Changing Sides and Heaving Sighs

4

     Waking up, Virgil knew that he was, in fact, one of three delinquents who got drunk and passed out on a roof. His head throbbed and there was a cottony feeling in his mouth. Glancing at his phone, he saw it was noon. Noon on a Wednesday, to be exact.
     Virgil darted up, immediately regretting it due to his headache. Panic surged through his entire body as he gripped the table Deceit had fallen asleep at. There were so many problems with this; he wasn't legally allowed to be drinking and yet he was out in the open surrounded by empty bottles, Deceit's family was probably worried, Virgil's mother hadn't gotten checked on since the previous night, and they had all missed several classes.
     He was a senior, yes, but he was terrified of being flunked. Sometimes he skipped classes to avoid the stress this fear brought on, but even then the fear of punishment still haunted him. Besides, what if this tardy led to Virgil and his friends being caught? What if there was an important test he had missed? What if the staff asked around enough to find out about his gang? What if the teachers hated him for being late? What if-
     "Ugh, Virge." Remus stood, one of his heels missing and his head bobbing around. "I can hear your panic from here."
     Virgil, suddenly aware he was hyperventilating, made an effort to slow his breathing. "We slept in until noon, " he said slowly, "on a Wednesday, surrounded by alcohol."
"We're seniors, there are no quizzes, and nobody comes up here." Remus picked up an empty beer bottle. "Wanna throw these at passing pedestrians? I don't wanna go to school yet."
     "No throwing things at pedestrians. Call Circe, ask what we missed."
     Remus let out a long, dramatic sigh, dropped the bottle, and dug his phone out of his pocket. He held the phone in front of him, clearly using speakerphone.
     Circe picked up on the second ring "what do you want, you disastrous hellbeast?"
     "What did we miss in classes today?"
     "No major events, tell him not to worry." Circe started, evidently aware of Virgil's oncoming panic. "There are two essays assigned to Paranoia, both due Monday, Deceit has to make a model of radioactivity in action and write a short story by Friday, and "you"- I'm doing air quotes here- have pages 345 to 435 all odd problems in trig due tomorrow. Add that to the usual, and that's it."
     At this point, Circe's job in the gang should be clarified. After all, simply doing a criminal's homework didn't mean joining said criminal's gang. To put it simply, she served as a good luck charm. Her cheating skill in a gambling hall was unmatched, she could rig any race, and tended to be intuitively aware of any mishaps or betrayals. Not to mention, despite her supposed hatred of Remus, she had saved his life once.
     "Wow, I already regret waking up." Virgil sighed, glancing over at Deceit, who was starting to stir.
"How'd your date go?" Remus asked Circe, looking genuinely interested.
"Oh, it was wonderful, " Circe sighed. "I mean- why do you care?"
"I don't, bye." Remus hung up without a second thought. He was inconsistent like that, intrigued one second and uncaring the next.
"So, " Deceit grunted, sitting up. "We totally thought this through."
"Let's just get something for the hangovers and get back to class."
"Why bother? We're seniors."
"Guys, what would happen if I mixed all the contents of my drug stash together?" Remus was staring into the middle distance.
"You'd prove why you shouldn't have much free time, " Virgil replied. "Let's go."
"Ugh, fine."
The trio made their way down the steps of the apartment building, sneaking into Virgil's place to get painkillers. Hopefully, Virgil's mother was still in bed. She didn't exactly have anywhere to go during the day; she couldn't work after her mental breakdown a few years back. She sometimes didn't recognize Virgil and he didn't want to be mistaken for a burglar again; he couldn't hold back tears with a hangover and his friends had never actually seen him cry.
     Virgil quickly ducked into the only room in the apartment, praying to every deity that she was asleep. Thankfully, he found her snoring rather loudly on her bed. The padding on the sharp edges of the furniture was untouched, the only damage was doodles all over her wall in the large crayons he had given her. She had lost her mind a few years back, leaving Virgil to take care of her to the best of his ability. He had founded the gang to pay for everything in the first place.
The apartment was a minuscule, tattered place. Clear duct tape replaced the glass of the few windows, and the peeling paint on the walls was patched up with nail polish of a similar color. Virgil, after all, had been the only income supporting him and his mother, and the slumlord running the place had made it a living hell for them and the other tenants. Virgil and the others got the painkillers quickly, all rather eager to leave.
     Virgil was quiet as he and his companions made their way to school. Remus chattered away about gruesome things, Deceit feigned paying attention to him, and Virgil let several thoughts repeat themselves in his head.
     One of the said repeating thoughts involved Patton. He wondered if Patton had even noticed he wasn't there. If he had, did he care? He hadn't spoken to him much, after all. Maybe Patton was relieved Virgil wasn't there. Maybe, even if Patton had cared at first, Roman and Logan had convinced him Virgil wasn't worth his time. He couldn't blame them, he wasn't worth Patton's time at all.
     "Well, isn't this convenient timing. I was just about to text you." the rough voice emanated from an alley the trio was passing.
     In the shadows, leaning against a dumpster, a figure lurked. The darkness nearly overtook them entirely, or perhaps they were the darkness themself. The glow of a cigarette served as the only light in the alley, highlighting the murderous gleam of barely visible eyes. Virgil, recognizing the figure immediately, turned to Deceit and The Duke.
     "Stay here, " he intoned. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, I'm dead."
     Immediately, he ducked into the ominous alley. The threatening figure worked for Virgil, as it was. Anton, lethal as ever, carefully eyed Virgil. Virgil, for all his usual terror, hardened into a dangerous businessman-like person just in time to avoid showing weakness. While it was true that this man was a Dark Side, there was no guarantee that Virgil would survive this encounter.