Shades

“I heard Val screaming in the janitor’s closet. I opened the door and…” He took a deep breath. “Matt was on top of her. He had his pants down. He was going to…rape her.”

Danny glanced at his friend. Matt’s expression remained neutral, almost like he didn’t care. That was weird. Wasn’t he afraid of what his father would do to him this time?

“Matt,” the Principal said, “is this true?”

“He’s lying, sir. Val was the one who led me into the closet. She wanted to make out.”

Val burst into tears again. “That’s not true! You tried to rape me…”

Mr. Sarandos picked up the telephone. He stared at Matt while he spoke. “Grace, please call the police.” He glanced at Val, and his expression softened. “And we’ll need paramedics, too. Who’s free this period? Bedrik? Good. Please have him come down here, as well.”

He hung up the phone and sighed.

Matt glared at Danny.

Danny shook his head, looked down at his hands, and tried not to cry.

789

“You stupid little shit.”

Bedrik kept his voice low, his expression neutral. Sarandos and Danny were busy giving an account to the police. Val was with the paramedics. Since he had no classes this period, the Principal had asked Bedrik to watch Matt while they spoke to the police.

“I’m sorry,” Timothy Wells said through Matt’s mouth. “I couldn’t help it. She was warm and it’s cold where I was. It’s been so long.”

“Shut up.” Bedrik leaned closer, whispering into Matt’s ear. “You were warned to curb your old desires. I didn’t set you free so that you could return to a lifestyle of rape and sadism. You were to find out if Danny was being tutored by Gustav. If he was, you were to let me know. That is all. And now you’ve fucked it up.”

The office door opened and the police came out, followed by Principal Sarandos. Bedrik straightened up and did his best to look solemn. He caught a glimpse of Danny through the open door. The boy appeared distraught.

The policemen were both under Bedrik’s control, their bodies inhabited by shades, but they kept up the appearance of normalcy. They handcuffed Matt and read him his rights. Then, while the faculty and students watched from the windows, they led him to the patrol car and put him in the back seat. Bedrik did not accompany them. He stayed inside the office and watched Danny.

Danny was too upset to notice.

789

When the final bell rang, Danny didn’t stick around to use the school library. For the first time since his agreement with Gustav, he couldn’t wait to get out of school. The halls echoed with the ghost of Val’s screams.

The walk home had never seemed longer. It hurt to think. Hurt to feel. What good was magic when it couldn’t change what had happened, or erase the memories from his mind? He’d never felt worse. He’d ratted on a friend, an unforgivable sin. But Matt’s sin was greater. Matt wasn’t just in trouble this time. This was more than detention or a beating from his old man. Matt was in deep shit. And Val—Danny thought about how he’d felt when she touched his arm. Somehow, that made what had happened to her seem even worse. He was disgusted with Matt for what he’d done, and disgusted with himself for the guilty arousal he’d felt when he saw Val’s exposed breast.

He wished that magic could make the entire day just go away.

Ronnie, Chuck, and Jeremy caught up with him on Ghilcrest Road.

“What the fuck happened?” Ronnie demanded.

Danny studied his friends. Ronnie and Jeremy were coiled tight, ready to snap. Chuck was sullen.

“Chuck said Matt was acting weird. Well, you were right. He tried to rape Val.”

“Jesus…” Chuck shook his head in disbelief.

“Damn,” Jeremy snickered. “Didn’t know he had it in him.”

“And you stopped him?” Ronnie asked.

Danny nodded. “Yeah.”

“Cool.” Ronnie seemed relieved. “But if you stopped it, then why did the cops arrest him?”

“I just said, man. He tried to rape Val.”

“She told on him?” Chuck asked.

Danny didn’t respond. He stared at his feet.

“Dude,” Jeremy muttered, stepping forward, “tell us she ratted him out. That’s what happened, right?”

Danny shook his head. The three boys pressed closer, surrounding him.

“You didn’t narc on him,” Jeremy said. “No way. Fuck that noise.”

“Yeah,” Danny whispered, “I did.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Danny!”

“Well, what was I supposed to do, man? He tried to rape her. I wasn’t going to lie for him.”

“Why not?” Jeremy hollered. “He’s one of us, man. You chose Val over Matt?”

Chuck ran his hand through his hair. “This is fucked up.”

“Don’t give me that,” Danny said. “You guys would have done the same thing. Ronnie? You like Val. You would have told on Matt, too. In a heartbeat. Tell them.”

Ronnie didn’t respond. He stared at the ground. Chuck looked away. Jeremy spat at his feet and glared at Danny.

“You know what,” Danny said. “Fuck you guys.”

“Fuck you, too,” Jeremy shouted.

Danny pushed past Ronnie and Chuck, turning his back on them and walking away. He tensed, waiting for Jeremy to swing, waiting for all three of them to jump him. They didn’t. Somehow, that made it worse.