Brinker's thoughts before the trial. Oneshot; school project.
A Night to Remember
My fingers tremble with anticipation; tonight, tonight is the night. I climb the steps, with Alex, Mac, and Miller at my side as we make our way to the dorms.
Gene has always been so jumpy about the accident- Nobody else seems to notice, but I see the panic in his eyes, his too-careful motions and words whenever the subject comes up. And if anyone insinuates he had something to do about it….
It is time to get to the bottom of this. Someone has to do it; who better for the job than me? Finny needs to know; he will thank me in the end. The truth will out. After all, real men do not decieve or lie. They stand up and admit to their wrongdoings, and any boy who refuses to do so should be humiliated before his peers until he learns his lesson. I am doing a favor to both of them. Assuming Gene really is at fault for this.
But that is what we are here to discern. Whenever I get him alone, Finny is rather vague about the whole incident. I will make him tell me the whole, true story, in front of witnesses. We will get to the bottom of this.
I have a gut feeling that Gene was tired of playing second fiddle to his best mate… he had the look in his eyes before the "accident" that I see often enough; irritation, mixed with an unsurpassable awe and resentment for it. Boys glare at me with it in their gazes often enough.
And then he decided that he could just crawl back to Finny after the invalid returned! Away from what he did, away from the war, and back into that little pretend world of peace they indulge in! Away from all our plans of enlisting!
I remember our deal, our agreement after shoveling the snow off the tracks. Off to enlist the next day!
And then Finny returned, with his clouded fantasies and child-like faith! Never trust anyone; they will certainly turn on you. Gene pushed Finny off of that branch, I'll bet anything. And then he turned his back on me. Coward.
He does not fulfill his promises, and nearly killing your best mate is not one of the duties of friendship, last time I checked!
No more, after this.
They need to grow up and face reality. And they will, one way or another. Tonight.
We open the door to their room. Both are sitting on their respective beds as they look up, like caught fugitives. Unable to stop a smile, I cross my arms. My eyes flicker from a bewildered Finny to rest on Gene; our eyes lock.
His jaw is clenched. He grips the side of the bed. Trapped, this time, Gene. There is no out. No escape. His eyes are disbelieving, confused… and scared. I glorify in it; I must be right about him. No boy would worry about a few classmates bursting in unless one of them had been busting his chops for something early. I am certain our last conversation is running through his mind as he stands, his body twisted in a defensive fighting position, whether he knows it or not.
"You've got a little personal stake in this. What I mean is that it wouldn't do you any harm, you know, if everything about Finny's accident was cleared up and forgotten." He had rolled his eyes as a reply to that, grimaced as though annoyed. But I saw the panic in his eyes, the involuntary reaction to my words as he tensed before he covered it all up.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know," I answered, scrutinizing him. Was that a squirm? His fingers bulged as his grip on the piano tightened. He ought to be grateful, that I was confronting him in a soundproof room. He could have just admitted it there, and we could have worked it out. Hey, jealously isn't good, but it's worse to hold bottled up. It was then that my plan first began to form, the plan that would expose everything, if Gene wasn't man enough to admit to his deed. "Nobody knows." His gaze did not waver. "Unless you know." We stared into each other's eyes for a moment, each grappling for the winning hold. Then Gene shrugged.
"Whatever. I don't get you, Brinker. Of course I know everything that happened at the tree. I was there." He looked away a little too quickly, I thought, as he turned his back on me. "Just me and Finny."
"We're taking you out." Gene is not giving in so easily; rebellion is in his eyes. He wants to stop the tide, but it is too late for him to redeem himself. I gave him a chance, and he threw it away.
"It's after hours." Like he cared; he and Finny always broke the rules. And he's broken some that Finny could never dream of breaching.
"Where?" I suppress a humorless smile. His roommate's curiosity has damned him; I can see the frustration in Gene's eyes.
"You'll see. Get them." Miller and Alex help Finny down the stairs. Mac stays behind Gene, to make sure he doesn't have a change of heart. Mac is pretty big.
And I lead them all, in a crusade for the truth. For honesty.
We head for the trial.
I pull out my key ring; it seems being a class officer is rather handy. They give you all the tools needed for rule-breaking, and trust you not to indulge. It's a little foolish of them, really. I read the Latin inscription above the doors.
Here Boys Come to be Made Men. Rather fitting, if I do say so myself. I smile grimly as I push the key into the lock and turn.
The doors creak open to reveal the huge marble hall, with its high windows and vents, none of which illuminate the great stairs now, in the dark of night. I stride in, my head high. A grim smile twists my lips.
Tonight will be a night to remember.
Brinker Hadley