The Originals

Chapter Twenty-Three: Stoll Finnegan

He didn't remember the first time stealing for his family, maybe because it made him feel queasy. Stealing wasn't right, he knew, but it was a necessity. There was a thieving job that he remembered quite well though.

He had gone to the Cleaners' Quarters and unlocked the cabinets, the ones above the sink. At thirteen years old, Stoll was a short boy and needed a stool to climb onto the counter. The surface was cold and smooth as if to wake Stoll up. He remembered how Sam teased him about being the shortest thirteen-year-old, but later, he would be one of the tallest students at fourteen.

His knees were shaky as he grabbed Mrs. Black's ring. She wore on her middle finger, so she could tastefully flip off Mr. O'Donnell, so he assumed it wasn't a wedding ring. This is wrong, he thought the whole time. He grasped the ring in his hand, wondering how much it was worth. It was a silver band with a studded diamond, it was beautiful.

Suddenly, his trembling knees gave away and he fell off the counter, crashing onto the floor. Luckily and not so luckily, Mrs. Black was already coming back from a shift and heard the noise."Stoll!" Mrs. Black swung the door wide open, abandoning her cleaning cart, and running over to the boy.

Stoll was crying, not because of the fall, but because of the guilt that ate him away so quickly. The stubby woman saw the empty cabinet, her ring in Stoll's hands, and his remorseful tears. It didn't take much to piece it together. "You stole my ring."

"I-I'm so sorry, Mrs. Black!" He sobbed even harder.

"Stand up, you fool." Her voice was shaking as Stoll got up from the floor. She raised her hand and slapped him. The mere force of the hit sent him tumbling back onto the floor. I deserved that slap, he thought as the sting burned. She yanked him back up after, wrestling him into a hug. "My boy, do you know the story b-behind this ring? It is not a wedding ring."

"N-No," Stoll sniffled.

"I had a foster son once, his name is Oliver. I loved Oliver a lot, he was a good boy. He was my boy. But then his saukerl of a father took him back from a few anger management classes," Mrs. Black cursed in German, her grip tightening on Stoll. He didn't realize that the old woman had a foster son once. He also knew that saukerl meant bastard in German since she said that word to Mr. O'Donnell so often. "That saukerl killed Ollie, the cops arrived at his doorstep and that damned idiot lost his own son. Ollie was gone."

Stoll's eyes widened. "O-Oliver died?"

"My only son died." Mrs. Black's voice dripped with agony. "I had this ring engraved with his name." She released the thief and flipped over the ring in Stoll's palm, showing the name Oliver 'Ollie' La Jeune. She looked Stoll square in the eye, they were both crying by the time she spoke again. "Promise me you will never steal again, my boy."

Stoll thought about it. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Black, but I can't lie to you." When Mrs. Black slipped back on the ring and nodded silently, without question. Stoll ran back to the Finnegan House in tears, fleeing in despair.

That was one of the heists that Stoll would remember forever. Professor Asher and Professor Yarwood escorted him into Headmaster Roux's office. He passed by Helen Okotie-Eboh the office secretary, who gave him a comforting smile before the door slammed. Great, Stoll would meet his fate.

"Roux," Yarwood called and the headmaster spun around in his chair. He looked slightly amused to see Stoll again. Stoll was shoved in a chair and sweat trickled down his forehead. God, why did I have to steal that stupid pin? It probably wasn't worth a lot of cash either. I'll get kicked out of the academy as a whole.