Tuesday, May 15 2015
The bell reverberated through the halls as Mrs. Pat dismissed us. On my way out, I bump into Jessica and Keisha.
Jessica grins, "Good morning, Kevin."
I smirk. "So far it is, good morning Jess."
Keisha bumps my shoulder with hers. "hows our survivor feeling today?"
Jessica's brow furrowed. "Survivor?"
I shake my head, "It's the name of the band that sang 'Eye of the tiger".
Jessica laughed, then punched my arm, "You were the star of the show, hotshot."
I smile, "It felt good dropping Wade on his ass, for once."
Keisha cackled, "That's the Kevin I know, ya been real silent since-
"GUYS!"
We all turn back to see Marcus right behind us, waddling quickly(or was he trying to sprint?). In his right hand was a donut pillow, clearly for his behind after the horrific takedown yesterday. He was panting hard like he just finished a marathon.
"Stan.. lee." He barely gets out.
"What? Spit it out, big guy, what about Stanlee?" Keisha demanded.
"At the end of the third Hour he got pushed down the spiral staircase steps and then got jumped and stomped by Wade, Carlos, and Manuel."
My face darkened. Pushing him down the steps would've been enough to send a message, but no, these aren't people with any sympathy or empathy in their hearts. They glorify violence.
Jessica gasped, "Where is he?!"
"Downstairs, the twins brought him to Mrs.Browns infirmary."
I wasted no time after that. I zoomed down the steps as my thoughts bounced around in my head like a rubber ball. Why were they making a move now? Why Stanlee?
My heartbeat thudded in my ears as I made it downstairs. Each breath made each pound harder, weirdly enough. I turn to my right and open the infirmary doors.
Mrs.Brown looked up at my entrance, and her face saddened as she shook her head and pointed to the third bed over with the curtains covered.
A lump hit my throat; the curtains were never a good sign. A part of me almost wanted to turn around and wait till after the 4th hour to check in with him. But I willed myself to go check on my friend's well-being.
I walked over and tapped three times on the curtain.
"Kevin, is that you?" Stanlee asked, his voice sounded hoarse and defeated.
"Yeah, bro its me, the legend himself."
"I'm fine, bro, don't worry about me."
"You are not fine."
"I fell down some steps, that's all."
The infirmary door swung open, and Keisha entered, sweating and breathing hard through her nostrils. Jessica and Marcus entered behind her.
Keisha sees me and beelines straight toward me, and rips open the curtain.
Keisha covered her mouth with both hands. Her eyes widened in pure terror, "Oh my god..."
The sight of Stanlee's face was horrifying. He had two dark purple lumps under his eyes and scratches and bruises all over his upper body and face. His tank top was stained with blood. His black hoodie lay on the floor, covered in dusty footprints. His right ankle was wrapped with a makeshift cast. His round glasses were bent and crushed, sitting defeated on the bedside table.
Stanlee sighed, "A man can't rest in peace and recover from his wounds."
Just then, the infirmary door opens, and the twins come through. Connor carried Stanlee's backpack, while Barry had all his homework from his other classes later in the schedule(I could see our chemistry and electronics final terminology reviews and guidelines).
They walk over to Stanlee and plop them on his bedside table. Then stood over by Marcus.
Keisha glared at them," Where were you three when he was getting jumped?"
"Whoa, easy," Barry said, his hands up in surrender. "We had just gotten out of the bathroom, and as we were heading towards the steps, there he was, lying there a bloody mess."
"Yeah we just got here, why else would we be on the first floor." Connor said.
Keisha turned her glare towards Marcus." Marcus, you saw all of this happening by yourself, and you chose to watch?!"
"What could I have done?!" Marcus bellowed, "I'm nothing more than a dumb, fat teenager with a broken ass."
He started to tear up, "I'm not brave like you, Stanlee, Jason, or Kevin."
"That's enough, guys," Jessica said and hugged Marcus. "We're tearing each other apart; that's exactly what Wade and his group of wannabes want."
I nodded, "Yeah, we need to focus on the source. Stanlee, who pushed you down the steps?"
His glance dropped, and silence filled the room.
Keisha gripped his hand, "It's okay, Stan, we're all here with you."
The bond Keisha and Stanlee had was so endearing, though they pissed each other off all the time with pranks, bumps, and even gaslighting. No one could ever doubt the way the two cared for each other. It's times like these where we get to see the soft side of Keisha and not the angry, crash-out Keisha.
Stanlee took a deep breath, "Promise me you guys won't go and try to exact revenge on them."
Keisha's eyes narrowed. "Like hell we will."
"Stanlee, you're one of us. What type of friends would we be if we didn't try to avenge you?" I said. "Remember what you said: 'We're one team, one wall.'"
Stanlee cupped his hands to his face and sighed. "All I was doing was heading to the office because the principal wanted to talk to me, and as I was going down one step..."
Stanlee trembled, "That's when he put me in a chokehold. I tried to break free, but his grip wouldn't budge. I almost passed out. That's when he pushed me down the flight of steps."
My heartbeat started racing again. All my worst memories ran through my head like a film being rewinded.
Stanlee met my gaze, "There's only one person with a skull dragon tattoo on his left arm."
"Jackal Thompson" Stanlee and I said in unison.
The bell gonged as the whole room fell into shocked expressions. The lighting flickered at a high rate. Wades last words to me in the lunchroom yesterday ringed in my head.
"Enjoy this victory while you can, Kevin, 'cause tomorrow Jack and I are bringing the pain ."
The bell kept ringing, except this time it didn't sound like class.