HONOR AMONG SPADES
Brandon goes down hard when the truth comes out at last. This is an alternate ending to Brick. Please comment nicely!
The girl from the upper crust leans in close, hissing secrets in his ear. Her tongue spits lies like venom.
"Brad Bramish is hung like an elephant and he can go all night. Once Emilie got a taste of black she couldn't go back. She said she couldn't believe what she was missing. But I don't like sharing. And Emilie just couldn't get enough. Get the picture?"
"Bitch!" Righteous fury makes him grab Laura by the throat, sabotaging the downfall he has planned for her. But suddenly the Bulls stampede onto the playing field, headed up by the weak, coal-black principal he's always treated like an encumbrance.
"This is the man, officers," says Principal Trueman. "Take him."
"What the hell?" Rage flashes in Brandon, he feels just like Tug except not tough enough to duke it out. "We had a deal, Trueman! I gave you the real players. Let them take the fall!"
"Yassuh, boss, you done give old Trueman de real players!" There's a jeering note in the black man's voice, an anger Brandon doesn't understand. "Only thing is, you're a punk bitch in John Lennon glasses. And you like hitting people,"
"Huh?" Brandon is being cuffed, but he still doesn't get it. He looks over at Laura, and she makes a funny face. Then she pantomimes Brandon dropping the soap in the prison shower.
"Witnesses, young man. There were witnesses in the parking lot when you beat up Brad Bramish. Six fellow students will testify that you walked up to a popular varsity athlete and took a swing for no reason. And more than that, they say the language you were using was racist and inflammatory. You called Brad Bramish a tar baby and a burr-head, and jungle bunny."
"And Coon," Laura puts in sweetly. "Don't forget Coon."
"That's a lie!" Brandon is tugging like Tug, tugging against the cuffs. A white officer smacks him in the ribs. But not too hard.
"If you were black he'd break your ribs," Trueman points out. "But that can wait till we get downtown."
"Those charges are lies! Those witnesses are liars! A hood like Brad doesn't belong at a prestigious all-white school like this one! He's secretly a dope dealer! They're all dope dealers! He's paying kids with knives to chase me down the hall!"
"The fits of rage and delusions of persecution started when his blonde girlfriend dumped him for a black man," Laura explained. "Poor Emilie was only trying to get with people. Preferably people who aren't paranoid and impotent and hung like a gerbil."
"They're not people!" Brandon shrieked. "They're all dopers and criminals! They killed Emilie and Dode! I'm the only one who can stop them! I'm not a geek in John Lennon glasses with a tiny pecker. I'm cool and tough like a private eye!"
"Oh, speaking of Dode," Principal Trueman puts in. "We've also got six or seven employees at Pie Oh My who will testify you attacked a young man behind the dumpsters for no reason. You threatened to beat up everyone and screamed they were all out of their senses. And we've got sixteen members of the Drama Club who will testify that you assaulted the club president, trashed her dressing room, and threatened to kill her."
"But she's black!" Brandon shrieks. "Black people are evil! They killed Emilie. They're trying to take over the school!"
"We already have, Brandon," says Principal Trueman patiently. "We already have."
He gets it then, the truth rockets into his face just like a cop's fist. Trueman and Brad Bramish, working as a team, sticking together and fighting for a better world. There's no honor among thieves, but there's honor among spades.