Childhood Memories

Part 2

Making of a Misfit

By Nick Maro

The young girl pulled her black hair back into a ponytail. She stared at the wrought iron gates of the spacious school estate. The weathered copper nameplate glinted through the ivy vines. The nameplate read: St. Cyril's School for Young Ladies. Above the nameplate sat a six foot tall statue of St. Cyril. The statue was carved out of fine marble.

"This looks like a lovely school, now doesn't it, Sheila darlin'?" The older, heavy set woman grinned widely. She got back into the car and watched her daughter study the gates and nameplate.

Sheila got into the back of the car and watched the gates glide open silently. "I'm only getting' in cuz Dad blackmailed the headmaster. But in all honesty, Mum, it looks nice." Sheila gathered her belongings and waited for the car to pull around to the main door.

The car parked near the front step of the main entrance, where a middle aged woman in her fifties waited. She stood properly with her back straight. The woman looked to have been raised very strict and very proper. Her eyes followed the car like a hawk stalking its prey. Sheila opened her door and smoothed out the skirt that was part of her new school uniform.

"Welcome to St. Cyril's, Ms. Burns. My name is Miss Livingston. I am the Headmistress of the school. I saw you studying the gate to the school. That statue is over one hundred and fifty years old." Miss Livingston spoke very properly and with pride. Sheila decided right then that Miss Livingston was born to be a either a teacher or a librarian.

"'allo, Miss Livin'ston. Me name is Bertie Burns. Nice ta finally meetcha." Sheila's father held his hand out. When Miss Livingston didn't shake his hand, he looked at it and noticed that it was covered in food. He wiped it off on his jacket and smiled sheepishly then held his hand out again once it was clean. "Sorry, 'bout that. It's kinda hard ta eat and keep good hygiene at once, y'know?" Miss Livingston reluctantly shook his hand. "Right, or not. Well, let's get Sheila all moved in so she can get nice an' settled." He went to the rear of the car and opened the trunk. He unloaded the two suitcases and closed the trunk.

Miss Livingston turned from Bertie to Sheila's mother. "You must be Florence and now that we all know each other, I'll show you to Sheila's quarters." She turned and entered the building. Sheila picked up her last and smallest suitcase and followed her new teacher. Her parents were close behind.

After being shown where Sheila's dorm room was located Miss Livingston gave them a tour of the school and its grounds. Sheila waved to her parents as they drove out of the gate. "I just wanted to apologize for me father, Miss Livingston. He's a good man and I love him dearly. It's just that we're not very wealthy. He wants the best for me, but he doesn't usually have the money to do it. That's why he takes an advantage of people."

Miss Livingston stood behind Sheila as she put her hand on the new students' shoulder. "I didn't accept you because of that, I accepted you because of your intelligence and willingness to learn. You're a gifted child, Sheila. I want to see you do well in your studies. You have a very bright future of you and I think your parents know that. All you can do now is your best and make them proud of you. But most of all you have to believe in yourself. Life here at St. Cyril's will not be easy. But it'll be worth it. Come along let us go to dining hall for dinner. You can meet your new schoolmates there."

Sheila followed the woman to the large building that the students of St. Cyril's were flowing into. "It's goin' to be extra hard since I'm a twelve year old takin' classes equal to a sixteen year old. I've faced impossible odds before and as they say in America, this should be a cakewalk." Sheila smiled up at the older woman.

"There's the St. Cyril's spirit!" Miss Livingston said with a wide smile on her face. It was then that Sheila realized that the older woman might not be so bad after all. They entered the building to sit down for a relaxing dinner.

Hiroshi lowered his bokken and looked at his adopted son. He gave David a stern warning gaze. "[David today is the first day of classes. It took some pull for me to get you in. I don't see why you don't want to go. Your Japanese is perfect. You're a very friendly person. Plus you'll make some friends. You need to meet and play with kids your age.]"

David paced the along the dojo floor. "[In the two years you've been training me and the three I've lived with you and Mariko, Hiro. I've learned a few things that I can use in the real world. One of them is to trust your instincts. Another is to listen to your elders when your instincts say they're right. But I'm going to school to learn, not to make friends.]"

"[I'm happy to hear you say that.]" Mariko entered the dojo and handed David a backpack. "[I figured you might need this. I'll give you some money for lunch. No saving it and buying candy after school.]" David rolled his eyes as she placed a few coins in his hand. "[I'll drive you to the school.]"

Mariko headed to the car as David said good bye to Hiroshi. He then ran to the car and got in the passenger side. On the ride to the school Mariko told David how great school was going to be. Despite his misgivings David began to get a little excited about it himself.

They finally arrived at the school where Mariko parked the car and walked with David to the admissions office. The whole process took about twenty minutes. David said good bye to Mariko and he followed the admissions aide to his new class. On the walk there he began to get nervous and shy. He felt confident when Mariko was there but now he was alone and scared. It reminded him of when he got separated from his mother.

The aide opened the door to his class and introduced him quietly to his teacher. His teacher brought him in and told him in a whisper to write his name on the chalkboard. David obeyed without question and did so. The teacher cleared his throat to get the classes attention. It wasn't needed since the class had been watching the shy foreign student ever since he had entered the classroom. The teacher instructed David to introduce himself.

"[My name is David Ikari,]" he said quietly then took a seat at his assigned desk. It was right by the window. He could feel all eyes on him as he looked in his study book. He just ignored it and did his schoolwork. The bell mercifully rang signaling lunch time. He handed his work in without a single word and followed his classmates out of the room.

David bought his lunch and sat alone at a table outside. He ate his food and watched the other kids play, laugh and have fun. Someone then sat next to him and began eating his own lunch. "[So you're the new kid, huh? I'm kinda new here myself. My family and I just moved from Kyoto.]" He pointed to a girl playing with a group of other girls. "[That's my sister Hitomi. My name is Kenshiro Masuda. It's nice to meet you, David.]"

Finishing his food David looked at Kenshiro then down at the hand he offered. He went back to watching the other kids play. A shadow loomed next to David. He looked up at an older student who was very muscular and wore a frown. "[The gaijin is obviously too good to talk to the likes of you, Kenshiro. Maybe he's thinking of going home like a good little tourist. Aren'tcha, gaijin-dog?]" The bigger student shoved David off of the bench.

David stood up and dusted himself off, then picked up his garbage and tossed it out. He left the two boys without saying a word or looking in their direction. David sat against a wall and watched the kids play again. Kenshiro looked up at the older, bigger student. He ran a hand through his thick black hair. "[Why do you have to be such an asshole, Ryo?]"

"[I'd watch my mouth if I were you, unless you want your jaw broken.]" Ryo sneered at Kenshiro.

"[Like I haven't heard that empty threat before, the eight year olds are over there. Maybe they won't laugh at you and your threats.]" Kenshiro pointed to a group of six eight year old kids. Ryo glared at Kenshiro and left without a word. Kenshiro looked for David but didn't see him anymore. The bell rang again and Kenshiro went back inside for class.

For the next three months each day Kenshiro would try to open up to David, who would remain quiet and eat his lunch. Ryo would shove or threaten David, sometimes both. David just ignored him and went elsewhere.

One day David was walking home from school when he heard Ryo's voice down an alley. He also heard a young girl crying in protest. He looked down the dimly lit alleyway and saw Ryo towering over a young girl that he recognized as Hitomi, Kenshiro's little sister. Hitomi yelled at Ryo to leave her and Kenshiro alone. He then noticed Kenshiro slumped against the ground.

Before entering the alley, David set his backpack down. He walked at a brisk pace towards Ryo. Neither Ryo nor Hitomi saw David coming towards them. David grabbed Ryo by the shoulder to stop him. Ryo spun around to face him. "[So the gaijin acts at last when someone else is in trouble, how sickenly noble of you.]" Ryo swung his fist at David, who sidestepped it with ease and grabbed it. He held tight and ducked under Ryo's arm, bringing it behind his back. David shoved Ryo face first into the opposite wall and let go of his arm.

Ryo looked up at him dazed and saw that David was standing in a ready position to fight. Immediately Ryo recognized it as a martial arts stance. The look in David's eyes told Ryo that he was ready to defend his friend and that he would win. Ryo put his hand up in submission. "[In your eyes I may be a gaijin, but at least I have some honor. I do not need to pick on those who cannot defend themselves. You're nothing but a bully and if you keep this up, you always will be one.]" David's voice was soft but carried a power behind his words.

Ryo looked at David and left the alley without a word. Hitomi and a now conscious Kenshiro stood in shock. Kenshiro's jaw moved without any sound coming out before he actually spoke. "[Y-you saved my sister. You know martial arts?! Hell, you talked! I thought you didn't have a tongue. Why didn't you speak when I tried to talk to you?]"

David looked at both Kenshiro and Hitomi blankly. "[I didn't have anything to say.]"

Hitomi hugged David tightly and giggled. "[Yay! David-chan's my hero!]"

"[Um, if you two want, you can come over to my house. You can call home from there.]" Hitomi and Kenshiro quickly accepted David's offer who felt happy to have some new friends.

Phyllis stared at Mary for a long time in the airport terminal. Mary stared at the ground as she usually did. Neither had spoken to the other for ten minutes. Mary finally looked up at Phyllis with her lower lip quivering like it did when she was nervous or scared. Today, she was both. "Phy-Phyllis, please d-don't be angry with me. I w-want to go be-because it wi-will be a new experience. You could always apply. I-I know you'd get in."

"Don't patronize me, Mouse. You know that you got in because you're a brain. You've always been in the same grade as me and you're two years younger than me." Angry tears fell from Phyllis' eyes. "You go ahead and abandon me. Leave me like my mother and…and…" Phyllis' cut herself off and wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked at Mary a final time and ran past her father and Vanessa. She left the terminal and into the limo that waited outside.

Mary stood there watching as Phyllis disappeared into the crowd. "I'll miss you too, Phyllis," she said quietly.

Vanessa walked up to her daughter and hugged her. "Oh honey, Phyllis is just scared about entering high school alone. You two grew up together. She doesn't want to let you go and try something new on her own. Those kids she calls friends now are just using her. Phyllis knows you're her best friend and loves you very much. She just has a hard time showing it. Now say good bye to Mr. Gabor. We better get on the plane."

"Good bye, Mr. Gabor. T-tell Phyllis that I-I'll miss her very much and that I-I'll write to her everyday. I-I'll miss you too, Mr. Gabor." Mary hugged her best friend's father. She then waited as her mother said her farewell. Together Mary and her mother boarded the plane to England.

Mary raced down the courtyard path to her next class. A few of the older students played a prank on her that caused her to be late. She'd only been at St. Cyril's for six weeks and she was still being hazed without mercy. Up until recently, the pranks were harmless and in good fun. But now they were making her late for class and affecting her academically. She was glad that Phyllis was finally responding to her letters.

Still daydreaming Mary ran into another student. They both gave a cry of surprise and pain. Mary bent over to pick up her books and saw that the other student was on the ground picking her books up as well. She began helping her. "I'm so sorry. Some of the other students played a trick on me. I'm late for class. I-I wasn't watching where I was going. Oh, I'm so sorry. L-let me help you."

The blackhaired student continued picking her books. "Thanks luv, I forgot to set me alarm, so now I'm late." She recognized Mary and smiled. "You're the one everyone calls Mouse, aren't you?" Mary shyly nodded. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Shei-," she was cut off by the clock tower bell sounding off. "Shit. I'm sorry. I gotta go. Maybe I'll see you around, luv. Bye." The other student took off running and vanished into a building.

Mary rushed to her next class. She was late and was given extra work as a punishment. When the class was over she headed to the cafeteria. She wasn't very hungry but she ate a little despite the feeling. She suddenly felt very homesick and alone. Nibbling on a piece of bread, she overheard the lead girl of the group hazing her comment loud enough for Mary to hear. "Look girls, Mouse even eats like a mouse!" The girls giggled obnoxiously loud.

Mary slumped in her chair and she looked up to see one of the older girls sitting across from her. The girl was average height, had long curly brown hair and blue eyes. She smiled warmly at Mary. "You know you can just ignore them. They're just bullies. If we were back in Deerfield, Illinois, they wouldn't last a week. My name is Kate. You're Mary, right?"

"Y-yeah, you called me by my real name not Mouse. Why?"

Kate gave Mary a confused look. "It's your name, right? Anyway, I know what it's like to have a crappy nickname. At my last school they called me Sprite. You try being nicknamed after a soft drink. At least it wasn't Dr. Pepper. I'd have to try to take over the world then." Mary started giggling at Kate's jokes.

"I'm going to check to see if I got any mail today. Did you want to come with me?" Mary stood to throw out her garbage.

"Sure, sounds like fun."

"Oh how cute. The mouse has a new friend." The older girl started laughing with her little gang.

"Blow it out of yer ass, Huntsman!" Kate yelled as she gave the girl the middle finger. She then turned to Mary again. "Just ignore them. So tell me where you're from, Mary."

Mary told Kate about Phyllis and her life in Los Angeles. They arrived at Mary's dorm room in a matter of a few minutes. Kate pointed out that Mary's bed looked funny. Mary pulled back the comforter and a dozen dead mice were underneath. Mary screamed in terror and turned from the bed. "That does it. I'm going home. I-I can't take this shit anymore." Mary left the room to call home.

A soft knock came from Phyllis' bedroom door. "Phyllis? It-it's Mary. I'm back from England. Can I please come in?" When Phyllis didn't reply after a couple of minutes, Mary opened the door. She smiled at her friend who was lying on the bed listening to a pair of head phones. Phyllis looked at who opened the door and frowned. She turned off the Walkman. "Hi Phyllis, I-I'm sorry for just opening the door. I was worried when I didn't hear you answer."

Phyllis tried to force back her smile. "No, I was just listening to some music. It's not Christmas break yet. What are you doing back, Mouse?"

"There was an incident. Please don't call me Mouse anymore. I-I just don't like it anymore." Mary sat on the edge of Phyllis' bed. "So doing anything tonight?"

"Well, I was going to the movies with Monica and the gang. But I guess I can cancel out on them seeing you're back. I guess you and I can celebrate by going to the movies ourselves. How does that sound, Mou, er, Mary?" Phyllis let her smile come through when Mary agreed. Phyllis got off her bed and rushed down the stairs. Mary tried to keep up. "Daddy! Mary and I are going to the theater. We're taking the limo. I have your credit card! Bye!"

Getting into the limo Mary checked her purse. "Is your father even home?"

Phyllis shrugged as she slammed the door close. "I dunno. He's hardly there anymore. He gave me his credit card last week and didn't ask for it back. Mine now. Don't worry about paying for the movie. I've got you covered. Rather, Daddy has you covered." She laughed at some private joke while Mary quietly thanked her friend.

Once they arrived at the theater, Phyllis saw her friends standing in front of the entrance. Mary followed her as they walked up to the box office. Phyllis put on a fake smile for her friends from school. Monica turned and saw Phyllis and Mary approaching. "It's about fucking time you showed up, Phyllis. We were wondering if you'd actually show. You did beg us to let you tag along." She looked behind Phyllis. "Let me guess, this is the infamous Mouse you're always talking about. I forgot she was coming home today. I mean how could I? You only told me a million times that she quit that snooty school in England. Well, I guess she can tag along, too."

"I told you to call me Pizzazz, Monica," Phyllis said quietly.

"Right, Pizzazz it is," Monica said very snottily. "Well come on, Pizzazz and Mouse. I don't want to miss the movie."

"My name is Mary not Mouse."

Monica turned at Mary's comment. "What did you say?"

"I said my name is Mary not Mouse." Mary's voice squeaked unexpectedly.

"Uh-huh, well guess what? I say your name is Mouse. You look like a mouse and you sound like a mouse. So you're a mouse. Got it?" Monica turned back to the box office.

"I am not a mouse!" Mary jumped at Monica as she turned around. She shoved Monica to the ground and began to punch her in the face. While punching Mary chanted quietly, "I am not a mouse! I am not a mouse! I am not a mouse!"

Phyllis pulled Mary off of the older girl. She dragged the struggling girl away from the other. "Mary, calm down, girl. Just calm down. You're not a mouse. You're Stormer. That's your new nickname. Stormer. Do you like it?"

Mary smiled at the new nickname. "Yeah, I love it, Pizzazz."

This time it was Phyllis' turn to smile. "Then that settles it. We're now Pizzazz and Stormer, a pair of social misfits. Let's forget the movie and go shopping instead." Stormer quickly agreed. They both got back in the limo and headed to the nearest mall.

On the way to the mall Stormer smiled shyly at Pizzazz. "S-so you knew I was coming back the whole time and j-just acted sur-surprised?"

Pizzazz turned away and felt herself blush. "Well, I might've said something, but don't read too much into it. I'm still a bit mad at you for leaving me." Stormer nodded and leaned against her best friend. They arrived at the mall five minutes later.

Roxy sat and watched nervously as her aunt inspected the house. Aunt Ester brought the bottle to her lips again and took a long, deep drink. Her bloodshot eyes turned to Roxy. "What th' fucks you lookin' at?" Roxy looked away from her drunken aunt. "Thas better. You call this house clean? Huh?! HUH?! I din' thin' so. Go ta bed. Yer no good uncle will take care of your sorry ass in th' mornin'."

Roxy glared at her aunt and slowly edged closer to her. "Just what the hell do you know? I'm a fourteen year old girl, not your fucking slave girl. You want the house clean? You do it yourself you drunken bitch. I refuse to be your slave anymore. I'm going to call the authorities and tell them how you abuse me and don't teach me. I've heard you talk about how you're getting money that's supposed to be mine. I'm going to call them now." Roxy went to the phone.

Ester slapped Roxy across the face as hard as she could. "How dare you, you ungrateful slut. Your uncle and I provide you with a home. We provide you with food and clothes and this is how you repay us?" She slapped Roxy again. "How dare you. Now you get to your room and you stay there. If you even think of coming out or running away, I'll personally hunt you down and kill you!"

"Fine, whatever you say drunken bitch, I hope you die." Roxy ran to her room and slammed the door shut. She changed into her nightgown and crawled into bed. Roxy fell asleep crying into her pillow.

The door banged open startling Roxy awake. She saw the massive bulk of her uncle stumble into her room. It was obvious that he was very drunk. The moon cast pale light across his face. His leer made Roxy hide under the covers. She heard him fumble with his belt. "Yer turnin' out ta be a sexy lil'ting, Roxy. Ya're really lookin' like yer dead mommy. I think it's time ya were made a woman. Make room fer Uncle Hal."

"U-Uncle Hal, please get out. You're drunk." Roxy's pleas fell upon deaf ears as her uncle stumbled forward. "D-don't come any closer. I-I'll scream if you do." Roxy looked around her room in desperation for a weapon.

Hal laughed deeply as he finally undid his belt. "Good. Scream all ya want. N'one will hear ya. Yer aunt is pass'd out cold. B'sides, I like it when dey screams." He laughed loudly once again and fell on top of her. He reached under the comforter to lift her nightgown. Roxy grabbed the lamp on her nightstand in desperation. Her uncle licked the tears off of her cheek and gurgled a sickening laugh.

Shutting her eyes tight Roxy brought the lamp down hard on the back of her uncle's skull. It made a wet crack. Her uncle looked at her dazed. She brought the lamp up again and smacked his head a second time. His eyes then glazed over as he fell on top of her. At first she thought she had killed him until she felt his labored breathing on top of her.

Roxy struggled out from under his weight while she clutched the lamp in her hand. As if realizing she still held it, she dropped the lamp. "Oh my God! What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?!" She saw her uncle's wallet sticking part way out of his pocket. She carefully took it out and looked inside. There was still cash inside. Roxy smirked to herself. "I'm outta here."

She changed quickly out of her nightgown and into a pair of jeans and t-shirt. She then grabbed some spare clothes and stuffed them into a deep backpack. She thought quickly and went to her aunt and uncle's secret money stash. She grabbed some jewelry and all the cash, then grabbed the rest of jewelry. She found her aunt passed out in her favorite chair. Roxy spat hard on her aunt. "bitch," she whispered softly.

Going into the kitchen Roxy spotted her aunt's purse. She quickly took all of the money out of that as well. She got to the backdoor and found it slightly ajar from her uncle coming home. She stopped leaving the house when a wicked idea crossed her mind.

Grabbing all of the eggs from the fridge Roxy stuffed them into the microwave and set it for an hour. She then grabbed the sharpest knife she could find and took it with her. She ran out of the backdoor and passed her relative's car. She slashed all four tires, stuffed the knife in her bag and ran as fast she could down the street. She paused to look back for a second. "Good bye forever, you assholes!" She gave the house both middle fingers and ran toward the bright lights of the big city.

Roxy was cold and scared as she walked along the sidewalk. It had been only five days since she had left her aunt and uncle's home. During that time she avoided the police and busy streets. The money and valuables she had stolen were gone. She'd spent the money on staying in fancy hotels. She gave the desk clerk extra so they wouldn't require an ID. Now she was broke and she didn't know what to do. The secret place she had hidden the jewelry and money had been ransacked. She couldn't and wouldn't go back to her aunt and uncle. There was no way she would go back to that Hell.

Not watching where she was walking and bumped into a boy her age. She mumbled an apology. "Hey! Wait!" he yelled behind her. Roxy turned around and gave him a confused look. He smiled warmly. "Sorry, it's just that you look lost and confused. I was just wondering if maybe I could help. People call me Link."

"I'm Roxy and yeah I am. I really could use some help." Deep inside Roxy's gut told her to trust him.

"Nice to meet you, Roxy, if you want I'll show you where the other Red Aces are, I'm their leader." Link led Roxy down a maze of alleyways. On the way he explained that they were a gang but they weren't outlaws. They were a community of runaway kids looking out for each other. Roxy had never heard of such a thing. He further explained that each member held a job and when they got paid, they gave a little to the group treasury. There was also a code of trust. None of the other members stole from one another. If they did, they were kicked out.

Link stopped before an abandoned building and Roxy looked at him confused. "This is it?"

"Yep." Link opened the door and Roxy was astonished to find the building had power and heat. "One of guys here hooked us up to the power grid, the gas main and the phone line. It's all free until the Man catches on. Come on in, everyone should be here." Roxy followed Link and looked around in amazement. She'd only seen half of the things in there on television, the other she couldn't imagine. Link cleared his throat noisily and got everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, we have a new potential member. I'll let her introduce herself."

Roxy stood before the group of runaways where she softly cleared her throat. "Um, hi. My name is Roxanne Pelligrini, but everyone calls me Roxy." The group of runaways all greeted her at once. For the first time since she could remember Roxy was happy and felt she might be part of a real family.

Link slapped Roxy on the back. "Welcome to the Red Aces." Roxy smiled proudly and let out a joyous giggle.

TO BE CONTINUED IN "THE PIECES FALL IN PLACE"

PART 3 OF CHILDHOOD MEMORIES