25 Oct Darren

Darren was a little weird, but I didn’t realize how weird until it was too late.

He came to our school at the beginning of fourth grade. The minute I met him, I knew he was going to have it tough in school.

He always wore a suit to school. He would often be found dancing as he walked. And he loved quoting old movies, like Casablanca. Seeing as most fourth graders had never seen the films he liked to quote, he would often be met with confused stares and muffled laughter.

Nobody wanted anything to do with him, for obvious reasons. But, thanks to my mom, I ended up getting to know him better than I ever wanted to.

“You’re going to go have a playdate with him after school. I already set it up with his father,” my mom, the school secretary, told me.

“No mom,” I groaned. “He’s weird!”

“He’s lonely, he has no friends. And honestly, his parents aren’t around a lot. When I spoke with his father on the phone, he told me they are very busy with work. So please Ben, just go hang out with him after school. He lives just a few blocks from here, you can walk home with him and I’ll pick you up after my meeting tonight? Okay?”

There wasn’t much I could do to get out of it. In retrospect, I wish I had tried something. Anything.

I walked home with Darren after school. The whole way he would randomly break out into dance and start quoting some movie I had never heard of.

“Do you like sparkling cider?” he asked me as we neared his house.

“Umm, not really,” I said.

“More for me then!” he laughed as he skipped the rest of the way.

The house was immaculately clean. Not a speck of dust could be seen.

As I stepped into the front living room, I noticed an elderly woman asleep on a chair, a breathing machine was attached to her face.

“This lovely specimen is my grandmother. Isn’t she gorgeous?!” he said, petting her head.

I waved awkwardly.

“Follow me, I’ll get us a snack!” he said as he skipped into the kitchen.

As I walked past the grandmother, I noticed some metal bands wrapped around her wrists. As I stepped closer, Darren came out of the kitchen.

“Hey,” he said, his voice sounding deep. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing!” I yelped. “Just, uh…”

“Admiring her beauty? Of course, who wouldn’t! Now come on, silly pants!” he laughed.

We sat at the dinner table as he handed me a small plate of lady fingers. At the time, I had no idea what they were and their name sounded less than appealing, so I passed.

“More for me!” he laughed again.

After he ate, he gave me a tour of his house. Every single room was as clean as the last. It was almost…too clean.

“Would you like to meet my father?” Darren asked.

“I…uh, sure,” I said.

Darren took me to the end of a long hallway and opened the door at the end. It was a large office with fancy furniture.

“Father dear, I’m home,” Darren said, skipping to the office chair which was turned away from us.

Darren reached over and hugged his father.

“Father, this is my friend, Benjamin,” Darren said, pushing the chair around.

Seated in the chair was a… mannequin, dressed in a suit.

“Say hello, Benjamin,” Darren said, his voice sounding deep again.

“Hi,” I said nervously.

“Father is very busy. He has to get back to work. Love you, father!” Darren said as he kissed the mannequin on the cheek.

Darren led me out of the office and took me towards the garage.

“Now we can meet mother,” he said.

He opened the garage door and standing near the washing machine was another mannequin.

“Oh, mother! It’s me, your snooky poo!” he laughed as he ran to the mannequin.

He turned it around to face me.

“Is she not the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?” he asked.

“I… uhh,” I stammered.

“Don’t be rude, Benjamin,” he said, his voice deep yet again.

“Yes, it… she is,” I said.

He hugged the mannequin and ran back towards me.

“Let’s go watch movies!” he said, grabbing me by my arm.

The next two hours were spent watching a black and white movie. Darren laughed hysterically through the whole thing as I sat on the far end of the couch, praying to God for time to go by faster.

Finally, I heard the doorbell ring. I sprinted down the hall and threw the door open.

“Mom!” I said, hugging her tightly.

“You okay?” she asked.

Darren appeared behind us, a creepy smile on his face.

“It was a true pleasure, ma’am, having your son here. I hope that he can visit again,” Darren smiled.

“Certainly,” my mom said. “Are your parents home? I’d love to meet them.”

“Oh, sadly no. They are both at work. Aren’t they, Benjamin?” he said, his smile vanishing.

“Yes, they aren’t here,” I said.

“You two haven’t been alone this whole time, have you?” she asked.

“No, my dear sweet grandmother is here, she’s napping though, so we need to be quiet.”

“Of course,” my mother smiled. “Well, I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Darren.”

“Yes, I look forward to it,” he said, smiling.

Sadly, that would not be the last time I would find myself in Darren’s house.

* * * * * *

I told my mom everything. I told her about Darren’s grandmother, the super clean house, the lady fingers, and worst of all…the mannequins.

“Ben, knock it off,” she said as she washed dishes. “I better not find you spreading these rumors around school. Darren has it hard enough as is, you understand me?”

“Mom, I’m serious,” I said.

“Ben, enough. I know Darren’s a little… different. But for God’s sake, why on Earth would he dress up mannequins as his parents?”

I went up to my room, frustrated beyond belief. I grabbed my backpack and threw it on my bed.

Now, this was around the early 90’s and my most prized possession in the entire world was, of course, my Game Boy. So when I was unable to find it in my backpack, you can understand the pain I felt.

I turned the entire house inside out looking for it. I knew for a fact I had taken it to school that day. I remember playing it secretly at lunch. Then it hit me with the force of a truck. Darren.

The next day at school I watched as Darren danced his way to my desk.

“Benjamin, I had such a fun time yesterday. Can you come over again?” he asked.

I looked around, hoping no one had heard him.

“I can’t,” I said, avoiding eye contact.

Darren’s smile vanished.

“But… you have to,” he said. “I have your Game Boy.”

I looked at him, panic and horror in my eyes.

“You left it on my kitchen table, remember, silly goose?” he laughed.

“I didn’t take it out of my–”

“You did, Benjamin,” he said sternly. “Come on over tonight and you can get it.”

Our teacher walked in and asked us all to be seated.

“Just bring it tomorrow,” I whispered to him as he went to sit down.

Even though I couldn’t see him, I knew for a fact he was staring at me the entire day.

Days turned to weeks, and everyday Darren would meet me at my desk with the same story.

“Oh no, I forgot it again! You sure you don’t want to come over?”

After a month, my fear of going back to Darren’s was eclipsed by my need to get my Game Boy back. So finally, I gave in and told him I would stop by his house. Just to get my Game Boy.

I organized it with my mom that she would pick me up after she was done with all her paperwork. It would be a half hour at most.

We walked together towards his house. Again, he danced and quoted movies.

“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” he said, his voice sounded different, like an adult.

“Who’s Louis?” I asked.

Darren laughed hysterically.

“You are so funny!” he said.

We got to Darren’s house and I stopped on the sidewalk.

“Just bring it out. My mom’s picking me up in a few minutes,” I said.

Darren’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t be silly, Benjamin. It’s going to rain any minute! Now come inside,” he said.

I looked up and saw the rain clouds coming in.

“Alright, just for a minute,” I said.

As I walked in, I saw his grandmother in the same exact spot I saw her last time. She was even wearing the same clothes.

We walked to the kitchen and I sat down.

“Let’s play chess while we wait for your mom,” he said.

“Where’s my Game Boy?” I asked.

“Benjamin, you’re being rude and I don’t like it,” he said, grabbing a Chess board from a nearby shelf. “Now let’s play chess. Do you know how?”

“No,” I said.

“Well, I will teach you,” he said.

For what seemed like an hour, he went through the rules of chess. Honestly, I was too upset to listen. So I just nodded.

As we began to play, the phone rang. Darren ran to the phone and picked it up.

“Hello? Oh, hello, Benjamin’s mother… Oh, yes, he’s here… Of course he can stay for a bit longer… Why, yes! Yes, my father is here. Just for a little bit, however. He has to go to work… You want to speak with him? Of course. Just a minute.”

Darren glared over at me as he held the phone to his hand. He held it there for a few seconds then placed it back to his ear.

“Hello?” he said, his voice sounding deep and raspy.

“Oh, hello, Patricia, good to hear from you again… Yes, I will be here for another 20 minutes or so. Take your time…. Wonderful! Good bye!”

Darren hung the phone up and walked back to the table.

“Is it my turn?” he asked.

I just stared at him in disbelief as he was deciding on his next move.

“Uh, Darren… where are your parents?” I asked.

“At work,” he said, not looking up from the chess board.

“Why… why did you pretend to be your dad?”

Darren looked up at me.

“Because, Benjamin. My parents are very, very busy people. Now, if someone found out that they were gone a lot, they could get into lots and lots of trouble. Do you want them to get in lots and lots of trouble, Benjamin?” he said, his eyes penetrating mine.

“No,” I said, quickly looking away.

He moved a piece on the chess board and smiled.

“Your turn.”

I looked at the board and grabbed a piece and moved it randomly along the board. Darren slapped my hand.

“Benjamin! You can’t make that move! Weren’t you listening at all?! Well, were you?!”

I shook my head.

Darren swung his arm across the board and the pieces went sailing across the room. He began to pound on the table angrily.

“The rules are simple, Benjamin! SIMPLE! Why don’t you just listen, Benjamin?! Why?!” he yelled.

He then stood up and smacked me across the face.

I’m not proud, but honestly, I was nine, and at that time, my main reaction to being scolded was to cry… so that’s what I did.

“Oh, knock it off, Benjamin! Act like a man! Stop being such a little sissy!” he yelled.

As I tried to stifle my crying, it got worse. And Darren got angrier.

“All I wanted to do was play a fun game and you ruined it! You ruined it! Now get in the living room! You’re on a time out! And quit crying!”

I quickly jumped off my chair and ran into the living room. Tears continued to pour down my face as I fell into a recliner.

Once I was finally able to gain control of my sobbing, I sat up and looked towards the kitchen. The chess board was picked up and Darren was gone.

I turned to look at the grandmother who still hadn’t moved an inch.

Slowly, I got up and walked towards her. As I got closer, I spotted Darren standing in the doorway of the kitchen, my Game Boy in his hand.

“Really, Benjamin?! I put you in a time out, didn’t I?! Well, you leave me no other choice!” he screamed.

He threw my Game Boy down to the ground and it smashed into pieces.

I could almost feel my heart crumble.

“Now I swear to God, that if you tell anyone, and I mean anyone, I will smash more than your dumb video game!” he said. “Do you understand?”

I nodded as tears began pour down my face again.

“Now pick up this mess,” he said.

With my head low, I walked to the Game Boy and picked up the pieces.

When the doorbell rang, Darren beat me to the door.

“Oh, hello, Benjamin’s mom,” he smiled.

“Hi, Darren,” she said. “Ben? What happened?”

I looked down at my broken Game Boy and then at Darren, his eyes glaring at me.

“I… I dropped it,” I said.

“Ben! I told you to be careful with your belongings! You know we can’t afford another one. You’ll just have to save up your allowance,” she said as she reached for me.

I walked towards her and glanced at Darren out of the corner of my eye.

“See you at school tomorrow, Benjamin,” Darren smiled.

As we walked down his front steps, I turned to look at him.

“Don’t forget what I told you,” he said, before slamming the door shut.

* * * * * *

Due to a combination of embarrassment and fear, I didn’t tell my mom what happened at Darren’s house. I thought that, maybe, I could put the whole experience out of my mind and go on about my life.

That was until I saw him the next day.

He looked so smug and arrogant. As he danced down the hall, I felt my blood boil. I hated him. I hated him with every fiber of my being. I wanted to see him get hurt. I wanted to see him in pain. And I knew exactly how I could make that happen.

One of my best friends was a kid named Pete. He was a fifth grader with the body of an eighth grader. And he liked to fight… a lot.

I told Pete everything that happened, well, I manufactured a few details to make sure no one knew I had spent two afternoons in Darren’s house.

Pete looked across the playground at Darren, who, unsurprisingly, was skipping along the sidewalk.

“That little punk broke your Game Boy!” he said angrily. “I’m gonna bash in his face!”

I couldn’t help but smile.

“Tell him you’ll meet him behind the trees during our next recess,” Pete said, patting me on the shoulder.

For the first time in days I spoke with Darren. I told him I wanted to talk to him during recess behind the trees. He seemed hesitant at first, but I told him I wanted to talk to him about what old movies I should watch.

“Oh, wonderful! I’ll compile a list!” he said.

During the next recess, I stayed as far from the trees as I could. After the bell rang, I was the first in line to head back inside.

We all heard the commotion first before we saw it. One of our teachers was dragging Pete–with a big smile on his face–by the arm. Another teacher was walking behind them with Darren, his eye swollen shut and his lip puffy and bleeding.

Pete winked at me as he headed inside.

I couldn’t help but smile.

That’s when I noticed Darren staring directly at me, with his good eye.

Pete ended up being suspended for a week. As for Darren, he started to act different. He stopped dancing down the halls. He stopped quoting old movies. In fact, he stopped talking altogether. At recess, he would sit by himself on the bleachers. During class, unless called upon, he would sit in the back of the room, not saying a word.

A week or two passed and I thought the nightmare was finally over.

One morning, Pete called me outside to show me the new bike he got for his birthday.

“I almost didn’t get it since I got suspended. But luckily my mom caved,” he said.

As I marveled at his new bike, I spotted Darren out of the corner of my eye. He was staring at us from behind a tree. As I was about to point him out, he disappeared behind it.

“After school, come out here. I’ll do a wheelie!” Pete said.

Darren didn’t come to class that day. When I asked my mom about him, she said his dad called and said he was sick.

After school, my friends and I met Pete out front.

“It sucks! I can’t find my helmet,” Pete said. “I had it in my backpack, I know it.”

“Come on, you don’t need your helmet! Show us the wheelie,” my other friend Jesse said.

“Okay, hang on,” Pete said.

He pedaled the bike down the sidewalk and turned it around. He then began to pedal as fast as he could. As he neared us, he pulled up on the handlebars. As he did, the front wheel of the bike came off and rolled into the grass.

I could almost see the panic in Pete’s eyes as the bike came back down and the fork dug into the concrete. He flew head first over the handlebars, right into a parked car.

A crossing guard and a teacher both saw it happen and rushed over to him.

As we got closer, a group of teachers pushed us out of the way.

Through the chaos, I could see Pete’s head. Blood gushed down his face.

I turned and spotted Darren behind the same tree again. A maniacal smile on his face.

That night my mom came into my bedroom, a solemn look on her face.

“Pete’s in the hospital. He hit his head really bad,” she said.

“Is he going to be alright?” I asked.

“Hopefully. He’s going to be in the hospital for awhile, I think. You see, this is why I tell you to always wear a helmet,” she said.

“But, Mom, Pete had a helmet. I think Darren took it. And I think Darren broke his bike, too!” I said.

“Stop it, Ben!” she said.

Knowing that she would never believe me, I used the only weapon at my disposal. Tears.

I sobbed as I told her everything. About the game of chess, how Darren yelled at me, how he hit me, how he smashed my Game Boy.

My mom just stared at me blankly for a few seconds, her mouth open in horror.

“My God!” she said. “I am calling Darren’s father.”

“No, Mom, please don’t!” I yelled.

“Ben, it’s okay. I will make certain he never lays a finger on you again,” she said as she stormed down the hall.

I tried to stop her, but she was unstoppable, she was a mom on a mission.

“Mom, listen to me! Darren pretends to be his dad on the phone. I saw him do it! He did it that day I was at his house,” I said.

She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me.

“Are you serious?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe it. He’s been tricking me the entire time?” she said, rubbing her face.

She then turned on her heel and headed into the kitchen and grabbed her purse.

“Get in the car,” she said. “We’re going to pay him a visit.”

“Mom, please! No!” I pleaded.

“Ben, it’s okay, I’m an adult. I can handle a fourth grader.”

Oh, if she only knew how wrong she would be.

* * * * * *

The car ride to Darren’s was one of the longest of my life.

As my mom parked in front of Darren’s house, I looked up at the front window. The drapes were swaying back and forth.

We walked up the steps to his front door and my mom knocked loudly.

After a minute or two passed, she knocked again. Then again.

Finally, the door opened slightly and Darren looked through the crack.

“Oh, hello, Benjamin… hello, Benjamin’s mom,” he said. “What can I do for you?”

“Darren, I’m here to speak with your father,” my mom said sternly.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, he’s at work right now, but if – ”

Before he could finish, my mom pushed open the door, almost knocking him to the ground.

“Enough, Darren. I want to speak with your father or your mother this instant,” she said.

I smiled as I saw the fear in Darren’s eyes. My mom was an angry mom. Nothing in the world is scarier.

“Where’s your grandmother?” my mom asked.

As she asked that, I peered into the living room. Darren’s grandma was gone. Not only was she gone, but the chair she sat in was gone, too.

Darren lowered his head and began to sob.

“She’s… she’s in the hospital!” he cried. “She had a heart attack last night.”

The tears were believable, no doubt about it, but I could see right through them. Sadly, my mom couldn’t.

“Oh, God, Darren! I’m sorry,” she said, kneeling down beside him.

“I don’t have a mom. She died when I was five,” Darren sobbed. “My dad and grandma are all I have left. And my dad, he…  he works two jobs to support us.”

My mom reached for Darren and hugged him. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I watched.

“If my grandma dies, there’ll be no one to watch me. My dad… my dad doesn’t want anyone to know. They might try to take me away from him if they knew he leaves me alone. I don’t want to leave my dad!” Darren cried as he collapsed into my mom’s arms.

My mom caressed Darren’s back as he cried hysterically. I couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Listen, Darren, I can’t imagine how difficult this is for you right now, but you need someone to watch you. Is there a neighbor you can stay with until your dad gets back?”

Darren struggled to stifle his crying.

“Mrs. Helfer next door is nice,” he said. “She makes good cookies.”

My mom laughed.

“Good, let’s go take you over there. Tomorrow morning I will stop by again and speak with your father. Maybe we can organize something so you aren’t left alone. Okay?” my mom said, wiping the tears from Darren’s eyes.

“Okay,” he sighed.

As my mom hugged him again, he looked up over her shoulder at me. Slowly, a smile started to creep across his face.

I felt my hands ball up into fists.

My mom let go of him and the smile vanished instantly. Tears began to stream again.

We walked over to the neighbor’s house with Darren. Mrs. Helfer stared at my mother confusedly as she explained the whole situation. She then looked down at Darren as if she had never seen him before in her life.

As we drove off, Darren waved at us from Mrs. Helfer’s porch.

“I’m going to stop by tomorrow before work,” my mom said. “I need to speak to his father. Poor child can’t be left alone like that.”

“Mom, he’s lying! I know it! He smiled at me when he hugged you,” I said.

“He was probably happy to have someone to console him. Ben, the poor child is alone the day after his grandmother has a heart attack. Can you imagine that?”

“His grandma was probably already dead! He’s psycho, Mom! And you didn’t even yell at him for hitting me or for breaking my Game Boy!”

“Ben, please stop. He’s got enough on his plate as it is. When I talk to his father, I will tell him what happened. The child is lashing out. It’s obvious. He’s lonely and scared, and he took it out on you. I’m sorry,” she said, placing her hand on my shoulder.

It was pointless to talk about it anymore. I knew nothing I would say would convince her otherwise. To this day however, I wish with every ounce of my being that I had at least kept trying.

My friend Jesse’s mom picked me up the next morning, since my mom had gone to Darren’s.

When I got to school, my mom still wasn’t there. Neither was Darren.

As first recess came around, I went to the school office. Still, my mom wasn’t there. I asked one of the other secretaries, Ms. Joan, if she had heard anything from my mom.

“No honey. I was just about to talk to you to see if she’s okay, she never called in,” she said.

I felt my heart plummet.

I sprinted out of the school and headed towards Darren’s house.

As I neared, I spotted an ambulance parked out front. Sitting on the curb was Darren, wrapped in a blanket. Behind him was Mrs. Helfer.

Two paramedics came out the front door with a stretcher. My mom was on it.

I rushed over to Mrs. Helfer, my lungs burning, tears streaming down my face.

“What happened?!” I cried.

“She fell down the steps,” she said.

I tried running to the stretcher, but a paramedic stopped me.

“That’s my mom!” I screamed.

Mrs. Helfer came up behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders.

“I’ll take care of him,” Mrs. Helfer said.

As they loaded my mom into the ambulance, Mrs. Helfer walked me over to her front steps and sat me down.

“We’ll go to the hospital,” she said. “Just wait right here until I can get my car keys, okay?”

My world was spinning. I could barely nod my head.

As Mrs. Helfer walked into her house, I watched as Darren stood up and turn towards me. That twisted smile still on his face.

He walked to me and kneeled down.

“Your mother’s  a harlot. and she should have kept her nose out of things that aren’t any of her business!” he said.

My entire body was paralyzed in fear. What was happening?

Darren leaned towards me.

“You try to take my family from me,” he whispered. “I’ll take your family away from you.”

He stood back up, dropped the blanket off of his shoulders, and skipped up the steps as the ambulance pulled away.

* * * * * *

The days following my mom’s accident were a nightmare.

She had suffered serious head trauma. It was so bad that they had to remove a portion of her skull due to brain swelling.

Seeing her in that hospital bed, tethered to all kinds of equipment, shattered me to my very core.

To make matters worse, my aunt, who had come down to stay with me, forced me to go to school. It was the absolute last place in the world I wanted to be. Especially, because of Darren.

He was back to his normal self. Dancing, skipping, and smiling.

Anytime I saw him, my vision filled with red. I wanted to get my hands around his neck.

One day as the rest of the kids were out at recess, I decided to stay inside. I hated being around other kids. They were all so happy and carefree. I envied them.

As I walked down the hall, Darren came around the corner, smiling.

“Hello, Benjamin. How’s Mommy?” he asked.

I rushed at him and threw him up against the wall. He just laughed.

“Oh, Benjamin, you silly goose,” he said.

Before I could strike again, he balled his hand into a fist and punched straight up, into his own nose.

Blood poured from his nose as he began to cry.

“Help me!” he screamed. “Help me, please!”

Ms. Joan rushed to his cries.

“My God!” she said. “Ben, did you do this?!”

Darren began to sob uncontrollably.

“I just asked how his mom was!” he cried.

“Ben! Get to the Principal’s office! Now!” she yelled.

“But—”

“Now, Ben!” she said, helping Darren down the hall.

It didn’t stop there.

The next day our teacher, Ms. Warren, asked us all to pull out our homework and hand it in. As she walked along the rows, picking up homework, I dug through my backpack and grabbed mine. I felt my heart skip a beat as I looked at it, the word “Harlot” was scribbled over every inch of the paper.

Before I could try to hide it, Ms. Warren came by and grabbed it. As she did, she gasped loudly.

“Ben! This is unacceptable! Get to the Principal’s office now!” she yelled as she tucked the paper away from the other students.

“I didn’t—”

“Now!” she yelled as she grabbed me by the arm.

As I walked out of the room I spotted Darren sitting in the back corner. Smiling.

That same day, after school, as I was walking to my aunt’s car, Darren skipped up alongside me.

“Rough day, huh?” he laughed.

I pulled my arm back to swing.

“Careful friend, a lot of people are watching,” he said.

I stopped walking and turned to him.

“I swear to God…” I said, trailing off.

“Oh, enough,” Darren growled, his voice deep. “Quit acting like you’re going to do anything. You’re just a little pansy. You and your stupid mother tried to wreck my life. And now I’m going to do exactly the same thing to you. No one will ever believe you, either. I’m the victim in all of this, Benjamin.”

I looked around and watched as every single teacher that was standing outside had their eyes on me.

He was right. To them, I was the bad guy. This was a fight I was bound to lose before it even began.

As days turned to weeks, I found myself becoming withdrawn from friends. During recess I would hide behind the trees, usually to cry.

I had no one to turn to. My mom and best friend, the only two people I really had in my life, were both barely holding on to their lives. I had nothing left. Absolutely nothing.

And in the end, that would be Darren’s biggest mistake. He took everything from me…but someone with nothing to lose is dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

He would learn that on that fateful day, behind the trees during recess.

I was sitting on a large rock, as I normally did, when he approached.

I can’t recall exactly what he said anymore. I try to though. I try to remember what set me off, but to be honest, at that point it wouldn’t have taken much.

I was on top of him before I knew it. My fists were barreling down upon his face with a precision and speed that I was astonished I was even capable of.

Again, I don’t remember much, but I remember the laughter. With each punch his laughter grew louder and more penetrating. And as his laughter grew, so did my anger.

I used every single ounce of my strength with each strike. I realize now, looking back on it, I never intended to allow Darren to walk away from behind those trees. What I would eventually tell the judge, that my temper got the best of me, was a total fabrication. I had every single intention of beating him to death.

At some point during the ordeal I must have screamed out, in anger or anguish, I don’t know. But soon enough, a crowd would appear to witness the final events unfold.

Even though all the witnesses claim that Darren was motionless as I picked up the rock by his head. I still believe, without a doubt, that that evil son of a bitch was smiling and laughing as I raised it above my head and brought it straight down into his skull.

It wasn’t a surprise when the judge found me guilty. It’s hard to argue against an entire schoolyard of children as witnesses.

During the trial, details did finally emerge about Darren’s personal life.

He wasn’t lying when he said his mother had died. She had in fact, but during childbirth. His father, a drug addict, was in and out of jail for most of Darren’s life. His grandmother, who was granted custody, was nowhere to be found.

It wasn’t long before Darren was painted as a victim of a system that did nothing to protect him at school or at home.

As for me, I was painted as a monster. The only two witnesses I had to Darren’s true self were my mom and Pete. Neither of which could testify. Pete couldn’t, because he never really recovered from his brain injury. In fact, he’s been in a wheelchair ever since, eating from tubes.

My mom thankfully did recover. Unfortunately, all the events leading up to her accident were a complete blur to her. She only remembered bits and pieces. Nothing of any importance.

Needless to say, I wasn’t shocked one bit when I was placed in the juvenile detention center until the age of 18.

For some, this turn of events would have been devastating. But truth be told, I sleep better now than I ever have before. Darren no longer walks this earth and for that, it is a much better place.

It’s been decades since I got out of the detention center, and I’m an old man now. I’ve worked hard to rebuild my life. I moved a few towns away and have a job with a steady income. My elderly mother and I stay in touch. She remarried and was happy for many, many years. She’s a widow now, but that’s alright–the circle of life, you know?

I don’t often visit my old hometown. In fact, I make it a point to never get within a mile of it, but I’m thinking about going there shortly.

You see, I found out that after all these years my graduating class had paid for a statue to be built in Darren’s honor. It was placed just outside the elementary school.

I think I might need to stop by and take a look at it… and maybe burn it to the ground.