Brendan's Father

    Finally the 7th grade year was rolling to an end. Teacher's lightened up our homework load more and more each class, 7th grade students were preparing for their 8th grade year, and 8th grade students were anxiously awaiting their graduation. The school was constantly buzzing. On the last day of school, there were to be no classes for any of the grades. Both of the 7th grade teams decided to combine the two sides and watch a movie, educational of course. When the day began, all students reported to their homerooms and attendence was taken. We had about an hour and a half to just sit around, talk, sign yearbooks and do whatever before we would be going down to the cafeteria to see the movie. Jessica and I sat together in my homeroom, making plans for over the summer, when Brody Bartlett walked over. He was a pretty nice kid; I'd always liked him. We talked sometimes. He had a serious look on his face, which was strange. Brody was always smiling. "You two are friends with that Brendan kid, right?" I noticed the statement was mostly directed to me. Jess and I looked at each other, worriedly, then back and Brody and nodded. "Well, Richie Dunn just basically scared the hell out of Brendan. Like to the point where they've both pretty much disappeared."
    "What?" Jessica's voice was shrill. "What happened? Who did what? Brody... tell us. Now."
    "Okay okay. Brendan was sitting at his desk, not really doing anything or talking to anyone. He definitely wasn't bothering anyone." Brody sat down on my desk. "You guys know who Richie is? He's a punk kid that likes to mess with people and piss them off. Well, he walked over to Brendan's desk and slammed his head down onto it. Which would piss anyone off. So Brendan stood up and shoved Richie away and told him to f**k off. Then some big kid, I dunno who it was, grabbed Brendan by his sweatshirt and threw him up against the wall. He was, like, taunting Brendan. Trying to get him to do something again. 'Hey guys, the little punk looks like he's gonna cry. You gonna cry baby? Aww, he's gonna cry.'" Brody shook his head. "It was pretty mean, to be honest. Even I was getting pissed off. Anyway, Brendan pushed the kid off him and ran outta the room, and then Richie ran after him. That was 10 minutes ago and no one really knows where they went."
    My heart was in my stomach. I wanted to kill Richie Dunn, I was so angry. I looked at Jessica, but she didn't look mad; she looked scared, sad and worried. I looked back to Brody. "Could you go check the boy's bathroom?"
    He nodded and stood up. Once he was out of the room, Jessica spoke. "I will murder Richie Dunn if anything happens to Brendan. Anything at all."
    "Chill Jessica, I'm sure it's nothing. Besides, it's not as if you two are the best of friends ever, or like you're dating."
    "We are the best of friends, and we are close enough to dating." I rolled my eyes. She'd been trying to convince me for a while now that her and Brendan were basically dating, when I was the one asked by people, on a daily basis, if Brendan and I were together.
    "The point is that Richie may be an a*****e, but he's not stupid enough to get himself suspended on the last day of school." I then realized how dumb that sentence had sounded. "Let me rephrase. He's not stupid enough to get himself arrested on the last day of school. Don't worry."
    Brody reentered the room then, shaking his head. "He wasn't in the bathroom and when I asked, the two of them still haven't been found. I guess word got down to the guidance counselor and they'll be paging them any minute."
    "Will Brendan Allen and Richard Dunn please report to the guidance office now. Brendan Allen and Richard Dunn to the guidance office. Thank you." The announcement was brief and I could almost guarantee that no one besides me, Jessica and Brody even paid attention to it.
    I stood up. "Thanks anyway, Brody. Try to find us if you hear anything, huh?"
    "Yeah, definitely. I'm sorry about this."
    Smiling at him, I said, "It's not your fault. Come on Jessica. Get up." I grabbed her arm gently and pulled her to her feet. She rose. I led her out of the room and over to the 7200 side of the hall. I found Mike's homeroom and walked in. He was talking to some random person. I sat right beside him and Jess sat next to me. He looked up and waved at me, a gesture which I returned.
    He finished up his conversation and turned to us. "What's up?" he asked casually.
    "You hear about what happened to Brendan?" I asked, in a tone just as casual.
    That threw him off. "No. What happened?"
    "Richie Dunn decided to be an a*****e and throw his head into a desk, so when Brendan shoved him back, some big kid threw him into a wall and was taunting him. So Brendan ran out of the room, Richie followed, and now both of them are missing." I sighed a bit, having finished my story.
    "S**t," Mike said. "Did anyone check the bathrooms? Or any of the other rooms?"
    I nodded. "I had Brody check the bathrooms. And there was an announcement over the intercom paging Brendan and Richie to the guidance office."
    "Okay. And what's her issue?" he questioned, nodding in Jessica's general direction.
    "She thinks Richie and Brendan are gonna kill each other, basically. She's being a bit paranoid." I lowered my voice. "And she's on one of those rants, where she's saying that her and Brendan are 'so close' to dating and they're just the best of friends. That kinda bull." I shrugged and returned my voice to normal level. "No big deal. Doesn't bug me." Suddenly, we were being told that we would be going down to the cafeteria in a few minutes. Mike and I then started the same discussion Jess and I had been having earlier, talking about our summer plans. Where I planned on going camping with my family, Mike was destined to stay right here in Lakeville, Massachusetts.
    When we started standing to go down to the cafeteria, Jessica once again needed to be rattled to attention. She stood up silently and followed Mike and me downstairs. The cafeteria was barren, so we all had to set up the tables, while the teachers all decided to figure out how to work the projecter to watch the movie. The tables were all set up, so everyone sat down to talk. Ten minutes passed and the teachers couldn't make the movie work. One of them had left to go talk to the computer teacher and see if he could fix it for us, but if there was no luck, we would most likely be relocated to one of the science rooms. Jessica, Mike, Zach Brooks and a few other people were sitting at one table and sitting at the one behind us was Brody Bartlett and a few of his friends. I was zoning in and out, focusing more now on what was going on with Brendan. However, his name at Brody's table drew my attention.
    "You guys know that messed up Brendan Allen kid? Him and Richie Dunn disappeared about a half hour ago." The conversation continued, with me growing angrier with every word, about "that messed up Brendan Allen kid". Jessica, I could tell, was also listening intently. After a few more minutes, though, she stood up and turned over to that table.
    "Listen to me, now, all of you. None of you know Brendan and none of you know what he's like. You don't know what he's been through and you don't know how much something like that can set him off. He's not some 'messed up' kid. He's never done anything to any of you, so you can all take that s**t you're saying about him and shove it up your a*s. Don't talk about Brendan anymore."
    She sat back down next to me, and I started at her with an open mouth. I was absolutely shocked that Jessica would say something like that. I was also a bit curious about these things that "he's been through" and why Jessica knew, but I didn't. To be completely honest, I was a bit irked about that fact. Finally, I noticed that Jessica was now hyperventilating. "Hey, Jess, you okay?" She shook her head. I stood her up and walked her out of the cafeteria and straight to Mrs. Galereave's office. Our counselor was sitting at her desk on the phone and motioned for us to come in and sit down. She finished up her conversation and looked at me. "What's going on with Brendan?" I asked her right away.
    "Brendan and another student had a bit of an altercation today and neither of them can be found. We're telling teachers to keep their eyes peeled for two 7th grade boys wandering the halls. Now, may I ask what's the matter with Jessica?" She seemed concerned.
    "Um, yeah. Some kids were talking about Brendan and saying he was 'that messed up kid' and it upset her. So she started hyperventilating and I took her here. I think the nurse may have been a better choice." I realized how scared I was when Jess took my hand to stop it from shaking. I sat on the other one. She was breathing normally now and I decided to ask her about what she had said earlier. "Jess, what is it that Brendan's 'gone through'?"
    "I don't know if he'd want me telling you. I could barely get him to tell me." I shook my head, silently telling her that that excuse wasn't going to work and to tell me. She sighed deeply. "When Brendan was 10 years old, his parents were fighting. A lot. And his mom would always threaten to leave and one day she really started to act on that threat. She started packing up her stuff and Brendan's and his sister's stuff. And the day they actually left, Brendan's father shouted at his wife, 'If you leave me, I'll kill myself.' They didn't believe him. That was a threat that he always used. About a week later, Brendan's mom realized how much of her stuff she had left behind, so they all decided to go back and get the rest of it. Brendan walked in first. His father had hung himself right in the first room. It was the first thing Brendan saw when he opened the door."
    Tears sprung to my eyes. I couldn't believe Brendan had to deal with that. Jess saw my distress and put her arms around me in a hug. Now I was just as frightened as she was. I knew Brendan didn't like violence directed toward him. I knew his sister was... not the nicest person to him. And that his mother did drugs and was an alcoholic. So I knew Brendan had been abused by someone in his life. Though he had never spoken it, he implied it frequently. Richie hitting him and that random kid throwing him up against the wall must have done a number on him. I was worried about my best friend. I looked at Mrs. Galereave. "Please... do whatever you have to, but find Brendan. Please."
    She nodded. "I will, girls. I promise. He will be absolutely fine. He won't be the one to get in trouble. I'll let you two know as soon as we find him." She motioned out the door where the 7th grade class was walking in the halls. Apparently the movie wasn't quite working in the cafeteria and we would, in fact, be relocating to the science room. How we were going to fit the entire 7th grade in that one small room, I wasn't quite sure. "You two should probably head up now. I'll be in touch. Don't worry."
    Jessica and I stood silently and walked out. She still had her arm around my shoulder. I put my arm around her waist and held her tightly. I needed support right now. My legs felt like water and I could barely stand on them. My hands were shaking again. We caught up with the other students quickly and some turned to look at us strangely. A few asked what wrong, but they recieved no response from either of us.
    After nearly 20 minutes, the movie was started in the science lab and the room itself was filled with around 100 students. Jessica, Mike, Tiffany, Sarah, a few other people and I were settled near the back, with a perfect view of the door. Jess and I had calmed down and were now watching the movie intently. One of the scenes was really gory. I had a weak stomach and it made me nauseous, so I stood up and went to the bathroom. I stood near a toilet in case I threw up, but I really just needed the fresh air and some water in my face. When I was breathing normally and my stomach had calmed down, I walked out and back toward the classroom. Mrs. Galereave was walking from the other end, Brendan trailing behind her. She grinned at me and a relieved smile traced upon my face. I ran full speed down the hallway at Brendan. Mrs. Galereave stepped to the side to dodge me and Brendan already had his arms open. We held each other tightly, my arms around his neck, his around my waist. Finally we parted and I slapped him moderately hard on the head. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, Brendan Allen, or I will destroy you." He rolled his eyes playfully, daring me to 'destroy' him. I hugged him again, and he apologized. "I'm glad you're okay though, Iverson. You had us all scared."
    "I'm sorry, Cassi. I just... I got angry and I needed to get away. So I just left. And when I came back, I was kidnapped by the guidance counselor and 'reprimanded'." He lowered his voice and said in a dramatic whisper, "Don't worry, they didn't scare me at all." Him and Mrs. Galereave both laughed.
    "Okay, you two, get into the lab now. That movie should be over shortly. Then you can yell at him all you want, Cassi."
    "Oh, if you think I was bad, Brendan, wait til Jess gets a hold of you." He rolled his eyes, this time in annoyance. "You better be careful. She may try to kiss you." I giggled, though inside, the thought made me fume.
    We walked back to the classroom together, but Brendan stood at the doorway while I walked back to my seat. I tapped Jessica and pointed to Brendan. She smiled shyly and folded her knees up, placed her arms on top of them and laid her cheek down. The relief that coursed through her was almost visible.
    The rest of the day past rather uneventfully, save for Jess's reaction to seeing Brendan. She had run up to him and thrown her arms around him just as I had done, but then tried to kiss him, just as I had predicted. He had pulled away and shaken his head. She shrugged and moved on, slapping him as I had and yelling at him for scaring us. For the remainder of the school day, people signed yearbooks, made plans to "hang out" over the summer. I stapled a bunch of papers together and had it passed around to random people. The bell finally rang and teacher's all blocked their ears as students screamed and yelled their goodbyes and cheers. I walked out to my bus, Brendan following me. We had been talking. When we got to my bus, I hugged him tightly. "If we don't see each other over the summer, I'll see you when school starts, Brendan. Take care of yourself. You have my number. Feel free to call if you need someone to talk to."
    He grinned. "I'll be fine, Cassi. You worry too much about me. You're like a mother to all of us." He kissed my cheek, something we had grown comfortable doing to each other. "See ya around." With another hug, he was gone. I was doomed to face the rest of the summer without the best friend who I was slowly and steadily falling for.