Ace.

"Fuck this goddamn tie!" I ripped it from around my neck, balled it up and threw it on the ground. I was sick of fumbling around with it. No matter how many ways I tried to tie it the damn thing hung off my neck like a noose gone wrong.

My cellmate Kenny laughed his ass off from the bed next to me. "Man that necktie had you beat ten minutes ago, about time you accepted it. Your lawyer wears a monkey suit to work every day he'll get you straightened out."

I plopped down on my bed and it hit me that it might be for the last time. After ten months in the pen, the day I had to reappear before the judge had come. I had kept my nose clean for the last few months here at the Chamberlain HIlls Juvenile Correctional Facility and my lawyer told me as long as I was real repetentent to the judge I should get my ticket back to Castle Rock.

"You nervous, man?" Kenny snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Nah, lawyer says it should be all good. Just weird to think I've spent almost a year in this shithole."

In sixteen years I had been in more fights than I could count. I'd boosted cars, moved drugs and a whole lot worse stuff I wasn't too keen on remembering...but I'd never been caught. Cops in Castle Rock and all the surrounding towns had my car and plate memorized, but they never managed to pin anything on me...until Eyeball's piece of shit brother and his little pack of girlfriends decided to change all that.

Those little shits always got on my nerves. Eyeball's little brother was an arrogant little son of a bitch, walked around like he was better than everyone. I'd have left it alone if it weren't for that bullshit down on the Back Harlow Road when we found the Brower kid. Chambers kid mouthed off at me and was about to get acquainted with my switch when Denny Lachance's brother, pulled a fucking gun. Little psycho aimed it straight at me and I let them walk away.

The second I got back to my car I regretted not killing all for of them then and there. They'd made me look like an asshole in front of the guys, they insulted me and they had the stones to one up me when they pulled that piece out. I knew I'd get them back for it. And I did.

Tessio's little brother was pathetic, he was walking down the street a few days after we'd all run into each other when I pulled up behind him and pulled him into my car. Kid immediately starts sobbing cause he knew his ass was grass. Drove him to his house and beat the shit out of him on his own front porch. Found Duchamp next, that lunatic tried to scrap back but once he was down a few kicks to the ribs left him pretty tame.

I remember watching Lachance and Chambers climbing down from their little treehouse and I thought about what good fortune I had that I stumbled upon both of them at that very moment. I chased them down in my car and grabbed the Lachance kid first. Chambers was a fucking boy scout, he wouldn't have left his buddy alone so I knew I'd have my best chance to get them both that way. I busted the Lachance kid's nose pretty quickly and knocked him out. That gave me ample time to kick the living shit out of Chris Chambers. I left them both in a bloody heap in the vacant behind the post office. I didnt feel bad about it, the little shits had it coming.

I had taken a hundred beatings in my day. Some from my old man, some from older guys when I was younger, never once did you hear me snitching on anyone who did it. I'd had broken ribs, black eyes...teachers would ask questions and I'd tell them that I fell down the to stairs. Some new guidance counselor at the school, some 23 year old hot blonde naughty librarian liberal type, gets the kids to sing like canaries. One minute I'm shooting a round of pool at Irby's, next minute cops are shoving my face into the table, sneering that they finally got me as they cuffed me.

Four counts of assault and battery on a minor. My lawyer said I got lucky, they tried to throw in an attempted murder charge-Chambers had a few day stay in intensive care after our little altercation and the district attorney wanted to throw the book at me.

My public defender fed them some sob story about how I was an underprivileged youth from a difficult family situation and that I deserved another chance. He waxed poetic about how my mother had left when I was 8, how my brother had died in a bar fight when i was 13 and how my dad was a drunk who lived off disability checks. I had no guidance, no support, I needed help...made me seem like I was some tragic victim, made me sick to listen to it. As sick as it was, it worked...mostly.

The judge was a crafty bastard. He made the deal that I had to spend a year at Chamberlain. If i managed to get through that without fucking it up, I'd get sent home to Castle Rock where if I graduated high school and had no additional arrests by my 18th birthday, that my juvenile record would be sealed and I'd head into adulthood without any bullshit. If i fucked up at any point along the way, I'd stay at Chamberlain until my 18th birthday and then get transferred to the State Pen at Warren for an additional 12 months.

Left without much of a choice, I took the deal and October 1st I headed off to Chamberlain. First couple of weeks were rough. I might have a mean streak but Jesus this place is filled with genuine psychos. My first cellmate was a manic depressive named Dean who was in for a year for killing a bunch of his neighbors pets, real fucking weirdo. Don't think I slept for more than ten minutes at a time those first few weeks.

They forced us into some low budget school and vocational training classes 10 hours a day to keep us busy and to "facilitate our re-entry to society." Half the kids who were in my classes could barely read much less sit still in a classroom for an hour at a time. It was chaos, fucking chaos. I got to work in the auto shop at least, helped give me something to do to pass the time.

At the end of the third week I got jumped by a bunch of French Canadian kids from Bangor and ended up in the infirmary with a concussion and a few cracked ribs. As miserable as that was, it got me a week out of class and out of the cell with that nutjob. I found out getting beating also gets you some sympathy points from the guards and social workers hanging around. My lawyer told me before I went in that whenever I had one on one time to act real sorry and talk about turning my life around. Every chance I got I talked off the nurse and guards ears about how bad I wanted to change and how excited I was to go back and be a good citizen and all that bullshit. When it was time for me to go back to my cell, I had buttered up the guards enough to convince them to switch my cell to get me away from the puppy killer.

As luck would have it, I ended up here, with Kenny Sanders from Scarborough. He was in for 18 months for grand larceny, kid had a system where he had about six girlfriends who all had babysitting gigs. He'd convince them to let him come over when the kids went to bed and he'd get with the girl and slowly rob the house blind. Unfortunately, all the girls found out about each other and it wasn't long before all of the burglaries came back on old Ken. He might not have been the brightest, but he wasn't killing any puppies. He had become a friend over the last 10 months.

"I'm jealous as all hell, man. I got another 6 months minimum. Part of me hopes you fuck it up in court and they kick your ass back. You're a hell of a lot better roommate than most of the psychos in this place." Kenny lay back on his bed as I got up and started to pace around the room. "Hey, I only survived Chamberlain. I still gotta head back home and be a fucking boy scout for a year. With my luck, I'll fuck it up in a month and end up back here."

"You've had decent luck so far dude...you could have gone straight to Warren into GenPop and you managed to dodge it and come here instead. You got the shit kicked out of you early on and got a few guards and nurses in your pocket. You lost the puppy killer and got to live with me the last 9 months. You got your brother's friend to let you crash with him so you don't have to go home. I think if you keep rolling with the luck you got you'll make it to 18 just fine."

My lawyer had told me that it would be wise to find a more "suitable" guardian to present to the court to assure my release. I hadn't seen my mother in years, my drunk father wasn't going to be any help...I only had one option and it was a longshot. Tommy Carter was my older brother's best friend growing up. Tommy had a few brushes with the law, but had straightened out over the last few years. He'd opened a garage and gas station in town, right on the edge of Castle View and was making a decent living at it. Eyeball had started working for him when he dropped out of high school and he'd always done his best to look out for me after my brother died. Tommy carried alot of guilt for not being there when my brother got jumped, so when I called to let him know the situation he agreed instantly. I never had anyone step up like that for me before, I tried not to feel too much about it, but it gave me a sense of relief that i'd never experienced before.

One of the usual morning guards walked by the door and peeked in through the window and smirked. He rapped on the door before opening it. "Look at you Merrill, all spic and span in your little suit. You know what they say about a hood in a suit, either headed to court or a funeral...which is it for you?"

"Court. Think I'm getting sprung. You'll have to find someone new to piss off." I tried to answer coolly, but could feel my heart rate rise as the possibility that it were true was becoming more and more real by the second.

"Did you figure out your tie yet?" The guard sneered down at me as his eyes went to the balled up tie on the floor.

I bent down and picked it up and wrapped it around my head like a bandana. "Will this do?" Kenny snorted from his bed as the guard's eyes narrowed. "Get your digs in while you can Merrill, hopefully you're right and this will be the last we see of you. " He turned and slammed the door.

Kenny snorted. "Jesus, imagine you walk into court with that thing on your head, you'd be back here in no time. Shit buddy, i'm gonna miss your lousy attitude around here, weird to think next time you walk out this cell door might be your last." He stood up and held out his hand. I took the tie off my head and reached out my hand to shake.

"I hope to god it is, you've made this suck less than it could have but I'm ready to get this over with."

"I can tell, you've been pacing for a few minutes. Gotta calm down with that nervous energy, dont want the judge to think you're hopped up on speed." Kenny laughed.

A figure appeared in the window at our door. My lawyer had arrived. The guard opened the door as he cringed. "I probably should have given you a lesson on how to do the tie…" He hurriedly rushed over and grabbed the balled up tie out of my hand and skillfully twisted the knot around my neck.

"See i told you the lawyer would do it, good technique buddy!" Kenny grinned and gave me the thumbs up.

The public defender rolled his eyes. "You ready?" I nodded. His eyes narrowed. "Use your words Merrill, you want out you're going to need to turn on the charm a little more than that."

"Yes sir, of course sir, I apologize for the lapse in judgement, sir." I smirked as the lawyer rolled his eyes again. The guard reopened the door and I walked out of the cell for what hopefully would be the last time. Time to get myself back to Castle Rock.

"Mr. Merrill, you stand before this court after serving 10 months in the Chamberlain Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility for four counts of assault and battery on a minor."

The judge recited the formalities and I tried to take my public defender's advice and stand up straight and look straight ahead. "You exhibited exemplary behavior, promising academics and what your instructors describe as true talent for automotives." The judge raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm hoping that upon your release you channel those talents into something positive.."

"Yes sir, I've made some mistakes in the past and I just want to give myself an honest living. I'm sincerely trying to put those bad decisions behind me." Just say what he wants you to hear. Anything to get the hell out of Chamberlain.

He squinted his eyes. "I understand your parents aren't here today."

"No your honor, unfortunately they aren't in any shape to attend a preceding of this nature." My lawyer interjected. "My client's mother has been out of his life for several years and his father is an abusive alcoholic." I winced at the phrase. Pops was a real bastard, but to hear him be reduced to those terms, and especially as a tactic to garner sympathy, made my skin crawl.

The judge leaned back in his chair. "And who will be maintaining custody of Mr. Merrill? He is still only 17 and I hope you aren't here with a plea for emancipation."

"Your honor, Mr. Tom Carter is here and will speak on behalf of the boy. He's a close family friend who is of legal age. Mr. Carter owns a mechanic shop and gas station and is prepared to give John a place to stay and continue to develop skills in his trade." I glanced over to see Tom sit up a little straighter on the bench behind me. Tommy had gotten me out of more than one jam over my seventeen years and it meant alot that he was here again today. Despite him not being blood, he seemed like closest thing to a family I had.

"Mr. Carter." Tommy stood. "Are you prepared to claim legal guardianship of Mr. Merrill until he turns 18 next April?" "I am sir. He's a good kid who's had some tough breaks, he knows he's better than this. He's family to me and I promise that I'll do my best to keep him on the straight and narrow." The judge nodded and Tommy sat.

He turned to me. "Mr. Merrill, the administrators at Chamberlain Hills have expressed that they believe you have served your time and are in a place where you could return home and effectively re-enter society. I am prepared to release you to Mr. Carter's custody upon the conditions that you reenroll in high school and maintain an excellent attendance record and passing grades. If you get in any trouble with the law and end up back in this court between now and your graduation, you will serve the full consequences of the law and be tried as an adult rather than a juvenile. If you make it to graduation and your eighteenth birthday, your juvenile record will be sealed and you'll have a fresh start. This is your second chance, there is no third. I hope you will make the best of it." The judge slammed his gavel.

It was over. A year of my life wasted in Chamberlain for putting Eyeball's faggot brother and his friends in the hospital. I felt my face get hot as I thought about those four little shits, but realized that I had to fight every impulse to bolt home and put each of them in a pine box six feet under. I rubbed my eyes and tried to put those thoughts out of my mind. I should just be happy i'm out of here and that I dont have to head back to my pop's place. My public defender patted me on the shoulder. "Congrats kid, don't mess this up for yourself and end up back here in three months. We'll get your release paperwork taken care of and you'll be headed back to Castle Rock."

I hadnt seen anyone from Castle Rock aside from Tommy since I got locked up. I had talked to Eyeball and Vince on the phone once or twice, but i definitely didnt have a clear sense of what i was headed home to. Eyeball had already warned me that I shouldn't expect to have a girl…I thought back to the pretty brunette's tear filled eyes on the night before I left, swearing she'd visit every weekend. Didn't show up once, and if Eyeball's stories are true, she more than kept herself occupied with other guys over the last year.

Leaving the courthouse was a blur, I only remember getting into Tommy's car and getting on the highway back to Castle Rock. "Ace Merrill, free man!" He smiled at me. I nodded. "Time to straighten out Johnny, you don't want to spend the rest of your life going in and out of courthouses."

We were quiet for a few minutes. Tommy helping me out was a big break for me and I knew I couldn't fuck this up. "Thanks again man, I don't know what I…" i trailed off. "Johnny you're the only thing close to a family that I got left. I can't watch you head down the road that I swerved off last second before I straightened out. Don't thank me, just don't blow this shot." I nodded and looked out the window. Things were going to have to change.

We pulled up to the gas station. Tommy had a little house behind it on the edge of the property. I smiled to see Eyeball and the gang waiting on the front steps. "Thought you'd want to see your boys after being locked up for so long." Tommy smiled as he parked the car. I climbed out of the car and was actually relieved to see this bunch of knuckleheads. It didn't seem like much had changed. "The king of the rock has returned!" Eyeball raised a beer and tossed me one. Tommy laughed. "Keep it in the backyard, last thing we need is for you morons to get pinched on aces first night home." We moved to the backyard and I slapped hello to Charlie, Vince and Billy.

"So how bad was it man?"

"Ehh not awful I guess. Just boring. A day seemed like a week in there." I threw back my beer, first one id had in almost a year.

"So what's the deal? You off clean?" Charlie pressed for details.

"Gotta graduate but yeah other than that if I don't fuck up again my juvie record gets sealed."

Eyeball stared in disbelief. "You going back to high school?" Eye had dropped out after sophomore year, he'd worked for tommy a bit and picked up landscaping jobs around town.

"Yeah might as well get the piece of paper while I'm complying with my parole."

"Principal Fletchers gonna shit when he realizes he's stuck with you for a year." Charlie guffawed.

I laughed. "Listen I just want to get in there and get it done. Tommy's gonna have me working on cars with him as long as I keep my shit together so gotta play it low key for a while." The words were hard to get out of my mouth. I had been getting into trouble with these guys for my entire life, and to tell them that I was getting out of the game was hard.

"Man I get it. It was a wake up call for all of us when you went away. We tried to keep a couple of the side deals going when you were gone, but Fuzzy had a close call with the cops and it spooked us all pretty bad. It's been a boring year, we've only gotten shooed away for fighting and drinking really. We were worried you thought we'd gone soft while you were gone." Eyeball meekly smiled.

The Ace Merrill that had sent Chris Chambers on a trip to the ICU would have called the guys standing in front of me pussies a year ago. But honestly, I was relieved to know that they weren't exactly jumping at the chance to boost cars and do the cheap break ins we used to do. It all seemed so convenient, but I knew the second someone offered me a chance for some easy cash for a less than legal deed I'd probably have a tough call to make. I just had to get through the next few months and wait until my record was sealed until I could go back to picking up some jobs on the side.

"Well at least you faggots still have some of your Priorities straight. If you had shown up here with ice tea and cookies I'd catch the first bus back to chamberlain. Let me get another beer." Vince tossed me one. "So, what else did I miss around here?"

"Not much man. Connie finally dropped Billy and is dating some college kid from Portland. That douchebag Tony Raymond knocked some girl up and has to marry her now. Wasn't his girlfriend either, that smokeshow Theresa Gordon is back in the market. His parents made him dump her so he could marry his baby's mother. That's been the big story of the summer." Tony Raymond was one of those idiot football players who walked around with his rich view rat friends and their hot girlfriends and just looked down on everyone else. We always enjoyed when the "castle view elites" got their comeuppances. I laughed. "Please tell me he knocked up Amanda." The guys got quiet when I said her name. "Nah, Alice Gilmore is the lucky lady. Don't even get me started on Amanda. You were lucky you got some time away from her, that girl is nuts...she waited about five minutes until she started with Joey Marshall and he definitely wasn't the only one..."

Eyeball had let me know that Amanda was far from faithful while I was gone, not like I expected her to be, but knowing she'd while I was gone was pretty disgusting. "Yeah when the second month passed and she didn't visit I knew what was up. Shoulda seen her night before I went away with the tears and shit, she almost had me buying it. Probably just made her feel tough to tell people her man was going away."

"So were most of the guys in chamberlain pussies?" Vince pressed.

"A large majority. My roommate was cool though, I lucked out there. He's got another 5 months god only knows what kind of faggot they got him in there with now."

"Well we're glad you're home man. And glad you'll be suffering through senior year with the rest of us." Charlie raised his beer and we all threw back a sip. It felt good to be home, but I wondered how long I had before screwing it all up royally.