Snowballs
Andre woke up as his alarm went off, right at 7AM. Fuck, he didn't wanna get up. But the news had been saying it might snow last night. There'd only been flurries coming down when Andre had finally driven home from Cal's place and gone to bed, but maybe, just maybe…
Come to think of it, it was pretty bright out there. Andre stuck his head up toward the window and looked.
Everything he could see was covered in a blanket of white. The street outside had tracks of slush dug in it by passing vehicles, but they were all personal trucks and SUVs, and the occasional car. Not one orange dump truck with a plow in sight.
Oh, fuck yes! Fuck yes! Wait, hang on.
Down in the driveway of the Kriegman house, somebody was- oh, that was Jonas, Andre's older brother, busy shoveling the driveway. He'd already cleared off Andre's blue 1989 Pontiac Grand Am, Mom's Golf and Dad's Passat, as well as that giant rectangular beast of a truck Jonas so proudly drove, a 1998 GMC Suburban. It was the 3/4-ton model, the one with the 6.5L turbodiesel. Fire engine red, tan leather interior. Andre had all that memorized because Jonas never shut up about his fucking truck.
Jonas was crazy, going straight outside and shoveling snow like that. But he never hesitated to jump at a chance to help out his family. His whole selfless, responsible eldest son routine, his duty-honor-country act. Except that it wasn't really an act, which made Jonas all the more intolerable. He was boastful, motivated, athletic, smart, and almost totally lacking in modesty. But that made sense. Jonas was a captain in the Marines.
The two brothers had been good friends once, years ago, but Jonas had gone forward to be successful, a hero, liked and respected by pretty much everybody, while Andre had drudged onward to years of boring loserdom. Jonas was a rockstar, especially to his parents, which meant that Andre had been passive-aggressively pressed and expected to do the same thing, to just succeed.
Altogether, Andre was pretty much fine with the fact that Jonas spent most of the year commanding a tank company way out in some Marine base in California. It meant Andre didn't have to put up with his ego, or be reminded- and have Mom and Dad be reminded- of Jonas' success. But the asshole had gotten shore leave or what-the-fuck-ever for Christmas, so here he was.
Ah, well, fuck him. He's not fucking going anywhere. He's probably gonna try and dig out the whole goddamn neighborhood.
Andre dismissed his older sibling and hurriedly threw some clothes on. He ran downstairs, almost like he'd done when he was a little kid and there was a chance school might be closed. And that was back when Andre had kind of liked school. Today, when Andre deeply hated it, a day off from school was more welcome than ever.
Mom and Dad were in the kitchen, talking casually in German. They had both grown up in West Germany and had taught their native language to their two sons. Andre was fine with English, but the language of the Third Reich and its badass leaders was pretty cool to know.
Okay, where was the fucking remote? Okay, there it was. The TV in the living room was new. It had been bought back in September when the ancient color TV from 1972 or whenever had finally quit working.
Andre's explosive temper driving him to hit the TV repeatedly until it decided to straighten up and fly right might have had something to do with the device quitting entirely. But Andre and Cal had omitted that detail when the Kriegman parents got home. So out went the relic, and in came a new one with a remote that kept getting misplaced.
There it was, under the coffee table again. Andre picked it up and had just turned it on when Dad called from the kitchen, "The schools are closed, Andre. They announced it an hour ago."
"Oh, really?" Andre asked. "Like, no 2-hour delay or anything?"
"The schools are closed in Essex County and the City of New Stratford, so you are definitely covered, Andre."
God, Dad, do they not have sarcasm in Germany or something?
Still, Andre couldn't help but yell, "Hell yes!" prompting a rebuking call of "Andre!" from both his parents.
"Sorry," Andre said. Already his mind was racing. A day off from school meant a day to do whatever the fuck he pleased, and he and Cal had could just meet up and do that together! And with Jonas casting his big goddamned shadow here at home, where better to go than the Gabriel house?
Andre hurried into the kitchen and dialed the number for Calvin's house. It rang a few times, then a boy's voice answered.
"This is the Gabriel house," Eric Gabriel said quietly, like he was sharing a secret. "We're not here, so you can leave a message, and you can do that after-" Eric suddenly broke off. It sounded like he was arguing with someone else. A few moments later, Cal said, "Hello?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Who's that? I don't know a Me."
"You know who this is."
"Do I?"
"Cal," Andre said in a warning tone.
"Andre?" Cal replied, in the exact same tone.
"So you hear the good news?"
"Of course. No school. And they're saying it might snow again tonight, so we could get Tuesday off, too."
"Dude, isn't this great?"
"Yeah, it is, man. Eric, go away!"
"He thinks he's leaving a voicemail!" Eric protested from the other end.
"No, he's not that dumb! Or- Andre, are you that dumb?"
"Click," Andre said.
"Now who's being funny?"
"So how about I come over to your place and we do whatever?"
"Uh, sure, but-"
"Alright, I'll see you soon."
"Uh, Andre-"
"Click," Andre said, and he hung up.
XX
Jonas had shoveled and salted the driveway by the time Andre got out there. His brother went past him, barely acknowledging Andre in the process. That was kind of a summary for how their lives had worked out. Jonas, the hero, always had something else to do. These days, Andre was fine with being ignored. The last thing he wanted was Jonas paying attention to him and starting to notice how bitter, angry and withdrawn Andre had become. He'd managed to keep that from his parents, and kept it from Jonas during his brief visits, but there was always that chance.
Man, it was gonna be good to leave. Not just this house today, but… forever. Andre didn't hate Jonas, not really, but he hated the shadow he cast- whether he knew he was doing it or not- and hated the expectations Mom and Dad had set out for him. But Jonas wasn't really to blame, and neither were Mom and Dad. Life was just plain shit.
Okay, okay, take it easy. Andre took a breath, let it out. He opened up the driver's door, zipping up his jacket as he sat down. At first, the damn ignition wouldn't work, but then Andre stopped and checked, and saw he was using the round key again. GM-built cars back in the 1980's had used pairs of keys. One was square at the end, and the other was round. You needed one to start the car, the other to open the doors.
Andre switched keys and the Pontiac started after cranking for several seconds. It was fuel injected, thank God, so Andre didn't have to wait ten years for it to warm up. Andre shifted in the cloth seats, looking around. Had there really been a time when they made car interiors in fucking blue? Everything was gray, black and tan these days.
After giving it maybe two or three minutes, Andre backed out of the driveway and immediately got stuck in the middle of the street. The Grand Am's front wheels spun helplessly, doing little except letting Andre slide a few inches forward, then back. Andre shifted back into drive and stomped on the pedal, and the V6 screamed, but the car still didn't move. Andre looked up at the gray clouds blanketing the sky. Any time now, they were gonna resume the bombardment, and this piece of shit car would wind up stuck out here until next week, and Mom and Dad would bitch about it, and Andre could forget about going to Cal's today-
Tap, tap, tap!
Andre turned his head and saw Jonas standing there beside the driver's window. Sighing irritably, Andre rolled down the window.
"Yeah?" Andre asked.
"Having trouble?" Jonas asked in reply.
"Yeah, no shit," Andre snapped.
"I got an idea. How about I pull your car back into the driveway, and I'll drive you wherever you wanna go in the Suburban?"
"What, you gonna use your Marine muscles to push the car?" Andre asked sarcastically.
Jonas laughed. "Well, I probably could. Nah, I got a tow strap in the truck. Hang on."
With that, Andre's brother straightened up and headed over to his enormous red SUV, got in, and a few seconds later started it up. The tailpipe blew out a bunch of black smoke, and the noisy growling of the engine reached Andre's ears even with the Grand Am's windows up. Jonas then backed the truck out of the driveway, carefully moving toward the stranded Pontiac. Once he was a few feet away, Jonas stopped the truck and got out. He brought the wide rear window up, reached in and pulled out a bright yellow roll of fabric with steel hooks at both ends. He fixed one end under the Grand Am, then the other to the Suburban's sturdy tow hitch.
Then the insufferable prick came back around to Andre's driver side window and tapped on it again. When Andre rolled it down, Jonas said, "So here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna pull you back onto the driveway, but I'll leave some room so I can get out from in front. Once you got the front wheels on the driveway, you'll be good."
"Yeah, all right, Captain America."
"Just leave it in neutral, okay? Don't want you running into me when I stop."
"Sure. Whatever."
"Okay. Let's do it."
Jonas checked the tow strap again, then went back to his truck and got in. He gunned the engine, and the truck's big tires pulled it steadily forward through the snow. It was four-wheel drive, too, which made it even easier. Andre sat there and just steered as Jonas' fire-engine-red Suburban pulled the Grand Am back towards the house. The Suburban slid briefly, and snow and slush sprayed from the tires as Jonas pressed down hard on the pedal. Andre hit the wipers, clearing most of the windshield, all the while fighting to keep the Pontiac lined up with the Suburban.
"Come on, come on," Andre said. "Come on, you fuckin'-"
There was an audible bump as the Grand Am's front wheels were yanked off the street and back onto the driveway. Andre hit the brakes, which immediately locked up, but thankfully the Pontiac stopped. Andre let the car roll back a little more, and watched with a mix of annoyance and awe as Jonas, the invincible hero, maneuvered the 18-foot long, 6-foot-wide Suburban out between the Pontiac behind it and the two Volkswagens beside it. It was probably a twenty-point turn and Jonas came within an inch of taking out the mailbox, but he did it. Andre shifted the automatic transmission and drove back up the driveway, parked, and got out.
Jonas had just brought the truck around, and he jumped out, put both fists in the air, and shouted, "Woo!"
"Asshole," Andre muttered, but he smiled for a second or two.
"Come on!" Jonas called, waving. "Get in and let's go!"
XX
The drive over to the Gabriel house was challenging enough that Jonas didn't try to make a lot of conversation. Andre was annoyed to see snowplows out at work on the main roads, but he remembered what Calvin had said about the snowfall that was expected for today. And as long as the clouds held and the temperature stayed low, there'd be plenty of ice for those chumps to deal with after tonight.
It was going to be amazing. Two days off, maybe even three. Andre relaxed as Jonas drove, hunched forward as he wrestled the Suburban through the snow. It was kinda cool, knowing that everything was taking care of itself. Death was coming in just over four months, the Zero Day preparations were coming along seamlessly, and Andre was going to go hang out with Cal. A snow day was just what Andre needed right now. The timing of this was perfect.
"Hey, so we are going to Cal's place, right?" Jonas asked, working his way up a residential street. "I mean, I sure hope so, 'cause I kinda just assumed."
"Nah, that's fine," Andre said. "That's where I'm going."
"You're basically best friends, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Andre answered. "We are."
"Well, hold onto it while it lasts," Jonas said.
"What do you mean?" Andre asked, a little more sharply than he meant to.
"Just saying, seems like when you're in high school, everybody you're friends with is gonna be with you for life. Just don't take it for granted, brother. Enjoy everything while you still have it."
That was classic Jonas, the sort-of psychologist and life counselor. The worst part was that he actually did care and was trying to help. Andre didn't need that. He needed Jonas to stay distant and remote. The pain of Andre's murder-suicide would only be worse for Jonas if he actually started paying attention to Andre again.
"Sure, I'll keep that in mind."
"That's all you gotta do, man."
"That's not gonna happen to Cal and me, though," Andre said. "We're always gonna be friends. Right to the end of our lives."
Jonas laughed. "You're sure about that? You still got a long ways to go. Decades, dude."
No, I don't, Andre thought. "I'm sure," Andre said, calm and certain.
Jonas took a moment to look at Andre, saw the seriousness in his brother's face. "Huh. Well, goddamn, man. Maybe you can see the future or something."
"I know. Trust me."
"You just- you seem so sure!" Jonas exclaimed, continuing to work the Suburban up the street. "Come on, you fuckin' whore. Move it, let's go, move your ass! I mean, it's like you literally know."
"I do."
A smile emerged on Jonas' face. "Andre," he asked, "are you fuckin' with me?"
Andre thought about arguing, saying, No, you oblivious, stupid fuck! I'm done! I'm through! I'm just marking time 'till I get some revenge and blow my brains out!
But what he said instead of that was, "Yeah. Yeah, I am."
Jonas chuckled. "I knew it."
XX
After Jonas dropped him off, Andre carefully made his way up the driveway and onto the front steps. It was ironic; although Andre wanted to die and in fact had made plans to, he was taking care of himself, minding his steps, making sure to avoid the ice.
That was the nature of this, though. Being part of the Army of Two, you had to stick to the rules, and that meant doing everything you could to make sure nothing happened to you before the big day. Slipping on some ice and breaking his arm would not help Andre's goals at all. He had to be careful, for just a little while longer.
Andre rang the doorbell, waving as Jonas finished turning the Suburban around and started back down the street.
The door opened up after a few moments, and Pam Gabriel came into view. "Hey, Andre!" she said.
"Hello, Mrs. Gabriel," Andre said. He was always polite to Cal's parents. He didn't suck up to them, but he made sure to play nice. The last thing he or Cal wanted was to have either of their parents start thinking the other was a "bad influence" or something.
"Cal said you were coming over," Mrs. Gabriel said. "He's out back."
Andre thought about that for a moment. "What's he doing out there?"
"Eric and Madelyn got him into it, I'm afraid."
Andre managed to hold his temper and say, "Okay, I'll go see if I can get him loose," but inside he was fuming. Why was Calvin wasting time with his brat siblings, especially if he knew Andre was coming? It made no sense.
Trudging through the six inches of snow that covered the front yard, Andre grumbled to himself. He hated it anytime somebody got Cal to spend time with them at Andre's expense. He let Cal get away with it because he ultimately stayed true to their pact, and because Andre had never in his life known a better friend.
But that didn't mean Cal didn't get on his nerves. He was kinda doing that right now.
Andre opened the gate, pulled it out through the snow just enough to get through. Then he stepped into the backyard and was just starting to look for Cal when a snowball struck him in the face.
"Pow! You're dead, Andre!"
Spitting out snow, Andre was at first too angry to think. Then he did what any rational person would do. He knelt, scooped up snow to make a snowball, and hurled it toward the familiar face he saw crouched behind a tree about fifty feet away.
"Ow!" Cal cried out, and Andre rushed him as the blond fell back, trying to shake the snow off.
"Derheis! Getim!" Eric Gabriel cried, and he and Madelyn sprang up out of hiding behind a mound of snow, throwing snowballs. Their aim wasn't very good, but they had plenty of ammo and enthusiasm. They threw a virtual barrage as Andre rushed toward Cal, and Andre took a couple hits before he tackled his best friend as he was getting up.
"You thought you'd ambush me?" Andre demanded.
"I am ambushing you!" Cal laughed.
"Alright, let's see how you like it!"
Andre reached to grab a handful of snow, but at that moment another snowball hit him in the face.
"Score!" Madelyn cheered.
"I got bad news, guys," Cal said. "I'm actually on Andre's side!"
"Ah! We been betrayaled!" Eric exclaimed, turning to flee.
Cal raced to the makeshift snow fort and threw some of the snowballs stored behind the walls, but it was obvious he was trying to miss. He chased after Eric, missing on purpose again and again, but when Eric stopped and tried to put together a snowball, he managed to hit Cal without too much trouble.
Madelyn had disappeared. Andre was making more snowballs when she ran up and threw a snowball right at Andre. "Ha! Got you!"
"I'll get you!" Andre exclaimed, throwing a snowball after her as she took off.
"No, you won't, Andre!" Cal shouted, throwing a snowball and hitting Andre right in the back. "Come and get me!"
Andre grabbed two snowballs, one on each hand, and took off after his best friend across the yard. He managed to get one good hit, but the other missed. Andre didn't want to go all the way back across the yard, so he stopped and scooped up some snow. Cal had a snowball ready first, though, and Andre had to drop the one he was making to dodge the shot.
Eric, meanwhile, teamed up with Madelyn to attack the two big kids in the yard, and Andre and Cal found themselves under fire as Madelyn and Eric retook the snow fort.
"Come on, let's go build one of our own," Calvin said, motioning excitedly. "Come on, come on!"
Andre thought about bringing up Doom, but he could tell Calvin was having fun. And for whatever reason, Andre was having a little fun, himself.
So Andre went with Calvin, and they built a snow fort. The snow that had fallen turned out to be perfect for building structures and snowballs alike, so Andre became engrossed with trying to build the biggest and best snow fort he could. Tall, thick walls were made, with a storage 'room' for holding snowballs. Eric and Madelyn charged the snow fort a couple times, and Calvin made a show of 'surrendering' to them when they finally made it inside.
Then the fight started again with Andre and Calvin "exiled" to the original snow fort, which they immediately started building up like they had the last one.
It was pretty fun, fighting this 'war' over the backyard. Andre enjoyed it more than he was willing to admit. As he, Calvin, Eric and Madelyn all ran around the 'no man's land' between the forts at one point in the morning, Andre noticed Mrs. Gabriel and Mr. Gabriel watching, with the former holding a video camera. He kept on fighting, just enjoying himself for now, taking advantage of the chance to have some simple fun. That was probably what Cal was doing, too. There were not too many more chances left for either of them to just have a good time like this.
Without even saying a word, Calvin made what he was doing, and trying to do, clear. Andre understood it, and decided he would go along. He helped Calvin play around with Eric and Madelyn, and neither of the members of the Army of Two minded that they were being videotaped. It might be discarded after Zero Day happened, after the truth about who and what Calvin and Andre were became known. Or maybe the Gabriel parents would keep it, to remind them of happier times.
Either way, Andre figured, he was all right with this. They'd get to playing computer games and talking a little about Zero Day later. There was still time. For now, they could just have some simple fun.
Like nothing else was even on their minds.
A/N: 3-4-2018.
Credit for the inspiration for this story goes to two places. One, a story I read in "A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy" by Susan Klebold and published in 2017. Two, the intelligent and talented user calgabriel. Though new to the site and with only two stories published so far, calgabriel has written work for ZD that matches or surpasses mine for quality. His work is superb, and if you like mine, do yourself a favor and read his.
Calvin Gabriel is like Dylan Klebold in many ways, and Andre Kriegman is like Eric Harris in many ways. Columbine provided the inspiration for Ben Coccio to make his movie, and it's obvious- I believe he has even said so- that he based his two main characters off of the duo at Columbine. But they are NOT exactly the same. Calvin and Andre are similar to Dylan and Eric in that their most basic personalities align.
Calvin and Dylan are depressive, philosophical, more easygoing, but deeply alienated and angry well below the surface. Andre and Eric are angry, obsessed with gaining power over everyone and everything that has ever kept them down, and neither of them ever forgets a slight or a grudge. But anyone who believes these two fictional boys are just copies of the two real ones are missing the details, and the point.
I can't believe 2000 is now 18 years ago. I remember snow days we had late that year, and in early 2001. Time sure does fly past. I wasn't born in 1981 like Andre and Cal- the characters and the actors- were, but I was old enough to be aware of a snow day in 2000/2001.
This is my second story featuring Jonas Kriegman. He is technically an OC, but the ZD movie website- the text of which I have preserved in my story "From the Website"- revealed that Andre has an older brother. Nothing else is said about the character, not even a name. I had already made up a name, personality and future profession for Andre's older brother, so when I found out Andre has an older brother in canon, I decided to see about including him in some additional stories, here and there.
This is my 24th Zero Day story, and the 44th for this fandom. Since December 2016, when I learned of the deletion of some 8 stories, I have worked to rebuild and improve this archive. Zero Day is a great movie; one of the best I have ever seen. To this day, I believe it is relevant, and provides considerable pause for thought. But it is also a movie that has great potential for exploration. I am proud to have helped add to the archive as much as I have.
Please feel free to share any thoughts you have in a review. All feedback is welcome.