Lives in Periphery
by EleCivil

 

Chapter Three: Gambits

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“I didn’t do it. Again.” Evan said. He crossed his arms and sat back in his seat.

         Principal Vargas sighed. “We have witnesses placing you at the scene. You left the building late, walking in the direction of the Agricultural Technology equipment shed, just minutes before the noise began.”

         “You had ‘witnesses’ last time, and I didn’t do that one, either,” Evan said. “Now I’m done talking until I can talk to my attorney.”

         “Attorney?”

         “Or my Dad. That’d probably be easier. Done talking now.”

          “I’m not saying that you did it. I’m just saying that there is a good chance that you might have seen something.” Principal Vargas’s eye seemed to twitch, slightly, but the goatee didn’t move.

         Evan shrugged. He was not feeling at all cooperative. Not after the last meeting. The last meeting that, coincidentally, set in motion the chain of events that led to him being in this meeting.

         “If you can’t tell me anything about what you saw, I can only assume that you were involved. And…” Vargas paused. “It doesn’t fit you. No message. No perceived injustice. No authority figures taken down a peg. Are you sure you aren’t protecting someone?”

         Evan shrugged again, trying to look bored.

         “If you know who did this, and you’re protecting them, then as far as the school is concerned, you are working with them. You’ll be held accountable. And we will find out the truth. We’ve already contacted our security service. They will be pulling the footage from the cameras. We can handle this here, as a school, or we can turn that footage over to the police. Now, when we pull that footage, what do you expect we will see?”

         Evan fought to keep a straight face as he considered this new information. Did the school actually have security cameras? He had never noticed them, and he always kept an eye out for that kind of thing. And if it were true, Evan wouldn’t be getting falsely accused. Not for this, and not for the car. It could all be a bluff. But either way, that kid – Cliff Royce. He clearly didn’t know what he was doing. He was a rookie, and rookies make mistakes. He may have left something behind. He could have been spotted. Evan didn’t like it. Not when he was, essentially, on probation. But what could he do? Cliff had been doing something good. Evan couldn’t turn him in and still feel remotely good about himself. But if he said nothing and Cliff got caught, they were both screwed, anyway.

         A thought came to mind. A plan. But it wouldn’t work unless Evan played it just right. He couldn’t play defense. He had to get out ahead of the situation.

         “Hey, wait.” Evan sat up straight. “I’m in Tier Two Intervention.”

         Vargas nodded.

         “Can I talk to my mentor about this?” Evan asked. “I’m…conflicted.”

         “Mr. Reid is teaching right now.”

         “I can wait. Or, since you’re probably busy, I’ll come back when he’s ready.” Evan started to stand, but Vargas waved him back down and picked up his phone.

         “Hi, Stacey. You mind covering Reid for about ten minutes?” Mr. Vargas did not break eye contact with Evan once during the conversation. “Thank you very much. Let him know that he’s needed in my office. It’s about one of his mentees. He’ll…probably know which one.”

         The two sat in silence as they waited. When Mr. Reid finally walked into the room, Evan watched as he surveyed the scene.

         “Morning, boss,” Mr. Reid said. He nodded at Evan. “Morning, trouble. What’s he up to?”

         “He was at the scene of another major case of vandalism,” Mr. Vargas said. “I don’t believe he was behind it. Or if he was involved, I don’t believe he was alone. But he won’t give us any information. He seems to want to take the fall for someone.”

         Mr. Reid looked back to Evan. “Truth?”

         “Close enough.” Evan said. His opening was complete, his pieces in place. It was time to move forward. “I think…I’d be willing to talk. If we could make a deal.”

         “A deal?” Mr. Vargas asked. “Like what?”

         Mr. Reid laughed. “A plea bargain?”

         Evan nodded. “Like that. Here’s the thing.” He took a deep breath. “Yes, I know who did it. I know his full name. And I know why he did it, and I know that it was for a good cause.”

         “What possible-” Vargas cut himself off, lowering his voice after his uncharacteristic outburst. “What…good cause could there be for demolishing the doors of a storage shed?”

         Evan looked to Mr. Reid. “Follow with me for a second, okay?”

         Mr. Reid nodded.

         “I know who did it, and I know why, and because I know why…I don’t want him to get in a lot of trouble over this. He was trying to do the right thing. He just kind of failed really badly at it.” Evan turned back to Mr. Vargas. “I know that you want to get him. Hard. But he’s…good. Like, just really good. And he doesn’t deserve that. So maybe if I tell you who it is, could you give him the same kind of deal you gave me?”

         Mr. Vargas looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

         “Can you force him to have a mentor for a while?” Evan asked. “I just don’t want you to beat on him, you know? Suspension, detention, all that stuff...that’s for people like me. He’s…not like me. ” Evan hadn’t intended to say all of that. He hadn’t even known that he had been thinking that way. His mouth had simply gotten ahead of him and started speaking honestly.

         Mr. Vargas looked tired. “Mr. Reid – he’d become one of yours. What do you think?”

          “This sounds workable to me,” Mr. Reid spoke up. “I could use another for the tutoring program. And assuming this student has a relatively clean record, I could see the benefits of mentoring rather than the traditional measures. Reduces the number of suspensions, for one thing. Makes the state like us a little more.”

         Mr. Vargas chuckled. Once. As far as Evan knew, it was the most extravagant display of mirth he had ever shown. “You still know how to play the angles. Do you know this student, too?”

         “No idea who he might be.” Mr. Reid said. “But I think I understand this one well enough,” He pointed to Evan.

         “Mr. Court.” Mr. Vargas paused long enough to sigh. “Your mentor has a great deal of pull. Consider yourself lucky. I can live with this, provided the two of you work off the cost of fixing the shed. We have a deal. Now, what’s the name?”

         Evan let out his breath. He hadn’t realized that he had been holding it. “Cliff Royce.”

         Mr. Vargas looked blankly at Evan. “Are you sure? I don’t know that name.”

         “Of course not,” Evan said. “Like I said, he’s good. Um, and if it’s okay, could you not tell him that this was my idea?”

         “You want me to pretend like I actually make the decisions in my building?” Mr. Vargas asked. “I suppose I could do that. Now please go to class. I want to finish the paperwork that I had been planning to do before all of this and drink an entire pot of coffee.”

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         “Hey, knucklehead.” Mr. Reid deadpanned. “Stop being an accomplice to crimes.”

         “I’m…” Evan paused. “Not guilty.”

         “You’re catching on,” Mr. Reid said. “Now, it seems you were involved in some foolishness. Perhaps not by your own doing. But you got pulled in, and here we are. Now I’ve got another kid on my caseload. I think you owe me.”

         The final bell had rung ten minutes ago, but the hallway still buzzed with kids making last minute locker trips. Mr. Reid, seated behind his desk, motioned for Evan to pull up a chair. When Evan sat, Mr. Reid motioned to a glass chess set on the corner of his desk. “You play?”

         Evan nodded. “A little.”

         Mr. Reid moved the board to the center of his desk, allowing Evan to play white and take the first move. Evan pushed his queen’s pawn forward.

         Mr. Reid held up his hand. “Now, stop for a minute. Why make that move?”

         Evan laughed. “You serious? If I tell you, you’ll know how to counter.”

         Mr. Reid shook his head. “Forget winning and losing. I want you to walk me through your thought process. I want to see how you think. This is important. And you owe me.”

         “Well,” Evan said, “Moving there opens up my queen and that bishop, setting me up to get those out, get closer to be able to castle on the queen’s side, and claim the center early. Once I’ve got my heavy hitters in the center, I can harass you with my knights and pawns to put a hole in your defenses.”

         “Interesting.” Mr. Reid picked up the board and moved it back to the corner of his desk.

         “We’re not going to finish?”

         “Later, if you like. The important thing is that I got to see how your head works,” Mr. Reid said. “I find it interesting that you started out so aggressively. Usually, the first time I play someone, they play defensively. Trying to figure out how I like to play, so that they can get me in the second game.”

         “I figured that if I start off aggressive, it might take you by surprise,” Evan said. “Get you flustered to have a kid swipe the center out from under you early, so that you’d start making mistakes. You’re probably better than me, so I need you to make mistakes, or I’ll never win. If I can’t play the better game, I’ll play the mind game, you know? And the way I see it, there might never be a second game, so you should throw everything you’ve got the first time.”

         “And was that your plan with Mr. Vargas, as well?” Mr. Reid asked. “Play the mind game?”

         “Frustrate him the silent treatment, then fluster or anger him by speaking to him as an equal. Get my strongest pieces – you, in this case – front and center, so that he has to at least pretend to be reasonable. He’s not the type to blow up and scream when he’s mad, so I had him spending all his mental energy to keep his temper in check. By the end, we were playing different games. I was trying to get justice, and he was trying to get me out of his office.” Evan said. “Worked, didn’t it?”

         “For the time, yes,” Mr. Reid nodded. “But as for the long game? You didn’t make any friends behind the big desks, today.”

         “I was only playing today’s game. There might not be a second, remember?”

         “The weakness in that line of thought is that you are, presumably, going to attend school here for the next four years. Today wasn’t an entire game. You don’t win until you walk out of here with a diploma. You need to get your pieces in place for the long game, rather than getting too aggressive during the opening.”

         “I can’t play defense when the power is so unbalanced. He’d run right over me. If I’m going to make anything happen when I’m that outmatched, I’ve got to go Tom Sawyer on him. And I got him to paint my fence, so for today, I’m happy.”

         Before Mr. Reid could respond, there was a knock at the door. The door was open, but standing there, knuckles still against the glass, was Cliff. He was holding up a green pass in his other hand.

         “Um…they told me that I was supposed to come here after school?”

         Mr. Reid stood, letting his chair roll back and hit the wall. “Ah! Hello! Yes. My other scofflaw. The door breaker. First off, go ahead and lower your fist – that door means you no harm, and I’d prefer that you not smash it, as well. It’s the only thing I’ve got to keep my room separate from all that madness out there.”

         Cliff jerked his hand back from the door and stuffed it in his pocket. “Oh, no, I wasn’t-”

         “Relax. Take a seat. I was just telling Evan here to stop being impulsive and obnoxious as a matter of habit. But…I don’t think you need that lecture, do you?” Mr. Reid paced back and forth across the front of his room. “To be honest, I’m not sure what to do with you. I had a look at your record, but it’s mostly blank. I’m used to dealing with far more hardened criminals.”

         “I’m…sorry?” Cliff said.

         “I can tutor him in crime, if that would help.” Evan said, raising his hand.

         Mr. Reid stopped pacing. “You!” He pointed at Cliff. “Don’t apologize for not being a criminal. And you!” He pointed at Evan. “Stop trying to corrupt the youth. I’ve got connections with the science department – I can get my hands on some hemlock if it comes to that.”

         “Do you threaten to poison all your students?” Evan asked.

         “No, most of them I threaten to strangle.”

         Evan turned to Cliff and grinned. “I always knew I was special.”

         Cliff’s shoulders relaxed and his hand fell to his side as he smiled back at Evan. The tension he had carried into the room was visibly dissipating.

         “Now!” Mr. Reid, now at the front of the room, slammed a fist against his chalkboard with a dull thud, causing both boys to jump and turn to look at him. “You’re both here, so we can get started. As you may or may not know, you’ve both been conscripted into the tutoring program.”

         Cliff raised his hand, slowly. Mr. Reid pointed to him and nodded.

         “I’m not…” Cliff glanced up at the ceiling, as if searching for a better script. “I don’t think I can be a tutor. My grades are…”

         Mr. Reid nodded. “I know, and I understand. I want you both in my program, but I am not certain either of you has the skills needed to be an effective tutor. Yet.”

         Evan leaned forward, about to say something, but Mr. Reid’s expression stopped him.

         “Cliff, you are correct. We typically only allow students to tutor classes in which they are earning an A. I won’t say any more, as your grades are a confidential matter.”

         Cliff shook his head. “No, it’s okay.” He turned to Evan. “When I work for them, I can pull C’s. Like…I’m not the worst, but I don’t think I could help anybody.”

         “You said that you weren’t sure me, either,” Evan said. “I get A’s. Always. Why don’t you think I can do it?”

         “We’ll discuss that privately,” Mr. Reid said. “So, my solution-”

         “Wait!” Evan interrupted, drawing a glare from Mr. Reid. He knew that cutting off a teacher mid-sentence wouldn’t earn him any points, but he didn’t like the way this was going. “Cliff was willing to talk about his grades in front of me. I’m willing to hear what you have to say in front of him.”

         Mr. Reid shook his head. “If we must. Evan, your academics are fine. Tutoring, however, is a delicate matter. You’re asking a student to reveal their weaknesses to a peer. On an emotional level, I am not sure if you are ready.”

         Evan wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he just nodded and let Mr. Reid continue talking. He wasn’t listening, however. His brain was already starting a shouting match in his skull. For the first time in his life, a teacher had expressed doubt in his skills. Well, other than every gym teacher he had ever had, all of whom instantly doubted his skills, and rightly so, but this was different! This was…not academic, exactly. Emotional? What did that mean? Did they think that he didn’t have emotions? He knew that he could speak a little too bluntly at times, but when he tried to flower-up his language, kids acted like they couldn’t understand him. Speak too plainly and you’re rude. Speak too elaborately and you’re a know-it-all. What the hell did they want from him? Society was a mess. Someone had to…

         Evan noticed that Cliff was looking over at him with a concerned expression, and he realized how tense his muscles had become. He forced a smile and took a deep breath, focusing back in on Mr. Reid. At least, he tried to focus on the teacher. His eyes, however, had a different plan. They kept straining, trying to look sideways through his skull to see if Cliff was still looking at him. That was ridiculous, of course. Eyes didn’t work that way. At least, not on humans. It wasn’t the first time in his life Evan had considered that being born a lizard would have been advantageous.

         ‘Maybe I am part lizard. That’s why I’m so cold-blooded.’ Evan shook that thought from his head. No, he was more than what people thought he was. He had to be. He could figure out the emotional side of tutoring. People weren’t such a mystery – it was an input-output relationship. Put good feelings in, good feelings come out. He could do that.

         “Sir!” Evan raised a hand. Mr. Reid sighed, pausing mid-sentence. He pointed to Evan. “I…with respect, I think you’re wrong about me.”

         Mr. Reid raised an eyebrow.

         “I can do this. I know I’m not all touchy-feely, but…” He wasn’t sure how to complete that sentence. “Give me a student to tutor. Just one at first, to prove myself. I’ll show you.”

         Evan wasn’t sure why he was doing this. He hadn’t even wanted to be in the tutoring program. If they had asked him to volunteer a week ago, he would have turned them down. Now here he was, begging for a shot to get in.

         Mr. Reid nodded, slowly. “You said your best grade was in speech. I’ve got a request in from Ms. Nolan. She’s got a student failing speech. This particular student is tough. Probably tougher than you. I don’t know if you can get through to her, but I don’t think you will be able to do any damage. If you are this anxious to jump the gun, I could set you up with her. Otherwise, I was planning to have you and Cliff work on the organizational side of things. Managing tutoring records, scheduling appointments, keeping communications open between tutors, students, teachers, and parents. All the grunt work that I usually end up doing. What’s your call?”

         Cliff raised his hand. “Grunt work, right here.”

         Mr. Reid nodded, but waited for Evan’s response.

         Evan glanced over at Cliff, then back at Mr. Reid. It would be easy to stay in the background and work on the support side with Cliff. It would probably even be fun. Upon reflection, Evan decided that he wanted to hang out with Cliff. Wasn’t that part of why he had battled Vargas to get Cliff into this program? Beyond simple altruism, or his rage against injustice, or his unending struggle to undermine authority, there was something else. Something about this weird, soft-spoken boy who was willing to throw himself to the wolves just to feed some stray dogs…but, no. That couldn’t influence his choice. He was being challenged. This was a test.

Evan had a very specific response to tests. They triggered his inner rebel. When he was handed a test, he didn’t just want to pass it. He wanted to destroy it. He wanted to earn a perfect score, and even go above 100% if he could. He wanted to show the authorities who were testing him that not only did he know the material like he had written it himself, but that they were crazy to have ever doubted him enough to think that he needed to be tested. To think that they had any right to question his skills or knowledge in the first place. Evan saw this as another test, and there was only one way he could respond.

         He felt himself grinning, knowing that it made him look cocky, but he didn’t care.

“Put me in, coach.”

Mr. Reid nodded, and Evan thought he saw a smile start to form at the corner of the teacher’s lips. The adrenaline of facing down a new challenge was still pounding through him, but in the very back of his mind, a voice was saying, “Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little!” and he had the nagging feeling that he may have just been played.