrong. I'm mad at someone else, and, admittedly, the reason I'm mad at that someone else is a little because of you."
JD frowned some more, and walked a little deeper into the room, shutting the door behind him.
"I don't get it," he said simply, sitting on Vin's bed opposite Ezra.
"It's nothing you can do anything about, JD. If I've been curt or rude to you, then I am the one who should apologize. I don't mean to take my problems out on you. You don't deserve that."
JD tilted his head, then shrugged. "If you say so. That mean you'll talk to me from now on?"
"I'll make a point of it."
JD grinned, bouncing up, "Great! Does that mean I can borrow your collection of tigers?"
Ezra's eyes widened, "My what?" he snapped quickly, sitting up.
"Your collection of tigers. You know," JD pointed to the stuffed animal sitting on the shelf above the bed, stuck in amongst the books and other objects. "Not the stuffed one," he then pointed to a shoebox a little to the right, "but the ceramic and other ones you have in the box."
Ezra's jaw had gone sharply tense, "Why?" He was not even going to ask how JD knew about the collection, which he had thought he'd kept private.
"Just to play with. I got some animals from the others for Christmas, and I thought it'd be neat to make a jungle."
Ezra's eyes searched JD's face, trying to see if the boy was serious. Surely he couldn't be serious. What did a 12 year old want with toy animals? A jungle?
"What do you really want them for," Ezra asked quietly.
JD shook his head, "Just what I said. See, I'm trying to make a comic book, and I want to have it take place in a jungle, and I want to draw tigers for it. I know you got all kinds. I thought I could…."
"No."
JD's expression fell. "What? Why not?"
"Because I said no. They're mine."
"I won't hurt them."
"I don't care."
JD couldn't help but look hurt. "Don't you trust me with 'em?"
"No."
The kid's mouth fell open for a moment, then clamped shut. Sticking out his bottom lip, he stood up and crossed his arms.
"That's so unfair. It's not like you're doin' anything with 'em. I've never even seen you touch the stuffed one!"
Ezra didn't answer, he just tilted his head and arched an eyebrow.
JD put his hands on his hips, "Ezra, come on. I'll bring them back."
"What exactly was it about my use of the word 'no' that was unclear, Mr. Dunne? Because, believe me, whining about it won't make a difference."
JD frowned, "You can be a real jerk sometimes, Ezra."
Ezra just flexed both eyebrow as if to ask, "your point?" and looked back down at his book.
"Fine," JD said, "See you later." Turning, the kid was out the door and slamming it shut behind him. Ezra flinched at the loud noise, then sighed.
Sitting up, he closed the book he'd been reading, which, ironically, had been the Jungle Book, and looked up at the stuffed tiger on the shelf. Climbing to his knees on the bed, he reached for the stuffed animal…then stopped, his fingers just shy of the soft material. Slowly, he drew the arm back and slumped against the tapioca colored wall, closing his eyes.
JD had a knack for drawing comics. It was one of the boy's many gifts. He was in love with comic books, and it didn't take long for the 12 year old to switch from just collecting them to actually making them, especially when it turned out he had an amazing eye for art. He had already drawn two full comic books, of which all seven had copies.
Ezra hadn't meant to deny JD the use of his collection, but the jealousy that had been making him avoid the boy for the past month had flared at the moment JD had mentioned his tigers, only to be intensified when he'd mentioned drawing a new comic. Ezra didn't want to help him--he'd wanted to hurt him instead. So he'd acted petty and mean.
He also was still not used to sharing things he cared deeply about. Those tigers were very important to him.
"Damn it!" he shouted, throwing the book he'd been reading against the wall over Vin's bed. A moment later, he buried his head in his hands, fighting back the tears of frustration he felt.
A few deep breaths later, he was looking calmly around the room. With a placid expression, he stood up off the bed and walked over to where the Kipling book was lying with a now cracked spine on Vin's bed. Picking it up, he turned it around and tried to find the place where he'd stopped. Finding it, he walked back to his bed and started reading again….
As if nothing had just happened.
+ + + + + + +
JD ran back to his room on the floor above, red-faced and angry. His room was like Nathan's, tucked in a corner and barely big enough for one person, but it also had the benefit of being a single. Slamming the door behind him, he fell onto his bed and buried his head.
After a little while, he sighed and turned his head to the side so that he could breathe a little easier. Sniffing, he propped himself up on one arm and looked around his room at the bits and pieces of the "jungle" he'd been building. Tigers would have been cool. Oh sure, he could probably copy something out of a book, but he'd wanted to have something three dimensional to look at. He had an easier time when he could actually "see" the thing he was drawing.
Ezra was an asshole.
Sitting the rest of the way up, his thoughts roiled and bubbled around his head, shifting and changing.
After a moment, he had made his decision, and his eyes narrowed.
To hell with him. What Ezra didn't know wouldn’t hurt him.
The End
Continues in Splitting Apart at the Seems
