Thank you to everyone who is still reading and thank you doubly to those who review. Here is the next chapter. I hope you like it:
xxxxxx
Chapter7
For the first time since Mr. Morris had taken over Mrs. Klein's class, Doug and Tommy McQuaid found themselves sitting in his classroom. This was their last class of the day, but it was only the third class they had attended today.
After their father had finally let them out of the basement, the boys had grabbed the first clothing they could find, threw it on, and got out of the house as quickly as possible. Doug settled for just wearing jeans along with the white t-shirt he had already been wearing, even though it was stained with Tommy's blood. Tommy settled on wearing an oversized, light grey, long-sleeved shirt he was pretty sure belonged to Doug, and a pair of his own torn up jeans.
They had gone to school just because they wanted to be away from home as long as possible and school was a good place to waste a few hours. No one would throw them out of school, as long as they didn't get into any fights today... Or as long as they didn't get caught selling drugs... Pretty much as long as they stayed quiet and out of trouble, the would be able to use the school as a temporary safe haven.
Arriving at lunch time, they'd managed to score some free food from the lunch lady, Linda, who looked like she knew something was up with them, but who didn't ask any questions. She must have sensed that they weren't in the mood to explain themselves. They then attended their last three classes, which they both spent sitting in the back of each class room, being uncharacteristically silent.
They spent Mr. Morris's class sitting in the back quietly as well. Tommy seemed like he was zoned out, his mind a million miles away. He spent a majority of the class staring into the far corner. Meanwhile, Doug sat next to him, with his foot crossed up on his opposite leg as he picked at the bottom of his shoe. His shoes had been falling apart for a while now. Pulling little pieces off the bottom of them was a habit he had adopted.
He had been surprised, and also grateful that Mr. Morris hadn't made some sort of smart remark upon seeing that the brothers had finally made it to his class. He had expected something witty out of the man, and had expected his little brother to not take it well. One smart remark from Mr. Morris would probably be enough to push Tommy over the edge. Doug knew his little brother already didn't seem to like the man, and the last thing Tommy needed right now was someone needlessly bothering him. The kid was already stressed enough. Needless to say, Doug was very glad when they entered the room and sat down without the substitute teacher nagging at them.
In fact, they went through the entire class without the man saying a single word to them. He must have been able to sense that today wasn't a day to be messing with them.
When the end of the day school bell rang however, he finally acknowledged them, "Douglas, Tommy," he called out just as they were about to leave. They turned around and looked at him, "you've got detention today. You can report back here in five minutes, or just stay put, since you're here already. It's up to you."
Doug considered this. It wasn't as if they wanted to go home anyway. Spending an extra hour at school would at least provide them with a safe place to be for a little while longer. The brothers didn't ordinarily attend such things as detention, but it didn't seem so bad today.
Tommy must not have agreed, "what for?" he growled, glaring up at the man, "We finally show up and you give us detention? What kind of ass backwards motivation is that?" he sounded angry.
"It's not for today, Tommy," Mr. Morris informed him. Though Tommy had been yelling, the teacher's voice remained calm, "you skipped my class two days in a row. One measly detention is the least you could serve to make up for it."
Doug elbowed him, "come on, man. Let's just do it," he whispered, "it's not like we've got anything better to do."
"I'll stay if you give us money for sodas," Tommy scowled at the man. The brothers hadn't found a way to make any more money since the homeless man had stolen Tommy's wallet and marijuana. They had more drugs stowed at home, but hadn't had a chance to sell any of them.
"Fine," Mr. Morris agreed, much to Doug's surprise. He fished some coins out of his pocket and handed them to Tommy, who looked very suspicious as he took them, "I'll see you in a few minutes," he man reminded him.
Doug followed Tommy out of the room and toward the cafeteria where there were a few soda vending machines.
"Does he really expect us to come back?" Tommy laughed.
"We might as well, Tommy," Doug explained, "where do you want to go instead? Back home? I'd rather stay in detention."
"I guess so," Tommy agreed, pushing the coins into the vending machine and pressing one of the buttons. He reached down and grabbed the can, "what do you want?" he asked his brother as he put the rest of the coins into the machine.
Doug reached over and hit one of the buttons. Tommy grabbed the can out of the machine and handed it over to his brother.
Tommy sighed loudly, "I think I got blood on your shirt," he frowned, turning and trying to see his own back, "I thought all the blood was dry, but I must have been wrong," he looked up at his brother, "I'm sorry," he pouted.
Doug looked at his brother's back. Sure enough there were a few lines of blood on the shirt Tommy was wearing. He hoped they hadn't been there all day. It was possible the injuries had just started bleeding again recently. Or they could have been bleeding ever since his little brother put the shirt on. He wondered how many people had seen it. Of course, Doug had blood on the shirt he was wearing too. Somehow he didn't think it mattered so much. Maybe because the blood wasn't his, "I might have a jacket in my locker," he offered.
"No," Tommy shook his head, "I don't want to get your jacket all bloody."
"You won't," Doug assured him, reaching over and gripping his brother's shoulder and squeezing it lightly, "the shirt you're wearing probably soaked it all up already. Besides, the jacket's black. It won't even stain it anyway."
Tommy shrugged, "fine," he agreed.
Doug made his way to his locker. Tommy walked next to him. He didn't keep his locker locked, so there was no need to put in the combination, which he had forgotten anyway. He pulled the jacket out and handed it to his brother, watching as he put the garment on.
The jacket was too big for his little brother, but that was nothing he didn't expect. It did the job of covering up the blood stains, so the fact that it was a bit oversized didn't matter.
They walked together back down to Morris's room, making their way to the back corner and sitting down in seats right next to each other. Normally teachers monitoring detention would tell them to sit away from each other. If this guy did, they were probably going to be out of there. But Morris didn't say anything.
They stayed back in their corner, silently watching as a few more students filed into the room.
As the brothers sipped their drinks and watched the other three students who had recently joined them, Morris walked over to them.
Doug looked up at him, but Tommy paid him no attention at all.
Morris pulled a chair up right next to them so that they were close enough that he could speak quietly so they could hear him but the other students couldn't, "is everything alright with you guys?" he asked.
Doug frowned, "yeah," he answered simply, "we're good."
"You've got blood on your shirt, Douglas," Morris reminded him, looking down at the lines of blood staining the front of his t-shirt, "and you're both always bruised up... If you're having problems at home, you can tell me. You've got nothing to be ashamed or scared of. I may not be your regular teacher, but as long as I'm here, I'm going to look after my students. No matter what anyone else says, it would be better for you to tell someone than keep silent if someone at home is hurting you."
"No one is," Tommy cut in, finally staring up at the man with narrowed eyes and a pouting frown, "we got into a fight with some guys. Not that it's any of your business. If you think we look beat up, you should see the other guys."
Morris forced a sympathetic smile, "Just remember I'm here if you need to talk to someone about anything like that. If I keep seeing you boys looking like someone's beating you, I'm going to report it. I have a duty, as a teacher, to report suspected child abuse. And I know you two aren't dumb enough to think you can hide something like that."
"We're not children," Tommy frowned, "and if someone was trying to abuse us, we wouldn't let them. There's two of us. Do you really think someone would even dare to try to fuck with us like that?"
Morris shrugged, "you know your lives better than I do. If everything's fine at home, you've got nothing to worry about... and I hope you're telling the truth. But I can tell you this: I'm going to keep my eye on you two. If I suspect anything, I'm not going to help you hide a secret like that."
"Okie dokie," Doug patted the man on the arm, "thanks, man. Bye." It was nice to know someone cared, but he didn't really want him to care right now. They could handle this on their own. Doug had already made up his mind that he was going to tell someone if anything like what happened this morning happened again. He didn't need this random teacher he barely knew trying to weasel his way into their lives. Doug had this under control. Morris rolled his eyes and walked away, leaving the two brothers alone again.
"Don't you dare say anything to him," Tommy scowled up at his brother.
"I won't," Doug assured him, "don't worry about it."
It wasn't long before someone else was bothering them. This time, however, Doug didn't mind so much. A girl who he didn't know had taken the seat in front of them and was turned around to face them. Ordinarily Doug didn't like anyone bothering him, weather they were a girl or a guy, but he found this girl to be rather pretty, which made her presence much less annoying.
"Hey," she greeted them with an award-winning smile.
Doug nodded, "hey," he smiled back, "how come I don't know you?" he wondered. She was awfully attractive. Even if she wasn't in his grade, he should have noticed her in the halls by now.
"I'm new," she told him, holding out her hand so he could shake it, "I've only been here three days, and I'm a senior." she shrugged, "I don't know what grades you guys are in, so maybe that's why we haven't met. Judy Gillis," she introduced herself, offering another smile. Doug shook her hand.
She offered it next to Tommy, but he just waved her off, "pass." he slouched down and looked at her skeptically. Judy's smile faded for a moment and she pulled her hand back awkwardly. She looked disappointed. It made Doug feel bad.
"I'm Doug, and this is my brother Tommy," he offered, "We're the McQuaid brothers. I'm sure you've heard of us if you've been here a whole three days."
She laughed, "Of course I have. People seem pretty scared of you guys," she looked from Doug to Tommy and then back at Doug, "what are you guys in here for?" she asked.
"Skipping class," Doug answered. He then grinned, "but that's the least of our crimes. What about you? You don't look like the type that would have detention," he eyed her suspiciously.
"Hey..." she frowned, making a pouting face, "I'll have you know I get detention all the time," she said it as if it was something she was proud of. She then leaned in closer and whispered, "you know where I could buy some pot?" she asked, "I've heard around that you guys might know. I've been here three days and still haven't made any good connections."
Doug laughed, "yeah. I know a place where you could buy some."
Tommy pulled on his arm, leaning in and whispering into his ear, "you bringing her home?" he asked, not waiting for an answer, "you sure that's a good idea?"
He pushed Tommy back, ignoring his brother's question "you okay with coming by our house after this?" he asked, his eyes still on Judy.
She smiled and her eyes brightened, "yeah," she nodded.
Tommy sighed loudly and leaned back in his chair. He obviously didn't think now was a good time to be bringing a girl over to their house. Of course, Doug saw it differently. Their father wouldn't try anything if Tommy and Doug had a friend over. In fact, he sometimes seemed rather charming around anyone who wasn't one of his sons. There was a reason he had gotten away with abusing his children for so long. Most people would never suspect the man of doing anything like that.
"Alright then," Doug smiled back, "I guess after this, meet back up with us. We live close enough to walk. Unless you have a car."
"Walking's fine," she smiled as she stood up, "make sure you guys don't leave school without me."
"We won't," Doug grinned at her and watched her walk back to where she had been sitting before.
"You in love now?" Doug heard Tommy mumble behind him.
He turned around and looked at his brother who was scowling over at him, "shut up," he shoved him lightly on his shoulder, "we gotta make money somehow, right?"
Tommy shrugged, "you could have just brought it to school tomorrow. You like her," his eyebrows were raised, daring Doug to deny this accusation.
"Well, to be fair," Doug started, "I barely know her. But she is pretty. You can't deny that."
"So are a lot of girls," Tommy said, "but I don't bring them over to our house."
"She's just coming over to buy drugs," Doug whispered, "it's not like we're gonna hook up or anything."
"I know," Tommy sighed, "you realize you've made it where we have to go home after this now. There's no staying out until midnight now. Dad's probably going to be there, and we'll probably have to fight with him if we want to leave again," the brothers were both whispering now, so that no one in the class, especially not the teacher, could hear their conversation.
"We'll just stay home all night then," Doug offered, "we'll shut up and not talk to him at all," he suggested, "and if he says something to you, please don't be sarcastic or rude to him. I know he deserves it, but you'll just get yourself in trouble."
"I'm not stupid," Tommy glared.
Doug raised his eyebrows. He knew Tommy wasn't stupid, but sometimes the boy's mouth moved faster than his brain. He hadn't quite mastered the art of shutting up and letting their father win an argument even when he was wrong, "I know you aren't," Doug frowned, "but I also know it's not always easy to just let it go when he says something awful. Even if it feels wrong, just let him say whatever he wants."
Tommy was pouting, "Fine," he agreed, "hopefully he'll just shut up and be good while Judy's over."
"He usually is nicer when someone's over," Doug reminded him.
"Good," Tommy sighed, "keep her there as long as you can then."
xxxxxx
