Chapter
5:
I’m Here With My Confession, Got
Nothin’ To Hide No More
I sighed and grinned
as Alex came through the door of Acting II with Brian. The two of them had actually begun to hit it
off which was kind of funny to see actually.
Brian's so quiet all the time and Alex is just, well, Alex.
"Howie! Hey man!
Tell Rok he'd look awesome if he went platinum blond like me!" Alex
exclaimed, coming over. Yes, his hair
was yet another color, but there was no hat over it today, he just looked too
proud of it to cover it with anything.
"If y'all
even come near me with peroxide," Brian warned, backing off, a twinkle in
his eyes.
I walked over to
take my seat. I didn't want to get
reprimanded for running interference between Brian and Alex, like times in the
past. If Alex had too much attention
paid to him, it was just bad.
A few more minutes
passed before I heard the bell sound and watched Alex and Brian rush toward
their seats like first graders afraid of getting caught, even though our
instructor was nowhere in sight. Brian
sat down heavily and let out a breath and then turned to Alex who was still
attempting to jump desks in order to get where he needed to be. I smiled to myself and turned my attention
back to Brian who was pretending to be Alex's cheerleader.
A loud popping
sound rang out behind me. I turned just
in time to see Alex's body jerk and he was thrown forward into a desk. The rest of the class panicked and hit the
floor, and for the first time I noticed Mike blocking the doorway. He was holding a gun. I stared in shock as reality hit
me-Alex. Mike hadn’t been kidding about
the threat he’d made. Alex had been
shot.
I started to get
up and make my way the few steps to Alex, but the Mike moved. He covered the distance between himself and
his victim in about two seconds, and soon he had the gun to Alex's head, his arm
around his neck in a chokehold. Through
the rush of blood in my ears, I heard noise.
"You son of a
bitch. You're not so full of yourself
now, are you, McLean? Answer me! God damn it you better answer me!" Mike looked totally on-edge. His eyes were wild and unfocused as he stared
at Alex, pressing the gun at his temple.
"N-N-N-No." Alex stuttered, eyes flashing with pain. His face quickly drained of color from the
effort of answering. I flinched, but
continued watching the scene in front of me like it was a movie.
Soon, Brian and I
made eye contact. He looked petrified
and stared desperately at me for some type of direction. Finally, I snapped out of my daze a bit. I knew we had to do something. We were two of the smallest guys in class, though,
no match for a psycho classmate with a gun.
But suddenly, an idea came to me.
I took out my cell and pressed a button, leaving it face-up but out of
view.
I felt wetness on
my face and realized I was crying. I
looked across the aisle and Brian's head was bowed. Praying.
I turned my attention back to Alex as I heard Mike again.
"You arrogant
piece of shit! You're gonna die
today." My stomach dropped at the
change in tone of voice. Now, the gunman
was talking lowly in a very soft and almost laughing voice.
I watched
helplessly as Alex lay there, gasping, tears rolling down his face. My stomach
dropped as I noticed for the pool of blood that was collecting underneath
him. I wondered silently if the wound
had paralyzed him. Alex was trying desperately
to find me and make eye contact, but Mike wouldn't have it.
"You better
keep your eyes here kid, or I'll just kill you now. Don't look over there they won't help an
arrogant son of a bitch like you! I hate
you. I hate your damn cocky attitude and
your fucking stupid-ass clothes. They
won't help you, 'cause they hate you, too.
Do you hear me, McLean? They
fucking hate you. But not as much as I
do. You're gonna die today,
asshole! You're such a damn teacher's
pet! Before you came, I was top of the
line, damn it! But then you HAD to come
in all your damn shitty costumes and be the center of attention. Look around McLean! Everyone's staring at you. You don't like it now, do ya? I said, DO YOU LIKE IT NOW?"
"No, I
d-d-don't. . . Please. . ." Alex begged, shutting his eyes.
Sirens cut through
the thick atmosphere, and Mike jumped.
"Shit!" he cursed. I
watched awe-struck as he left his place at Alex's head and took off, I guess
trying to make a getaway.
"D?"
Alex called out weakly. My head snapped
up. "Howie, please," he choked
out.
I felt like I was
walking through a fog getting to Alex. I
knelt down above him, cradling his head in my lap.
"It's all
right, Jay, everything'll be fine. Hang
on, okay? It'll be all right." I glanced up, startled, as a ball of fabric
was extended in front of me and I saw Brian, bare-chested, his sweatshirt in
his hand. I stared at it for a second,
confused.
Brian's tearful
eyes softened as he got down alongside me and attempted to carefully wedge the
shirt underneath Alex’s back. He cried
out in pain, and Bri apologized. I just
stared, transfixed at Alex’s platinum blond hair.
"D . .
." Alex met my gaze with
pain-filled eyes. "Sorry . .
."
I sat there,
dumbfounded but Brian was quick to react.
"Hey, Jay. Are you
listening? Look right here, at my
face. Alex slowly complied, and my heart
lurched as I saw he was getting a foggy look in his eyes. Brian continued, "You have nothin' at
all to be sorry for, all right? You
know? It's all right, bro." Brian tuned his attention to me. "Tell him," he mouthed.
"Jay, man,
you didn't do anything, all right? So
don't say sorry." Right then I
heard a sob escape Alex and my heart broke into a million pieces.
"Jesus!"
Alex's cry hurt me like someone stuck a
knife in me and twisted it.
I lifted my eyes
upward and saw the ceiling, brown with water spots. I stroked Alex's head and Brian and me
started praying. "Please, God, help
us! Be here with us now, Father!"
Brian prayed.
I silently said
the Lord's Prayer. When I got partway in
I spoke, "Deliver us from evil."
"God,
please," Alex begged. "I want
to stay. . ."
***
