Free Dev Dreams, Volume One by Ruth Madison Page B

huddled on the floor at the far end of
the hall.
    “Are you okay?” he called, but the figure
didn't move. He started to walk closer, then he recognized the
briefcase laying on the floor. He had to stop himself from trying
to run, remembering that his legs would no longer allow it. He
walked as fast as he could and quietly cursed the strange jerking
movement of his legs. “Paul?”
    Paul lifted his face and looked up at Jake.
His eyes were puffy and black, almost swollen shut. Blood was
oozing from a cut on his cheek and his lip was swollen up. He
clutched his stomach and Jake saw more blood puddling under
him.
    “Oh my God” Jake dropped to the ground and
touched Paul's shoulder. “What happened?” But it was a stupid
question. He knew what had happened. Derek had happened. “Hang on,”
Jake said, “Just hang on. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket
and dialed Alex's number.
    “I'm in class, Jake, this better be an
emergency,” his brother's voice said.
    “It is.”
    “Are you okay?” Sudden alarm in his
voice.
    “Come to the hallway outside room 128 and
hurry.”
    Another student came walking around the
corner. “Hey, you,” Jake called, “Get the principal and the nurse,
would you?” The student nodded and stared at Paul while he started
to run toward the office.
    Jake called 911. Then Alex came into sight.
His eyes met Jake's, then he looked down and his face changed.
“Paul?” he whispered. He ran faster than he had ever run before and
dropped to his knees in front of his brother and friend. “Paul, can
you hear me?”
    “Stay with him and wait for the ambulance,”
Jake said.
    “Of course.” Alex gently lifted Paul's head
onto his lap.
    “Help me up.” Jake put his hand on Alex's
shoulder and struggled back to his feet.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Fulfilling my part of the bargain.”
    Alex called down the hallway after him,
“Don't do anything stupid, Jake. He did this to Paul, think what he
could do to you!”
    Jake knew where to find Derek, in a
little-used bathroom at the far end of the school. Derek used it as
though it were his own private office. Jake pushed open the door
with his shoulder and Derek regarded him without surprise. “Are you
upset about what I did to that fag?” Derek said.
    “If you mean Paul, then yes.”
    “So he sent a cripple to beat me up? Why
didn't he send his boyfriend?”
    “If you mean Alex, then fuck you, you don't
know anything about us.”
    “Taking this awfully personally, aren't
you?”
    “Yes, I am taking this personally, because
it's my family you're screwing with. I should have put you in your
place years ago.”
    Derek laughed. “I'm not going to hit you,
cripple.”
    “You know my name.”
    “You're right, I do.”
    Then Jake punched him in the stomach. Derek
doubled over, his eyes bulging in surprise. He coughed, tried to
get his breath back. He stood up and no longer looked superior and
in control, it was real rage in his eyes. Jake considered for a
moment that he may have miscalculated this.
    But Derek took a deep breath and instead of
lashing out, kicked the cane out of Jake's hand. Jake, not prepared
for the sudden lack of support, grabbed the sink next to him to
stay upright. “You know he deserved it,” Derek said. “You can't
just wear whatever you want, do whatever you want. Order has to be
maintained.”
    “By you? Why don't you let yourself off the
hook?”
    “Things are going to go my way. I am the one
in control here, Kenley, don't forget it. I can do whatever I want
to you, or to that snot-nosed queer who looks down on me.”
    “Go ahead, then. Be a big man, beat up on the
people who are weaker than you are.”
    “That's what you don't get, you're all weaker
than I am. Every last one of you.”
    “In this little fishpond, fine. Maybe that's
true, but you're going to get crushed by the world at large.”
    “I'll take my chances,” Derek said, and he
walked forward, giving Jake a push as he walked past him out