Behind The Mask

Chapter 2: A Gang Of four

I still suspect Uncle Joe though. He looked scared when I spoke to him about Dad. But why will Uncle Joe do such a thing, he's so nice and kind but it doesn't change the fact that I suspect him. Not only him, I suspect everyone around me. Well, let me get back to preparing for school. I look at the time and think to my self that that is bad. I'm late. I rush to the bathroom, brush my teeth, come back to the room, get my clothes and sprint in the bath. I open the tap and boiling water hits straight to my face, and that is when I panic. I run in circles around the shower and quickly I open the cold water. What a relief!
I come out of the bath, quickly put my clothes on and there I was, dressed up nicely for school. I brush my hair, grab my school bag and run to the car where Mom is waiting for me,hooting like an elephant. I sit nicely in the back seat of the car. Both of us remain quiet for a while.

"Mom," I speak, "I had a dream about Dad today."
"Uncle Joe told me about it. Listen Sam, your Dad was a nice person, one of the best, no-one will want to kill him."
"That is what I'm trying to tell you, he had a nice life, he won't kill himself."
"Sam," Mom says, "I want to tell you something... oh, school is here, bye."
"Aaah come on!"

I now step of the car and stop for a second. I turn my head looking at Mom driving away. What was Mom talking about? I still wonder. "Hey, Sam," my good old friend, Kyle, shouts from one end of the ground to the other, "So many days of the holidays went by and I didn't see you."
"Yup, everyday was a long day."
"Why do you look so worried bro?"
"You know,"I said, "I had a      weird dream last night... I think  it means something and I have a feeling that Mom and Uncle Joe knows something about this."
"Seriously," ohhh it's Samantha, "what kind of a nightmare was that?"
Samantha, Kyle and I are The Gang Of Three. We sound like the most popular but trust me we aren't, we one of the least popular.
"Peep...peep."
"A Lamborghini," Kyle ask, "who is this dude?"
"Looks like a new person, must be tall, fit and good looking."
He steps off the car with one foot that's Nike branded he comes out completely.
"Hahahahahahahaaa,"the whole school laughs.
Seriously. A short, fat and nerdy boy. The school is not doing a right thing by laughing at him.
"GUYS QUIT LAUGHING AT HIM." I shout.
"Only you will say that, hahahaaa," now the whole school is laughing at me, great job Sam. They aren't stopping laughing at me. Here comes the principle. I sigh.

"Thanks for taking my back there," the plump boy comes to me, "what's your name?"
"Sam, and this is Samantha and Kyle. What's your name?" He sounds foreign. Probably from Rassia.
"My name, Jeff, pleased to meat you."
Looks like we are now a gang of four.
"What do you do Jeff?" Samantha asks.
"I do software and computer engineering, I know I learnt it from Duddy. So far, what do you guys do"
"Let me tell you something about Sam, his father committed suicide...and he thinks it means something," Kyle spoke.
"What Kyle said about me is true, and my mission is to find out what's Behind The Mask."
"Are you sure, that he was killed, because it was just a dream." Looks like Jeff doesn't believe me.

The bell suddenly rings blasting my ears and I just realize that I didn't do my holiday assignment, the teacher won't mind probably.

"Sam, this is the third term and you're always not doing your holiday assignments, you know what, that's it, go to the principles office now."
"But Mrs. Kate do I have to, come on give me another chance, please? "
"NO! "
I start walking slowly out of the class with Mrs. Kate clearly disappointed with me. There I am, walking through the corridors step by step, not realizing what's in frount of me when I bump into three boys from the twelfth grade, all one year elder than me, all from Mexico.

"Watch where you walking little chiwawah."
"Alberto."
"Look who we got here, the little chiwawah called, Sam."
"Hahahaaa."
"It's not funny Carlos and Carlito."
"Get out my face before we really treat you like a little chiwawah."
"Okay Alberto, I'm going okay."
"Good little chicken."
I hate Alberto, Carlos and Carlito, they act like the bosses of the school and all the time they threaten me, they don't hurt me though.
Finally I reach the principles office. I knock slowly on the door with fear hoping he won't suspend me.
"Come in."
I slowly open the door and I look all around his office.  Right in front of me was a chair with him sitting backwards. I couldn't see his face and his voice was weird.
"Who's it?"
"It's Sam, sir, Mrs. Kate sent me here because I didn't do my holiday assignment."
"Not again. Sam, today I'm sick so I'm not in the mood of shouting or suspending. Let me tell you something, be like your father,  nice, kind and always happy, and I can't believe that he ... committed .... suicide." He whispers the last part.
"Even I don't believe that."
"Your father was a great man."
"Wait a minute, you knew Dad?"
"Yes I knew him like a brother."
"Tell me more about him?"
"Not now, I'm busy, I need to go do alot of work. You may leave."

I'm slowly walking out of the office thinking about what he knows about Dad. I hear the buzzer ring for break in my ear whilst walking through the corridors . From the back Jeff pops in, "hey Sam, where are you going?"
"To the cafeteria area by Kyle and Samantha. He joins me.  I reach the cafeteria with Jeff and tell them about principle Lerrey. What is behind the mask? I remain wondering in suspense.