Storymania - Hero by John A Stowell

Hero
John A Stowell

Chapter 1

Detention. He was there yet again. Hero glanced at the clock on the far wall. 3:00. He sighed. Just another half-hour to go.

Hero Arkanbright's day started off with the same old alarm clock, the same old shouting match with his parents, and the same old freezing walk to school. He never had gotten used to the weather in North Dakota, having been raised in Florida for the first thirteen years of his life, the snow was a big change.

Hero's father decided that there was more out there then sitting behind a desk in Florida. Not to mention his oldest son had been getting himself expelled everytime he turned around, and he was labled as the town menice. So, after persuading his wife and two sons, Roger Arkanbright loaded everyone up, and left for North Dakota, where Hero's grandmother lived. His plan was to finish a Novel he had began and restarted several times, and stay with his mother till they found another house or apartment.

That was one year ago. Hero's attitude hadn't improved in that span of time, and neither had his like for the cold. His younger brother, Garret, who was four, seemed to love the snow and ice more than the rest of the family put together. Rodger Arkanbright was still toiling over sheets and sheets of paper daily, and still kept crumbling and throwing away whatever he started on.

"I'll have a money-making idea soon." He always said.

All in all, the only thing different in North Dakota for Hero, was it was cold.

Hero was about as troubled as a troubled youth could get without killing anybody, or getting himself killed. Not that his parents hadn't tried to help they're son. Quite the contrary. They had sent Hero to more than enough Councilers and Troubled Youth Meetings to turn anyone into a good boy. But it just didn't seem to be enough to fix there eldest son. Hero thought back on all the times he was caught stealing from a gas-station, or being brought home by the police for brawling in a public area, or being expelled for just about everything a fifteen year-old boy could get expelled for. It didn't improve his mood, or warm him up.

He got to school and stepped through the double-doors of Wimbleville High. He expected the day held many more problems that he couldn't solve.

He was right.

He would have never thought that He would have been called out in the middle of the school hallway, and that He would have been physically attacked by two people in the same five minutes.

He couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, if one of the two people would not have been a girl-(which one was)-He wouldn't be sitting in Detention awaiting school to be over.

He sighed and slid down in the deskchair.

                                          * * *

The person who had confronted him first was the girl. He saw Katrina, and her mood from a distance, and tried to avoid crossing paths with her. Which failed. Katrina had shoulder-length auburn hair that was almost always straightened, and fierce gray eyes that seemed to stair into your soul. She was really a pretty girl, and was one of the only girls he had seen who actually looked good in glasses.
Hero stopped in the middle of the hallway with boys and girls pushing past him and grunting for him to move and get a life.

Katrina greeted him with the nicest salutation she could muster."I want my money, Arkanbright!"

At the sound of a screaming crazed girl, the hall cleared and left the two of them in the middle of a tight circle of 8th and 9th graders, hoping for a good fight. Hero decided to take the path of least resistence, and actually tell the truth for a change.

"I don't have it yet." He muttered while shrugging.

Katrina closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down and not to tear the object of her anger to shreds."Why don't you have it yet, Arkanbright?"

Hero shrugged again,"Didn't get around to it."

Katrina sighed and rubbed her temples."When did I give you the money you so desperetly needed? And don't you dare shrug! 'Cause I know you remember!"

Hero could see that the path-of-least-resistence wasn't working too well, and switched to plain old intimidation. He raised his eyes and looked down into the eyes of Katrina Homes, who was about four inches shorter than him."You, out of the goodness of your most gracious heart, gave me one-hundred dollars two days ago."

Katrina crossed her arms in front of her, not in the least bit intimidated."And you said you would have the money by-" She looked at the ceiling as if pondering on it, then she made a fake gasp and finished,"Oh yeah- today!"

Hero thought it to much trouble to change his tactic, so he just went with intimidation. He stepped up and leaned forward a bit so that Katrina's nose was about a inch from his own."And if I don't have your money, what're you gonna' do about it?"

Hero saw he had struck a nerve there. Katrina had actually been the first real friend he had had in his entire life. After moving from Florida, she was the first kid in his class to approach him and talk to him, sit next to him, and do projects with him. It was last year when they stopped being friends, and started being enemys. Noone, not even Katrina's friends, ever found out why the two of them had suddenly stopped talking to each other, But there were thousands of rumors to choose from.

Katrina held Hero's ice-blue eyes for a moment longer before shaking her head and looking away."I never thought one person could be such a jerk."

Hero smiled inwardly. The ball was back in his court.

He ran his hand through his black hair and smiled a cold smile,"Yeah, I know. Blows your mind, doesn't it?

Katrina tore her gaze from the lockers and fixed a look of stone at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but seemed as if she couldn't quite find the right words to say. Hero winked and made a mock kiss in the air at her.

She reacted a completely different way than he expected.

Without a word she flew into him. Hero had just put his hands behind his back to finish the mockery, and wished he hadn't. He landed on the hard carpeted floor with Katrina on top of him pulling his hair out. The cirlce of boys and girls began cheering her on.

The fight didn't last long. Being stronger, Hero flung her off and jumped to his feet."Whats your pro-" He stopped his word attack. Katrina was still on the floor facing the oppisite direction on her hands and knees.
The cheering had stopped when they all saw that her shoulders were shaking. Hero almost went to help her up. Almost. Instead he watched her slowly get up and turn to face him.

He felt as if he had just ran over a little girl's puppy. Her gray eyes were moist and brimmed with tears, but she had stopped crying.

Hero stuck his hands in his pockets."Okay, whatever. You win. I'll get you your stupid money tomorrow. Happy?" Not only did he think that was a little harsh, but he was also lying straight through his teeth.

Katrina didn't look at him. She just turned and walked away. Hero sighed,'what else do ya' have to lose?' He thought and started after her," Katrina, wait a second!"

She didn't turn around, but that didn't matter, because a huge hand clasped on Hero's shoulder and turned him around. He came face-to-face with the number '23' on a white jersey. He slowly looked up into the face of a guy who looked to weigh around two-hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle. He somehow looked familiar, but Hero couldn't think how.

The football hulk was glaring down at Hero with a dirty look on his face."I see you had a little run-in with my little sister."

Hero's heart stopped. Thats where he had seen this guy before! He saw him everytime he went to Katrina's house when they were friends. Her hot-shot football playing older brother, Charlie Homes.

Hero rubbed the back of his neck."I- Is that so? Right, I am sorry about that! Ya' see-"

He was cut off by Charlie picking him up by the front collar of his shirt and sticking his nose in his face."Haven't I seen you around before?"

Hero saw his life flash before his eyes. It didn't have a happy ending.

"No, I don't think so." He lied. "I mean, we do go to the same school so you might have-"

"No." Charlie cut him off. "I've seen you around at-" His eyes flashed with sudden recognition. "Your that kid who used to hang around with my sister!"

Hero immedietly started shaking his head in protest, but Charlie wasn't finished."I remember you now. She talks bad about you all the time." He frowned and cocked his head to the side. "What happened to you guys? I thought you two were like, good friends?"

Hero sighed, "Long story..."

Charlie flung him across the hallway into the lockers. The crowd had long since left when Charlie the Tank arrived. "Anyways," He said as he walked over to the gasping kid he just pitched like a baseball into a fence, "Doesn't matter. I'm just gonna' make you wish you would've stayed her friend."

Without thinking, Hero made a mad-dash on all-fours across the floor trying to put as much distance between him and the Mountain of a jock chasing him. He hadn't gone far when he hit a pair of legs. He looked up to see Mr. Spike, the Principal of Wimbleville High staring down at him. Hero blniked up into the eyes of the High School's favorite substitute teacher and Principal.

Mr. Spike sighed, "Arkanbright... Why don't I find it a surprise to be bumped in the leg by you, on your hands and knees, when I walk out of my office?"

Hero scrambled to his feet and shrugged. "Don't know, man."

Mr. Spike hated to be talked to as if he were a kid, and Hero knew that. The black Principal sighed a exasperating sigh and looked down the hall at the Jock trying to sneak away. "And where do you think your going, Mr. Homes?"

Charlie stopped and turned around. "Mr. Spike! How are today, sir?"

"Save the brown-nosing and get to your class!" Mr. Spike said with athourity. His gaze followed him till he dissapeared down one of the many halls.
He turned back to Hero, who was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "What is it this time, Arkanbright?"

Hero shrugged and muttered,"Got in a fight..."

Mr. Spike turned his eyes heavenward and sighed. "Another fight? Hero, you can't keep going on and on like this..."

"Just how am I supposed to go on then, huh? Seeing as how your the expert."

Mr. Spike stared into the the teenager's eyes. How could one kid get into so much trouble? He thought. "Don't make me Expell you Arkanbright...Again."
When Hero didn't react, he turned to leave. "Get to Detention, and come by my office after school."

Hero watched the african-american man walk away, then headed for Detention.

                                                              * * *

Hero was thrown from his thoughts by the bell ringing. He yawned and looked at the clock. 3:30.

He stood and grabbed his backpack and started for the door. He looked for Katrina
on the way to Mr. Spike's office, but didn't see her. Not that He knew what He would do if he had actually seen her. When he made it to the Principal's door, he took a deep breath, fixed on his most innocent smile, and breezed in. "Good afternoon, Mr. Spike." He began,"How was your day, pal?"

Mr. Spike was not amused. He motioned to the armchair oppisite him on the other side of the desk. "Sit down, Hero."

Hero narrowed his eyes, letting his smile form into his usual smirk as he sat. "So it's 'Hero' now, is it?"

"Could you just shut-up for once and listen?"

Hero shrugged,"Sure. Why didn't you just say that to begin with? Geez..."

Mr. Spike leaned back in his chair and intwined his fingers. "Now, why don't you tell me what happened today."

"If thats what you want. Your the boss." Hero said. "Okay. Katrina Homes... Do you know her?"

Mr. Spike nodded," Yes I do. She's a very intellegent student who looks to have a good future in front of her... Unlike some other students I could mention."

Hero knew who he was talking about, and grinned. "Sarcasm now? Wow... Guess I'm rubbing off on you. Eh, Mr. Spike?"

"Just finish."

Hero shook his head and went on. "Anyway, I asked Katrina for a little bit of money a few days ago- with the promise of paying her back friday-"

Mr. Spike nodded," Today."

"Man, Nothing gets past you." Hero chuckled.

Hero continued his story when Mr. Spike cast him a dark look. "So I used the money, and didn't get it back like I thought-"

"You were gambling?" Mr. Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hero shrugged,"Sorta'... It was a bet I had going with the guy who works at the Car Shop."

"Do I want to know what kind of bet?"

Hero shook his head,"No way."

"Go on, then."

"So I lost the money and didn't get back triple what I put in like I thought I would."

"How much did she give you?"

Hero shrugged once again,"Ahh, not that much... About a hundred bucks-"

Mr. Spike's eyes almost popped out of his head. "One-hundred dollars?!"

Hero nodded a nod that makes the person your nodding at feel like a complete idiot. "Yeah. Thats what I said."

Mr. Spike sighed and looked at the ceiling. "Just finish..."

"Alright, let's wrap this up... I lost the bet, therefore I lost my only means of paying Katrina back, so today she wanted her money, I didn't have it, she attacked me first after I uh..." His voice trailed off.

Mr. Spike frowned,"After you what?"

Hero had a look of confusion on his face. Like he didn't know anyone in the story he was telling. "After I said something cocky and kissed the air at her."

Mr. Spike frowned again. Was this a feeling of remorse coming from Hero Arkanbright? "Go on." He said.

Hero's eyes wavered from the place on the desk they were clinging to, and the look of remorse dissapeared as fast as it had came. "Then I threw her off me, and she was crying..." Hero frowned and finished," Then she left and her older brother showed up. And, you know the rest."

Mr. Spike sighed. "Alright Hero, here's the deal." He leaned forward and put his elbows on his desk. "I could put you in Detention for the rest of the month-"

Hero began nodding and smiling, but Mr. Spike continued."Or, I could Expel you for the rest of the month."

Hero ran his hand through his shaggy black hair."Please... Don't expel me again. I don't think my parents would uh..."

"We already tried putting you in with helping the mentally challenged, but you acted as if you didn't know what you were talking about and confused everyone present."

Hero had to nod in agreement on that perticular punishment. The kid's left dumber than when they came.

"But," Mr. Spike began again,"I don't think I'll do any of those things to you."

Hero stood up,"Great. Ya' know, your my favorite Principal in the whole country. Goodbye now." He started for the door, but was halted.

"Get back in here!" Mr. Spike said in a raised voice loud enough for a few kids down the hall to hear. "Your not getting off that easy."

Hero came back and sat down again.

Mr. Spike smiled," I think we'll try to hit you where it hurts this time."

Hero blinked,"Okay... I'm not likin' this. What're you talking about?"

Mr. Spike rubbed his chin. "As you know, the school does a free book give-away every year for the orphanages and the homeless-"

Hero's mouth dropped open,"Ooooh No, no, no, no, no, no..."

"-People. And we're looking for volinteers to help with it."

Hero stood up and laughed a nervous laugh,"haha! Well, uh, good luck finding them!"

"Sit down, Arkanbright!" Mr. Spike shouted.

Hero was so stunned he obeyed the command. Mr. Spike stood up this time."It's tommorow at 5:00. I'll look forward to seeing you-" He walked past Hero and patted him on the shoulder,"And so will all those poor orphans and homeless people. Now," He motioned to the door. "You can go."

Mr. Spike listened to Hero leave and walk down the hall. He heard a crash, and a younger boy begin crying. then,"Well if you'd stop staring at my face, I wouldn't've knocked you outta' the way, Kid!"