In the Image of Grace (20 page)

In that brief moment that Jeremy turned towards me
Mike’s friend Austin, grabbed Jeremy from behind reaching under his
arms and over his shoulders locking Jeremy in place up against his
body. Mike was quickly upon Jeremy, punching him in his left cheek.
Jeremy and Austin stumbled back some, but Austin kept his grip.
Mike punched Jeremy again, his fist landing on the side of Jeremy’s
mouth. Jeremy looked up at Mike, then to the ground and in an
instant he bent over forward flipping Austin right over him onto
the ground. Jeremy hopped back surprised by his own actions. Austin
lied on the ground with his mouth hanging wide open and looked up
at Jeremy.

A couple kids in the crowd watching were nodding
their heads and smiling at the provided entertainment. My heart was
racing. I was scared for Jeremy and wondering where the school
security guards were when you needed them. I’m sure they were
outside fending off all the camera crews and photographers making a
safe path for all the students to get into school.

I thought that was going to be the end of it, but
Mike had a different opinion. He jumped over Austin, doing some
sort of football move with his shoulder ramming Jeremy into the
wall. He then started to repeatedly punch Jeremy in the stomach and
ribs. Nobody was doing anything to stop the fight. They were just
all enjoying watching it. I needed to do something, so I grabbed
one of my text books off my top locker shelf, ran up behind Mike
and hit him across the head with it. He shook his head like it
barely fazed him and turned towards me with his eyebrows drawn
down, eyes looking directly at me. He reached up his arm as if he
was about to punch me, but instead placed his palm over my face and
shoved me backwards. Right after he shoved me someone jumped on his
back. It was Jeremy’s friend Ron. Mike stumbled forward and Austin
was about to lunge at Jeremy when we heard a whistle blow. It was
one of the gym teachers, Mr. Erickson. He was a younger guy, mid
twenties, physically fit and always hit on the female students.
Everybody froze in place.

Jeremy looked up through his hair touching his
bleeding lip. His glasses were no longer on his face. Mike stood up
still with Ron on his back. I was still standing there holding my
text book. Mr. Erickson pointed at the five of us. “You all are
coming with me.” He then pointed to two random guys and said, “I
need witnesses that weren’t involved. Everybody else go to
class.”

Jeremy went over to where his glasses laid on the
hallway floor. He picked them up and stuck them in his front jeans’
pocket. The seven of us followed behind Mr. Erickson who was
walking at a very rapid rate. People stared as we all walked by.
Jeremy held his mouth which was still bleeding.

“Let me see,” I said as we walked.

Jeremy moved his hand. “It kinda hurts,” he mumbled
with a slight slur. It looked like a vertical cut going from his
bottom lip up through his top. Even the bottom of his nose had a
cut on it. “He had a ring on,” Jeremy said as if reading my
mind.

“Must have been one heck of a sharp ring,” I said
reaching up and touching the side of Jeremy’s face where he was
punched.

“Does it look bad?” He asked in his sloppy speech
with blood running down his chin as we entered the main office.

“Wait here,” Mr. Erickson told us as he walked
through the wooden gate that separated the student space from
teacher/principal/school secretary space. Mike and Austin scowled
at Jeremy and Ron. Jeremy leaned on the front counter area where
you check in if you’re late or need to call home or something. He
leaned with his right arm and held his side with the other.

“Let me see,” I queried quietly while we waited.

Jeremy lifted up the side of his shirt and I could
see a couple bruises starting to form at the bottom of his rib
cage.

“Put down your fuckin shirt,” Mike snarled at us.

The secretary sitting up front looked up. “Watch your
mouth sir,” she snapped at him. She then looked over at Jeremy who
was leaning on her counter. “Are you okay son?” She asked.

“I’m good.” His mouth was starting to swell.

“Mr. Erickson,” she yelled.

Mr. Erickson appeared with the principal, Mr.
Santiago, who looked very mad. His lips were drawn tightly together
and his arms were crossed over his large body.

“This boy needs medical attention,” she explained
pointing at Jeremy.

Mr. Santiago looked at Jeremy. “Go to the nurse and
come right back.”

“Can Charlotte take me?”

“I think you’re perfectly capable,” Mr. Santiago
maintained giving Jeremy a smug look.

Jeremy nodded, squeezed my shoulder and left. I
wanted to go with him. I didn’t want to be stuck alone with the
morons who were at the root of us being at the principal’s office.
Mr. Santiago pointed in the direction of his office. We filed in
there one by one. There were two chairs, but nobody sat, just like
how my sisters and I didn’t sit when we were in there the morning
before.

Mr. Santiago dismissed Mr. Erickson and asked, “What
the hell went on?”

Everybody started talking at once. Mr. Santiago then
pointed at me and said, “Tell me exactly what happened.”

I started slowly with, “Well,” and then went into a
full rant. “I was at my locker when these two came up to me and
said something about me being an alien and that one,” I said
pointing at Mike. “Tried to lift up my shirt to see my alienness
underneath, which I’m sure is some kind of assault and then Jeremy
came and shoved him away and said leave her alone and then he
shoved Jeremy back and then Jeremy shoved him again or something
and he,” I said pointing at Mike again. “Said I shouldn’t be alive
and then Jeremy punched him and then that one,” I said pointing to
Austin. “Held onto to Jeremy while that one punched him and then
Jeremy flipped him over his back,” I said pointing at Austin and
then at Mike (I pointed a lot because at the time I didn’t know
either of their names). “And he started punching Jeremy in the
stomach and ribs and stuff and then I got my text book,” which I
was still holding and held up. “And I hit him,” I said pointing at
Mike again. “In the head and then he stuck his hand over my face
and shoved me and then he,” I said pointing at Ron. “Jumped on him
in my defense and then that one was going to go after Jeremy and
then Mr. Erickson blew his whistle.”

Mr. Santiago rubbed his face with both his palms. He
looked over at the two that Mr. Erickson grabbed as added
witnesses. “Do you two agree with her?” They both nodded. “You two
can go back to class. He then looked at Ron, “You can go too.” He
then looked at me. “You can go to class Charlotte.”

But instead of going to class I went to find the
school nurse’s office, so I could check on Jeremy. He was just
leaving when I got there.

“How are you doing?” I asked taking his hand as we
stood in the empty hallway. Everybody else in school was in class
and had been for a while.

“I’ll survive,” he answered smiling meekly at me.
“How are you?”

“I’m not the one who was in a fight.”

“Hey, you did hit that guy Mike with a book, right,
pretty brave on your part.”

“You know them.”

“Barely, they’re always looking for a reason to get
in a fight,” Jeremy said shrugging his shoulders.

“Thanks, by the way.”

“My pleasure,” he whispered kissing me on the
forehead.

“I was kind of surprised what it all surmounted
too.”

“You mean me actually getting in a fight?”

“Yeah.”

Jeremy suddenly looked sad at the memory of it. “He
had no right saying what he did.”

“Me being an alien?” I asked trying to keep the
conversation light.

“No, the other thing,” Jeremy murmured seeming unable
to repeat what was said to me.

“What if he was right?”

“Don’t ever say that,” he snapped.

“A lot of people do seem to be angered about my
existence.”

Jeremy engulfed me in a bear hug and stuck his face
in my hair. “They’re just angry at your father. Nobody has any
right to be angry at you.” Jeremy took me by the shoulders and
looked into my eyes. “Understand?”

I shook my head yes, even thought I wasn’t sure if he
was right or not. I wrapped my arms around him and snuggled my face
into his shirt.

“I have to go down to the principal’s office,” Jeremy
said.

“I’ll walk with you.”

“Shouldn’t you be in class?”

I smiled at him. He was so cute. “Funny, how we were
just talking about fighting the other day. You took what you said
to heart, huh.”

Jeremy put his arm around me as we walked. “I hold
true to my word.”

…………………………………………………

I waited in the hall for Jeremy as he got reprimanded
for his actions by the principal. A security guard walked by and a
teacher or two, but nobody bothered me as I stood there waiting. I
seemed to be getting some extra leniency and I was okay with it.
Perhaps something I would have to exploit. After a bit Jeremy
popped into the hall. I looked at him to see what his punishment
was.

“In school suspension for three days, but I’m being
sent home for the rest of today. I think Mr. Santiago was kinda on
my side even though I threw the first punch.”

“They did also gang up on you,” I pointed out.

“Yeah,” Jeremy sighed as the bell rang. “In school is
not so bad. I just sit in a classroom all day and do my
homework.”

“Doesn’t sound like much of a punishment,” I
speculated as we walked down the hall.

“Yeah, it’s kinda pointless, but I’m not gonna
complain too much.”

Jeremy walked me down to my locker. I didn’t have to
open it because it was still open from earlier. I grabbed my bag
and shoved a couple books in. While I was getting my stuff Jeremy
pulled his glasses out of his pocket.

“My mom is gonna be pissed. They’re broken,” he
groaned inspecting them. “I think I’m the one who actually stepped
on them.”

“That stinks.”

“What stinks even more is Brett is on his way to pick
me up. My mom couldn’t get off of work to come and get me, so she
called Brett.”

“You can’t take the bus home?” I asked as the bell
rang.

“No, I guess the school wants to make sure you’re
actually going home, so an adult has to come and get you.”

“Well, you better go then, so he doesn’t get angry if
you’re not there.”

“Yeah.”

I put my finger on his face right next to his injured
lip. “I’ll call you later if I can, okay.”

“Good,” he said smiling at me.

We exchanged a hug and light kiss. I went into
division. Rain was in there already, so I went and sat next to her.
Her hair was pulled back with two little light blue barrettes
shaped like ice cream cones.

“I saw part of what happened,” she chimed with an
impish smile.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I saw you hit that guy with your book. That
was pretty awesome.”

“No, not really, I was lucky he didn’t punch me.”

“Yeah, but I heard Jeremy did throw the first punch,”
Rain remarked with a smirk.

“Boy, word gets around quick.”

A few people I honestly didn’t know, or take the time
to get to know really, sat on the top of the desks around me. I
wasn’t happy that Jeremy got into a fight and I didn’t like him in
pain, but a twisted side of me was a little relieved that for a
short time everybody’s attention was focused elsewhere.

One of the people sitting around me was a girl with a
frizzy mass of hair about her head. “I heard your boyfriend took
down Austin Garvey, that’s pretty impressive.”

“Is it?” I asked.

“Yeah, you saw the guy, right,” the girl jested.

“I got to see the whole thing,” some guy with a dark
shaved head said. “It’s a shame they broke it up,” he snickered
laughing to himself. “You coming out of nowhere with the book and
then that little guy jumping on the other one’s back…..” he trailed
off seeing my expression fall.

“Uh, that was my boyfriend they were beating upon. I
would have preferred for none of it to have happened,” I retorted
as this kid thought it was all amusing.

“Look, I’m sorry. I was rooting for your boyfriend.
Those guys were being assholes.”

“Thanks,” I said giving him a little smile.

The others standing around nodded in agreement, it
made me feel a little better knowing not everybody was offended by
my existence. Mr. Alvarez came in and told everybody to have a
seat. He then called me up and handed me a note. It said, “After
school wait in the main office for your ride. In all capital
letters it said: DO NOT LEAVE!” I was sure the note was from
Reginald because he was the one who doubted our ability to
obey.

After school Isabelle, Clarissa and I thought about
trying to bolt for it, but figured we wouldn’t get far. There were
too many obstacles outside that would slow us down and once
somebody said they were looking for us we would have been very
easily found. It seemed like everybody knew who we were.

We waited impatiently in the main office. We all had
our minds elsewhere when we heard, “C’mon girls.” It was Mr. Carl.
He had on very crisp khakis’ and a gray trench coat. At first we
didn’t move. The three of us just looked at each other. We didn’t
want to go with him.

“Girls,” he warned reading our faces. “If you don’t
come with me, your father will come and get you.”

“Don’t call him that,” I snapped. “He’s not our
father.”

“Just because you’re not biologically related does
not mean he’s not your father.”

“He never was our father. We are just science
experiments to him and you know that,” I related seething.

Mr. Carl pinched the bridge of his nose. “Girls,” was
all he said.

I looked at him with animosity in my eyes. “Don’t we
have somewhere to go?”

Mr. Carl turned and walked out of the office. We
followed. We went out the back of the school where the parking lot
was. A black sedan with tinted windows waited. The car looked like
it should have driving a politician around, not us. Mr. Carl opened
the car door and the three of us filed in. Mr. Carl went and sat up
front leaving us with absolutely no clue to what was going on.