Water Fountain

Chapter 22 - The Eighth Grade Table

It was Saturday, May 27th. Gus Blue sat quietly at Halson Park in downtown. In the aftermath of the prom, a surprisingly small number of events had occurred at Freedom Miller High School. Although Gus was more popular now, he felt a sense of regret. Gus felt more lonely after the deaths of his parents. Even with Vinny trying to carry Gus out of this despair, Gus had the feeling that Vinny was manipulating him.

Gus told Vinny and Cynthia that he was going to be with some friends for a while. While this was true, Gus didn't tell them that he took the most dangerous subway line in the entire city.

While Gus was sitting on a bench, a short and slim teenager came walking up to him.

"Hey Gus, I don't know why you wanted to meet here. We should probably talk somewhere else a little bit more private," the teenager said.

"I just want to talk about reuniting the group, Ralph," replied Gus.

"You know, there is an old place nearby. I'm guessing you remember the old Liberty Station, correct?" asked Ralph. "I can call them to meet there at 12:00 PM. That gives you five hours to buy whatever you need. You know, get some microwave burritos. Or even better, weed."

"I wish you guys were high, but where the hell am I supposed to get some pot," said Gus.

"What about the guy that spiked the punch during the dance? Didn't he call himself WT?" asked Ralph.

"Wilfred Tuco. I don't know where he deals his drugs. But he has everything. From weed, to coke, to crank. He might give us a bit, for a heavy price of course," said Gus.

"Alright then. I'm just going to contact everybody," replied Ralph.

"Everyone? That's like twenty people. You have to be out of your mind. I will buy as much as I can, but there probably will be no weed," said Gus.

"Well, it used to be eleven, but a lot of them go to different schools and a couple of them moved away this year. Now, it is only eight people. Including me and you. If you are back in the game, we might have to start from scratch. But remember, meet me at the Liberty Station at midnight. And I know that you know how to get in," said Ralph, leaving the park.

Gus Blue walked away from the park and to a nearby ATM machine. He took $1000 out of his bank account and turned it into bills. If he was going to buy weed, then he needed money.

Gus then walked into a nearby convenience store and picked out bags of chips, two liter bottles of soda, and some sandwiches. He also grabbed lanterns and blankets.

While Gus was walking out of the store, he saw someone smoking something. If this was weed, then Gus could get a hold of some.

Gus investigated the alleyway and noticed that the man smoking weed was not a man, but instead a teenager. Not just any teenager, but Braiden Clark, the nephew of former mayor Thomas Clark.

"Hey, what are you smoking?" asked Gus.

Braiden didn't answer. He dropped the cigarette and stomped on it.

"Look, I want to get my hands on some pot, okay," said Gus.

"Are you a cop?" asked Braiden.

"What, no. Do you know me? I am Gus Blue. I have seen you in the halls of Freedom Miller High School. We don't have any classes together, but I think you were with Aaliyah during prom," responded Gus.

"It's Braiden. And this weed isn't for sale," replied Braiden.

"So you were smoking pot. From the little I saw from you, you don't seem like one of those drug addicted nine year olds. You actually seem like one of the one percent of students at Freedom Miller that is actually fine," said Gus.