Chapter 2

By accepting the challenge, Thomas finds himself playing a dangerous game with the Admiral. Losing is not an option. But how much trouble is he getting himself into exactly?

 

Chapter 2

 

          Two days after the incident, I was back at school. When the gang leader left, I did my best to clean up the house and laid my mom on the couch. She woke up the next morning and took me to see the doctor. Nothing too horrible; there weren’t any fractures or broken bones. Unfortunately, I was left with a disgusting bruise that covered my shoulder with a variety of colors from purple to yellow. I’d be okay as long as it was healing.

          I hefted my bag over my better shoulder, closing the front door before my mom could change her mind about letting me leave. I began my journey to school, walking along the pavement, when I saw movement at the corner of my eye that caught my attention. Jonathon was locking his front door. He turned around and our eyes met before I could look away. I guess it was too late to act as if I hadn’t seen him. Because it was polite, I decided to wait until he caught up. 

          We both walked in silence for a minute. I was about to make a comment regarding the weather when Jonathon spoke up.

          “How’d it go?”

          The question caught me off guard. “What are you talking about?” I asked.

          He kept his eyes forward. “With the gang; how did it go?”

          Comprehension dawned on me and my eyes widened just a fraction. “I have no idea what you mean,” I said with a little more force than necessary. Only half a block before I meet up with Ren and Carson, I reminded myself.

          Jonathon looked down at me. “Then I suppose your dog did this to you, or something?” he asked, poking my shoulder. I hissed in a breath.

          “Yeah, it was my Chihuahua,” I retorted. “How did you notice, anyway? Were you stalking me or something?”

          He shook his head. “I heard some cars pull up in the middle of the night. I’m a light sleeper.”

          “And you didn’t help in any way?” I asked incredulously. “You saw what was happening and you didn’t do anything?!” I was starting to get mad.

          “Would you have wanted me to help? Seeing as how you’re not dead at the moment, you probably struck a mutual agreement.   Imagine how it would have turned out if I had barged in there or called the cops. You’d be pushing up daisies.”

          I stared hard at the ground. Not only did that make sense, it was also the longest statement I had ever heard him say. I imagined Jonathon bursting into the room and immediately getting knocked out. I don’t think that gang leader boss would have been impressed if he thought that I had called for back-up. Imagining the police sirens coming toward the house would not have been any better since he’d still have time to kill me and my mom before the cops actually got there. 

          I opened my mouth for a comeback. I never got to say it because at that precise moment Ren and Carson called out my name. Letting the matter drop for now, I waved toward them. They waved back, and then froze in mid-wave when they saw who was with me. I guess they didn’t want to come off as unwelcome, so both Ren and Carson casually lowered arms in different ways. Ren kind of shrugged and scratched his head while Carson pretended to point out clouds to Ren. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

          “Hey, when did you lovebirds start walking to school together?” Carson sniggered when we were close enough. Ren rolled his eyes.

          “When I realized that being with one person was better than being in a three-some,” I replied with a scowl. Carson grinned, knowing that I was just as serious as he was. I smiled as well; inwardly pleased they weren’t trying to ward off Jonathon with holy water or anything. I wasn’t sure if that was what they were thinking of doing, though.

          We all stood there for a couple of long seconds. I waited to see their reaction to Jonathon hanging out with us. Ren shrugged, uninvolved as always. One down, one to go. Carson evaluated Jonathon for a few more seconds and then shrugged as well, not wanting to look serious about something as trivial as this. 

          Ren reminded us of the time, thus ending the momentary silence. As we walked, I caught Carson sizing up Jonathon and straightening to his full height, which was only an inch above Jonathon. Jonathon didn’t seem to notice Carson’s unspoken challenge and continued to look on ahead. I laughed inside.

         

          By the time third period started, I was worn out. My shoulder was throbbing, but I did my best to suck it up. I was staring out the window to take my mind off my bruise when I heard a chair scrape next to me as someone sat down.

          “Hey, what’s up?” Ren asked.

          Tearing my gaze away from the window, I turned toward him and tried my best to be aloof.

          “Aside from the ceiling?”

          He put on a face of mock surprise. “I knew it! Something really is bothering you; you didn’t come up with a relatively satisfying comeback.”

          “I thought that was your job,” I countered, still trying to act as if Ren didn’t just blow up my attempt at being unreadable.

          Ren set his feet on the desk. “Nah, too much trouble. And don’t change the subject, we’re talking about you. You haven’t been yourself today, plus you ditched yesterday. Is that kid bothering you?” He jerked his thumb behind him. As if by some psychic sense, Jonathon looked up from his book toward us, and then continued reading.

          For a moment, I felt like telling him what’s been on my mind. But skepticism won out and I just sighed, shaking my head and said: “It’s nothing, just a lot of homework.”

          It looked as if Ren was about to pursue the matter further, but shrugged and instead intertwined his hands behind head, leaning back in the chair. “All right, if that’s all, then nevermind—”

          “Mister Childers!”

          The teacher shouted and Ren fell back on his chair, letting out a yelp of surprise and crashed onto the floor.

          The teacher scowled in disapproval. “Mister Childers, desks are meant for writing upon, not as a foot-stool for the terminally lethargic. Please return to your original seat while you’re at it,” he sniffed, turning his attention back to the blackboard while Ren picked himself off the ground.   I gave him a sympathetic look when he passed by my desk. I think it may have come off as gravely ill, judging by the way he raised his eyebrows.

          The bell rang, signaling the end of class and beginning of first lunch. I wearily picked up my books, using only one hand. I scooted back my chair and looked up to see Jonathon waiting on me, his bag slung over one shoulder. I walked over and we both left the classroom together. To be honest, it felt kind of weird. We had barely had any normal conversations and now it was like we’re suddenly friends. I wasn’t about to say anything, so we kept walking when Jonathon steered us to the library.

          “Hey, why are we going this way?” I asked, looking back at the direction of the cafeteria while my stomach growled.

          “We need to talk.”

          That sounded just a little awkward.

          Jonathon led us to a table in the back of the library, away from any eavesdroppers. This wing of the school was fairly large. Saying the library was big would be an understatement when comparing it to other school libraries. Ours was spacious, with tall ceilings and even a separate research computer room. The furniture wasn’t fancy, seeing this was just a private school and not a college, but the wood de faux did give off a nice artificial mahogany feel. As for the chapel-like ceilings; I’ve always had a pet peeve about them. If high ceilings are used in opera houses to carry the singer’s voice so that everyone in the building can hear it, why do they build libraries with them? Sometimes I wonder how many librarians suffer from ulcers because of that moronic idea. 

          Jonathon pulled up a chair, setting his bag on the ground while I sat across from him. For several moments, none of us said anything. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Then my stomach growled. We both looked at my abdomen as it gurgled like a pitiful dying animal. After it coughed its last breath, I looked up to see Jonathon with his hand over his face. For a split second, I thought he was mad, but then his shoulders started to shake. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. It wasn’t like his previous soft chuckles; it was as if his carefully constructed mask of perfection had started to slip. I was so surprised and captivated by the sound of his voice, I didn’t notice everyone in the library staring until the librarian was hovering right above us. Jonathon noticed as well. He stopped abruptly and apologized to her, assuring her that that wouldn’t happen again. When she retreated back to her desk, Jonathon turned back to me. 

          “You’re something else, you know that?” he said.

          I quickly looked up, feeling my face flush. “I-I didn’t do anything,” I stammered. “My stomach growled ‘cause I’m hungry.” I was now curious. “Why’d you take me here?” I asked suspiciously, narrowing my eyes.

          Jonathon was now equally as serious as I was. “It’s about your problem with that gang. There’s some stuff I need to tell you.” His voice was low and grim. I shivered as a chill went down my back. “That gang leader is known as the ‘Red Admiral’ and not many people know of him are still alive.”     

          “So you’ve met them before?” I asked in a hushed whisper that matched his.

          He nodded. “Yes, unfortunately. They’re part of the reason why I moved here. My parents are really obsessed with wanting to know what school I wanted to attend. I had heard the ‘Red Admiral’ was after another target, so I decided to enroll at a school close by.”

          “Are they normally this brutal?” I asked. “They were trying to beat my mother up for money that she borrowed some time ago. It probably wasn’t even all that much.”

          Jonathon cocked his head while he thought about this. Finally, he answered: “Yeah, they usually are. Normally they leave a trail of mangled clients, with occasional dead bodies, which is why I was surprised that they left you with only a bruised shoulder.” He rested his chin on his hand. “Have you asked your mother the exact amount of money that she borrowed?”

          I slumped back in my chair. “No, I haven’t. She looks too unsteady right now, I didn’t want to bring it up and cause her any more stress.”

          Jonathon nodded. “Good call.”

          All of a sudden, I realized I was spilling nearly all my secrets to someone I barely met. Fear clenched my stomach as I leaned forward. “Wait a minute; you need to do some explaining as well. Why are you so interested in this gang? It’s not fair you know so much about my life.”

          Jonathon seemed to be taken back.  “I didn’t ask for you to dribble out your life story. I only asked how much the loan was.” He stood up from his chair. “I’ll tell you more later; after school if you want. But right now I’ve got to go talk to one of my teachers about a homework assignment.” He picked up his bag, pulled out a sandwich and tossed it to me.   “My apologies for making you miss lunch, Bambi.” 

          I watched him until he left the library, and then slumped back with a sigh. It was way too much to think about on an empty stomach. I nibbled the sandwich. Roast beef, not bad. I was halfway done eating when the librarian chased me out.

 

 

          By the time the academy let out, I was edgy from waiting. As everyone stood up from their seats, I dashed out the classroom all the way to the other side of the building. My hands were practically flying as I spun my locker combination. I stuffed my books in and pulled out my bag. Most kids had barely even opened their lockers by the time I closed mine and ran to the front entrance. I spotted Jonathon several paces ahead when I stopped. Acting as casual as I could, I walked up beside him without wheezing for air.

          “You’re sweating. Did you run just to catch up with me?” Jonathon asked, looking down at me.

          I was saved from having to answer when I heard someone yell my name from behind. Ren and Carson were walking toward us. 

          “Hey, where were you during lunch?” asked Ren. He jerked his thumb towards Carson. “I had to put up with this guy all by myself. Couldn’t even eat my lunch ‘cause he kept spraying spit while he ate.”

          Carson scowled. “Yeah well, your mom sprays spit while she eats.”

          Ren clapped his hands. “Oh, bravo.”

          I gave them an apologetic grin. “Sorry guys, I had to go to the library to —” I quickly glanced at Jonathon, “do some research.”

          Carson shrugged. “Fine by us. Wouldn’t have wanted to come even if you asked.”

          I smiled. “Good, ‘cause no one did.”

          He grinned back and walked ahead of us, his hands behind his head. I glanced at Ren and saw that he was watching me with a thoughtful look on his face.

          “What?” I asked him.

          Ren blinked, and then shrugged. “Nothin’.”

          I raised my eyebrow. Ren was strange and not many people could ever understand his behavior, but I knew him enough to tell that he had come to a realization. What that realization was, I had no idea. I was still deep in thought when Ren tapped me on my shoulder. Yeah, the bad one. After a small, quick wince, I looked over at him. 

          “Carson and I have a science project we need to get to, so we’re running ahead,” said Ren. Before I could say anything, he jogged up to Carson. Even though they were several meters ahead, I could see Ren say something to Carson, Carson scratching his head in confusion and then Ren hauling Carson off by the ear. 

          “You’re friends are almost as eccentric as you are,” Jonathon remarked. He seemed perplexed.

          I snorted. “You don’t know the half of it.” We walked in silence for a minute. “So,” I finally said. “Weren’t you going to fill me in on your background?”

          Jonathon glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes. “Yeah, I guess I did say that.” He looked back towards the sidewalk. “Let’s see, where to start. Well, I live with my parents. We’re not so close that it’s suffocating, or anything. Not many bad memories.” He shrugged, and then lowered his voice. “The reason I’m looking for the Red Admiral is because they wronged someone I knew in the past and I will make them acknowledge their mistake. Details are sketchy at the moment.” He looked back down at me. “There, happy now? We’ve both got dirt on each other, so now we can help each other as well.”

          I stopped walking. Jonathon turned toward me so that we were facing one another. I stared at him. “Why do you need my help?” I asked. Had I been under less stress and without an injured shoulder to worry about, I would have caught on quicker. He leaned in toward me until his face was only two inches from my own. My eyes grew wide as he gave me a wicked smile.

          “Revenge.”

 

          Tonight’s dinner was Hamburger Helper. Mom and I sat at the dinner table and began to eat. After several minutes of silence, with the exception of the occasional clinking of forks, my mother sighed and set down her silverware. “Thomas, is there something you want to talk about?” she asked.        

          I looked up from picking at my food. “Eh?”

          She gave me a soft sympathetic look. “I know it’s been pretty scary since those men showed up at our house, but we’ll get through this,” she said.

          I turned back to poking at a piece of hamburger. Then I asked softly: “How much do you owe?”

          Out of the corner of my eye, I thought that I saw fear flicker in my mom’s face. But then she relaxed and said, “Only enough to help us get back on our feet.” She dumped another spoonful of Helper onto my plate. “Now eat.  I thought you liked my cooking.”

          I nodded then began shoveling in my food, but the image of guilt in my mother’s eyes still lingered in my mind.

          I climbed the stairs to my room after dinner. When I opened the door, what I saw made me jump nearly two feet. 

          Sitting on my bed was Jonathon, leafing through one of my pool magazines. He looked up to see my mouth hanging open and casually said, “Yo, Bambi, you’re into billiards?” I didn’t say anything. He set down the magazine and stood up from the bed in such a fluid motion I almost questioned his humanity. “Sorry if this is unexpected, but I got bored at my house so I decided to hang out here.”  He began to walk around my room. 

          I finally found enough brainpower to speak. “This is the second story. How’d you get up here?”

          He looked up from examining my Rubix Cube (I had given up on solving that thing since I could only finish three sides). “I climbed,” he replied. “It’s not as difficult as most people think.” I stumbled over to the window and looked down. It looked like a sheer drop to me.

          “Hey, did you ask your mom the exact amount of money she borrowed?” Jonathon’s question tore me away from my contemplations on his entry. I turned to see him fiddling with my cube.

          “No, she just said that she borrowed enough to pay off my dad’s debts,” I replied, sitting on the edged of my bed. Jonathon shook his head, still absorbed in the puzzle.

          “That’s not good.”

          “Why’s that, Sherlock?”

          “It means she’s borrowed more than she wants you to know.”

          I flopped back on my bed. “I could’ve guessed that much. So what should I do?” I waited for him to answer. Instead, something dropped onto my abdomen, making me start. I picked up the color-coordinated Rubix Cube and looked up to Jonathon sitting on my desk. 

          “I guess we’ll have to look for the receipt.”

 

 

           While Jonathon asked his parents for permission to sleep-over at my house I had to ask my mom. She was so excited that I made another friend, she nearly cried. Talk about embarrassing. I was glad that I kicked Jonathon out so he couldn’t hear this. 

          Around eight o’clock, the doorbell rang. I practically strained myself trying to look pleased to see my guest. Jonathon’s face was smiling as well, except without the strain. His smile was out of pure amusement. After he demonstrated his gentleman-like abilities to my mother, l dragged Jonathon up to my room. I turned on the television to a droning volume and sat on the edge of my bed. “So, how do you propose we find the receipt?” I asked in a low whisper.

          “Does your mom have a place where she keeps important stuff?” Jonathon asked back, taking a seat on the floor.

          I thought about this, my mind taking a mental tour through my house. Nothing locked in the living room or dining room, but I remembered a valise my mom always kept in her closet. I asked her about it once, and she just said that there were old documents from dad in there. I was only thirteen, so it didn’t interest me much. 

          “Yeah, she has a suitcase with some of my dad’s old papers,” I replied.

          Jonathon nodded. “I bet you five million dollars it’s in there. We’ll have to wait until she sleeps so we can search.”

          “This feels really wrong,” I said, shaking my head. “So what do we do until then?”

          Jonathon stood and stretched. Then he walked over and collapsed onto my bed. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to sleep,” he said, his voice muffled by my pillow. “Wake me up when it’s two.”

          I scoffed. “Yeah, right.” I yanked the pillow from under his head and thumped him with it. Jonathon tried to grab it from me without lifting his head. I nailed him several more times until he pushed me off the bed with a long leg. By this time we were laughing. I aimed the pillow at his head for one last shot and threw it.  He caught it and set it back down on the bed. We both stopped to catch our breath. 

          “Hey, do you have a billiard table?” Jonathon asked.

          This perked my interest. “Yeah, in the basement. But it’s kind of old,” I said.

          He hefted himself off my bed. “Wanna play?”

          We spent a few hours playing pool, talking a bit about our interests and other stuff. It was unexpectedly easy talking to Jonathon since we both like a lot of the same things. He was surprisingly good at billiards, too. I won five out of nine games, which was the closest I’ve gotten to a tie in the last year. We decided to turn in around midnight. I checked in on my mom, telling her we were going to sleep in the living room and to see what she was doing. She was getting ready for bed as well. By the time we sneak into her room, she’d be fast asleep.

          Jonathon and I dragged our blankets into the living room. A game of rock-paper-scissors determined that Jonathon slept on the couch while I got the floor. It seemed like I had barely closed my eyes when I was prodded awake. Jonathon’s foot nudged me again before I responded. 

          “What?” I mumbled irritably. When I looked up at him, I swear I could see his eyes glint.

          “Let’s go,” Jonathon said with a wolf-like smile.

          We crept up the stairs and down the hall. I stopped in front of my mom’s door and listened. When I didn’t hear any sounds, I signaled the ‘all-clear.’ We tiptoed into the room, making our way to my mother’s closet. Jonathon set down his bag and began rummaging through it while I tried opening the valise. “No good, it’s still locked,” I whispered. I was shoved a lock-picking kit as an answer. I didn’t bother asking him about it or if he knew that I could use one. After opening the kit, I glanced up to see Jonathon hovering over my mom with a cloth and a wondering look that most psychopaths had right before they killed someone. 

          “Jonathon!” I whispered harshly. 

          He looked up. “Hm?”

          I scrambled up from the floor to put myself between him and my mother. “What are you doing?” I asked in a low panicked voice, nodding toward the cloth and bottle he was holding. Jonathon looked down at the bottle.

          “Oh, this? I was just wondering if chloroform works on people who are already asleep.” He held out the bottle to me. “Do you want to stand by your mom incase she wakes up or pick the lock?” Jonathon asked.

          I walked back toward the suitcase. “I’ll take care of the lock. You focus on not waking her up.” I turned around to give him a stern look. “And if you even try to do something weird to her—.”

          Jonathon shook his head while he suppressed a smile. “Sorry,” he said. “I thought we were trying to be serious, and then you go and say something stupid like that. It makes me think you’re talking to a dirty old man.” Jonathon covered his mouth as a wave of laughter threatened to overtake him. 

          I rolled my eyes at him and knelt down to figure out how to use a lock-pick in the dark. After a few minutes I heard the faint click of the lock unbolt. I smiled in triumph and opened the suitcase. There were many papers stuffed in the valise that I couldn’t read. I held out my hand for a flashlight. A small keychain flashlight hit me in the back of my head, but I caught it before it could clatter on the wood floor. Turning around, I glared at Jonathon. He shrugged and gave me an I’m-busy-at-the-moment look. I bit the inside of my cheek and began to sift through the documents. Several more minutes passed by while I searched. Jonathon yawned. Finally, I found a sheet of paper that seemed out of place. It had the outline of a butterfly printed on one corner.

          “I think I’ve got it,” I whispered excitedly to Jonathon.

          He padded over and squatted to look over my shoulder. I heard him take in a hissing breath. “Yeah, this is it. That’s their symbol, a Red Admiral butterfly. Let’s put everything back and take this downstairs.”

          Right as he said this, we heard movement coming from the bed. I saw my mother sit upright and rub her eyes, still groggy from sleep. “Mm, water,” she murmured. Before she turned my way, a cloth covered her face and she immediately fell back onto her bed. Jonathon silently punched a fist into the air and pocketed the rag. He looked over at me with a grin. 

          “I’ve always wanted to do that to someone.”

          I wasn’t sure if my heart was still racing from almost getting caught or Jonathon’s unexpected smile. “That was fast,” was all I could say. Jonathon shrugged, walking over and picking up the papers I had taken out.

          “I used to do track.”

          We carefully filed the papers back in an order close to how I had found them, and then placed the suitcase back in the closet. Before we closed the door, I noticed a pair of purple pumps lying in a corner. One of mom’s friends must have left them there, I thought. 

          We no longer had to sneak down the stairs since my mom was now out cold. I sat down in front of the couch and turned on the flashlight while Jonathon crouched down behind me. With the light, I scanned the paper until I found the loan amount. My hands shook as I lowered the receipt. I barely registered Jonathon say, in a distant, shocked voice:

          “I guess I win the bet. Five million dollars.”

 

Author's Note

Give me critiques, or give me an inflated ego!

Reviews

[Vera Iconica]

Awesome. I love how you tied the bet between Jonothan and Thomas in with the amount Thomas' mom owes the gang. It's a very nice touch.

I can't wait to see how Jonothan and Thomas' relationship progresses, but I am glad that you are taking it slow. Alot of times writers rush the relationship process, and it gives it a kind of unreal feel. The way you are doing it so far makes it more personable and makes it easier to relate to real life.