Initiation (19 page)

“She’s a little bitch.”

“That’s what I said.”

Sarah laughed. “How’d that go over?”

He smirked. “She slapped me.”

Sarah put up her fists like a boxer. “Do you want me to kick her ass?”

He chuckled. “Then Coach Cowan started yelling at me because I was holding up the buses. I dropped my bag and started to leave and Coach Cowan grabbed me by the arm. I told him to get his fucking hands off me.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

“I don’t even understand it myself. It’s not like I’m not used to being yelled at. I don’t know. It was like I hit a breaking point. I just snapped.”

“What happened after that?”

“I went home and slept. The next morning, my dad was being an asshole. He grabbed me by the throat.”

Sarah winced. “Those red marks on your neck.”

He nodded. “You know, for the first time in my life, I wasn’t afraid. I remember looking at his face and thinking about bashing it in with my fists. I left because I could feel myself getting all amped up.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I walked to the library. You and your mom picked me up when I was walking back.”

She bit the bottom corner of her lower lip. Her blue eyes searched his face. “You can always come here.”

“Okay.”

“What are you going to do now?”

He looked down at his empty plate, then back to Sarah. “I gotta get out of my house. I can’t be there anymore. I’m gonna get a job and save up so I can leave on my eighteenth birthday. It’s fourteen months from today.”

“What about football?”

“It’s over. Cowan said I can’t come back next year.”

She pursed her lips. “I’m sorry.”

He glanced at the sink, pushed his chair out and stood. He picked up his plate. “We should clean this up,” he said, taking her plate and placing it on top of his.

She stood, sucking in her plump lower lip before pressing it back out. He placed the plates in the sink; she brought the glasses. They stood by the sink, facing each other. She looked up at him through her oversized specs.

He pulled his sleeves up his forearms. “I’ll wash,” he said.

She was unresponsive.

He gazed down at her. She nibbled on her lower lip. He removed her glasses and placed them on the counter. Her skin was a perfect porcelain with a hint of strawberry in her cheeks. He brushed her hair from her blue eyes and pressed his lips to hers. She reciprocated with more force, their lips parting, their tongues touching. He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close, her chest against his. She squeezed her arms around him. After a moment she pulled back with a grin, her lips swollen.

“I really like you, Carter Lynch.”

Chapter 15: Porta Potty

– 15 –

Porta Potty

Carter and Sarah walked arm in arm along the sidewalk to the high school. A banner hung at the school entrance:
Back-to-Back Varsity Football State Champions!
Sarah was bundled in her red pea coat and gray scarf. Her hair was spilling out of her blue wool cap. Carter looked like a disgruntled veteran, with an old army jacket and his black knit cap pulled low over his eyebrows. A few parents and kids hurried into the school. Inside, the high school was an ocean of linoleum. To their left, adults and teens congregated in front of the auditorium.

The stadium seating in the auditorium was nearly filled. The adults spoke in hushed whispers. The majority of the football team was positioned front and center. They were boisterous and comfortable on their home turf. The Wheelers were also in front, but on the left hand side. Carter and Sarah snagged two empty seats toward the back. There was a single wooden podium with a microphone attached in the center aisle facing the stage. Four police officers stood in front, two on each side. A long table was set up onstage with a microphone in front of each VIP. Carter recognized two of the ten serious figures seated at the table. Coach Cowan looked innocent with his fresh shave, neatly combed hair, and dark suit. Walter Sullivan, the diminutive principal, joked with Cowan. The coach didn’t look amused.

“What’s up with the police officers?” Carter asked Sarah.

“A few years ago, some kids were having sex in the janitor’s closet,” Sarah said. “One of the girls got pregnant. The girl’s father blamed the school for lack of supervision. He came after the superintendent at a school board meeting.”

“That’s crazy.”

Sarah nodded.

“Do you know the people on stage?” Carter asked Sarah.

“There’s Principal Sullivan and of course Coach Cowan, but you know them.”

Carter nodded.

“The guy next to Principal Sullivan with the hairy neck and the scrunched up face, that’s the superintendent, the one that was attacked, Dr. Richard Perry. The woman on the far right is Mrs. Little. She’s one of the junior class counselors. I just love her. And the guy with the white hair next to her is Mr. Shepherd. He’s one of the senior class counselors. I don’t know much about him. The five old dudes on the left are all school board members.”

Coach Cowan stomped to the center of the stage and told the football players to sit down and be quiet. He returned to his seat.

Dr. Perry tapped on the mic in front of him. “Can I have your attention please? We are about to start.”

The auditorium quietened. Latecomers stood lining the back wall. Dr. Perry led the audience in the pledge of allegiance. Sarah pulled out her handheld tape recorder and pressed record.

Dr. Perry cleared his throat. “This emergency school board meeting has been called to address the possible problem of hazing and bullying by members of the varsity football team.” A couple of random boos erupted from the audience.

Dr. Perry continued, “It was brought to my attention two weeks ago that new football players
may
have been subjected to an initiation where they were bullied. I’ve dedicated every ounce of my energy to get to the bottom of this serious allegation. Here at North Potomac High School we have a no-tolerance policy for bullying. Coach Cowan interviewed every single active member of the football team, including the seniors. I believe we have ninety-five student athletes on the football team.” He turned to Coach Cowan and smiled.

“Yep, ninety-five,” Coach Cowan said. “The kids told some funny stories, but nothin’ that was bullyin’ or hazin’. Football’s an intense game and these kids are under mountains of pressure and expectations. It’s important that we allow them to have some fun and even do a little razzin’, provided they don’t stray too far. Havin’ said all that, I’m still deeply concerned about the possibility of this problem. To be frank, if a single young person is hurt on my watch because of bullyin’, it’s one too many. Even though I feel that our state champion football team –”

A few hoots and hollers emanated from the audience.

Coach Cowan smiled and restarted. “Even though I feel that our
state champion football team
is not guilty of hazin’ or bullyin’, I am open to Dr. Perry’s recommendations to make sure we don’t run into these problems in the future.” Coach Cowan turned from the audience to Dr. Perry.

“This is total bullshit,” Carter said to Sarah.

Dr. Perry said, “I’ve elected to have Coach Cowan put the entire team through an hour of sensitivity training each season to make sure these things don’t happen here. To take it a step further and to make sure that we’re not unfairly singling out the football team, all sports will be required to complete the training. As educators, our goal is to provide a safe environment to learn. I will continue to make this a top priority, and we will maintain as always a zero-tolerance policy on bullying.

“We will now open up this meeting for comments from the public. Anyone that wants to speak, please line up behind the podium. Our regular school board meeting rules apply. If you use bad language, or conduct yourself in a rude or threatening manner, you will be removed from the premises. Furthermore, we have a one-minute time limit on each speaker. Please be respectful and don’t monopolize the microphone.”

Sarah leaned over to Carter. “That’s funny coming from him.”

A handful of football players and adult men lined up behind the podium. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler were toward the back. The audience clapped each time a football player spoke about how they were a family and they protected and looked out for each other. The men spoke of their time as Marauders and how the discipline and teamwork they learned on the football field helped them to be successful businessmen, fathers, and leaders. Mr. Wheeler looked small and frail behind the current and former football players. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he stepped to the podium with a typewritten letter in hand. He stared at the paper and cleared his throat.

“My son was Ben Wheeler. Six weeks ago he killed himself in our home. Fifteen weeks ago he was humiliated at a team initiation –”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wheeler,” Dr. Perry said. Mr. Wheeler looked up from his paper. “We sympathize with your loss, and our school mourns the loss of a fantastic kid. The initiation that allegedly took place on August thirtieth has not been corroborated by
any
of Coach Cowan’s interviews.”

Mr. Wheeler clenched the edge of the podium, his knuckles white. He continued, “He was so ashamed that he refused to go to school or practice the next week. He was promptly thrown off the team –”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wheeler, I’m going to have to stop you again,” Dr. Perry said. “All the kids sign a behavior contract that says if you miss three practices without an excuse, you are automatically –”

Mr. Wheeler pounded the podium, his glasses bouncing on his nose. “Shut up and let me speak!”

“Mr. Wheeler,” Dr. Perry said, “we do not allow aggressive behavior here. For your own good, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Two police officers converged on the podium. Mr. Wheeler looked at the cops marching toward him. He leaned into the mic. “My son is dead.” The auditorium was silent.

Mr. Wheeler nodded to his wife as he was escorted outside by the police officers. Mrs. Wheeler stepped up to the mic.

“I’ll meet you outside,” Carter said to Sarah as he stood. He marched to the short line behind the podium.

“Mrs. Wheeler,” Dr. Perry said, “please be advised that we sympathize with your family, but we cannot have outbursts in this forum.”

“Outbursts?” Mrs. Wheeler said. “What would you qualify as an outburst?”

“I know it when I see it,” Dr. Perry replied.

“What I don’t understand is why my son’s life is less important than the reputation of the football team?”

“This forum is not for speculation,” Dr. Perry said. “I can assure you that your son’s life and the lives of all of our students are of paramount importance.”

“Everyone who’s ever played football in this audience knows about the hazing and the initiation –”

“I’m going to have to stop you right there. We have not found any evidence to support your claim.”

Mrs. Wheeler narrowed her eyes at Dr. Perry. “I just want the hazing to stop. How can it stop, if we can’t even admit it’s a problem?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Wheeler, but your time is up. Please step away from the podium.”

“I will not,” Mrs. Wheeler said, her voice shaky. “How many thousands of kids have been subjected to this –”

“Mrs. Wheeler, that’s enough,” Dr. Perry said, looking behind him for the AV guy. “Cut the podium mic.”

“She has a right to speak,” Mrs. Little said.

The men seated at the long table glared at Mrs. Little.

The remaining two police officers approached the podium.

Mrs. Wheeler shouted, the mic dead. “You know what goes on. It wasn’t just Ben. There’ve been kids with alcohol poisoning and post-traumatic stress –”

The cops grabbed Mrs. Wheeler by her upper arms. She squirmed as they forced her up the stairs. “Let me go,” she said.

Carter pushed to the front of the line, his jaw set tight and his eyes wild.

“Because of the unruly outbursts,” Dr. Perry said, “we will adjourn this meeting.”

“No,” Carter said loud enough for the entire audience to hear without the mic. “The Wheelers are telling the truth. I was there. Ben was tricked into allowing another player to smack him in the face with his penis.”

The audience gasped.

Justin stood up. “He’s a liar.”

“Step down from the podium and leave the premises,” Dr. Perry said.

“The cops are busy,” Carter said, “why don’t you come down and move me.” Dr. Perry stayed in his seat. Carter looked at Justin. “I didn’t say you did it.” He turned to the audience. “He used a cucumber, but Ben didn’t know it at the time. The point was to humiliate him, and that’s what they did. Ben wanted to be a part of this team more than anyone, and they just looked at him like he was nothing.” Carter turned back to the stage. “I think Ben would still be alive if it never happened. We’re all to blame, myself included. The rest of us were forced into a party naked with two hundred girls watching us.”

A handful of men and teenage boys laughed.

Coach Cowan stood and approached the end of the stage, glaring at Carter. “That’s enough,” Cowan said.

A few adults from the crowd piped up, “Let him finish.”

Carter continued, “For those of you with daughters: listen up. We couldn’t get our clothes back without having sex with a girl at the party.” There was hushed whispering and several wide-eyed fathers. “Don’t worry. A lot of girls lied to Justin and Zach over there,” Carter pointed, “so guys could get their clothes back. Only a handful of guys actually had sex with the girls. A lot of them just got blowjobs.”

Some of the crowd began to shout at Carter, calling him a liar. Some began to shout at the school board and the superintendent, threatening changes with the upcoming election.

Two police officers marched down the steps toward Carter. He put his hands up.

“I’m leaving,” he said.

* * *

Carter trudged down the linoleum hallway, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Kids hurried around him, fast-walking to beat the lunch rush. He elicited stares and scowls from the student body. He passed a cluster of football players. They were unconcerned about the long lunch lines forming. There would be friends saving them spaces or they would simply cut in line.