Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 01:14:25 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 5. chapters 21 - 22

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW                    
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 21 -- Bullies.                      

**Author's Note:** Please read the disclaimer in Chapter 00 before you read
this.

Things went well for the next week, so we began to think the graffiti on
Nick's locker was an isolated prank -- that was until something else
happened.  This time Trey was the target of the abuse.  He was leaving the
library after finishing some research for his project and was heading out
to meet Kevin and Vinnie, to get a ride home.  Kevin always worked out with
Vinnie in the gym and training room after school, so I had allowed him to
use the Grand Am everyday, to get them back and forth.  Trey had already
told them he'd need a ride home, so they were expecting him to join them as
soon as they finished their workout.  As Trey made his way from the library
to the gym, a young man approached and began to harass him.

"Hey, if it isn't one of the faggy sissy boys," he said, mockingly.  Trey
tried to ignore him and keep going, but this guy wasn't about to allow that
to happen.  He moved around and got in front of Trey and was immediately in
Trey's face, renewing his attack.  "Hey, you freakin' homo, don't think I'm
just going to go away.  Just cuz your old man was a big shot with the
school, don't mean you're protected or anything special."

Trey just glared at him this time and the guy began to grin, obviously
pleased with himself and what he'd said.

"Look, I'm not bothering you, so just leave me alone," Trey advised him.

"You bother me by just being alive, you fucking queer!" the boy exclaimed,
in an attempt to impress the group that was beginning to gather around
them.

"Look, layoff.  Okay?" Trey chirped back, with as much assertiveness as he
could muster.

"No, it's not okay.  I hate little fairy cock suckers, so I hate you," the
boy challenged.

"I don't even know you," Trey countered.

"Doesn't matter," the kid sneered.  "All I need to know is that you're
queer.  Are you the fudge-packer or the fudge-packee?"  After he asked his
question, he began to laugh and look to his peers for support.  A couple of
his friends were laughing with him and egging him on, but most were just
observing silently from the sidelines.  Noting his distraction, Trey tried
to walk away again, but the bully saw him and escalated the situation.  As
Trey turned away from him, the guy sucker-punched Trey in the back of the
head.  A sharp pain shot through Trey's skull, but he was still had enough
wits about him to bend forward to protect himself, but that didn't work out
the way he hoped.  Instead of leaving him alone, his attacker began to
throw a series of punches at Trey's body and then kneed him for added
emphasis, knocking Trey to the floor.

As you might suspect, Trey had never been a very physical person and had
little hope of defending himself.  He was hurt, scared and confused, and
this combination of feelings made it nearly impossible for him to figure
out what he should do next.  Although he knew he wasn't very muscular or
coordinated, he felt he had to try to fight back, since no one was making a
move to help him.  When he did try to ward of his attacker, his efforts
were, to say the least, quite ineffective and only served to embolden his
tormentor.  This, in turn, caused the bully to become even more aggressive,
stopping only long enough in his attack to mock Trey.

"Oh, that almost hurt me, you little fairy," he taunted, while adding a
little laugh for emphasis.  "That might be a punch to your boyfriend, but
I've been hit harder by a three year-old."

His tormentor continued chuckling, even as Trey tried to get up and escape,
but that's when the boy decided kicking was a masculine attack style.
Without warning, he began to use Trey like a large soccer ball, kicking him
with one foot and then the other, as if he were trying to dribble him down
the hall.  He kicked Trey in the ribs, groin, legs and even in the head.
One kick to the face almost knocked Trey out completely, but still no one
stepped in to help defend him.

At this point, the boy began to gloat and think himself vastly superior.
He even figured those who were watching would shower him with their
adoration for his efforts, but only a couple of his buddies gave him any
noticeable signs of acknowledgement.  The others merely stared or turned to
leave, most disgusted by what they'd witnessed and ashamed they lacked the
guts to do anything about it, but still no one came to Trey's rescue.

Disappointed by the crowd's reaction, the young man turned his anger back
at Trey, giving him one more kick before he left.  Since Trey was lying
almost motionless, it was easy for his attacker to slam his foot firmly
into Trey's ribs, and when this happened, Trey felt something snap.  There
was no doubt in his mind that one of his ribs was now broken, so he rolled
onto that side, ignoring the nearly unbearable pain, to protect the area
from further harm.  Luckily, it turned out he didn't have to go to that
trouble, since his attacker had decided he was through with him now.  Trey
merely watched as his abuser left with his friends, laughing about what he
had done as they strode down the hall.

Trey continued to lie there for a few minutes longer, while he struggled to
cope with the pain and gather enough strength to stand up.  Still, no one
came to help him.  Instead, they all went their own way, leaving Trey to
fend for himself.

After several minutes of sustained effort, Trey forced himself to get up
and then slowly made his way to the gym, to find Kevin and Vinnie.  Due to
the excruciating pain he was in, Trey was walking slightly hunched over.
He also felt it would help to protect his fractured rib, but that wasn't
his only injury.

By now, Trey's face was also starting to show signs of bruising and
swelling, but those weren't the only reasons it was becoming fairly
noticeable.  There were also a myriad of small specks of blood drying on
his face and clothing, from where his life-juices had splattered when he
received the numerous cuts in and around his mouth.  His brothers looked
shocked when they saw him and immediately began to question him about it.

"Holy shit, Trey!  What in the hell happened to you?" Kevin asked him.
Trey looked at him and started to speak, but it wasn't easy with all the
swelling and the soreness he was feeling.  Eventually he managed to get out
a few words.

"Some guy… giving shit… calling names… then attacked," he forced
out.  Both boys then eyed his injuries carefully, noting how badly he'd
been beaten.

"Man, he really messed you up," Vinnie told him.  "Were you alone?"  Again,
Trey had some trouble getting out an answer to this question, but was
finally able to respond.

"Kind of… other people there… no one helped," he stammered, before
taking another breath.  Both of the boys could see the tears forming in his
eyes, as he thought back upon what had happened.  "Two… my friends…"
he paused, knowing that wasn't the right word for them any longer, "just
watched," he finished, this time wincing as he took a deeper breath.

The boys wanted to sympathize with him and make him feel better, but they
felt a greater need to find out what had actually taken place.  "What was
wrong with them?" Kevin spat out.  "Why didn't they help you?"

"Scared…" he muttered, "maybe worried… labeled gay too."  After he
got that out, he realized he'd probably never know the truth, since he
didn't plan on speaking to either of them again.

By this point, Trey was in tears and the sobbing was causing him even more
pain.  Kevin and Vinnie tried to comfort him, but there was little they
could do.  Once he was able to get his emotions back under control, they
helped him to the car and drove him home, so he could tell me what had
happened.

I was shocked when I noticed the other two boys giving Trey a helping hand
to get from the car to the house, but I was dumbfounded when I got a good
look at Trey's appearance.  Immediately I began to question them about what
had happened, hoping there was a logical explanation for it.  Once I had
gotten a rough idea about what had taken place, I told Trey to get back in
the car, so I could drive him to the hospital and get his injuries treated.
I wanted to know exactly how much damage had been done to him and make sure
he was going to be all right.

When we walked into the emergency room, the receptionist immediately asked
if he'd been in a car or motorcycle accident.  Once I explained what had
happened, I filled out the required forms, while Trey was taken to get
x-rays.  After taking several images of various parts of his body, they
brought him back to the E.R. and placed him in an examination room, where
we waited for a doctor to come and look at him.

It was quite a while before anyone showed up, but the physician did a
thorough examination of Trey, once he started.  After the examination, he
left the room without saying a word, taking the x-rays with him.  A few
minutes later, a nurse came in and asked me to come with her, as they
wanted to show me a few things on the x-rays.  I thought this odd, because
the doctor could have done that in the examination room while he was
looking at them, but possibly he didn't want to alarm Trey about what he
suspected.  Therefore, I followed her out of the room, down the corridor
and into another room, where she began pointing out areas on the negatives
to me.  This surprised me, since I was expecting the doctor to do this, but
I didn't say anything and merely observed what she was indicating.

It became immediately apparent Trey had a fractured rib, as he suspected,
but fortunately there were no other broken bones.  Once we'd finished going
over the negatives, the nurse asked me to wait there a little longer, so
the doctor could come and explain more about my son's injuries and advise
me as to what I'd need to do for Trey.  This seemed highly irregular to me
too, so I asked her why I couldn't just rejoin my son and have the doctor
tell both of us together.  She said she didn't know, but that is what she'd
been told to do, so I gave in and waited patiently.

What I didn't know was that while I was with the nurse, the doctor had gone
back to see Trey alone, to question him about what had happened.  I guess
he or another member of the staff felt there was a chance that I, or
another family member, had beaten him, but suspected Trey wouldn't open up
and tell them the truth while I was present.  Once they were convinced no
one in our household had done this to him, I was told I could rejoin Trey
and the doctor would explain everything.  Once again, I thought this a bit
odd, seeing as how I had waited several minutes for the doctor in the other
room, but the nurse explained it had suddenly gotten busy in the E.R. and
the doctor felt this would save him a little time.  More bureaucratic red
tape!  Why can't they just do things the simplest way to begin with?

When I got back to the examination room, I found Trey in a highly agitated
state and it was obvious he was glad to see me.  He quickly explained the
types of questions the doctor and others had been asking him and the
insinuations they had made.  This caused him to become visibly shaken,
because he couldn't understand how they could even suggest such outrageous
things.

After I got over my initial shock about what had taken place during my
absence, I explained to Trey that they were only doing their jobs and their
actions weren't personal in nature.  If they didn't do this whenever there
was a possibility that something of this nature had actually taken place,
they would never be able to protect kids who were being abused --
physically, sexually or emotionally.  Once he understood this, he started
to calm down.

A short time later, the doctor rejoined us and handed me a couple of
prescriptions for Trey, before explaining what Trey would need to do to
take care of himself, so he would satisfactorily recover from his injuries.
Once he'd finished, we asked him a few questions, listened to his answers
and then thanked him for his help.

On the way home, I asked Trey many of the same questions he had been asked
by the medical staff, including if he knew this boy or why he had singled
Trey out.  First of all, Trey said he didn't recognize the kid and didn't
remember seeing him before, but he was sure he'd recognize him now, if he
ever saw him again.  Trey said the only thing he could think of as to why
the boy attacked him was because he had just come out -- especially since
that was what the guy kept referring to.  He felt it might have also had
something to do with the fact that he wasn't much of a fighter either, like
Nick, so he also didn't pose any type of threat.

I told him he was probably right and suggested it might be wise to learn
some type of self-defense.  He wasn't happy with that suggestion, but I
told him to think about it and possibly he'd begin to see the benefit of
being able to ward off such attackers, which he reluctantly agreed to do.

Once we got home, some of the boys wanted to run down to the school, so
they could see if the kid was still around.  It was obvious they wanted to
settle the score NOW.  In fact, Danny, Brandon and Shannon finally admitted
they wanted to go down to the school and kick some ass, as they so
graphically put it, but I kept them under control and at home.  I told them
that Trey and I would handle this, even though we hadn't discussed just how
we were going to do it yet, but I knew Trey's primary concern was to
prevent it from making it worse for himself and his brothers.  With this in
mind, I assured the boys it would definitely be handled a bit differently
than they would like, but we also had to think about the types of
repercussions such actions might generate.  Not only that, but I certainly
didn't want them sinking to the same level as Trey's attacker.

After dinner I talked to Trey about what had taken place again, while
making sure I did so while we were alone.  I felt I needed to get as many
details about what had occurred, which included finding out who had been
there, either actively or passively, and then I discussed with him about
how he felt we should handle the situation.  At this point, he still wasn't
sure about how we should approach this, but he did have strong feelings
about what he wanted to accomplish.

First, he wanted to get even with the boy and make him suffer in some way
too, but at the same time, he didn't want to draw any more attention to
himself or the family.  He was adamant that we had to be careful with
whatever we did, so we didn't end up making any of the other boys a target.
He told me he would feel awful if one of his brothers, especially any of
the younger ones, were victimized due to his attempts to get even.  He also
let me know that if it looked like anything of that sort might happen then
we'd just leave this where it was now, with the boy getting away with what
he'd done.  He'd rather see that happen than witness someone he loved go
through a similar beating or worse.

Keeping this in mind, we discussed some possible ways to handle the
situation, but didn't make any definite decision.  Trey wanted time to
think his choices over, so he could analyze them thoroughly, but he also
thought it might give us a chance to come up with a better plan of action
as well.

I didn't want to rush him and I certainly didn't want him to be
uncomfortable with whatever we decided to do, but I also didn't want to see
this young man get away with what he'd done either.  I felt if we gave even
the slightest indication that we weren't going to seek some sort of justice
for this vicious attack, then it would send out a message to this
particular bully, and others like him, that it was open season on anyone
who was different or considered deviant.  It would more or less signal that
they could beat people up, or do other equally despicable things to them as
well, without having to worry about any repercussions coming about due to
their actions.

Not only did Trey and I struggle to come up with a way to handle this
situation, but we also discussed ways to end all types of harassment.
After much debate, we finally concluded we would file reports with both the
police and the school district, with Trey making statements about the
events that took place.  He would give as many details as he could
remember, but he was reluctant to provide the names of any of the witnesses
he recognized, but who failed to come to his aid.  He was concerned that
doing so would only alienate him further and possibly cause some of those
people to retaliate too, for pointing them out.

As a way to get past this, Trey would just admit he didn't know the boy who
attacked him, but then he would stretch the truth a bit by saying he didn't
have a chance to see who else might have been there.  Trey was especially
hesitant to drag his former friends into this, figuring they had already
proven they weren't friends, but he still wanted to give them the
opportunity to come forward on their own.  Maybe they would even come to
him and apologize for letting him down.  I think if they did that, he might
even forgive them for their inaction, but it would have to be their
initiative, not his, which started that process.

During our discussion, we also agreed to make this a sexual harassment
issue, because the boy had admitted targeting Trey because he was gay.  Not
only that, but it would draw more attention to the incident this way,
especially with the school district.  The district had compiled a very
rigid harassment policy, which included a whole section on sexual
harassment, so I was going to utilize that knowledge to our benefit.

Trey understood by doing this his orientation would be made a primary issue
and many more people would hear about him, but no matter how much he wanted
to avoid drawing more attention to himself, he felt this attack had already
brought so much notoriety to this fact that it couldn't get much worse.
What had happened to him didn't fit neatly under the express guidelines of
sexual harassment, although I was going to insist he was singled out solely
because of his sexual orientation.  I was doing this because I knew those
provisions could be used to bring more pressure to bear to locate and
punish the culprit responsible for the attack.  We also felt it was our
best option, so that's what we planned on going with.

When Trey went to make his statements, both the school investigators and
the police wanted him to look through the past couple of yearbooks, to see
if he could recognize his attacker, but those efforts proved unsuccessful.
We concluded this guy must have been absent on the day the pictures were
taken, made a conscious decision not to be included in the yearbook or had
just moved into the district, so his picture wasn't available for
identification purposes.  Although we weren't sure which case it was, it
didn't really make of a difference.  Without a picture, it would just be
that much harder to locate him.

Out of desperation, I finally decided to offer a $1,000 reward to anyone
who could identify Trey's assailant, as long as it was sufficient to lead
to an arrest.  Although the police suggested this would bring the nut cases
out of the woodwork as they sought to make a quick buck, I knew that no
matter what person anyone pointed to, Trey would be the one to confirm if
that was indeed the correct individual.  With that in mind, we made the
reward announcement public.



Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW                    
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 22 -- Confronting Problems.                      

At the end of March, my two college boys came home to celebrate Easter with
us.  The holiday fell early this year, with Good Friday on the 29th and
Easter on the very last day of the month.  Not only that, but Passover and
Easter also coincided this year, so their campuses had scheduled a few days
off from classes, so those who were inclined could observe their chosen
religious holiday.  It was nice to have them home again, but Frankie and
Dustin became upset when they discovered what had happened to Trey, because
we hadn't shared this information with them previously.

Although Trey's injuries had mostly healed by this time, except for his
broken rib, the bruises were still somewhat noticeable, even though most of
the swelling had gone down.  Both Frankie and Dustin quizzed him about what
had occurred and what we had done about it, so Trey and I took turns
filling them in.  However, they didn't seem satisfied that what we'd done
was enough.  Especially Frankie.  I guess he still felt a twinge of guilt
about his attack on Trey, back when he first joined the family, and I think
he looked at this as a chance to atone for that transgression.

We explained to him that even offering the reward had done little to
discover the identity of the attacker.  It was believed the boy didn't even
attend our school, because no one had come forward.  The only link to him
was the two boys who seemed to be his buddies, but they both claimed they
didn't know his name and had only just met prior to the incident.  Even
though we doubted their veracity, there was no evidence available to prove
they were lying to us.

Although Frankie and Dustin were as frustrated as we were, they understood
we had done as much as we could, but they still couldn't help feeling there
must be something else we could try.  In order to get their mind off of the
attacker and get in a better mood for Easter, the boys decided to go to the
mall Saturday afternoon, to do some shopping and just hang out together.
As they were walking around checking out the sights, Trey suddenly froze
and wouldn't move.  When the others asked him what was wrong, all he could
do was lift his arm, point his finger and whisper, "that's him."  As luck
would have it, Trey had spotted his former attacker.

Frankie and Dustin wanted to race over and confront the boy, but Shannon
was able to keep them from running off by mentioning he knew who the boy
was.  "He's one of the boy scouts who harassed me at scout camp the last
time I went," he announced.  "Don't tell me he's moved here too!"

No one knew the answer to his question, but they quickly made an educated
guess, once they saw whom he was with.  One of the boys with him were a
friend of the scoutmaster's son, the one who had attacked Shannon nearly a
year before, and Trey quickly pointed out they were also the same pair who
was with this kid when he was attacked.  This made my sons realize the boys
had been lying about not really knowing him and the attacker was either a
friend or relative of one or both.

Frankie and Dustin continued to watch the others for a few minutes, to see
what they were up to, and then quickly talked things over with their
brothers and discussed what they were going to do next.  As the trio began
to move away, Frankie followed behind them closely.  He wasn't worried
about being spotted, because he didn't think any of the boys he was
following would recognize him.  The rest of my sons followed a short
distance behind Frankie and remained far enough away so they wouldn't be
seen or recognized by the group they were following.  They certainly didn't
want to spook them at this point.  They kept up this game of cat and mouse
for nearly an hour before the other boys left the mall, and my boys kept
following them -- even out into the parking lot.  Once they were away from
the buildings, Frankie made his move and approached the trio, as they made
their way to their car.

"Hey," Frankie yelled out to the kid who had attacked Trey, "I hear you
think you're pretty tough.  How about trying your hand with me?  Let's see
if you can take someone who's ready for you, without giving you the chance
to attack them from behind."

The boy turned and was shocked to see the well-built Frankie staring him
down, but he still had enough bravado left to reply.  It appeared his
confidence came from the fact that there were three of them and only one of
Frankie.  "Look, man," the boy told him, "I don't know who you are and I
really don't want to fight."

"Why?  Are you a coward?" Frankie egged him on.  "Do you only attack those
whom you don't think can defend themselves?"

"Look, man, I really don't know what you're talking about," the boy
replied, while looking a little nervous.

"I'm talking about you beating up one of my brothers just because he's
gay," Frankie informed him.  This caused the boy's mouth to immediately
drop open, now that he had finally put two and two together.

"You mean you have a brother who's a fag?" the boy blurted out, before he
had a chance to think about what he was saying.

"Look, asshole," Frankie told him, emphatically, while glaring at him as he
did so.  "I don't like your smart mouth and I don't want to hear any more
of that kind of shit coming out of it, unless you plan on backing it up
with your fists."

The boy looked back at him for a second, before he responded.  "Hey,
there's three of us here and only one of you, mother-fucker," he announced
defiantly, looking from side to side, at each of his companions.

"Not exactly," Frankie announced, causing the boys to wonder what he was
talking about.  By the time he figured it out, the other boys had been able
to come up from behind and surround the trio.  Suddenly, the bully and his
two friends found themselves surrounded AND outnumbered.

"I know you know at least one of my brothers," Frankie said mockingly,
while pointing at Trey, "but now let me introduce you to some of the
others."  The boys looked around very nervously now, knowing they'd been
played to perfection.  While they were looking for any opportunity to get
away, Frankie 'introduced' some of the others to him, more precisely
Dustin, Danny, Brandon, Shannon and Nick, and then Frankie got in that
kid's face and started to make his next point.

"Unless you'd like to finish this now, I've got some advice for you," he
offered, while poking his index finger quite firmly against the boy's
chest, in an attempt to see if he could provoke him into action.  The boy
was either too scared to respond or didn't like the odds this time, so he
just stood there and took the abuse.

"The next time you attack one of my brothers," Frankie continued, "or
anyone else for that matter, I'm going to find you, rip your balls off and
shove them down your throat, before I dance on your skull.  Do I make
myself clear?"

The boy nodded, but Frankie wanted to embarrass him further in front of his
friends and make sure they all knew their friend wasn't really as tough as
he'd like them all to believe.  "I'm sorry," Frankie mocked him, "but I
couldn't hear what you said.  I could only hear the rocks banging around in
your empty head.  What was it you said?"

"I said I understand," the boy repeated a little louder, while looking
totally embarrassed.

"You understand what?" Frankie continued, not wanting to let this
opportunity slip by.

"I understand what you're going to do to me, if I fight any of your
brothers," the bully replied, timidly.

"You called that a fight?" Frankie sneered.  "I heard you punched him from
behind and kicked him like some girl.  Is that true?"

By now a bunch of school age kids had begun to gather around them, curious
to see what was happening. This only added to the boy's embarrassment, but
played right into Frankie's hands.  "Well, not exactly," the boy stated,
trying to save some face.

"Then what exactly did you do?  Did you hit him from behind or not?"
Frankie pressed.

"Well, that only happened because he turned around," the boy responded.

"Yes, he turned around," Frankie agreed.  "He was walking away from you
when you sucker-punched him, right?

"If that's what you say," the boy tossed back, somewhat nonchalantly.

"It's not just what I say, it's what happened," Frankie shouted back.
"Isn't that so?"

"I guess," the kid responded, meekly.

"And you kicked him like a little girl after that, didn't you?" Frankie
persisted.

"I kicked him like a kick boxer or someone who knows karate," the boy
replied, trying to make it sound better to those listening in.

"Oh, really?" Frankie challenged.  "Would you like to demonstrate those
moves on me?"

"Uhmm, not really," the boy replied, doing everything he could to prevent
having to fight Frankie.

"Why not?" Frankie sneered.  "Is it because you don't really kick like a
kick boxer or someone using karate?" Frankie taunted.  "I think it's
because you kick like the little pussy boy you are -- one who can only
attack those he knows are weaker than him."

The boy was turning red now, because he realized Frankie wasn't going to
let this drop.

"I'm willing to bet it's because you weren't actually kicking like a kick
boxer or someone using karate," Frankie pressed on, "but instead was
kicking like a little sissy or some girl in a cat fight.  I'm surprised you
didn't try to scratch him too."

By now, Frankie knew he definitely had the upper hand, so he just kept
ragging on this kid and egging him on.  In fact, he even went a step
further and began to push him, trying to get him to react.  "Admit it,"
Frankie jeered, "you're just a little pussy-boy, aren't you?  And you can
only beat up on people who are smaller or weaker."

"That's not true," the boy insisted.

"Okay then, come on and show me what you can do," Frankie challenged him
again, before shoving him backward, but the boy somehow managed to keep his
balance and merely continued to back away from his tormentor.  One of his
friends made a move to step in and help, but Dustin got in his way and let
him know he'd have to get past him first.  The young man wasn't about to
tangle with the larger Dustin and backed off immediately.

"Either fight me here and now," Frankie screamed, "or admit to everyone
that you're just a little pussy-boy."  By now, the people in the crowd were
snickering and even laughing out loud.  Hearing this, the boy glared at
them, while at the same time wishing Frankie would just go away.  He knew
that wasn't about to happen, so he struggled to decide what he was going to
do.  After looking at Frankie and his muscular build, he concluded he'd get
his ass kicked if he tried to fight, so he decided to just wait him out,
but Frankie was being uncooperative.

"Well, which will it be?" Frankie asked him again, only this time much
louder.  "Are you going to fight me or admit to everyone that you're just a
little pussy-boy?"  The kid just glared at Frankie, but didn't make a move.
He knew Frankie wasn't going to let this drop until he was beaten or
humiliated, so he quickly considered his options.  In the end, he
determined he wasn't ready to get his ass kicked, so he chose the other
option.

"I guess I'm a pussy-boy," he whispered, barely audibly.  However, his two
friends heard him and his simple pronouncement shocked them completely,
while Frankie and my other sons gloated over his admission.

"What was that, I don't think we all heard you.  Squeak up," Frankie goaded
him even more.  He was going to make this boy say it loud enough for
everyone to hear, to humiliate him even more than he had embarrassed Trey.

Unable to believe that Frankie was going to make him say it again, only
louder this time, the boy just stared in his direction for a few seconds,
unable to respond.  Sensing Trey's former tormentor's uncomfortable
predicament, Frankie merely glared back, before flashing him an evil grin.

"Well, which is it?" Frankie repeated.

You could see the boy biting his lip, trying to decide if he wanted to
fight instead, but eventually he decided against it.  "I'm a pussy-boy," he
said a little louder.

"So, you're a pussy-boy," Frankie announced in his loudest voice, pausing
to let the full impact sink in, both for the bystanders and the boy
himself.  "So, pussy-boy, are you going to promise me to be a good little
pussy-boy and not pick on people weaker than yourself any more?"  Frankie's
voice was dripping with sarcasm as he said this.

"Yes," the boy responded in a normal tone of voice, but Frankie decided not
to push him further.  He knew he had already sufficiently belittled him in
front of his friends and the other students who had stopped by to witness
this spectacle.

"Okay, pussy-boy.  Run off with your pussy-boy friends and behave," Frankie
told him, while sounding more like a mother telling her two or three
year-old child to play nice.  The effect wasn't lost on anyone.  The boy
and his two friends looked equally embarrassed now, although the other two
had only been implicated through their friendship, but each of them
realized they were going to have a tough time living this down.  However,
they were all happy they were getting out of there and quickly made their
way over to their car.  Hurriedly, they climbed inside and then sped off,
since they wanted to put as much distance between them and the Curries as
they could.

Some of the bystanders began to whistle, clap and cheer as the boys drove
away, and Trey and the others went over to congratulate Frankie for the
marvelous show he had orchestrated.

"Thanks, bro," Trey told him succinctly, but the words weren't really
necessary.  Any observant bystander could easily read the admiration and
thanks etched upon Trey's face.

"No, problem, little bro.  I owed you that one," Frankie replied, drawing a
puzzled look from Trey.  After thinking about Frankie's comment briefly, he
began to absorb the implication of Frankie's remark.

While that was going on, the others took their turns congratulating Frankie
too, as Dustin went around asking some of the other bystanders if they knew
the boy's name.  Although he didn't get the antagonist's name, he did learn
the names of his two companions, and someone else told him he thought the
bully was an out-of-town cousin of one of the other boys.  Dustin thanked
those who had provided him with this information and then went back to
share it with the others.

Once everyone had stopped patting Frankie on the back, they listened to
what Dustin had discovered and then headed home to share this news with me.
I got a full recounting of this story when they got back, with different
boys adding their own touches to the retelling.  I thanked Frankie for
sticking up for his brother, even though I hoped it wouldn't mean further
retaliation from the other side somewhere down the road.  However, Frankie
quickly assured me that wouldn't happen.

"Dad, that kid was so scared he was nearly pissing himself today," he told
me.  "He doesn't want to see me again, so he'll leave Trey and the others
alone now."

"I hope you're right, but I'm glad we've also discovered who he was," I
announced.  "I'll call the police and give them the two boys' names and let
them get the attackers name from them.  Once they give me that information,
I'll notify the school about his identity.  They might not be able to do
anything to him, except file their own charges for criminal trespass, but
they might be able to put some pressure on the other two.  That should help
to close this episode for the time being."

The boys all went their separate ways now that this had been settled, but I
think they all felt a little bit closer to each other than they had before.
They made a statement today, as a family, and let the others in the area
know the Curries would stick together, no matter what.  It was a reassuring
gesture for all of the younger boys, since they now understood their
brothers had their backs covered, and a major statement to the community.
Not only would my boys protect each other, but they would also consider a
similar attack on other weaker members of society the same way as if it had
been made on one of them.  It was quite a powerful statement to make.

Since Easter is considered a time for hope and new beginnings, this also
gave Trey a chance to start over after his attack.  He was no longer scared
to go on with his life, especially since it was also readily apparent that
someone would be keeping a watchful eye on him in the future.  He would
continue to do his research at the library, but from that point on one of
his other brothers would just happen to have something to work on there as
well.  Funny how that works out, isn't it?  Trey understood what was
happening, but didn't think any more of it, other than his brothers cared
about him and were doing their best to protect him.  They all understood
this and it became just another unspoken family truth.

That Monday, I got a call from the police telling me the identity of Trey's
attacker, so I relayed his identity and that of his two companions to the
school.  Although the high school principal didn't know the boy who had
done the fighting, he did recognize one of the other names.  That young man
had been in trouble before, for various infractions, but the third boy had
never been involved in any disciplinary problems.

I then asked him what actions he anticipated taking against them, to see if
I agreed with his decision.  He replied that since the other two hadn't
actually done anything, there was nothing he could do to them, but he would
file a formal complaint on the third boy and would do as much as the law
allowed.

A short time later, I received an additional call from the high school
principal.  "Josh, I've learned some more information," he announced.
"Although I didn't realize it at the time, the boy who attacked Trey had
come in that very day to enroll for the remainder of the year.  It seems
he'd been sent to live with his aunt and uncle, after the cops busted his
father for D.U.I.  His father was a repeat offender and looking at
prolonged jail time, and since the boy's mother had died a few years
earlier, he had no other option but to send his son to live with relatives.
As I understand it now, the boy was brought to live with his aunt and uncle
the previous weekend, but took a few days getting acclimated to the area,
before coming to enroll.  I also suspect his cousin or the other boy was
the one who filled him in about your family and that's what led to the
attack.  I'm sorry I didn't recognize his name sooner and piece this
together for you."

"Don't worry about it," I told him.  "You can't be expected to remember the
name of every student in your school, especially those who have just
enrolled."

He thanked me for my understanding and informed me he'd investigate the
situation thoroughly, so he would be able to determine how best to handle
the incident.  I told him I was sure he would and then returned to my own
thoughts about the matter.

After school, Trey finished gathering the rest of the background
information he needed in order to begin writing his play.  A few days
later, he handed me a rough draft of the first act, which he had just
completed.  I proofread it for him and made a few comments and suggestions
about problems I'd noticed, and then gave it back to him, so he could make
whatever changes he felt were needed.  It was going to be a very long and
time- consuming process, so it was good he had gotten an early start on it.


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