The Pantheon (6 page)

And then his friend crouched.

The ceiling lifted, letting torch-light pour in.

It filled the blackness and the warrior saw.

A familiar, bright smile looked down upon him,

here to set him free.

“
Anger begins in folly, and ends in repentance.”

-Pythagoras

IV.

Haley Livingstone was singing a song from her favorite Disney Channel show when the Sunday morning news came on. She was sitting in her pink penguin pajamas, eating a bowl of Cheerios, off in her own world as her father tried to convince James to eat his breakfast. Scott sat quietly absorbing the whole scene as his twin turned his head away just as the spoon reached his mouth and giggled. Toddlers.

Jason had the television on in the background, trying to keep a handle on what was going on in the world. The news announcer started the broadcast with the latest political sex scandal and moved on to which celebrity had supposedly attacked what paparazzi on a Malibu beach. By the time they had gotten to the real news, James had already grown bored with his game and was hungry enough to eat. Jason was fixing his own breakfast.

“
Tragedy struck Miami Dade County early Saturday morning when the body of a Miami High School football player was discovered. The body was found in the state forest on the outskirts of Olympia Heights. Police arrived on the scene to bust up a teen party where alcohol was reportedly involved and got a lot more than they bargained for. Manuel López-Famosa is at the scene.”

Jason paused in scrambling three eggs to look at the screen. They were showing a yearbook photo of the boy found the night before. The reporter talked about how he played tailback for the Miami West Titans and participated in the Boy Scouts of America program. It was always shocking when someone young died, but for Jason it made the noise of the kitchen fade out for a moment. He worked with kids that boy’s age every day. He had children of his own. He had experienced death close to him. To see a picture of a teenager with his life ahead of him and hear that he had been lit on fire, it made him feel sick.

“
Daddy,” Haley said without paying any attention to the news, “Sarah got a digital camera for her birthday. It’s pink.”

“
Oh yeah?” he replied, turning away from the television. “Did she take a lot of pictures at the sleepover?”

“
Uh-huh,” she said with an enthusiastic nod. “Can I get one for my birthday?”

“
That’s not for a long time. How about you tell me what you want closer to it, in case you change your mind.” Just like that, Jason was back in the present. His children never let him stay lost for too long.

Monday morning, to the students of Olympia Heights, it was more like an urban legend than a tragedy. Jason heard the whispers of it in the halls and even in the teacher’s lounge. Jason didn’t repeat any of it, though, because he knew how rumors spread in a high school and he didn’t want to help propel false information through the atmosphere.

He even heard, though he doubted it was true because it seemed a bit too grotesque, that the charred and oozing body had fallen on Diana Hill as she was running from the police.

At lunch Jason, realizing he’d left his brown bag at home on the counter to spoil once again, ventured into the cafeteria for the bold adventure that was cafeteria food. Some days it was chicken patties and he could throw enough ketchup on the patty to make it passable. Some days it was what was supposed to be American Chop Suey but was really just kind of gross and dry. Today Jason hit the jackpot; it was turkey with gravy on potatoes and peas. It was hard to mess up peas.

Jason came out of the lunch line with a spring in his step. He crossed the cafeteria for the south door, planning to head to the lounge to eat instead of his office so the food might still be warm, when alarms sounded in his head.

Frank Guerrero, the football team’s center, was a transfer from Miami West. He’d been on the team in previous years with Tim Heckley, the victim. Frank wasn’t sitting with the football team today. He’d chosen a table beside them and Jason could see murder in his eyes as he stared at the wall ahead and listened to the conversation behind him.

Jason slowed, letting some giggly girls pass him as he surveyed the situation. Danny Levski, a notorious loudmouth who played second-string free safety, was on the hot topic of the day: the crispy body in the woods.

“
We should find out who did it,” he said as loud as he could so that others might hear him and think him a wit. “Ask him to take care of the rest of the Titans for us.”

Frank slammed his hand on the table and got up. For someone almost seven-feet-tall, he moved quickly. His dark features combined with his size and stare to make him look more myth than man. It was mere seconds before he had Levski by the collar and was lifting him up off the ground.

Danny Levski wasn’t smart enough to shut his mouth, though. It was common knowledge that Frank had moved to Olympia Heights after a hush-hush trial, though the rumors of what had happened didn’t even brush upon the actual tragedy. Frank’s father had been an abusive drunk and slapped Frank and his mother around most of his life. One night last spring he had beaten Mrs. Guerrero within an inch of her life and was prepared to keep going. Frank had only struck his father once, but Mr. Guerrero died in the hospital hours later. Frank was let off on a defense of others plea. The judge had sympathy for the battered remains of a broken home. Frank spent the summer helping his mother recover. In July they moved back to Olympia Heights, where he was born, to live with Mrs. Guerrero’s sister. The school staff had been briefed but most students didn’t know the exact story. It was still whispered in the halls that he’d killed a guy. And Danny Levsky had to go waving the flag at the raging bull.

“
Oh come on, Frank, you’re Thunder now,” he said, trying to swing his feet to scrape the ground. “You don’t have to keep bleeding crimson and black.”

“
You think this is about football?” Frank growled. Jason was setting his tray down. He wasn’t moving too quickly, though. He wanted to let Levski sweat for a moment.

“
Lighten up, sulking around isn’t gonna un-charify the guy. He was a total douche anyway. Let it go man, it’s no big deal.

Frank’s self-control snapped. He slammed Levski down on the lunch table, knocking trays aside and spilling milk. Jason dashed to Frank’s side. The only other person who hadn’t backed away from the table was Zach Jacobs.

“
Frank,” Jason said, “let him go.”

“
I know you’re pissed,” Zach jumped in. He put his hand on Frank’s shoulder, trying to be like a coach, a big brother, anything to connect with him. Frank grabbed Zach’s wrist. He didn’t want to be touched.

“
Frank!” Jason said, breaking through the chatter. Frank let go of Zach’s arm and pushed Levksi down into the table once more for good measure before letting him go.

Zach rubbed his wrist.

“
Mr. Guerrero,” Jason said calmly. “Get your books, follow me.”

The gathering crowd of spectators didn’t even have the courage to erupt into an anonymous “Ooh” as Frank followed Jason out of the cafeteria.

Frank and Jason were both silent until Jason set his tray down on his desk. It was probably cold by now. Frank stood in the doorway.

“
You lifted that kid like he was made out of paper.”

Frank just grunted in reply.

“
Were you friends with Heckley?”

“
Kind of,” Frank said.

Jason stared at him for a moment. It was hard to converse with someone when they gave you only two words. “Listen,” Jason said, pausing to assess his tactics. “I’m not going to write you up, so relax. But you’ve got to learn to ignore idiots like that. Okay? Your temper’s gonna get you in a lot of trouble.”

Frank grunted again.

“
And nobody here will forgive you if you break the quarterback’s wrist.”

Frank smiled just a little at that. Success.

“
Do you need to go home sick?”

Frank shook his head, “No sir.”

“
Alright then. Bell’s gonna ring in ten minutes. What you do until then, I don’t care.”

Frank nodded and looked back at Jason before walking out of the office. Jason picked up his plastic fork and focused on his cold potatoes.

Leaving the office, Frank passed Zach at the junior hall lockers. “Sorry,” he grunted.

Zach didn’t turn around. Frank wasn’t sure if he was being ignored so he said it again. “Sorry.”

Zach looked up and nodded. “Yeah, okay. Fine.” His arm was in his locker and he was hiding something from Frank’s view. Frank leaned around Zach’s body and saw that what he was hiding was his hand. The wrist Frank had grabbed was already swollen and red, but the attached hand was the far more alarming sight. Zach’s fingers were clenched into a fist, but even so, Frank could see that they were sparking like a broken transformer.

Zach and Frank made eye contact for a long time. Finally the sparks stopped and Zach shoved his hand into his pocket. Frank swallowed. “So you were the lightning, huh?” he whispered.

Zach slammed his locker shut. “This conversation is over.” He walked quickly down the hall, disappearing around the corner.

Frank watched him retreat and then headed to the bathroom to wash his face before the bell rang.

“
Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.”

-Aesop

v.

He knew he’d never win this race honestly.

She was gifted and he was a fool in love,

but the goddess had given him a sure thing:

three golden apples.

The flag waved and he tossed the first fruit away.

Enchanted, she left the path to pick it up.

She was compelled by the way it caught the sun.

She could not resist.

He ran ahead but she gained on him again.

He threw down another apple and she stopped.

He did this until all three apples were gone.

So he won the race.

The reward of his victory was her hand,

for he was the first man not to lose his life

in the ultimate bet, a race with his bride.

They celebrated.

He had all the time in the world, now he’d won,

but as they left to consummate their marriage,

they had forgotten one important thing first.

They had rushed too much.

The goddess of love did not miss this detail,

but she wasn’t the type to dirty her hands

Instead she stirred their passion and impatience

and prodded at lust.

They broke into the temple of another.

They made love in front of her sacred altar.

This goddess was not too shy to wet her hands

and coldly killed them

Their corpses would be discovered at sunrise.

With their whole lives ahead they had rushed one thing,

but it was the most important thing of all:

it was to give thanks.

“
Dear to the heart of a girl is her own beauty and charm.”

-Ovid

V.

The election for the Semi-Formal Committee Chair was to be held at the end of the week. Jason normally didn’t volunteer for boosters and club advising, but that year Candice Matthews, one of the English teachers, had discovered that Jason had a hard time saying “no.” Dr. Livingstone had been roped into supervising the election. Candice was advising the committee, but the student handbook said that two faculty and two students needed to be present to collect ballots and count them. Jason was glad this was a one-time-commitment.

Jason had planned to stay in his office and hide away during the second block assembly, but Candice Matthews-- who was bubbly, enthusiastic, and a little more than fond of the single school nurse-- popped in the doorway at the interim bell, bouncing on her heels like a teenage girl. She was tall and slim with a too-red hairstyle that would have been popular in the early nineties. Her glasses were round and altogether the wrong shape for her face and her clothing suffered from the same flaw. She had round cheeks and large front teeth that would have been cute if her personality wasn’t quite so persistent. “Are you coming to the assembly?” she asked.

“
Uh... there’s really no point in my presence, is there?”

“
Don’t be silly!” She came fully into the room now, assuring Jason that he wouldn’t easily be rid of her. “You’re officiating the election. You should be there. It makes the ballot counting so much more fun when you secretly have a favorite.”

Jason forced a smile. He waited. She just stood there. He knew he’d have to go. “Alright,” he said. “Just give me a minute.”