Chapter Fourteen
Narancia pulled his hat as low as he could the next day as he trudged slowly toward school, regretting…pretty much everything. Unfortunately, the hat couldn't hide his black eye like it could his bleached hair.
He hadn't slept much last night. He'd stayed up thinking about a lot of things and what he should do. He wasn't really looking forward to his conversation with Riccardo, to be honest.
Narancia sighed. He was going to give the other teen a chance to explain himself. Maybe Riccardo didn't know what was in the packages any more than he did. But if Narancia didn't like the answer, he had decided he was going to have to quit the job. As much as it pained him, he just couldn't be associated with people he couldn't trust. He supposed he would find something else eventually.
He caught sight of Bruno, Giorno, and Trish talking outside by the bike rack and took the long way around school, heading in through the side door by the gym. He really felt bad about yelling at Trish the day before and just didn't want to have to confront anyone first thing in the morning. Not when he already had so much running through his head.
He went directly to his home room and slumped down at his desk, trying to hide his face as much as possible while reading through one of his text books. It made pretty much no sense to him. Between his anxiety and his lack of study recently, it was impossible for him to concentrate or understand anything written there.
He ignored Trish and Giorno trying to get his attention when they came to class, and thankfully they eventually gave up.
He somehow managed to avoid them for the rest of the morning. He was partnered with Melone in lab and he of course had to mention Narancia's shiner, but after Narancia gave him a glare, he shut up about it.
He tried to find Riccardo during lunch, but the blond boy didn't seem to be anywhere on the school grounds. Narancia began to get even more nervous. He didn't see Angelo or Dellucci either. Where the hell could they be?
It wasn't until school let out and he was resigned to the fact he would probably have to go over to the apartment, that Riccardo seemed to pop up out of nowhere.
"Hey, you have the money from the delivery yesterday?" he demanded as he pulled Narancia around the side of the school where the other two boys were leaning against the wall.
"Yeah, about that," Narancia said, pointing to his eye. "He didn't exactly give me the money."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Riccardo demanded. "You know you're not supposed to hand the package over without getting the money!"
"I know, but I didn't have a lot of choice in the matter!" Narancia protested. "He beat me up. Also, the reason he didn't give me the money was because he wanted to know where the rest of the shipment was."
Riccardo's face turned red with fury. "I told him exactly what he was getting. He knew it would be short."
"Then why the hell did you send me? To be a punching bag in your place?" Narancia demanded. "Riccardo, what the hell was in that package?"
"That's none of your damn business," Riccardo snapped. "All you have to worry about is delivering stuff and getting the money for it."
"Well, sorry, but I can't do that," Narancia said, folding his arms over his chest. "Be honest with me. Is all the stuff we deliver illegal?"
Riccardo snorted and the other boys started to laugh.
"You're so stupid," Angelo chuckled. "What the hell did you expect?"
Narancia deflated. And, yeah, he supposed he had been stupid. He'd had his suspicions, but had brushed them off because he hadn't wanted to think about it. Had just wanted to make money for once. But, of course, he had screwed that up too.
"If it makes you squeamish, sorry, but, come on, man," Riccardo said. "What exactly did you think all that stuff was?"
Narancia shook his head. "Then I quit. I can't do this anymore."
He started to walk away, but Riccardo grabbed his shoulder and the other two hemmed him in.
"Hold it," Riccardo growled, slamming Narancia back against the side of the building. "You're not going anywhere until I get my money."
"Take that up with your client," Narancia grunted, trying to shove Riccardo out of his way.
"You think you're getting out of it this easy? Gonna go tell all your friends?" Angelo said, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"You want out, you need to convince me you're not gonna snitch," Riccardo growled.
"Of course not!" Narancia replied, heart beating in his throat.
"No offense, but we kind of want to make sure of that," Dellucci said and they started hemming Narancia in further.
Leone slammed his locker shut and slung his bag over his shoulder, hurrying to follow Bruno out the door.
"We need to catch Narancia before he leaves," the dark-haired boy said, going at a fast clip. "Trish said he had a black eye—I think he's definitely in trouble."
Leone wasn't going to discount his friend's worry this time. Frankly, he had been afraid of something like this from the start but they hadn't been able to track Narancia down yet that day.
They looked around once they got out front and saw Mista doing the same.
"You see Narancia?" he asked them.
They shook their heads.
Giorno and Trish came hurrying out behind them and Bruno turned to them. "Is Narancia still inside?"
"No, he left as soon as the bell rang," Giorno told him. "We were trying to catch him but he sort of disappeared."
Leone swore under his breath and started scanning the parking lot. He saw Riccardo's car there, but no one seemed to be out there with it.
"Riccardo's still here," he pointed out. "So Narancia probably is too."
"Bruno!"
Trish suddenly shouted and pointed around the corner of the school. They all hurried over to look.
Leone's eyes widened as he saw Narancia being pinned to the wall, Riccardo looming over him, fists clenched and obviously intending to start a beat-down.
"Hey!" Mista shouted, rushing forward.
"Stay out of this," one of the goons snarled.
"I don't think so," Bruno replied darkly. "Let him go."
Riccardo laughed. "You're gonna have to be more convincing than that, fish boy."
Narancia kicked someone's shin, half getting free before Riccardo threw a punch. Leone jumped in to grab his arm and there was a short power struggle before he, Bruno and Mista were facing Riccardo and his cronies. Narancia had already slipped away and was running towards the school gates, obviously not wanting anything to do with this confrontation anymore.
"Narancia!" Trish called after him, but he didn't stop.
Riccardo's face twitched, but he seemed to lower his guard. "You tell your friend he owes me and if he doesn't want to pay up, I'll find some other way to take my pound of flesh."
Bruno took a half step forward. "You—"
Leone grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. The last thing they needed was a gang war. "We'll talk to him, just get out of here," he growled.
They headed back toward the bike rack, Bruno shaking his head. "I knew they were up to something."
"Well, it looks like Narancia figured it out too," Mista said grimly. "Probably why he had the black eye."
"We need to talk to him," Bruno said. "I think I'll get Panna to go over to his house with me when we get back home. He might be able to knock some sense into him."
Mista nodded, an obviously worried look on his face. "Tell him to call me, will you? I want him to know he's not alone in this."
Leone nodded in agreement.
"I will," Bruno promised as he and Giorno unlocked their bikes from the rack and Leone and Mista headed toward the parking lot.
"I guess we should have tried a little harder to convince him," Mista said quietly, swinging his keys absently around a finger.
Leone snorted. "You know Narancia. He's damn stubborn. He's the kind of guy who has to screw up by himself before he learns anything."
Mista sighed with a small, wry smile. "Yeah, I know. Can't help but feel like I should have looked after him a little more though, ya know?"
"Yeah, I know," Leone replied. "Well, hopefully Bruno and Panna will be able to knock some sense into him." The truth was, the damage had already been done, though.
Mista waved goodbye and Leone got in his own car, driving home as he thought about what they should do with Narancia's situation. If Riccardo really was moving drugs and probably stolen goods, then the logical thing to do was report him, but he could understand how that could get messy if Narancia wasn't willing to cooperate. Leone didn't want his friend to be charged alongside Riccardo and the others. He had been an unknowing party, after all.
He rolled his eyes. Maybe getting his dad to teach him a little about law wouldn't be a bad thing, especially since they seemed to be having so many issues where it would come in handy lately.
When he got home, he headed into the kitchen for a snack and was just rummaging around in the fridge when his mother came in.
"I didn't hear you come home, Leone," she said and as he straightened up and handed him an envelope. "This came in the mail for you."
Leone took one look at her barely hidden excitement and the official looking envelope with an all-too-familiar logo on it and he felt his stomach drop.
He tore the envelope open and unfolded the papers, scanning them frantically, really hoping this wasn't what he thought it was.
Leone Abbacchio, it is with great honor that we announce your acceptance into our illustrious school—
Leone's hands clenched in the paper and he brandished it at his mother. "What the hell is this?" he demanded.
"It's an acceptance letter to the law school," his mother told him.
"I never sent in an application!"
"Your father did it for you. Being a former student, and having some connections with the staff, he was able to get you a spot."
Leone was almost at a loss for words. "And you didn't think to tell me about this?"
"We thought you'd be happy," his mother said, looking baffled. "Do you know how many people get turned down from this school every year?"
"Then let them go in my place! I have told you over and over again that I don't want to be a fucking lawyer!"
"Leone!" his mother snapped. "Your father has put a lot of work into this for you."
"So I'm supposed to be grateful? I never asked him to do that, in fact, I kept telling him not to! It's just a waste of everyone's time because I'm never going to this school." He threw the papers on the floor. "Neither of you ever listen to anything I say! It's like you don't know me at all."
He stormed out of the room.
"Leone!" his mother tried. "We'll talk about this when your father gets home."
He scoffed. "No. You will talk about this when he gets home. I'm done with this shit. You're not gonna listen, I'm done talking."
He stormed up to his room, shoved some clothes and his toiletries into his backpack and left the house.
He threw his bag into the car and seethed as he drove away. So that was why they had a guided tour of the school. Leone's father had obviously known the letter would be coming and he hadn't said anything about it. Not that that would have made it any better, but Leone hated being lied to. Especially in this sort of patronizing way. Couldn't his parents just get it into their heads that he wasn't so easily swayed?
Whatever, he was done with their shit for now anyway. He wasn't going to have a 'conversation' where only one side was allowed to make their point.
Besides, they had stuff with Narancia to figure out.
Leone sighed. He never would have thought that school would be the easiest part of senior year.
Bruno and Fugo took the bikes to Narancia's house. As soon as he and Giorno had gotten home and explained everything to Fugo—as much as they knew from context anyway—Fugo had wanted to get over there as soon as possible.
However, when they got there, no one answered the door.
"His dad's still at work," Bruno said, not seeing the car out front. "And Narancia might not answer."
Fugo headed around the side of the house and knocked sharply on the window that belonged to Narancia's bedroom. "Hey Narancia! It's us! If you're in there, let us in!"
"We just want to talk," Bruno added.
There was no reply or movement from inside. There wasn't even the sound of music playing like there usually would be when Narancia was home.
Fugo shifted to peek through the slightly open curtains. "I don't think he's here."
Bruno pursed his lips worriedly. "I hope he's not getting into more trouble. I don't know how dangerous Riccardo actually is, not to mention the people he associates with."
"Knowing Narancia, he's probably just hiding out, trying to figure out what to do," Fugo said. "Hopefully, he'll come to us first."
"Let's hope so."
They shoved a note through the mail slot to tell Narancia to call them and then headed back home.
Bruno was slightly surprised to see Leone sitting at the kitchen table with Giorno, books spread over the table and half-drunk cups of coffee in front of them. Leone had a sour look on his face.
"What happened?" Bruno asked instantly.
Leone snorted, taking a long drink of his coffee. "My parents have stooped to a new low. You mind if I stay here a couple nights?"
"Of course not," Bruno told him. "You wanna talk about it?"
"Later, I'll just get pissed off again," Leone grunted. "What about Narancia?"
"He wasn't there," Fugo replied, going to get a cup of coffee for himself.
"Do you know where else he might have gone?" Giorno asked.
"Usually I would say Mista's," Bruno said. "But he would have called to let us know if Narancia showed up there."
"He could just as easily be walking around town," Fugo pointed out. "You know he always gets antsy when he has to think about something."
Bruno nodded reluctantly.
"Maybe tomorrow he'll have cooled down long enough to be ready to talk at school," Giorno added, tapping his pencil against his book.
"You're probably right," Bruno said and sat down at the table, reluctantly pulling out his own books. "I just hope he knows we don't think he's stupid or that we aren't going to say we told you so."
"He'll figure it out eventually," Leone said. "He knows who his real friends are."
Narancia wandered aimlessly, hands shoved into his pockets, slightly chilled by the breeze. Man, he wished he had his jacket. He was really regretting not picking it up from Riccardo's the other day. Before everything had gone to shit. Now he really didn't want to go back there.
Part of him just wanted to give Riccardo back all the money and hope that was enough for him to leave Narancia alone. He wasn't stupid enough to assume Riccardo thought this was over.
Another part of him just wanted to go to the police with all of this, but would that implicate himself? He had been naïve, sure, but would anyone believe that? And if Riccardo found out, Narancia was actually worried he might have him killed.
Or send someone worse to do it.
Narancia's head was full. Fuller than it was when Fugo sat him down and drilled math into his head. He wanted to not have to think anymore. He wanted to unload, but didn't want anyone to interject with their own thoughts and opinions. He wanted to figure this out for himself this time.
So he headed to the only place he could do that but not before stopping off at a flower stall and picking up a bundle of those bright orange and yellow daisies. They were the cheapest ones, but she'd always said they were the prettiest and had the most life, and Narancia agreed.
It had been a while since he'd gone to the cemetery. But there were just as few people there as there always were, leaving him free to plop down in the grass next to his mother's grave in the late afternoon and talk to his heart's content.
"Sorry it's been a while," he said as he pulled the flowers out of their plastic wrapper and arranged them in the vase sitting next to the gravestone. "I brought you your favorite flowers." He sighed. "Things have been busy, Mama. The school year sucks. I made some new friends though. I think you'd really like Trish and Giorno."
As he continued to talk, he lay back on the grass, using his backpack as a pillow and looked up at the sky slowly turning to pinks and oranges with the setting sun.
"I know what I should do, Mama," Narancia said. "It's best to just tell the truth, right? That's what you always told me. And if people don't want to believe it, then that's on them. I guess that's not even the part I'm really worried about. I want to see Riccardo and the other guys taken down if they're doing illegal stuff—they should be. But…" He chewed his lip. "I just hope I haven't totally screwed things up with everyone else. They warned me and I didn't listen, after all. They can't really be happy with me right now. I'm afraid that this might have ruined our friendship, you know? Or at least that they won't take me seriously again, and I don't…I can't lose them. They're all I have."
Two tears slid out of his eyes and dripped down the sides of his head. He realized that was what he was really scared of. He shouldn't have been. But his issue wasn't like what had happened to Giorno or Fugo. He had just been plain stupid. He had no one to blame but himself.
Narancia sighed. "Maybe I am dumb," he muttered. "But I'm still going to go apologize to them tomorrow at school and maybe…maybe they can help me figure out what to do."
Because he realized he would rather have his friends by his side, even if they thought he was an idiot, than not have them around at all.
Bruno watched Leone's pinched brows as they lay head to foot in Bruno's bed, dimly lit by the moonlight from the window.
"It's all just a massive pile of bullshit," Leone finished after a long rant.
"I agree," Bruno replied. "There definitely seems to have been some miscommunication."
"That's because they didn't give me the chance for any communication. It was like they completely blocked out everything I've ever said." Leone ran his hands over his face, groaning.
"Maybe you can write to the school yourself and explain that it was a misunderstanding."
Leone huffed. "The fact that the faculty would probably be more understanding than my parents about it is just depressing." He sighed. "But whatever, I'll just disappear the day of the meeting or something. If they refuse to listen to me trying to communicate to them as an adult, then I guess I'll just resort to what they expect from a teenager."
"I'm not sure that would be the best move, but I can understand your frustration," Bruno hummed. "Of course, you can always leave home and become a fisherman."
"I don't like the ocean that much," Leone grunted. "I'd just burn."
"Well, I'm still kind of fond of the plan involving your punk-rock law school interview. Maybe you could borrow some of those contacts from Risotto."
Leone kicked him in the hip. "I'm gonna have to borrow clothes from Prosciutto if my dad drags me there. Just the thought of putting on a white dress shirt makes my skin crawl."
Bruno was silent for a moment, staring at the ceiling with his arms behind his head, before an idea popped into his brain and he sat up slightly, nudging Leone with his foot. "You know, maybe you could get your father to listen to you if you came to him on his level."
"Bruno, I told you, I've tried that."
"No, not just sitting down and having a reasonable conversation. Lawyers aren't used to those. Make a case for yourself."
"Okay, but how?" Leone asked. "I don't know anything about law."
"Well, you'd have to ask Panna about that, I'm sure he could draw something up that would be enough to impress your father."
"This sounds stupid," Leone grunted.
Bruno kicked him again. "It's not. I think it would really impress your father, he would at least see the lengths you're willing to go to make yourself heard." He grinned. "You can even have Fugo act as judge so everyone gets to say their piece."
Leone groaned, hands over his face again. "Aside from the stupid playacting, you might actually be onto something." He sighed, propping his arms behind his head. "Alright, after we figure out what's going on with Narancia, I'll have Fugo help me put something together."
Bruno nodded and closed his eyes. "You good?"
"Yeah, I'm good," Leone replied. "I'll let you sleep."
Bruno drifted off pretty quickly, hoping that Narancia's problems might be as easy to solve and that they wouldn't end up in an actual court room for it.
Narancia woke up with a start, terrified for a minute when he didn't realize where he was. He was laying on something damp and staring up at the open sky, full of stars and a bright moon overhead.
That was when he realized he must have fallen asleep at the graveyard and got up hurriedly, a shiver going down his spine. He hurried toward the gate, only to find it locked.
"Shit," Narancia hissed, and after a couple attempts, managed to get over it.
He made his way back home through dark streets, mostly deserted. He didn't know what time it was but he was sure it was late—or early, he supposed.
He got back home, let himself in, and went to change his damp clothes, curling up in his bed.
He couldn't sleep anymore though, his mind was still too full, so he got up and tried to distract himself by doing some long overdue reading for school.
Dawn came way too early, and, exhausted, Narancia almost just wanted to skip today, but he also knew he needed to confront his friends before he lost his nerve, and so he got up, got dressed, and headed out.
He was almost asleep on his feet as he got through the school gates just after the bell rang. He sighed and trudged after the last straggling students, starting to head toward his homeroom.
"Signore Ghirga."
Narancia looked up to see Principal Polpo standing in the hall. Narancia's stomach dropped. The man didn't usually leave his office, so he must be in deep shit. If he was lucky, he might be given a chance to redeem himself before he was simply kicked out again.
"Yeah?" he said, "I mean, yes sir?" He knew he looked like a deer in the headlights, but how the hell could this be good?
"I need to see you in my office," Polpo said, deep concern on his face.
Narancia hung his head and followed the man back to the office. When Polpo opened the door and ushered him inside, however, Narancia was not expecting to see the two police officers there.
"What's going on?" he asked, confused now.
"Narancia Ghirga?" one of the officers asked.
"Yes."
"Where were you last night between the hours of twelve and three a.m.?"
"I…" Narancia's throat stuck, trying to figure out how he was going to explain what happened.
"You weren't home?" the other officer prodded.
"No, I…I was at…the graveyard."
An eyebrow was raised. "At that time of night?"
"I—fell asleep," Narancia said with a wince, knowing how bad that sounded.
"And is there anyone who can corroborate that?"
"No," Narancia replied, heart beating faster. "What is this about?"
"Do you know who Rosella Monaldo is?"
"No, I've never heard of her," Narancia said, glancing over at Principal Polpo for some kind of guidance but the big man just stood there with his arms crossed, apparently not going to do anything for him.
"We'd like you to come down to the station for a lineup," one of the officers told him.
"But I—I didn't do anything!" Narancia protested.
"That's what we're trying to determine," the other officer told him.
"Narancia, I think it would be good to cooperate," Polpo told him. "If you're truly innocent, then you have nothing to fear."
Narancia swallowed hard. Was he innocent? They wouldn't tell him what this was about, so how the hell was he supposed to know?
He went with the officers meekly however, mostly shocked above everything else.
Once he got to the station, he was led into a room with several other guys around his age, all of them with blond hair and all of them a lot meaner looking. Narancia stared at the one-way glass, wishing he could see who was on the other side, try to convey that he hadn't done whatever it was he was supposed to have done.
It was over pretty quickly and the door was opened, everyone dismissed.
Until one of the officers who had brought him in, took him by the shoulder.
"You were positively identified by the victim."
"What? The victim?" Narancia demanded. "Who the hell said that? I told you, I didn't do anything!"
The officer didn't seem to pay any attention to him and simply grabbed his arm, snapping cuffs around his wrists. "Narancia Ghirga, you are under arrest for theft and assault."
Narancia's chest clenched painfully, he was unable to breathe as the man continued to read him his rights. How the hell could this be happening?
He was brought to a room where he was fingerprinted and had his mugshot taken. He couldn't even process what was going on right now.
As he was led back out to the main area of the station, he saw his father talking to one of the officers who had brought him in.
"Dad!" Narancia cried.
His father looked up briefly, an exhausted look on his face. There might have been some disappointment there, but mostly he was just blank.
"Dad, I didn't do it, I swear," Narancia tried. "You gotta get me out of here!"
"I don't know what to do with you anymore," his father said in a painfully dismissive way. "Maybe this will finally teach you a lesson."
Narancia stood there in shock before he was pushed toward a room and sat down at a table.
The police officer sat down across from him and took out a notebook and pen. "Alright, kid. Why don't you tell me exactly what happened?"