Andy was awoken from the sound of ringing. At first he thought it was his
alarm clock but realized once he smacked the top button that the ringing
persisted. He quickly hauled himself out of bed and headed downstairs to
answer the phone. Whoever it was must really want to talk to him because
most people would have hung up by now.
"Hello" he bellowed sounding like he had just woken up.
"Hey Doc. Edna. I see that you played it smart and stayed home today."
"Edna. No actually I think I over slept but I can't be too sure because it's never happened to me before. What time is it?"
"It's 10:30 so unless the rooster died at sunrise then I'd say that you've over slept."
"Well there goes breakfast. I guess the kids are late for school. Let me go talk to Ephram and unless World War III breaks out here then I'll be right on in."
"Hold your horses cowboy. Don't rush on account that everyone scheduled today has called and canceled."
Andy ran his hands through his hair in concern. "But why? Did any of them give a reason?"
"Not really but my guess is that the whole town is in mourning. How are you holding up?"
"I guess it wasn't all a horrible nightmare. I can understand. I guess that I should go visit the Hart's and see if there is anything that I can do for them."
"If I were you, I'd stay put for awhile. Irv passed by there earlier and said the street was lined with town's folk paying their respect to the family. You may not be too welcomed right now."
The first thing that came to Andy's head was that Ephram might be right. "I'll hang out here for the day and just call me if anything comes up that you need me for. I've got to deal with a 15 year old kid with a hangover."
Edna groaned and let out a small laugh. "Well I'd say that you have your work already cut out for you. Talk with you later."
This was not going to be an easy day. He went into the kitchen and turned on the coffeepot before trudging upstairs to face whatever mood his son was in this morning.
Ephram remained silent the rest of the class period. This town is totally whacked. He figured that he had two scenarios to deal with. When the bell rang he could either rush out first from the classroom or wait until everyone else was gone before he left. If he ran out first then he was sure that the thugs of the school would track him down. If he waited until the end then he was sure that they would be waiting for him outside in the hall. The only card that he had left to play was to throw a distraction by staying with the teacher until the bell rang again.
When the bell rang, Ephram lingered in the classroom, taking his sweet time packing up his backpack. Once the classroom was cleared he could sense that a click of guys were loitering in the hall. He approached the teacher and began delivering any kind of message that might keep her occupied for 5 minutes. He apologized for being late and asked if there was any extra credit work that he could do to bring his grade up. Not that he had any real intention of doing any but he needed the leverage to kill some time. After Ms. Cummingham gave him a quick answer he still continued to linger trying to think of something else to say.
"Mr. Brown you are dismissed. You may go now. I will not write you a note if you are purposely late for your next class."
Ephram had run out of options but the halls seemed a little more vacant so he figured that he bought himself enough time. He headed out to the hall and everything seemed on the up and up until he rounded the last corner before his Chemistry class. It happened so fast that he didn't even get a chance to think about it.
He was shoved into a nearby bathroom with a gang of guys that he didn't even know by name. He did know that they were on the football team and they were part of the jock click. One guy guarded the door while three other guys surrounded him. Now was not the time to be cleaver and sarcastic. He was outnumbered and outsized. He decided that it might be best to just keep his mouth shut for once. Of course the one that approached Ephram in the face was the 6'2'' 200 pounder.
"Well Colin is dead so how does that make you feel?" Playing it safe Ephram didn't respond. "Rumor has it that your Dad didn't even need to operate on him. I heard that Colin didn't even want the surgery but your Dad pressured him into it."
After a moment of silence, Ephram realized that they were all staring at him waiting for some kind of response. "Look. The only thing I know is that Colin was a walking deadman anyway and if you want answers then. . ." He never got to finish the sentence before he was thrown up against the wall.
The palm of a large hand grabbed his head and smashed it up against the wall until he felt dizzy. The impact caused him to loose his footing and he slid down to the floor. The other two goons joined in by throwing fists into his face and kicking him in the ribs. Ephram curled himself into a tight ball trying to block the abuse. He finally felt relief when the boy guarding the door yelled that someone was approaching. All four boys darted out of the bathroom like it was on fire leaving Ephram alone to suffer.
Ephram lay on the floor in a semi-conscience state trying to get his breath back since he had the wind knocked out of him. After about 10 minutes he was able to bring himself to a standing position and walk over to the sink. He didn't need to look in the mirror to know that he had blood dripping from his nose and busted mouth. His right eye was swelling shut and he could feel a bump on his head where it first hit the wall. He ran water into his hands and proceeded to wash some of the blood off. The first splash of water sent a surge of pain that caused nausea to over take him.
Upon vomiting in the sink he heard the bathroom door open while a student walked in. The kid took one look at Ephram and ran out of the bathroom. He knew that reinforcements were probably on the way and the last thing he wanted was 20 questions for the principal. He staggered out of the bathroom and headed for the front doors. He was in pain with every step he took so he knew that there was no way in hell that he was able to ride his bike. He walked past the bike rack and just kept walking off of school grounds. He could care less that he was leaving his bike behind because it occurred to him that he didn't have his backpack either.
The more he walked the more he became in the state of numbness. He was going through the motions of moving while mentally coaching himself along. He had gotten to the neighborhood were Colin's family lived and didn't realize that he was passing the house until the commotion of cars and people attracted his attention. This was not something that he could handle right now but it would take him longer to get home if he backtracked and took another street. He decided to use the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street from the Hart residence and hoped that he didn't run into anyone.
He had successfully passed the house and was rounding the next corner when he felt the presence of an approaching figure. He figured that as long as he kept his head down and kept moving then he would be ok.
"Oh my God Ephram? Is that you?" He looked up into Laynie Hart's face. She was mortified to see the condition he was in. "What happened to you?"
"It looks like the kids at school want to blame someone for your brother's death and I'll give you one guess if you can figure out who that person is?"
"You."
"Correct answer Sherlock. Give yourself a medal."
"Oh Ephram I'm so sorry. I hate this fucking town. They have no right. If they want to blame someone then there are tons of others they can blame. They can blame Amy for fighting with him a year ago. They can blame Bright for driving around drunk with him. They can blame my mother because she knew that he had the truck and had stolen some alcohol. And least the people of this town can all blame themselves for throwing such a boring ass 4th of July picnic that he felt he needed to get away from it all."
"Don't you see. They need an escape goat to make themselves feel better and it's easier to blame the outcast instead of a native."
"But Ephram you are not an outcast. You belong here. This is your home now."
"Yeah well try telling that to them. You are the only one who sees it different."
"Here let me help you home. I think that we need to contact the police about this."
"Why are you helping me? Your brother is dead because of my father and as I recall, I remember hurting you once before."
"It was twice before but whose counting. You were violated and that's against the law. The bastard's at County High need to realize that they can't get away with shit like this." She put her arm around him to help relieve some of his weight and walked him home.
"Hello" he bellowed sounding like he had just woken up.
"Hey Doc. Edna. I see that you played it smart and stayed home today."
"Edna. No actually I think I over slept but I can't be too sure because it's never happened to me before. What time is it?"
"It's 10:30 so unless the rooster died at sunrise then I'd say that you've over slept."
"Well there goes breakfast. I guess the kids are late for school. Let me go talk to Ephram and unless World War III breaks out here then I'll be right on in."
"Hold your horses cowboy. Don't rush on account that everyone scheduled today has called and canceled."
Andy ran his hands through his hair in concern. "But why? Did any of them give a reason?"
"Not really but my guess is that the whole town is in mourning. How are you holding up?"
"I guess it wasn't all a horrible nightmare. I can understand. I guess that I should go visit the Hart's and see if there is anything that I can do for them."
"If I were you, I'd stay put for awhile. Irv passed by there earlier and said the street was lined with town's folk paying their respect to the family. You may not be too welcomed right now."
The first thing that came to Andy's head was that Ephram might be right. "I'll hang out here for the day and just call me if anything comes up that you need me for. I've got to deal with a 15 year old kid with a hangover."
Edna groaned and let out a small laugh. "Well I'd say that you have your work already cut out for you. Talk with you later."
This was not going to be an easy day. He went into the kitchen and turned on the coffeepot before trudging upstairs to face whatever mood his son was in this morning.
Ephram remained silent the rest of the class period. This town is totally whacked. He figured that he had two scenarios to deal with. When the bell rang he could either rush out first from the classroom or wait until everyone else was gone before he left. If he ran out first then he was sure that the thugs of the school would track him down. If he waited until the end then he was sure that they would be waiting for him outside in the hall. The only card that he had left to play was to throw a distraction by staying with the teacher until the bell rang again.
When the bell rang, Ephram lingered in the classroom, taking his sweet time packing up his backpack. Once the classroom was cleared he could sense that a click of guys were loitering in the hall. He approached the teacher and began delivering any kind of message that might keep her occupied for 5 minutes. He apologized for being late and asked if there was any extra credit work that he could do to bring his grade up. Not that he had any real intention of doing any but he needed the leverage to kill some time. After Ms. Cummingham gave him a quick answer he still continued to linger trying to think of something else to say.
"Mr. Brown you are dismissed. You may go now. I will not write you a note if you are purposely late for your next class."
Ephram had run out of options but the halls seemed a little more vacant so he figured that he bought himself enough time. He headed out to the hall and everything seemed on the up and up until he rounded the last corner before his Chemistry class. It happened so fast that he didn't even get a chance to think about it.
He was shoved into a nearby bathroom with a gang of guys that he didn't even know by name. He did know that they were on the football team and they were part of the jock click. One guy guarded the door while three other guys surrounded him. Now was not the time to be cleaver and sarcastic. He was outnumbered and outsized. He decided that it might be best to just keep his mouth shut for once. Of course the one that approached Ephram in the face was the 6'2'' 200 pounder.
"Well Colin is dead so how does that make you feel?" Playing it safe Ephram didn't respond. "Rumor has it that your Dad didn't even need to operate on him. I heard that Colin didn't even want the surgery but your Dad pressured him into it."
After a moment of silence, Ephram realized that they were all staring at him waiting for some kind of response. "Look. The only thing I know is that Colin was a walking deadman anyway and if you want answers then. . ." He never got to finish the sentence before he was thrown up against the wall.
The palm of a large hand grabbed his head and smashed it up against the wall until he felt dizzy. The impact caused him to loose his footing and he slid down to the floor. The other two goons joined in by throwing fists into his face and kicking him in the ribs. Ephram curled himself into a tight ball trying to block the abuse. He finally felt relief when the boy guarding the door yelled that someone was approaching. All four boys darted out of the bathroom like it was on fire leaving Ephram alone to suffer.
Ephram lay on the floor in a semi-conscience state trying to get his breath back since he had the wind knocked out of him. After about 10 minutes he was able to bring himself to a standing position and walk over to the sink. He didn't need to look in the mirror to know that he had blood dripping from his nose and busted mouth. His right eye was swelling shut and he could feel a bump on his head where it first hit the wall. He ran water into his hands and proceeded to wash some of the blood off. The first splash of water sent a surge of pain that caused nausea to over take him.
Upon vomiting in the sink he heard the bathroom door open while a student walked in. The kid took one look at Ephram and ran out of the bathroom. He knew that reinforcements were probably on the way and the last thing he wanted was 20 questions for the principal. He staggered out of the bathroom and headed for the front doors. He was in pain with every step he took so he knew that there was no way in hell that he was able to ride his bike. He walked past the bike rack and just kept walking off of school grounds. He could care less that he was leaving his bike behind because it occurred to him that he didn't have his backpack either.
The more he walked the more he became in the state of numbness. He was going through the motions of moving while mentally coaching himself along. He had gotten to the neighborhood were Colin's family lived and didn't realize that he was passing the house until the commotion of cars and people attracted his attention. This was not something that he could handle right now but it would take him longer to get home if he backtracked and took another street. He decided to use the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street from the Hart residence and hoped that he didn't run into anyone.
He had successfully passed the house and was rounding the next corner when he felt the presence of an approaching figure. He figured that as long as he kept his head down and kept moving then he would be ok.
"Oh my God Ephram? Is that you?" He looked up into Laynie Hart's face. She was mortified to see the condition he was in. "What happened to you?"
"It looks like the kids at school want to blame someone for your brother's death and I'll give you one guess if you can figure out who that person is?"
"You."
"Correct answer Sherlock. Give yourself a medal."
"Oh Ephram I'm so sorry. I hate this fucking town. They have no right. If they want to blame someone then there are tons of others they can blame. They can blame Amy for fighting with him a year ago. They can blame Bright for driving around drunk with him. They can blame my mother because she knew that he had the truck and had stolen some alcohol. And least the people of this town can all blame themselves for throwing such a boring ass 4th of July picnic that he felt he needed to get away from it all."
"Don't you see. They need an escape goat to make themselves feel better and it's easier to blame the outcast instead of a native."
"But Ephram you are not an outcast. You belong here. This is your home now."
"Yeah well try telling that to them. You are the only one who sees it different."
"Here let me help you home. I think that we need to contact the police about this."
"Why are you helping me? Your brother is dead because of my father and as I recall, I remember hurting you once before."
"It was twice before but whose counting. You were violated and that's against the law. The bastard's at County High need to realize that they can't get away with shit like this." She put her arm around him to help relieve some of his weight and walked him home.
