Another Lifetime - 6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Kyle woke up the next morning at six twenty-seven, a full three minutes before his alarm clock went off. He lay there in the faint early morning light, staring at the bright red numbers on his digital clock. He wasn’t thinking about anything in particular, the part of his brain that was capable of rational thought wasn’t quite caught up with the rest of his brain that early in the morning.

The electric numbers on the face of the clock clicked to six twenty-eight, and Kyle sighed, knowing he was going to have to get up soon. He debated just turning off the alarm and getting up now, because he knew the horrible screeching sound from the clock would only grate on his already frayed nerves. Kyle closed his eyes, stretched, and yawned widely.

Kyle wasn’t looking as the clock turned to six twenty-nine, and only took the time to look at for a few seconds. He reached his hand over, intending to shut it off before it had a chance to scream in his ear. He knocked it clumsily into the trash can.

Kyle groaned, and leaned over the edge of the bed, reaching into the trash can for the clock. He pulled it out, and had it right next to his ear as the alarm squealed, sounding to him as if it were at a thousand decibels. He jumped from the unexpectedness of the sound, and dropped it once again into the trash can.

Finally pulling it out and shutting it off, the silence that followed was nearly as bad as the sound. Frustrated, he roughly threw the clock back onto his bedside table, where it clanged into his lamp.

“What the hell is going on over there?” Justin asked in sleepy irritation.

“Sorry, go back to sleep,” Kyle said. Justin didn’t have to get up for school for another half hour, because he was still in the Junior High. Justin grunted, and rolled back over. Soon the silence was filled with his softly snoring breathing.

Kyle got up and pulled out a clean pair of underwear and socks. Kyle wore briefs, that was all there was to it. He hated the way boxers felt on him. It always felt as if his privates had no protection, and were very vulnerable on the few occasions when he wore boxers. He wasn’t really embarrassed about it either, apart from turning bright red the one time Leo saw him in a pair. Leo laughed and said Kyle had always looked like the nut hugging type.

Kyle’s socks were very short, ending just before the ankles. One time when he was on his computer doing what he would call “routine research”, he came across a picture of a cute twenty something skater boy, wearing the same socks. And nothing else. The next time he went clothes shopping, he got a few pairs, because they looked so cute.

He left the room, went to the linen closet for a towel, and continued down the hall to the shower. After getting the shower temperature as warm as he liked it, he quickly stepped in and lathered himself. He washed himself clean in a straight to the point, no nonsense manner, and was done in just a matter of minutes. He didn’t even take the time to do any, what he would call, “personal anatomical exploration”, as he just didn’t feel like it this morning.

He finished, turned the water off, and stepped out, after drying his feet so that the rug didn’t get wet. He dried off the rest of his body quickly, fighting the attack of the shivers that always came after a hot shower. He pulled on his briefs, then his socks, brushed his teeth, and went back out and into his room to get dressed.

Ten minutes later he was sitting at the table eating a bowl of whole grain cereal that was actually pretty tasty. He looked up as his father entered the kitchen, grunted a good morning, and filled up his thermos with coffee. He was dressed in a blue button down shirt, black pants, shiny black dress shoes, and a black tie.

Kyle’s father’s attire made what Kyle was wearing look like something a bum might wear. Kyle had on a simple black T-shirt that clung to his sides and was made of a slightly shimmering material. He wore a pair of faded jeans that were a little snug on him, but not too tight, and a pair of nice leather shoes that looked a little out of place.

Kyle’s father looked him over, making Kyle feel as if he were on display. He frowned, and without a word left the room and walked out the front door to his car. Kyle heard the sound of the engine starting, and then backing out of the driveway. Kyle finished his cereal, and put his bowl in the sink.

Kyle thought it was strange that his mom wasn’t awake yet. She usually drove him to school in the morning, and if she didn’t get up soon, Kyle would be late. Kyle glanced over to the counter, where near the coffee machine there was a crumpled up piece of paper.

Kyle instinctively picked it up and unfolded it.

John,

Got called in early. Please give Kyle a ride to school.

-Pam

It was a note from Kyle’s mother to his father. Kyle crumpled the note up again, and stared at the ball of paper in his hand furiously. His father had obviously seen the note, he’d just chosen to ignore it out of sheer cruelty.

Kyle angrily threw the paper at the wall, and raced out of the kitchen to retrieve his backpack. Kyle ran out of the house, slamming the door behind him. He raced down the street, past the even rows of houses that lined his neighborhood. At the end of the road, he turned the corner and continued down the main road that led to his school.

A moment later, he passed Justin’s school on his left. The Junior High was a lot closer than Kyle’s school, and for a moment he was angry at Justin for that. It might have been the fact that his muscles were screaming at him from the exertion, having to carry his heavy backpack on this three mile run that made him angry, he didn’t know. Didn’t care either. He just wanted to make it to class on time, because he definitely didn’t need another detention.

Huffing and puffing, Kyle crossed the threshold into his school just as the final bell rang for his first class. Kyle paused for only a moment, then raced down the hall toward his class. Kyle only faintly heard the hall monitor as she yelled for him to slow down. He didn’t listen.

Kyle burst into the geometry classroom, startling the teacher and the rest of the class. He finally had a chance to catch his breath, and he doubled over placing his hands on his knees taking large gulps of air.

“My…mom…couldn’t give…me…a ride this…morning,” he panted to the teacher. She was still looking at him as if he were insane. “My…dad forgot…to…take…me.”

The teacher took a full minute, staring Kyle in the eyes.

“Take your seat please,” she said quietly.

* * * * *

The rest of the school day was uneventful. He didn’t have any run-ins with Ethan, and he didn’t have any embarrassing moments in his classes. He sat with Stanley both during art class and lunch, and served his detention from the day before without incident. He had to do a few tedious tasks around the room for about an hour, things like scraping gum off of desks and washing them down when he was done.

It was stupid, he thought to himself. He was wasting his time doing things that really didn’t need doing when he could be spending time with Leo in the hospital. When the detention was finally over, he left without a word to the teacher. Mr Bright glared at him, but was otherwise silent.

Kyle went to his locker and found Stanley sitting on a bench nearby. He was reading a book that was in one hand, the other was on the arm of the bench, his fingers drumming lazily on the wood. His concentration was focused on the paperback, and he didn’t hear Kyle walk up. Kyle smiled to himself, seeing the opportunity that had presented itself to him.

“Hey!” Kyle screamed, causing Stanley to jump and drop his book.

Stanley’s right hand, the one that had been drumming lazily on the wood, was now clutching at his chest. He was breathing hard, and he stared at Kyle with wide eyes.

“What the hell did you do that for, Kyle?” Stanley asked, clearly frightened.

Kyle felt guilty about what he’d just done. He smiled sheepishly at Stanley.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Kyle said through his grin.

Stanley still looked shaken.

“I was reading a mystery novel by this author I really like,” Stanley said. “I was so into it I didn’t hear you come up.”

“What book is it?” Kyle asked.

“Bleeding Hearts, by Josh Aterovis,” Stanley said. “He’s written a few books, but he isn’t all that well known yet.”

Kyle apologized again, and went to his locker. He pulled out the books he would need for the night, and deposited the ones he wouldn’t, and then closed the door and turned to face Stanley.

“Well, shall we?” Kyle asked when he was finished.

“I told my mom that you’d be coming over later, if that’s okay,” Stanley asked, slightly nervously. Kyle thought it was strange, because Stanley hadn't shown any nervousness around Kyle before. He didn’t give it much thought other than that.

“I’ll call home and tell my mom then,” Kyle responded to Stanley’s question, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

“Let’s go then.”

Kyle and Stanley made the trip to the hospital a little while later than usual. They chatted amiably as they walked, and although it took longer than normal, the time seemed to just fly by.

They took the elevator up to Leo’s floor, standing awkwardly with a nurse and an old man in a hospital gown who kept passing gas and giggling.

Finally reaching Leo’s room, they entered and found Leo’s father waiting on them inside.

“Stephen Scott, this is Stanley Fletcher,” Kyle introduced them. They shook hands and Leo’s father asked if he’d been one of Leo’s friends.

“No, I knew him in class, but we’ve never really gotten to know each other,” Stanley replied.

“Well, then, what is it you wanted to see me about?” Leo’s father asked.

“You and I both know who did this to Leo,” Kyle began. The older man’s face darkened, and a scowl broke out on his face.

“That Hartman kid,” he said gruffly.

“Stanley and I want him to pay for this,” Kyle continued. “We’re trying to prove that he was the last one to see Leo before the attack. Stanley has some contacts within the school, and the current plan is to find out if he’s said anything to anyone.”

Leo’s father digested this for a minute.

“This could be very dangerous for the both of you if he finds out about it,” he said. Kyle and Stanley exchanged a glance.

“We know, we’re being very careful,” Stanley said after giving Kyle a meaningful look behind the older man’s back.

Kyle looked at him for a second, because they hadn't discussed whether or not they were going to tell Leo’s dad about Ethan’s threat. Kyle hadn't expected this, as far as he knew they were going to tell him everything.

“I wanted to ask you a few questions, if that’s alright,” Stanley continued. “The first thing I wanted to ask was whether or not you suspected Leo had been hurt by Ethan before.”

“Not at the time, no,” he said. “One time he came home with a black eye and had been crying, but he said he had just been clumsy and was crying because it hurt. I believed him because, lets face it, Leo is clumsy.”

“I remember that!” Kyle exclaimed. “I saw him the next day, and he told me that he had run into a cabinet door at home!”

Kyle’s hatred of Ethan grew enormously. He didn’t understand why after Ethan had hurt him, had Leo still lied to protect him. Ethan just wasn’t worth that.

“Have you ever seen Ethan be violent with Leo?” Stanley asked.

“No, in fact, I really don’t see a lot of Ethan. Leo usually goes over to Ethan’s place,” he responded.

“Did Leo mention that he was going to go over to Ethan’s the night he was attacked?” Stanley asked.

“Well, he said he was going to get coffee with Kyle, but might go there after,” he said.

“Okay, the last one I have is, does Leo ever mention any mutual friends between him and Ethan?” Stanley asked.

“No, not really,” he said frowning. Then, his face brightened considerably. “No, wait, he did mention someone. Michael Bates? Gates? Something like that.”

“Michael Yates?” Stanley asked excitedly, and Leo’s dad nodded. “I know him, he’s in my math class. I’ll see what I can find out tomorrow.”

The boys spent some time visiting Leo, and talking with his father. After a few hours, they left to go over to Stanley’s house. Kyle idly wondered about the moment of nervousness that Stanley had shown earlier that day, when he asked Kyle over.

Kyle shrugged, deciding once again to leave it alone. He looked over at Stanley as they walked down the hall toward the elevators.

“You really know Michael Yates?” Kyle asked.

“Well, not really well,” Stanley said. “We had to do a project together one time last year, but haven't really talked all that much since.”

“Do you think you can get anything out of him?” Kyle asked.

“We’ll have to see,” Stanley said as they reached the elevator. “It really all depends on how close he is to either Leo or Ethan.”

Kyle and Stanley rode the elevator down in relative silence, after a brief giggling fit from remembering the flatulent old man. When they finally got outside, Stanley’s mother was waiting on them in the visitor parking.

She was a small woman, about the same height as Kyle. She was petite, with graying blonde hair and brown eyes behind a pair of thick glasses. She had on a faded T-shirt and khaki pants on. If it weren’t for the graying hair, Kyle would’ve guessed that she were a much younger woman.

As they got closer, Kyle was able to make out the logo on her shirt, and when Stanley realized what it was, he froze.

“Damnit, I told her not to wear the shirt here!” Stanley hissed.

“PFLAG?” Kyle asked. “What’s that?”

“It’s…” Stanley started. He paused, and gave Kyle a look out of the corner of his eye. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Once again Kyle was surprised by Stanley’s odd behavior, and fought back the urge to press the issue. Kyle continued walking, and Stanley followed about two paces behind.

Behind Kyle’s back, he waved to get his mother’s attention, then pointed to his own shirt at the area where the PFLAG logo was on hers. He then violently shook his head and mouthed, What were you thinking?

Stanley’s mom, realizing her mistake, turned and climbed in the car where the boys couldn’t see her anymore.

They finally reached the car and Stanley entered the passenger seat, while Kyle took the back. Kyle said hello to Stanley’s mom, and found that she’d put on a sweater when she’d gotten in the car. He simply assumed she was cold.

Stanley turned around in his seat and smiled at Kyle.

“Got a radio preference?” he asked. “There’s a CD book by your feet, but there’s not much more than some rock bands that aren't all that popular. Here at least.”

“Here?” Kyle asked.

“I like some German music,” Stanley said, blushing slightly.

Kyle picked up the CD book and flipped through a few pages.

“Ramstein? Tokio Hotel? I’ve never even heard of them,” Kyle said.

“Most people in the America don’t,” Stanley said, giggling. “They’re really popular in Germany. Hand me a Tokio Hotel CD, I’ll put it in.”

Kyle pulled out the CD, one titled “Schrei -So Laut Du Kannst” and handed it to Stanley.

“How did you even get these? Where do you buy German CD’s?” Kyle asked.

“Ebay, where else?” Stanley said with such a serious expression that Kyle laughed out loud. Stanley smiled. “You find the best deals on there!”

The CD started playing, and although Kyle couldn’t understand a word of it, he enjoyed it thoroughly. He listened to the sound of the music, not so much the words. Since he didn’t know the language, the vocals were more like another instrument, and Kyle found himself caught up in it like a whirlwind.

Stanley looked back at Kyle and smiled at the look on his face.

“Cool, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s so different when you don’t know the words,” Kyle said. “You focus on the music itself instead of whatever message they are presenting.”

“Exactly!” Stanley exclaimed.

“And he sounds so cu…ahem, cool,” Kyle said, nearly saying ‘cute’ accidentally.

“I think so too,” Stanley said, having caught what Kyle had meant to say, but he was not sure what it meant.

“I think he sounds like a whiny brat,” Stanley’s mom said with a wicked smile. Stanley’s head whipped around, and he stared at her angrily.

“Hey! I don’t make fun of your insane crush on the Beach Boys!” he said indignantly.

“At least my crushes have talent,” she responded, and Stanley flinched.

Kyle was missing something. He knew it, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was. He was beginning to feel stupid, but he figured it must not have mattered all that much.

The rest of the drive, they just listened, and got through most of the CD.

They got to Stanley’s house, and minutes later Kyle was looking through Stanley’s book collection. He found that they had similar tastes, but had a difference of opinion about a certain author. Kyle hated this author with a passion, but Stanley had nearly every book the man had written.

“Come on, he wrote a sequel to Frankenstein!” Kyle said, trying to get Stanley to see reason. “Last time I checked, he’s not Mary Shelley.”

“Whatever, I like him,” Stanley said.

Kyle continued looking through the books, and stopped when he got to Stanley’s murder/mysteries. He had quite a few books by a lot of different authors.

“Is this why you’re so interested in helping me?” Kyle asked.

Stanley thought hard for a moment, then said, “Well, I guess it’s one of the reasons. The main thing is I feel that Ethan needs to be punished for what he did. I might not have really known him, but I know Leo didn’t deserve what was done to him.”

Kyle nodded, completely agreeing with Stanley.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Stanley exclaimed. “When I was trying to find out if Brent King from the football team knows anything, he mentioned he was throwing a party on Friday. We have to go.”

“Party? Like, with all the football jocks?” Kyle asked, fearfully. “We’re not invited! They’ll kick our asses!”

“Dude, you’ve never been to a party before, have you?” Stanley asked in a mock serious tone. “No one cares, half the time the host of the party doesn’t know most of the people. And besides, this way we might be able to find out some answers.”

“How do you figure that?” Kyle asked, still unsure about the idea.

“Well, if we ask the right questions, you’d be surprised how much you can learn from the answers,” Stanley replied. “And they’ll be half drunk, so they might let something slip.”

Kyle sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to win this argument.

“Fine, we’ll go, but as soon as there’s any trouble we’re leaving,” Kyle said.

“Couldn’t agree more. I don’t know about you,” Stanley touched the fading bruise on Kyle’s eye. “but I don’t really like getting my face bashed in.”