Revenge Of A Band Geek Gone Bad

  CHAPTER 20

  Josh was released from the hospital two weeks later, but until then, I visited him every day after school. Now that I was in this position I was able to better understand what my mom had gone through with my grandfather.

  Once Josh was home, a tutor came to keep him up to date on his schoolwork, not that Josh really needed too much help in that department. I think he liked having someone come by, though, because it broke up his day. Despite what he'd always said about not liking school, he clearly didn't like being away from it, either. At home, he had no friends around and no teachers to torment. Yeah, I suppose he could've stuck a roach in his tutor's briefcase, but it just wouldn't have been the same.

  As for me, I did my best to keep busy. In the past, I'd always shut myself out when I was dealing with something intense, but this time I craved being with people. I became the organizer of several things, which was extremely not Melinda-like – but I didn't mind at all!

  First, I asked Mr. Francis if I could start a chamber music club. "Most of the time, band is pretty competitive," I explained. "You know, we're always fighting for first chair or who gets into the state-wide orchestra or whatever. But I think if we had some small groups playing together just for fun, people could learn to just appreciate the music. And it would help us play together as a wind ensemble because we'd be more of team."

  Mr. Francis thought for a minute then broke into a smile. After getting to know him while Josh was in the hospital, I was finding him much easier to talk to. "That's a great idea," he replied. "Maybe we could even do a concert at some point. You let the other students know about it and I'll talk to Principal Muller about starting the group."

  Soon after, Mr. Francis gave me the good news that the Chamber Music Club was now a go. I got about 20 people to join from the orchestra and band, including Maya and Ken. Mr. Francis helped me order appropriate music for each trio or quartet and arranged for us to have use of the band and orchestra rooms once a week after school.

  Meanwhile, I showed some of my paintings to Mr. Wilson, who was in charge of the art club. He was so impressed with my work, he invited me to join up immediately even though it was late in the year. "But you need to stop copying other artists," he advised me. "Dali and Picasso are great to study, but you need to find your own style. Find your own voice."

  I tried to listen and experimented with all types of colors and designs: a square here, a splash of blue there, a red line in the center. I wasn't sure what I was going to come up with, but I figured my artistic vision would hit me when I was ready.

  With all I was doing, though —- music, art, being there for Josh —- I still couldn't shake something from my mind: why were Josh and Ken fighting over that camera?

  ###

  Josh would not discuss the incident, either with me or Lily. His mom repeatedly asked him why he'd been in the middle of the street, but whenever she brought it up he'd say he was tired and close his eyes. Eventually she turned to me for help. "I need an answer," she said. "I know I'm obsessing, but I think I have a right to know why my son did something so reckless."

  When I tried to get him to open up, I had little success. "Mel, just don't worry about it, okay?" he groaned. At this point, he was in a wheelchair but was able to move himself around in it. "I got hit by a car out there; I barely remember the details. I just want to look ahead, you know? I have physical therapy and all this other stuff to worry about right now."

  "No, I know," I said, taking his hand. "I'm sorry if I brought up something unpleasant."

  Unfortunately, Ken wasn't talking, either. "It was a gift ... uh, from his mom," Ken said. "I took it from him to look at it and things, uh, just got out of hand." As he said this, he averted his eyes and scratched at the back of his neck. I knew he was lying.

  "I know for a fact that Lily didn't give Josh a camera," I told him, "so you're wrong there. Come up with a better story."

  Ken glared at me. "Mel, I like you, but you're beginning to get on my nerves. Just leave me alone, okay? You don't think this is traumatic enough for me, feeling like it's my fault he got hurt?"

  "Then tell me what happened," I pressed. "Don't you think you'd feel better if you gave everyone the truth?"

  Ken sighed. "I just don't ... whenever you mention that day, I see him," he explained. "I see him getting hit by that car and I just can't take it. I want to move on and you're not letting me."

  "But..."

  "Leave me alone," he demanded and stormed away.

  ###

  "Well, that didn't go so great," I complained to Lana afterward. "Ken was absolutely no help. I'm not crazy here, right?" I asked. "Something is going on."

  "Oh, totally," Lana agreed. She smirked. "I'll bet there was something really stupid on that camera, like a video of Ken playing with himself." She giggled.

  "Gross!" I shot back. "Who'd record that?"

  "Or maybe it's just Ken drunk at some party and acting like an idiot," she went on. "I'm sure he's done some lame things."

  "Maybe," I said, "but my gut tells me that it's bigger than that. You know Josh well enough to know that he doesn't get rattled very easily. He almost never gets angry."

  "True. The only other time I remember him being that mad was when those pictures of you came out..."

  We both paused and looked at each other. "Maybe that's it," Lana said. "Maybe there were more photos of you."

  "You know, you might be right. But if this concerns me, I definitely deserve an answer."

  ###

  The next day, Lana met me right after wind ensemble ended. Togther we cornered Ken in the band room. We figured that we'd have a better chance of getting him to talk if we outnumbered him —- and Lana could issue certain threats that only she could get away with.

  "Hey, Ken," Lana said, flashing a big smile. "How are ya?"

  "Uh, hi, Lana," he replied, obviously surprised to see her being so friendly toward him. "What's up?"

  "Not too much," she said, playing with one of her curls. "I just want some information."

  "Oookay...." Ken continued to eye her suspiciously. "Can you just let me know what this is about already? I don't have all day."

  "What, you mean you don't like it when people hold out on you, you know, kind of like what you're doing to Mel?"

  "Oh come on, not that again," he groaned. He turned to me. "I told you everything I know."

  "No, I don't think you did," Lana cut in. "Now talk."

  Ken rolled his eyes and prepared to head out. "I so don't need this right now. I'll talk to you guys later."

  "It's 'later' now," I called after him. "Sit!"

  Ken whirled around. "What?"

  "You heard me. Sit. Now."

  He obliged, but muttered a string of curses as he did so.

  "Okay, now here's the deal," I told him. I took a seat next to him so I could look him in the eyes. "I know you don't want to talk. But just because you want to keep quiet doesn't mean that we have to."

  "What are you getting at?"

  "Oh, I don't know... I figured that maybe Lana and I could go around the school and tell everyone stuff about you..."

  "Yeah, like about the real size of certain things..." added Lana.

  "... and how those certain things are really, really small."

  "Microscopic!" chuckled Lana.

  Ken crossed his legs and again swore under his breath. "That's not true," he mumbled.

  "But I'm an expert!" Lana reminded him. "I let you do me in a movie theater. I know all."

  "And I'm sure Kathy would join us if we asked nicely enough," I said. "I mean, yeah, we're not best buddies or anything, but what's that they say about the enemy of your enemy being your friend?"

  "Translation —- you're the enemy," Lana said. "Trust me, it won't be pretty. You're already in hot water with us girls because of the whole dumping someone on Valentine's Day thing. And then this ... this wouldn't do much for your reputation now, would it." She cackled. "If Kathy and I set out to destroy you, you
'll never date any girls in this school again. Never. You might as well be a monk ... or gay."

  Ken's eyes widened and he popped up out of his chair. His face turned such a dark shade of crimson, I swear, even his blonde hair had a pink tint to it. "No! Don't —- don't say anything," he pleaded. "Please, please don't." Lana shot me a satisfied glance. "We'll talk," he told us. "Alright? Come by my house after school."

  ###

  That evening, after I'd visited with Josh for a while, Lana's sister drove us to Ken's place. He lived in the same neighborhood as Jan —- in other words, his folks were well-off —- but his home wasn't modern style like hers. His family had an enormous tudor-style mansion with a long, winding driveway and a three-car garage. It looked exactly like my image of an old manor home in England, which I guess is the look my parents were trying to create with our house.

  "It feels so weird to be back here," Lana said as we walked toward the front gate. She pointed toward a large oak tree on the front lawn. "See that tree? That's where we first kissed," she told me; she then nodded toward the covered in-ground pool in the back, "That's where I let him get to second base." She laughed. "You know, I've been so upset these past few months, but never, ever did I think I'd get to have my revenge like this. It's awesome."

  "We're not out for revenge, we're on a fact-finding mission," I reminded her as I rang his bell.

  "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

  Ken soon answered the door and beckoned us inside. The interior of the home was done up as tastefully as the outside with rich fabrics and expensive-looking antiques. His room, however, was a lot more plain; he simply had a desk, a chair and a bed that was covered with a blue and white quilt. He took a seat on it and fiddled with the blanket.

  "So?" I asked, plopping down on the floor. "What's the deal with you and Josh?"

  He stared down at me. "We're friends, you and me ... right Mel?"

  "I don't know..." I began. Labeling us as "friends" seemed to be overestimating our already tenuous relationship.

  "No, I know you're annoyed with me right now," he went on, "but the rest of time, we are friends or at least friendly? Just tell me that." His tone was pleading and urgent.

  "Fine, we're friends," I assured him. "Ken, what the hell is this about, anyway? You're beginning to freak me out." Never did I ever think I'd be in the position where one of the most popular guys in school would be begging me to be his buddy.

  "Yeah, you're being all weird, even for you," Lana agreed.

  Ken shifted his eyes toward the ceiling and blew out his breath. "Look, I'm gonna tell you guys something, okay? But this is a secret. You have to swear not to say anything."

  Lana and I looked at each other. "Okay," we said in unison.

  "No, you have to swear," he emphasized. "Swear on a stack of Bibles, on your mothers' lives ... whatever. But this absolutely has to stay silent. I'm trusting you now because I feel like I owe both of you something. But it's life or death."

  "Alright, we swear on everything in the universe that has any sort of value to us whatsoever," Lana said angrily. "Now quit stalling and just talk already!"

  Ken looked like he was about to cry. "Okay, well here's the thing. You know that thing you guys said about me before at school? Well, I, uh ... it's true," he finished softly.

  Lana snorted. "Wait, so you mean you really do have a small penis?" I shoved her so she'd stop laughing. "What, it really is kind of funny," she told me.

  "No!" he insisted. He waved his hands around. "It's not that. It's the other thing. The thing you said right before we finished our conversation."

  I thought back to our talk in the band room and carefully went over everything we'd said to each other. It then hit me what he meant. "Oh," I said aloud. “Ohhhh."

  "What?" Lana asked me. "What does he mean?"

  I looked up at Ken and suddenly a lot of things about him made sense. "You're gay," I stated.

  ###

  "I figured it out not too long ago," Ken admitted. "Other than my mom, only a few people know."

  "So your dad doesn't?" I asked.

  "Nope. He'd kill himself."

  "What about Dani?"

  "Nah, though she did get fed up when our relationship didn't really go anywhere. Why do you think she dumped me again?"

  Lana was now pacing around his room. "Wait, but how is this possible?" she asked. She tugged on her hair. "I mean, we kissed. We did stuff. Not all of the stuff that you went around lying to everyone about, but we still went pretty far and..."

  "It was around the time that we were dating that I realized," he explained. "It freaked me out. That's why I said all of those things. I'm sorry."

  Lana whirled around. "Wait, so you're saying I made you gay? First you spread all these rumors about me and now this?"

  "No! That's not what I meant. Look, Lana, I'm sorry that I said that stuff about you and me in the movie theater. It's just, it was a confusing time and when the guys asked me about you, I panicked."

  "Yeah, well, you should hear what the guys say about me," she retorted.

  "I know, it sucks," he said in a small voice. "I never meant to hurt you, though. Can you forgive me?"

  Lana narrowed her eyes. "No. It doesn't matter what your excuse was, you still ruined my reputation. You don't just get a free pass."

  "I guess I understand," Ken said.

  "Hold up," I said, getting between them. "I hate to break this up, but what does all of this have to do with Josh and that camera?"

  "Oh my God," Lana shouted. "It's you and Josh! You're in love with him!"

  "I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH JOSH," Ken growled. Lana backed away. "Look, I'm just gonna tell it to you straight," he said. He smirked. "So to speak. Anyway, like I said, not many people know about me."

  "But Josh does?" I said.

  "Yes. And well, so does this guy, Rick, who I met last summer. Josh caught us kissing at the movies. That's the real person I was with in a theater," Ken told Lana. He turned back to me. "But anyway, Josh said he was cool with it and promised to keep it quiet."

  "Oh. So is that what was on the camera?" I asked. "A picture of you with that Rick guy?"

  "No ... not exactly," Ken said. He shifted on his bed. "Mel, I don't think you're going to like this next part," he warned, "but well, you wanted to know."

  "Go on," I said. I didn't see how anything could be any more surprising than Ken's news.

  "Okay, well, you know how those photos came out of you?" he said. "The ones of you in your underwear?"

  "Yeah..." How could I forget? They were horrible.

  "Josh was furious about them. Livid. I seriously thought he was going to kill someone." Ken shuddered. "I'd never seen him that upset before. So I asked if I could do anything, meaning help be your body guard or something. Keep guys like Ryan Barksy off your back, that sort of thing."

  I smiled. "That was nice of you, Ken."

  "Yeah, I thought so, too. But Josh didn't want that. He had something different in mind because he blamed Kathy for the whole mess..."

  "... but I'm pretty certain is was Tamara!" I said. "I told him that."

  "Well, he was convinced that Kathy was behind it in some way. And he knew she liked me..."

  "... and he asked you to date her," I realized. So that was why Ken had suddenly gone from ignoring her to becoming her boyfriend. It was all fitting together.

  "Yeah, I guess you can say he wanted me to date her, but more specifically he wanted me to dump her. On Valentine's Day. On camera," he finished. He stared down, looking ashamed. "He provided me with a video camera and suggested I do it in the band locker room. This way, it would be harder to pin the video on one person. And then he wanted to put the video up online so everyone could see Kathy getting her heart broken.

  "He didn't exactly threaten to expose me," Ken clarified. "But I could see the look in his eyes, how desperate he was, and I couldn't trust him. I didn't feel I had a choice, and so I asked Kathy out. And before you get all, 'Oh, don't be ashamed about being g
ay,' let me just make it clear that I'm not. I’m just, well, still getting used to it and am not really ready to come out yet. And let’s be real, there's no way the guys on the football team would understand," he said. "I need it. I need to be on that team for college, if I plan to get into my top schools. I'm also not sure what to tell my father, but I know I want to be the one to do it.... when I'm ready. So it’s just easier to date around and hold things off –- for now, anyway.

  "The funny thing is, as bitchy as Kathy comes off, she wasn't that bad a girlfriend. My parents liked her. She listened to me. She was into a lot of the same stuff as I am, like music and sports ... I could see us maybe being friends," he said sadly.

  "But then I dumped her and I was pretty mean about it. Told her I wasn't over Dani and she just couldn't fill the void. She cried. She asked why I couldn't wait until February 15 if I really had to do this. I felt like such an evil shit.

  "And that's why I couldn't let him post that video," he said. "It was just too much. I already feel like such a jerk." He stood up. "I'm sorry, Mel. I'm sorry that Josh was hurt and that I was responsible and that I lied about everything."

  "I'm sorry, too," I said, as I tried to process Ken's story. I didn't want to believe it, that Josh could be so cruel to a friend, but Ken certainly didn't appear to be lying. "So you're not failing any classes?" I asked him.

  "What? No!" Ken said. "I have a B in pretty much everything. Why?"

  "Josh lied to me that he was tutoring you," I explained. "He said that that's why you were always talking in band."

  "I'm not failing," he repeated. He looked from me to Lana. "So, you're really going to keep all this quiet, right?"

  "Right," I said. Lana didn't say anything until I nudged her. "Right," she choked out.

  "And what about you?" Ken asked. "Are you okay, Mel? I know this was a lot to take in."

  I hugged my knees to my chest and rocked back and forth. The reality of it all still hadn't hit. "I don't know," I admitted.

  ###

  Lana and I decided to walk home since we had so much to think about. After leaving messages for our parents, neither of us said anything for the first mile. I just kept my head down and counted the cracks in the pavement. I liked doing something that was so mindless; it helped me ignore the gnawing ache that was spreading through my body.