The Deflection
Buck shifted, trying not to show that he was worried to find Ezra was not in Chris's room when he got there later that night. But he should have known--Chris kept looking at him, watching him out of the corner of his eye as the group talked about Lucas. Nathan, Josiah and Vin didn't notice anything, too deep into their discussion, but Chris could always read Buck like a book. Finally, Chris held up a hand, stopping Josiah mid-sentence, and looked pointedly at Buck.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You're acting as if someone stuck a garter snake down your pants."
Everyone in the room turned to look at Buck, who looked darkly at his best friend for the description. After a moment, he shrugged, shaking his head.
"It's nothing."
"Seriously," Chris said, "you're driving me nuts. Spit it out. Something to do with JD?"
"No, the kid's fast asleep by now, probably," Buck replied. He'd dropped JD off, and knew the kid would probably sleep forever and a day because of this night.
"Then what? And, where's Ezra, by the way?" Chris looked at Vin for the second question. Vin just shook his head to show he didn't know.
"Asleep?" Vin looked at Buck, and the rest followed suit.
Buck had his eyes on the floor of the dorm room he shared with Chris.
"Buck?"
"He said he was coming up here. I don't know why he's not."
No one responded to that. Then, quietly, Vin stood up.
"What did he look like?"
Buck shook his head, "that's what I don't get." He looked up, blue eyes uncertain, "He looked fine. I mean, more than fine. He was really angry at JD, but I had a talk with him about laying off the kid for a while, and he seemed to accept that. Looked as calm as can be. I really thought he was on his way up here. This is where he said he was going."
"As calm as can be?" Vin repeated. "How calm?"
"I don't know, " Buck looked at the other's for support, "just calm."
"You telling me he shut down on you?"
That got Buck's attention. Something about the way Vin asked it had him sitting up. "Shut down?" His eyes searched left and right, trying to remember what Ezra had looked like, and realized it was a good description. "Yeah," Buck looked up again, his expression more anxious now, "that's exactly what he did."
"Aw hell, Buck," Vin swore, pushing the chair he'd been sitting on back under Chris's desk. "What the hell did you say to him?"
"Nothing! Nothing bad, at least."
"You said something. I gotta go, Chris. Whatever you guys decide, I'll go along with it. I'm going to go find Ez."
"Want me to come along?" Josiah asked, standing up. Vin gave a tiny smile at the protectiveness of the large junior, and shook his head.
"Nah, Lucas ain't hanging around looking to bother us tonight. Buck scared him good. We'll be fine. I'll bring Ezra back. He's probably just walking out in the cold." Nodding to the others, Vin quickly slipped out the door and jogged away down the hall.
Chris sighed, leaning back on the wall next to his bed. Buck replayed the conversation in his head, trying to remember what he had said.
"Don't worry about it, Buck," Nathan said, breaking in on the older boy's reverie. "Ezra has a habit of taking things the wrong way sometimes, you know that. I'm sure you didn't say anything none of the rest of us wouldn't say. He probably needed to hear it anyway. He'll get over it."
"Yeah," Buck said softly, not looking up, "maybe."
+ + + + + + +
Vin was just hitting the floor of the common room when the main doors opened with a whoosh of bitter cold air, and Ezra walked back in. The green eyes lit upon Vin for a moment before turning away so that he could shut the door.
"Something wrong, Vin?"
"You okay? I was just going to go out to find you."
Ezra glanced back at him, dimples flashing at the concern. Shrugging off his coat, he shook his head, turning his back again to Vin in order to hang it up. As he was hanging up his scarf, he sneezed and coughed into his hand, before turning around again, sniffing.
"It's snowing again. Real nasty stuff. You'd think it would have stopped by now. I feel like its been snowing non-stop for a week."
"Ez?" Vin wasn't going to let him deflect the conversation this time.
Ezra sighed, running a hand through his wet hair, slicking it back. Turning, he looked Vin straight in the eye.
"I'm fine. Seriously. In fact, I'm better than fine. I think I've finally figured some things out. Look," he walked across to his roommate and tapped him on the arm, "I know I've been acting a bit odd lately, but that's done now. I got some clarity tonight, and I'm ready to face the world again."
"You, uh, want to tell me what was bugging you?"
"No, not really. Boring anyhow. Come on, are they talking about Lucas up there?"
Vin frowned, not quite believing Ezra. But there was something different about him—he looked like his confidence was back. That had to be a good sign.
"Yeah," he finally admitted. "They're trying to come up with a plan to finally stop him from bullying the kids."
"Ha!" Ezra laughed, "What are they planning? To hog tie him to the back of a pick-up and drop him off at a pig farm because nobody'll spot him among the herd?"
Vin smiled, "Nothing that good."
"Well then, sounds like they need some of the Standish imagination to spice things up," Ezra's eyes sparkled, and Vin's smile grew into a grin.
"Good to have you back, Ez," he laughed, patting Ezra's back and turning away to head up the stairs. "Come on, you got Buck all worried!" Vin bounded up, not looking back.
As a result, he never saw the way the other boy's grin disappeared instantly the moment he wasn't being watched.
+ + + + + + +
"You okay?" Josiah asked, standing again as Ezra entered the room.
"What happened to you?" Chris asked, his tone a little more pointed.
"Why are your cheeks flushed so flushed? Did you go outside?" Nathan was actually squinting as he scrutinized the younger boy. Ezra grinned, unable to help himself, his eyes lighting up with mirth.
"My, my, had I known my little jaunt would cause this much consternation, I would not have gone!"
"So, you're okay?" Josiah looked at Ezra, then at Vin. Ezra tried not to roll his eyes, especially when they looked to Vin as much as himself for the answer.
"Well, I'm a little stuffed up," he admitted, sniffing. Then, before he could take another breath, he gave a small sneeze, then laughed, pressing his hand to the tip of his nose as if to stop himself from letting any more loose, "but other than that…." And suddenly he gave a whopping great sneeze, causing Vin to jump away from his side. Nathan laughed, grabbing a tissue from off Chris's bedside table and handing it Ezra.
"Getting a cold?" Nathan asked cheekily.
"Hope not," Ezra sneezed into the tissue, then smiled at them all. "But on to uglier things, I am assuming we are discussing the Lucas James problem?"
Chris scowled, Buck snorted, and Josiah sighed. Ezra smiled.
"Thought so."
"We were discussing the new principal," Nathan informed him. "And whether she has any mettle."
"Mettle?" Ezra shrugged, wiping his nose again on the tissue and sniffing, "I wouldn't know. Today was the first time I've ever really seen her close up. What do the rest of you think?"
"I think she's kinda young for a principal," Chris grunted, leaning back and crossing his arms across his chest.
"He doesn't trust her," Buck supplied. "Not that I blame him."
"Nor do I," Ezra agreed, his humor disappearing quickly. "If she's not in Stuart James's control, then she wouldn't be here." He coughed, then nudged Nathan for another tissue.
Josiah shook his head, "I wish I knew exactly what Stuart James and Guy Royal were trying to do to this school. I mean, if they want to shut it down, why don't they? Why parade a bunch of weak principals and revolving door faculty and administrators through here? I can't believe it's just to see Lucas James through school. Royal sends his two obnoxious girls somewhere else, and I'm pretty sure Stuart James' son goes somewhere else as well. So what's in it for them?"
"And if they want to keep it open, why don't they do something to improve it? I always thought the better schools survived in part on alumni donations. I can't believe 4CA gets those," Nathan added, then he grinned, "unless you count the money the FBI greases Conklin's palms to look at the old school files."
Ezra sneezed again, then, wiping his nose on his tissue, added his two cents: "The tuition money goes straight to the school, it has to. The state watches that sort of thing very carefully. So," he blew again, "so, they aren't making money off of it. But, this land is vast, they could sell it for a huge profit if they wanted to." He sniffed again, then gave a small cough. Nathan handed him another tissue.
"Brings us back to the first question," Josiah muttered, "why keep it?"
"We're going in circles," Chris hissed. "Let's get back to Lucas James. We need to shut him down. I want ideas." He looked around, his eyes expectant. No one met his gaze.
"I like her," Vin said suddenly, changing the subject. They all looked at him.
"What? Who?" Buck said.
"Mary Travis. And did you all know that the superintendent of schools for the area is her father-in-law?"
That got everyone sitting up, even Chris. The tall junior leaned forward, staring hard at Vin. "How do you know?"
"I overheard Ms. Wells talking to Mr. Watson after class."
Chris looked at Buck, then Josiah. The big junior shrugged back. Buck just pursed his lips.
"Why do you like her?" Ezra asked, sniffing again.
"I don't know." Vin shook his head, "just got a feeling that, if we really needed to," he looked at Chris, "we could trust her."
That was the cue for everyone to look at Chris. Chris, meanwhile, watched Vin. After a moment, he gave a small nod. Vin gave a single nod back.
Then Ezra sneezed again. He looked up from his tissue, smiling sheepishly at everyone.
"Guys, look, I'll go along with whatever you decide," he said, his voice cracking slightly. He turned to Vin, "But right now I'm not feeling all that up to snuff, so I'm going to take off." He looked back at the others, "I know you guys will work it out."
He stood up to vague choruses of "feel better," and "get some sleep." Nathan asked if he wanted some cold medicine, but Ezra just shook his head. With a wave, he signaled to Vin that he'd see him back in the room, then left.
When he felt their questioning eyes on him, Vin just shrugged.
"What? I guess he's getting a cold."
Chris gave a small smile, then leaned back against the wall, Ezra already forgotten now that the freshman seemed back to normal.
"So," he looked at his hands, "Mary Travis is the superintendent's daughter-in-law. Wonder if that means anything…."
The Next Day
"You're sure?" Vin hovered, watching as Ezra sneezed again, not liking the slight wheeze he could hear coloring his best friend's breathing. "I really think going to see Mrs. Greene would be a smart thing."
"No," Ezra smiled, blowing his nose into another handkerchief. "Iz just a code. I'll ride it oud."
"Well, okay, I'll tell Ms. Wells why you're not in English, but she's not going to believe it unless you see Mrs. Greene."
"You wan' do give her my snoddy dissues?" Ezra asked, pointing to the overflowing trash can. Soft bits of tissue were scattered as much outside of the bin as in it.
Vin grimaced, and shivered at the idea of touching the collection. "Yeah, awright, you win. I'll see you later, then."
Ezra just waved him away, and lay back in bed, throwing his arm over his eyes. Vin watched him a moment longer, before turning, grabbing his book bag, and taking off.
Ezra stayed motionless a while longer. After about ten minutes, his wheeze disappeared and he took in a clean breath through his perfectly clear nose. Lifting his arm off his eyes, he smiled up at the ceiling.
Time to go see Yosemite.
+ + + + + + +
JD sat up in his room, turning away from the window after he watched Chris, Buck, Josiah and Vin leave for class together. Nathan would be by to see him in half an hour, to get him to go to class– he and Nate had classes scheduled at the same time the same way the juniors and freshmen did– but for now he was doing his best to thread a needle and was having a hell of a time doing it. He knew Nathan would be able to do it, no problem. Nathan sewed a lot of his own clothes—and some of the others as well, since they were all crap with a needle and thread except Vin. Ezra would never deign to sew on a button if the freshman could help it.
That thought made JD smile.
He stabbed himself in the finger with the needle, swore, and looked out the window again.
This time he sat up, his eyes glued to the sight to Ezra skirting down the steps and jogging away. This morning, at breakfast, Vin had said Ezra was too sick to come down.
He didn't look sick now. He was too light on his feet.
The kid bit his lip. Either Vin had lied to all of them…or Ezra had lied to Vin.
And if Ezra was lying to Vin….
Then something was very wrong.
And he was pretty sure he knew what it was. He'd tried to cover his ears when Buck took Ezra out of the room last night, because he'd been able to hear their argument pretty easily through the thin door, but even with his hands over them and pressed hard, he had heard the gist. And as much as he'd wanted to believe otherwise, he knew Ezra hadn't been Ezra when he came back in that night. JD had really wanted to believe that Ezra had forgiven him, that everything was okay again, that it was just that simple.
But if Ezra was lying to Vin….
Shit. What did he do now?
His finger began to sting, causing him to look down. A surprising amount of blood had spurted out of the tiny hole he'd made, and he quickly put the finger in his mouth.
After a moment, he pulled it out again, his mind made up. He wouldn't betray Ezra…not again.
He just wished it wasn't the others he would be keeping the secret from.
Mister James
"CONKLIN!"
The vice-principal leapt a foot, staring out the door of his office to the hallway beyond. Mrs. Travis' voice had carried down two hallways to get to his. Damn, that was a powerful voice when she was angry. With a sigh, he stood up, intending to walk to the principal's office.
"GET OVER HERE! NOW!"
He arched an eyebrow. Yeah, yeah, on my way…bitch.
Settling his shoulders, he grabbed pencil off his desk to hold on to, and headed out into the dark hallway.
A few moments later, he was standing in front of her office. It was quite amazing, even after everything she had done to it—plants, new lights, constant cleaning, new window (which she kept slightly cracked to let in the fresh air), curtains…it still looked dank and, well, still smelled of stinkweed.
"Yes, Mrs. Travis?"
She looked up from where she was sitting at her desk, her hair pulled back in a tight bun, her eyes as sharp as razors. "Why the hell isn't Lucas James on the detention list?" She smacked the paper under her hand, showing the list of all the punishments meted out over the last week for inclusion in the student's personal records.
Conklin sighed, walking further into the room and sitting in one of the chairs opposite the desk. "Mrs. Travis, try to understand…."
"Understand what? I specifically told you to take him to detention, and to suspend him for two days. So what happened? Did he serve detention at all?"
"No," Conklin shook his head, "he did not."
Her face darkened, "Why not? And why isn't he on the list?"
"Because I did not put his name down."
"Obviously."
"He was suspended," Conklin tried, smiling weakly.
"Without inclusion on the permanent record, that's just a free holiday for the boy, Conklin, and you know it. Practically a gift!"
Conklin just shrugged.
"DON'T YOU DARE SHRUG AT ME!" Mary shouted, standing up to glare down at the man. "I want Lucas James' name on this list!"
"And what did my nephew do this time?" a jaded, aged voice asked from the doorway. Conklin spun in his chair, and quickly stood, while Mary just straightened, her lips parted in surprise. An older man with white hair, sharp blue eyes and a bird-like face peered owlishly into the room, as if measuring the distance to his prey. His tiny lips were pursed together permanently, it seemed, and his small nose twitched as they watched. He leaned slightly on a silver-tipped black cane, and, oddly, he gave the impression of being both intensely watchful and incredibly bored all at the same time.
Blinking, Mary composed herself and managed a weak smile, coming around her desk to greet the newcomer.
"Stuart James," she said, sticking her hand out, "It is good to see you. But I admit, we were not expecting you here today."
"No," Stuart James's lips twitched, which might have been his attempt at a smile though it was difficult to tell, "I happened to be passing by, and thought I'd drop in." He ignored her hand and walked past her. She gripped her fingers into a fist, but kept the false smile as she walked back to the other side of her desk.
"Yes, well, welcome," she said. "I suppose you've come to see how I'm getting on?"
"Oh, yes, I suppose," James glanced around her office at the changes she'd made. He did not look impressed. Reaching the chair Conklin had vacated, the vice principal himself now standing over by the window and out of the way, he settled himself down and looked pointedly at Mary.
"Oh," she smiled sheepishly and quickly sat down. Leaning forward, she steepled her fingers together on her desk and lifted her eyebrows to indicate her readiness to talk.
"Now," James leaned back in the chair, still gripping the cane in one hand, "what did Lucas do?"
Mary heaved a great sigh, then shook her head, "I am afraid I witnessed him harassing a couple of younger students, Mr. James, and not just any students. Two young girls who also happen to be related to some of the faculty here. He accosted them without provocation, and he hit the younger of the two top the ground. Obviously, that sort of behavior…."
"He hit some girl?" James asked curtly, cutting her off. "That's all?"
Mary blinked, then lifted a hand, "Yes, but surely…."
"I wonder, Mrs. Travis," James interrupted, leaning forward slightly in his chair, "whether you understand that Lucas James is my nephew."
"Ah," Mary frowned. "Yes. Of course. But, surely, Mr. James, that does not mean I should give him special treatment."
The trustee's lips twitched again, and Mary frowned some more.
"Mrs. Travis, as Mr. Conklin here is aware," James waved a hand dismissively at the vice principal, "I not only expect special treatment for my nephew, I demand it. He will leave here with straight A grades and a spotless record. It is bad enough that he has to attend this cesspool of a school at all--though I am willing to admit that no one else would take him—but that does not mean his future should be marred because of it. He will leave this place free and clear." His lips twitched again, this time showing some teeth, making Mary more confident that he was, in fact, smiling, though not in a good way, "Do I make myself understood?"
"No," Mary frowned, sitting up straight in her chair. "I'm sorry, Mr. James, but your nephew needs to be taught discipline. He hit a young girl. I don't care who he is or who he is related to, that has to be punished. You can not expect me to be an effective principal if…."
"You will not be principal at all if you do not do as I tell you, Mrs. Travis. Your employment is at will. It would be good if you remembered that."
Mary's eyes widened, "But…."
"You told me and Mr. Royal that you wanted to improve this school, and we hired you to do so," he shrugged. "And we presume you will do your best. But do not interfere with my nephew again. If you do, then there will never be any improvements to this place, at least not by you, for you will no longer be in the position to make them. Is that clear?"
Mary's mouth fell open, unable to respond to the clear threat.
"It is a simple question, Mrs. Travis. Do you want to keep your job? I understand you do have a small son to support, and I would hate to see your life made more difficult because you were not only fired, but because I felt the need to inform any potential employers of your skills that you are not a good candidate."
"My God," Mary breathed. "Are you serious?"
The lips twitched again, and the teeth showed, answering her question. After a moment, she looked away, unable to meet his cold gaze any longer. Stuart James stood up, leaning heavily on his cane.
"Good," he said, "I see we are in agreement. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Travis." Stuart James doffed his hat to her, something he had not even bothered to remove while he had been talking to her, a clear sign to the principal just how little he really respected her. Mary watched him turn and limp out of the room without looking back, not even to acknowledge a farewell to Conklin, still standing silently by.
"If you're done with the list," Conklin spoke finally, reaching down to take it off her desk, "then I will take it to Irene to file."
Mary didn't respond, still dumbfounded at the situation she had been placed in. Conklin flashed her a weaselish smile and left the room, and she could swear there was an extra bounce in his step as he did so. Scowling, she followed him to the door and walked out into the hallway, watching him disappear. Stuart James was already gone.
Turning, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Chris Larabee emerged from the shadows next to the bookcase outside her office, like a ghost from the fog. No wonder he terrified the other teachers so! She had not seen him arrive, and she was sure neither Stuart James nor Conklin had known he was there either.
Placing a hand over her chest to calm herself down, she out on a brave face in front of the wraith-like boy.
"Mr. Larabee," she greeted, "were you waiting to speak with me?"
"I was," Chris replied darkly. "But I'm not anymore." Nodding at her, he slid past her and walked away towards the main lobby. Mary grimaced, understanding that he must have overheard her conversation with Stuart James.
"No, wait," she called, following him for a few steps. Chris stopped just as the natural light from the wider lobby hit him, and he turned to stare at her with what seemed very old eyes. She swallowed, disconcerted, " Would you come to my office? I would like to speak to you."
"About what?"
She frowned a little at the impertinence. Who did he think he was? "About," she waved her hands a bit, "about doing something about the bad element in this school."
"Ma'am," Chris stated coldly, "I am the bad element."
And, with that, he was gone.
Mary's shoulders slumped and she closed her eyes. Damn.
Giving Up
Vin pushed his dinner around his plate, not bothering to hide his unhappiness. Ezra had still looked very sick this afternoon, after Vin had come back from class, and, once again, the freshman had said no to eating. Vin said he'd bring him something back, but Ezra made a retching noise at the thought.
The freshman's silence made Chris glance over at Buck, Buck glance at Josiah, and Josiah glance at Nathan. Finally, Nathan nudged Vin.
"I'm sure Ezra's just got a cold, Vin," the sophomore said. "But, if you want, I could take a look at him."
Vin looked up, his expression registering first surprise, then gratitude. Nathan tried not to smile at the idea that Vin thought that much of his ability to help someone who was sick.
"Aw, Nate, that'd be great. He won't go see Mrs. Greene, and I can't stand listening to him wheezing and coughing and stuff. He sounded terrible last night."
"Wow, that was fast, for a cold to come on that strong," Josiah said. Nathan shrugged.
"Sometimes you don't see 'em coming. He's been depressed for weeks, right? Body's just reflecting that. Plus, when was the last time he ate properly?"
"Honestly? It's been a couple of days since I last saw him eat anything at all," Vin replied.
"Then, it's not too surprising a cold would grab him like that."
"I don't like it," Vin frowned, looking down at the cold tater tots he'd been pushing around.
"I'll check him out."
Vin smiled, thanking Nathan with a pat on his shoulder.
"Um," JD licked his lips, his fingers tapping the tabletop. The others all looked at him. JD looked down quickly, "Nothing."
Buck arched an eyebrow, "Something going on in there, kid?"
JD shook his head.
A sudden squeal erupted from a different part of the cafeteria, and they all turned to see Lucas James and his cronies laughing as Violet Potter ran crying from the room, food all down the front of her clothes. Inez and Casey Wells followed right behind her, Inez flashing a furious look back at the nasty junior and Casey tuning to catch JD's eye from the same distance. She looked scared.
JD stood up, the look on his face obvious—he wanted to go fight Lucas--but Buck grabbed his arm.
"It's over for now, JD. We'll get him, I promise." Buck raised both eyebrows, willing the kid to listen.
JD sniffed, staring down at the older boy. After a moment, he slumped back in his chair.
"How?" he asked sourly. "What can we possibly do that won't get us all expelled?"
Buck pursed his lips at that, and glanced at Chris. "Hate to say it, but the kid's got a point, Chris. It may come down to that. Either we get Lucas, or we don't. And if we get him, it'll probably end us here, especially if we can't get help from Mrs. Travis, like you said."
Chris glanced at the others, resting a little longer on Nathan. Finally he shrugged. After what he'd overheard this afternoon, he knew that Buck was right—no one would be able to help them if they went after Lucas. The new principal was just as Ezra had said: in Stuart James' control. They were on their own, and always would be. He sighed.
Chris sighed, "Fact is, our being expelled is pretty much inevitable." Hazel eyes looked across at Josiah, "I'm sorry, Josiah, we tried, but we can't fight the future. One way or the other, Conklin will find a way to kick us out, either piecemeal or all together, so I don't think it matters what we do anymore. We may as well try to do something worthwhile before we leave." He looked around at the others, then back at Josiah. "I think we need to make a decision."
Josiah grimaced, his eyes showing how torn he was.
"Wait Chris. We can't make this decision without Ezra here," Vin interrupted. "He should be a part of this. It's his future too."
Chris pursed his lips, then shrugged. "Fine, let's go get him."
"No, wait. I said I'd bunk with Nate tonight, so he could sleep, and I don't want to disturb him. How about tomorrow morning?"
Chris sighed, but he nodded at Vin.
"I thought you wanted me to look at him," Nathan asked, looking at Vin.
"Yeah, I do, but I was thinking now maybe the morning would be better. Though…maybe, before lights out, we could listen at the door? See if he's asleep? If he's still coughing, we'll go in and check on him?"
Nathan shrugged, "Sounds like a plan." Vin smiled in return.
"Then morning it is," Chris said.
+ + + + + + +
It was 10:45 p.m. At 11:00, Conklin walked the halls and turned all the lights out, making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. Or at least, that all the door's were closed and no parties were going on. Vin and Nathan were stealing the last few moments of freedom to check on Ezra.
Vin listened at his door, pressing his ear up against it, trying to hear if Ezra was coughing.
He frowned when he didn't hear anything at all. For some reason, that bothered him.
JD was standing a little ways down the hall, knowing he wasn't invited, but something inside of him insisted he be there. Nathan turned at the younger boy's soft steps, and smiled gently. JD gave a small smile in return.
"I don't hear anything," Vin whispered, leaning away, only glancing at JD before focusing again on the door. "I guess he's asleep."
"Then I'll check on him in the morning," Nathan whispered back. Vin gave him a nod and turned…to find JD standing in his way. The seventh grader's eyes were narrowed, and he was biting his lower lip.
"What?" Vin hissed. "JD, we need to get back to our rooms now."
JD shook his head. "You should check."
Vin frowned, "Check what?"
"That…that…." JD swallowed, shut his eyes tightly, then opened them again. "Just…make sure he's okay." He licked his lips, "Please?"
Vin arched an eyebrow and looked over at Nathan. The sophomore shrugged, leaving it up to the freshman.
Vin sighed, looked at JD's face anxious again, then shrugged. Pulling his keys out, he turned and inserted them into the lock. Trying to be extra quiet, he opened the door and crept into the dark room.
"Nathan," the freshman's voice called a moment later. Nathan took a few steps towards the door.
"Is he okay?"
"No," Vin walked back into the light of the hallway, his eyes looking very tired all of a sudden. "He's not here. Go get the others. And hurry." He shivered, then looked at JD. "How did you know?"
JD shook his head, still not willing to say anything. Vin pursed his lips in annoyance, then walked back into his room to turn all the lights on. JD followed quietly, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.
+ + + + + + +
The freshman's bed was empty, and his coat, hat and scarf were gone. Vin stared at the mussed sheets as if he'd been betrayed, still not quite believing that he'd been lied to so effectively.
"I don't understand," he admitted, speaking slowly. "I know him. At least, I thought I did. I would have known if he'd been faking."
"He was trained to be a con-artist, Vin. If he really wanted to, he could fool the Pope into believing he was the reincarnation of Christ." Josiah sighed, slumping down on Vin's bed on the opposite side of the room. "He just hasn’t needed to use those skills on any of use since he first got here."
Vin shook his head. "But why would he need to now?"
"Hold on, Vin, maybe he just went to see Mrs. Greene," Nathan suggested. "You shouldn't go jumping to…."
"He didn't go see Mrs. Greene," Vin stated tiredly. "He hates going to the infirmary, hates hospitals in general. He wouldn't ever go there alone, even if he were dying," he glared at Nathan. "You know that."
"Well, maybe I don't. You suggested it yourself, maybe we don't know him," he arched an eyebrow at Vin, "After this, I think even you have to admit…."
"No!"
"Vin, c'mon," Buck tried, touching the younger boy's arm, "maybe he's just getting some air again."
"You!" Vin whirled around, "This is your fault!"
"What?"
"What the hell did you say to him last night?!"
Buck's eyebrows shot up, "What?"
"Damn it, Buck! What did you say?"
"He said," JD swallowed thickly, emerging from the corner of the room where he'd been hiding himself, "he said that the tigers were just toys, and that Ezra needed to grow up and act his age."
Buck stared at JD, torn between embarrassment at being overheard and betrayal at having his words thrown out at him.
"Toys? You called them just toys?" Vin repeated, closing his eyes. "Damn it Buck!"
"What?"
"Look around!" Vin erupted, pointing around the room, "Do you see any toys here!"
Buck flinched, then gave a superficial turn. After a moment, he shook his head. "No, but then, none of us have any toys, really."
"Exactly," Vin spat, "And neither did Ezra. Those weren't toys, Buck. The ceramic tigers belonged to his father. His father collected them, not him. They're the only thing he has that belonged to his old man."
"Oh God," JD muttered, slumping into a wall again.
Josiah grimaced, shaking his head, "I gave him the wooden one, Buck—I made it for his birthday last year. And the plastic one came from Vin, when we all went to Six Flags last summer." The oldest boy kept his eyes to the floor, "Vin's right. They weren't toys."
"And the stuffed one?" Buck asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know. "You telling me that was from his dad as well?"
"No," Vin's teeth were gritted, "that…he got from his mother." His eyes were like icicles, "Maude gave it to him when he was a lot younger. When she came here that one time last year, she looked at it, as if surprised to see it there. Ezra was out of the room, getting her a drink or something, and I saw her pick it off the shelf and hold it. I don't even think she knew what she was saying when she told me she was surprised he still had it. She had given it to him once, because she knew he liked tigers, and wanted to give him something. Later, when I asked, he told me it was the only thing she's ever given him that didn't she didn't expect him to do something in return—it was just a toy. And he kept it." A tear snaked down Vin's cheek, "My parents are dead, Buck, but I at least know they loved me. The only time Ezra's mother has ever said she loved him, and meant it without meaning or wanting something else, was when she gave him that tiger. It was also the last time I think she let him be a kid…."
Buck lowered his head.
"Grow up, you said," Josiah mused. "You told him to grow up and act his age?" His eyes looked up finally, "How old does he need to be, Buck? He's already too damn old for his age! Hell, we all are! How could you say that? You of all people?"
"I guess I wasn't thinking…."
"No you weren't, thinking. You never think! You had to know those weren't toys! And you had to know that Ezra's emotions were raw. And yet you bawled him out anyway, even though he had every right to be angry! You're an idiot, Buck!"
"Josiah, hold on! That's unfair! He wouldn't have had to say it all if it weren't for me!" JD suddenly yelled, standing up again. "Don't yell at Buck! I'm the one who caused all of this!"
"You know, JD's got a point," Nathan said coldly. "He did take the tigers in the first place."
"But he didn't mean for them to get damaged," Buck insisted, unable to stop himself from being protective.
"Doesn't matter."
"It does matter! And even if it didn't, the kid apologized. Ezra wouldn't listen!"
"There you go again! You're blaming Ezra again?" Josiah shouted.
"And you always take his side!" Buck shouted back. "You can't blame me for doing the same thing you do with Ezra and Nathan! And I've seen Chris do it with Vin," he pointed to his best friend then. Chris was silent, standing in the corner with his eyes to the ground. He wasn't getting involved in this…yet. Nathan, Vin and JD were blushing a little bit at Buck's words, knowing they were true. Buck covered his eyes and sighed, exasperated. "Look, I know I made a mistake. Said the wrong thing, but how the hell was I supposed to know he would take it? We say shit to each other all the time, what makes Ezra so different?"
"He's not different," Vin said slowly, his quiet tone a marked contrast to the shouting of the older boys. "He's the same as you, Buck. When you nearly beheaded Scott Mathers last year for calling your mother a whore...that was just Scott saying the wrong thing to you," he took a step back as Buck's face transformed at hearing his mother and the word "whore" used in the same sentence again. "See? We're all set off by different things. Ezra's been hurting for some reason ever since winter session started, and you managed to say the one thing that his mother always tells him whenever she wants him to completely shut down and be her shill. I don't want him to grow up, Buck; I want Ezra to be Ezra. I want him to be my best friend, and to be one of us. And you told him he can't be that. He thinks he has to be the cold, professional con-artist that he was when he first got here again. And he has. He conned me. He conned all of us, and now he's missing."
Buck's face dropped, then, slowly, he nodded.
"Okay," he looked around the room, "I get it. I screwed up. So now what? He's run off on us. What are we supposed to do about it?"
"We have to find him," Vin stated affirmatively. "And you," he pointed at Buck, "you have to fix what you did!"
The older boy's jaw tensed, and he frowned. "How?"
"Think of something," Vin replied coldly.
"So where is he?" Nathan asked. "Do we even know where to start?"
"What night is this?" Chris asked quietly, speaking up for the first time. The others quieted, as they always did when Chris spoke.
"Friday," Josiah said, and his eyes lit up in understanding. "Yosemite's poker night. One of the things we asked him to stop doing because I didn’t like him leaving campus at night—no wonder he didn't want us to know."
"Where is it usually?"
"Wherever Yosemite feels like setting it up, but not usually that far from here, at least that’s what Ezra said. For sure he'll have to come back through the main gate and past the science building though," Josiah said. "He might even be on his way back by now—doesn’t he usually try to come back before midnight?"
"Then me n' Buck'll meet him on his way back," Vin announced.
"Aw come on, Vin!" Buck whined. "It's freezing out there. It's got to be single digits, you know that! Why don't we just wait for him here? He will come back, you know. All his stuff is still here."
"We're going out," Vin repeated more forcefully.
"No, Vin, you're not," Chris shook his head. "I hate to agree with Buck when he's whining, but he's right. Ezra is obviously going to come back. I don't want any of us to get in trouble over that kid, not right now, not if we want to have the freedom to get Lucas."
Vin looked slightly betrayed, "But Chris…."
"He did this himself, Vin. He left us. We've tried to get him to talk to us since session started, but he wouldn't. What Buck said may have hurt him, but it was obviously just the last blow in a series of them. We can't help him if he won't let us. Whether you meet him out there, or meet him here, I don't think it matters anymore. I suggest we all go to bed now, and let him come back on his own, and deal with this tomorrow."
Vin stared at him, annoyed at the fact that, for the first time that he could remember, he didn't agree with the older boy. After a moment, he shook his head.
"No. You may have given up on him, Chris. You may have given up on all of us, but I haven't yet. Buck n' me are going to go out and meet him. We're going to make sure he knows we want him to come home…because I don't trust him not to just leave if he has the money to. We're going out there, and you can't tell me not to."
Chris's jaw tensed, meeting Vin's eyes and holding them steady. "Buck?" he asked finally, still not looking away from Vin but wanting to hear the other boy's response to Vin's statement.
Buck was staring at the floor, his mind racing. JD nudged him, and nodded up at him, his hope clear. Buck smiled down at the smaller boy, then stood up straight.
"It's all right, Chris. As much as I hate this frikkin' Massachusetts weather, I'll go out with Vin. We'll make sure he makes it home."
"Okay?" Vin asked Chris.
Chris waited a moment before answering, then closed his eyes. Sighing heavily, he opened them again and shrugged. "Fine. Just don't expect it to make much of a difference. What's your plan?"
Vin looked down at his watch. "Okay, Conklin will be by to check on us in about five minutes. As soon as the old man's gone off to bed, me and Buck will sneak off."
"Then me, Josiah and Nathan'll wait for you in the common room until you return," Chris said. "Just in case Conklin decides to do one more check. That way, we'll get in trouble first."
Vin nodded his thanks.
Buck just sighed.
"What about me?" JD asked, looking around.
Chris looked at him, "No sense in you getting in trouble too, JD. Besides, Conklin will be less likely to think the whole group of us is staying up past lights out if you're not there. We can tell him that all the 'kids' are sleeping."
JD grimaced. It made sense.
But he still hated being a "kid."
The Game
Several hours earlier, Ezra knocked on the wooden door to a small vacationer's cabin in the woods near the campus, shivering inside his wool pea coat and shrugging his shoulders up in a poor attempt to keep his head warmer. The temperature was frigid, and the long walk to get to this place had nearly caused the loss of his ears and nose, despite his hat. Without question, his toes were long gone—he wasn't sure there was anything below his ankles anymore at all, and the snow had soaked his socks, freezing his ankles inside his boots.
He smiled as the door flew open and hot air brushed his chapped skin, and the vision of the maintenance man, Yosemite, grinning down at him was enough to make him laugh.
"There you are, my boy! I was hoping you'd make it! Come in, come in! We're just about to get started!"
Yosemite, it seemed, was always in a good humor, and the big man had a soft spot for Ezra, though goodness knows why. Ezra grinned and gratefully made it inside, pulling off his hat and looking around. The cabin was basically one big room, and there were currently about seven others lounging around inside.
"Yo, Yosemite," one of them said, "what's the kid doing here?"
"Ezra Standish," Yosemite said, taking Ezra's coat, "Meet Earl Warren. He just started here this session, working for me on the grounds. And that there's Jeb Marshall, another new man and a friend of Earl's, and those two by the fire are Orrie and Saul, a couple of my pals from the service. Boys, this here's Ezra."
Earl just frowned, standing up, ignoring the introduction and ignoring Ezra, "I don't get it, Yosemite. Why's he here."
"Well, put it this way," Yosemite walked over to hang Ezra's coat up, "if you had the chance to play poker with a master of the game, wouldn't you? Even if you knew you'd probably end up losing, just because you might be able to learn something?"
"Huh?"
"He means," said a tall blond man unfolding himself from one of the chairs, "that Ezra is champion player. He cleans our socks off when he comes to play, but it's worth it just to watch it happen."
"Oh come on, Greene!" Earl scoffed, "You're addled! A kid?"
"Most Olympic gymnasts are just kids, Earl," Stephen Greene replied, smiling, "as are many professional tennis players and chess players…."
"Did you read about that kid on the cover of Time?" Catfish grinned from his corner. "Made it to the national championships and he was only, what, like, nine or something?"
"So, what, you saying this kid's a prodigy or something?"
"Talented and trained," Stephen Greene said. "And pretty good at Science too. Did your homework before coming, right Ezra?"
Ezra grinned, "It's Friday, Mr. Greene. But I'll do it before Monday."
"Good boy," Stephen laughed.
"Oh come on," Earl muttered. "So what's he going to stake? Marbles?"
"I brought $500 with me tonight," Ezra said, pulling out the money and handing it to Catfish, who turned it into chips. "How about you?"
"Here Ezra," Yosemite handed the kid a deck as Earl's eyes narrowed on the boy. "Why don't you give him a demonstration."
Ezra grinned, dimples on full wattage, and walked to the green felt table set up in the middle of the room. Putting his chips to one side, he placed the cards down, did a quick shuffle, skirted them around, stretched them between his two hands, then reshuffled, all in the span of about ten seconds. Putting the cards down, he pushed them away and tapped the top of the deck.
"Ace of Spades," he said. Yosemite grinned, reached over and flipped the top card.
Saul whistled, impressed, and even Earl's lips curled into a tiny smile at the trick.
"Well, okay then," Earl shrugged, though his eyes were focused now on the $500 dollars worth of chips the boy had placed next to him, "but, if he can do that, he ain't dealing."
Yosemite laughed at that, and Ezra gave a small smile.
Stephen Greene slapped his hands together, "Right, shall we get started?"
+ + + + + + +
By the time 10:45 rolled around that night, and the boys back at the dorm were just discovering that Ezra was missing, most of the money at the table was sitting in front of the freshman boy and Ezra was laying down his fifth winning hand in a row. Catfish hissed a damn, since he had been bluffed by the kid to fold and realized typically too late that he could have won the pot. Yosemite just sighed, leaning back and smoking his cigar, too amused by Ezra's skills to ever be upset with him. Stephen Greene chuckled. He'd been conservative all night, knowing full well he couldn't beat the kid, so he just put his two-pair down and sighed. The two veterans, Saul and Orrie just rolled their eyes, having folded early. Earl and Jeb didn't smile. Earl, in particular, was watching Ezra hawkishly.
"Time's getting late," Stephen said, looking down at his watch. "Belinda will be expecting me home soon."
"Getting late for you too, kid," Yosemite said around his cigar, leaning over to ruffle Ezra's hair. Ezra ducked away, blushing and quickly trying to put his hair back into place. "We should get you back to campus."
"If you help me and Yosemite clean up, I'll drop you off at the gate, son," Catfish asked.
"That'd be great," Ezra replied, the idea of a warm car ride this night far outweighing the indignity of doing any kind of manual labor. "Thanks."
"He's not leaving," Earl stated firmly.
"What?" That came from Catfish.
"Kid has too much of my money. All of our moneys. I want it back."
"Earl," Yosemite stood up, pulling the cigar out of his mouth, "it's late. You came to play poker, and you lost. Doesn't matter to whom."
"Hell yes it matters! I ain't losing to some kid! What the hell does he need all that money for anyway? Kid had to have made almost $2500 off of us tonight!"
Yosemite sighed, looking over at Stephen Greene. The science teacher's face screwed up a little, then he shook his head.
"Yosemite's right, Earl," Stephen said. "It's not our business what he uses it for. He won it, fair and square. I, for one…."
"Fair? Fair my ass! You yourselves saw that little trick of his with the cards at the beginning. And now I see all that money sitting in front of him," Earl stood up, showing his impressive size—he was taller than anyone in the room, and as big as a football player, "Looks to me like the kid cheated."
"I do not cheat!" Ezra shouted, standing up himself. If he was at all frightened of the older man, he didn't show it, too indignant was he at the idea that someone would think he'd need to cheat.
"He doesn't need to cheat," Stephen Greene said, mirroring the boy's thoughts. Ezra threw him a grateful glance. "Ezra really is that good."
"Bullshit," Earl swore. "I want my money back! This whole thing was a joke!" He glared at Ezra and took a step forward, "Give me my money back kid!" Ezra fell back.
"Back off!" Yosemite shouted, stabbing a hand at the center of Earl's chest and sending him backwards. "You touch that boy, and not only will you lose your job, but you will lose an eye. Get me?" While shorter, Yosemite matched Earl in girth and muscle, which was enough to give the taller man pause, especially when both Catfish and Stephen Greene stood up as well to back him up. Jeb hovered behind Earl, while Chip and Saul stayed off to one side.
Earl's jaw muscles tensed and released, and Ezra tried not to shiver at the wildness he could see in them.
"Fine," the new man growled eventually. "But I ain't playing with him again, get me?"
"Sure," Yosemite said, still not moving away from his protective stance in front of Ezra. "Not a problem."
"Jeb," Earl turned, pointing at his friend, "Come on. We're out of here." Walking to the coat rack, the big man grabbed his jacket and scarf, throwing them on, his expression still livid.
No one in the room moved or breathed until the door slammed behind him and Jeb, and the sound of his SUV roared to life and ground down the snow covered drive.
Yosemite sighed, turning to look at Ezra. The kid looked amazingly calm, as if being threatened like that was an every day occurrence.
"I'm sorry, Ezra. It was obviously a mistake inviting him. It won't happen again. I'd take you over that lummox any day."
Ezra smiled, "It's okay, Yosemite. And thanks Mr. Greene; thanks Catfish." He glanced over at Chip and Saul, but both men pretended to be too interested in counting their chips.
"Right," Yosemite put his hands on his hips, "best clean this place up so we can all go home."
+ + + + + + +
Earl didn't say a word, and Jeb didn't either, until they hit the main road and the SUV veered right—towards the school. Jeb frowned.
"Where are you going?"
"You got your cell?"
"Yeah…."
"Call Kurt and Les. We're going to get that money back."
Jeb arched an eyebrow, but did as he was told.
The End
Continues in The Black Woods
