That Year Page 7

house is small but fitting for an older couple. I sit down on the couch in front of me. The old lady hands me a mug with steam coming out of it. “Here have some hot chocolate.” I take the mug and take a sip with both hands. “Where is Joey,” I ask after my first sip. “He doesn’t come here anymore,” she responds. She walks over to a table with numerous picture frames. She picks one and hands it to me. I look at it. The boy in the picture looks around 6 years old. “Are you his mother,” I ask over the sound of the television. “Oh no, poor kid lost both parents in a car accident when he was just 4 years old.” I take another sip of the hot chocolate. “How are you related to him?” “All I really know is that no one in his family wanted to take responsibility for him. So he was put up for adoption,” the old lady answers. I notice her eyes get redder. “I can’t imagine how it must feel when your own family won’t take you in. He started acting up when he realized that,” she says while rubbing her eyes. “You did nothing wrong, I know deep down inside he loves you more than he hates his family.”

  She nods and smiles at me. “Would you like to have Thanksgiving here,” she asks me. “I appreciate it, but I must be getting back to my family, and the roads are starting to get bad.” I get up from the couch as the old lady leads me to the door. “Anytime you want to talk just come over,” she says. “I will, Happy Thanksgiving.”

  Steve’s brother drives cautiously on the snowy roads. The snow is coming down faster than before. “Thank you, have a good Thanksgiving. Tell Steve Happy Thanksgiving too,” I say. “No problem I will.” I close the car door behind me and walk slowly toward my front door so as not to slip in the snow. I brush myself off and join my mom, dad, sister back from college, and dog in the family room.

  13

  “How was your break,” Leo asks. “Short,” I say. “I know how that is. It seems we spend all this time preparing for the holidays and then it goes by so fast.” “How do we respond to the attack,” I ask changing the subject. “Well first we make certain that the student body is still behind us.” “Why wouldn’t they support bringing down the man they know is responsible for the attack?” “May I ask you Matt to go inside Fontane’s mind, and tell me why you believe he attacked in the first place?” “I believe it was retaliation for bringing down his drug operation and to send a message.” “He wants the student body to go at war with itself. To crush any believe that we could bring him and his gang down once and for all. See Matt he knows that together he inevitably will lose the battle against a collected school,” Leo says.

  The student body waits restlessly in the vast auditorium for their Student Body President to reassure them. Leo walks onto the stage with a blue suit and matching tie, black hair greased back.

  “On the last day before our recent Thanksgiving break, our high school, your high school was attacked. Many of our fellow classmates, friends and loved ones are still recovering from critical conditions. And many have fallen victim to the attack in the cafeteria, disrupting what should have been a joyous break with our families. We all sit here today in mourning, many grieving the ones we lost in the attack knowing who was responsible for it. Joey Fontane was behind the attack. His motives to scare us from rising against him, but we will not bend or concede to a man who will kill so easily. We will bring justice to the innocent lives that were lost.”

  Moderate applause fills the auditorium as Leo walks toward me in the back stage.

  The next day I walk the hallways toward the abandoned classroom to meet Leo. I walk in to 5 other male students and 1 female student surrounding Leo in a circle. They all turn to me when they hear me come in. “What’s going on,” I ask to no one in particular. “Matt I want you to meet Nick, Jason, Collin, Charlie, Marcus, and the very lovely Olivia,” Leo says while each one acknowledges me with a nod when their name is called. “Hello,” I say to them. “Why are they here,” I ask Leo. “Hey man we’re on your side,” Marcus tells me. “This is our assembled team in an attempt to assassinate Fontane. Fontane believes he is protected in what he has made his own part of the school,” Leo informs me. I pull Leo to the side. “What are we doing here,” I ask Leo so only he could hear. “It has to be done.” “We would be sending them on a suicide mission and you know it,” I snap.

  “We need to know what security we are dealing with before we send more than these 6. They will be wearing hidden cameras so we have an idea. Trust me they know what they are getting themselves into, but they also know that Fontane needs to be stopped.” “So what’s the plan,” I ask the group of brave students in front of me.

  “I can’t believe you never heard of this place,” I tell Kayla. We both sit at a booth at the shaking bar. “I really haven’t, thanks for taking me here,” Kayla says taking another sip out of her chocolate peanut butter marshmallow shake. I enjoy spending time with Kayla. She distracts me from the pain and the fear that consumes me while at school.

  14

  “Sara Parker,” I shout from a bench on her front porch. She looks at me probably curious to what I’m doing waiting for her. I rub my hands together as to warm them from the frigid December weather. “Yes,” she says. “Joey Fontane.” “What about him,” she asks. “So you still remember him.” “He was frequent visitor of mine during his elementary school years.” “You mind if I come inside. This weather,” I say. She opens the front door. “I don’t think so,” she says closing the front door in front of me. I stop the door from closing with my foot. “Sarah, I promise I won’t take too much of your time.” She gives up and signals for me to come inside. She takes a seat on her couch, so I do the same. “Please tell me about him. As his guidance counselor you must know something about him.” “Yes and as a guidance counselor I have an ethical code to follow.” “Sarah, just tell me about him. That’s all.”

  “He was a quieter kid around other students. Rarely shared or talked much to anybody. He would always talk to me though.” Sarah rubs both her eyes with the palms of her hands. “He was such a sweet kid, but I always saw the burden he carried in his eyes. “The burden from his parents and not being wanted by anybody in his family,” I say. She nods her head in agreement. “I would just talk to him; let him know that there are people that care about him.” I notice her eyes are red with dried up tears. “You cared about him,” I say. “I was the only one that really related with him.” “Did you have a relationship with him,” I ask going with a hunch. She looks up at me in astonishment. “Did you,” I repeat. “Not one in which you are implying. We confided in each other that’s all.” “Did you love him?” “Please leave I told you all that I could say.”

  Believing that I wasn’t going to get any more information from her I get up from the couch and leave. I walk down her driveway shivering. I hear the front door open and I turn around. “Why did you want to know about him,” Sara asks me. “I want to know who I’m dealing with,” I shout so she could hear me from the distance between us. I turn around again for the last time as I continue down her driveway.

  15

  “Each of you will have a camera attached to you. What each of you see will be shown and recorded on these televisions,” Leo says pointing to the televisions sitting on the desk in front of him. “Let’s fucking go,” Marcus shouts. Leo gets up from his chair and walks across the room, and unlocks a closet with a key. The closet is full of weapons. “Here are your weapons,” Leo says opening the closet. He hands a pistol to each of the brave students willing to go on this mission to bring down Joey Fontane. He also hands each one smoke grenades and explosive grenades along with extra clips of pistol ammo. “Remember the plan, each take your respective routes into the compound and converge in the center of the compound, and find and kill Joey Fontane.” The team gets amped up.

  “Do you hear me? I repeat do you hear me,” Leo asks through a tiny microphone clutched in his right hand.” Each team member confirms that their ear pieces are indeed working. Leo pulls Marcus aside while the others are gearing up, preparing themselves for the upcom
ing mission. “Marcus who must lead them,” Leo tells him. Marcus, a built black male with buzzed hair nods his head in agreement. “Gentlemen.” “And ladies,” Olivia interrupts Marcus. “Yes and ladies move out,” Marcus tells his team.

  I follow Leo to the desk with the televisions on them. We watch the team make its way through the massive school to Fontane’s compound. The team disperses in different directions. From the televisions I see Marcus and Nick are the only ones not going through the vents. “We are going to surround the room,” Leo tells me with his eyes focusing from one television to the next. Marcus and Nick take opposite sides of the hallway leading to the entrance of Fontane’s compound. “Front is in position, I repeat front in position,” Marcus say’s in almost a whisper through his headset. “I saw around 5 guys guarding the entrance Nick,” Marcus says. “Copy that,” Nick responds. “Hold until my word, I repeat hold until my word,” Leo demands. “Copy,” says Marcus. “Copy,” says Nick. “Copy,” says Olivia. “Copy,” says Jason. “Copy,” say’s Collin. “Copy,” says Charlie.

  Finally everyone informs Leo that they