The Name of the Game

Chapter 1

Gerard glanced at the number scribbled on his palm again. 415. He looked around, but all he could see were 600 numbers. He sighed, determining that he was lost. He was the only one in the hallway of the college, so he couldn't ask for directions.

He eventually saw a sign for 500 rooms and turned the corner, heading where the skinny white arrow indicated. He looked down at his hand once again, even though the number was ingrained in his frontal lobe. He was staring at his hand when he collided with something large and soft.

Gerard fell backwards to the ground, as did the object he ran into. Well, rather the person he ran into. A large man (though obviously another student) was on the ground in front of Gerard. He had a mass of curly brown hair on his head, and he was wearing a relatively tight black shirt.

"Shit, man," he said. "I'm sorry. I totally wasn't looking where I was going."

Gerard shook his head and began scrambling for his papers. "No, no," he said. He was trying to remain calm, and the years of lying were really helping him out. "It was my fault. No worries, really."

The man stood up before Gerard could get to his feet. He offered a hand, and Gerard took it. He stood up, and the man smiled at him. "You're late," he said. "What class are you going to?"

"Business," Gerard said. "Accounting and Finance. Room 415. You?"

The man laughed. "Same here! I'm totally lost. For a community college, this place is pretty huge."

Gerard laughed. "Can't argue with that," he said. "But you're going backwards. I'm coming from the 600 hallway."

The man sighed. "Damn. I can't read signs very well, apparently."

Gerard laughed again. "Well, come on," he said, "We can go together. My name is Gerard, by the way."

The man gave Gerard a big, welcoming smile. "I'm Ray. Nice to meet you, Gerard."

"The pleasure is all mine." Gerard froze, realizing what had just come out of his mouth.

Ray just laughed. "A little formal, isn't it?" he asked.

Gerard laughed awkwardly. He was so used to introducing himself and being polite to get his way that it was hard for him to act normal when meeting someone.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry. I just... My dad is the CEO of some weird, independent company, so I go to a lot of functions where I'm required to be this clean-cut, perfect son."

Ray nodded. "I can't relate to that, but I see it in movies. Does that count?"

Gerard laughed, shaking his head. "Sure, why not?"

They walked a little further before finally reaching the room. They looked inside, and the professor was quietly looking at her laptop.

Ray and Gerard snuck into the room. Well, they tried to. The door creaked loudly, causing the entirety of the class to turn and look at them. The professor glanced up, then back down at her computer.

"The lecture was just about to begin," she said, a stern tone to her voice. "I hope you boys don't intend on being late for my future classes." They shook their heads. "Good," she said. "Now, have a seat. We will begin shortly."

-

Gerard picked up his books from the floor, and when he straightened, he noticed that Ray was standing there, looking at him.

"What is it?" Gerard asked. "Do I have something on my shirt?"

Ray laughed. "No, I was just waiting for you," he said. "Is this your only class?"

Gerard shook his head. "I have an economics class every Tuesday and Thursday. What about you, is this all you're doing?"

Ray scoffed. "Oh, God, no," he said. "I'm transferring to a university after two years, so I'm getting all I can in now. I have two brothers and my family isn't even close to rich, so we don't really have the money for all three of us to go to a four-year."

Gerard nodded. "Two brothers, huh?" he said. "How old are they?"

"They're both older than me. Ed is the oldest, he's twenty-three, Justin is the middle child, he's twenty-one. Then there's me, nineteen and better than ever."

Gerard nodded. "I have a younger brother, but it's just us. I'm nineteen, he's seventeen."

"What's his name?"

"Mikey."

At that moment, they came to another hallway. Gerard was going to leave the grounds, but Ray had another class to get to.

"Well, I guess I'll see you Wednesday, huh?" Ray said, smiling at Gerard.

Gerard returned the gesture. "See you Wednesday."

-

"Hey, I met this guy in my Stats class yesterday," Ray said, "And he invited me to a party this Saturday. You wanna come? He said I could bring anyone I could find. He wants it to get a real good noise complaint."

Gerard laughed, shaking his head. "Is that your thing, Ray?" he asked. "You just meet random people and make yourself their new friend?"

"How else am I supposed to make friends?"

"Fair enough."

"But really, you should come!" Ray said. "Bring whoever you want. I told you about it, and I'm making my buddy go, too."

"Who's your buddy?" Gerard asked.

"His name's Frank. You'll love him. He's really fun. But he's also really short."

"The two aren't mutually exclusive, y'know."

"I beg to differ."

The two laughed. "Just try to go," Ray said. "I'm going, and I'm fun as hell! I can text you if I end up not going if you want."

"That would be appreciated, thanks." Gerard smiled. The two waved at each other, then turned and went their separate ways.

-

"Oh, come on, Mikey!" Gerard threw himself down onto his little brother's bed. "It'll be fun!"

"Gee, I don't like parties!" Mikey said. "You know that! I'm too nervous. Too many people and rarely enough space."

Gerard sighed. "It'll be good for you, Mikes," he said. "You know that when you're official-"

Mikey quickly covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Gerard, stop!" he cried, obviously distressed. "You know I don't want to talk about that kind of stuff!"

Gerard just sighed again. "Mikey... There's no way out of it," he said softly. "You know that. Not unless you permanently disable yourself in some way. Dad's going to make you join, just like he made me."

"You wanted to, at least."

"Mikey, there's a reason I help with handling the business and the money, you know. Being in the mafia doesn't automatically mean you have to kill everyone."

"I'd rather work with mom."

"You know you can't."

Mikey shrugged. There was a pause before he said, "I'm not going to that party, Gerard."

Gerard grinned. "Yes, you are."