The School of Revenge

by Michael Richan

  Then, at lunch, another round of torment began. Curtis and his buddies came by, each stealing something off his tray until he had nothing left but a scoop of cooked corn.

  As Curtis approached to steal the final item, Aaron picked up the small dish of corn and hurled its contents at Curtis. It flew through the air, hitting the bully squarely in the face. Some of the corn even landed in his open mouth.

  Aaron felt great for a split second, enjoying the sensation of retribution. As he watched the expression on Curtis’ face turn from surprise to anger, he began to think it might not have been the best move.

  Within seconds Dirk and Matt were on him, holding him on the floor, face up.

  Curtis walked over him, standing by his head, chewing on the corn. Aaron saw what Curtis was about to do; Curtis was going to spit out the corn that had landed in his mouth. It fell along with a healthy amount of saliva, aimed squarely for Aaron’s face.

  He turned just in time. The wad of corn and spit hit his ear. Aaron felt heat rush to his face. He knew he was turning red, a combination of shame and anger. Curtis hacked, forming another loogie, and let it drop from his standing position. It hit him in the side of the head.

  “Hold his face!” Curtis bellowed, and Aaron felt someone’s hands wrap around the side of his head, twisting him until he was facing straight up.

  Before he closed his eyes he saw Curtis forming the next mouthful of spit, and within seconds it hit him, running from his forehead down into his eyes.

  He twisted at the arms pinning him down, trying to escape. He was met with a punch to the stomach. The arms released him, and he curled into a ball.

  There was of lots of talking around him; some laughing and others standing over him, looking down. He couldn’t make out anything specific they were saying, but he knew it was probably all bad — gawkers, staring at the poor freshman who’d just been taken down by seniors.

  When he finally uncurled and managed to raise a hand to his face to wipe off the spittle, he saw Phillip, seated on the table next to him, looking down.

  “You OK?” Phillip asked.

  Aaron didn’t reply. He wanted to run from the lunchroom, but he wasn’t going to give all of the onlookers the satisfaction of seeing him retreat. He looked around. Curtis and his gang were gone. He sat next to Phillip.

  The crowd dispersed, people slowly filtering back to their tables, the show over.

  “There were plenty of witnesses,” Phillip said. “We could report this one easy. Curtis would be off the team. They claim it’s a zero-tolerance policy.”

  “Right,” Aaron said. “I don’t think for a moment any of these people would back me up. They wouldn’t want a senior kicked off the football team.”

  Phillip looked around the room. “You may be right.”

  Aaron sat at the table, looking down at his empty tray. Part of him wanted to cry, and part of him wanted to stand and turn the table over. He felt humiliated, thinking about what had just happened. He knew people would be talking about it; it wouldn’t go away for a while. He’d have to live with the degradation for weeks.

  If I could kill him, I would, he thought. If I could reach out and press a button and he’d die, I would do it. And I’d take out all of the assholes who just stood and watched it happen. They’d all go. I’d kill them all. He realized he was shaking.

  Phillip handed him a roll from his tray. “Here,” he said. “You need to eat something.”

  “I don’t want it,” Aaron replied. “I’m not hungry.”

  “I’ll bet you’re hungry for some revenge,” Phillip replied.

  —

  “Good news,” Jeremy said, standing with a clipboard at the door as they walked in. “Your recruit showed up to the earlier meeting. We’ll know Thursday if he’s in or not.”

  “I want to talk to Benjamin,” Aaron said.

  “Benjamin’s busy,” Jeremy replied.

  “Then Herrod,” Aaron said. Phillip looked at him with surprise.

  “You don’t get to talk to Herrod,” Jeremy said, “just because you want to. No one gets to talk to him just because they want to.”

  “Well, I intend to,” Aaron replied. “Get one of them for me.”

  “What are you doing?” Phillip half-whispered to him. “Stop it!”

  “Why do you want to talk to them?” Jeremy asked. “Maybe I can help.”

  Aaron turned to look at Phillip, and saw movement farther down the hall behind him. He recognized the figure.

  “Herrod!” he called.

  The figure down the hallway stopped and turned, then came toward them.

  “Bad idea,” Jeremy mumbled.

  “Yes?” Herrod asked, walking up to Phillip and Aaron.

  “I want to talk to you about something,” Aaron said. “In private.”

  “I told him no,” Jeremy said apologetically.

  “I’m guessing it must be pretty important for you to yell at me when you’ve already been told no,” Herrod said. “What about?”

  “In private,” Aaron said, looking at Jeremy, and then at Phillip. Phillip looked upset, as though he’d been betrayed.

  “Well, alright,” Herrod said, looking amused. “Let’s go down to one of the interview rooms. This way.”

  He turned and began walking back down the hallway. Aaron turned to Phillip. “I’ll be back.”

  “Aaron!” Phillip said, but Aaron was already following Herrod. Aaron could hear Phillip and Jeremy talking as they got farther away. Probably apologizing to the guy on my behalf, Aaron thought.

  Herrod led Aaron into a room that looked exactly like the room Aaron had taken his test in a few days earlier. Although there was a table and chair inside, Herrod remained standing after he closed the door behind them.

  “What’s so important?” Herrod asked.

  “I want the names I submitted moved up the list,” Aaron said. “We recruited someone. I want my names done right away.”

  “No one gets their names done right away,” Herrod. “Not normal students, at least.”

  “You did Ryan,” Aaron said. “He was on my list.”

  “He was on lots of people’s lists,” Herrod replied. “What makes you so special you think you deserve preferential treatment?”

  Aaron took a breath. He had imagined barreling in, insisting that something happen to Curtis and Dirk right away, all wrapped up in his anger and embarrassment from earlier in the day, not really thinking through how the School might react to his demand. Herrod’s simple question deflated him a little, making him wonder if he appeared greedy and unwilling to earn his place.

  “I’m sick of the abuse,” Aaron said. “I was spit on today. Held down and spit on. I can’t take it anymore.”

  Herrod smiled. “You can’t? Really?”

  “No,” Aaron replied. “It’s been going on for weeks. It’s unbearable. Almost every day something horrible happens to me and nothing ever changes, no one is ever held accountable. They just get away with it.”

  “You haven’t spoken to your school about it?” Herrod asked. “You haven’t complained?”

  “No,” Aaron said. “I’m trying to make the football team. They’ll never pick me if I complain about their star players.”

  “Like Ryan.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So you sit in silence, enduring their attacks,” Herrod said. “Waiting for a chance to see them receive your revenge. Is that it?”

  “Yes,” Aaron replied. “Look, we went out and recruited someone. They came tonight. Ask the guy out there, he’ll tell you.”

  “Johnathan Woulk,” Herrod said. “Yes, I already know. I know every one of our potential recruits, just like I knew of you before you showed up.”

  “Well, we’ve earned a right to have our names moved up the list,” Aaron said.

  “You’re aware that your recruit Johnathan hasn’t yet enrolled?” Herrod asked. “Frankly, I’m not so sure he’ll show up on Thursday. I’d give it even odds. And if he doesn’t enroll, you�
�ve earned nothing. So you’ve not really demonstrated a level of commitment to the School that we need to see in order to grant any kind of favors.”

  “But, I…” Aaron paused. He wanted to complain, but he knew he didn’t have a good response, and he could see from Herrod’s expression that anything other than an excellently structured and worded answer would be met with rejection.

  “There are a good twenty other people with names on the list ahead of you,” Herrod continued. “One girl was held down and groped by her stepfather. Another boy was left tied to a tree for half a day by his brother’s friends; when they found him, he was screaming from the ants that had covered him. You think your request is more important than theirs?”

  Aaron lowered his head. The indignities suffered by others hadn’t even occurred to him as he contemplated the abuse he’d received from Curtis and Dirk. His own case seemed so bad, it alone took up his thinking. Now he felt a little sheepish.

  “I guess not,” he replied. He felt dejected. “How long?” he asked. “How long will it take to get around to my names?”

  “Have a seat,” Herrod replied, motioning to the chairs. “There is a way to speed things up, but we need to talk first.”

  Aaron sat in the chair, and Herrod went around to the other side of the table, where he sat in the opposite chair. “Listen. I can see you’re anxious. Curtis and Dirk are ruthless, I get it.”

  “You know them?” Aaron asked, surprised.

  “Of course,” Herrod continued, “and you’re not the only one who’s listed their names for revenge. They’re run of the mill bullies who deserve what’s coming to them. However, we’re an organization that relies upon its students. Did you know, I was once a recruit, just like you? I went from house to house, trying to find someone who would benefit from what the School has to offer.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes! And I worked my way up through the ranks here, until I’m one of the people Madame Pritchard trusts. Now, you must realize that the trust she extends to me is something very valuable, more valuable to me than anything else in my life. How could I ever violate the trust she has in me by suggesting she promote a name on the list just because some recruit was asking for it? Suppose you backed out, or suppose you committed the worst offense known to the school, and broke our secret. What then? She’d stop trusting me, wouldn’t she? I can’t risk that.”

  “I won’t break the secret!” Aaron protested, detecting in Herrod a part of him that was willing to comply with Aaron’s request if he could just convince him. “I’m loyal. I’m not going to bail. I just want to see Curtis and Dirk stopped.”

  “Of course you do, but that’s not enough I’m afraid. I’m sure you can wait a couple of weeks until their names come up.”

  No, Aaron thought. Not after today, not after what they did to me in the lunchroom in front of all those people.

  “You said there might be a way,” Aaron said.

  “Well, like I mentioned, I could never break Madame Pritchard’s trust. I’d have to know I have a rock-solid commitment from you. Just landing a potential student like Johnathan isn’t anywhere near enough; that’s what all the other recruits do. If you want me to take you seriously, you’ll need to make a much more serious commitment.”

  “OK,” Aaron said, wondering what he meant. “Like what?”

  “Like, a more binding promise to the School,” Herrod said. “I’d have to know you’re an Adherent, at least.”

  “An Adherent?” Aaron asked.

  “Someone who’s made a commitment to the School that goes above and beyond regular participation.”

  “I’ll do it,” Aaron said. “If it’ll get Curtis and Dirk onto the table, just tell me how to do it.” He felt as if he was within striking distance of getting Herrod to agree, and didn’t want to lose the opportunity.

  “As an Adherent, you’d be expected to work here at the School, and take assignments like Jeremy and Benjamin, not just go out and occasionally recruit new students. You’d have to take orders and complete them, no questions asked. Not everyone can do that.”

  “I can,” Aaron replied. “Please!”

  “You also have to swear another oath. If you break the oath, we get to do to you what we do to the names on the list. There’s no going back, either. You can’t just decide to stop one day. It’s a complete commitment, from now on.”

  “How hard can it be?” Aaron said. “I can still go to school and do homework, right?”

  “Oh, absolutely,” Herrod answered. “We’d never interfere with that. Football, either. You’d still have plenty of time for yourself and your friends. You’d just have to show up when we ask you to, and do what we say.”

  “Alright,” Aaron said, already beginning to feel powerful. “I’m in.”

  “Wait here,” Herrod said, and left the room. He returned in a couple of minutes with a box that had a hole on both sides. He set it down on the table.

  “If you’re sure you’re ready to commit,” Herrod said, “I’ll give you the oath.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Put your arm through the box,” Herrod instructed.

  Aaron stuck his fingers into the hole on the side of the box, and when his hand emerged from the hole on the other side, Herrod grabbed it, holding onto it firmly. The strength of his grip scared Aaron a little.

  “Repeat after me,” Herrod said. “I swear my adherence to the School.”

  “I swear my adherence to the School,” Aaron repeated, looking nervously at Herrod.

  “I will perform whatever is required of me…”

  Aaron repeated the words. A stinging sensation began to develop on his arm, and it soon developed into more — a thousand sharp pricks, all hot and burning, moving across the flesh of his arm. He wanted to pull his arm out, afraid of what might be happening, but he felt Herrod increase his hold, stopping him from removing it from the box.

  “What’s it doing to me?” Aaron asked.

  Herrod ignored him and continued with the oath. “…I will give whatever is asked…and if I should fail…the School shall have my life…and the lives of my family.”

  Aaron repeated the words quickly, wincing through the pain, wanting it to stop, barely noticing what he had said. Herrod held his arm firmly, not allowing him to withdraw. After Aaron had spoken the final words of the oath, Herrod released him.

  “You can take it out,” Herrod said, watching as Aaron slid his arm from the box.

  Aaron was afraid his arm would be a bloody mess, but instead he saw the skin in the middle of his forearm raised in a welt, as though he’d been given a tattoo in the form of a scar. It was a symbol:

  He ran his fingers over the welts. They hurt.

  “It’ll go down by tonight,” Herrod said, “and it’ll disappear entirely in a couple of days.”

  “Does this mean I’m in?” he asked.

  “Maybe,” Herrod replied. “It’s now up to Madame Pritchard. I’ll put in a good word for you. If she decides you’re OK, she’ll move Curtis and Dirk up the list. Now. Do you think your friend wants to make the same commitment?”

  “I don’t know, but I can ask him,” Aaron offered.

  “Do that, before I put the box away,” Herrod said.

  Aaron rose from the chair and walked down the hallway, back to the entrance where Jeremy was standing with his clipboard. Phillip wasn’t there.

  “Did you see where Phillip went?” Aaron asked.

  “He just left for the theatre,” Jeremy replied. “If you’re quick you can catch him.”

  Aaron ran through the doors and into the stairwell, where he called up to Phillip. He saw his friend’s head appear, looking down.

  “There you are!” Phillip said, coming back down the stairs. “What happened?”

  Aaron showed him the scar on his arm.

  “Oh, that is so cool!” Phillip said. “Can I touch it?”

  “OK,” Aaron replied.

  Phillip extended his hand and ran his fingers over t
he welts on Aaron’s arm. “Did it hurt?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” Aaron replied. “Only lasts a couple of days. But now I’m an Adherent. They’re going to move Curtis and Dirk’s names up the list.”

  “Awesome!” Phillip said.

  “Herrod wanted to know if you want one, too,” Aaron said.

  “One…of those?” Phillip said, pointing to the scar.

  “Yeah. You gotta make another oath. He puts your hand in a box and you wind up with this. He’s waiting if you want it.”

  “Hell, yeah!” Phillip replied, and together they walked back to the office to find Herrod.

  —

  “Karissa Lacowski, you are accused of…” Madame Pritchard stopped, looking up from the paper. Next to her on the elevated table was a naked girl, strapped down. Mentally, the girl seemed only partially there, just like Ryan had appeared the other night.

  “Oh, do I need to bother with this?” Madame Pritchard said to the crowd. “We’ve all seen this bitch before! We all know what she does! Cheerleader, check. Better-than-you attitude, check. Laughing at you when you’ve been kicked, check. Only dates guys who have some status on an athletic team and wouldn’t ever consider dating you, check! A total bitch!”

  The crowd roared. Aaron found himself clapping right along with them, agreeing with Madame Pritchard. Phillip, at his side, was jumping up and down. Aaron could see the new scar on his friend’s arm. Phillip was waving the arm proudly above his head, as most of the others in the room were doing.

  Aaron stopped clapping for a moment and reached to feel his own scar. It still hurt. He wasn’t sure how he was going to hide it from his mom; he figured he’d have to dig out the few long-sleeve shirts he had.

  “And it’s always the hair with these girls, isn’t it?” Madame Pritchard asked the crowd. “Hair, like it’s some kind of badge of importance! Hair, like it’s a status symbol! What arrogant, vain creatures! Time for EXACTATION!”

  Aaron saw the glint off the metal in Madame Pritchard’s hand…she was holding scissors. She walked up to the strapped-down girl and grabbed a large chunk of her blonde hair, pulling it down, making the girl’s head tilt. She raised the large scissors and began cutting. Soon she had removed a huge wad of hair, which she tossed into the air. As the girl righted her head, the large chunk of missing hair made the group laugh.