Chapter 8
Getting Clued In
Alina sat watching her class work on their writing projects. As usual each student was either deep in thought or bent over their paper writing. Again, the exception being Jaden who was staring out the window. Alina hesitated to look out the window for fear of what she would find, but forced herself to do the right thing.
Instead of fighting, she saw only a beautiful fall day. The sun hung behind amber colored clouds and leaves whipped around in wisps of yellow and red. Her eyes went back to Jaden. He had been getting progressively more withdrawn as the weeks flew by.
She cleared her throat. “Jaden, do you need some help with the assignment?”
His head swiveled around and his green eyes landed on her. His expression was blank.
“I’m finished.”
“You were asked to write a fifty word essay on the importance of resolving conflict nonviolently. I don’t feel that is much space to write on such a vast subject. It was my way of forcing you to be concise.”
Rather than arguing he passed his paper to the person in front of him. Each student in his row continued to pass it forward until the person sitting in the first seat handed it to her. She looked down to the tiny paragraph he had written.
Treat others as you wish to be treated.
This is easy to do when you agree with the other person.
It’s difficult to do when you are disagreeing.
It takes more than a mere disagreement to make an enemy.
Let violence be the last resort instead of your first stop.
She glanced up at him with a slow smile. “Exactly fifty well-chosen words. Do you mind if I ask why you chose them?”
“My father says that violence begets violence. It means the more you hit people the more they want to get back at you which leads you to hitting them some more. It’s better to talk about problems if the other person’s able to listen.”
As she stared at him thoughtfully he continued. “Just because he hasn’t been to college doesn’t mean he’s not smart.”
Her eyes flew open. “I don’t think anyone’s suggesting your father isn’t smart.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the bell signaling the end of class. As the children filed out she reached out to touch Jaden on the arm. He paused while the room cleared, then turned his sad eyes to her.
“Is there anything you need to talk about? You seem sad.”
“I don’t talk to bitches, about my feelings. I have brothers for that.”
She refused to have the conversation derailed because he called her a bitch, which was probably what he intended. Instead she commented matter-of-factly. “I thought you were an only child.”
He pulled on the leather vest he wore and murmured again. “You don’t understand the way I live.”
“I’d like to understand more about your life.”
He sighed and when he spoke his voice was tinged with frustration. “You only see the world one way. In your world people don’t curse, fight, or have bad problems. In my world, people are living, dying, and struggling to survive.”
Alina’s brow furrowed. “Jayden, I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
He just shook his head. “It’s because you look but don’t really see what’s going on around you. Open your eyes sometime. You’ll see it, then you’ll know why every now and then a person has to fight back. I gotta go, my brothers are waiting.”
She walked out with him and watched as five motorcycles pulled up and Jaden got onto the back of one. This time she took his advice. She opened her eyes, taking in every detail. The men were restless and glancing around wearily. They looked tired…no exhausted. Several had dark circles under their eyes. He considered these men his brothers? She looked Jaden in the eyes for one brief second before the helmet went down obscuring her view. In that brief second he knew that she finally saw.
Glancing around, she saw even more. Three more men were milling around, on the far side of the street. They were wearing jeans and dark t-shirts. Once Jaden left they headed for some bikes parked down the street and the engines roared to life. As she watched them pull out their vests and put them on, she realized something was very wrong with this picture. What the hell kind of situation could take eight badass bikers to pick up one kid from school? Whatever it was, her gut told her it was dangerous.
She kept her eyes open and looked around. Their principal had his secretary in his office. The blind flickered closed and she could see their silhouettes coming together. Jesus, he was married. God, just how much was going on right under her nose that she didn’t see.
She turned in time to see the scrawny boy who had been fighting holding a little girl’s hand as he walked her to her bus. She hesitated at the door, and he nodded to her. As he walked by, he made a punching motion with his fist at one of the boys seated near a window. The kid immediately looked away, but not before she recognized him as the one the scrawny kid had beat up.
She walked up to him and asked politely. “How long are you going to keep bullying that heavyset kid?”
The boy looked her in the eye before responding. “Until he stops punching little girls in the face.”
“I remember that now. He hasn’t done anything like that since. I think he learned his lesson, so maybe you can leave him alone now.”
“No he didn’t. He’d still be hitting people if we let him. She’s still scared so we take turns walking her to class and stuff.”
She tilted her head slightly. “I didn’t know she was still scared of him.”
“Anyone three times you size ever punch you in the face with his fist?”
She shook her head.
“Didn’t think so. Sorry, if you don’t like how we handle things, but sometimes a man has to step up.”
“Jaden teach you that, did he?”
“Him and his dad. Hammer’s teaching me to fight.”
“Wonderful.”
“He’s also teaching me when to fight. There are rules. You don’t just go popping someone for any little thing. You try talking to them first. Try to work out a solution.”
“It’s never okay to punch someone in the face. I hope you know that.”
“Jaden’s right about you not havin’ a clue.”
“Well I’m certainly getting clued in about some things today.”
“Sorry if you don’t like us.”
“I can still like you without approving of everything you do.”
She shook her head as he walked away.
Great, Jaden’s father was making a gigantic impression on her students and she wasn’t sure it was a good one. Still, what could she do about it besides continue to try to be the voice of reason? That sexy ass biker was getting to be a pain in her backside. She thought briefly of trying to confront him but thought better of it. He didn’t look like the kind of guy to tangle with.