| |
The next morning, I woke up to Matt’s alarm with a groan. The pain in my side had awakened me every time I rolled over. I was sore and tired. This morning, I had even slept through Matt’s first two snoozes. I felt like my attacker had hit me with the whole car, not just the tire iron.
Slowly, I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Sitting up hurt. So did breathing, but I was determined to go to class. I had promised General Marshall I would keep Matt out of trouble. I couldn’t do that from my bed. I pushed myself out of the bed and stifled another groan.
“Go back to bed.” Matt blinked at me in the early sunlight. “Call in sick.”
“And be bored to death in here all day?” I walked as smoothly as I could to the wall switch and flicked on the light. “Not a chance.”
“I’ll visit at lunch,” Matt insisted, sitting up in his bed. “You need your rest.”
“If I start to feel too tired or sore, I’ll come back and call in.” I glanced at myself in the mirror. One of my green eyes was framed nicely by a swollen, purple bruise. “Just let me try.”
“Fine.” Matt gave in and wagged a finger at me. “But as soon as it even looks like it’s getting to be too much, I’m personally taking you back.”
“Yes, Mom,” I mocked as I began to dress for class. I had slept in my uniform pants because it had hurt too much to bend to get them off. I’d have to change them now, or get demerits for all the wrinkles and dirt. I dressed carefully, my back to Matt so he couldn’t see when I grimaced from the pain. He was just waiting to find a reason to insist that I stay in my room. I was determined not to give him one.
Finally I was dressed, but the effort wore me out so much that I wasn’t nearly as sure about going to class. I blew out a slow breath and I sat on the edge of my desk as Matt opened his mouth to protest again.
“If it gets to be too much, I’ll come right back up.” I held up a hand to stop him. He still looked at me skeptically. “I promise.”
Shaking his head, Matt turned and left the room. I followed right behind him slowly. If I could only make it through morning formation, I’d be clear for the rest of the day.
By the time morning formation was over, I was sick to my stomach from the pain and fatigue. My side ached and my breathing was becoming more shallow due to the pain caused by breathing deeply during formation and drills.
“Matt, I think I have to go back,” I said softly as we headed back to the Administration building for our first class. “You were right.”
Matt looked at me with concern. I probably looked like death. The expression on his face confirmed it. “I’ll go with you on my way to class. Are you sure you don’t need to see the nurse?”
“No, I just need to lie down,” I assured him as we passed around the back of the building on the way to the dorm. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“I heard you snitched on me to Superintendent Hinkly.” Winston’s sneering voice drifted from around the corner.
Dear Lord, not now! I leaned against the wall for support as we rounded the corner. Winston had backed Gene against the wall at the other end of the building. I didn’t have the strength left to deal with this.
“I’ll take care of this, Scott,” Matt said softly, his voice hard with anger.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I said, more sharply than I intended. “I promised your dad I’d keep you from fighting. Which, as far as I see it, means keeping you away from Winston.”
“You’re in no shape to do anything,” Matt pointed out. “You can barely walk on your own. I’ll control my temper.”
“Get Superintendent Hinkly.” I grabbed his arm in a last futile effort to stop him. Matt was right, there wasn’t much I could do.
“And let Winston beat up Gene in the meantime?” Matt turned away and shook my hand off. “No way. It’s not far, you get him.”
As Matt walked toward Winston and Gene, I leaned more heavily against the course brick wall. If Matt was afraid to leave Winston alone with Gene, I was terrified to leave Matt alone with Winston. Using the wall for support, I also made my way closer to Winston and Gene.
Help me keep Matt from getting in trouble and forgive me for making a promise I have no power to keep. Without God’s help, Matt would be at MacArthur by tomorrow.
“Look, Gene, it’s your knights in shining armor.” Winston jeered as Matt and I approached. “Perhaps just one knight, Cadet McCully looks more like a cripple to me.”
“Don’t you think it’s time you went to class, Winston?” Matt asked, his voice deadly calm.
“Don’t you think it’s time you minded your own business?” Winston taunted.
Gene tried to slip around Winston while he was distracted, but Winston moved slightly to cut him off.
“Anything that hurts my friends is my business,” Matt replied, keeping his voice low and controlled.
Maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought. I allowed myself to relax just a little.
“Cadet McCully got a first hand experience with that yesterday, didn’t he?” Winston glanced at me meaningfully.
I winced as the blood boiled to Matt’s face and his hands clenched at his side. I didn’t entirely blame him. Winston’s comment made my temper flare as well.
“Matt,” I warned. “Just ignore...”
Matt cut me off with a wave, but his eyes never left Winston. “Leave Scott out of this.” Matt clenched his teeth and took an intimidating step toward the smaller bully. “And leave Gene alone.”
“Gene and I have an agreement; his knowledge for my silence.” Winston slapped Gene on the back in mock camaraderie.
Gene stumbled forward at the excessive force of the blow. I stepped forward instinctively to try to steady Gene. The sudden movement drove spikes of pain into my side, forcing me back to the wall for support.
Matt flashed me a glare and mouthed, “Stay back.”
“Stay calm,” I mouthed back.
“You mean completed homework for your silence.” Matt ignored me and scowled at Winston. “That’s blackmail – and cheating.”
“He’s happy. I’m happy.” Winston put his arm around Gene’s shoulders and roughly pulled him close. “Everyone’s happy but you.”
Matt’s fists rose aggressively at Winston’s treatment of Gene. His fight for calm contorted his face and stiffened his shoulders.
I stepped forward to go to his side, hoping that there would be something I could do to help my friend. With a groan, I sank back against the wall. My foolishness in even attempting to get out of bed this morning had taxed my injured, aching body to the point that I could barely stand, much less intervene.
Help Matt find the strength to make the right choice here. This was the whole reason I had even gotten out of bed, and I was no help.
Matt unclenched his hands and forced out a long breath before answering Winston’s taunt. “I don’t think Superintendent Hinkly will be very ‘happy’ when he finds out.”
“If Superintendent Hinkly finds out about me, everyone finds out about Gene’s dad,” Winston threatened.
“Why you...” Matt took a step toward Winston.
Dear God, without your help, it’s over. The pain in my side was beginning to make me dizzy, so I rested my head back against the wall as I prayed.
Winston waited for Matt’s fist with a smirk. I was fairly sure he knew what would happen if Matt were caught fighting again. It was almost as if he wanted Matt to be expelled. Gene was pale and silent, looking from Matt to Winston as if he didn’t know what was really going on. I closed my eyes, my head still resting against the rough brick wall. I couldn’t even look.
Suddenly, I heard a long exhale of breath and Matt’s tight voice saying, “We’ll see what Superintendent Hinkly has to say about that, too.”
I opened my eyes just in time to see Matt whirl angrily away from Winston and plow right into Superintendent Hinkly. All four of us froze, too surprised to even draw to attention. Matt was the first to recover, snapping to attention and saluting sharply. The rest of us followed, I a little slower than the others.
“I’m sorry, Superintendent Hinkly, sir,” Matt apologized stiffly. “I was just on my way to see you.”
“I know.” Superintendent Hinkly’s voice was soft and deep.
“How much did you hear?” Winston asked uncertainly.
Superintendent Hinkly stared at him sternly before answering. “Enough to know what you’ve been up to.”
“But Cadet Marshall...” Winston’s voice rose as he pointed at Matt accusingly.
“You are still at attention, Cadet Daytona,” Superintendent Hinkly warned. Winston snapped his arm to his side and stared ahead fearfully.
I wonder how long its been since Winston’s been in trouble. I was relieved that he had finally been caught, but I would be even more relieved when Superintendent Hinkly released us from attention and I could find support against the wall again. The ground tipped dizzily as I tried to hold my stiff position against the ripping pain in my side.
Superintendent Hinkly turned to Matt, his look softening slightly. “Cadet Marshall, I am going to limit your grounding to the weekend. I think that your dad’s threats and the self control you showed here will be enough.”
He turned back to Winston grimly. “Cadet Daytona, go directly to my office. I will be calling your mother about your behavior.”
“Please, sir,” Winston whined. “Not my mom!”
“To my office, Cadet,” Superintendent Hinkly repeated sharply.
Winston began to march double time through the back door of the Administration building toward Superintendent Hinkly’s office.
“At ease.” Superintendent Hinkly turned back to Matt. I relaxed and sank back against the wall. The world was swimming before my eyes as I slid down the abrasive bricks and came to rest on the ground, my head on my folded arms.
“I’m very proud of you, Cadet Marshall.” Superintendent Hinkly sounded very far away. “You were able to control you temper without help from Cadet McCully...”
At that point he must have turned to look at me because his voice broke off in surprise.
“Scott!” Matt shouted, concern filling his voice.
I raised my head weakly from my arms and tried to give him a reassuring grin. “I’m fine. I just did too much. I need to lie down.”
“Cadet Marshall, take Cadet McCully back to his room. He is to stay there at least until tomorrow,” Superintendent Hinkly commanded. “Cadet Rogers, return to you classes. Dismissed.”
As soon as I got to my room, I fell on my bed, exhausted. Kicking my shoes onto the floor, I crawled under the covers.
“Are you sure you don’t need anything?” Matt asked, still looking at me worriedly.
“Yes,” I said tiredly. “I need you to stop worrying. I’ll be fine. I’ll feel better after I rest. Go back to your classes.”
Matt hesitated for a moment; then turned to go. “I’ll bring you lunch,” he promised as he closed the door behind him.
I was asleep before the latch clicked.
I slept the rest of the morning, awakening only when Matt returned with my lunch. After eating enough to satisfy Matt, I lay down and went back to sleep. The meds the doctor had prescribed were finally numbing the pain enough to allow me to rest. By the time Matt returned for the evening, I was feeling much better. Not well enough to get out of bed, but at least well enough to sit up and work on some homework.
“I brought you dinner.” Matt pushed the door open with his foot and laid a tray in front of me. “Superintendent Hinkly had the cook put together plates for us, since we won’t be going to the picnic tonight.”
I looked at the hamburger, chips and potato salad hungrily and dug in.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t go to the picnic.” Matt sat down with his own tray on his bed. “It’s always a lot of fun.”
The Fall Picnic was a big deal at the Academy. Guys often used it as an opportunity to go on a free date with a girl they liked. Trinity had been hinting that she wanted me to ask her. Suddenly I was glad to be stuck in bed.
“No big deal.” I shrugged. “What about you? I know you were looking forward to that annual game of ‘touch’ football.”
Each year the upperclassmen challenged the underclassman to a game of two-hand touch football. Matt had been especially looking forward to this game since we had been suspended from the school team for sneaking off campus.
Matt made a face. “It’s better than going to MacArthur. Anything’s better than MacArthur. Besides, someone needs to keep you company. It will be nice to spend a quiet evening in our room and catch up on some homework.”
Ignoring the noises echoing from the parade grounds, Matt and I finished our dinner and our homework, and started a game of Risk. I had just turned in my first set of cards when we heard Gene’s voice from below our window.
“Matt, Scott, look what I won!”
We went to the window and looked down at Gene. In the light of a lamp attached to the side of the building, we could see him waving a small gold-colored trophy. Evidently he had won one of the many contests held at the Fall Picnic.
“Great job, Gene.” Leaning on the windowsill, I grinned down at him. “What is it for?”
Before Gene could answer, a man dashed out of the shadows into the circle of light cast by the lamp, clapped a hand over his mouth, and dragged the struggling teen to the edge of the lighted area.