Tag: Copycats 1 LN

Michael stood outside the classroom door, hesitating to enter. From the muffled sounds he could make out, it sounded like the teacher was wrapping up the first day of school introductions. He didn’t really want to participate. But looking through the window, he was only focused on the seating arrangements. Double desks. There was an empty desk, but it was in the back of the classroom. If timed right, he could try to reach his seat before anyone noticed him.

“Go on, Michael.” Ms. Mendoza whispered, “It looks like you haven’t missed much.”

Startled by the voice, Michael turned to see his vice principal standing behind him. He had hoped that after speed walking towards the sixth-grade hallway, she had gone back to her office. Although, it wouldn’t be too surprising if she didn’t trust him to go to class. It wouldn’t be the first time, just a new year.

He took a deep breath, opened the door, and was met with a loud applause. Slightly surprised, he quickly realized it was directed towards someone standing in the middle of the classroom. Likely, they were the last of the introductions. With the students occupied and the teacher busy looking at the computer, Michael dashed to the back of the classroom. He was almost there when—

“Dr. Reed! We have another student.” A girl yelled.

Michael stopped dead in his tracks. He felt as though a spotlight was beaming down on him. The teacher then looked up from his computer.

“Ah, good morning. You must be…Michael Goss, is that correct?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“You came in quiet as a mouse, son. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Sure. You too.”

Immediately turning his attention back to the empty desk, Michal returned to his mission. But Dr. Reed stopped him before he could get too far.

“Actually, Michael, why don’t you take a seat next to Zuriya over there?”

Michael faced Dr. Reed with confusion. But the teacher pointed to a girl waving her hand. She sat alone in the second row, next to the window. Seeing her overly excited face, he recognized her.

Zuriya Thomas, art prodigy. She was part of the visual arts program at the school. And as such, she was one of the more popular girls in the school. Although he hadn’t had many interactions with her directly, Michael knew she was an overachiever when it came to school work. Getting grouped with her would mean nonstop talking and participation in almost every assignment. A year next to her would be a nightmare.

Thinking of how he could secure that empty desk all to himself, he got an idea. He did his best to look weak and started coughing into his elbow. Some of the students around him leaned away. Some even started moving their desks.

“Sorry. I’m actually a little sick. I don’t want to accidentally infect someone on the first day.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, I assume it must not be too serious. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have let you come to school today. May I ask what it is?”

“It’s…umm.”

“Of course, if you’d rather not talk about it here, I’d be more than happy to discuss it with you out in the hall.”

“No!” Michael said.

He didn’t mean to shout. He just thought that Ms. Mendoza could still be nearby. What would he do if she heard him talking about being sick? How would he explain himself out of this one?

“Then could I ask you to humor me, just for today? And I will take your sickness into consideration when I assign seats tomorrow.” Dr. Reed said, pointing back towards Zuriya.

Defeated, Michael felt the spotlight on him again. He felt everyone watching him as he made his way to his new seat. After plopping down in his chair, holding his head in his hands. Dr. Reed continued with the lecture.

“Thank you. Unfortunately, we’ve run out of time for introductions. So, let’s move on to our lecture.”

As Dr. Reed began writing something on the chalkboard, Zuriya turned to Michael. Her face lit up with excitement. She smiled, extending her hand towards him.

“Hi. I’m Zuriya. I’m looking forward to being partners with you this year.”

Michael turned his head away from her and ignored her outstretched hand.

“He said he was assigning seats tomorrow. It’s highly likely we won’t actually be partners.”

“We are today, at least. Oh!”

Her suddenness made Michael jump. Confused as to the reason, he turned and watched her as she rummaged through her backpack for something. When she finally removed her hand, she held a handful of something. The little wrapped pieces resembled candy. She then scattered them on the desk in front of Michael.

“I have some cough drops. You’re welcome to have them. It may help your throat feel better.”

Michael didn’t have time to refuse. Before he could say anything, Zuriya shifted her attention to Dr. Reed.

“Now, let’s talk about the summer reading assignment. Everyone, please take out your books.”

He had nearly forgotten about the reading assignment. But Zuriya quickly began rummaging through her backpack, retrieving a book, a notebook, and a pencil case. She opened the notebook, flipping past pages of notes, finally coming to an empty page. Michael unwrapped one of the cough drops and popped it in his mouth. While crumbling the wrapper, he felt someone poking him in the shoulder.

“Do you have a copy of the book?” Zuriya asked.

Michael shook his head. Smiling, she pushed her copy of the book over to him.

“I already took a bunch of notes. You can use mine to refresh your memory if you want.”

“Gee, thanks,” Michael said.

As she turned her attention back towards Dr. Reed, who was busy writing something on the board, Michael skimmed through the book. He was supposed to read this over the summer, but he had been far more preoccupied with other matters. Although, he had managed to read a few chapters. It was a story about a kid who was falsely charged with robbery and was then sent to a boy’s juvenile detention camp in the desert. It was supposed to help them build character rather than serve jail time.

He tried to look busy. Perhaps if he did, the teacher wouldn’t try to call on him for anything. Dr. Reed had finished writing something on the board. He then turned his attention to the class.

“So, what kind of themes do you think are present in the book?”

Zuriya’s hand shot up.

“Stories!” she shouted.

“Interesting. Care to elaborate?”

“There are three different stories going on at once, all connected to each other. And the one about their ancestors involved magic, curses, and fighting for love. It was kind of like a fairy tale.”

“That’s a great interpretation, Zuriya. What about anyone else?”

“Friendship,” someone shouted.

“Ooh, that’s a big one,” Dr. Reed said. “Can you give an example?”

“The two main characters become best friends by the end.”

“Alright. Can anyone add to that?”

Dr. Reed eyed Michael, still flipping through pages.

“How about you, Michael? Do you remember anything about friendship in the book?”

Michael skipped to the end of the book, searching for anything he could say.

“Umm…well, they are all still friends at the end, with the other guys too, not just Zero.”

“Good point.”

Dr. Reed circled the three phrases he had written on the board earlier.

“What messages do you think of after reading these phrases? And how can you relate them to the novel?”

Michael looked at the phrases: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” (John 15:13) You are my friends if you do what I command. (John 15:14) I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. (John 15:15)”

He recognized the first of the phrases as one his mother used to say: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” She said it meant that no matter what, those who loved you would be there for you, to protect you. His parents had promised that they would be there to protect him forever. The phrase reflected Jesus’s love for his followers whom he thought of as friends, and that he would die for their sins. Michael sometimes wondered if his parents died in that fire for his sins.

He shut the book and pushed it back towards Zuriya, who was too focused on the lesson to notice.

“Love,” someone shouted.

“Patience.”

“Sacrifice.”

“Who said that?” Dr. Reed asked.

Michael looked around and saw a goth-looking girl raising her hand.

“Thank you…LaNiye. Care to elaborate?”

“Well, Jesus showed his love through sacrificing his life for others. He loved them all enough to do whatever it took to protect them. And, uh…”

LaNiya skimmed through her notebook as though looking for something.

“That’s okay. Can anyone else give an example of how sacrifice is seen in the novel?”

Zuriya raised her hand back up again.

“Stanley and Zero’s friendship arose from them both sacrificing something for one another, over and over again.”

“Excellent point.”

Michael glared at Zuriya. Did she just enjoy showing off and being right all the time?

“Our two protagonists’ relationship goes from one of contractual exchange to that of a blossoming friendship as they no longer are only interested in the relationship based on what they themselves can get from it, but because they value the other and wish to help them through their obstacles. They learn to trust one another. They rely on one another.”

“But that’s not death, Dr. Reed. They didn’t risk dying for one another.” Someone said.

“What about when Zero had to help Stanley over the ledge? Zero had cuts from holding the shovel. That was kinda like life or death.” Someone else answered.

“Or when they were surrounded by lizards. That was life or death.” Another student added.

“Well said,” Dr. Reed continued, “but a sacrifice doesn’t always have to be life or death. It can be anything as long as—”

Rrrriiiinnnggg!!!

A loud ringing sound blared throughout the room. Michael wondered how the fire alarm could have been tripped already; he had only been at school for about an hour. The other students seemed to share his confusion. Dr. Reed’s face turned serious as he immediately moved towards the door. A siren could be heard from outside. Michael quickly stood up and peeked out the window. Sure enough, a fire truck was seen coming speeding downhill towards the school.

“Alright, children. Please line up at the door in an orderly fashion. We are going to walk down towards the parking lot exit.”

Everyone stood and made their way towards the door. But no one was in a straight line. Instead, everyone crowded around with their friends, gossiping about what could possibly be the reason for such an event.

“You think that the lunch people burned a pizza again?”

“Maybe it was in the tech lab. Who knows what kind of stuff they have in there.”

“I bet the chemistry lab. They are always making the hallway smell toxic. Maybe some kids made something dangerous while the teacher was not looking.”

Michael joined at the back. Dr. Reed quickly moved to the front of the line, ready to lead everyone outside. But the moment he opened the door, we could tell why the alarm sounded. 

There was a heavy odor of gasoline throughout the hallway, as though someone had spilled gasoline on the ground. Before he could even get out the door, Michael could smell it. It poured into the classroom. Kids pinched their noses, some even used their jackets like masks.

“Everyone, cover your nose!” Dr. Reed shouted as he ushered us out into the hallway. “Move quickly. Follow the teachers.

“See, I said it was most likely the chem lab’s fault.”

Michael wished they would be quiet and keep moving. He kept trying to cover his nose with his jacket sleeve, but he could still smell it. He knew gasoline fumes were dangerous. They needed to get outside quickly.

“It could still have been the tech lab.” 

“Why would the chem lab have gasoline?”

By the time everyone had finally made it outside, the fire squad had arrived and were suiting up to head inside. One of them caught Michael’s eye and rushed over. He tried to hide amongst his classmates, but the man grabbed him by the arm.

“Michael? Michael, is that you? Are you alright?”

Michael pulled his arm away from the firefighter.

“I’m fine.” He said quickly, running back off to join his classmates. Stunned but seemingly relieved, the firefighter rejoined his team, ready to head inside.

“I said FREEZE,” the officer yelled.

Michael ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Along the sidewalk, he passed numerous shops with everyone sticking their heads out to see what the commotion was. Hearing the police chasing someone was not out of the ordinary for people around here, but seeing them chasing down a small, ten-year-old kid was one for the books.

The good news was that the two officers trailed behind him far enough that Michael thought he could lose them if he could make it to the alleyway, the one behind the butchery. Michael tried to quicken his pace. His heart already pounded in his chest, but he willed his legs to strive faster. He had to get away. He could not let them catch him.

“Stop that kid!” one of the officers shouted.

No one did, of course. But that did not feel any better, as they wouldn’t help either. No one was going to risk their own neck for some random kid. Michael lived in a poor little town, where grownups like to say it is the perfect place to stay ‘just until they get back on their feet’, but then years go by, and no one ever leaves. It’s the type of place where no one longer believes in innocence until proven guilty. And a place where the only thing deciding which side of the law you land on was a shiny, blue and silver badge.

“Don’t make me shoot!”

Michael quickly rounded the corner, saw the butchery, and started booking it down the sidewalk. Hopefully, he could duck into the alleyway without the officers spotting him. He’d finally be able to rest. But as he tried to quickly turn into the alleyway, he tripped and fell forward into the metal trash cans.

Michael quickly tried to get back up on his feet. There was a fence at the back of the alleyway. The other side led to the main street. If he could just get over the fence, he could buy himself some time to get further away from the officers as the next closest turn was a few blocks down. He managed to make it to the fence and was about to start climbing when he heard something behind him.

“Stop right there.”

Michael kept going, ignoring the two, and hopped over the fence, landing hard on the other side. He lost his footing a bit and stumbled forward, rolling to his side on the ground. Now, staring up, he saw the two angry officers behind him, blocked by the metal fence. It jingled with each time they shook the fence.

“We just wanna talk, kid.”

“No one just wants to talk with guns.”

And with that, Michael took off running again, even though his legs felt like they were going to give out. He only had a few more blocks left until he reached the school. But he suddenly heard the sound of sirens in the distance.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He ran further down main street, until he spotted the fire station. A well of mixed emotions swirled within him but right now he did not have many other options. He just hoped someone would be able to help him this time.

He ran up to the door of the fire station and began banging.

“Help! Open up, please!” he yelled.

But there was no response.

The sirens blared louder, getting closer. He thought about whether he should continue trying to get into the fire station or just keep running. The overhead glass doors showed it to be dark inside, and the trucks were gone. But someone was always supposed to be inside, just in case. They were supposed to be there to help when people needed it.

Michael started to grit his teeth in anger. The memories of that night started flooding back. His eyes stung. He banged louder, rang the doorbell multiple times, and yelled up towards the upstairs windows, hoping anyone would hear him.

“Hey! Anyone home? Please, let me in.”

No response. The fire station remained silent and abandoned. The sound of sirens filled the air and were closer now. Michael gave up on the door and took off running again. He thought about the day his dad had brought him to the fire station. He remembered seeing everyone dressed in their fire gear. He thought they looked like superheroes. They promised to always be there for him. He dreamed of one day becoming just like his dad. But that was so long ago. And since then, his dad had long broken their promise.

“You’re all liars. And I hate you all! You hear me?” he yelled as he turned to continue running downhill.

He tried to get far away enough so that the sirens would fade out. He thought about how his school was not too far now. Only some blocks away. But he soon found himself crashing into another problem.

Michael slammed into someone on the sidewalk, causing him to fall back. But just as fast, his arms were caught and restrained. And someone was standing in front of him.

“Well, well, well. Looks like we caught a little shrimp.”

Michael looked up at the two guys holding on to him. The first one was a heavyset guy with a long trench coat. The second was a lean looking guy, and wore an oversized t-shirt. shorter than the first one but both still towered over Michael.

“Whatcha doing on this side of town, kid?” said the t-shirt guy.

Michael gritted his teeth against each other. It was crazy how much he had gone through this morning. He didn’t even like school, but it was better than dealing with the ins and outs of this town.

“Let me go!” Michael yelled, “I’m just trying to get to school.”

“Ah, schoolboy, huh? Sure, sure,” said the trench coat guy.

He took off Michael’s backpack while still restraining him.

“HEY! Give it back! That’s mine.”

“Just gonna make sure, Shrimp.”

With one hand, he emptied the insides of Michael’s backpack on the ground.

Nothing but some school supplies, a few pencils, notebooks, and some loose paper.

“Aww, there is nothing good in there.”

“See! I told you it was nothing. Are you going to let me go now?” Michael said.

“Not so fast, you seem to have brought cops onto our turf,” someone else said. “Whadd’a think we oughta do with him, King?”

Another guy stepped out with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. All three of the guys looked no older than high school age, but this guy seemed to look a bit more mature than the other two. He even had a bit of facial hair.

“Let him go. He can lead the cops away from here.” 

King pulled his shirt up. Other than what appeared to be a lack of muscle tone, something hung on the hip of his jeans. King pulled it out to reveal a small black gun. He pointed it towards Michael, cracking a smile.

Michael felt scared, but there was no way he was going to let show it to these guys.

“Just be on your merry little way, kid. And lead those cops away. And we won’t have any more problems.”

The T-shirt guy tossed his backpack and pushed back out onto the sidewalk. The sirens were still sounding from somewhere nearby. Michael grabbed it and ran downhill, hoping to make it to the school before the bell.

Michael could only speedwalk now, his legs threatening to give out at any moment. But he could see the sign of the middle school, Camden Promise. Michael could hear the bell ringing for everyone to have already been seated in their homerooms. He was officially late, again. The principal was going to give him an earful once he was inside.

He slowed down to a walking pace, realizing there was no use in running as he was already going to be punished. He gasped for air, trying to slow down his pounding heart.

“Gocha!”

Michael jumped from the sudden hand grabbing his shoulder. Turning his head, he realized the two officers had finally caught him. The two officers each took hold of one of his arms.

“You’ll be coming with us.”

Michael thrashed with as much energy as he could muster, but it was not a lot since he felt entirely drained from his morning run across town.

“Let me go, you pigs! I didn’t do anything!” he screamed.

“Resorting to name calling?”

“That’s quite enough!” a voice shouted.

The two officers looked confused, but Michael recognized that voice. And he was thankful someone on his side was finally there.

“Ms. Mendoza!”

The woman walks over briskly, her white heels clacking against the pavement. She had her arms crossed tightly as she strolled towards the officers and Michael.

“Pardon our intrusion ma’am, we’ll be on our way just as soon as-” 

“Excuse me, officers,” she interrupted, “but I will need you to immediately produce your arrest warrant if you plan on removing my student from the premises.”

Ms. Mendoza came to a stop in front of the two officers, her hand extended, waiting for them to present their legal reasoning for abusing and roughing up a ten-year-old child. Michael saw the officers looking shocked but also knew they did not have a warrant. They had just started chasing him. But they still did not loosen their grip. 

“This doesn’t concern y—”

“The arrest warrant, please,” she interrupted, hand still waiting.

“He’s under investigation for—”

“As of this moment, the only thing I see is a registered child of Camden Promise currently standing on school grounds. This child is our responsibility and resides under our supervision. As such, if you wish to forcibly remove him from the premises, please produce the arrest warrant.”

Michael could feel the officer’s grip his arms tighter.

“Ow, you’re hurting me,” he said.

Ms. Mendoza steps closer, her eyes full of quiet rage.

“Listen, lady, we are just doing our jobs.”

“We are just trying to find the thief who stole from the café, and the kid was running from the same direction. We just wanted to ask him a few questions.”

“Irrelevant. Warrant. If you do not possess the required documentation, then I must demand that you release my student at once. Unless you would prefer that I contact the proper authorities to do your job for you.”

In just a second, Michael felt himself being pulled away from the cops. He found himself standing next to Ms. Mendoza, her hand gently hugging his shoulder as she continued her tirade against the officers.

“Now, officers, I must ask that you exit the school grounds immediately.”

“He’s still a suspect.” One of the officers started before both turned around and walked back uptown.

“I missed the bus. So I had to run to school.”

“What about one of your foster parents? Why didn’t one of them bring you to school?”

Michael imagined that his foster parents were still asleep. They didn’t wake up when Michael tried to tell them that he had missed the school bus. They probably would not even notice that he was not in the house until he came back from school.

“They didn’t want to wake up. I thought I could make it on time without them.”

“You know, you don’t have to do everything on your own, Michael.” She said softly.

“That’s what all the grownups say,” Michael said.

But for Michael, who else was he going to rely on? His parents were gone, and his foster parents were incompetent. The people who were supposed to protect everyone were absent or corrupted. So how could he believe anything she was saying?

Ms. Mendoza looked conflicted but sighed and simply motioned towards the school.

“On to class then. We will speak more on the matter after school.”

And with that, Michael walked through the doors to his first day at Camden Promise Middle School.