Amity

Chapter 4: The Mysterious McManus

Both Megumi and Dré sat outside of the office in silence. The throbbing pain in Dré's arm died down; he figured it was probably from anticipating the hell he was certain to face once Dixon stumbled out of the office. "You didn't have to do that, you know?"

"What do you mean?" she asked him with a satisfied smirk.

"I mean knocking out Peewee. Twice. And for sticking up for me back there." He lowered his head. "I really appreciate it, but you pretty much condemned yourself on Dixon's list."

Megumi threw her hands back behind her head. "Eh. I'm not that worried about it. Someone had to do it, so why not me?" She inclined a brow at him. "What's got you so down, anyway?"

Dré began, studying his black boots. "Well, I don't know if you noticed or not, but I'm not really the most popular guy in the school. In fact, I'm pretty much the opposite. Everyone expects me to be a football starter like my big brother, Isaiah, or an MMA fighter like my other big brother, Loyalty." He clinched his good fist, wishing that he could stop the words from spewing out of his mouth. "But I'm not like them. I'm an outcast of this school. Nothing but a ghost to them. My closest friend doesn't even want anything to do with me anymore." With a shake of his head, he gave a heavy sigh. Somehow, he felt sort of relieved to finally tell someone about how he felt, someone who'd listen anyway. "Sorry. That all kind of came out on its own. I've just never really had anyone to talk about it with."

"Don't worry about it. To me, it just sounds like you need that one person to inspire you, you know? You're probably more awesome than what you give yourself credit for, especially since you stood up to a bully for someone that you haven't even known for an hour. I can't think of anyone who'd do that, besides my daddy, of course." That lifted Dré's spirits some.

Her smile waned. "Besides, being popular really isn't what it's all cracked up to be. The people that call you 'friend' will feed you to the wolves once things get tough. It makes you wonder if real friends even exist sometimes." She groaned as she stretched her arms upwards. "But, that's life, I guess."

"What do you-" was all Dré could say before the office door swung off its hinges.

McManus jetted out of the office. His eyes widened with indignation as he saw Dré in such a pathetic way. "Aw man." He placed a plastic bag beside him as he knelt in front of Dré. "I heard what happened from the coach. Where does it hurt?"

"My arm. I think it's broken." Dré grimaced as he held his arm out to McManus.

Examining Dré's arm, McManus said, "Nah. This isn't too bad. Trust me, you'll know if it's broken. You'd be yelling like a little girl if it was broken."

"You should've been there when it was happening, then," Megumi said, resting her chin on her hands.

"I just got beat up in front of my class, but whatever."

"It's just a part of life, man. Now, hold still, and don't tell anyone that I'm doing this." He held his hands over Dré's injured arm. Dré almost jumped out of his seat as water slithered from the palms of McManus's hands, covering his arm. The water gave off a low light as the pain began to soothe itself. Dré watched, bemused as the water retreated back to McManus's hands.

McManus reached into the bag and pulled out a lime-green, spherical fruit. Both Dré and Megumi stared at it, mouth agape. It seemed to give off sparks as McManus held it to Dré. "Eat this. Dixon showed up, and he looks like he's had a few. I've never seen him this drunk, so I'm worried about what he might do."

"Whoa. What is this, a Spirit Bomb?" Megumi asked as she poked at the soft skin.

"Everything will be explained later, but he needs to eat it now," he told her.

Dré took the fruit from McManus. It was big enough to fit in the palm of his hand. The skin was soft and squishy, like a skinless plum. If it was anyone but McManus, then he probably wouldn't trust them.

Without taking a second to think, Dré bit into the side of the fruit. The insides had the juiciness of a Georgian peach and tasted just as sweet with a slightly sour, melon-like aftertaste. In an instant, he felt his strength returning to him. He felt even better than before he did when he ran into Doug and Peewee. "How do you feel?" McManus asked.

"I feel great. My arm doesn't even hurt anymore," he said as he moved his arm around. Lifting his arm up, Dré winced as pain shot through his shoulder. "Well, it almost doesn't hurt. What is this?" he asked, looking at the fruit.

"You'll learn about it later on today. Right now, you need to finish it."

Dré chowed down the rest of the fruit as Megumi asked, "What is it doing to him?"

"It's replenishing his strength," McManus answered. "Think of it as a mana potion or something. Just be glad it was all minor injuries, otherwise you'd be screwed."

The bell rang. Within seconds, the foyer was crowded with students, all talking to each other and taking short glances at Dré. He glared back, waiting for someone to make a snide remark. Dré wasn't afraid to get into another fight.

Instead, he heard a light voice call his name from the crowd. Dré's heart ached as he heard her. A tall, stout girl, almost a foot taller than Dré, appeared in front of him. She wore a green, thin jacket over a white spaghetti-strapped shirt. Twin French braids were draped down the crown of her blond head. There was only one person who would call him by his first name. Kimura Stewart. His former best friend. "Oh, my God. What happened to you?"

"He got into a little tussle with Preston," McManus told her. "But don't you worry about him too much, Miss Kim. He's unharmed for the most part. Ain't that right, Dré?" he asked Dré as he patted his injured shoulder.

Pain jolted down his arm. "Ow! That... didn't even hurt," Dré yelped through gritted teeth. He was going to get McManus for that.

She looked towards him through her rounded glasses, apprehension and regret on her face. Dré glanced at her before looking down at his boots, bereaved. Even after a year had passed, he still couldn't figure out why Kim didn't want anything to do with him. She had been one of his closest friends ever since elementary school. It hurt seeing her.

"Oh. Okay, if you say so, Mr. McManus. Bye, Ke'Undré," Kim said before she dashed away into the crowd of moving students.

"Yeah," Dré said under his breath, rubbing his arm.

"Man, she was tall. Who was that?" Megumi asked, breaking Dré away from his slump.

"That was Kimura Stewart, one of the top seniors in this school. She also has a crush on Dré," he added through a chuckle.

"Tee hee," Dré mumbled. "She does not have a crush on me. She's just nice. Besides, she told me that she doesn't want anything to do with me last year."

"He's just in denial," McManus whispered loud enough for Dré to hear.

The office door creaked open again, only this time Dixon stumbled out, his cheeks rosy with intoxication.

"You. Boy," he growled as he pointed a stubby finger at Dré. "Get in here."

With a frown, Dré stood. Before he could get to the office, McManus placed his hands on his shoulders.  "Listen, man," he said in a low voice. "I need to warn you about something before you go in there. Dixon's been acting strange, and I don't think it's because of the booze. If anything out of the ordinary happens, get out of there and let me know."

Dré wasn't sure what he meant by that, but since it was coming from McManus, he only gave a curt nod.