Sophomore Year (Smopkins #2)

Find Gary

 Jimmy was starting to lose hope.

It was already five PM, and dinner started at seven. Gary was not there. He wasn't in his dorm or lounging around the common room like everyone else was. Jimmy asked Petey if Gary's room had been moved, and Petey said no, and even showed him the paper. Gary's dorm was right across from Jimmy's, just like it had been the year before. He asked around a bit- Bucky, Ted, even Russell, and none of them had seen Gary. Nobody was concerned by this, either.

He sat back down on his bed and put his head in his hands, sighing. Everything would be fine- maybe his parents had run out of gas on their way to Bullworth, or they were running late.

That was stupid. Who wouldn't look at their gas tank? If they had run out, they would've been at Bullworth by three. It was five.

Jimmy started to wonder if Gary had maybe gone back to Happy Volts. He wasn't thrilled at the idea of visiting him every evening, because he would much rather have Gary in Bullworth with him.. but if Gary was back in Happy Volts, that was fine. He would be able to visit him, and maybe help him get out again. It was better than Gary getting sent to a new school entirely.

But what did Gary do over the summer to get himself thrown back in there?

He stood up, grabbed his skateboard from his backpack and left his dorm, prepared to answer any questions that the prefects threw at him. Why are you leaving? I left something in the car, Mom texted me to come back outside and get it. Why do you have a skateboard? Mom told me she wanted me to leave it with her so I wouldn't get in trouble. If the prefects asked him to show him the messages, well... he decided he would book it. Getting in trouble was the least of his worries. He had to make sure Gary was okay.

Jimmy left the dorms, and was surprised when nobody stopped him or bothered to ask what he was doing. There were only a few prefects lingering around, and although they gave him weird looks, they didn't stop him. Jimmy figured something had gone on in the girls' dorm, even if male prefects weren't allowed inside... if there was a real emergency, it wouldn't matter.

He heard arguing, and kept on his path to the driveway near town. The sounds grew closer, and Jimmy realized that the "emergency" was here. He might have a difficult time getting into town with the prefects watching him, but if he ran far enough in a short amount of time, they might give up completely.

"Miss, if you could get your hands off of h-"

"I won't have it!" a woman protested. "He is my son, and I will raise him how I see fit. It is none of your business!" she shrieked, and Jimmy had a feeling this was Gary's mother. God, Jimmy hated that bitch. He rounded the corner, not caring if he got in trouble. He wanted to see what was going on.

He came at the perfect moment to witness Gary shove his mother backwards into a car. Jimmy hadn't been around to see what caused it, but he didn't blame Gary either way. The car had to be theirs, seeing as it was the only one in the driveway. A few prefects lunged forward and held Gary back, while a middle-aged man stood in the street and watched from a distance, a weary look on his face. Jimmy had a feeling that the man was Gary's father, or maybe a random passerby.

Gary was completely still, unmoving in the arms of the prefects. Jimmy started walking again, hoping he could get Gary away from this... mess.

"He is my son, goddamn it! Do not touch him, or put your hands on him!" One of the prefects let go of Gary and moved closer to the woman. Gary stood there, looking uninterested.

Jimmy tilted his head, thinking of the things his mother said to him before she left. Compared to this, it felt like nothing. He wondered if Gary's mother caused a scene everywhere she went.

"Ma'am, we've already asked you to leave the premises twice. If we ask you again, we're going to contact the police." The man whipped his head around. "Hopkins! Get back in the dorms."

Everyone, including Gary, turned to look at Jimmy the second the man called him out. Before he could say anything, someone put a hand on his shoulder. "Boy, leave."

Jimmy looked up. It was Crabblesnitch. Crabblesnitch left his side and walked to the car, standing next to Gary's mother and talking to her in a low, calm voice. Jimmy couldn't hear what he was saying- he was too far away- but he didn't need to.

He decided not to go back to the dorms. The prefects could drag him up the stairs if they wanted to, and by then, the whole thing with Gary's mother would be over.

"He is my son! I will send him to whatever school I want, and it will not be this wretched place." She paused, listening to Crabblesnitch's words. "No! I didn't do anything like that, I didn't lay a hand on him- I DID NOTHING VIOLENT!" she screeched, loud enough to give Jimmy chills. Gary was still staring at him. As the prefects moved away from Gary to console his mother, Jimmy nodded his head toward the gate.

"Ma'am, we have eyewitn-"

"I DIDN'T! Tell them, Rob, tell them I did nothing to Gary!" she demanded, her face reddened with anger. Gary started walking across the driveway, stepping up on the sidewalk and standing next to Jimmy. He turned back around to watch everything go down. Neither of them said a word.

Rob- Gary's dad, apparently, didn't say anything. He watched Jimmy and Gary, almost happily. Jimmy noticed this and stared at him dead on, remembering the things Gary told him in the library.

He turned to Gary and put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay? Come on, I'll help you unpack if you wan-"

"You! You- get your hands off of Gary! Don't touch him!" Jimmy ignored this, tuning it out in his mind, until he realized that the woman was talking about him. To him.

Jimmy gave her a dirty look. "I keep my hands off of him more than you do," he sneered.

Gary punched him in the stomach- hard. Jimmy winced. "Shut your fucking mouth," Gary hissed, and Jimmy knew immediately that he deserved it.

Gary's mom ignored his remark, screaming protests and profanities at Crabblesnitch and the prefects. While everyone else was held up, Jimmy and Gary managed to slip away.