3:25 PM Monday September 17, 1990
Where are we going, Mommy?” asked Isabel. She didn’t recall ever coming to this part of Roswell before.
“Well dear, your teachers told me such good things about you and Max, I thought a little treat was in order. I thought I’d take us to a restaurant and get ice cream for both of you.”
Isabel liked ice cream…but her mother had to know better than this. It would be no treat for Max…he hated being in public places..surrounded by strangers. “Maybe we should just go home,” Isabel suggested. “I think we have ice cream in the freezer.”
“We can’t do that dear…they are expecting us.”
The restaurant was in a brick building..they were just putting up a new sign…it said Crashdown. Isabel stared at it doubtfully, holding her brother’s hand. But when her mother walked in..they really had no choice. She hoped Max wouldn’t get too upset…being around so many strangers in a new place…but she needn’t have worried.
“Hi, Max…,” said Liz…wearing deely-boppers with ping pong balls on them and sitting on the floor by the wall of the restaurant…painting a figure of an alien with big eyes walking away from a crashed flying saucer. “Mommy said she invited your mother over for pie and ice cream. Do you want to help me decorate?”
Isabel shook her head as she watched Max smile shyly and say, “I’m not very good at drawing...but it does look like fun. I guess I can try.”
‘This can't be happening....,’ she thought to herself as her brother picked up a brush and started helping Liz while her mother sat in a booth with Nancy Parker and shared a pot of tea. In total disbelief she sat down in the booth next to the wall where Max and Liz were painting.
“It was my daddy’s idea,” said Liz. “Here he comes now..”
“Well hello kids,” said Jeff Parker, bringing a tray over to them with three pieces of Men in Blackberry pie with ice cream to them. He looked smilingly at them, particularly at Max. “So this is the young man who scared that terrible dog away from my princess? Well Max, I don’t know how we’ll ever thank you enough for that. And you must be Isabel? Well welcome to the Crashdown Café.”
Isabel looked wide-eyed at the painted illustrations of crashed flying saucers and aliens on the walls. Jeff smiled.
“It’s about the tourists….so many of them come here because of the history of the 1947 crash of that weather balloon….or flying saucer, if you are a true believer. Anyway, we hope to attract more of that crowd by being a theme restaurant…at least around Crash Festival time.”
Max was normally quite shy with strangers…but the man was nice…and Liz seemed so comfortable with him.
“They don’t look like that..” Max said, “…the people from the saucer…” He might have said even more..had his sister not kicked his shin under the table.
As he went wide-eyed with pain, Isabel tried to distract Liz and Jeff by saying, “I suppose no one will ever really know what they looked like…or even if it really was a weather balloon.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure it was a weather balloon…but the tourists don’t need to know that..,” said Jeff as he turned to the other booth and put pie in front of Nancy and Diane.
“Dear, this is Diane…Max and Isabel’s mother.”
“I’m so glad to meet you Mrs. Evans. It appears this family is indebted to your son there.”
“Well, it appears we are indebted to Liz. She’s really made a difference with Max…he’s normally so shy…I’m not sure he would have fit in to school at all without her helping him.”
While the three adults continued to exchange pleasantries, Isabel saw Max reach down to his bruised shin and rub it. There was the smallest of golden glows from his hand as he did so. Isabel’s eyes widened….and she kicked his other shin.
“Uh, Liz…I’m really kind of thirsty. Do you think you could get me a glass of water?”
“Oh…sure Isabel. Do you want one too Max?”
Max looked up from rubbing his other shin, smiled and nodded yes. He briefly considered kicking Isabel back...but his father had pretty well drilled it into his head that boys NEVER hurt girls...not even in self defense.
As soon as Liz was gone, Isabel was whispering to him.
“Max…you can’t talk about aliens….you can’t use your powers around her. She can’t ever know, Max. If you are going to have her as a friend…well..you can’t get too close., do you understand.?”
It wasn’t that Isabel didn’t like Liz…Liz had been surprisingly good for Max. For most of their first year Max had wanted only to go ‘home.’ Despite his mother’s efforts with the toy house, Max had persisted…first viewing ‘home’ as the pod chamber…then as he came to understand the significance of the pods…and the 1947 crash, he’d wanted to go ‘home’ to wherever the ship had come from. But as he’d read about astronomy….about astrophysics…about just how difficult intrastellar travel would be, he’d come to accept that there really would never be a going home, and the depression that had caused in him had frightened Isabel…frightened her rather badly. It seemed like only his friendship with Liz seemed to give the purpose to Max’s life…the enjoyment to it…that had left once Max decided he could never really get home. So Isabel hadn’t tried to discourage him…just monitored his dreams…and more recently hers.
Liz’s dreams were just the normal dreams of a third grade girl. Max was a friend..not even as close to her as Maria or Alex really. And in her dreams she had not the least inkling he was an alien.
Max’s dreams were a little more problematic. He seemed to have trouble in his enthusiasm for his new friend, in remembering he had a secret to keep. Maybe he was just too comfortable with her…or too excited. But in the dreams sometimes he would just casually use his powers or say things that…if he said them in real life, would give him away.
“I didn’t mean anything…only that the drawing was wrong… You didn’t have to kick me…..”
“I’m sorry,…but Max…you can’t give people any idea that we aren’t …like them. If you do, Liz won’t be your friend…nobody will be your friend…even Mom and Dad might not like us anymore. You have to give me your word, Max…a sacred vow…that you’ll never let her know..never use your powers around anyone…not even Liz.”
“OK…”
It was the first time that Max had ever really felt comfortable eating in public…surrounded by strangers. As he looked out the window of the minivan as they drove by the Crashdown he saw her through the window…waving, smiling…her deely-boppers bouncing up and down. He waved back. He didn't like lying to Liz...but she'd never be his friend if he didn't.....
Falling (AU, M/L Teen) Complete
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Hunter, Island Breeze, Forum Moderators
10:03 PM Monterrey Elementary School playground, Roswell New Mexico
Liz Parker felt cold fear in her stomach…and knew that this had gone terribly wrong…she just didn’t know how or why.
The ‘how’ was in fact rather easy. All she’d really wanted to do was get Max to come out into the play yard and enjoy recess…and that had seemed a rather easy thing to do. But it had taken three weeks to convince him. Normally he stayed in the classroom, so he didn’t have to be around strangers…kids he didn’t know. He’d even go back to the classroom…or to the library…immediately after eating lunch. But she had wanted him to find out how much fun it could be…to play with the other kids…to meet Maria, Alex, …all the other people she knew that he did not. But it had gone disastrously bad.
The ‘how’ it had gone bad was deceptively simple.
The first problem was Missy Hargreaves, a fourth-grader that Liz barely knew. She’d gone directly to the parallel bars and made it precisely halfway across before her right hand had slipped..and if the other left hand had slipped immediately, probably nothing more would have happened but a hard landing in the gravel pit below. But the grip of the left hand had held… long enough for her to pendulum backwards and almost fully forward before it had finally come loose. That left her left hand above her head…her feet well forward of her center of gravity..and a right hand that was already coming down and back behind her as as she fell. The feet hit first..but only just…before the right arm behind her hit the ground. The forearm gave with a sickening crunch and Missy’s crying and the shouts of her playmates brought Mrs. Adamsly…the teacher on playground duty…to her side. That was two minutes ago, and right now Mrs. Adamsly was immobilizing Missy’s arm as she helped the young girl into the nurses office…leaving the playground without any adult supervision whatever.
The second problem was Billy Souto. Billy was a sixth grader…for the second time… He was not only the oldest kid in the school, he was by far the biggest. Next year he would be in Poco Mesa High School…only a year behind his age-group. The year after that he’d be attending school in the youth correctional facility in Bernalillo after an armed robbery at a gas station…but today he was just doing petty crime…like he’d done many times before…jacking up younger kids for their lunch money, and the absence of Mrs. Adamsly was simply an opportunity for him to do a little business.
The third problem in this scenario was Mrs. Gates. Mrs. Gates tended to lose track of time and it wasn’t uncommon for her third grade class to be as much as five minutes late getting to recess…just because Mrs. Gates would get well behind in the early part of her lesson plan and feel the need to catch up…even after the bell had rung. Normally at recess Liz had Maria and Alex…Billy was a bully, but like most such bullies he was actually somewhat of a coward. He wouldn’t challenge three kids at one time…even if they were considerably smaller than he was. Also, Kyle Valenti was in Mrs. Gates class. It wasn’t like Billy didn’t think he could beat up Kyle Valenti…he knew he could…but beating up the son of a deputy sheriff wasn’t a smart thing to do. Although Billy would never be mistaken for Albert Einstein, he wasn’t totally stupid.
But those factors were how it happened…how Liz Parker found herself and Max in an isolated part of the play yard with nobody much around them but Billy Souto who wanted their lunch money, but more than that..just wanted to hassle the new kid…the geek who never came out onto the playground.
“So you’re the geek-freak who spends all his time in the libary..” screamed Billy, who could not only not spell library..but couldn’t even pronounce it.
Max didn’t understand why the large boy shoved him…he wondered what he’d done wrong…what rule he’d broken. This was why he hadn’t wanted to come out here…he didn’t belong…he didn’t understand…and he didn’t want to be here. Max gave ground…just looking for some way by the large boy…a chance to get back to the library…or the classroom.
“Where do you think you’re going, buttwipe?” asked Billy, shoving him against the brick wall of the school building.
Max didn’t understand…didn’t want trouble…just wanted to cloak himself once more in the mantle of anonymity…lose himself in the back of the library..or in quiet reading at his desk.
When the boy pushed Max the third time…his body hitting hard against the brick wall…it was more than Liz could stand. “Leave him alone…he’s not hurting you.”
“Shut up, Parker…this is between this geek and me…right Evans?”
Max didn’t know what to say exactly…so he just looked at the boy.
“When I ask you a question….you answer, dipshit..” Billy said, slamming Max hard against the wall.
Liz saw the uncertainty in Max’s eyes. He didn’t know how to handle this…hadn’t wanted to come out here at all. This was all her fault, she knew. She grabbed Max’s hand, “Come on, Max. We’re going to go tell Mrs. Hotstetter.”
“You’re not going to tell anybody,” said Billy, as he grabbed her arm and slammed her back against the wall…blocking her path to the school entrance.
Isabel had been sitting in class, shaking her head. They should have been at recess five minutes ago, and the woman was rattling on about a mathematics assignment that was so easy anyone in class could do it without another word form the teacher. But her blood ran cold as she felt the power start to grow. You accumulated power before you powerblasted, and if you were close, you could sense it when someone tapped the power. She had felt the accumulation that day when Max had tripped Liz as the dog was chasing her…but that had been nothing compared to this. Max was accumulating power…enough power to crush rocks…enough power to kill someone. Way too much power for him to use it unnoticed. She had to get to him….get him to stop, before he did something that couldn’t be concealed.
Isabel got three steps toward the door before Mrs. Gates said, “Miss Evans, where do you think YOU are going? The class has not yet been dismissed.”
“Uh…I need to use the girl’s room…bad.”
“You need to sit down. This lesson will be finished in two minutes. I’m sure you can put off doing whatever you need to do until them. There was a scattering of snickers from her classmates. Isabel set down..looking worriedly out the windows, hoping to spot Max.
Liz Parker felt cold fear in her stomach…and knew that this had gone terribly wrong…she just didn’t know how or why.
The ‘how’ was in fact rather easy. All she’d really wanted to do was get Max to come out into the play yard and enjoy recess…and that had seemed a rather easy thing to do. But it had taken three weeks to convince him. Normally he stayed in the classroom, so he didn’t have to be around strangers…kids he didn’t know. He’d even go back to the classroom…or to the library…immediately after eating lunch. But she had wanted him to find out how much fun it could be…to play with the other kids…to meet Maria, Alex, …all the other people she knew that he did not. But it had gone disastrously bad.
The ‘how’ it had gone bad was deceptively simple.
The first problem was Missy Hargreaves, a fourth-grader that Liz barely knew. She’d gone directly to the parallel bars and made it precisely halfway across before her right hand had slipped..and if the other left hand had slipped immediately, probably nothing more would have happened but a hard landing in the gravel pit below. But the grip of the left hand had held… long enough for her to pendulum backwards and almost fully forward before it had finally come loose. That left her left hand above her head…her feet well forward of her center of gravity..and a right hand that was already coming down and back behind her as as she fell. The feet hit first..but only just…before the right arm behind her hit the ground. The forearm gave with a sickening crunch and Missy’s crying and the shouts of her playmates brought Mrs. Adamsly…the teacher on playground duty…to her side. That was two minutes ago, and right now Mrs. Adamsly was immobilizing Missy’s arm as she helped the young girl into the nurses office…leaving the playground without any adult supervision whatever.
The second problem was Billy Souto. Billy was a sixth grader…for the second time… He was not only the oldest kid in the school, he was by far the biggest. Next year he would be in Poco Mesa High School…only a year behind his age-group. The year after that he’d be attending school in the youth correctional facility in Bernalillo after an armed robbery at a gas station…but today he was just doing petty crime…like he’d done many times before…jacking up younger kids for their lunch money, and the absence of Mrs. Adamsly was simply an opportunity for him to do a little business.
The third problem in this scenario was Mrs. Gates. Mrs. Gates tended to lose track of time and it wasn’t uncommon for her third grade class to be as much as five minutes late getting to recess…just because Mrs. Gates would get well behind in the early part of her lesson plan and feel the need to catch up…even after the bell had rung. Normally at recess Liz had Maria and Alex…Billy was a bully, but like most such bullies he was actually somewhat of a coward. He wouldn’t challenge three kids at one time…even if they were considerably smaller than he was. Also, Kyle Valenti was in Mrs. Gates class. It wasn’t like Billy didn’t think he could beat up Kyle Valenti…he knew he could…but beating up the son of a deputy sheriff wasn’t a smart thing to do. Although Billy would never be mistaken for Albert Einstein, he wasn’t totally stupid.
But those factors were how it happened…how Liz Parker found herself and Max in an isolated part of the play yard with nobody much around them but Billy Souto who wanted their lunch money, but more than that..just wanted to hassle the new kid…the geek who never came out onto the playground.
“So you’re the geek-freak who spends all his time in the libary..” screamed Billy, who could not only not spell library..but couldn’t even pronounce it.
Max didn’t understand why the large boy shoved him…he wondered what he’d done wrong…what rule he’d broken. This was why he hadn’t wanted to come out here…he didn’t belong…he didn’t understand…and he didn’t want to be here. Max gave ground…just looking for some way by the large boy…a chance to get back to the library…or the classroom.
“Where do you think you’re going, buttwipe?” asked Billy, shoving him against the brick wall of the school building.
Max didn’t understand…didn’t want trouble…just wanted to cloak himself once more in the mantle of anonymity…lose himself in the back of the library..or in quiet reading at his desk.
When the boy pushed Max the third time…his body hitting hard against the brick wall…it was more than Liz could stand. “Leave him alone…he’s not hurting you.”
“Shut up, Parker…this is between this geek and me…right Evans?”
Max didn’t know what to say exactly…so he just looked at the boy.
“When I ask you a question….you answer, dipshit..” Billy said, slamming Max hard against the wall.
Liz saw the uncertainty in Max’s eyes. He didn’t know how to handle this…hadn’t wanted to come out here at all. This was all her fault, she knew. She grabbed Max’s hand, “Come on, Max. We’re going to go tell Mrs. Hotstetter.”
“You’re not going to tell anybody,” said Billy, as he grabbed her arm and slammed her back against the wall…blocking her path to the school entrance.
Isabel had been sitting in class, shaking her head. They should have been at recess five minutes ago, and the woman was rattling on about a mathematics assignment that was so easy anyone in class could do it without another word form the teacher. But her blood ran cold as she felt the power start to grow. You accumulated power before you powerblasted, and if you were close, you could sense it when someone tapped the power. She had felt the accumulation that day when Max had tripped Liz as the dog was chasing her…but that had been nothing compared to this. Max was accumulating power…enough power to crush rocks…enough power to kill someone. Way too much power for him to use it unnoticed. She had to get to him….get him to stop, before he did something that couldn’t be concealed.
Isabel got three steps toward the door before Mrs. Gates said, “Miss Evans, where do you think YOU are going? The class has not yet been dismissed.”
“Uh…I need to use the girl’s room…bad.”
“You need to sit down. This lesson will be finished in two minutes. I’m sure you can put off doing whatever you need to do until them. There was a scattering of snickers from her classmates. Isabel set down..looking worriedly out the windows, hoping to spot Max.
There is a problem associated with being the school bully…you are always outnumbered. You rule by fear and if even once you allow someone to avoid you…someone to defy you…well then others get the same idea. Billy really thought that he would be able to scare Liz Parker, and when she defied him it put him in an awkward position. He had to stop it…had to teach her a lesson quickly, before the schoolyard revolt spread. But it was easy enough to do….easy that is if you were a budding sociopath like Billy who outweighed her almost two to one.. As she tried to pull the geek past him, he shoved her back against the brick wall. He watched her eyes…disappointed to see no fear…no change in her determination. But he could fix that…his right fist slammed out…catching her in the lower abdomen…knocking the air from her with an audible ‘whuff.’
Max watched the determination in Liz’s eyes as she grabbed his hand and tried to pull him toward the school entrance…and safety...but as he saw Billy slam her back against the brick wall…as he saw Billy’s fist slam into her lower abdomen..for the very first time in his all too-short life, Max Evans felt rage. This was wrong…terribly wrong. Even by human terms it was wrong…his father had told him…you never hit girls…not even in self defense. He felt the power grow in him unbidden as the rage called it…knew he could destroy this monster who had hurt his friend…but remembered what Isabel had said…a sacred vow. He couldn’t use his power…but he couldn’t allow this to continue…couldn’t allow what Billy had done to Liz to stand. He wanted to use his power to take the pain away from her…but he couldn’t do that either…but he could stop Billy from causing her further harm…that much he could do.
As Liz went down to the asphalt after the punch in the abdomen, Billy was still threatening, smiling cruelly at the gasping girl. “You even try to tell one of the teachers, Parker, and this will happen every day. To you..and to this gee…” and that’s as far as that sentence got.
Most elementary school fights are about dominance….about will power. Usually neither participant is either strong enough or skillful enough to inflict severe damage but even if they were, generally the fight ends long before that, because neither side wants to endure much pain or risk the likelihood of the consequences when the fight comes to the attention of the teachers. In fact, most elementary school fights are shoving matches, perhaps with a handful of poorly skilled punches thrown before one side or the other decides to yield. But Max knew nothing of that..had never really seen a fight…except for one. And it had been an all out attack, ending quickly.
Max went in under the boy’s guard, as Lobo had attacked Jameson…not with his teeth..but with his left hand grabbing the larger boy’s throat…lifting him off his feet and slamming him to the asphalt. Max didn’t know how to throw a punch, but his right hand came down like a hammer on the boys nose…slamming again and again against the tender cartilage…determined to wipe the smile off the boys face…not stopping even as the blood began to fly…not even as the boy began to scream in pain.
Like most bullies, Billy was basically a coward. He was larger than Max and the small child’s attack was all offense..no defense. He got several good hits on the younger kid…but he just wouldn’t stop choking him...wouldn't stop pounding on his face. Eventually Billy stopped fighting altogether...just tried to cover his face...to pull Max's hand away from his throat…to scream for the teachers..hoping the blows would somehow stop coming.
To Billy it seemed like hours…but it was really only a minute later that the teacher got there…drawn by the crowd of students that had assembled to watch the fight.
Max was lost in his rage…stopping only when Mr. Lopez, the sixth grade teacher pulled him off Billy…perhaps not as quickly as he might have, and perhaps with more reluctance than Mr. Lopez would have liked to admit…for even he knew that Billy had had something like this coming for a long time.
Still, there was a no tolerance policy for school yard violence, even if it was suspected that Billy frequently broke it. A third grader sitting on Billy’s chest and pounding him until they were both blood spattered couldn’t exactly be ignored.
“Alright young man…that’s quite enough.” He grabbed Max with his left hand, pulling Billy to his feet with his right hand. “You are going to the principal’s office,” he said to Max. “You too,” he said to Billy, “…after the school nurse gets done patching you up.”
Mrs. Hotstetter’s class had let out finally, and most had witnessed the end of the fight. Isabel had been thankful that Max hadn’t used his powers. As Mr. Lopez walked them by the group from Mr. Hotstetter’s room, the two boys ..with Liz walking behind Max…going to explain just what happened, one of the boys stepped forward and called out, “Hey Evans…”
Max looked up at the new person challenging him…..everyone he knew called him Max…everyone but Billy Souto…he looked behind him at Liz…he wasn’t going to let anyone else hurt her…instinctively his palm went up toward the boy… and the boy slapped it lightly with his own, grinning as he said… “Way to go, Evans..”
“That’ll be quite enough from you, Valenti.” said Mr Lopez. "In fact, why don’t you accompany Mr. Evans here…you can keep him company as he waits for his parent to come get him…and your father to come get you. We don’t tolerate students being violent…or encouraging others to be violent at this school.”
“Aw heck, Mr. Lopez. Souto had it coming.”
Alberto Lopez tried not to smile. He knew the Souto kid had it coming…wished it had happened years ago, when it might have been enough to turn the kid around. But rules were rules…and the principal had hers...She would have to sort this out, and he had little doubt the fighting students would each get a three day suspension, and Kyle Valenti a one day suspension.
He was pretty sure from the scratches on Liz Parker’s arm where she’d been slammed in to the building just what had happened and Alberto Lopez’s father had told him many years ago…boys don’t hit girls. ‘Yeah….,’ he thought, ‘..Souto had it coming. Oh for the good old days….’
Max watched the determination in Liz’s eyes as she grabbed his hand and tried to pull him toward the school entrance…and safety...but as he saw Billy slam her back against the brick wall…as he saw Billy’s fist slam into her lower abdomen..for the very first time in his all too-short life, Max Evans felt rage. This was wrong…terribly wrong. Even by human terms it was wrong…his father had told him…you never hit girls…not even in self defense. He felt the power grow in him unbidden as the rage called it…knew he could destroy this monster who had hurt his friend…but remembered what Isabel had said…a sacred vow. He couldn’t use his power…but he couldn’t allow this to continue…couldn’t allow what Billy had done to Liz to stand. He wanted to use his power to take the pain away from her…but he couldn’t do that either…but he could stop Billy from causing her further harm…that much he could do.
As Liz went down to the asphalt after the punch in the abdomen, Billy was still threatening, smiling cruelly at the gasping girl. “You even try to tell one of the teachers, Parker, and this will happen every day. To you..and to this gee…” and that’s as far as that sentence got.
Most elementary school fights are about dominance….about will power. Usually neither participant is either strong enough or skillful enough to inflict severe damage but even if they were, generally the fight ends long before that, because neither side wants to endure much pain or risk the likelihood of the consequences when the fight comes to the attention of the teachers. In fact, most elementary school fights are shoving matches, perhaps with a handful of poorly skilled punches thrown before one side or the other decides to yield. But Max knew nothing of that..had never really seen a fight…except for one. And it had been an all out attack, ending quickly.
Max went in under the boy’s guard, as Lobo had attacked Jameson…not with his teeth..but with his left hand grabbing the larger boy’s throat…lifting him off his feet and slamming him to the asphalt. Max didn’t know how to throw a punch, but his right hand came down like a hammer on the boys nose…slamming again and again against the tender cartilage…determined to wipe the smile off the boys face…not stopping even as the blood began to fly…not even as the boy began to scream in pain.
Like most bullies, Billy was basically a coward. He was larger than Max and the small child’s attack was all offense..no defense. He got several good hits on the younger kid…but he just wouldn’t stop choking him...wouldn't stop pounding on his face. Eventually Billy stopped fighting altogether...just tried to cover his face...to pull Max's hand away from his throat…to scream for the teachers..hoping the blows would somehow stop coming.
To Billy it seemed like hours…but it was really only a minute later that the teacher got there…drawn by the crowd of students that had assembled to watch the fight.
Max was lost in his rage…stopping only when Mr. Lopez, the sixth grade teacher pulled him off Billy…perhaps not as quickly as he might have, and perhaps with more reluctance than Mr. Lopez would have liked to admit…for even he knew that Billy had had something like this coming for a long time.
Still, there was a no tolerance policy for school yard violence, even if it was suspected that Billy frequently broke it. A third grader sitting on Billy’s chest and pounding him until they were both blood spattered couldn’t exactly be ignored.
“Alright young man…that’s quite enough.” He grabbed Max with his left hand, pulling Billy to his feet with his right hand. “You are going to the principal’s office,” he said to Max. “You too,” he said to Billy, “…after the school nurse gets done patching you up.”
Mrs. Hotstetter’s class had let out finally, and most had witnessed the end of the fight. Isabel had been thankful that Max hadn’t used his powers. As Mr. Lopez walked them by the group from Mr. Hotstetter’s room, the two boys ..with Liz walking behind Max…going to explain just what happened, one of the boys stepped forward and called out, “Hey Evans…”
Max looked up at the new person challenging him…..everyone he knew called him Max…everyone but Billy Souto…he looked behind him at Liz…he wasn’t going to let anyone else hurt her…instinctively his palm went up toward the boy… and the boy slapped it lightly with his own, grinning as he said… “Way to go, Evans..”
“That’ll be quite enough from you, Valenti.” said Mr Lopez. "In fact, why don’t you accompany Mr. Evans here…you can keep him company as he waits for his parent to come get him…and your father to come get you. We don’t tolerate students being violent…or encouraging others to be violent at this school.”
“Aw heck, Mr. Lopez. Souto had it coming.”
Alberto Lopez tried not to smile. He knew the Souto kid had it coming…wished it had happened years ago, when it might have been enough to turn the kid around. But rules were rules…and the principal had hers...She would have to sort this out, and he had little doubt the fighting students would each get a three day suspension, and Kyle Valenti a one day suspension.
He was pretty sure from the scratches on Liz Parker’s arm where she’d been slammed in to the building just what had happened and Alberto Lopez’s father had told him many years ago…boys don’t hit girls. ‘Yeah….,’ he thought, ‘..Souto had it coming. Oh for the good old days….’
Principal Mary Umbrage had waited for 12 years to become a principal…twelve years of putting up with the chauvinistic policies of a small-town school system, but for the last two years she was finally in a position where she could start to implement some of her ideas about how a school should be run. She was more than a little opinionated about the subject, and really didn’t want to argue with anyone today about the policies she’d put in place in the last two years..and certainly not with a third grader, not even the Perfect Miss Parker.
“Miss Parker, the anti-violence policy was reviewed at the assembly the first day at school. Max Evans broke the rules, and he’s going to be suyspended for it. That’s all there is to it.”
“But Billy Souto started it…he wouldn’t let Max get away.”
“Mr. Souto. also will be disciplined, but just because Mr. Evans was provoked…well that doesn’t justify him becoming violent now, does it?”
Liz looked at the woman like she had lobsters coming out her ears. “Yes. He hit me, too…”
“And see, you didn’t feel the need to resort to violence, did you?”
“But…but…but…”
“Which proves my point. Max didn’t HAVE to get in that fight. He could have walked away…just like you did.”
Liz was almost speechless. She had been able to walk away BECAUSE Max had Souto down on the ground beating on his nose…otherwise Souto would have kept terrorizing her.
“This….this just sucks…”
Mary Umbrage hadn’t made it this far to be told off by a third grader. “Alright, Miss Parker. Go back to your room and get your books, then come back to the bench outside and wait for your parent. You are suspended for the rest of the day.”
Liz Parker glared at the Principal, but knew better than to say more. As she passed by Max sitting next to Kyle on the bench outside, she smiled at him…and silently mouthed a thank-you.
Being a single parent was hard enough, Jim Valenti thought, without Kyle causing further trouble. The deputy saw his son sitting on the bench as he came in the office, and his frown was readily apparent as he went up to his son.
“So what’s the story, Kyle?” asked the deputy, surprised to see Max Evans sitting next to his son on the bench.
“I didn’t do anything, Dad,…except congratulate Evans here. He beat the shit out of Billy Souto.”
“Kyle…,” Jim said, the warning note clear in his voice.
“Sorry. He beat the crap out of Billy Souto.”
“That’s a little better…but you know you shouldn’t be encouraging fights Kyle…that’s part of the discipline plan they talked about at the first of the year.”
Jim Valenti actually thought that Principal Umbrage’s no tolerance policy for violence was a load of sh….well. crap anyway. No, he didn’t want guns or knives or serious violence on the school grounds, heck he was a cop. But he had learned some of his first lessons of life in the give and take of the playground…even in a few fights he’d had then. But he felt he needed to support Principal Umbrage…even if he didn’t totally agree with her.
“Well, as I’m sure Principal Umbrage will tell Max and his folks, there are other ways to deal with conflicts besides violence.”
“Souto punched Liz Parker, Dad…punched her in the gut. If I’d been there, I’d have helped Max kick Souto’s aaa……butt.”
That did indeed put a different light on it…although Jim thought it would make little difference to the principal.
“Come on Kyle,” he said. “Let’s get this over with."
He knocked on the door and entered the principal’s office. As he entered the office and went to the secretary, he nodded his head and spoke.
“Hi, I’m Jim Valenti..Kyle’s dad. I believe Principal Umbrage wants to see us.
The ‘discussion’ went pretty much as Jim had expected it to. There were no good excuses for violence or condoning violence, and Kyle would be suspended for one day…since it was his first offense and he did not actually strike anyone himself.
Jim brought up the fact that Souto had hit someone half his size…and a girl at that, drawing an icy stare from Principal Umbrage who couldn’t avoid remarking that condoning violence was still condoning violence and referring to Liz’s sex sounded vaguely…well…sexist, since it really shouldn’t matter whether the victim and perpetrator were male or female.
Kyle looked at Jim and Jim looked at Kyle, and the same thought passed between them. Maybe that didn’t matter to Principal Umbrage, but that wasn’t the way either of them had been brought up. But this was a battle they were going to lose, so there was little sense in fighting it.
“Come on, Kyle,..” Valenti said at last. “Get your books from your classroom, I’m taking you over to your aunt’s house.”
“Miss Parker, the anti-violence policy was reviewed at the assembly the first day at school. Max Evans broke the rules, and he’s going to be suyspended for it. That’s all there is to it.”
“But Billy Souto started it…he wouldn’t let Max get away.”
“Mr. Souto. also will be disciplined, but just because Mr. Evans was provoked…well that doesn’t justify him becoming violent now, does it?”
Liz looked at the woman like she had lobsters coming out her ears. “Yes. He hit me, too…”
“And see, you didn’t feel the need to resort to violence, did you?”
“But…but…but…”
“Which proves my point. Max didn’t HAVE to get in that fight. He could have walked away…just like you did.”
Liz was almost speechless. She had been able to walk away BECAUSE Max had Souto down on the ground beating on his nose…otherwise Souto would have kept terrorizing her.
“This….this just sucks…”
Mary Umbrage hadn’t made it this far to be told off by a third grader. “Alright, Miss Parker. Go back to your room and get your books, then come back to the bench outside and wait for your parent. You are suspended for the rest of the day.”
Liz Parker glared at the Principal, but knew better than to say more. As she passed by Max sitting next to Kyle on the bench outside, she smiled at him…and silently mouthed a thank-you.
Being a single parent was hard enough, Jim Valenti thought, without Kyle causing further trouble. The deputy saw his son sitting on the bench as he came in the office, and his frown was readily apparent as he went up to his son.
“So what’s the story, Kyle?” asked the deputy, surprised to see Max Evans sitting next to his son on the bench.
“I didn’t do anything, Dad,…except congratulate Evans here. He beat the shit out of Billy Souto.”
“Kyle…,” Jim said, the warning note clear in his voice.
“Sorry. He beat the crap out of Billy Souto.”
“That’s a little better…but you know you shouldn’t be encouraging fights Kyle…that’s part of the discipline plan they talked about at the first of the year.”
Jim Valenti actually thought that Principal Umbrage’s no tolerance policy for violence was a load of sh….well. crap anyway. No, he didn’t want guns or knives or serious violence on the school grounds, heck he was a cop. But he had learned some of his first lessons of life in the give and take of the playground…even in a few fights he’d had then. But he felt he needed to support Principal Umbrage…even if he didn’t totally agree with her.
“Well, as I’m sure Principal Umbrage will tell Max and his folks, there are other ways to deal with conflicts besides violence.”
“Souto punched Liz Parker, Dad…punched her in the gut. If I’d been there, I’d have helped Max kick Souto’s aaa……butt.”
That did indeed put a different light on it…although Jim thought it would make little difference to the principal.
“Come on Kyle,” he said. “Let’s get this over with."
He knocked on the door and entered the principal’s office. As he entered the office and went to the secretary, he nodded his head and spoke.
“Hi, I’m Jim Valenti..Kyle’s dad. I believe Principal Umbrage wants to see us.
The ‘discussion’ went pretty much as Jim had expected it to. There were no good excuses for violence or condoning violence, and Kyle would be suspended for one day…since it was his first offense and he did not actually strike anyone himself.
Jim brought up the fact that Souto had hit someone half his size…and a girl at that, drawing an icy stare from Principal Umbrage who couldn’t avoid remarking that condoning violence was still condoning violence and referring to Liz’s sex sounded vaguely…well…sexist, since it really shouldn’t matter whether the victim and perpetrator were male or female.
Kyle looked at Jim and Jim looked at Kyle, and the same thought passed between them. Maybe that didn’t matter to Principal Umbrage, but that wasn’t the way either of them had been brought up. But this was a battle they were going to lose, so there was little sense in fighting it.
“Come on, Kyle,..” Valenti said at last. “Get your books from your classroom, I’m taking you over to your aunt’s house.”
Mrs. Souto had first gone to the nurse’s office, to check on the health of her precious Billy. He’d explained to her how the new kid…that Max Evans ….had attacked him without warning. She had been incensed, not even thanking the nurse for his care, before bundling him up and going immediately to the Principal’s office to demand that something be done about the boy.
Mr. Lopez assures me that your son was also responsible for the fight,” said Principal Umbrage.
“Responsible for the fight…can’t you see that my son is the….the victim?” asked the woman.
“Well we have our policies, Mrs. Souto…” Principal Umbrage could see the woman was upset. In truth, she hadn’t much liked hearing that the two Evans children would be going to Monterrey elementary. She didn’t like kids like them…home-schooled. Who could tell what their mother had taught them? “…but perhaps we could make an exception in this case….only give your son a one-day suspension, rather than three like the Evans boy.”
“Well that would seem the least you can do…but what are you going to do about the Evans boy? How can I be sure that he won’t pick on my Billy anymore?”
“I assure you, he will be closely watched. If he ever does anything like this again…anything at all…he’ll get much worse than a three day suspension.”
It was a frightened Diane Evans who came rapidly up the sidewalk into the school administrative offices answering a call that her son was in the office..and in trouble. When she saw her son sitting on the bench…his shirt obviously bloodied, she almost ran to him. “Max…what happened?”
“I got in a fight …”
“Well are you OK? Are you still bleeding?”
A passing fifth grader looked at her and smiled. “That isn’t his blood, lady, …it’s Billy Souto’s. Evans beat the snot out of him.”
“Max!?”
Principal Umbrage came out of her office. “Oh yes, Mrs. Evans. Please bring your son in and let’s talk.” Mary Umbrage didn’t exactly like Diane Evans. Part of it was the home-schooling…the Principal didn’t approve of unqualified people…people without teaching credentials, teaching children. But they’d already had a run-in when Diane Evans had refused to apply for special needs status for her two children. It would have been easy enough for her to do…just fill out some paperwork…say that the children were impaired. Given their past history…feral children..or close to it…no one would have questioned it. Heck, even Doctor Marquardt who she’d talked to said that he was amazed the kids could even be mainstreamed…let alone perform at grade. But Diane Evans had stubbornly insisted that there was nothing wrong with her kids, and because of that…because she wouldn’t tell a few little white lies that no one would care about, the school was NOT receiving state and federal aid for the two children…money the Principal could have used for things that she wanted to do.
“I was afraid of this from the very start,” said the Principal. “You should have signed that paperwork. I realize it’s not your fault…in fact, I respect the effort you have made with these children who were, after all, developmentally disabled before you got them. But this is just the kind of thing I would have expected…poor impulse control…picking fights. Are you aware that Max was actually sitting on the poor child’s chest…pounding the boy’s nose with his fist? …that Mr. Lopez had to physically restrain the boy to keep him from doing further violence to his victim?
Max sat there looking at his shoes as Principal Umbrage went over in detail the discipline plan and the school anti violence policy. Diane was, after all, a lawyer, and she understood where this was going. The principal talked at some length about Max injuring the young man….that the Evans’ would be fortunate if Mr. and Mrs. Souto didn’t sue. She demanded that Diane assure her that he would be appropriately punished for his actions.
“Well of course I couldn’t condone Max fighting, and I understand. Young man…when your father gets home, he and I will decide just what your punishment will be, but until then, let’s go to Mrs. Hotstetter’s room and pick up your books. Just because you’ll be suspended for three days doesn’t mean you aren’t going to do your studies.”
Max looked unhappy…and he was. He wouldn’t be seeing Liz, ..not for three long days.
“Go get in the car, Max. We’ll talk about this further when your father gets home.”
Nancy Parker was the last to arrive. When she got to Mrs. Hotstetters room, Liz had already picked up her books. They trudged together to the office.
“I’d like to speak to you in private, Mrs. Parker,” said Principal Umbrage.
As Liz sat outside on the bench, Principal Umbrage smiled at Nancy Parker. “You know, Mrs. Parker….Liz has always been a wonderful student…well respected around here. I’d hate to see that change. I really do think that this new child…this Evans boy…is a bad influence on her. The boy has just received a three day suspension….he has a very…troubled…background. While I respect what the Evans are trying to do adopting those two….well, are you aware that the boy was suspected of copying off your daughter’s test on her grade level test?”
Nancy didn’t like the way this was going….Mrs. Hotstetter had totally explained that mistake to her and Diane Evans…did the woman not know what had actually happened…or was there some hidden agenda here.
“At the parent teacher conference Mrs. Hotstetter told us that was a misunderstanding…that Max did fine on the repeat of that test.”
“Well, certainly there’s nothing we can PROVE..but do you really think someone who couldn’t even talk two years ago could really be the equal of your daughter academically? Besides…the boy is…aggressive…with poor impulse control. Are you aware that he brutally beat another child at recess today? And then after that…Liz tried to interfere with him being appropriately disciplined, and became abusive when I was simply trying to do my job. That’s why she’s getting this suspension. I truly do think the boy is a bad influence on her….I think it’d be better if you had her just keep away from him. Your daughter has always been an excellent student…a perfect student. It would be a pity if her academic career were…blighted…by association with this …troubled young man. Please talk to your daughter…before it’s too late.”
“Her father and I will sit down and talk with her tonight, Mrs. Umbrage…you can rest assured of that.”
Despite what the Principal had said Nancy found it difficult to believe that Max could be bad for Liz. Any time she thought of the young man there came to her mind a picture of him keeping himself between that huge dog and her. Whatever else Max was, he’d put himself between danger…perhaps death..and her only child. Nancy wanted to hear his side of the story before she condemned him.
As Nancy Parker left the office, Liz walked silently with her to the car….
Mr. Lopez assures me that your son was also responsible for the fight,” said Principal Umbrage.
“Responsible for the fight…can’t you see that my son is the….the victim?” asked the woman.
“Well we have our policies, Mrs. Souto…” Principal Umbrage could see the woman was upset. In truth, she hadn’t much liked hearing that the two Evans children would be going to Monterrey elementary. She didn’t like kids like them…home-schooled. Who could tell what their mother had taught them? “…but perhaps we could make an exception in this case….only give your son a one-day suspension, rather than three like the Evans boy.”
“Well that would seem the least you can do…but what are you going to do about the Evans boy? How can I be sure that he won’t pick on my Billy anymore?”
“I assure you, he will be closely watched. If he ever does anything like this again…anything at all…he’ll get much worse than a three day suspension.”
It was a frightened Diane Evans who came rapidly up the sidewalk into the school administrative offices answering a call that her son was in the office..and in trouble. When she saw her son sitting on the bench…his shirt obviously bloodied, she almost ran to him. “Max…what happened?”
“I got in a fight …”
“Well are you OK? Are you still bleeding?”
A passing fifth grader looked at her and smiled. “That isn’t his blood, lady, …it’s Billy Souto’s. Evans beat the snot out of him.”
“Max!?”
Principal Umbrage came out of her office. “Oh yes, Mrs. Evans. Please bring your son in and let’s talk.” Mary Umbrage didn’t exactly like Diane Evans. Part of it was the home-schooling…the Principal didn’t approve of unqualified people…people without teaching credentials, teaching children. But they’d already had a run-in when Diane Evans had refused to apply for special needs status for her two children. It would have been easy enough for her to do…just fill out some paperwork…say that the children were impaired. Given their past history…feral children..or close to it…no one would have questioned it. Heck, even Doctor Marquardt who she’d talked to said that he was amazed the kids could even be mainstreamed…let alone perform at grade. But Diane Evans had stubbornly insisted that there was nothing wrong with her kids, and because of that…because she wouldn’t tell a few little white lies that no one would care about, the school was NOT receiving state and federal aid for the two children…money the Principal could have used for things that she wanted to do.
“I was afraid of this from the very start,” said the Principal. “You should have signed that paperwork. I realize it’s not your fault…in fact, I respect the effort you have made with these children who were, after all, developmentally disabled before you got them. But this is just the kind of thing I would have expected…poor impulse control…picking fights. Are you aware that Max was actually sitting on the poor child’s chest…pounding the boy’s nose with his fist? …that Mr. Lopez had to physically restrain the boy to keep him from doing further violence to his victim?
Max sat there looking at his shoes as Principal Umbrage went over in detail the discipline plan and the school anti violence policy. Diane was, after all, a lawyer, and she understood where this was going. The principal talked at some length about Max injuring the young man….that the Evans’ would be fortunate if Mr. and Mrs. Souto didn’t sue. She demanded that Diane assure her that he would be appropriately punished for his actions.
“Well of course I couldn’t condone Max fighting, and I understand. Young man…when your father gets home, he and I will decide just what your punishment will be, but until then, let’s go to Mrs. Hotstetter’s room and pick up your books. Just because you’ll be suspended for three days doesn’t mean you aren’t going to do your studies.”
Max looked unhappy…and he was. He wouldn’t be seeing Liz, ..not for three long days.
“Go get in the car, Max. We’ll talk about this further when your father gets home.”
Nancy Parker was the last to arrive. When she got to Mrs. Hotstetters room, Liz had already picked up her books. They trudged together to the office.
“I’d like to speak to you in private, Mrs. Parker,” said Principal Umbrage.
As Liz sat outside on the bench, Principal Umbrage smiled at Nancy Parker. “You know, Mrs. Parker….Liz has always been a wonderful student…well respected around here. I’d hate to see that change. I really do think that this new child…this Evans boy…is a bad influence on her. The boy has just received a three day suspension….he has a very…troubled…background. While I respect what the Evans are trying to do adopting those two….well, are you aware that the boy was suspected of copying off your daughter’s test on her grade level test?”
Nancy didn’t like the way this was going….Mrs. Hotstetter had totally explained that mistake to her and Diane Evans…did the woman not know what had actually happened…or was there some hidden agenda here.
“At the parent teacher conference Mrs. Hotstetter told us that was a misunderstanding…that Max did fine on the repeat of that test.”
“Well, certainly there’s nothing we can PROVE..but do you really think someone who couldn’t even talk two years ago could really be the equal of your daughter academically? Besides…the boy is…aggressive…with poor impulse control. Are you aware that he brutally beat another child at recess today? And then after that…Liz tried to interfere with him being appropriately disciplined, and became abusive when I was simply trying to do my job. That’s why she’s getting this suspension. I truly do think the boy is a bad influence on her….I think it’d be better if you had her just keep away from him. Your daughter has always been an excellent student…a perfect student. It would be a pity if her academic career were…blighted…by association with this …troubled young man. Please talk to your daughter…before it’s too late.”
“Her father and I will sit down and talk with her tonight, Mrs. Umbrage…you can rest assured of that.”
Despite what the Principal had said Nancy found it difficult to believe that Max could be bad for Liz. Any time she thought of the young man there came to her mind a picture of him keeping himself between that huge dog and her. Whatever else Max was, he’d put himself between danger…perhaps death..and her only child. Nancy wanted to hear his side of the story before she condemned him.
As Nancy Parker left the office, Liz walked silently with her to the car….
It was a long ride home for Max. He didn’t exactly understand how things had happened today…but he was pretty sure it was all his fault. He had known he didn’t understand how to act on the playground….because he was….different. It really wasn’t Liz’s fault…she thought he was…normal. But because he wasn’t…because he hadn’t known what to do…how to act…Liz had gotten hurt. He fought back the rage he felt grow when he remembered the boy punching her…that too was his fault…somehow it was ALL his fault. And the other boy…the boy had done nothing to him…nothing to Liz…and he’d almost powerblasted him. He seemed nice enough..sitting with him on the bench…but he could have hurt him…even killed him. ‘I AM a freak,’ Max told himself. ‘That big boy was right…..but he shouldn’t have hit Liz. He should have hit me…’
“Max …can you tell Mommy what happened. Why you hit that boy?”
Max just shook his head. He didn’t want to think about it…didn’t want to talk about it. This whole world was just too complicated…and it wasn’t his world…and probably never would be.
“Well, we’ll talk about it again when your father gets home. We need a little more information than we’ve got before we decide what to do with you. When we get home, why don’t you just go to your room and do your studies.”
Max nodded his head glumly, not saying a word.
The trip to the Crashdown was shorter…but no more revealing.
“I’d really like you to tell me what happened, Liz,” said Nancy.
Liz just shook her head. She knew it was all her fault. Max had told her…told her every way he knew how, that he was uncomfortable out in the play yard with the other kids. She’d thought that once she got him out there…got him playing with Alex and Maria…that he’d get over his shyness. But instead she’d lead him in to …that. It was bad enough that Billy Souto had been pushing Max around…but she knew Max had attacked him because she had been hit. And Max had gotten three days suspension for it.
Liz didn’t mind her own suspension…even though this was only the second time she’d been in trouble in school. The first time was in second grade…when she got one demerit in Mrs Moyers class for talking to her new friend…Maria DeLuca.
But it was her fault that Max was suspended…and now he would be even more reluctant to go out to recess…to make new friends. That was what was really bothering Liz.
“Liz….please pay attention. What did you say to Mrs. Umbrage to get in trouble?”
“I told her that what she did to Max sucks…and it does,” said Liz grumpily, staring out the passenger window.”
“Elizabeth Parker…you know better than to talk to like that to any adult…especially one of your teachers…or your Principal. Is that all you have to say?”
Liz didn’t respond…just continued looking out the window.
“Well, why don’t you go up to your room when we get home….just sit there until I tell you you can come out…and think about it for awhile. Then we can talk about it...”
'Perhaps,' thought Nancy, '...Mrs Umbrage is right. Maybe Max IS a bad influence on her..'
Nothing her mother said could make her feel any worse than she already did. Not because she’d gotten in trouble herself…actually SUSPENDED from school…not even because her Mom was mad at her…but because of how she was sure today had affected Max. ‘He wasn’t ready to go out there..’ she told herself. ‘I should have listened to him..’
“Max …can you tell Mommy what happened. Why you hit that boy?”
Max just shook his head. He didn’t want to think about it…didn’t want to talk about it. This whole world was just too complicated…and it wasn’t his world…and probably never would be.
“Well, we’ll talk about it again when your father gets home. We need a little more information than we’ve got before we decide what to do with you. When we get home, why don’t you just go to your room and do your studies.”
Max nodded his head glumly, not saying a word.
The trip to the Crashdown was shorter…but no more revealing.
“I’d really like you to tell me what happened, Liz,” said Nancy.
Liz just shook her head. She knew it was all her fault. Max had told her…told her every way he knew how, that he was uncomfortable out in the play yard with the other kids. She’d thought that once she got him out there…got him playing with Alex and Maria…that he’d get over his shyness. But instead she’d lead him in to …that. It was bad enough that Billy Souto had been pushing Max around…but she knew Max had attacked him because she had been hit. And Max had gotten three days suspension for it.
Liz didn’t mind her own suspension…even though this was only the second time she’d been in trouble in school. The first time was in second grade…when she got one demerit in Mrs Moyers class for talking to her new friend…Maria DeLuca.
But it was her fault that Max was suspended…and now he would be even more reluctant to go out to recess…to make new friends. That was what was really bothering Liz.
“Liz….please pay attention. What did you say to Mrs. Umbrage to get in trouble?”
“I told her that what she did to Max sucks…and it does,” said Liz grumpily, staring out the passenger window.”
“Elizabeth Parker…you know better than to talk to like that to any adult…especially one of your teachers…or your Principal. Is that all you have to say?”
Liz didn’t respond…just continued looking out the window.
“Well, why don’t you go up to your room when we get home….just sit there until I tell you you can come out…and think about it for awhile. Then we can talk about it...”
'Perhaps,' thought Nancy, '...Mrs Umbrage is right. Maybe Max IS a bad influence on her..'
Nothing her mother said could make her feel any worse than she already did. Not because she’d gotten in trouble herself…actually SUSPENDED from school…not even because her Mom was mad at her…but because of how she was sure today had affected Max. ‘He wasn’t ready to go out there..’ she told herself. ‘I should have listened to him..’
Last edited by greywolf on Tue Jul 03, 2007 7:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
12:05 PM The Crashdown Café, Roswell New Mexico
Nancy saw the Deputy bring his son in to the Crashdown and smiled. She liked Deputy Valenti…he was a frequent customer. He came in almost every morning for coffee…and most afternoons for coffee and a slice of pie. He’d time his breaks for when the pie was delivered…insisting he liked his pie fresh. Nancy had her own opinion of that…watching the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eye when he saw Amy DeLuca. She wished he’d ask her out. Little Maria could use a good father…not like that creep that ran out on her. What Amy ever saw in him….. ‘but we all make our mistakes, I guess,’ she thought. ‘Just like Liz did this morning..’
“New Deputy?” Nancy asked as she poured Valenti a cup of coffee, “He seems a little young for coffee.”
“Yes, well Kyle had a slight disagreement with Mrs. Umbrage this morning…so he was spending the rest of the day with my sister…until her dental appointment came up. So he’s with me until she’d done getting her filling and then she’ll meet us here…I guess we can be glad it’s not a root canal.”
“Apparently it’s going around. Liz was suspended too.”
“The perfect Miss Parker? That’s a surprise. How is she by the way?”
“Oh, just sulking in her room.”
“No, I meant…she wasn’t hurt was she?”
“Hurt…no, she apparently just mouthed off to the Principal…something about Max Evans.”
Jim looked at his son who was shaking his head. “Yeah…Kyle got suspended for high-fiving Max…encouraging violence I believe the actual charge was…after Max beat up that Souto kid. But what I meant about Liz was…was she hurt badly by Souto?”
“Liz is alright…but …I guess I don’t understand. I was told that Max Evans beat up some little kid and Liz got in trouble because she was disrespectful to the Principal when she punished Max…”
Kyle could stand it no longer. “Billy Souto’s a creep…he’s a sixth grader…the biggest kid in school. He was bullying Evans.”
“Well, even so…Max was wrong to start a fight with him. He should have just reported it to the teacher. That’s what we taught Liz to do.”
“Well Liz tried and Billy Souter hit her," said Kyle, “…slugged her in the gut. Max is half his size, but he got him down and pounded him…he was screaming like a baby when Mr. Lopez pulled Max off him. Souto deserved what he got…he hit a girl.”
“Juvenile records are sealed," said the deputy, "but I know for a fact we’ve had a lot of trouble with the Souto kid..and his older brother. It’s only a matter of time before that kid does something that will send him to the juvenile correction facility….but…Didn’t Liz even tell you what happened to her?”
“No..” said a suddenly remorseful Nancy. “I’m afraid I’ve been kind of unfair to her…to someone else as well. Jim…if you’d like, Kyle can stay here until your sister gets here…I’ll look after him.”
“Gee, that’s nice, Nancy…but are you sure?”
“It’d be my pleasure..if that’s OK with Kyle. I’ll make your lunch to-go then, so what would each of you like?”
It was four minutes later that the telephone rang, and Diane picked it up.
“Hi…Diane. It appears that I’m in your son’s debt again. May I speak to him?”
“He’s in his room…grounded…waiting for his father to get home. He got suspended from school for three days for fighting…and apparently doesn’t want to explain his actions to his mother. Maybe it would be better for you to talk to him later…he’s not in much of a mood to talk right now.”
“He never told you…what the fight was about?”
“No…not that there’s any real excuse for him beating up on some kid…but I would have at least liked to hear his side of the story.”
“Well, that makes me feel a LITTLE better,” said Nancy. “I’m not the only mother who made a terrible mistake this morning…”
Diane listened to the first sentence and the thought came to her… Apparently there was a lot more here than Mrs. Umbrage had seen fit to tell her and Max hadn’t told her anything, ‘but then,’ she sighed to herself, ‘he never does.’
It was fifteen minutes later that Max got out of the car. His mother had told him to come along…that she had a meeting to go to, and she wasn’t leaving him alone. He was surprised when they came to the building…
Nancy met them at the door. “You can sit at that booth, Max. Your mother and I will be over in this one…having tea.”
Liz had been staring at the brick wall in her room…that and writing in her diary about how unfair the world was…when there was a knock on the door.
“Liz…since you can’t go to school today…and you’ve spent quite enough time sulking in your room, you might as well help out. Come on down to the restaurant.
Liz descended the stairs and her mother handed her a small tray. It had two milk shakes and a root beer float on it…the latter Liz’s favorite drink. “Here,” said Nancy. “You can take these to booth three.”
Liz carefully balanced the tray…she really wasn’t big enough to be a waitress, although she nagged all the waitresses at the Crashdown to let her help. But she managed to get to booth three without spilling the drinks and looked up…and saw Max and Kyle looking at her…sitting on opposite sides of the booth. She almost dropped the tray in her surprise.
“Uh…who gets the shakes and who gets the root beer float,” she asked…hardly able to take her eyes off Max and Kyle.”
“Max and I get the milk shakes,” said Kyle. “I think the root beer float is yours…”
Max was still nervous…uncomfortable…he’d attracted a lot of unwanted attention to himself…gotten suspended from school…almost hurt Kyle badly….but as the three sat there and drank their drinks…just three third graders having a treat…well, it was a pretty good day.
In the other booth Diane was shaking her head. “He’s such a secretive little boy…he didn’t tell me ANYTHING about this.”
“Maybe it’s a third grade thing…Liz wasn’t talking much either…thank goodness for Kyle. I almost made a huge mistake... listening to the Principal. If there’s one kid we don’t have to worry about Liz being with…it’s Max.”
Nancy saw the Deputy bring his son in to the Crashdown and smiled. She liked Deputy Valenti…he was a frequent customer. He came in almost every morning for coffee…and most afternoons for coffee and a slice of pie. He’d time his breaks for when the pie was delivered…insisting he liked his pie fresh. Nancy had her own opinion of that…watching the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eye when he saw Amy DeLuca. She wished he’d ask her out. Little Maria could use a good father…not like that creep that ran out on her. What Amy ever saw in him….. ‘but we all make our mistakes, I guess,’ she thought. ‘Just like Liz did this morning..’
“New Deputy?” Nancy asked as she poured Valenti a cup of coffee, “He seems a little young for coffee.”
“Yes, well Kyle had a slight disagreement with Mrs. Umbrage this morning…so he was spending the rest of the day with my sister…until her dental appointment came up. So he’s with me until she’d done getting her filling and then she’ll meet us here…I guess we can be glad it’s not a root canal.”
“Apparently it’s going around. Liz was suspended too.”
“The perfect Miss Parker? That’s a surprise. How is she by the way?”
“Oh, just sulking in her room.”
“No, I meant…she wasn’t hurt was she?”
“Hurt…no, she apparently just mouthed off to the Principal…something about Max Evans.”
Jim looked at his son who was shaking his head. “Yeah…Kyle got suspended for high-fiving Max…encouraging violence I believe the actual charge was…after Max beat up that Souto kid. But what I meant about Liz was…was she hurt badly by Souto?”
“Liz is alright…but …I guess I don’t understand. I was told that Max Evans beat up some little kid and Liz got in trouble because she was disrespectful to the Principal when she punished Max…”
Kyle could stand it no longer. “Billy Souto’s a creep…he’s a sixth grader…the biggest kid in school. He was bullying Evans.”
“Well, even so…Max was wrong to start a fight with him. He should have just reported it to the teacher. That’s what we taught Liz to do.”
“Well Liz tried and Billy Souter hit her," said Kyle, “…slugged her in the gut. Max is half his size, but he got him down and pounded him…he was screaming like a baby when Mr. Lopez pulled Max off him. Souto deserved what he got…he hit a girl.”
“Juvenile records are sealed," said the deputy, "but I know for a fact we’ve had a lot of trouble with the Souto kid..and his older brother. It’s only a matter of time before that kid does something that will send him to the juvenile correction facility….but…Didn’t Liz even tell you what happened to her?”
“No..” said a suddenly remorseful Nancy. “I’m afraid I’ve been kind of unfair to her…to someone else as well. Jim…if you’d like, Kyle can stay here until your sister gets here…I’ll look after him.”
“Gee, that’s nice, Nancy…but are you sure?”
“It’d be my pleasure..if that’s OK with Kyle. I’ll make your lunch to-go then, so what would each of you like?”
It was four minutes later that the telephone rang, and Diane picked it up.
“Hi…Diane. It appears that I’m in your son’s debt again. May I speak to him?”
“He’s in his room…grounded…waiting for his father to get home. He got suspended from school for three days for fighting…and apparently doesn’t want to explain his actions to his mother. Maybe it would be better for you to talk to him later…he’s not in much of a mood to talk right now.”
“He never told you…what the fight was about?”
“No…not that there’s any real excuse for him beating up on some kid…but I would have at least liked to hear his side of the story.”
“Well, that makes me feel a LITTLE better,” said Nancy. “I’m not the only mother who made a terrible mistake this morning…”
Diane listened to the first sentence and the thought came to her… Apparently there was a lot more here than Mrs. Umbrage had seen fit to tell her and Max hadn’t told her anything, ‘but then,’ she sighed to herself, ‘he never does.’
It was fifteen minutes later that Max got out of the car. His mother had told him to come along…that she had a meeting to go to, and she wasn’t leaving him alone. He was surprised when they came to the building…
Nancy met them at the door. “You can sit at that booth, Max. Your mother and I will be over in this one…having tea.”
Liz had been staring at the brick wall in her room…that and writing in her diary about how unfair the world was…when there was a knock on the door.
“Liz…since you can’t go to school today…and you’ve spent quite enough time sulking in your room, you might as well help out. Come on down to the restaurant.
Liz descended the stairs and her mother handed her a small tray. It had two milk shakes and a root beer float on it…the latter Liz’s favorite drink. “Here,” said Nancy. “You can take these to booth three.”
Liz carefully balanced the tray…she really wasn’t big enough to be a waitress, although she nagged all the waitresses at the Crashdown to let her help. But she managed to get to booth three without spilling the drinks and looked up…and saw Max and Kyle looking at her…sitting on opposite sides of the booth. She almost dropped the tray in her surprise.
“Uh…who gets the shakes and who gets the root beer float,” she asked…hardly able to take her eyes off Max and Kyle.”
“Max and I get the milk shakes,” said Kyle. “I think the root beer float is yours…”
Max was still nervous…uncomfortable…he’d attracted a lot of unwanted attention to himself…gotten suspended from school…almost hurt Kyle badly….but as the three sat there and drank their drinks…just three third graders having a treat…well, it was a pretty good day.
In the other booth Diane was shaking her head. “He’s such a secretive little boy…he didn’t tell me ANYTHING about this.”
“Maybe it’s a third grade thing…Liz wasn’t talking much either…thank goodness for Kyle. I almost made a huge mistake... listening to the Principal. If there’s one kid we don’t have to worry about Liz being with…it’s Max.”
Last edited by greywolf on Mon Jul 02, 2007 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
10:55 PM Elizabeth Parker’s room, the Parker Residence, Roswell New Mexico.
Nancy and Jeff tucked her in to bed and kissed her goodnight. As Jeff left, Nancy hesitated for a minute…just to talk to her daughter. “You know, Liz…you could have told us what really happened…if we hadn’t gotten the truth from Kyle…well…nobody’s perfect, darling. Even moms and dads make mistakes. But they make more mistakes…and worse mistakes, if they don’t really understand what’s going on. You could have told us about why Max fought that boy.”
“I’m sorry, Mommy…but I felt so bad. He’s so shy…so…well I think he’s afraid of just about everyone. Not afraid they might hurt him…I’m not sure he cares if he gets hurt. He’s so afraid he won’t fit in…and I kind of…no…I REALLY pushed him to go out to recess today…and look what happened. He gets in a fight…because of ME…and gets suspended for three days. It just isn’t fair, Mom. It’s not fair at all..”
“Liz, I talked to Max’s mom for quite awhile today. Max and his sister…well nobody really knows what happened to them …what took their first six years away from them. Max’s sister has problems to, but she’s starting to adapt…starting to believe that Roswell is her home and her mom and dad are really her family. With Max it’s harder…a lot harder. His mother said that your friendship has really helped him…she said even Max’s sister says being your being his friend has been good for him.”
“But that was before…now I’m the one who got the Principal mad at him…who got him suspended.”
“People make mistakes, darling. Maybe you do need to take it slower…not push Max to do things he’s not yet ready for. But Diane…Max’s mom…it’s so funny, really. I keep thanking her for how Max has protected you and she keeps thanking me for the help you’ve given him just be being his friend. I’m sure that Max knows you were only trying to help today….I think he’ll forgive you for how it turned out…now say your prayers…and go to sleep.”
Nancy kissed her softly on the forehead and went downstairs to the master bathroom.
Ten minutes later she slid in to bed next to Jeff, and nestled up against him. She lay there thinking…snuggled against him….but he could tell she wasn’t asleep.
“Want to talk about it?” asked Jeff.
“I don’t really know what to say, dear. It’s a strange situation. I don’t know much of anything about Max Evans…heck, his own parents have only known him for two years. He’s a mystery…an enigma…and I don’t know why I’m not encouraging Liz to just stay away from him…to not get involved…but…”
“But what?”
“But I keep thinking back to when that dog was going after her…the way he just slowly walked…keeping himself between my baby and terrible harm..and now today he protected her again.
Mrs. Umbrage said he is aggressive…with poor impulse control…but he seems almost like a little lost boy…I almost want to mother him myself…but when Liz is threatened….he somehow rises to the occasion.
It’s stupid, I know, but the other day when I dropped her off in the playground when I went in to her conference I could feel the fear rising in me…leaving her out on that playground. Then I saw little Max..and somehow I just felt like she was more safe. Is that crazy, or what?”
“The Evans’ are good people, Nancy. I don’t know Phil all that well…but we’ve attended Kiwanis meetings together for years. Whatever happened to those two kids…whether it was some sort of odd-ball religious cult, or whether they were raised by wolves…they’re in pretty good hands right now. The day with the dog…heck, the kid sounds like he was almost a guardian angel. That man the dog did bite…he was two weeks getting out of the hospital, and he probably outweighed Lizzy almost four to one. And today…going after that sixth grader who hit Liz…”
“I know,” said Nancy. Jeff’s tone said it all…he was enraged that something like that would happen to his daughter…and enraged more that the school would suspend Max or Liz…or even Kyle.
“Max…well, Max seems like a good soul who just isn’t quite ready for the big outside world yet,” said Jeff. “If Liz is helping him with that…that’s great, because he’s certainly been there for her a couple of times when she needed help badly.”
“He certainly has…,” said Nancy as she shuddered, remembering Lobos lunge at Liz. ‘Funny,’ she thought to herself. ‘It was like she tripped on the air…’
11:55 AM Monterrey Elementary School Parking lot
All three children had completed their 24 hour suspensions, and were being dropped off at school.
Kyle’s aunt smiled at him and said, “Try to keep out of trouble today, Kyle...” as she mussed his hair. She loved to do that…that’s why he’d brought the comb in the back pocket of his Levis.
Liz normally bicycled with Maria, but today Nancy was dropping her off..and would come back to pick her up. She watched her daughter go in to the office to report in…prior to going to lunch with her friends. Liz had gone to Kindergarten at Monterrey Elementary..counting that it was now her fourth year playing on that playground. But somehow the place seemed more threatening to Nancy then it ever had before. The memory of the dog…the fact that she’d been assaulted yesterday…Nancy had an appointment at 2:45 with Mrs. Umbrage to have her explain THAT little oversight in not telling her about her daughter being struck by the boy yesterday…somehow the quiet little neighborhood school just seemed …threatening to Liz. Nancy found herself wishing that Max was here….although that seemed kind of silly to her…he was only another third grader, and a very shy one at that. Nonetheless…Nancy just couldn’t help feeling that her daughter was somehow safer around the young boy, as irrational as that sounded.
Billy Souto went back onto the playground…but quickly saw that things had changed. First of all, Mr. Lopez was on playground duty…and the man was watching Billy like a hawk. What was worse…the other sixth graders…and even some of the fifth graders were smiling…whispering to one another. Billy couldn’t hear what they had to say, but he could sometimes see…when their lips moved…that they seemed to be saying something about ‘Max Evans’… but the real shock was when he heard two other sixth graders talking…knowing that he was listening…openly laugh about him being pounded by a third grader….
By afternoon recess it was apparent even to the not exceedingly bright Billy, that unless he did something big, his days as a schoolyard bully were over. The only real issue was what to do. The intuitive thing to do when you’ve lost status because someone beat you up is to have a rematch and to beat them up. But there was a major problem with that option. Since getting the worst of the fight yesterday, Billy had heard a few things from his friends about Max and the thing that worried him was the story about Lobo.
The dog had torn up a guy…torn him up bad, but everyone said Max hadn’t even been scared of the big beast. Most schoolyard fights are basically pushing matches with a few blows thrown…more a test of dominance and courage than any real threat. But Max had taken a couple of Billy’s best shots yesterday…and it was almost like he hadn’t even noticed them. When you are used to fights that are more psychological bluff than actual physical contact, you really don’t want to pick a fight against someone who apparently doesn’t have any fear at all. Billy knew he wasn’t particularly brave..it was mostly bluster. No, going head to head with Max Evans wasn’t anything that Billy wanted to do.
So the next best option, in Billy’s mind, was to somehow get even with Max….to hurt Max like Max had hurt Billy. But the only thing Max appeared to care about was that girl…that Liz.
Billy looked over to where Liz was standing…talking to Alex Whitman and Maria DeLuca…not twenty feet from Mr. Lopez. No, now was not the time, and since her mother had brought her here at noon, today was probably not going to be the day…but it would be soon…Billy really didn’t have the impulse control to wait too long. He’d watch her…see where he would have an opportunity to get her alone…then he’d make her pay…and that Evans kid too…..
2:30 PM Principal’s Office, Monterrey Elementary School, Roswell NM
“What do you mean you have no reason to believe that Souter actually punched my daughter? Liz TOLD me that’s what happened.”
“Oh, and if I asked Billy Souto, he would no doubt tell me he did not….and he would have his clique of friends who would back him up, just as your daughter would no-doubt have her clique of friends who would claim they saw her being struck. We can’t take action on such testimony…we have no way to verify it.”
“First of all, my daughter does not lie. Secondly, you can talk to every teacher that Liz has ever had….none of them were anything but complimentary about her…about her academics, AND about her citizenship. You can ask any of them. Compare that with the word of a child who is a bully…who has already been in trouble with the juvenile authorities on other occasions…”
“Juvenile court records are sealed, Mrs. Parker. Even if Mr. Souto has such a record…you shouldn’t know about it….and it would have nothing to do with this case in any event. Billy was the VICTIM, Mrs. Parker. The school nurse had to help control the bleeding after he was brutally assaulted. If you truly care for your daughter, you ought to be worried about keeping her away from the person who committed that assault, that Evans boy…not the person who was the victim in the assault.”
“Max Evans assaulted the boy only after he hit my daughter…"
“So your daughter SAYS…but the Evans boy is a friend of hers. That scarcely makes her an objective witness now, does it? I’m afraid, Mrs. Parker, that your daughter has fallen in to some rather bad company.”
‘Right..’ thought Nancy Parker. ‘Bad company…the kind that puts himself between her and school yard bullies…and killer dogs.’
But while that’s what Nancy thought…the other thing she was thinking was that she was getting nowhere with this woman…and she was tempted to just tell her off. But that’s what Liz had done…and the fact that the woman had elected to punish Liz said a lot about her…especially that she was vindictive. And while Nancy Parker didn’t necessarily mind getting into an argument with the woman personally…she seemed just the type of vindictive person who well might take her anger out on Liz.
Nancy didn’t want that to happen…she loved her daughter. And while they might be able to get her in a private school somewhere in Roswell, that would cost money…meaning there would be that much less money to put into Liz’s college fund. Not only that, Maria and Alex went to school here…and Max. It simply wasn’t worth taking the chance…
“Mrs. Umbrage….all I’m saying is that…well, I’m trusting you and this school with my only child. Do I have your assurance that you are going to do what’s necessary to see that she is protected from that Souto boy?
“Mrs. Parker, the Principal said with a condescending smile. “All of our children are very important to us here at Monterrey Elementary…that’s why we have the anti-violence program.”
Nancy felt herself fighting a strong urge to slap the woman silly… but that wouldn’t help Liz.
“Well that’s good, Mrs. Umbrage, because my husband and I would be extremely displeased if something like this happens again.”
26 hours later
He’d followed the three of them…first to the blonde-headed girl’s house…now to the Crashdown. He’d stayed back…close enough to see…even to hear…but not close enough to be really noticed. He watched and listened from the alleyway as the boy talked to her…and then rode off.
“Oh, they are thinking about starting a computer club…there’s going to be a meeting tomorrow after school in the cafeteria. Are you interested?”
“I don’t think so, Alex. I’m not really THAT in to computers….”
“Well, I’ll be staying after…are you and Maria going to do anything tomorrow?”
“No…her mother wants to take her buying clothes…and I wanted to get back here to do more painting.”
“You really think that aliens look like those?” he asked, nodding toward the half-completed drawings, waiting to be filled with colored paint.
“Well, I have a friend who is pretty sure that aliens don’t look like that…but how would he really know?”
As Billy bicycled away he smiled. He’d found out what he needed to know. She would be alone after she passed the girl’s house…alone for almost four blocks.
The next day
Arty’s Bar and Grill, 482 East Division Street, Roswell, New Mexico
“Give me another drink….and leave the bottle.”
There were times that Arty wished he’d gone into a different business…and this was one of them.
“Wrong on both accounts. I think you’ve had enough.” In fact, the man had probably had more than enough.
“The bitch left me, Arty.”
Bill Jones was a regular…Arty wished he weren’t. He was what bar tenders called a mean drunk. Just an ordinary Joe when sober, but as he became intoxicated he became abusive….both in the bar, and Arty suspected at home as well.
Karen Jones was Bill’s wife…now well on the way to becoming an ex-wife, Arty suspected. For two years, Karen had been coming in….trying to get Bill to leave before he got so intoxicated he was dangerous…or abusive. Arty actually had wanted to ban Bill from the bar altogether…but his lawyer had advised him that unless the man appeared intoxicated, Arty couldn’t do that….not and keep his liquor license at least.
So this had become the ritual…Bill would come in…have his two drinks…and Arty would refuse to serve him. Bill would get up…go out to his car…drive to the nearest liquor store….then continue to drink until he would finally go home and beat up on Karen.
“I’m glad she left you, Bill. You treated her like crap…what did you expect? You need to get treatment. Here…,” Arty said, handing him an AA card.
“Really Bill….some people just shouldn’t drink. You’re one of them. Go talk to these people...they can help you.”
Bill walked out the door, tearing the card into pieces.
“You think I gotta come here, Arty? There are lots of bars…I don’t gotta come here. I don’t think I’ll ever come back here…”
‘Damn,' thought Arty, '..the day’s looking up.'
Outside, Bill found his car and got in. He drove two blocks, to the nearest package liquor store, and bought himself two bottles. It was going to be a long lonely day…..
The Evans Residence
She realized that tomorrow at noon Max would be able to go back to school…and it couldn’t come quick enough for Diane Evans. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy Max’s presence normally, but he wasn’t acting very normal. Or more to the point, he was acting like he used to act…before he started school….only worse.
These last two days he hadn’t even had the distraction of his sister’s company. She WAS at school. It wasn’t that he was doing anything bad... He’d get up every morning and promptly do all his studies…in fact he had worked well ahead of where he needed to be when he returned to class…. ‘…it’s just that he’s so damn….mopey….like the life has somehow just been sucked out of him.’
She’d taken him to the library twice. Each time he’d gone to the adult section and gotten several books…serious books, about things like economics and engineering…he’d sit in the small conference room in the office….or up in his room reading them to pass the time, but he’d emerge even less sociable. Diane had done her best to cheer him up…given him extra hugs….which he’d tolerated as usual…finally told him that she thought his suspension was wrong…as reluctant as she was to criticize the people at school to him…told him that she thought he did the right thing protecting Liz…and when she’d said the name, saw the only spark of life she’d seen in her son’s eyes for two days.
She had to do something….he was starting to even depress her. Finally, watching him sitting outside reading, she got an idea. She went to the phone and dialed. “Nancy? Diane Evans….I have a favor to ask…”
“What do you mean you have no reason to believe that Souter actually punched my daughter? Liz TOLD me that’s what happened.”
“Oh, and if I asked Billy Souto, he would no doubt tell me he did not….and he would have his clique of friends who would back him up, just as your daughter would no-doubt have her clique of friends who would claim they saw her being struck. We can’t take action on such testimony…we have no way to verify it.”
“First of all, my daughter does not lie. Secondly, you can talk to every teacher that Liz has ever had….none of them were anything but complimentary about her…about her academics, AND about her citizenship. You can ask any of them. Compare that with the word of a child who is a bully…who has already been in trouble with the juvenile authorities on other occasions…”
“Juvenile court records are sealed, Mrs. Parker. Even if Mr. Souto has such a record…you shouldn’t know about it….and it would have nothing to do with this case in any event. Billy was the VICTIM, Mrs. Parker. The school nurse had to help control the bleeding after he was brutally assaulted. If you truly care for your daughter, you ought to be worried about keeping her away from the person who committed that assault, that Evans boy…not the person who was the victim in the assault.”
“Max Evans assaulted the boy only after he hit my daughter…"
“So your daughter SAYS…but the Evans boy is a friend of hers. That scarcely makes her an objective witness now, does it? I’m afraid, Mrs. Parker, that your daughter has fallen in to some rather bad company.”
‘Right..’ thought Nancy Parker. ‘Bad company…the kind that puts himself between her and school yard bullies…and killer dogs.’
But while that’s what Nancy thought…the other thing she was thinking was that she was getting nowhere with this woman…and she was tempted to just tell her off. But that’s what Liz had done…and the fact that the woman had elected to punish Liz said a lot about her…especially that she was vindictive. And while Nancy Parker didn’t necessarily mind getting into an argument with the woman personally…she seemed just the type of vindictive person who well might take her anger out on Liz.
Nancy didn’t want that to happen…she loved her daughter. And while they might be able to get her in a private school somewhere in Roswell, that would cost money…meaning there would be that much less money to put into Liz’s college fund. Not only that, Maria and Alex went to school here…and Max. It simply wasn’t worth taking the chance…
“Mrs. Umbrage….all I’m saying is that…well, I’m trusting you and this school with my only child. Do I have your assurance that you are going to do what’s necessary to see that she is protected from that Souto boy?
“Mrs. Parker, the Principal said with a condescending smile. “All of our children are very important to us here at Monterrey Elementary…that’s why we have the anti-violence program.”
Nancy felt herself fighting a strong urge to slap the woman silly… but that wouldn’t help Liz.
“Well that’s good, Mrs. Umbrage, because my husband and I would be extremely displeased if something like this happens again.”
26 hours later
He’d followed the three of them…first to the blonde-headed girl’s house…now to the Crashdown. He’d stayed back…close enough to see…even to hear…but not close enough to be really noticed. He watched and listened from the alleyway as the boy talked to her…and then rode off.
“Oh, they are thinking about starting a computer club…there’s going to be a meeting tomorrow after school in the cafeteria. Are you interested?”
“I don’t think so, Alex. I’m not really THAT in to computers….”
“Well, I’ll be staying after…are you and Maria going to do anything tomorrow?”
“No…her mother wants to take her buying clothes…and I wanted to get back here to do more painting.”
“You really think that aliens look like those?” he asked, nodding toward the half-completed drawings, waiting to be filled with colored paint.
“Well, I have a friend who is pretty sure that aliens don’t look like that…but how would he really know?”
As Billy bicycled away he smiled. He’d found out what he needed to know. She would be alone after she passed the girl’s house…alone for almost four blocks.
The next day
Arty’s Bar and Grill, 482 East Division Street, Roswell, New Mexico
“Give me another drink….and leave the bottle.”
There were times that Arty wished he’d gone into a different business…and this was one of them.
“Wrong on both accounts. I think you’ve had enough.” In fact, the man had probably had more than enough.
“The bitch left me, Arty.”
Bill Jones was a regular…Arty wished he weren’t. He was what bar tenders called a mean drunk. Just an ordinary Joe when sober, but as he became intoxicated he became abusive….both in the bar, and Arty suspected at home as well.
Karen Jones was Bill’s wife…now well on the way to becoming an ex-wife, Arty suspected. For two years, Karen had been coming in….trying to get Bill to leave before he got so intoxicated he was dangerous…or abusive. Arty actually had wanted to ban Bill from the bar altogether…but his lawyer had advised him that unless the man appeared intoxicated, Arty couldn’t do that….not and keep his liquor license at least.
So this had become the ritual…Bill would come in…have his two drinks…and Arty would refuse to serve him. Bill would get up…go out to his car…drive to the nearest liquor store….then continue to drink until he would finally go home and beat up on Karen.
“I’m glad she left you, Bill. You treated her like crap…what did you expect? You need to get treatment. Here…,” Arty said, handing him an AA card.
“Really Bill….some people just shouldn’t drink. You’re one of them. Go talk to these people...they can help you.”
Bill walked out the door, tearing the card into pieces.
“You think I gotta come here, Arty? There are lots of bars…I don’t gotta come here. I don’t think I’ll ever come back here…”
‘Damn,' thought Arty, '..the day’s looking up.'
Outside, Bill found his car and got in. He drove two blocks, to the nearest package liquor store, and bought himself two bottles. It was going to be a long lonely day…..
The Evans Residence
She realized that tomorrow at noon Max would be able to go back to school…and it couldn’t come quick enough for Diane Evans. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy Max’s presence normally, but he wasn’t acting very normal. Or more to the point, he was acting like he used to act…before he started school….only worse.
These last two days he hadn’t even had the distraction of his sister’s company. She WAS at school. It wasn’t that he was doing anything bad... He’d get up every morning and promptly do all his studies…in fact he had worked well ahead of where he needed to be when he returned to class…. ‘…it’s just that he’s so damn….mopey….like the life has somehow just been sucked out of him.’
She’d taken him to the library twice. Each time he’d gone to the adult section and gotten several books…serious books, about things like economics and engineering…he’d sit in the small conference room in the office….or up in his room reading them to pass the time, but he’d emerge even less sociable. Diane had done her best to cheer him up…given him extra hugs….which he’d tolerated as usual…finally told him that she thought his suspension was wrong…as reluctant as she was to criticize the people at school to him…told him that she thought he did the right thing protecting Liz…and when she’d said the name, saw the only spark of life she’d seen in her son’s eyes for two days.
She had to do something….he was starting to even depress her. Finally, watching him sitting outside reading, she got an idea. She went to the phone and dialed. “Nancy? Diane Evans….I have a favor to ask…”
Billy paralleled the street the two of them were on. It was easy…he knew where they were going. Just a few surreptitious glances…they were talking to each other…paying no attention to him. He waited at the end of the block ahead of her as the two talked to each other.
“Billy Souto is a creep…I didn’t like the way he was looking at you at lunch today. You need to watch him…stay around Alex or me in the morning…or the teacher on playground monitor duty.”
“I doubt he’ll do anything," said Liz. “It’ll be nice when things get back to normal tomorrow afternoon though.”
Maria didn’t say anything....didn’t even smile. She wasn’t sure how it had happened…but somehow Liz felt safe…comfortable…when Max was around. She thought it was probably the incident with the dog. “You know Liz, Max took Souto by surprise. I think if it came to a real fight Max would get pounded..”
“You’re probably right, Maria. He’s just a third grader…and Souto ought to be in seventh grade this year…and he must outweigh him by fifty pounds…” and all that was true…Liz knew it…but somehow she just felt .…...safer…with Max around.
Amy DeLuca came out the door. “Hi Liz….”
“Hi Mrs. DeLuca…”
“Maria…time to go to the mall, we have some shopping to do. Put your bike away and get in the Jetta.”
“Yes Mom….well, see you tomorrow Liz, same time…same station.”
“Bye Ria…see you Mrs. DeLuca…”
Liz was four blocks south and two blocks east of the Crashdown. She and Maria and Alex had ridden every combination and permutation of that route dozens of times. Maria had argued once that by going on the diagonal it would be quicker…but neither the geometry nor their watches had shown much of any difference no matter which way they did it…it was still six blocks of bicycling. So in the end, she and Maria and Alex had just gotten in the habit of bicycling along the least traveled streets…just to avoid the traffic. The only problem with that plan, as it turned out, was that those streets had few people to ask for help if something went wrong…and having a stalker was definitely something going wrong.
It’s hard to tell just exactly what Billy’s intentions were…he had what psychiatrists would call a Conduct Disorder. That’s what they call people who have an antisocial personality disorder who haven’t yet turned eighteen to keep from stigmatizing people who will be stigmatized more than enough once they grow up acting that way. But the things typically done by such ‘children’, the bullying…the fights…the torture and death of small animals they catch….these are only precursors for more serious problems later.
Oh, Billy didn’t have a plan…although at almost fourteen he was certainly more aware than either Liz or Max about the differences between girls and boys, aware that thirteen year old girls valued the privacy of their bodies to a greater degree than ever before, and he was attracted to the mysteries that privacy concealed. And already he was becoming aware that there wasn’t just physical pain…but the worse pain of helplessness …having someone else in control…doing things to you that you found…degrading.
No, Billy wasn’t sure just exactly what he would do to Liz…only that he would hurt her and through doing that hurt Max, and if the opportunity arose…if it could safely be done..that is..with no one but Liz around to stop him…he would explore her body…those parts the girls his age kept so private, for his own curiosity…but even more because he knew whenever he looked at her after that…whenever his face held the cruel smile he had when he hurt people, she would remember again what he’d done with her and the power he had over her.
But the other thing that is so typical of those with antisocial personalities is their problems with impulsivity. Billy was not greatly different in that regard from Brewster who could do little but follow his nose, or Lobo, to whom every fleeing creature was quarry. As Billy rode alongside Liz’s bike and kicked her back tire…just to get her attention…he saw her head suddenly turn toward him…saw the recognition…saw the fear in her eyes. At that point, he really wasn’t truly in control of himself….the chase was on.
As Liz heard the bicycle overtake hers, she had pulled to the right to give the person room, not even looking back. It wasn’t like people riding a bike were uncommon in Roswell, and the truth was she needed a new bike. Her current bike was the one she’d learned to ride on. It had a single speed and a coaster brake and had once had small side wheels on it to help her learn. The fading Barbie label was another problem…she didn’t want Max to see that. And she was anticipating a new bile this Christmas…a bike with hand brakes and many gears and tires that would work not just on the streets but over the open desert as well.
As her bike lurched from the blow to its back tire she wobbled but kept the bike upright, only then looking back. Realization dawned on her immediately…and the look in Bobby’s face left no doubt in her mind that if she couldn’t get away she was in for real terror. She turned sharply away from him…seizing a few precious seconds to put some distance between the two of them. Liz had little doubt that Billy could outride her. He had a larger bike with at least ten speeds. Her advantage was that the small bike was slightly more maneuverable, and that she knew the area better. If she could use those things to offset Billy’s greater speed she could keep ahead of him for awhile…but he was bigger…stronger…eventually his endurance would cause her to lose this race. But whatever was coming when she lost it…whatever thoughts were behind that evil grin he had…it could only be better to have that happen later rather than sooner. As he closed the distance on her she turned sharply, cutting across a yard between a tree and a large bush. Billy tried to follow her…the branches of the bush scraping painfully against his side. He turned away from it…his left pedal scraping against the bark of the tree…sending the bike down.
The fall enraged Billy and he got quickly back on his bike. Whatever reluctance he might have had to hurt her…to be cruel to her…to make her pay for what her friend had done to him…it was now gone. She was his prey…prey that thought she had outsmarted him…thought she could get away. But he was bigger…faster…stronger… the Crashdown was still four blocks away and he wouldn’t be fooled again. Then she would pay….
As Diane parked the car, Max looked up at the entrance to the Crashdown, and a smile came to his face for the first time in two and a half days. Diane saw him look up at her with an expression on his face of surprise and gratitude, and it warmed her heart. Max seldom showed emotion.
“I just decided I need some tea with Mrs. Parker,” she told him, ‘and you needed to get out of the house. Maybe you can find someone to share a milkshake with..or maybe a root beer float.” Diane wasn’t sure if the little hug he gave her was real…or just what he thought she wanted him to do…she never was…but if it wasn’t genuine, he was at least putting real effort into making it look real. For Max, that wasn’t bad.
Nancy was setting a teapot on the table of one booth. The other one had a milk shake and a root beer float already sitting on it. Max looked around the café without seeing her. “She’s not home yet…probably be a few more minutes. But you can start on your milk shake..I’m sure she’ll be here any minute….”
But it wasn’t the milk shake that was making Max happy…even Nancy and Diane could see that. “…or, I guess you could wait out front until she rides up, if you’d rather…” Nancy continued. Max looked at his mother who waved her hand as if to shoo him outside, and then sat down to tea with Nancy Parker.
In seconds Max was outside…his eyes scanning the streets in the direction of the elementary school.
“Billy Souto is a creep…I didn’t like the way he was looking at you at lunch today. You need to watch him…stay around Alex or me in the morning…or the teacher on playground monitor duty.”
“I doubt he’ll do anything," said Liz. “It’ll be nice when things get back to normal tomorrow afternoon though.”
Maria didn’t say anything....didn’t even smile. She wasn’t sure how it had happened…but somehow Liz felt safe…comfortable…when Max was around. She thought it was probably the incident with the dog. “You know Liz, Max took Souto by surprise. I think if it came to a real fight Max would get pounded..”
“You’re probably right, Maria. He’s just a third grader…and Souto ought to be in seventh grade this year…and he must outweigh him by fifty pounds…” and all that was true…Liz knew it…but somehow she just felt .…...safer…with Max around.
Amy DeLuca came out the door. “Hi Liz….”
“Hi Mrs. DeLuca…”
“Maria…time to go to the mall, we have some shopping to do. Put your bike away and get in the Jetta.”
“Yes Mom….well, see you tomorrow Liz, same time…same station.”
“Bye Ria…see you Mrs. DeLuca…”
Liz was four blocks south and two blocks east of the Crashdown. She and Maria and Alex had ridden every combination and permutation of that route dozens of times. Maria had argued once that by going on the diagonal it would be quicker…but neither the geometry nor their watches had shown much of any difference no matter which way they did it…it was still six blocks of bicycling. So in the end, she and Maria and Alex had just gotten in the habit of bicycling along the least traveled streets…just to avoid the traffic. The only problem with that plan, as it turned out, was that those streets had few people to ask for help if something went wrong…and having a stalker was definitely something going wrong.
It’s hard to tell just exactly what Billy’s intentions were…he had what psychiatrists would call a Conduct Disorder. That’s what they call people who have an antisocial personality disorder who haven’t yet turned eighteen to keep from stigmatizing people who will be stigmatized more than enough once they grow up acting that way. But the things typically done by such ‘children’, the bullying…the fights…the torture and death of small animals they catch….these are only precursors for more serious problems later.
Oh, Billy didn’t have a plan…although at almost fourteen he was certainly more aware than either Liz or Max about the differences between girls and boys, aware that thirteen year old girls valued the privacy of their bodies to a greater degree than ever before, and he was attracted to the mysteries that privacy concealed. And already he was becoming aware that there wasn’t just physical pain…but the worse pain of helplessness …having someone else in control…doing things to you that you found…degrading.
No, Billy wasn’t sure just exactly what he would do to Liz…only that he would hurt her and through doing that hurt Max, and if the opportunity arose…if it could safely be done..that is..with no one but Liz around to stop him…he would explore her body…those parts the girls his age kept so private, for his own curiosity…but even more because he knew whenever he looked at her after that…whenever his face held the cruel smile he had when he hurt people, she would remember again what he’d done with her and the power he had over her.
But the other thing that is so typical of those with antisocial personalities is their problems with impulsivity. Billy was not greatly different in that regard from Brewster who could do little but follow his nose, or Lobo, to whom every fleeing creature was quarry. As Billy rode alongside Liz’s bike and kicked her back tire…just to get her attention…he saw her head suddenly turn toward him…saw the recognition…saw the fear in her eyes. At that point, he really wasn’t truly in control of himself….the chase was on.
As Liz heard the bicycle overtake hers, she had pulled to the right to give the person room, not even looking back. It wasn’t like people riding a bike were uncommon in Roswell, and the truth was she needed a new bike. Her current bike was the one she’d learned to ride on. It had a single speed and a coaster brake and had once had small side wheels on it to help her learn. The fading Barbie label was another problem…she didn’t want Max to see that. And she was anticipating a new bile this Christmas…a bike with hand brakes and many gears and tires that would work not just on the streets but over the open desert as well.
As her bike lurched from the blow to its back tire she wobbled but kept the bike upright, only then looking back. Realization dawned on her immediately…and the look in Bobby’s face left no doubt in her mind that if she couldn’t get away she was in for real terror. She turned sharply away from him…seizing a few precious seconds to put some distance between the two of them. Liz had little doubt that Billy could outride her. He had a larger bike with at least ten speeds. Her advantage was that the small bike was slightly more maneuverable, and that she knew the area better. If she could use those things to offset Billy’s greater speed she could keep ahead of him for awhile…but he was bigger…stronger…eventually his endurance would cause her to lose this race. But whatever was coming when she lost it…whatever thoughts were behind that evil grin he had…it could only be better to have that happen later rather than sooner. As he closed the distance on her she turned sharply, cutting across a yard between a tree and a large bush. Billy tried to follow her…the branches of the bush scraping painfully against his side. He turned away from it…his left pedal scraping against the bark of the tree…sending the bike down.
The fall enraged Billy and he got quickly back on his bike. Whatever reluctance he might have had to hurt her…to be cruel to her…to make her pay for what her friend had done to him…it was now gone. She was his prey…prey that thought she had outsmarted him…thought she could get away. But he was bigger…faster…stronger… the Crashdown was still four blocks away and he wouldn’t be fooled again. Then she would pay….
As Diane parked the car, Max looked up at the entrance to the Crashdown, and a smile came to his face for the first time in two and a half days. Diane saw him look up at her with an expression on his face of surprise and gratitude, and it warmed her heart. Max seldom showed emotion.
“I just decided I need some tea with Mrs. Parker,” she told him, ‘and you needed to get out of the house. Maybe you can find someone to share a milkshake with..or maybe a root beer float.” Diane wasn’t sure if the little hug he gave her was real…or just what he thought she wanted him to do…she never was…but if it wasn’t genuine, he was at least putting real effort into making it look real. For Max, that wasn’t bad.
Nancy was setting a teapot on the table of one booth. The other one had a milk shake and a root beer float already sitting on it. Max looked around the café without seeing her. “She’s not home yet…probably be a few more minutes. But you can start on your milk shake..I’m sure she’ll be here any minute….”
But it wasn’t the milk shake that was making Max happy…even Nancy and Diane could see that. “…or, I guess you could wait out front until she rides up, if you’d rather…” Nancy continued. Max looked at his mother who waved her hand as if to shoo him outside, and then sat down to tea with Nancy Parker.
In seconds Max was outside…his eyes scanning the streets in the direction of the elementary school.