T.B.F.V.

CHAPTER THREE

Levi was sitting on his bed, frowning. There was a newspaper in front of him. Birds were chirping outside. It was only noon on this Saturday. The newspaper read “SCHOOL SHOOTING ROCKS CITY – NO DEATHS”. He looked up from the paper and stared at his trench coat, which was sitting draped over a chair. He stared at it, until he forgot that there was even a paper in front of him. Then he suddenly snapped back to reality and turned his attention towards the paper.

“SCHOOL SHOOTING ROCKS CITY – NO DEATHS

Early yesterday in the morning, while most of us were just arriving at work, Rick Metzler and Tim Barnes were loading their guns. The boys were both wearing trench coats, which initially hid the firearms. They had set off two bombs, which did little damage. After the bombs went off, the two boys pulled out TEC-9’s and began to shoot random students. 12 students were wounded in the shooting. Many people are left wondering, “why?” Why would two boys who had so much love in their families and who had futures commit such a heinous crime? Many turn their attention to music. The two boys were in fact avid listeners of several Goth bands. The lyrics are filled with hate and vulgar language. Many people are laying blame on these things.

We are thankful as a community that no one was killed. Many give thanks to a certain Danny Philps, who convinced the boys to put down their guns. Why can’t there be more kids like Danny?”

Levi’s eyes unfocused and when they refocused he saw that the article was a lot longer. He wasn’t in the mood to read about it anymore. He had been there. He had been accused of being a part of everything. He was tired of hearing about it. Now what would he do with his Saturday? Maybe he would just finish reading… Suddenly, Chip burst in through the door.

“Paper!” he growled.

Levi was silent as Chip snatched the paper from him.

“Hey! I was reading that!” came his delayed cry.

“Well, too bad. It’s my turn to read it now. Bye loser.”

Chip closed the door as Levi went to his computer. He booted up a game called “Doom” and stared intently at the screen. From the living room Chip could be heard yelling at the paper.

“ARG. What a stupid little bitch! ‘Let’s all praise Danny!’ ‘Oh, I love you Danny!’. What is wrong with these people!?”

He threw the paper on the floor. It met old fast food cups and other trash. He bent over in his chair and sighed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Abruptly he got up and went to the kitchen counter. He grabbed a pair of keys and stomped out the door.

“Got to get out of here,” he mumbled to himself. “Hell.”

---

On Monday morning, Danny helped in the labs, Roald wrote in the library, and Levi was telling Chip to hurry or they’d be late. Everything was back to it’s usual. A small riff in the system hasn’t drastically disturbed the future. At nine o’ clock the students were herded into the gym. Levi looked around for an easy place to sit, but the most easily accessible was a seat by Roald. He sat next to him without looking at him. A few minutes later Chip ran in. By this time there was nowhere else to sit, accessible or otherwise, besides next to his brother. He plopped himself down and gave his brother a death glare. They turned their attention to the center of the gym. A makeshift stage was set up and there were four chairs atop it. The principal was approaching the microphone.

“Welcome students and faculty. As you all know, last Friday there was a shooting in our very halls, but I am proud to report that no one died and very few were injured. We are here to celebrate Danny Philps. Without his heroic efforts, more people may have been injured. Without further ado, here is the hero himself.”

“Hello my fellow peers. I would not call myself a hero. I did what anyone of you would have done.” Chip scoffed from the bleachers. “All they wanted was someone to listen. All of those troubled kids just want someone to listen.” Chip sneered. “It is up to all of us to help protect out fellow student.”

Chip laughed and then tuned out. Why don’t they just make a holiday dedicated to Saint Danny? And then we could follow him around and do his bidding. All of the girls will be falling at his feet. ‘Oh we love you Danny!’ Three cheers for Danny! Psh, why couldn’t he have been shot? If only Rick had told me… He grinned to himself before scanning the faces in the gym. They were all focused in his direction. Chip caught the words “Trench Coat Mafia” and knew that he was now forever associated with it, more so than before. His brother caught the eyes as well and tried to concentrate on Danny. Roald didn’t catch the eyes, but either way he was trying to blend in with the bleachers. Maybe he could just disappear? This was doing nothing for his story.

---

After the assembly, Chip was stopped by Mrs. Stevens. “I.S.S. room. Now.”

“But I didn’t do anything!”

“No arguing, I’ll be up in a couple of minutes. Now go!”

He growled, but begrudgingly made his way to the room. When he got there the desks were arranged in a circle, and there was more sunlight than usual. Roald was already sitting at a desk, writing furiously in his notebook. Chip took a seat and within seconds his brother arrived. Chip forgot to glare at him, so Levi took a seat next to him. There was silence and the only sound was Roald writing. Several minutes passed by and he took a loud and large intake of breath. Chip jumped.

“Hey freak, next time try not to suck all of the air. I need some.”

Roald remained quiet, but put his things away as Mrs. Stevens arrived with Danny. He stood proudly and she put a proud hand on his shoulder.

“Excuse me boys,” she began. “As a result of Friday the administration has asked that Danny work with you.”

“Work with me?” growled Chip.

“Work with you all,” she replied, trying to remain pleasant.

“But we didn’t have anything to do with Friday!” Came a small whine from Levi.

“Yeah, and we didn’t do nothing wrong!” joined Chip.

“Yes, yes boys we know. But the board would feel better if you spent more time with Danny. Danny? I think you can take it over from here, I’ll get some lunches.”

“Thank you Mrs. Stevens, but you really don’t have to.”

“Oh, but I want to Danny.”

She left the room and it was filled with an awkward air. Danny was still standing at the front, smiling. It almost appeared as if he was radiating the extra light.

“Well, I’ve been told that everyday for lunch you are to come here. We’ll just do some talking… play games. It just depends on what you all want. Now I think to start off we should get to know each other better. I’m Danny Philps, a junior, and I really like helping people, but don’t think that’s all I do. I also like playing computer games. Chip?”

“I’m Chip and I hate this room.”

“What grade are you in, Chip?”

“Senior.” He stared at the desk.

“Levi?”

“I-I’m Levi. I’m a freshman… I really like computers.”

“Well, good!” exclaimed Danny. “Roald? Would you like to share?’

He shook his head no.

“That’s fine.”

The three boys sitting were praying that this would be over soon. There are better things in life, and this room is definitely one of the worst.