Part 29
Michael Abrams and Charles Owens were roommates and had been since their first year. They did almost everything together… including showing their parents around. Both of them came from "normal" homes and had "normal" parents… well as normal as people are, my philosophy is that no one is normal because what's normal for me is not normal for someone else… and besides if everyone was the same, if everyone was "normal" it would be BORING.
So there is not much to say about what they went through that day, the same goes for the brothers Ethan and Joseph Hughes. The only interesting about that couple is that their parents are just as impressed by the oldest brother's chess talent as their younger son's position on the Warbler council.
Now William Holmes, Roger Smith, Matt Jonson, Eric Anderson, Reed Morgan and Malcolm Nolan also had perfectly "normal" meetings with their families. The only thing that happened was that Reed's younger sisters were so happy to see him that they flung themselves at him and they all tumbled down the stairs that led to one of the basement doors at the front of the school. No one got hurt… except for Reed's butt, which he refused to talk about.
Rob Barton also had a very normal meeting for him… and his family. Rob lived with his mum and dad. Rob had once had two older sisters but both girls had been on the plane that crashed into World Trade Center four years ago. Every time September 11 came around Rob had locked himself away from the world. But at Dalton he hadn't been allowed to do that. His new friends had all been there for him because as soon as they realized he was really, really sad they figured out why. They didn't force him to do "funny things" to distract him. They were just there for him offering comfort.
The older Warblers had talked to him, letting him unload the stuff on them and giving him "older-sibling" advice, but the thing that helped the most… was when Wes just put his arms around him and hugged him. Rob realized then what his sisters most have felt like if he hugged them when they were upset. It didn't matter if he even knew why they were upset, just hugging them had always helped them and the same thing here. After Wes hugged him all the Warblers, nearly, joined in the hug. Guess who didn't.
Rob was the only Warbler that had managed to snag Wes that day. But it was early in the morning. His parents arrived at 8 am and Rob had showed them around the school, around 8:15 am he had seen Wes run out of the library and had grabbed his arm and had slung him over his shoulder and had stalked over to his parents with the kid. They had talked a bit about things at Dalton before Wes had looked down the hallway, seeing Alvaro and his family and had run off with a polite goodbye first of course. Rob had then continued to show his family around… and had also got the text from Otto about the kid… and had cursed himself for not keeping better tabs on the guy.
Brad hated the fact that his sisters were all taller than him… even though they were younger! It was humiliating! Well not really but how fun is it to say: "Hi baby sister!" while looking up at this girl who has a good 10 centimeters on you? Well not fun at all. All his four sisters were between 10-20 centimeters taller than him. Life was not fair and neither was the fact that his whistle was gone… again. He knew the culprit of course but said culprit had vanished. Brad hadn't seen him anywhere. Right now he was showing his family the Warbler Hall.
"What's with that table in front of the fire place", his youngest sister Hanna asked.
"It's the council table", Brad explained. "The Warblers isn't like the show choirs at your school."
"It's not", Emma asked and looked down at him, she had a good 18 centimeters on him after all.
"No", Brad said calmly. "We don't have a coach, in fact we don't have any teacher supervising the club at all. All we have are three students who sit on the council, where yours truly is the chairman."
"Really", Sandra asked and grinned big. "That's awesome Brady!"
"Stop calling me that!" Brad objected and blushed.
His sisters only giggled while his parents chuckled and Brad rolled his eyes and then smirked.
"Do you guys wanna see something cool?" he asked and the girls nodded. "Wait here." Brad walked over to the fireplace and winked at his family before stepping into it.
"Brad Sullivan get out of there at once!" his mother exclaimed. "You will get dirty!"
They got no answer.
"Brad", his sister called but still there was no answer. They waited for a little bit.
"This is not funny", Emma said and crossed her arm.
"Brad", his father asked and walked over to the fireplace and looked inside, his eyes widened because his son was not in there. "What the…"
"What is it daddy", the youngest girl Louise asked and walked over to him. "Oh Brady's gone!"
"Stop calling me that!" they heard from the main door and turned around and saw their son/brother stand there looking annoyed.
"Brad", his mother exclaimed. "How… what… how did you do that?"
Brad just smirked and winked at them again.
"Wow just wait until I tell the guys!" another voice said and Brad turned and saw Wes sit in one of the chairs in the corner… which he hadn't noticed before because he'd had his back turned. The little Asian was smirking.
"Not a word from you do you understand", Brad warned him. "That is my little secret."
"Aw come on it's an amazing magic trick!" Wes said happily and stood up.
"Wow", Hanna said with a grin. "I'd never thought I'd see the day when there is a highschooler that's shorter than Brad."
"Hey!" Brad objected.
"You haven't met the Warblers have you", Wes asked and smirked.
"Oh you be quiet", Brad told him.
"Why?" Wes asked and cocked his head to the side. "I'm the shortest and have no problem with that. So why is your height a problem? You're taller than me and Mitch and Justin after… no wait Justin outgrew you during the summer."
Brad just sighed and gave him a look, while his sisters giggled behind him, his mother smiled and his father laughed.
"Brad dear", his mother said. "Who is this young man?"
"A nuisance", Brad grumbled to himself.
"I heard that!" Wes objected and walked over to Brad's family. "I'm Wes Montgomery ma'am. I'm a friend of your son's."
"Oh", Mrs. Sullivan said and shook his hand. "Say how many years have you been here?"
"This is my second year", Wes said.
"Ah so you are in Brad's grade then?"
"Uh", Wes began but Brad cut in.
"No mom", he said and hurried up to them, putting his hands on Wes' shoulders. "Wes is in 7th grade."
"Then… why is he here?" Brad's dad asked. He was an alumni of Dalton after all.
"I couldn't stay at my old school", Wes only said. "So for the moment I'm here."
"I see… well where is your family?"
"Orphaned", Wes lied thinking back of the summer. "But that's alright, I mean I'm used to it." He looked at his watch. "Oh man I'm late for meeting Lucas… bye nice to meet you!"
He ran out the room before anyone could object and Brad ran a hand over his face. He really had to make sure Wes stopped hanging out with Nathan and Otto, they were teaching him to be a good liar, heck even he had believed the kid. He felt all eyes on him and smiled at his family.
"Don't worry about that kid we're looking after him", he hurriedly said. "He's our little brother, Little Brother Wes. The Warblers all but adopted him… uh so who wants to see my dorm?" He turned away and made a face when his family couldn't see and they left. Later he got a text from Otto and wrote back that he had seen Wes at 12:14 in the Warbler hall, he told Otto to put down all times Warblers had seen the kid so that they might be able to pinpoint his location so that they could "kidnap" him. Oh I forgot to tell you about that? Well the Warblers were planning on kidnapping Wes and include him in one family for the evening. But so far the kid had been avoiding most of them.
Isaac Newton, son of a great doctor and an even greater dentist had lived his entire life under pressure of being perfect and to be molded into a doctor. His grades were supposed to be top, he was supposed to join a sports team and he was supposed to be student council president some day. Dalton Academy gave their students a free pass to the Ivy League by just graduating from there, it was the best school in the country and Isaac's parents wanted him to have and be the best. But there was just one slight problem with that… and that was that Isaac wasn't best.
He had perfect grades of course, he was a really good performer as well and he had lots of friends and a flirt going on with a boy from Westerville High. But he was useless at sports. His parents wanted him to be the best in sports but he was completely useless. I mean even Wes was better than him at everything… even basketball and volleyball. Isaac wanted his parents to know the true him but it wasn't easy because they were projecting their own childhoods onto him. They had been forced to be the best and failed and lived through hell because of it, they wanted him to have what they never had… the love from his grandparents… their parents. But Isaac didn't want that. He sighed and looked at his watch. His parents were late, it was already 12:45. Why couldn't they just see the true him?
"Why", he asked looking out the window of his dorm room. He started to recite his favorite poem, written by himself.
"Why do I have to be what you want me to be
Do you not see that I want to be me
Do you not see that I am not that man
Do you not see that I know I can
I can excel and fly to the heights
My words are my wings and my wings take me high
Above the clouds, beyond the moon
Far, far away from the pain and lies
On my words I fly through the skies
Why can't you see you are grounding me
Why can't you set me free
Your pain should not be mine
Your dreams should not be mine
I have my own dreams and I dream to fly
Above the stars, above the rain
I long to soar through the sky
And leave my musts behind
You are making up for lost time
But that is costing you your son
Let me live my life
Instead of living through your strife
They were yours and not mine
I want to please, I want to be that man
But I can't, that's not who I am
I am a man that longs to fly
I long to reach the sky
You ground me, you bound me
Please set me free
And let me be."
It was not one of his best poems. He wrote it when he was twelve but it was his favorites because it was the first one he wrote as an assignment in school and he had gotten an A for it. His parents hadn't ever cared about it though. It was not important to them.
"Is that how you feel", a voice asked behind him and he twirled around and saw his parents.
"Mom", he asked. "Dad… I… I…"
"Isaac", his father said. "Is that how you feel?"
"I… um… I was… yes." He sighed. "Yes that is how I feel."
"You feel as if we are keeping you from your dreams", his mother asked. "That we are taking your wings from you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it's your dreams mom. It's your dreams to make my a lawyer or a doctor or a businessman or general or whatever. But that's not me. I'm not any of that. I know why you do it. I figured it out when I was five. You want the love of my grandparents because dad didn't go into the military and you didn't join the family business. They said they are disappointed in you because you're not perfect so you are trying to make me perfect so that they will love me and love you… but it hurts me. I'm not good at any of those stuffs you want me to be. I'm horrible at physical activities. I'm even worse at debates and to speak in front of a lot of people. I can't stand the sight of blood and I almost faint when someone is throwing up… I will not be good for any of that… all I want to do is write and be an artist. I want to be an artist guys… special, unique and out there and out of this world. Special."
His parents looked at each other.
"You have always been special son", his dad said. "I know we have pressured you a lot. But it… we just wanted you to be able to stand up for yourself in a way we can't."
"You are so much stronger than us Isaac", his mom said. "And I know our parents will treat you bad when they find out you are not 'perfect' but… we wanted you to be able to handle it."
"We just went about it the wrong way", his father said. "We were going to tell you today because… well…"
"We find your poems baby", his mother said. "All of them and they are beautiful and soulful… we sent them in to a publisher."
"What?!" Isaac gaped.
"You have a gift son", his father said. "And we are not going to take that from you. We want to be the knives that cuts the rope tying you down so you can fly."
"We want to be the wind beneath your wings, that taught you how to fly", his mother said and smiled. "We want to see you soar high too."
Isaac just smiled and ran up to her and hugged her. His father put his hand on Isaac's shoulder while his wife hugged him back.
"How did you know where I was", Isaac asked and looked up.
"This little Asian boy showed us the way", his mother said. "Is he someone's brother?"
"Yes", Isaac said fondly. 'Mine.' The last he only thought.
"Justine", her stepmom said and kissed her cheek. "Darling you look marvelous. You must make me an outfit like that."
Justine looked at her Dalton uniform and smiled.
"Yes I am absolutely fabulous", she said and made a little twirl. Her long blonde locks framed her pretty face perfectly. Her father pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek took.
"Love you cupcake", he said. "Now where is that boy you love so much? Jerry Jonston?"
"Daddy Jerry and I are just friends. True I always talk about him or Mitch but I do not love them. Well not like that anyway."
"Yes how is Mitchell", her stepmom asked as they started to walk.
"Well", Justine sighed.
Otto had called her and told her everything. She had stormed to Mitch's side, pushed Nathan aside and told him and Otto that Mitch needed some girl-love before pulling her smaller counterpart into a tight hug. Nathan didn't object, he knew how close they were and that the feelings the two had for each other was only platonic. True, she liked to kiss him or give him a peck on the cheek but that was just her thing. Mitch had been the first boy to ever understand her, really understand her.
When arriving at Dalton last year, Mitch had not admitted to being gay, if anything he was slightly homophobic but Justine saw through that façade and took him to her from day one, ignoring the whole juniors-freshmen mentor thing that was going on. She took Mitch to her heart and was always by his side and they talked. He told her he was so "homophobic" because he was scared to admit that he was gay.
But she helped him through it and actually helped him into Nathan's arms… just two weeks into the semester. He had understood her for feeling like someone she wasn't when she was Justin. Mitch understood and loved her and he loved Justin.
Justine's mom had never accepted her for dressing as a girl and when she said that she was going to send Justine to a camp where they would perform exorcism and pull the devil out of her poor baby boy her dad had enough. He stopped the crazy woman and sent her off. Later on he met Justine's stepmom and she was accepting at once. She loved having a girl and boy to take care of and spoil.
"Well", her dad urged.
"It's not so good I'm afraid", Justine answered and told them what had happened. Her dad started cursing and talking about making sure the man got prison punishment. Justine sighed.
'Wow, how many lawyers does Mitch knows?' she though. 'It's my dad, Otto's mom, his own dad and a few others… he's gonna win whatever charges will be put on Mr. Newland.'
"Well where is your little baby you told us about", her stepmom asked.
Justine had never planned on telling her parents about Wes. But they had taken her yearbook and had looked through it. They had found a picture of her, Jerry, Mark and Wes. The picture showed Wes being dangled from his ankles by Mark and Jerry, while she tickled his sides. All four were cracking up, and Wes was red-faced with his arms crossed, trying to protect himself from being tickled and from the pain of laughing so much.
They had asked so many questions and they kept looking through the book, finding Wes here and there and then finding his yearbook picture. Justine told them that he was a student there, but not why and she said it was because Carmichael had made them all swear, to keep Wes safe. All she could tell them was that his dad was very rich and important and that he was at Dalton for protection, she hated to lie but they bought it. She knew it was because she was telling herself Wes was there to be protected from his dad and his family.
"He should be around here somewhere", Justine said and shrugged. "He is a master at disappearing and reappearing. Nathan and Otto told the freshmen that he was a ghost." She giggled when she thought back to that moment.
Flashback
It was the first week of the new school year and Justine was sitting by her friends from her dorm the White Tiger… well actually Dalton West but who cares. Everyone called it the White Tiger. The boys from the Dragon was sitting close by and she smiled and waved at Nathan and Otto as the two of them showed a bunch of freshmen from the Dragon where they should be. They waved back, well Otto blew her a kiss and she rolled her eyes at him. That's when he heard one of the freshmen pop a question:
"Who was that little kid we saw at the dorm?"
Justine tensed up and noticed that the freshmen from her own dorm were watching Nathan and Otto. Otto looked a bit uncomfortable but Nathan looked horrified.
"You mean you saw him", he asked and grabbed the shoulders of the boy that had asked the question. "You mean you actually saw him?!"
"Y-yeah", the by stuttered out.
"Oh sweet merciful lord", Nathan said and made the cross sign. Justine rolled her eyes. Only Nathan would use this as an opportunity to scare the hell out of the freshmen. School didn't really start until the next day so Carmichael had not yet informed the freshmen of Wes' existence.
"Otto", Nathan went on. "Did you hear that. This poor boy actually saw him!"
"Oh no", Otto said and looked equally horrified. "That only means bad things!"
"What", asked the freshman that had asked the question. "What's wrong?"
"Many", Nathan said. "Many years ago, during the early stages of Dalton's existence there was a science teacher working here, from China. He only agreed to work in this racist, his words not mine, country if they let his son attend school.
Back then Dalton was a school for boys between ages 7-18. The teacher's son was the only Asian boy around and he was treated worse than any of the white and African-American kids. After all, he was not white and he was not black.
So one cold night at the middle of the fall semester, this very week actually the Asian kid was leaving the library when he was cornered by some of the teens. They beat him up so badly that he became terrified of everything. Now everyone, including teachers and students treated him like crap.
So two days after the beat up and rape the tiny boy climbed onto the roof of the Dragon… and flung himself from the roof. He landed on the gravel but… there was not a mark on his face or any blood at all. He looked as if he was peacefully sleeping… but when his father hoisted him into his arms he realized he was dead and the man looked at the crowd around him and said:
'This school shall be haunted for all the crimes they have committed. Mark my words, my son will forever walk these halls and remind the world of the cruelty of mankind. Seeing him will mean that bad things are about to happen. To hear him speak will mean certain death and see him before the start of the school year will mean big tragedy.'
After that he walked off and disappeared in the darkness. No one took him serious of course… not until the boy started to show up around the Dragon and the school. And every time he was seen bad things happened. Once did he speak and all he said was: Why? After he spoke the principal died… and every time he was seen before the start of the school year tragedy always struck."
"Look!" a boy exclaimed and pointed at the doors to the cafeteria.
"What", Nathan asked.
"He was there!"
"Really", Otto asked and looked. "I can't see anything."
"He was just there", the poor freshman continued. "Then this guy walked by and he was gone!"
The freshmen all looked horrified and then laughter filled the room. The freshmen looked at the door and saw a small Asian kid run inside followed by an angry looking.
"Wesley!" the senior yelled and took chase.
The freshmen looked confused and Nathan smirked.
"But seeing that kid doesn't mean anything", he said. "That's just Wes, the smallest resident of the Dragon. So don't worry, if you see him around the worst thing that can happen is that you'll be victim of his puppy dog eyes."
End flashback
Justine jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at her dad.
"Sorry", she said and smiled a bit embarrassed. "I got lost in thought."
"I see", her dad said. "Now can you show an old alumni what has actually changed at this place?"
"It would be easier to show you what hasn't changed daddy", she said and started to skip down the hall, her parents following with fond smiles on their lips.
"Ah ha!" Eric Everett said when they got out on the roof of the main building.
"There you are", Brett Everett said following his brother.
"Wes what are you doing on the roof?"
"It's dangerous."
"You can fall."
"Or get a cold."
"Or pneumonia."
"Or get attacked by crazy birds."
"Or get hit by lightning."
"Or get drowned by rain."
"Or get fried by the sun."
"Or get stung by wasps."
"Or fall through the roof."
"Or get stuck up here."
"Or-"
"I get it", Wes cut in with a small smile. "It's dangerous."
The Everetts sat down on either side of him and Wes looked at them. They were identical except for the scar underneath Eric's eye. Both of them had long hair in loose ponytails and both were African-American (of course) and they were both dressed in Dalton uniform. Wes turned to look out over the world, as he had been doing for the past hour. The brothers followed his gaze.
"What are we looking at", Eric asked.
"The world", Wes said. "It's just lying there… in front of our feet."
"So you come up here to look at the world", Brett asked.
"No… I come up here to think."
"A dangerous habit", the twins said.
"For you maybe", Wes said and sighed. "For me… it's something I do when I feel… lonely."
"Lonely", the twins asked.
"Look", Wes said and nodded at the ground. Families were practically everywhere on the grounds, walking around in the setting sun.
"Everyone has that", he said. "Except me."
"Family", the twins asked.
"Yeah…"
"Well you do have family", Eric said.
"Yeah you got the Warblers", Brett said.
"I know and it's great but… it's just…" he sighed again. "I've always been on the outside looking in so when someone asked me to join the inside I just… I can't handle it. I don't know how to act, what to do, what to say… how to be…"
He looked at his feet as they dangled over the edge of the roof and he felt really sad. He knew he could count the Warblers as his family. That wasn't really the problem. His problem was not knowing how to fully be part of a family. He didn't have the experience. He had always been alienated in his "real" family.
The Warblers treated him as one of their own and he loved it, he really truly did and he thought that he knew how to act as brother would… but when this family night came… he came to wondering if he knew how to act normal.
At Asian Camp he had been violent and acted more like the older kids because that's how his older brothers acted when their younger members was "attacked". He didn't really act as a kid his age and had no idea how to really interact with grownups. He was always awkward when he interacted with teachers or Carmichael. He didn't trust them. He didn't even know how to act around Trixie. He only acted like his brothers and sister did.
"Don't know how to be part of a family", Eric asked. "How can you say that? You are part of our family and you're doing just fine."
"Then why do I feel as if I will make a fool out of the school if I show my face at that dinner because I don't know how to act at Thanksgiving", he asked. "I came after Thanksgiving last year… I've never celebrated a Thanksgiving actually."
"Never", Brett asked and Wes shook his head.
"I've never had anything to be thankful for before", Wes said with a shrug.
"Nothing?" Eric asked.
"No…" Wes shook his head.
"If I were you", Brett said. "I'd be thankful for the day my grandparents sent me to that first boarding school."
"What", Wes asked in shock.
"Got ya out of that hell-hole didn't it?"
"True… I never thought of that before", Wes looked deep in thought.
"Of course ya haven't", Eric said and ruffled his hair fondly. "When you are caught up in the middle of all shit you never think of it."
"Now look out at the world young Warbler", Brett said. "See those clouds over there?"
"Yeah", Wes said.
"It's dark underneath them yeah?"
"Uh… yeah?"
"Well there is one thing that you can see in the darkness, even though it's really hard sometimes."
"And what is that?"
"Light. As our dearly beloved favorite Swiss-"
"Swede", Wes corrected but was ignored.
"Uses to say: Every cloud has a golden lining."
"I thought it was a every cloud has a silver lining", Eric said confused.
"Them Swedes says golden lining instead and I quite agree… I mean gold is more precious than silver and the sun casts a golden line on the clouds… it's more beautiful with a golden lining yeah?"
"True… and you are right as always."
"But", Wes objected. "Light exist in darkness and you can see it… but darkness exist in light as well… it's just harder to see."
Eric and Brett shared a look and then started to sing:
Whistle down the wind
Let your voices carry
Drown out all the rain
Light a patch of darkness
Treacherous and scary
Howl at the stars
Whisper when you're sleeping
I'll be there to hold you
I'll be there to stop
The chills and all the weeping
Make it clear and strong
So the whole night long
Every signal that you send
Until the very end
I will not abandon you my precious friend
So try to stem the tide
Then you'll raise a banner
Send a flare up in the sky
Try to burn a torch
And try to build a bonfire
Every signal that you send
Until the very end
I'm there
So whistle down the wind
For I have always been
Right there
Howl at the stars
Whisper when your sleeping
I'll be there to hold you
I'll be there to stop
The chills and all the weeping
Make it clear and strong
So the whole night long
Every signal that you send
Until the very end
I will not abandon you my precious friend
So try to stem the tide
Then you'll raise a banner
Send a flare up in the sky
Try to burn a torch
And try to build a bonfire
Every signal that you send
Until the very end
I'm there
So whistle down the wind
For I have always been
Right there.
"What", Wes asked in confusion.
"Were hope", the twins said.
"Hope?"
"Uh huh", Brett said.
"So", Eric said and the twins got up. "Let's go take Wes to dinner since our folks got stuck on that airport in Taiwan."
"Wait what", Wes asked in confusion and the twins hoisted him up by his arms.
"Yeah got a call this mornin'", Brett said. "They're stuck in Taiwan and can't make it 'ere. So up ya go. Time to go."
"But", Wes objected.
"No buts", Eric said. "Is jus' gonna be us three at our table. The poor, lonely and abandoned little trio." He sniffled.
"Oh yeah we're so abandoned", Brett joined in and pretended to cry too. They held each other and 'cried' onto each others' shoulders. Wes was staring at them as if they were crazy. The twins grinned and put their arms around his shoulders and steered him off the roof.
"Let's go Wesley", they said in unison.
"Don't call me Wesley", he said.
"Why?"
"Because that's what they called me", Wes grumbled.
"Okay", they said. "Wessy."
"Oh God", Wes said.
"Don't drag him into this."
"You are worse than the Weasleys!"
"'Course we are", the twins said in unison. "We're real and they're not."
"Touché", Wes said and let himself be dragged down to the dining room. There he joined the Everetts by their table and actually had a really good time. He took a look around the room and saw all his friends having a great time with their families. He noticed Lucas looking at him with a smile and Wes grinned back at him and made thumbs up with one hand. Lucas only winked before his mother dragged him into a discussion. It was Wes' first Thanksgiving ever… and the best one ever.
TBC So I had to rush it along because I wanted to have them celebrate Christmas in next chapter and then rush along for regionals and then graduation... The picture of Jerry, Mark, Wes and Justine I burrowed from the wonderful Little-miss-laughs-alot and I hope she did NOT miss it ;)
Answer to non-members' (or not signed in members') reviews:
Lissi47 - Lol then we are two confused people ;)
Sarah - Mark is back at police school ;)