Chapter 10
Shades of past lives troubled me as I tried to sleep that night. Instead of a restful slumber, I spent most of the night staring at the faintly glowing ceiling with its stars, planets and constellations still retaining their luminosity after all these years. I had been allowed to remain in my father’s office for most of the discussion that had taken place, and for the spectacular arguments that had taken place after the Social Services Director had arrived along with
Sean had ended up going to an emergency room after the Judge had taken one look at him. The Secret Service had driven him over there without complaint, and the Chief of Police had summoned two of his officers to take the two handcuffed men into custody once it was confirmed they were flunkies paid by the First Baptist church, not paid employees of any mental institution. What followed hadn’t been an official hearing, but there’d been plenty of arguments as Margaret Flores and Bob Rule tried to sway the judge with their opinions, and Mary Lou Hacker had handled rebutting their arguments with very little comment from my father. In fact, my father hadn’t said more than a few words unless he was asked by the judge directly, and when the judge invalidated the medical order committing Sean, and told the Social Services Director that Sean would need a place to stay while the whole mess was sorted out, my father spoke up softly to say we had plenty of room here for him.
That brought out another diatribe about Jeremy from both Margaret Flores and Bob Rule.
Their diatribe backfired, and it backfired big time when the judge declared that we had probably one of the most knowledgeable experts about AIDS in the room. After all, if Mr. David Jones had been the director of the nation’s AIDS program for the past two years, he’d definitely qualify as an expert in any courtroom. The dumbstruck look on Margaret Flores’s face had been worth all the trouble so far. Sure, she’d probably known about my father’s previous position but most likely she’d thought she could use that against him, not that it would be so important in the judge’s opinion. My father spoke for less than five minutes before the judge nodded and declared it ‘not an issue’.
All that played through my mind, as well as Sean’s face when he returned and learned his father had already been escorted from the premises along with most of the other people. The matter certainly wasn’t over, and there’d have to be a few hearings, but he wasn’t going to be shipped off by his parents (for the third time). My father pulled Sean into the office and talked with him in private for almost an hour. By then, it was bedtime, and my mother had shuffled me off to bed.
Realizing I wasn’t going to get any sleep, I got out of bed as the sun was just starting to lighten the eastern sky. I turned on the light over my desk and pulled out some of my pens for calligraphy work. Even that failed to occupy my mind, and I decided that I might as well head downstairs for an early breakfast. It was when I was on my second bowl of cereal that my father came downstairs, already dressed in a suit and he shook his head when he saw me.
“Couldn’t sleep?” He asked and I nodded. “You’re going to be sorry later.”
“I know.” I agreed and he let out a sigh before sitting down at the breakfast table with me. “Are you going to be late?”
“No, I was going to stop for breakfast and coffee on my way to the airport.” Dad replied with a soft smile. “I’m tempted to stick around, but these meetings are a little too important to put off right now. I’m going to come back tonight though instead of staying overnight in
“We will.” I assured my father.
“I hope you and Brian are going to be more careful too.” He said with a warning tone and I almost blushed.
“We… we will be.” I assured him and he nodded before standing up and putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Son, you realize all this could blow up really bad in our faces, don’t you?” He asked me and I nodded.
“I’m sorry, Dad.” I said softly.
“Don’t be.” Dad said with a snort. “Bob Rule is the one who should be sorry, and that fat bastard over at First B. By the time I’m done with them, they’re going to find out what it means to cross swords with David Jones.”
“I can’t wait.” I said with a slight tremor in my voice. This man… he was so unlike any father I’d ever known before.
“Well, I better be off if I’m going to get some coffee before the flight.” Dad said cheerfully. “I love you son. Have a good day at school.”
“Love you, Dad.” I said with a smile. “Have a safe flight.”
“We will.” Dad said as he left the room heading out towards the front door. Not more than a minute later, Sean showed up, wearing an old pair of my sweatpants, and a t-shirt that was newer and a little big for him.
“Was that your father leaving?” Sean asked as he sat down and looked at me.
“Yep.” I answered. “Milk, juice and cereal are all in the kitchen, if you want some. Maria doesn’t get here for another hour.”
“Be back in a sec.” Sean said with a grin and got up. He was back in about two minutes, just as I was draining the milk from my bowl and finishing off my glass of apple juice.
“You look like you slept well.” I said softly as he began to happily stuff Rice Krispies in his mouth.
“I slept better than I have ever since I came back into this weird-ass timeline.” Sean said with a snort. “Whatever the fuck you did with your father… he’s really different. I actually like him.”
“I do too.” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m sorry about your father.”
“I’m not.” Sean said with a snort. “Remind me to thank you again and again for teaching the other Sean to work out. Between how strong I am now, and what you and Brian taught me about wrestling over the last week, I managed to throw both those goons off of me and get out of the house with only a ripped shirt when my father tried to grab me.”
“Well at least you headed to the right place.” I said.
“Yeah, although I was expecting it to be you who saved me, not your father.” Sean snorted with a wide smile. “Do you think he’s going to get me to stay here until I turn eighteen?”
“Probably, if that’s what you want.” I said with a shrug.
“Great, just what I need, another brother.” My sister said with a snort as she came into the room carrying a bowl of cereal in one hand and a glass of juice in the other. We hadn’t even heard her in the kitchen, and Sean and I shared a look of surprise, both obviously wondering how much she’d heard.
“Why would you think my brother could save you and Daddy wouldn’t?” My sister asked as she sat down next to Sean.
“I… I just thought you father wouldn’t want to get involved.” Sean stuttered as my sister just shook her head.
“He thinks all you guys are second sons to him or something.” Jenny snorted. “You’d think he’d like my friends half as much.”
“Your friends are just weird.” I teased her and she just stuck her tongue out at me. The Rice flake on the end of it caused Sean and I to break out in laughter.
“What are you guys laughing at?” Jeremy said as he stumbled into the room with a glass of orange juice. He was wearing gray pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt with his long black hair hanging over his eyes.
“Jenny.” Sean and I said in unison and he just shook his head as he sat down next to me.
“When do I find out what happened?” Jeremy asked in the silence that followed.
“Me too.” Jenny said with a smirk. “If I have to put up with a third brother, I want to at least know what happened.”
“We’re not supposed to say anything about it.” I said quickly. “The judge put a gag order on everything.”
“What’s that? Something that makes you throw up?” Jeremy asked and I shook my head while smiling.
“A gag order is when a judge forbids anyone involved in a court case from talking about the case.” Jenny said with a tone of superiority and a smug expression on her face. “Jeez, don’t you ever watch Matlock?”
“I hate television.” Jeremy muttered, getting supportive laughs from Sean and I. “So you can’t talk about it or you get thrown in jail? Is that what happens if anyone tells about me?”
“No, there’s been no gag order in your case.” I said with a shake of my head.
“Okay, so you could tell if you wanted?” Jeremy asked as if that distinction was important to him, and I think I understood why.
“Jeremy, you’re here because we all want you here.” I said firmly. “We’re not just saying that because we have to say it, we mean every word.”
“What happens if other people find out?” Jeremy asked.
“We stick by you, thick or thin.” Jenny said with firmness about her that told him she meant business.
“You people are weird.” Jeremy said with a shake of his head.
“You gotta love them though.” Sean said with a twinkle in his eyes and Jeremy just chuckled.
“You’re all up bright and early.” Mom said as she stood in the doorway, leaning against the wall. She was wearing her black and red satin bathrobe that my sister had given to her for Christmas. There was a familiar look on her face, and I felt my heart go out to her. It wasn’t something I thought about much, but I knew my mother lived in near-constant pain from her back. The scoliosis that hadn’t been caught in time had left her with a noticeable hump on her back from the spine’s curvature, less lung capacity, and near-constant back twinges and pain.
“Davey’s always up early.” My sister said with a grimace at me. “He hasn’t been exercising like he usually does, though.”
“You feeling okay son?” Mom asked me with a concerned look on my face and I stared at my sister for a moment.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I told my mother. “It’s just… with all the changes and everything I think I’m just going to start heading to the school a little early and running on the track there, if that’s okay with Jeremy and Sean.”
“Fine by me.” Sean said with a shrug. “I might even join you.”
“If my knee would let me, it might be fun.” Jeremy said, surprising me a little. He’d gotten a lot friendlier over the last week, which was a good thing.
“No reason you can’t walk around the track.” Sean said. “When Mr. Runner over there tires me out, I’ll walk with ya.”
“Why doesn’t he do track?” Jeremy asked.
“It’d interfere with his baseball.” My sister said as my mom turned with a smile still on her face and headed into the kitchen to get her cup of tea started.
“Oh.” Jeremy said with a shake of his head. “So, when do we go to school?”
“How about a half-hour?” I suggested. There wouldn’t be time to run today, but there was still the flag to raise. That thought brought back memories of another time and I nearly shuddered as a sense of dread filled me. I remembered all too well how quickly the school had become a battleground around Brian, Sean and I, and I was afraid it would happen again after what Mr. Rule said last night.
“We’d better go get ready.” Sean said as he pushed his chair back. Jeremy left with him and I stood to go.
“Love you, bro.” My sister said as she grabbed her dirty dishes and got up to leave as well.
“Love you too, sis.” I responded as I followed her into the kitchen.
“We keep this up and we’ll have to remodel again.” Mom said to me as I put my dishes in the sink.
“You okay with it?” I asked her softly and she just nodded before grimacing. “Your back?”
“Yes.” She said shortly. “It’s been getting worse lately.”
“You work too much.” I told her and she just shook her head.
“It’s not been getting any easier lately.” Mom said with a frown and I leaned against the counter as she gave me a brief glance before turning back to watch the kettle on the stove, waiting for the water to boil. “Your father made a lot of enemies with the really conservative folks over some of his initiatives.”
“I know.” I said softly. “He pushed too hard for social changes, which is why the President moved him over to Agriculture.”
“Hopefully it’ll give him a chance to win back some support here in
“Have you thought about expanding your charities?” I asked her cautiously. “They’re really starting to do AIDS fundraisers now and Dad has a lot of clout with those types.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Mom said with a small smile as her kettle began to hiss from the water inside boiling. My mother reached up and patted my cheek. “You get to school and have a good day.”
“You too, Mom.” I said with a smile, leaning in to hug her before she picked up the kettle.
With Jeremy around, Brian and I hadn’t been enjoying our morning make-out sessions inside the gym, although we did hug briefly as I entered with Sean and my foster-brother. To my surprise, Jeremy snorted behind us.
“I’ve already figured you guys out.” Jeremy said softly and we turned to face him while
“I… I thought…”I stuttered softly.
“You thought I hated people like you because of this fucking shit I have.” Jeremy finished my statement and I nodded at him. “I did, but your father… he sat me down and had a talk with me last week and I’ve been thinking about what he said. It sucks what happened to me, but it’s not your fault. Just don’t go cheating on each other because that’s how you get it, you know.”
“We know.” Brian said softly as he pulled me into him and put an arm around my waist. “If Davey ever cheated on me, I’d cut off his balls.”
“Gee, now nice of you.” I said, getting a lot of laughter.
“So, you’re okay with us?” Sean asked and Jeremy smiled softly.
“The way I see it, we all got secrets to keep for each other.” Jeremy said and I let out a sigh of relief.
“Let’s get the flag raised.”
Another tremor of fear passed through me as we passed Heather in the hallway. Jason McCloud from the school’s football team was her current boyfriend, and had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. He nodded at Trevor, who had played an excellent year as quarterback, and Brandon of course. Brian and he hadn’t gotten along for some reason I’d never really understood, and of course I was just a baseball player. It was Heather who worried me though, because she looked at us with a look of disgust. I’d never forgotten her role in that other timeline, and had made sure to stay clear of her in this one.
For fifteen minutes, we all hung out in a group near the central corridor’s lockers, just chatting lightly about what we expected from the upcoming school week. It was a muted conversation as the school filled up, and numerous students walked by, some even greeting us casually. As it got close to the time for first period, we all split up, with Jeremy going off to his first class, trudging along between Brandon and Trevor while I caught up with Tom Holloway who had the same morning class as I did.
It had only taken three lifetimes, but I was finally taking Spanish.
‘Homeroom’ at
“Good morning, Downey Knights!” The voice over the loudspeaker announced in a tone I found downright too cheerful. It was a voice I recognized immediately as belonging to another person who brought up too many memories, Jay Connors. The way his voice shifted to something more serious sent shivers up and down my spine, and not the type of shivers I got from Brian. “I know I’m supposed to tell you all about the track team’s meet later this week, but something much more serious has been brought to my attention.”
I closed my eyes and prayed he wasn’t about to say something about Sean. That was one of the memories that stood out from two past lifetimes, the way he’d led the tormenting of Sean in that first timeline, and to my eternal shame I’d gone along with it in an effort to ‘fit in’ amongst my peers. In that second timeline, the way my friends and I had stood up to him had ended up in my being outed along with Brian. Part of me wanted to shrink in on myself, while another part wanted to sit back and let my father deal with all this as he’d done last night.
“I’m sure all of you have heard about this AIDS disease that’s going around among homosexuals, drug users, and prostitutes.” He continued in a voice that was both disgusted and rushed. Dr. Borsch was probably getting up from his desk about now and rushing towards the section of the school’s office that had the microphone to the PA system. My stomach did a flip-flop again and I began to sit up in my desk seat, a sense of panic nearly overwhelming me. “We all know that anyone who has that disease is going to die. There’s no cure on God’s judgment for those who live immoral lives. I’ve found out that the Principal, and the father of one of our fellow students has secretly let a kid infected with that disease be enrolled into our school, without us even knowing…”
The microphone cut off suddenly and the students in the classroom drowned my sigh of relief out amidst the sudden outbreak of confused exclamations. Tom, who was sitting next to me, chewing a piece of Big Red gum was the only student beside me not talking as the teacher tried to quiet everyone. His gaze met mine, and bore into me for a long moment. It was no secret, and most people knew, what my father had been doing for two years now. My worst fear that Jay would say Jeremy’s name hadn’t been realized thanks to the microphone being cut off, but as Tom mouthed Jeremy’s name, I knew it wouldn’t be long before people put two and two together. When I just stared at Tom he just shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in his chair like it was no big deal.
Time seemed to slow at that, and a thousand thoughts raced through my head. As much as Jay Connors was a jerk, I understood why he did what he did since our society put a great importance on the future of children. In 1968, an entire election had swung around after a devastating ad showing a young girl in a field of daisies while a voice-over conducted a countdown ending in a bright nuclear flash of fire. It was probably the best political ad of all time. In a few seconds, it scared parents that their kids would die in the flash of nuclear fire if they voted for the wrong person, and the course of an election changed.
Far too often, astute politicians had no hesitation or doubts about using people’s fear for their children as a tool to push their agenda. Humans were, by and large, social creatures. One of the biggest differences between adults and children was that by and large, children were more influenced by those they trusted, whether they be friends, adults, or parents. As kids grew older, they rebelled more, and asked more questions, but traditional American Christians did their best to reduce that rebellion, and to squash any questioning of their beliefs and values. If children wanted to be accepted, or loved by the parents, compliance and obedience were required. Jay, and many other people like him might not believe the edicts of their parents, but they also knew they had to follow these edicts in order to earn acceptance or praise from their parents.
As much as I might despise the actions they committed on behalf of their parents’ passed-down beliefs, I could understand and sympathize with the reasons why they did what they did.
What was I going to do, though? It was obvious Dr. Darner, the pastor at First Baptist and instigator of all this, was going to be using the students themselves. They were going after Jeremy, and through him, striking at my father who had turned his back on them years ago. It could be said my father had made a critical error in bringing Jeremy to live with us.
I also understood why Dad had brought Jeremy into our home. For two years my father had coordinated the efforts to contain the outbreak of AIDS. His goals had been unrealistic in that he’d hoped to stop it outright without extremely drastic measures. No matter how much I’d told him otherwise, he took the continued slow spread of the disease, the resistance of the gay community to the idea of using protection, of reducing promiscuous behavior, the resistance of drug users to stopping the sharing of needles, the resistance of ‘good’ citizens to making clean needles available, and the resistance of certain elements of the medical industry to testing of all blood supplies instead of random testing as a personal failure. When he’d first learned of Jeremy’s case, he’d been totally devastated, feeling as if he’d failed to protect the innocent young man, and the reactions of Jeremy’s parents might as well have been a slap in the face.
He acted, not as a politician, but as a father and a human being, putting himself forward to do what he could on a personal level. For that, he was going to be repaid by a publicly humiliating fight, aimed at ending his political career by people who thought he wasn’t conservative enough for them. I knew he had been edged out of the AIDS position by conservatives who thought he was far too liberal, and that the President had made a deal to let him move over to Agriculture. Now people would use the ‘safety of their children’ to destroy any chance of a normal life Jeremy, a kid of fourteen, might have before he died in a few months or a few years, in order to destroy a political opponent.
I was angry, I realized as a loud crack filled the room, causing all the excited chatter to come to a halt. Every eye was on me as I sat in the desk and stared at the cracked desktop. It was one of those one-piece affairs with a small desk table coming up from a bar on the right side, and my tightening grip had cracked the solid wood in half. Everyone was staring at me, including the teacher.
“Mrs. Margalez, I need to go to the office.” I said in the silence that followed and she just nodded at me with a stunned look before her gaze returned to the broken desk. Without waiting, I picked up my backpack and headed out of the classroom. It was on the southern wing and it only took me a minute to enter the main hallway near the office. From the other end of the hallway, I could see Brian storming down the hallway with a look of anger on his face, and a quick glance down the central corridor showed Sean and Trevor storming towards the office. With a sigh of relief, I waited for them just outside the office.
“I’m going to kill Jay Connors.” Brian said as he stopped in front of me, his hand reaching out to squeeze my arms.
“Not if I see him first.” Trevor muttered.
“Where’s
“They’re probably in the office already.” I said after taking a deep breath.
“What’s this?” Brian asked as he picked a sliver of wood off of my t-shirt.
“A piece of my desk.” I said with a shrug. “I broke it in half.”
“What are we going to do?” Trevor asked with a shiver.
“I’m going to do what’s right.” I said in a voice that shook with the passion coursing through my veins. Brian smiled and gave me a quick hug without even looking around first.
“I’m with you.” Trevor said in a voice that shook slightly with anger. Sean just nodded after meeting my gaze for a moment. Without the need for any more words, I turned and walked into the office only to be stopped immediately by Mrs. Corrigan who was standing behind the long counter.
“What are you boys doing out of class?” She demanded sternly. I knew she liked me, and at least Trevor, but she was not a very happy camper right now. A sniffling sound from the corridor that was off to the right, leading to the guidance counselor’s area told me that my foster-brother was here already, and the sound of Mr. Borsch actually yelling in his office told me that he was probably dealing with Jay Connors right now.
“I’m here for my foster-brother.” I told her in a firm voice just as the door to Mr. Borsch’s office opened and Jay Connors swept out with his head held high, but a look of surprise. At first, he tried to smile at Brian and Trevor, but the cold looks he received from them gave him pause. He didn’t even bother looking at me.
“You better be careful.” He said to my two friends. “You won’t want to hang around him once everyone knows.”
“Get out of my sight before I kick your ass.” Trevor said in a deadly voice as he bunched his hands into fists and started to move forward.
“Calm down right now!” Mrs. Corrigan said sharply and Trevor froze.
“I told you to sit down and wait for your parents to get here.” Mr. Borsch said in a stern voice to Jay. “That doesn’t mean you are free to talk. You’re being suspended, so I expect you to keep your mouth shut until you leave school property.”
“You’re going to pay for this.” Jay said as he turned to sit in the hallway, but froze when he saw what was probably Jeremy and Brandon. “You can’t make me sit over there.”
“Why not?” Mr. Borsch asked with a sickly-sweet tone.
“That… thing is over there.” Jay’s voice said in a sneer and I lost all control. Without thinking I let out a roar of pure rage and leaped over the five-foot high counter, fully intending to do to Jay what I’d done to the desk in the classroom.
“Davey NO!” Jeremy’s voice cut through the haze of red just before I reached Jay, who was half-turned to me, his face just registering shock and surprise. Somehow Jeremy covered the distance from the hallway to stand in-between Jay and I, stopping me before I had a chance to strike. “Davey, I’m not worth you getting into trouble…”
“You are worth it.” I said as I took a deep breath, locking gazes with Jay Connors and remembering what I’d been thinking earlier. “He’s not worth it though.”
“Go sit down, Jay.” Mr. Borsch said in a voice that shook slightly. “Mr. Jones, why don’t you and Jeremy come inside my office? Your friends… they should be in class.”
“We’re not going anywhere.”
“Then sit down and wait.” Mr. Borsch said with a sigh as he stood aside and motioned towards his office.
“Thanks.” I said to Jeremy who had tear streaks on his cheeks. Jeremy smiled softly at me and I put my arm around him as we entered the Principal’s office.
“Davey, you have detention for that stunt.” Mr. Borsch said immediately as he closed the door behind me. I just nodded. “Be glad Jeremy stopped you in time. If you’d touched Mr. Connors, more than likely you’d be expelled, no matter what job your father has.”
“Yes sir.” I said softly. “I’m sorry for my overreaction.”
“That’s good.” He said and he looked hard at Jeremy.
“Jeremy, you have my most sincere apologies.” He said in a very soft voice. “If I had known what was going to happen, I’d have stopped it before it started. As it was, I’m sorry I wasn’t there standing over Mr. Connors’ shoulder. I did that most of last semester and thought he knew better than to pull any stunts like this again.”
“It’s not your fault.” Jeremy said weakly as we sat down in chairs on the other side of Mr. Borsch’s desk. “It’s mine.”
“Bullshit.” Mr. Borsch snorted, cussing for the first time in my memory. We both stared at him with wide eyes and I slowly smiled. “When Secretary Jones first approached me on this, I’ll admit I was nervous, but he was right. Only minor modifications needed to be made for this school to be safe for you.”
“What about making the school safe from me?” Jeremy asked in a weak voice.
“Jeremy, we have two students here who have Hepatitis, at least two I know about.” Mr. Borsch said with a snort. “I’m not going to mention that to anyone else, but you deserve to know it. It’s a disease like yours that doesn’t have a cure, and although it is less deadly than AIDS, it will kill people just the same. You have as much right to be here as they do.”
“Oh.” Jeremy said with wide eyes. I could feel him quaking as I kept my arm around his shoulders.
“What happens now?” I asked as the Principal’s phone rang. He held up a finger and as I listened to his side of the conversation, my heart sank. The person on the other side of the phone was yelling, and while I couldn’t make out individual words, I didn’t need to in order to understand what it was about.
“That was the President of the School Board.” Mr. Borsch said after hanging up the phone. He took off his glasses as he spoke and rubbed the bridge of his nose. For a moment, I felt like doing the same thing. “Apparently, he just got a few phone calls from so-called ‘community leaders’ worried about a danger to the health of children in our school.”
“I’m sorry.” Jeremy said weakly as his shuddering grew worse. I pulled him closer to me as he began sobbing.
“Son, I’m so sorry.” Mr. Borsch said with true sympathy. “If I thought you were a true danger to the children of this school, I’d have never let you enroll. You’re not and I’m going to do everything I can to prove that. You have done nothing wrong. It’s the bigots in this town who need to be taught a lesson. Unfortunately, there’s only so much I can do. As President of the Board, he can and has called an emergency meeting and he’s pretty much threatened to terminate me if I don’t remove you immediately from school. Don’t apologize! It’s not your fault.”
“I’m sorry.” Jeremy blubbered and I let out a deep breath.
“Jeremy, why don’t you go outside and wait with the guys?” I said in a soft voice. He just looked at me for a moment, nodded, sniffed and went outside. When the door was shut I turned to look at the principal who had led a fight on my behalf in another time. Our gazes met steadily for several long minutes before I spoke again. “I owe the school a desk.”
“What?” He asked and I smiled sadly.
“When I heard Jay’s little announcement, I lost it for a moment.” I said softly and he just shook his head. “I snapped my desk in my rage.”
“You need to watch your temper.” He warned me.
“I’ll pay for the desk.” I said softly. “I heard him yell something about the press.”
“He said the same people who called him have already called the press.” Mr. Borsch said softly. “I don’t think I need to tell you what’s really going on here. I need to call your parents.”
“Dad’s in
“Your agent is outside now.” He said with a nod of his head. I looked back and saw Tom standing outside the office, looking in at me. He relaxed when I nodded at him, and turned around to stand guard there. “It might be best if he took you home.”
“Adults aren’t going to win this fight.” I said softly and he gave me a quizzical look.
“What do you mean?” He asked me.
“They’re using kids like Jay to spread fear and make this an issue about the safety of kids.” I said softly. “Spreading fear will divide people, and using students to do it will make it look like it’s coming from the kids, not from the parents, making it much more effective.”
“You definitely are a politician’s son.” He said with a smile. “I wonder how they found out.”
“It doesn’t matter.” I said with a shake of my head. The window blinds behind him were open enough that I could see the front of the school, and the first news van pulling into the driveway. It was from Channel 3 up in
“Damn.” He muttered and then gave me a look that was half warning and half guilt. “You didn’t hear me say that.”
“Hear what?” I said with a small smile. He’d cussed twice now in front of me. His expression changed to a frown as he saw something behind me.
“How did they get here so quick?” He asked and I turned around at the sight of a man and women standing out at the office counter. They were in their forties, it looked like, and both dressed up. The man was wearing a nice dark suit and the woman was wearing a nice dress. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that they were Jay’s parents. I knew vaguely that they both had decent jobs, but neither of them would be wearing those clothes to work.
“It’s all part of their plan.” I said softly and earned myself a very direct look.
“What do you mean?” Mr. Borsch asked me.
“There was some trouble at my house last night with a friend.” I said softly. “I can’t talk about the details because of an order from a judge. Let’s just say what happened there, and what’s happening now, they’re connected. I think some people have decided to use this school and the students here to further their political agenda.”
“No offense to your father, but I hate politics.” Mr. Borsch muttered as an angry voice rose from the outer office. “This is getting out of control here.”
“Yes, it is.” I agreed with him and he looked at me for a very long moment. I turned to look back out at the office where the voices were escalating, and the man was trying to come through the counter gate, only to be confronted by Tom, who was probably ordering him back around. Jay was coming up behind the agent, talking to the couple, and Mrs. Corrigan was trying to restore some sense of order. A quick look out side showed the news van was being set up for what looked like a live broadcast. That’s when the class bell.
“I think it would be best if you and your foster-brother were to go home.” Mr. Borsch repeated himself as the hallways began to fill with kids who were talking extremely loudly, much louder than normal. “As soon as the halls clear, have your agent take the two of you home. Your friends can go back to class. I’ll talk to your mother and figure out where we go from here.”
“We’ll get right on that.” I told him, making my decision. In this timeline, I had so far done my best to let other people handle problems, mostly adults. Sure, I’d spoken from the sidelines; I’d supported them when I could without revealing too much. If I changed that, I risked tipping off the President that my memories weren’t really gone, but I felt that to stand by and let events play out without challenging them would be the greater evil.
I hadn’t worked this hard to see so many good changes just be thrown away.
“Wait here while I talk to the Conners.” Borsch directed and I nodded. “Once I’m talking to them, get your agent, your foster-brother, and your friends and exit through the guidance office. Then you can leave as soon as the halls are clear.”
“Okay.” I told him and he got up to head outside. Before he opened the door, he took a deep breath to calm himself, and straightened up his tie. Then he was gone, and I watched as he very capably occupied the attention of all the people in the office except for Tom, who was watching me through the window. I didn’t wait long, and headed out with a nod to the agent and gathered up my friends and Jeremy. “Let’s go.”
“What’s going on?” Jeremy asked. He looked calmer now, but still had the appearance of being on the edge of a breakdown.
“You’re heading home.” I told him and he frowned as we moved past the guidance offices, filled with adults who looked at us with a great deal of curiosity. There was a small lounge on the other side of the guidance office, and I saw it was empty so we headed in there. It had a door to the hallways as well as the one we entered, which Tom was closing at that moment.
“I’ve already called your mother’s detail and they’ve informed her.” Tom said softly and I nodded at his words. “She’s calling your father and will be here in a few minutes.”
“Mr. Borsch says he wants Jeremy and I to go home, and for the rest of you to go back to classes.” I said softly to my friends who looked at me with various measuring glances.
“What’s going on in that head of yours, Davey Jones?” Sean asked and I grinned at him for a moment.
“These fuckers have picked on the wrong group of people.” I said with a viciousness that vented some of the anger seething inside of me. “I’m not going to let them ruin this for Jeremy.”
“You don’t have to…” Jeremy started to say but he went silent as he saw my gaze.
“I don’t have to do anything, but I want to make them pay for what they’ve done.” I said in a voice that left no doubt of what I was feeling. “Jeremy, I may have to answer some questions publicly about you and I promised you not to say anything…”
“It’s already out there.” Jeremy said softly. “Just… don’t… just say what you have to.”
“Thank you.” I told him, moved by his trust. It would make this easier.
“What do we do?” Brian asked and I grinned.
“First of all, I need everyone but Sean to go back to their classes.” I said quickly and with a wicked grin. “You guys are rumor control.”
“What do we say?” Trevor asked.
“Tell everyone the truth.” I answered. “Tell them what you think of Jeremy, and just how much of a danger he really is to those around him.”
“So we tell him Jeremy’s one damn cool dude and that he’s about as much danger to anyone here as Jay Collins, maybe less because unlike Jay, he’s not a bully.”
“What about me?” Sean asked.
“I want you to take Jeremy home.” I told him with a small smile. “No offense, but I don’t want to risk people who know about what happened last night dragging you through the mud, and I don’t want Jeremy to be alone.”
“How are we going to get home?” Jeremy asked, and I felt a little thrill that he was calling it home still.
“Tom will take you.” I said, looking over at the agent.
“No way.” Tom said flatly. “You’re my charge, not these two.”
“I’ll be out in front of the school.” I told him. “I’ll be right in front of the cameras so nothing will happen to me. Besides, my mother is on her way here right now.”
“Why don’t Sean and Jeremy wait here until she arrives?” Tom countered. “I’ll clear it with the Principal.”
“Okay.” I said with a shrug. “They just need to remain out of sight, okay?”
“That will be no problem.” Tom said and I let out a sigh. “Now what are you going to do?”
“I’m the son of a politician and there’s a television camera out front.” I responded. He frowned for a moment.
“Your father isn’t going to like that.” He said.
“My problem to deal with.” I answered.
“It’s your ass.” Tom with a nod.
“You sure about this?” Sean asked and I nodded before heading out the door that led to the hallway, followed by Tom and the other three friends.
“Good luck.” Brian said, giving my arm a squeeze before heading off to his next class. Somehow I’d managed to leave my backpack somewhere and as I passed the office I realized it was inside. A quick glance showed two strange students standing and talking to the secretary, and Mr. Borsch had all of the Connors in his office. My backpack was right where I dropped it before jumping over the counter, and I managed to retrieve it without drawing any attention.
A small crowd of students had formed in front of the television camera, and they were ignoring the tardy bell just as I was. The news crew had set up just on the public sidewalk, and it was pretty easy to identify the students who were members of the Bible club, since they’d all dressed nice. I was wearing a light blue t-shirt that had “Property of Downey High Baseball” on it. The shirt was a gift from the
“…which is why we’ve had to bring this matter to the attention of the School Board, the Parents, and the Students directly!” Dr. Darner was thundering into the microphone of the young brunette reporter. She was nodding as he spoke, and there were murmurs of agreement from the students arranged in a semi-circle around the pastor. I moved to the edge of the group, quite aware of Tom hanging ten feet behind me, and waited.
“If the boy is such a danger, why was he allowed to attend the school at all?” The reporter asked and the pastor smiled.
“I’m glad you asked that.” He said. “David Jones, the former head of the Presidential AIDS Commission used his influence to force the school’s principal and the district superintendent to allow the boy into school after ripping the boy from his parents’ loving, Christian home.”
“Now that is a plain-faced lie.” I said loud enough for the microphone to pick up my voice. The pastor and several of the students in front of me jumped in surprise, and a path was made between the pastor and I without me having to say another word. The smile that I was feeling never made it to my face, which I kept in a neutral expression. I could see the camera swinging to me, and took the necessary steps through the path that had cleared for me. When I was abreast of the preacher, standing just to his left, I stopped and let my backpack slide to the ground as I squared my shoulders and faced the reporter.
“You are?” She asked, moving the microphone towards me while the Pastor’s face turned different shades of red as he recognized me.
“David Ray Jones, Jr.” I said clearly, using my full name so that there would be no confusion about my identity.
“He’s a minor, you can’t interview him without his parents’ permission.” Dr. Darner stated in a huff, and I smiled at the pretty reporter.
“My mother is on her way here now, and will approve.” I said confidently. “My family has always believed that addressing dishonesty, and making a stand for what is right is the most important thing we could do. My father has been in public office most of my life, and he’s made sure our family understands our obligation to the people he represents.”
“You said something was a lie?” The reporter asked, having made her decision just as I knew she would. No reporter worth her salt would turn down the drama that this was turning into.
“I’m not exactly comfortable talking about something that should be a private, family matter.” I began in a clear tone, allowing the edges of my lips to turn downwards in a very slight frown. “Unfortunately, the good Dr. Darner here has decided to make a tragic private matter public, and I cannot stand by and let untrue statements go unchallenged.”
“How dare you call me a liar.” Dr. Darner fumed just loud enough for the microphone to pick it up and I looked at him briefly with a raised eyebrow before turning to look back at the reporter.
“When a person deliberately states something that is not true, I am left with little other choice than to call him a liar, sir.” I said firmly. “My foster-brother came to us from the Bay Area. I’m sure he’d rather all this remain private, but I’m not going to let people drag him through the mud, and he’s given me permission to say what needs to be said. His situation was one that tore at all of our hearts, and my father decided that he would personally do what he could to help.
“My foster-brother was infected with the AIDS virus after he was injured in an accident and required surgery to save his life. He was given blood that was unknowingly contaminated. When his condition became known, his so-called loving, Christian parents dumped him like a hot potato. They refused contact with him, declaring he was the state’s worry now, and they even went so far as to dump all of his personal belongings off at the hospital.”
“You’re serious?” The reporter asked and I nodded slowly. Sudden, sharp movements never looked good on the camera.
“Yes, and I think that was what made my father so determined.” I said as I managed to get my eyes to tear up. It wasn’t too difficult as I thought about Jeremy’s situation and that long, slow rage filled me as did the sadness of it all. “Here’s this really nice guy, the same age as me and all because of a stupid accident, he’s now living with a virus that will kill him. The good news is that so far he’s not showing any symptoms, so he’s healthy enough to go to school, to have friends, to lead a normal life. One day – it could be six years from now, six months now, or it could be tomorrow – that will change. The disease will eat away at his immune system, and he’ll get sick. Once he’s sick, he won’t be able to do all the things he can now, and he’ll be on a road that will end with his death. He’s only fourteen years old, and we know he’ll be lucky to turn fifteen. My father wanted to make sure that as long as it was safe, safe for him and safe for those around him, my foster-brother would be able to lead as normal a life as possible.
“To make sure that my foster-brother was safe, and that those around him were safe as well, my father informed the Principal and necessary school authorities even though it wasn’t required by law. Further, he made sure all of my foster-brother’s teachers, and our friends were given the training needed to know what to do if there was ever an emergency.” I continued, and leaned down carefully pull something out of my backpack. It was a small kit, with the Red Cross symbol on the top, and I carefully opened it so the camera could see inside. “This kit includes latex gloves and everything necessary if my foster-brother got a bloody nose, or cut himself, or anything like that. He’s in the same classes as my friends and I, and we all have these. Every First Aid kit in this school includes everything needed to protect any student or faculty member if my foster-brother started bleeding, which is the only real danger.”
“You can’t say that.” Darnell interrupted angrily. His face was beet red as he turned towards me. “What if you weren’t around? What if those gloves have a hole in them? They’re not perfect you know. What if he got into a fight and in the fight he bled over the person he was fighting with?”
“It’s obvious you’ve never met him if you think he’d start a fight.” I said with a short chuckle as I closed the kit and held it at my side. “The biggest danger would come from bullies like the guy you got to make the announcement to the entire school that there was someone with AIDS at the school. Fortunately, my friends and I make sure we’re always around so that bullies like him can’t pick on my foster-brother.”
“What if he kisses some girl?” Darnell countered and I smiled softly.
“First off, he would never kiss a girl without first telling her.” I said with a sad smile and a short shake of my head. “It makes me want to cry when I think about it, but my foster-brother will probably die without knowing what it is like to kiss a girl. He’ll never get to know any of the million little things that we all get to experience as we grow up and become adults. I’m also amazed at your patented lack of knowledge about this virus. Any layman who spends five minutes reading the simplest of real brochures on this instead of that crap your church puts out would know you can’t transmit the virus by kissing. There’s not enough of the virus present in saliva to survive transmission. The fact that you either don’t know that, or choose to misrepresent the facts only points to your ulterior motives in this whole mess.”
“What motive would that be?” The reporter asked and gave her a sad smile.
“The truth is that here in the
“That’s just plain not true!” Darnell thundered, having gone more pale white than red as I spoke, but his color was coming back to him very quickly. “It’s true that Mr. Jones and I have had our disagreements in the past, but that’s not why I’m doing this! I’m here to see to the safety of our children in our schools?”
“What about my foster-brother’s safety, Pastor?” I asked in a calm voice. “Now that you’ve done this, how safe will he be?”
“He shouldn’t be in our schools to begin with!” Darnell retorted, seizing on the opening I’d given him. “That’s what this is about, young man, not those lies you were telling. I know you love your father like any boy should, but you better watch what you say.”
“I am watching what I say, Pastor.” I assured him. It was time for my long spiel, and as the words tumbled out of my mouth, I let a few teardrops fall from my eyes. It was a bright enough day, so the camera should have no problem picking them up. “Tell me, if he shouldn’t be in our schools, what about other kids? I mean the kid with a cold who comes to school is a danger. It’s possible he could pass it on to a kid with asthma, in whom it could turn into pneumonia and cause him to die! What about kids with hepatitis? That’s a disease to which there’s no cure and it’s passed easier than HIV! Should those kids be kept from school? What about pregnant girls? Isn’t it dangerous to have them around? You know, when I was in elementary school we had disabled kids in our classes, and sometimes they’d run over other students with their wheelchairs. Are they a danger that needs to be removed? Just how ‘public’ should our public schools be, Pastor?”
“Those are all different!” He thundered and I wondered how much of this tape would go out live.
“Gentlemen, thank you for your time, but we’re going to have to go back to our studio.” The female reporter said and I looked at her for a moment until the camera went off and she smiled. “I almost hate cutting that short, but the Today show had to go to commercial.”
“Thank you for your time.” I said with a smile and turned my back on the pastor. My legs shook because I hadn’t known it was going out live on national television and I was worried until I saw my mother. She was standing by the news van with a smile on her face as she looked at me and I went to her. Nothing was said as she took me into a hug and I leaned down so my head was almost level with hers.
“Nice job, son.” She told me softly. “I’m proud of you.”
Now, if only my nudge had done enough to change the tide.
As with all my stories, E provides immeasurable input, grammar checking, and all those other lovely editing thingies that make the story so much better!
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| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |
| Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 |
| Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 |
