The Castaway Hotel - 5 - 24. Chapter 24 - Responding To Bigotry

After the situation had been settled with Trey’s attacker, we hoped things might quiet down for a while. We were still vigilant, especially where Trey was concerned, but the situation surrounding his coming out was pretty low-key after that. We found out later that the second boy who had been with Trey’s attacker when Frankie confronted him at the mall, sort of deserted him after he was humiliated so badly. However, the other boy was his cousin and they lived together, so he didn’t have that option. However, both boys had been unimpressed with how quickly he backed down when confronted and realized he wasn’t as worthy of their adoration as they once thought.

Not only that, but when the second boy’s parents found out about some of the things the bully had done, they put some pressure on their son to disassociate himself from his newfound friend. His parents did this because they didn’t want him ending up in trouble with the law too.

We also heard rumors that the primary bully had also become the brunt of some jokes at school, especially concerning his time in jail. Some of the jocks had jokingly started a rumor that he had become one of the other prisoner’s girlfriend while he had been locked up, which was even more humiliating for him than anything else they could have said or thought. He certainly didn’t want anyone to consider he might have done anything of that nature while he was in jail, but since the gossip had started, it would be difficult to dissuade the notion he had participated in such activities. Not only that, but the shadows conjured up by the rumors would follow him for years to come – at least whenever he was around those he went to school with. That’s not what we wanted to happen, but it appears you DO reap what you sow.

During that same period of time, Trey worked really hard on his project and made some good progress on it. The play was about a young Japanese pilot who survived his plane crashing into the ocean and then struggled to save himself by doing anything he could to make his way to a small island in the Pacific.

At nearly the same time, a young black American seaman was enduring his own struggles to survive, after his ship was torpedoed. Once the vessel sank, he found himself clinging to some debris to stay afloat, but was unable to locate any other survivors, so it quickly became apparent he was totally alone. He spent several days holding tightly to the flotsam that kept him from slipping below the surface of the water and finally washed up on a desolate island.

As unbelievable as it might seem, it was the same small, lonely island where the Japanese aviator had come ashore a few weeks earlier. Once they’d discovered they’d ended up in the same place, it created a great deal of apprehension and distrust between them. Each had been led to believe, at least in recent times, that people from the other country were evil and not to be trusted. Now, they suddenly found themselves thrust together at a very traumatic time, but their main concern was for their own survival.

At first they elected to try to avoid one another, but both of them considered the possibility he might have to kill the other or defend against a similar attack upon himself. After much consideration about this situation, they independently decided it would be best to cooperate and try to survive together, rather than perish alone.

Before they could do this, though, the pair had to overcome a couple of major obstacles. The first was the lack of a common language and the second was their natural distrust of each other. However, since each of them questioned his ability to make it alone, both concluded their ultimate survival would hinge on their ability to cooperate. They both understood their chance of being rescued was slim, since the island was of no strategic value and nothing of significance was located nearby. In order to survive, they would not only have to provide themselves with food and shelter, but also find suitable quantities of fresh water for drinking and be able to protect themselves from any surprises Mother Nature might throw at them. This would be best accomplished by working together.

Before this could happen, however, Trey had to effectively show how they made initial contact and eventually broke down the other’s inherent distrust. He did this by having each of them signal the other they meant no harm, but they still had to come up with a way to communicate or this effort would still prove fruitless. In order to do this, he showed how each attempted to teach the other a few words in his own language. First, one would point at something and then say its name in his language several times, and then the other would repeat it until his teacher indicated he was saying it correctly. They would practice like this over and over again, until the vocabulary became second nature to them, and gradually they built the basis for understanding each other by using an amalgam of the English and Japanese language of their own design.

In order to make this realistic, Trey used Sammy, Andrew and their Japanese grandparents. Mr. and Mrs. Yamada had come over to spend some time with their grandsons during the boys’ spring break and had decided to stay a bit longer, so they could spend a little more time with them. Trey took advantage of their being here, even though he didn’t want to take away from the time they had with their grandsons, but once he explained what he was trying to do, they were eager to help.

Trey would tell them what word he needed the Japanese equivalent for and then they would pronounce it several times for him, until he could say it correctly and write it phonetically. Once he had mastered that, they would show him how to spell it correctly using the English alphabet, and then the elder couple would even show him how it looked using traditional Japanese characters. Not only were they pleased that Trey was so attentive to their instruction, but they were most pleased by how he tried to remain true to what it might have actually been like, if this had actually happened. Trey understood he probably couldn’t have pulled this off without them, so thanked each of them multiple times for their invaluable assistance.

Trey had not only learned a great deal from this project, but he also managed to keep everything historically accurate. This included how both warriors would have been raised during the Great Depression, which was the period in history that immediately preceded World War II.

For example, once the pair was able to communicate sufficiently, Trey had the Japanese pilot explain that he had been raised in a fishing village as a youngster and then had him teach the American how to fish, using a net the pair had constructed from vines and seaweed. Along that same vein, Trey also had the Japanese pilot show his counterpart how to search for other forms of seafood, like digging for clams and catching crabs as well.

In return, the American, who had been raised as a southern farm boy, taught his Japanese counterpart how to hunt and trap what few birds, reptiles and other animal life inhabited the island. The black sailor had also been a cook in the highly segregated navy of World War II, so he did much of the cooking too. Trey did a very good job showing how they began to trust and learn from each other and even how they survived a devastating typhoon, something they might not have lived through on their own. By using these adversities, Trey was able to show how they began to let down their guard and came to respect one another as equals.

As they bonded, each of them began to worry about what would happen to his new friend or himself after they were rescued, depending on whose troops were the first to arrive and discover them. Each wondered if this might happen before the war ended and if their captors would be generous enough to take into account what they had done to benefit the other, in order to live. In the end, they concluded only time would tell and it wasn’t worth wasting more time worrying about it.

As fate would have it, an American ship discovered them and came to their rescue, when someone onboard spotted them along the water’s edge. One of the sailors saw them as he used his binoculars to search for signs of the Japanese submarine they were chasing. Once his countrymen came ashore, the sailor did his best to make sure his new friend would be treated fairly. Seeing he also had limited rights during this period, he wasn’t sure if he could be effective in ensuring this, but it didn’t stop him from trying his hardest. Despite the fact he was also discriminated against, he tried to explain to their rescuers that even the politics of war, which were formulated by aggressive and egotistical leaders, couldn’t prevent ordinary people from learning to trust each other and even become friends. It was a nice portrayal of how the world could, and probably should, be.

After reading his rough draft, I offered a few suggestions for some minor changes, besides correcting some spelling and grammar usage along the way, but the story content was entirely Trey’s. I was impressed with the level of understanding and maturity he showed in writing it, as well as the detailed research he did concerning the planes, ships, uniforms and other information he referred to in his play. It was really looking good, so I suggested it was time for him to meet with his teachers, so he could let them see what he had so far.

Trey was a little concerned it might be too soon to do this, but after I told him it would give him time to make any changes either of them thought it might need, he agreed. He was still quite nervous the day these meetings were scheduled and nearly wet himself as they read their copies of his script. However, once they’d finished and looked up and smiled at him, he knew everything was all right.

Both teachers told him how impressed they were with what he’d done, but his English teacher even went a bit further with her encouragement. “Trey, do you think there might be some way you could do this on a stage or videotape the story, so it might be shared with more than just our class?”

“Well, I don’t know how I’d be able do that,” he answered, honestly. “I mean, it’s set on an island in the Pacific, where they hunt lizards, birds, snakes and things like that. Besides, whom would I get to play the parts?”

“Well, I know it won’t be easy, and you’d have to pull off a minor miracle to make this work,” his history teacher added, “but don’t you have a brother who’s black and another who is of Japanese descent?”

“I do, but they’re hardly old enough to play these roles,” he cautioned.

“Well, for the time being they might be your best hope,” his English teacher suggested, “at least if we have any chance of getting this done. I really think this play is good enough to have it shared with others in the school. Won’t you please try to do that for me?”

“I agree,” his history teacher added. “This is definitely something that should be shared with as many others as possible. You’ve done a remarkable job meeting both of our requirements and it would serve as a valuable example to others.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to my dad about it and see what he thinks,” Trey agreed. “Maybe he can come up with some ideas to help me out. He’s usually pretty good in the ‘idea’ department.”

His teachers concurred with his comment, satisfied that Trey and I would be able to work something out. When Trey came home and told me what they had discussed, he asked if I had any ideas that might help him overcome the foreseeable problems. I told him I’d have to make a few phone calls, since I needed to discuss some things with a few other people I knew, but I might be able to come up with a viable solution. In the meantime, I suggested he talk to Dion and Sammy, to see if they were interested in playing the roles of the two main characters. He agreed and went on his way.

Trey had no trouble talking Dion into helping him, since they were lovers and Dion would do anything to help Trey out. However, Sammy was a different story. Sammy wanted to know exactly what he’d have to do, how long it would take and why he would want to be part of this. In response, Trey explained to him about what he hoped to accomplish with this play, which was to get people to accept others as they are. Trey explained that he didn’t want people treated differently just because of their nationality, religion or sexual orientation, and hoped this play might help to open their eyes, so they could see that everyone was basically the same. Trey’s explanation impressed Sammy so much that he finally agreed to participate.

I used the next couple of days to contact a few of the people I knew who might be able to assist Trey with this matter, to see what they could do to help him pull this off. During the course of these conversations, I had some success in getting volunteers for various tasks. A tailor friend offered to make the costumes we’d need, while promising to make them look authentic for the time period, if I would provide the material he would need to accomplish the task. Once I assured him that would not be a problem, I told him Trey would make copies of what he wanted the uniforms to look like and he assured me he’d complete them as quickly as he could.

I then approached another person I knew, who worked at the local cable company, and asked him to help me talk their Community Cable Access Department into videotaping this performance, as well as helping create whatever sets might also be needed. Although it was a hard sell and I had to agree to pay for the materials they would use to improvise the various props Trey would need, as well as get Trey to give them permission to air it, once the school was finished with it. After talking this over with Trey, he consented, so CCAD agreed to work with us. It now appeared that videotaping the play was going to be possible after all.

Even though this part of his project was going well, some other developments occurred during this same time that weren’t as positive. The problems began one day after school, while the boys were waiting for Trey to finish doing some more of his research. A boy, who was friends with some of my sons, came running up to them in the hall. “Hey, do you guys remember the kid who beat up Trey?” he asked, nearly breathless.

“Of course we do,” Nick told him, wondering how the boy thought they could forget about the other kid.

“Well, I heard him after school asking some other guys to help him with something,” the young man announced.

“Do you know what SORT of thing he was asking for help with?” Danny asked him.

“Yeah, he was trying to get them to help him trash somebody’s car,” the boys stated, rather unemotionally. “I didn’t hear whose car they were after, but after I thought about it for a while, I suspected it might be yours, so I came here to warn you.”

“Did those other guys agree to help him?” Shannon wondered.

“I don’t think they did, but I’m not positive,” he confirmed.

“Well, maybe we’d better go out and check on the car then,” Danny told his brothers.

Without hesitating, the three boys headed out to where the Grand Am was parked, with each taking a slightly different route to get there. Just as Nick approached the car, he saw our friend the bully trying to puncture one of the tires on the Grand Am with a screwdriver or knife, he couldn’t tell which.

“Hey, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Nick screamed at the kid.

The boy hadn’t heard him approach and was totally shocked that he had been caught. The car was parked in an isolated location, and since he didn’t expect the boys to be out here this early, he wasn’t as vigilant as he probably should have been. He figured that since they usually stayed until Kevin had helped Vinnie finish his workout, which he calculated should take another half hour to forty-five minutes to complete, he hadn’t expected them any time soon. That was his first mistake.

After hearing the challenge and not yet knowing who made it, he dropped the tool he was using and leapt up to defend himself. It was apparent he wasn’t going to get away with carrying out his plan, so he figured his best defense was a good offense. With that in mind, he stepped toward Nick and threw a punch. That was his second mistake.

Since Nick expected he might try something like that, he was able to sidestep the blow. This meant the force of the attacker’s swing threw him temporarily off balance, but he quickly righted himself, before lowering his shoulder and charging at Nick. That was his third mistake.

Oh, it wasn’t because his charge was ineffective, since he was able to tackle Nick and slam him backward onto the ground. However, by the time that had happened, Danny and Brandon were close enough to see what was going on and immediately darted to Nick’s assistance. After grabbing the attacker and throwing him off of Nick, Danny took control of the situation.

“Are you really this f**king dumb?” Danny asked him, rhetorically. “Don’t you ever learn?”

The boy just glared at Danny and then leapt at him, while throwing his next series of punches. Danny took a couple of blows to the body, but was able to duck the punch to his head. Instinctively, he countered with his own quick series of punches, which landed upon the boy’s head and face. Unready for the ferocity of Danny’s counterattack, the boy faltered and began giving ground. Unmoved by his opponent’s situation and vowing not to show him any more mercy than was necessary to keep this from becoming a criminal matter, Danny pursued him and landed a couple more punches to his body, before his final blow caught the kid squarely in the center of his face. Dumbfounded and dazed, the boy fell backward and landed against the car, where he remained while trying to come to his senses and figure out what to do next.

“Look!” Shannon exclaimed, “The dumb bastard spray-painted the windshield too.”

This remark caused the other two to look up to see the word ‘FAGMOBILE’ scrawled in silver paint across the glass. As they turned to face the culprit again, they spotted the can on the ground and noticed the small splotches of silver paint on the fingers of the kid’s right hand. By this time the boy started to get up again, but Danny offered him a warning.

“Stay right where you are, if you don’t want your ass kicked again,” he hissed.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” the boy protested, as he tried to scramble to his feet. That was his next mistake.

Danny wasn’t about to back down or show him any mercy, so he hit him twice more as he tried to stand. The first blow landed against the side of the boy’s head, while the second connected with his jaw. It was the last blow that was responsible for knocking him down again.

“Now stay there this time!” Danny shouted at him.

Stupidly, the boy made another move to get up, but when he saw Danny getting ready to pummel him again, he thought better of it and stayed where he was.

“Good boy,” Brandon mocked, when he noticed their nemesis remaining on the ground.

While keeping a watchful eye on him, the brothers talked amongst themselves to determine what to do next with him now. Eventually, they decided to turn him in.

Danny and Brandon each grabbed one of the boy’s arms, lifted him to his feet and then escorted him into the school. Nick followed closely behind them, in case the boy tried something else or attempted to run. However, the boy merely continued to struggle with Danny and Brandon, while trying to break free of them. Since he was becoming tired with the boy’s continued defiance, Brandon twisted his left arm behind his back, in a half-Nelson, as a way to motivate him to do as they wanted. At nearly the same time, Danny was eagerly digging his fingers into the flesh of the boy’s arm, as his way of letting him know that he wasn’t about to get away. When they finally got the perpetrator into the school, they dragged him to the principal’s office, so they could explain what had happened.

“We caught him in the act this time,” Danny announced to the principal. “He was slashing the tires on our car, after he’d spray-painted a derogatory comment on the windshield. You can even see some of the paint on his fingers.” The boy tried to hide his hand, but Danny yanked his arm away from his body and thrust it out into the open, where the principal could see it.

“Well, it’s obvious you screwed up again,” the principal said, while eyeing the boy, “and I doubt you’ll get any breaks this time around.”

At this point the principal called a couple of teachers into his office, so they could watch the boy while he went out to look at what he’d done to the car. He was disgusted when he saw the damaged tire and what was written on the glass, before noticing the materials the boy had used lying nearby. He quickly withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to pick up the knife and can of paint, and then took this evidence back to his office for safekeeping. Once he reentered the school, he immediately called the police and asked them to send someone over, so he could file an official report.

A short time later, a squad car pulled up in front of the main entrance to the school and two officers jumped out and strode quickly toward the principal’s office. After a brief greeting, they jotted down all of the appropriate information and took statements from everyone who had witnessed any part of this crime, which included the boy who had overheard the culprit trying to recruit others to help him. After they finished doing that, they went out to the parking lot and took pictures of the damage done to the car, before returning to the school, so they could bag the evidence the principal had confiscated.

After all of this had been accomplished, they slapped a pair of handcuffs on the boy’s wrists and led him out to their vehicle, where they carefully placed him in the back seat. Before they left, they radioed in and had the desk sergeant call our house, so he could advise me about what had happened. After giving me a few of the details, he asked if I wanted to pick up my sons or if I preferred he assign someone to drive them home. After assuring him I’d drive down to get them, he suggested I check out the damage to the Grand Am first, and then arrange for my mechanic to tow the car to the garage. He thought it would be a good idea to have him do a thorough examination of the damage, in case there were other problems that weren’t as obvious, and then have the mechanic turn in a list of what damage had been done, along with a written estimate of what it would cost to repair it. That way, the authorities could determine the severity of the charge they would lodge against the young man, depending on the total dollar amount of the damage.

Once this message was passed along, the arresting officer advised my sons that I’d be down shortly to pick them up, and then he and his partner drove off. As they were leaving, Nick also slipped away to find Kevin and Vinnie. It was quite a bit later than he would have normally met up with them, so he knew they’d be concerned, but now he could tell them what had happened and let them know where everyone was.

All the boys were standing outside the principal’s office by the time I arrived, so after I finished with the principal, I loaded all of them into the van and we headed over to fill my mechanic in about what I needed. The boys also informed me of the details about what had happened as we drove there, while admitting they couldn’t believe the boy was dumb enough to try something like this again. They almost felt sorry for him now, knowing both the school and the courts would come down hard on him this time, but I reminded them it wasn’t our problem any longer. We had done our best to help him once, but this time he’d have to take whatever punishment the judicial system dished out to him.

As the boys had often heard expressed on television and in the movies many times before, they understood that he did the crime, so now he’d also have to do the time. They just hoped he didn’t come out worse than he was before he went in.