Animalistic | h.s

2008: 2

A P R I L 13, 2008

"Jasper!"

I saw Luke riding his bike and he stopped at the front yard. I was at the front porch waiting for my mother to come back from Church. Dad wasn't at home and I had no idea where he was. I stood up from the carpet and ran toward him.

"Hey,"

"Want to go for a ride with me?"

"I'm grounded."

"It'll be fast," he encouraged and I brought my bike. I wheeled next to him on the small sidewalk. It was uncomfortable. "Why are you grounded?"

"These big guys were making fun of me and they were going to choke me, and when I took out a knife I stole from the lunch lady, a nun saw me and now I'm in trouble." I explained, "I only had it to protect myself. I wasn't planning on killing anybody. Now my dad thinks I'm crazy and I'll probably get expelled."

"Harsh," he said. "My mother said she's going to move me into another school next year. I heard I'll be going to your catholic school because I'm not doing well in public school."

"It's like a prison, so believe me you won't have fun when there are nuns everywhere."

"But I'm going to be with my best mate, I'm going to start thinking of ideas to prank them together. What do you say?"

"Okay." I stopped. "I have to show you something."

"What?" He stopped in front of me. I took the cigars from my pocket and showed him. "What are those?"

"Cigarettes, obviously," I said. "Want one?"

"Who gave you that?"

"Some guy around sixteen or seventeen, I don't know." I shrugged. "He looked cool and I want to smoke too."

"Give me one." He said, grasping one from my hand. "What do I do with it?"

"You don't know?"

"No."

"It's easy. I'll show you." I took out a lighter I stole from my dad and lighted them up exactly like H did. This time I succeeded smoking most of it and Luke was handling it in his own way. He couldn't stop coughing, but he didn't stop sucking.

We continued to ride our bikes as we smoked.

"Do you have more?"

"I have one left."

"Can I have it?"

"No."

"You should get more."

"Why?"

"For me, and for our other friends. You can even sell them."

That was a great idea. There was a red bike I wanted to have for my birthday and my father already told me he wasn't going to buy it for me.

"Then let's see if I can find H. He has to have more."

We stopped exactly where I saw him on Friday. We had thrown our cigars away before adults could see us. We waited by the light post, but there were no sign of them. I only saw the mean boys from the school and I didn't want them to see me.

"Oh no, there they are."

"Who?"

And I told him, gesturing him to follow me to somewhere to hide. It was behind an abandoned building which had a stinky dumpster. In no time, we heard voices and I got off my bike, following what I heard.

"Where are you going?"

"I hear people." I said.

We entered the building, there were men drinking beers, half-naked women dancing and a lot of fighting. The smell that filled the place were making me feel dizzy and Luke behind me told me we should get going, but then I thought I spotted H.

"Well, what do we have here?" A big man stepped in front of us. "Some beautiful boys."

I had a bad feeling about him.

"I want to speak to H. He gave me cigarettes and I want more." I gestured my friend. "We want more."

"H isn't feeling very well, why don't you go back home? How did you find this place?"

"What's wrong with him?" I tilted my head to see H resting his head over a table, eyes closed (maybe passed out) and holding a bottle.

He smiled, "Nothing to worry about." He knelt in front of me. I told him my school address so he could deliver it to H, therefore he could bring me more cigarettes. He touched my hair and I pulled away from him, shuddering. Ugly old man.

"Desmond," someone said and he responded with a look. His name was Desmond. "We have a problem."

"And what's that?" He stood up, and began to pet Luke's head. He widened his blue eyes.

"There was an incident in a laboratory and the police found Normando's fingerprints and they caught him. He spoke and said there were more men involved. Men as in... from our Mafia. Do you have something to do with it? Did your son? Do you know who?"

Luke and I looked at each other.

A P R I L 14, 2008

After the meeting, my parents left the school and I was on a warning. One more mistake and I could've been expelled. I was in the classroom, knee bouncing in desperation. I needed another cigar and the last one I gave it to Luke for money.

After class I went to my dorm, but then I heard the telephone ring in the hallway. Those calls were mostly parents calling their kids and I picked it up just in case it was my mother about to tell me what they talked about in the reunion.

"Hello, this is Jasper."

"The kid wants cigarettes, eh?"

Didn't matter how he got the number, but I told him my dorm number and he aced coming all the way there without being caught. My roommate wasn't here and he could be coming back soon.

"Who do you think you are?" H asked with his voice raised up high.

"What?"

"I won't be your dealer, you're a kid." He motioned his hands at me to look at myself and be embarrassed. But I wasn't bothered.

"I want more of those, I want to sell them. I want a bike."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"My father won't buy me a bike and I want to buy it myself."

H stared at me for a moment, "Poor you. A fucking bike."

"And I want to be rich and crush my enemies."

"Enemies? As in monsters under your bed? Listen, kid, I'm sorry for giving you cigars and I don't remember what happened that day. There's a blank space in my head and I don't even remember meeting you, so stay away from me, from the place you went yesterday. It's dangerous. So forget you met me."

"I will scream if you won't give me what I want." I balled my fists.

He took a gun out and pointed at me, "Do I have to repeat myself?"

I automatically raised my hands.

"No sir, no sir." I said.

"Good, close your eyes."

I did.

And I felt pain in my head and heard a scream that it could've been my own and then everything went black.