Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Chapter 7
Shoot

His mind racing as he walked out of the school, Virgil let out a sigh as the school’s doors, clicking closed behind him, reminded him that if Daniel were still in the school that there was no way to talk to him until Monday. Virgil buttoned his black vest as he walked down the snow-lined steps of the school and began his long walk home in the light snowfall. As he exhaled, wisps of his breath became visible. He watched as they swirled around, weaving and dancing with the falling snowflakes.
The cold white surroundings evoked memories within Virgil. He reminisced on the winters he spent outside with Daniel just months after his brush with death. Every winter when the snow became wet enough to stick, both Virgil and his new friend Daniel would build snowmen in front of Daniel’s house. Each boy dressed his own snowman, fed it, and made weapons out of the long icicles that clung to the trees surrounding Daniel’s house. When finished, his snowmen seemed like a guard. A sentinel. He thought. Guarding Daniel’s house to repay the debt that I owe. To Virgil, those days gone by seemed like the only thing that kept him from being overwhelmed. Just the simple recollection calmed him as he made his way around the other side of the school. Those were the days. He thought to himself. I wish they had lasted. They were as pure as the falling snow.
Turning the corner, Virgil thought he heard voices. One of the disembodied voices sounded like Daniel.
“Yeah, I know,” The voice said. “But I’m not sure how I’m gonna do as a father, you know? It…seems so quick,”
“Don’t worry,” A second voice responded, reassuring the first. This voice clearly wasn’t Maria. Although it was feminine, it failed to hold the dulcet tone that Virgil recognized as a trademark of Maria. “I’m sure you’ll do great,”
Virgil, quickening his pace, rushed to the posterior of the school to find out who were the owners of these two voices. Arriving at the back of the school, he encountered two people at the bike racks; one was Daniel and the other was the blonde haired, blue eyed girl from the party last autumn.
“I hope you’re right, Melissa,” Daniel responded with a sigh. “I don’t want, my son, daughter, whatever becoming a bad person because I neglected it,” Daniel kicked his left foot back and his heel made the rack call out in a low hum. From where Virgil could see, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl named Melissa had her back to Virgil and Daniel was facing her as he sat on the rack.
“Of course I am, silly,” Melissa said laughing. “I know what you’re capable of. We’ve been friends for a while now. How long do you think it has been?”
“Three years,” Daniel noted. The rack made another low hum as his heel kicked it again.
“Exactly,” The girl said, tossing her head back to do away with a loose bang. “So anyway,” The girl began after she removed the rebellious strand of hair from her face. “Have you thought of a name yet? Although its in the early stage, you can attempt to give it a name,”
At this crucial point in the conversation, Daniel’s voice lowered and Virgil, standing yards away, missed the names that Daniel offered to bestow upon his first child. Straining to hear more, Virgil stepped closer to the two. Each step into the grass made a crunching sound that seemed loud in the frosty silence. Daniel, hearing the crunching, looked past Melissa to the origin of the intruding noise. Virgil stopped in his tracks and his eyes fell upon Daniel’s.
“Hey, Daniel!” Virgil waved as he called out. He had no choice but to act innocent. He feared that Daniel would consider him an eavesdropper. “Wanna walk home with me?” Melissa swiveled around and Daniel stood up, leaving his post on the rack.
“Hi, Virgil,” Melissa said waving. At that moment, Daniel put his hand on her shoulder. He said something to her that Virgil, in the distance, strained to hear. In response to Daniel’s comment, Melissa smiled and began walking towards Virgil. As she passed, she said nothing; she merely giggled.
“What is it, Virg?” Daniel said in a tired manner as he walked up to Virgil. Although it was almost thirty-five degrees outside, Daniel wore only his black shirt from that morning. His shoulders had accumulated a delicate blanket of snow that apparently did not bother him. To Virgil’s surprise, however, Daniel had a distressed look on his face. It seemed to Virgil that he was tired.
“Nothing much,” Virgil said nonchalantly. “I was wondering if you wanted to walk home together and talk,” Virgil began to fidget nervously with the zipper on his vest as if Daniel’s answer would decide the fate of the world. Daniel looked down at the ground, his arms folded as if he were deciding on the life-giving or life-destroying answer. After minutes of contemplation, Daniel looked up and his eyes met Virgil’s. At this meeting, Virgil, as if under a trance, immediately stopped fidgeting.
“Why?” Daniel asked, staring confusedly at Virgil. As he brushed off the snow, he asked. “Why today?” Daniel raised an eyebrow. Virgil knew that Daniel was becoming suspicious.
“Because,” Virgil started. He decided to tell Daniel the real reason. If he lied, Daniel could probably tell. “because I wanted to talk to you about Maria,” Virgil hesitated to watch for any reaction on Daniel’s face as he said the word “Maria”. The boy twitched slightly, as if the girl’s name caused him a minor irritation. “and. . .your unborn child,” Virgil finished. Those last words crept out of his mouth and lingered in the air like the delicate snowflakes before them.
Daniel’s eyes fell back to the ground when he heard Virgil’s last comment. “How did you know?” He said quietly. “How did you know Maria was pregnant? I never told you that,” Daniel’s voice became monotonous, as if a slight change in emotion would disrupt his calm demeanor.
“I saw her, Daniel,” Virgil admitted. “after school as I was looking for you. I needed to talk to you anyway, and I just happened to come across her,” Again, Virgil’s words lingered between the two boys for a while. Daniel sighed and continued to keep his arms crossed and Virgil resumed fidgeting with the zipper on his vest.
“Okay then,” Daniel said with a sigh. “since you know everything, I might as well tell you why I’ve been so cold,” Stepping back onto the sidewalk, Daniel turned back to the fidgeting boy. “Are you coming or what?” He said. “It’s getting cold now and even I’m getting tired of it,”

By now, the snow had stopped falling, and the morning’s gray blanket of clouds now floated lazily across the sky. The clouds seemed to arch and curve, disappear and appear, break apart and reform like the waves in an ocean. As the boys walked, Virgil occasionally glanced up at the monochromatic sky, watching the clouds dance and arch, twist and churn. He let out a sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked. “Did I say something wrong?” Daniel zipped up the vest Virgil had given him minutes before. Virgil, now wearing only his white long-sleeved shirt, said nothing and continued to watch the clouds.
“Virgil?” Daniel asked again. “Hello?”
“What? Did you say something?”
“Yeah. I was wondering did I say something wrong that made you sigh.”
Virgil shook his head. “No,” He simply said. “I was thinking about Maria and how her life will become like those clouds: tumultuous,” Immediately, Virgil’s attention turned to Daniel. “Are you going to help her through those times, Daniel?”
“I figured it would come down to this,” Daniel admitted. “It would explain why you haven’t said anything since we’ve started walking,” He let out a sigh. In the cold air, it immediately turned into a gossamer wisp of smoky air. “And, yes, of course I will, Virgil. Why wouldn’t I?” As they walked down the lonely street, Daniel occasionally kicked snow the snow beneath him, creating small showers of snow that fell upon them as they walked past.
“That’s good then,” Virgil said as he began to pull at the straps on his backpack. “So, Daniel,” Virgil said. “Any particular names that you considered for you son or daughter?” Virgil mimicked what Melissa had previously asked because he wanted to know. It had stuck in his mind since the girl posed the question to Daniel earlier. Now he wanted to hear the answer.
“For a boy,” Daniel began. “I would name him Benjamin. You know, like Benjamin Franklin? I want my son to be smart. Smarter than me. I want him to be the best,”
Virgil smiled. “A good choice,” He turned to Daniel and their eyes met again. “And if it is a girl?”
“Grace, possibly,” He quickly said. “A interesting name, right? What I want from my daughter is to be the light of the world. A grace to others. You see my reason for naming her that?” Daniel’s companion nodded.
“It does make sense,” Virgil agreed. “It’s a good name,” Virgil looked down at the ground in contemplation. “And the godfather or mother? Have you considered that?” His friend grinned for the first time that day. “You, of course,” He said. “You’re the family friend, Virg. Why wouldn’t it be you? You’re my best friend and I know you can handle it,” Daniel put his arm around Virgil’s shoulder, pulling him closer.
“I love ya, man,” Daniel said as he continued to smile. Virgil’s heart skipped a beat.
“Wait, what?” Virgil said as he pulled away from Daniel. Daniel stopped and looked at his friend in confusion. “What?” Daniel said, his eyebrow raised.
“You said you loved me,” Virgil said quietly. Daniel smiled.
“Yeah, you know, as a friend?” He laughed. “What did you think I meant?” Virgil, pulling at his straps on his backpack looked down. “Never mind, Daniel,” He said quietly. Looking up, Virgil let out a laugh. “That’s what I thought you meant,” He said. “Of course. C’mon, let’s continue walking. I think we should be at you’re house soon,”
Daniel, still maintaining his confused look, followed closely behind his friend. “You’re acting strange, Virgil,” He mumbled. Virgil stopped abruptly and turned around.
“What? How am I acting ‘strange’?”
“Because of the look you always give me when you look me in the eye,”
“What look?”
“That one,” Daniel responded. “It seems like you’re examining me for some reason. Marveling? I’m not sure,” Kicking more snow aside, Daniel sighed and began scanning the area. “I don’t know, Virgil,” He said as he folded his arms. “You are a little strange now,”
Virgil stared at him in amazement. “Me?” He retorted. “You say I’m strange? You’re the one basically shunning you’re girlfriend and new child! And you call me strange?”
Daniel looked down in embarrassment. “You don’t know, Virgil,” he said to the ground. “You don’t know what I’m feeling right now. You just don’t,” Virgil examined his friend.
“I guess not,” Virgil said after a sigh. “I guess I’ll never—“
“Heyo, Daniel!” Another voice echoed from behind them. This one, too, sounded familiar. Before, Virgil turned around, he noticed his friend glance past him and noticed that his eyes darkened.
“H-hey, Terrence,” Daniel called out from behind Virgil. Virgil, turning around, came face-to-face with Daniel’s doppelganger, Terrence, and two of his friends. From what Virgil could tell, one of the two seemed nervous. His eyes seemed dark and worried, as if the streets marred his outlook on life. The other had a small scar across his left cheek, as if he had been in a fight. Altogether, they seemed intimidating.
“What’s up, Virgil?” Terrence said, flashing the Reed family smile. The only difference between Daniel and Terrence’s smiles was that Terrence’s each smile seemed to conceal an ulterior motive. “How was school?” Daniel, stepping from behind Virgil, asked:
“What is it, Terrence?”
The 17-year old flashed another malicious grin. “Nothing, cousin,” Now that Virgil was behind Daniel, he noticed that Terrence’s hands were deep in his pockets. “I just had something to show you,” Terrence, reaching into his right pocket, continued to smile.
“You know,” he said as his left hand became immersed in the pocket. “it’s a shame that you had stopped me that night months ago,” His eyes still fixed on Terrence, Virgil noticed, out of the corner of his eye, Terrence’s left hand grip something within his pocket.
“I had to do it, cousin,” Daniel said. “I wasn’t going to let you touch Maria. That was a fact,”
Daniel’s doppelganger frowned. “Hm,” He said. “I expected that from you, cousin,” Terrence, feeling triumphant again, flashed another grin. “But,” he continued. “do you remember what I said? I’d get her no matter what,” At that instant, the boy brandished a familiar L-shaped weapon. A gun. Virgil thought to himself. He can’t be serious. He’s going to kill Daniel?
“You see, cousin,” Terrence said. “I didn’t want this to happen. You chose your destiny,” The weapon clicked as Terrence loaded it. “But, I gotta do what I gotta do,” Terrence smiled. “You understand, right?”
“Get out of here, Virg,” Daniel whispered.
“What? No,” Virgil demanded. “I’m staying,”
“Go!” Daniel exclaimed. “Run!”
“Now this is funny,” Terrence interrupted. “Y’all fighting about who’s gonna die? I have an idea: how about both? You, Virgil, for just being here,”
At that instant, the nervous-looking boy behind Terrence started to speak.
“Terrence, you can’t be serious,” He hastily said. “They’re kids,”
“Shut up, Switch,” The scarred-boy said. Like Terrence, the boy’s mien became that of a psycho. “Let ‘em do it,”
The sad eyed teen called Switch fell silent, his dark eyes watching the terrible play resume. The heroes of the play, still standing in shock, created a dramatic, yet tense feeling within him.
“Here’s the thing,” Terrence said, his eyes enraged. “I’ll count to three, and you both will die. Or,” Terrence’s smile returned. “you can just die now,” Raising the gun to Daniel’s chest, Terrence began to count.
“One,” He began. Daniel remained motionless. Standing in front of Virgil and his doppelganger, he refused to move. Virgil, standing behind, stood paralyzed with fear.
“Virgil,” Daniel whispered. “I don’t care if you run now. I’m not letting him get to you. Remember what I said at the pool those years ago? I’m keeping my word,”
“Two,” Terrence counted. “One more, Daniel,” He said. “and you’re gone forever,”
“Go on then, cousin,” Daniel said, his voice quavering. “The family will wonder why I’m gone. I’m sure they’ll look at you as a suspect,” Now, Virgil could tell that Daniel’s body was shaking.
“Oh really?” Terrence said, pushing the barrel to Daniel’s chest. “Trust me, they won’t find out who did it. Only I’ll know. Oh, right, what number was I on? Ah, yes, THREE!”
Suddenly, the sad adolescent known as Switch ran forward. Grabbing Terrence’s arm, he jerked Terrence back and aimed the gun at him. In a split second, a loud shot rang out. Dropping the gun, Terrence and his remaining henchman bolted. Soon after the explosive sound, Virgil, from behind Daniel, saw Switch on the ground, bleeding and Terrence and the scarred boy had already disappeared from the scene.