The Life of Ely

by Jason L. McWhirter

  Ely sat down next to Damon and Cisco. “What do you want to know?”

  “Start from the beginning.”

  Ely took a bite from his pizza. “Okay, well it happened when I got out of the movie and went to my car. I had parked at the end of the parking lot near the woods. There wasn’t anyone around when they came from the shadows. Then they attacked me and took my wallet.”

  “What car were you driving?” John asked.

  “My mom’s.”

  “That beat up Datsun?” Cisco asked, looking briefly at Jeff.

  “Yup.”

  “And they were wearing masks?” John asked.

  Now the girls had ended their conversation, clearly interested in Ely’s story. “Black ski masks. I couldn’t see anything.”

  “That sucks, man. How much money did they get?” John asked.

  “A couple of bucks.”

  “Seems weird to me. No offense, but why would some guys risk attacking a young kid in an old car for a couple of bucks?” Cisco asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ely said a bit defensively, picking up on their obvious skepticism. “Who knows why thieves do anything? Maybe they were bored.” Ely shrugged his shoulders and casually bit into his pizza, hoping they would just drop it.

  “You should call the police,” Tanya added, speaking for the first time. “Maybe they would have an idea who it was.”

  “I don’t want to go through the hassle just for a couple of bucks,” Ely countered.

  “I’m Tanya by the way. This is my friend, Lauren.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Ely said. “I recognize you from class,” Ely said, indicating Lauren.

  “Yup, I’m the one always asking questions. Calculus is so hard. How do you breeze through it so easily?” It was obvious that she at least knew who Ely was, and she had clearly noticed that he always finished his tests and quizzes first, knew every oral question, even the ones that stumped the other math whizzes. And he never asked questions, as if it was as easy as tying your shoes.

  “I don’t know,” he said, “It just comes natural I guess,” not sure how to respond to her. He didn’t want to make her feel stupid, but that seemed the best way he could explain it. It did come easy for him. He remembered numbers, equations, recognized patterns, and made connections. For him, it was as easy as basic math.

  “Lucky you,” she said with a frustrated sigh. “Sorry about your face. It looks pretty bad....I mean it looks like it hurts,” she added quickly, smiling.

  “Supposedly Adam and his goons were there watching the movie, and they had given Ely some shit,” Jeff interjected, attempting to bring the conversation back on course.

  “No shit,” John said, acting as if that was new information. “You think it could’ve been him with a mask on? He’s always seemed to have it out for you.”

  “I don’t think so,” Ely said rather too quickly. “It didn’t sound like him.” He quickly went to stuffing his face with the last of his pizza.

  “I don’t know, Ely,” Cisco added. “It does seem strange that you got beat up the same night that you had a run-in with Adam. You want us to have a talk with him?”

  “No, please don’t. I’m sure it wasn’t him. Hey, I have to go,” Ely said as he stood up quickly. “It was nice to meet you,” Ely addressed Tanya and Lauren. “I’ll see you guys at practice.”

  “Alright, bud,” Jeff said, clearly skeptical.

  “Cool,” John and Cisco said in unison.

  Once Ely had left Cisco turned to Jeff. “I think you’re right, man. It just doesn’t add up and Ely is acting weird.”

  “You think it was Adam, don’t you,” John said.

  “Yup, I sure as hell do,” Jeff replied.

  “Hey, not sure if this means anything,” Tanya said thoughtfully, “but I just had Adam in class last period and I noticed he had several band aids on his right hand.”

  Cisco and John looked at Jeff.

  “Are you serious?” Jeff asked softly.

  “Yeah, they really stood out. It was hard to miss. There were two big band aides over his knuckles and both had blood seeping through. I didn’t think anything of it then. Thought it was just a wrestling injury, but now it seems a bit suspicious.”

  “It sure does,” Jeff said, turning towards John and Cisco. “I think we need to have a talk with Adam…tonight.”

  They both smiled conspiratorially.

  Ely found Amanda soon after he left the lunchroom. Well actually, it was more like she had found him. She had gotten her lunch late and saw him leave the guy’s table and head outside. So she took her sandwich and followed him out the common’s door and into the courtyard, where she saw him sit on a bench tucked behind some shrubs. It was a good spot if you wanted some solitude.

  “Hey,” she said as she approached. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”

  “Not at all,” he said, smiling. “As long as you don’t grill me like Jeff and his buddies just did.”

  “I can’t promise you that.”

  Ely just smiled as he slid over to make room for her on the bench.

  “I had fun last night,” she said.

  “Me too, well at least up ‘til the point where I got beat up. Everything up to that point was pretty great. Thanks again for helping me out last night.”

  “You’re welcome.” She paused as she took a bite of her sandwich. Then she added, “You sure it wasn’t that asshole Adam that attacked you?”

  “I don’t think so,” Ely said, sticking to his story. “It didn’t sound like him.” It felt like the questioning was going to start all over again. But he had to keep up the charade until everyone dropped it. Once they did, then it would be over and everyone would just forget it. Then he could move on and hopefully not have to worry about Adam again.

  Amanda shook her head, as if she didn’t quite believe him. “Okay,” she relented. “But you should probably go to the hospital, or at least the nurse’s office to make sure you don’t have any serious injuries.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Ely said. He almost followed it up with, ‘I’ve had worse’, but he caught himself. That would be a hard statement to explain. “So, how do you like the school so far?” he asked, changing the subject.

  Amanda shrugged. “It’s not bad. I like most of my teachers, and I must admit, it sure is beautiful here. All the hype you hear about the Pacific Northwest is true.”

  “It is that, and if you don’t mind the rain, it’s a great place to live.”

  “What about you?”

  “What do you mean?” Ely asked.

  “Do you mind the rain?”

  Ely thought a moment. “I don’t. I like it actually. I love to read and reading is an indoor sport.”

  “Are you trying to impress me?” Amanda asked.

  “If you’re impressed with fat guys who like to read by themselves, then yes, I am. Is it working?”

  Amanda laughed and almost choked on her sandwich. “I’m going to have to keep you posted on that question. I better go. Promise me you’ll go to the nurse.”

  “I can’t promise you that,” he replied.

  Amanda stood up and gave him her best mock pouty look.

  “Okay, I’ll go.” Ely caved in easily.

  She smiled and turned to go. Ely was getting ready to crack open his book again and get a few more pages of reading in before the bell rang to go to class when she turned back around. “Hey, you want to do something sometime?”

  Ely looked up at her, then behind him, then back at her, then behind him one more time before he pointed at himself. “Are you talking to me?” He knew she was. After all, there was no one else near them. But her invitation had caught him off guard. Did she really just ask him out?

  “Very funny. Yes, I’m talking to you. I could use a tour guide.”

  “That would be fun.”

  “Perfect. How about Saturday?”

  “I have to work a few hours in the morning. But I can hang out with you in the afternoon.”

  “
Awesome. Write down my number.”

  “It’s okay. I can remember it.”

  “Such confidence. You sure?”

  “Yup. Shoot,” Ely said.

  “554-6745.”

  “Got it. Hey, but there is a problem. I don’t have a car. My mom will be using our car.”

  “That’s okay. I have a car. I’ll pick you up.”

  Ely felt a sudden panic. He didn’t want Amanda to see his house. He would be embarrassed. So he quickly came up with a better solution. “Why don’t you pick me up at work? It will be closer anyway as I live way out on the peninsula.”

  “Okay. Where do you work?”

  “I work at Harbor Books right across from the park down by the water. If you go to the main docks in the harbor, you’ll see Johnson Park. The bookstore is right across the street.”

  “Cool. Pick you up at noon?”

  “Sounds good,” Ely said with a big smile.

  “See ya,” she said, returning his smile. Then she turned, gave a little skip, and headed for the main door.

  “Maybe I should get beat up more often,” Ely whispered to himself.

  Practice that evening came and went quickly. Adam gave Ely some pretty dirty looks, but he did a decent job of disguising them so others wouldn’t notice. Adam was obviously pissed that Ely was there, naturally assuming that he would have quit after the beating they had given him. Luckily Sel was pretty busy so the uncomfortable conversation that Ely was dreading didn’t last very long.

  “Ely, seriously, have you seen a doctor?” he asked as everyone was warming up.

  “No, I think I’m fine, just some bruised ribs.”

  “Have you at least seen the school nurse?”

  “Not yet, but I did make a promise that I would.”

  “I want you to go right now. You hear me?”

  “Yes, Coach, I hear you. I think I’ll be okay to practice in a day or two,” Ely said as he slowly got to his feet. He had been sitting on the ground leaning up against the gym wall, and the pain in his ribs as he stood up prompted Ely to cringe involuntarily, which did not go unnoticed by his coach.

  “You’re not okay. You might have cracked a rib. Listen, Ely, you should really report this to the police. Hey, we’ll talk more about this later. Go to the nurse and let me know what she says.”

  “Okay, Sel.”

  Sel patted him on the shoulder. “I’m glad you didn’t quit. Good choice, buddy.” Then he smiled and turned towards the team to start the practice.

  As Ely had suspected, the nurse didn’t think he had any broken ribs. But he definitely had some sore spots, and she too recommended that he see a doctor to confirm her opinion. A physician would be able to x-ray Ely and examine him for any other related injuries. Ely told her he would, though he knew full well that he would not be going to any doctor. After fifteen minutes with the nurse he made his way back to the wrestling gym.

  The rest of the practice went pretty smoothly, with Adam avoiding him altogether. The activity bus ride home went by quickly as Ely’s mind was completely occupied by pleasant thoughts of Amanda. He could still picture her smile as she had turned and walked away from him. And it was the first time in a long while that he hadn’t opened a book on the bus. For once he didn’t want to escape to another world. He wanted to remain in this one, looking out the window and thinking of Amanda. He leaned his head against the glass window, closed his eyes, and let his mind drift away with the first pleasant thoughts he’d had a long time.

  Adam was definitely pissed off. He scowled furiously as he made his way to his car after practice. Ely had some nerve showing up for practice after taking such a beating. The question was…what was he going to do about it? He could just ignore it, hoping that maybe Ely would eventually quit on his own. Or he could continue to make his life miserable, as an added incentive for him to quit. Either way he was glad that Ely had kept his mouth shut. Maybe he would leave him alone because of that. Man, he hated that fat know-it-all. He began to smile as he ran through the mental images of his fist connecting with Ely’s face. But his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

  “Hey, Adam!”

  Adam turned around to see Jeff approaching, flanked by Cisco and John.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Adam asked, a bit apprehensively as he took note of their aggressive posture.

  Adam knew he would be hard pressed to defeat Jeff, even though he had him by seventy pounds. Jeff was a natural, strong, quick, and utterly fearless. And against the three of them, there was no way Adam had a chance. The only thing he had going for him was he knew that if they started a fight, that they would be suspended, and none of them would allow that to happen during wrestling season. That knowledge bolstered Adam’s confidence.

  “How’s your hand?” Jeff asked, indicating Adam’s right hand.

  Adam glanced at the scrapes on his knuckles, realizing that somehow Jeff was aware of last night’s altercation. The question was, how did they find out? Had Ely told him?

  “It’s fine, just scraped it a few times while chopping wood last night.”

  “Was that before or after the movie?”

  “Before. Why? What the hell do you want?”

  “Cut the crap, dipshit,” Jeff said.

  “We know it was you who beat Ely up last night,” Cisco said, stepping closer to Adam. Cisco was nearly Adam’s size, but a much better wrestler and overall athlete. Adam certainly didn’t want to tangle with him.

  “Whatever, you don’t know shit,” Adam said, trying desperately to show the confidence that he didn’t really feel.

  “Listen, you asshole.” Jeff growled, as he too took another step closer to Adam, forcing him back up against his car door. “We are going to tell you this once, and only once. You are never to touch him again. Don’t even look at him weird. If we ever hear that you bullied him again, we will end you. Do you understand?”

  Adam didn’t say anything for a second as he looked at all three of them. They were definitely serious. “What is it about him anyway? Are you guys’ gay lovers or something? A couple of mat faggots?”

  Adam didn’t realize that comment was a big mistake, probably the worst thing he could have said to Jeff. Before Adam could blink Jeff had his neck in an iron grip that threatened to crush his windpipe. He found himself slammed back against his car, struggling in vain to breathe as Jeff stood over him, his face inches from his own.

  “One more word,” he said through tight lips, the intensity of his rage reflected in his eyes as they bore into Adam. Adam, on the verge of passing out, vaguely heard Cisco and John tell Jeff to let him go. Suddenly the vice around his neck loosened just enough to allow him to breathe again, though the pain in his neck was still intense. By this time Adam was nearly paralyzed with fear. He believed that Jeff could literally rip his throat out. “Don’t say another word. Don’t ever touch Ely again. Am I understood?” Adam couldn’t speak so he just nodded his head in affirmation. “And if one word of our ‘discussion’ here gets out to anyone, anyone at all, you will wish it hadn’t.”

  With that Jeff released Adam and stepped away, visibly trying to control the intense anger which still threatened to subjugate his reason.

  Adam slowly stood up away from the car, and rubbed his injured throat, breathing deeply to catch his breath. “Okay.....okay, I won’t...touch him again,” he gasped.

  “Good,” was all Jeff said. Then the trio turned and walked away, leaving Adam alone to nurse his bruised neck.

  As they neared their own vehicles, Cisco nudged Jeff in the side. “Dude, where did you learn to do that?”

  “No shit, man. That was like Bruce Lee shit,” John said as he mimed a karate punch.

  Jeff smiled, his anger now dissipated. “Saw it in a movie.”

  The morning came quick for Ely as he had enjoyed the best sleep that he could remember in a long while. No nightmares plagued his dreams, and it felt as if he had no sooner closed his eyes than the morning alarm had begun ringing in his ears. But
he awoke, feeling invigorated and refreshed, better than he had felt in a long time, and he eagerly got up and prepared himself for the day ahead. This was the first time that he could remember that he felt excited to go to school, and he knew that the prospect of seeing Amanda again was the reason for this rare feeling. Besides, each day that went by brought him one day closer to Saturday, and Saturday was his date with Amanda. At least he thought of it as a date, even though he wasn’t sure if she felt the same way. His thoughts danced around in his mind as he made his way to the bathroom. Just as he was about to take off his boxers and jump in the shower he heard a deafening bang, echoing loudly throughout the small confines of the mobile home. Ely was so startled he nearly fell into the tub. And then he realized what it was. It was a gun shot.

  “Mom!” he screamed, as he tore through the bathroom door and down the short hall. It took him only a few heartbeats to take in the scene. His mom was on the floor, lying face down, with a pool of blood slowly growing around her stomach. Bill, his father, was sitting in his chair in the adjacent living room staring at a blank television screen, a handgun held casually in his right hand.

  “Oh my god! What have you done!?” Ely cried as he raced to his mom, kneeling at her side. “Mom! Mom! Wake up!”

  Ely heard the shuffle of footsteps and turned just in time to see only the blur of movement before Bill’s booted foot connected solidly with his face. Ely flew onto his back, blood spattering outward from his broken nose and lacerated mouth.

  “Iss all yer fault!” Bill shouted, clearly intoxicated. “Look what you’ve forced me t’ do. Now geddup!”

  Ely slowly stood on shaking legs, shielding his shattered nose with his hand. He was badly hurt, but his tears were for his mother as he saw her lying, unmoving, on the floor. Then Bill hit him again, this time with the hand holding the gun, the blow violently knocking his head to the side as the end of the barrel smashed into his cheek, opening a deep gash. Fresh blood poured from the cut as Ely tried to catch himself from falling. But before Ely could regain his balance, Bill used his other fist to smack him in the face a second time. This time Ely collapsed to the ground next to his mother.