Thank you to everyone who had reviewed, favorite me, read the story and all those great things. I am sorry about the delay - I got stuck and didn't know how to get towards my next area smoothly. Once I added Maude into the story, it seemed to work itself out and now I have another area of the story to cover. I hope you all like, sorry it's so short. As always - read at your own risk.
Shortly after the visit in the principal's office Ezra had found himself in a small cubical that was placed in what he guessed, served as in school detention area and currently he was the only one occupying it. In front of him was placed, most likely by the principal, a couple of number two pencils and the workbook full of questions with little circles for him to mark as well as a few essay questions.
Oddly, he had never actually taken one of these tests and he had no idea what true level of question someone his age would answer. He drummed his fingers on the table and looked around but he was completely alone in a completely empty room. He had filled out a few pages and felt that called for a break.
He pushed himself away from the desk and went to the door. The office secretary smiled on noticing the door opening and Ezra poking his head out.
"I need a um…break?" Ezra gave her a smile hard enough, though false, to show his two dimples. A smile that never failed to adopt an innocence façade that worked on most people.
"Sure, hon. Let me get you a hall pass. You've got about an hour before lunch." She pushed aside a few folders she had been working on and scribbled permission to us the hallways on a green pass slip. On handing the paper over, she explained where the courtyard was located for some fresh air and direction to the bathrooms.
Once outside, Ezra took out the pre-paid phone his mother had given him before their departure and quickly dialed her number. She had purchased two prepaid phones, one for her and one for him. They were the only time the phones were to be used and she hers near her at all times. He held his breath as it rang, half expecting Maude's voice mail to kick in but she always was the one person he could never predict.
"Sweetheart! Why, I didn't expect to hear from you so soon, darling. Is everything alright?" Ezra heard his mother's voice answer on the third ring.
"Right now I suppose it is," Ezra let out a relief sigh. "I hadn't found it yet but…."
"Then whatever do you need at this hour?" A confusing sound was noted her in voice.
"If you would be so kind to let me finis…"Ezra pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment, giving it a hard stare before putting it back to his ear, "This hour? What do you mean by that? Where exactly are you at?"
"Hawaii. Didn't I tell you? I'm sure I told you," Maude insisted with a wave of indifference oozing over the phone.
"No…" Ezra had no idea she had gone so far away and once again, she left him in the care of strangers.
"I'm sure I had brought it up at some point," Maude said. "It is simply lovely here. One day, you and I should revisit these small islands. You will love it I am most certain. Now what was it that you needed?"
"I was going to ask for an escape but you can't do that while having a delightful time Hawaii, can you? This was your idea, your plan. Had it occurred to you that I could be danger? Or does that never cross your mind? What if I was in actual trouble? What is the point in having you as an escape route if you can't even be in the same locality as I am? Hawaii?" Ezra clenched his teeth in frustration and started to pace the court yard.
"Darling, you are over reacting. I had done my research before I dropped you off at the Larabee Ranch. Clint would never place a hand on you and that, I am sure of so you have nothing to worry about. As for so-called danger, I find it hard to believe there is any such thing in that small community, a ghost town of its own making surely, that would harm you. But what about the hidden fortunes, tell me what you have learned of it?" Maude asked.
"What good is the treasure if I'm locked away? Do you know they found out about some of our pseudonym names? It's all being tracked down as we speak. Clint knows that number you gave him isn't in use and they are looking into my medical records and forcing me to do this damn placement test!" Ezra yelled into the phone. "It's your entire fault! You do this to me all the time! Leave me here to take the fall! I should have known that the day you found me that you were going to somehow pin everything on me. Do you realize that I'm getting too old to be trial as a juvenile? The next time I stand before a Judge, I may get sentenced as an adult!"
"You need to check your anger, Ezra! You know better then to lose your temper and when you do, you lose focus on the target!" Maude warned him. She listen to him take a few deep breaths, the first one sounded like a growl of frustration, before she spoke again. "Honey, you know that I wouldn't place you in harm's way."
Ezra tongue went instantly to his golden tooth, "Sure."
"I wasn't aware of that…terrible time in our lives and haven't you made me suffer long enough for that mistake?" Maude cried. "You always keep reminding me."
"Mother," Ezra pinched the bridge of his nose, filling a headache coming on. "When are you coming back? I need to get out? Clint is smarter than you claimed him to be."
"You are exaggerating," Maude told him. "Things aren't as bad as you believe them to be. Have you committed any crimes since you been there?"
"No. Not here," Ezra admitted.
"Since your last time in the detention centre, have you done anything that can –without a doubt- be blamed on you?" Maude asked.
"Not that I'm aware of, no." Ezra admitted once more.
"See there." Maude made sure he heard a sleepy yawn escaping her mouth, whether it was real or not, Ezra was unsure. "Now, I will be back in the states within a week or two that depends on my current transaction. I too have business to attend so this isn't all fun for me. Until I do, you need to keep focus on your simple task. Understand?"
"Fine. Apparently I don't have a choice do I?" Ezra muttered.
"Remember sweetheart, the situation is only as bad as you let it." Maude heard the cold sound of the phone call being cancelled on her. It wasn't the first time he had hung up on her, he would always call back but the silence between those calls was becoming longer each time.
Maude sat down on a large white sofa that faced the long wall windows in her apartment, windows that over looked a large town that was five hours away from Larabee's ranch and not overlooking the shores of Hawaii as she let her son believe. For the first time in a long time, she let her tears flow down her cheeks. It tore her up but she had to follow her plan through. Clint will provide a life for Ezra that she could never offer for him and once Ezra saw that, compared her with Clint, he would see it too. She had to give Ezra a reason to stay though, just long enough for him to realize that it was a better life.
His anger at her, the feeling of abandonment was part of the plan. Ezra would push her away in his anger and avoid any contact with her before, eventually forgiving her. She knew he would forgive her, he always does. But he was right. In attempt to be close to him, Maude always ended up finding trouble for the boy and he didn't need help with that and though she promised herself not to contact him, she couldn't help it. She craved to hear his voice and didn't always think things through when it came to him.
Yes, his anger at her was important to keep him away from her. She had forsaken from him a life that had a better outcome than the road she travelled and like most mothers, she wanted more for Ezra than the life she had and that meant making him push her out of his life.
It was Vin who found Ezra wandering in the hall at the lunch bell. "Lost yet?" Vin asked on matching Ezra's strides.
"Lost?" Ezra looked over his shoulder at the other end of the school building before giving the slightly younger boy a weary look. "This place is one level and shaped like an 'L', one cannot get lost."
"It's more like a lower case 'B' because of the biology room is near the courtyard on the account of pond being in there and all," Vin grinned cheekily. "Hadn't seen you in the halls till now, I was starting to think you skipped the rest of the day and didn't ask me if I'd want to do the same."
"I am retained in a miniature room to do a placement test and after today I am to attend a 'special' class since there are only a few weeks left of the school term." Ezra and Vin stopped at the end of the lunch line that was moving in a slow pace.
Vin nodded his head in understanding while stuffing his hand in his pocket to retrieve his lunch money, "I'm in a couple of those special classes. Guess we all can't be genus."
"I wasn't indicating that it was a bad thing, just that people are quick to judge on tad bit of information," Ezra tried to backtrack. "In thinking that they know what is best."
"Sometimes the right person does know," Vin picked up his tray and moved along with the rest of students. "Besides, other than some students thinking they are smarter than me, the classes aren't that bad. My work load is still the same; just I get a bit one on one, is all."
Vin and Ezra simultaneously looked over their shoulder on the sound of a loud whistle and Buck waving his arms to let him know that he saved them a seat.
"I don't get him sometimes," Vin turned back around for an orange juice. "We seat at the same table every day, all year long. Everyone sits at the same place, nothing ever changes and there he is making a big show that he's there. Though, Josiah says that if he got neutered, he might not be overly excited."
"I see his point though I warrant that would be considered illegal without his approval and I don't think that would be something Buck would be excited to do," Ezra pulled away from the lunch line and headed towards Buck between two long lunch tables.
"Hey I forgot to thank you," Vin stopped briefly in their walk. "For not telling on me for the cigarettes."
"We had an understanding," Ezra shrugged. "Though you got caught, I still expect you to keep your end of it. As you said, it was of no fault of mine."
Vin looked at him confusedly, "To look away when you do something but I did. I wasn't the one to tell Dad about you drinking at the party."
"That is true," Ezra agreed. "But I didn't call the favour in at that time."
"Are you planning on doing som…" It was as if time slowed down. Vin heard the screech of the chair pushing back as a seventh grade student got up from the right of Vin. The younger boy's shoulder hit the corner of Vin's lunch tray, sending the tray out of his hands and landing on the sitting student on Vin's left, who happened to be Bob Spikes. Bob was one of the meanest seniors in the school and not so stable in the mind either. He had only one eye but no one was sure how he had lost it, they just knew that he was meaner than a starved rattlesnake on hot sand.
"Shit," Vin swore as Bob slowly raised from his chair. Vin's chips, cake, applesauce and pizza dripping from him.
Across the room, Buck started to get up but Chris put a firm hand on his shoulder, "Stay. You've got football to worry about." With that, Chris and Josiah started to head towards the problem that was now starting to get attention.
"I'll go find the principal," Nathan patted Buck on the shoulder as he saw the teacher, Mrs Chandler, a small Spanish teacher, head over to the disruptive group.
"You little piece of filth!" Bob roared as he turned on the much smaller Vin.
"Sorry, it was an accident. I didn't mean to," Vin wasn't one to back down but he was taught to try to make amends.
"Filth?" Ezra, who wasn't one taught to make amends, grinned widely. "Have you taken a moment to validate your own personal appearance?"
Bob, now red face turned his whole body around in a stiff shuffle to look at the new kid, "What did you say?"
"Good lord," Ezra waved his hand in front of him. "If that is what the lunch meal does to one's breathe, it's a good thing you lost your meal Vin."
"Ezra, don't…" Vin was fiercely shaking his head.
"You're the new Larabee brat, aren't you? You think that now you're in that family that you're better than everyone else?" Bob took a step closer to Ezra, his fist clenching at his side.
"No. Just you," Ezra took a step back. "I'm not a Larabee, either. Should I wear a name tag so you can comprehend that or perhaps you cannot read yet in which case, I can speak slower for you."
Bob pulled his fist back and Ezra instincts told him to duck but at the same time, Vin kicked the back of Bob's knees causing the bigger boy to stumble over Ezra's ball format and to sail onto a lunch table and into lunch plates still holding some food on the plate.
"That worked out surprising well," Ezra looked over at Vin who bobbed his head in agreement.
"Yeah. I think I even impressed myself," Vin smiled at his work.
Bob Spikes roared to life as he pulled away from the lunch plates, covered in mushed up bananas, potatoes, pizza, corn, milk, yogurt, and many unedified food assortments the other students had been eating. Like a grizzle bear, Bob brought up his hands like claws, growling as he lunged to the nearest Larabee.
"You don't want to do that," Josiah pulled back one of Bob's hands before they reached Ezra.
Bob turned a crazy eye on Josiah, his new target.
"You really don't want to do that either," Chris said, having come behind Vin and Ezra to stand at Bob's back.
"Isn't this just a Larabee thing to do," Bob looked back and forth from Chris and Josiah. "Ganging up on me! Four against one!"
"We aren't ganging up on you," Josiah tried to reason. "Just trying to keep people from getting hurt."
"Look at me! Look what they did!" Bob yelled into Josiah's face, spit splatting the older Larabee's face. Ezra gagged, thinking about his breath and figuring spit was some kind of hazard compound.
"It was an accident," Vin explained. "I said I was sorry!" He looked around his fellow students and some of them, who witness the ordeal, nodded their heads. "See!"
"You could go to the gym, shower and use the school's washer and dryer," Josiah stated, seeing a solution. "Or go home, I'm sure they would excuse you."
"Bob!" The boy slowly turned to the attention of the principal. "Can I see you in my office? I asked Mrs Chandler to gather a few towels for you."
Bob turned and gave each one of the Larabees a hard glare, lingering on the younger ones. "This isn't over." Bob stomped away from the cafetra and pass that principal.
"I'll be seeing you two a bit later," The principal warned Vin and Ezra.
"Great," Vin threw his hands in the air. "At this rate, I won't know what a it feels like not to be grounded."
"Dad might go light on this one, Vin." Josiah pulled his brother along. "He doesn't trust Bob any more than anyone else."
Chris grabbed the back of Ezra's shirt collar as he tried to pass through the mess without stepping in it. "What the hell are you doing?"
Ezra looked down at the mess and back at Chris, "Isn't it obvious?"
"Your mouth," Chris gave Ezra a hard look. "It's going to get us into trouble and you may think this town, our little world is a joke but it's our life and we don't need you making it more difficult. You and Vin are no match for the likes of Bob. Hell, I'm not so sure I am. So curb it!"
As the week before, Ranger's internal clock buzzed him awake from the corner of the sofa where JD had stuffed the candy wrappers. Ranger slowly slid off the sofa, stretching his paws in front of him before heading to the door to allow each boy to greet him as they entered.
"Hey there, Ranger." Josiah scratched the dog behind the ear before setting the car keys into the empty bowl that sat upon a wooden stand near the door. "I'm a bit early I think. You might have to wait a bi…" Josiah stopped to listen to Chris' jeep pull up the drive. "Guess not."
Less than thirty seconds the front door opened again and the boys poured in and Ranger thumped his tail against the floor.
Chris gave Ranger's back a rub before he passed the dog, "Hey old boy. Josiah, I thought you were staying late at the school? "
"Got you a cookie," Vin pulled the biscuit from his pocket to give to the dog. Vin smiled as the dog gentle took the biscuit from him. "I had a rough time at school, boy. Might need you to soften dad up when he comes home."
"That was the plan," Josiah sat on the first step of the staircase that led to the bedrooms as he watch his brother pull off their shoes and shove their books or bags where ever there was a spot vacant. "But plans get cancelled."
Buck kneeled down beside the Labrador, "Hey boy."
"What's the delay? The dance is still going on isn't?" Chris asked the senior. The 'dance' was the last after school dance being held for the school year. It was a traditional for the juniors of high school to throw the seniors the last school dance at the school. It wasn't unusually for a few seniors to help out either and Josiah was always the first to volunteer for pretty much anything.
JD sat down on the floor to take his shoes off when Ranger lost interest in Buck, he wagged his tail to where JD struggled with his shoes. JD pulled his shoes instead of untying them and Ranger took that moment to lick the boy's face. Between laughing and trying to avoid Ranger's tongue, JD was having a hard time with the shoes. "Stop Ranger! Stop!" JD giggled.
"Here let me help you out, little buddy," Buck grasped JD's foot and started pulling on it while Ranger moved to the next brother. "Uh-oh. It won't come off!"
JD laughed as Buck dragged him in a circle, "That's my foot!"
Ezra took a step into the hall only to be greeted by the lab. He moved to walk around the dog but that only made Ranger roll his lips up to show his teeth. Ezra stopped instantly, never had the dog showed aggression towards him before.
"That's his smile," Vin laughed as Ezra's face had paled. "He wants you to say hello. We all do it."
"You may say you're not a Larabee but it looks like Ranger sees it differently," Josiah watched as Ezra slowly patted the dog on the head.
"Vin," Mary leaned against the wreck room doorframe, "Hurry up, you've got chores to be done and I need help in the kitchen."
"Aw, I'm coming." Vin sulked.
"Your father will want to speak to you after dinner," Mary looked over at Ezra. "Both of you."
"School called, huh?" Vin shoulders' drooped.
"Wasn't your fault, Vin." Josiah reminded him.
"Then why did we," Vin pointed at himself and then at Ezra, "Get detention?"
"You got detention because you kicked Bob," Chris told him. "And he has it because he provoked Bob to take a swing at him."
"Provoking doesn't give right to assaulting," Josiah stated.
"The school will come down harder on you than Dad." Buck truly felt that no matter who had been in Vin's shoes, the outcome would had been worse.
"I wasn't trying to provoke anyone to punch me. You may find it hard to believe but I am not the type that relish in pain," Ezra explained to Chris. "Bob was going to strike Vin no matter what I said and what I was trying to accomplish was a diversion until dumb luck arrived."
"Oh is that what you were trying to do?" Josiah asked in disbelief. "Because it sounded as if you were insulting him and have the rest of the students laugh at your smartass remarks."
"As I said, I was waiting for dumb luck and," Ezra climbed over Josiah to get a head start on the stairs. "I didn't have to wait too long, did I? Why, I didn't think you and Chris could move so fast!"
Josiah quickly tore after Ezra up the stairs and the others laugh when they heard a bedroom door slam. "You can't stay in there all day!" Josiah called outside the door but his voice didn't hold anger.
"I am terrible sorry, Josiah. Obviously your wit is much quicker than that of Bob Spikes," Ezra's voice was muffled because of the closed door.
"Too late for flattery," Josiah warned good-heartily.
"So than," JD took a big mouthful of his potatoes as everyone around the table listen to him speak of his day at school. "She told us that Pinocchio's nose would grow every time he told a lie! I'm sure glad I'm not a wooden boy!"
"Do you tell lies a lot, little brother?" Josiah asked him.
"Well, no but what if Mom told me that she was going to the store to buy a surprise birthday present and told me not to say anything but you ask where she was and I would have to say that I didn't know because Mom told me not to tell so I would be lying but Mom made me tell the lie," JD explained in one breath.
"That wouldn't be very fair," Buck gave his little brother a wink.
"How about your first day?" Clint looked over at Ezra. "Did you and Buck share any classes?"
"Spent the entire time in a room doing a placement test," Ezra said dryly. "Other than at lunch, it was uneventful."
"Josiah and Chris told me a bit about that," Clint looked over at the older boys with an approval acknowledgment before looking back at Ezra and Vin. "I don't like Bob Spikes, I don't trust that boy. He's a revengeful sort, Ezra. Vin. If I had a reason to lock him up, I would do it and think the community was safer for it. You boys need to keep an eye out for him. You stick with your older brothers for a time and make sure that you're never alone with him, understand?"
"So are we grounded?" Vin gave his father an uncertain look while he crossed his fingers under the table.
"Not this time," Clint looked over at Mary. "Your mother and I think school detention is enough for this situation. I don't commend fighting or trigging a fight but self-defence is different. You two stay clear of Bob Spikes and you," Clint looked over at Ezra. "You need to learn to think before you open your mouth. Today could have ended badly. And Vin, you need to avoid trouble all together or you will get grounded all summer."
"It's not that I go looking for it," Vin sulked.