ISSUE FOURTEEN
Calm Before the Storm
Flash-forward a bit. It was still freshman year, but quite a few months later. It was spring and Johnny was actually enjoying himself in school. He had become good friends with the two crazy girls from his art class and was doing quite well.
Things seemed to be better at home as well. Since Johnny stayed after school in the art room, he didn't see as much of his father which was fine with him. The less he saw him, the less beatings he got.
With Vicky though, Johnny felt a faint distancing as of late. He didn't see her as much as he used to. He figured she just had a lot of things to do, so he though nothing of it. For now, anyway.
"No way!" Vicky gossiped on the phone. She was on her canopy bed, her room still pink and purple. "Yeah right!" She exclaimed, starting to get giddy in the way preppy chicks seem to. "Of course I'm going to the party…yeah, I need to get some money for that skirt…of I know! The prices there are outrageous!"
Just then, she heard a door slam.
"Oh, Dad's home, I better go, bye!" Vicky hung up the phone and ran downstairs into the kitchen. "Hey Dad!"
"Oh, hello Victoria hun!" He said, riffling through his briefcase on the counter.
"Daddy, I need some money to get this skirt I need," Vicky said.
"Didn't you just get a new skirt last weekend?"
"Yeah… But I need a new skirt for this party. Please?!" Vicky pleaded.
"I don't think so honey, maybe next week," Her father said and he turned away to get something out of the refrigerator. Vicky took this opportunity to snatch her father's unprotected wallet from its resting place by the briefcase and very un-sneakily took a few twenties from it. She tossed it unceremoniously back on the counter and started out the door.
"Ok, thanks anyway Dad."
"Oh, hun?" Vicky paused.
"Yeah?"
"Where's Jonathon?"
"Staying after for math help," Vicky lied. "I'm going out with some friends, OK?"
"He stays after a lot. Maybe I'll drop in for a conference to see how he's doing," Her father mused, but Vicky was already out the door and didn't hear him. He walked over to the phone and dialed the number to the school, knowing it from heart as he was good friends with the principal.
"Hello!" He said when the other end picked up. "I was wondering how long the after school session lasts? My son Jonathon is getting help with Mr. Brary and I wanted to drop in."
"Oh, I'm sorry, sir. Mr. Brary broke his leg last weekend. He hasn't been in school."
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "Are there any other teachers staying after school today he might be with?"
"Hold on…all the teachers are in a meeting right now, except for…Mr. Izz, the art teacher."
"Ok, thank you, goodbye!" Their father said quickly and he hung up the phone, rather hard, almost knocking it off the wall. He reached for his keys and wallet when he noticed something was wrong. He quickly counted the money and realized about sixty dollars was gone. Jumping to conclusions, he rushed upstairs, taking two steps at a time, and burst into Johnny's room. Needless to say, it didn't take long for him to find Johnny's stash in its bursting pillowcase.
~ ~ ~
"SAY TASUKI!"
"WHERE?!" Jez exclaimed.
*CLICK*
The yearbook photographer wound the film back into the finished roll as the perfectly formed rows of people escaped from the insane asylum dissipated and went back to whatever they do during the usual club meeting. Jez was still frantically looking for her promised "man slave".
"I thought he was tied in my basement!" She exclaimed, looking under Kit's foot for him.
"Jez," Johnny said. "I don't understand your obsession. It's just a drawing, you know."
Jez took a sharp gasp.
"Uh oh, Nny," Kit said, backing up.
"Wha?"
"Just a drawing?" Jez said, starting to breathe hard.
"You shouldn't have said that!" Ryn said, hiding behind Kit.
"Why?"
"JUST A DRAWING!?!"
"HIT THE DIRT!"
"What's going on?" Johnny said confused.
"OHMYGODHOWCOULDYOUSAYTHATHE'SJUSTADRAWINGHE'SSOHOTANDMYGODICAN'T
BELIEVEYOUSAIDTHAT!" Jez exploded.
"Her head is starting to spin!" Ryn yelled. Kit tackled Jez and clasped a hand over her mouth.
"What idiot insulted Jez's drawings again?" Ina piped up from across the room. Just then, a figure darkened the doorway, his imminent presence putting a damper on the room. Johnny shivered as he slowly turned around.
"Hello sir, can I help you?" Mr. Izz asked.
"Jonathon," His father snapped softly. Johnny still jumped. "He has an…appointment he's late for."
Johnny stood there quaking for a moment, waiting to see if and fearing that his father would do something in front of all these people. Luckily, he just glared at him.
"Get your stuff, let's go," He ordered curtly. Johnny quickly grabbed his backpack, mumbled a good bye to his bewildered friends and skirted into the hallway behind his father.
His father said nothing in the hall and nothing in the car ride home. The silence unnerved Johnny because as the calm predicts the coming storm, Johnny knew hell would be visiting once they got home.
The car slid into the garage and the engine expired.
"Get to your room," His father commanded with the same quiet forcefulness. Johnny did so like there was no tomorrow. He rushed upstairs, all the while looking for the presence of his sister, hoping against hope she was there. She was nowhere to be found.
Johnny got to his room and was about to try and hide in the closet when he noticed what was spread all over his bed, the pillowcase laying forgotten on the floor. All his art books, drawings, comic books; Johnny stood stock still, filled with pure fear. He turned to shut the door and his raging father out, but was greeted by a hard backhand across the face.
"You filthy liar!" His father bellowed as Johnny stumbled back. He swung again, but this time Johnny ducked, which enraged his father even more. He grabbed Johnny by the hair and rammed him against the wall.
"Did you think I wouldn't find out, you worthless, ignorant brat!" He punched Johnny again. Johnny slid down the wall into a sitting position.
"I…I…they…" Johnny stuttered, trying to talk through the coppery, metallic taste of his own blood in his mouth. His father paid no mind to his mumbling.
"And getting your sister to lie for you! Corrupting mongrel!" He kicked the fallen figure. Johnny was positive he felt a rib crack. "I can't believe you would try and destroy her like that!"
"B…But…"
WHAM! Johnny got slammed with an unexpected wrench his father had gotten from the garage.
"SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR WHINING!"
THWACK!
The world started swimming in front of Johnny's eyes.
~ ~ ~
Vicky pranced back in the house. She had only gone down to the local strip mall so her shopping venture hadn't taken long. She clutched a bright pick bag in her hand, containing her brand new mini-skirt. She rushed upstairs to stash it in her room when she heard her father's screaming.
*Oh no…*
She suddenly remembered her father saying something about meeting Johnny after school. She dropped her bag and raced to Johnny's room where she found her father poised over a horribly beaten Johnny, a wrench in his hand.
"WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY?!"
"*cough* what…"
"THE SIXTY DOLLARS YOU STOLE FROM MY WALLET!"
"I…di…didn't…" Johnny struggled to chock out, having a rather hard time breathing.
"LIAR!" His father raised the wrench.
"I DID IT!" Vicky screamed. His father whipped around, Johnny just lay, unmoving.
"Nonsense! You don't have to take the fall for him…"
"BUT I DID! I stole the sixty dollars from your wallet to buy the skirt I wanted! It wasn't Johnny, please don't hurt him anymore!"
Her father stood for a moment, shocked. Vicky shrunk back a little, as he still had the wrench. He took a breath and with mad rage turned on Johnny again.
"YOU PUT HER UP TO THIS!"
"NO DADDY!" Vicky grabbed her father's arm to stop him, but he shook her off, causing her to fall and bump her head on the bed stand. She looked up at her father a moment, and then raced out of the room.
"VICKY! WAIT!" Her father called after her. He turned to Johnny. "You leech, this is your fault!" He kicked Johnny again, then dropped the wrench and followed Vicky. It didn't matter; Johnny was too numb to feel it anyway.
Vicky raced down the hall and hid in a closet to get away from her father who hurried past a few moments later, calling out concernedly for her. Vicky waited until she was sure he was gone and stepped out and hurried back to Johnny's room.
On closer inspection, Johnny looked a lot worse than she originally thought. His face was as mess and his school uniform was horribly stained with blood, there would be no way to wash it out. Vicky wasn't sure if he was conscious or not, so after going and getting the first aid kit (which she wasn't sure if it would help), gently shook him.
"Johnny, Johnny, are you ok?" She asked gently. He let out a painful groan and she stopped shaking him.
"Do I look ok?" He rasped, coughing and then wincing.
"Johnny, maybe we should call 911…you look and sound terrible. I think your rib is broken…"
"No."
Vicky sighed and figured it would be a waste to fight with him.
"Can you get up?"
He moaned in response. Vicky felt terrible, but didn't make him move and tried to do the best she could with her first aid kit, but she wasn't sure how much unseen damage there was.
"Johnny, I'm sorry, I should've been here. I left and he...I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, that does a lot of good," Johnny coughed and tried to roll over with little success.
"I feel so bad…"
"Yeah, sure. Try being hit with a wrench repetitively. Oh sorry, you don't have to worry about it."
"Johnny, I…"
"Go away." And he didn't say another word as he closed his eyes. Vicky winced, left him some extra strength pain killer and did as he asked.
As she slipped out in the hallway, she saw her father coming towards her. She gulped but wasn't able to get away.
"Vicky, I'm sorry you had to see that, but I'm very disappointed that you stole that money," Her father said solemnly. Vicky nodded. "I think I'm going to have to ground you for awhile."
"But Daddy, there's a party tonight!"
"I'm sorry honey, but you have to learn."
Vicky thought a moment. A perfect opportunity…
"OK Daddy…"
"That's my girl," He patted her head and walked off.
~ ~ ~
Johnny eventually got up enough strength to drag himself to his bed, but that was about it. He didn't even change his clothes and fell into a dreamless sleep.
He was awakened by the shrill sound of the telephone. He reached over, picked up the phone, strained, and dropped it next to his ear.
"Hello?" He rasped.
"Whoa, is that you Nny?" It was Jez. Johnny tried to clear his throat but to no avail.
"Um yeah."
"You sound horrible!"
"Yeah, strep throat. I had a doctor's appointment; I haven't been feeling too good lately. It suddenly got worse," He quickly made up.
"Oh, I hope you feel better. We were kind of worried about you."
"Thanks. Hey, I don't think I'll be able to stay after school anymore…"
"No! Why not! Is it your dad?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Nny asked, slightly worried Vicky had opened her big mouth.
"You turned as white as a sheet when he walked in! We were majorly creeped!"
"Oh…He got kinda mad at me for staying after. Said I should be studying."
"So, stay after and say you're studying."
"Tried that, made him even madder I was lying."
"So, half the time study with a teacher, and the other half hang with us! You shouldn't let him control you so much. It's your life!"
"You don't quite understand…He's tough…And he's not quite into the art thing. He thinks I should be a lawyer."
"HAHAHA! That's a good one. Listen, Johnny, no one should stop you from doing what you want to do."
"You think so?"
"Of course!"
"Thanks," Her words comforted Johnny quite a bit. He would have smiled if it didn't hurt. "I'm kind of tired. I don't think I'll be in school tomorrow, but I'll see you when I get back."
She said good-bye and Nny hit the off button on the phone, leaving it one the pillow as his arms felt like beaten veal. Nny turned his head to the side and looked out the crack in his door. His sister's door was open as well and he could see in. Just in time to see her crawl out of her window using tied together sheets as a rope in a short miniskirt. Johnny let out an angered sigh and rolled his head to the other side, knowing she would get away with it.
~ ~ ~
Vicky easily snuck out of the house, met up with her friends at the end of the street whom she had called for help and they were quickly at the afore mentioned party. Vicky was secretly hoping that her father would get mad enough at her to make it up to Johnny, though she said nothing to her friends about it all, who told her time and time again to ditch him.
Vicky quickly forgot about her problems at home once she got there though.
"Yo, Vicky," Her red head friend drawled. "That guy over there is so totally checking you out!"
"No way," Vicky said and spun around to see the guy in question. The guy in question stood next a window with a drink in his hand wearing a varsity jacket.
"You should go ask him out! He's a hottie!" The red head said and gave her a little shove. Vicky walked across the room to said guy and quickly struck up a conversation.
The two talked for quite sometime and things were going well until Vicky asked him to dance.
"Uh, look, you're a cool chick and all, but you look way too much like that freak who hangs around the art room all the time. Maybe if you tried something with your hair or something," The guy said and moved away.
Vicky came home with blonde hair that night.