“You worried?”
“No.”
Red was staring out a window beside a honey badger, both of them sat out in a hallway. The pane of glass in question had been taped along a crack and some wet floor signs and warning cones with caution tape had been erected in front of it so that some likely and unfortunate passerby didn’t try getting too close. The floor was tiled with once elegant white stone, now grimy and scuffed beyond what the sparse janitorial staff could do for meager pay. Behind their heads, a pinboard with colorful paper decorations advertised various clubs and activities typical of that of a high school.
“Why not,” The badger asked, and Red shrugged.
“Lewis got us out of jail time,” He reasoned, leaning back in the seat and thumping against the board. “We’re pretty lucky all things considered. Just getting kicked to a reform school.”
“A reform school two-hundred miles away, and Lloyd isn’t helping out with bills,” They replied, and Red sighed in response.
“Did my uncle ever pay for our bills, Reggie?”
Reggie clicked his tongue in response, and thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. “I went through Enfield once on a family trip to Reno… I want to say we had to stay at a bed and breakfast along the way there, the guy was decent. I could talk with my folks and ask them about it.”
“That would be appreciated,” Red said, and a door opened up beside them as a bison with a neck brace and sling walked out. He meanmugged the pair while leaving, an older couple of bison walking behind him, and Reggie mumbled.
“I guess you hurt him more than we thought.” Reggie didn’t give Red an opportunity to respond, sliding out of the seat and slapping his knee while walking towards the door. “Let’s go ahead and get the transfer papers.”
“Yeah, I wanna get started on the road sooner rather than later,” Red stated with a groan as he stood.
They stepped into the office and the owl principal was seated at a desk with an exhausted expression. His office was a mess of paperwork and strewn chairs, even a cabinet was tipped over. Reggie stated the obvious.
“So, I’m guessing they didn’t take the situation well?”
“You two have caused one of the largest shitstorms at this school since the gym teacher was caught with photos on his hard drive. You realize this, right,” The principal asked, and the pair looked at each other before turning back to the man.
“And that’s our problem, how,” Red questioned, and the principal sighed.
“I shouldn’t have allowed you back into this school.”
“Ah, yes, blame the people who beat the fuck out of the asshole stealing money from students. Great system,” Red exclaimed, holding a hand out for the transfer paper. The principal begrudgingly handed it over to the oversized fox, and Red growled; “I hope you get what's coming to you.”
The owl sunk back in his seat, but blurted out, “Is that a threat?”
“No,” Red said, turning around and walking towards the door. He stopped just before leaving, turning to Reggie and tipping over a shelf with a hand. “Be sure to leave him your own gift.”
“With pleasure,” Reggie replied, but Red had walked out by that point.
He strolled down the hall of the school with it’s utilitarian design, his eyes cutting from corners to lockers, and then to doorways. After having seen the cityscape from above, the dank alleys below, and looking down streets for miles, the simple architecture felt unfamiliar and even archaic. With construction paper decorations held up via circles of cheap one-sided tape, promoting education and studies with a colorful expression of happiness, it accomplished the opposite. He didn’t feel joy, he felt alienated. His inclusion was - in the eyes of everyone there - begrudgingly mandatory.
YOU ARE READING
Eastside Riders : The Catkiller
General FictionFollowing the destruction of his gang, a young man named Red, otherwise known as The Catkiller, is forced to move and confront his trauma after it follows him. Read through his tragic story from the past to the present as he grows and learns to be a...
