Crowam 281 (4 page)

Would you believe it if I told you that the kid didn’t budge? Just kept reading that damn book. Boy was I peeved. I mean, talk about being rude. Here I was, making a complete ass out of myself to this kid. I felt like taking that book and chucking it right at his face. Boy, that would have made a scene. My first day here and I already was causing trouble. Wouldn’t that be something? But I was just too damn tired to start trouble. I just stared at the pale white ceiling till I dozed off.

That night sleeping, I didn’t hear a peep from my roommate. It was like he wasn’t even there. Or so I thought. I usually woke up around three in the morning, for some reason I didn’t know. Call it a habit I guess. I felt a strange sensation when I woke up. It was creepy as hell, to tell you the truth.

In the corner of the room, I saw my roommate’s face illuminated by the moon’s light, just staring at me. I jumped out of that bed like a crazy person. I nearly fell over and knocked my head on the front bed stand. I rushed to the light switch and turned on the light.

He was just sitting on his stool, with an eerie face. Like from one of them old photographs. “Did I startle you?” he asked.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m sorry if I startled you.”

“Why were you looking at me like that?”

“Like how?”

“You know damn well how. Like you were just now.”

“I like to observe my surroundings. I’ve never believed in wasting a night like this by sleeping. Just look at the moon. Isn’t it radiant?”

“Maybe you should be admiring the moon by yourself, pal. Why didn’t you say anything to me when I introduced myself before?”

“Again, my sincere apologies. When I read, I don’t like to be bothered. I like to immerse myself in whatever piece I’m reading.”

“What were you reading?”

“It’s nothing important. Nothing you will understand.”

“What does that supposed to mean?”

“It’s not an insult, I can assure you. My name is Thomas.”

“I’m Jake Hudson.”

“Ah, Jake Hudson. A pleasure to gain your acquaintance.”

I couldn’t believe my luck. I had the worst luck with roommates. First, my old pal Willy and now Thomas. Maybe there was such a thing as destiny after all. Maybe I was meant to room with jackaloons who have no social skills.

Thomas was the soft-spoken type. He had a small stack of books underneath his bed. I was never much of a reader. The occasional comic and nudie mags were all the “literature”
I
was into.

It was the middle of the night and I was all riled up. Thomas looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. “What are you here for, Thomas? You don’t seem like the troublesome type.”

“I’m afraid it’s a long story.”

“I got all night.”

“No really, not tonight. Perhaps tomorrow. We’ve accomplished much this evening.”

“We did?”

“Yes. We’ve formally introduced ourselves. Now we’re friends.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Don’t be gawking at me in the middle of the night like that again. “

“Again, my sincerest apologies, Mr. Hudson. It won’t happen again.”

“Just call me Jake. Here are the ground rules. Don’t touch my stuff. You stay on your side of the room, and I’ll stay on mine. And no gawking.”

“I believe you established that already.”

“Well I’m saying it again.”

“Fair enough, old chap. I am going to retire for the evening. Good night.”

There I stood in the middle of the room with the lights off while Thomas went to bed. I lay in my bed, shut my eyes, and pretended to be somewhere else, away from this damn place.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” I asked.

“Not very hungry.”

“Lost your appetite?”

“It’s easy to lose you’re appetite with this rubbish.”

Charlie dug his spoon right into Owen’s porridge, practically stuffed his hand with it. “Mind if I have some of yours?”

“What the hell are you doing Charles?” Owen yelled.

“What?”

“ You ask first, then you help yourself.”

“Sorry.” Charlie put his spoon down. “Can I have some?”

“No, you may not.”

“But you said you weren’t going to eat it.”

“I changed my mind.”

“Can I have just a little?”

“You fat bastard. You already had your serving.”

Charles looked at me with these empathetic eyes. I took a big spoonful of the stuff and shoved it in my mouth. I smiled at the fat bastard. He looked like he was going to cry. “It’s for your own good, Charles,” I said

“But I’m hungry.”

“That’s the problem. You’re always hungry,” Owen said.

“That’s not true. I was satisfied last night.”

“What, for an hour?” I said

“Can I just have a little?”

“You sound like a child,” Owen said.

“I’m not a child. I’ll be eighteen in six months.”

“You’re as mature as Winston Churchill himself. A true man’s man,” I said.

“You really think so?”

“Of course.”

“Oh, you’re just poking fun at me.” Charlie pouted.

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Oh, leave him alone.” From the corner of my eye, I saw my new “best friend,” Thomas, walking over to our table. What was this weirdo going to pull now? All I could think about was this kid staring at me in the middle of the night while I slept. The thought of it gave me goosebumps. “Mind if I join you fine gentlemen?”

I wanted to say no. I would rather watch Charles stuff his face with more porridge.

“By all means. Make yourself at home,” Owen said.

“Couldn’t find another table?” I asked.

“I normally sit by myself. But I thought it would be splendid if I had lunch with my new roommate.”

“Roommate? Well, any roommate of Jake’s is a roommate of ours,” Owen said.

“Thank you.” Thomas placed his tray on the table. He polished his fork and knife with his napkin. He positioned his plate and utensils like he was playing some sort of chess match, setting his pieces in proper order. He unfolded his napkin and placed it on his lap, then repositioned his plate and utensils.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m eating.”

“You call
that
eating?”

“I don’t understand what you mean?”

“Forget it.”

“Say, what is your name?” Owen asked.

“Thomas, and yours?”

“I’m Owen. You already know Jake, of course.”

“I’m Charles!

“Would you not eat with your mouth open!” I yelled.

Food just flew out of Charles’s mouth. “Say, Thomas, how long have you been here for?”

“Two weeks and three days, to be exact.”

“What goes on around on here? This is not your run of the mill orphanage,” Owen said.

“How do you figure?” Thomas said.

“Well, for starters, look at all the guards.”

“Maybe they’re here to protect us?” Charles said.

“From who, the boogeyman? Hell, the Bus Driver smacked Charley here in the face on the ride over.”

“It hurt too. My cheek is still red.”

“It’s not the first time a boy has been hit in an orphanage, Jake.” Thomas took a bite of food.

“Maybe. Say Thomas, you know anything about this Mr. Hugo guy?” Charles got engaged in the conversation.

“Not really. I haven’t seen him much. But the boys that have been here seem terrified of him.”

“Why?”

“I wish I knew. There are rumors of course.”

“What kind of rumors?” I needed to get to the bottom of this.

“I hear that Mr. Hugo was a former British Colonel who spied for the Germans, that he specialized in torturing and interrogating POWs and double agents. But I mean the worst kind of torture. Other rumors that he was a doctor who abused his patients, conducting unusual experiments liking removing their brains and putting them into animals.”

“Oh give me a break,” I said.

“I also hear that boys have gone missing, disappeared, never to be seen again.

“Disappeared?” I didn’t believe that. People couldn’t really disappear.

“Yes. It’s frighteningly odd, Jake. But, of course, they are only rumors. I try not to take such claims seriously.”

“By the way, you still haven’t told me why you’re here,” I said.

“You’re still curious about that aren’t you?”

“Yea,” I said.

“It’s quite embarrassing actually.”

“Oh come on, you’re among friends here, right fellas?” If I had to live with this kid, I needed to know what he was about.

“Do tell us Thomas,” Owen said.

“Well, if you must know, it was because of my grades.”

“Your grades?”

“Yes. I received perfect marks in all my classes. At the end of the school year, I earned a perfect score on my proficiency exam.”

“I’m a little confused, Thomas. You’re saying you were put here because you got straight A’s?”

“They thought I was cheating. I would never do such a thing. Of course, they had no proof. Nonetheless, that didn’t matter.”

“Looks like you got the raw end of the deal.”

“I suppose that is one way to put it.”

“You’re a smart egg, Thomas. Don’t let anyone tell you different,” I said.

“A smart egg? What on earth does that mean?”

“Brother, why do I bother opening my mouth.” The bell rang. “Alright boys, looks like lunch is over.” They escorted us from the lunchroom and out into the courtyard.

“What are you doing, Hudson?” Owen asked.

“Wait a sec.” I noticed something odd when I looked through crack of the window. It was a courtyard blocked off from the rest of the building, with high reaching cement walls surrounding the yard. I noticed some people standing in the courtyard. Funny thing is, they weren’t really doing much. They weren’t running around or playing ball or anything. They just kind of stood there. Some of them didn’t even have any hair. “Owen, take a look at this.”

“I would keep moving if I were you, Jake,” Thomas said.

“Just look outside for a second.”

“What are you doing!” one of the guards yelled.

“Just looking out the window.”

“Did anybody say you could look out the window?”

“Nobody said you couldn’t.”

The guard pulled out his billy club and slammed the adjacent brick wall with it, making a sharp clanging sound. “Are you being smart with me?”

Thomas got in front of me like he was about to take a bullet for me. “I’m sorry, sir. You see, he’s new here. He was just admiring the facilities. Why, we were just talking about what a fine institution Crowam is. Beautiful landscaping, wouldn’t you agree, Jake?”

“Uh, yea sure.”

The guard scowled at us both. “Just keep moving.”

“Yes sir, thank you.” Thomas shoved me away, making sure I didn’t open my fat mouth again.

It was a cloudy day outside. I leaned against the cement wall, admiring the grass and cement that made up the grounds of the courtyard. I watched some of the boys play soccer. Some of them were pretty good. There was this one kid that had a golden leg. He could have burned a hole through the net; he hit the ball so hard. Others were just walking around, starting casual conversations. I walked over to Thomas, who was reading the same book by Dickens. “What did you do that for?”

“Do what?” Thomas asked.

“What you did with the guard back there.”

“It was nothing, really.”

“Everybody does something for a reason. You didn’t get in the way of that guard for your health.”

“Jake. I don’t know what antics you pulled to warrant your stay in a place like this, but let me say, you are in over your head.”

“What does that mean?”

“If you haven’t noticed Jake, this is no ordinary school. Like you, I have my suspicions of this place. But the difference between you and I is that I also know when to keep my mouth shut. I can tell you, Jake, that Mr. Hugo does not tolerate the very behavior you deem satisfying.”

“Look, Thomas. I appreciate the advice and all, but this isn’t my first rodeo. I can take care of myself.”

“I’m sure you can. But just remember that your actions can affect those around you. Here, all your actions have consequences.”

“You and those damn books of yours. You think you must be some kind of brain don’t you?”

“I like to learn the ways of the world.”

“Sure, but you ain’t going to learn everything by sticking your head in them books. You gotta go out into the world, if you want to understand it.”

I noticed Charles trying to play soccer. The poor son of a bitch was waddling his way around the field, trying to catch up with the other boys. I felt sorry for the kid. He tried kicking the ball, only to fall flat on the wet ground. All the boys laughed at him. I gotta admit, I got a chuckle out of it myself. I mean here was this fat kid trying to play soccer like he’s a world champ or something. Owen was trying to coach him during play, but Charles was being all stubborn, as if he knew everything. The kid tried chasing the ball down the other end of the field. I thought the poor bastard was going to keel over right there on the spot. He got on his knees and puked all that porridge he ate for breakfast. Owen helped him up and brought him toward us.

“You alright, Charlie?” I asked.

“As you can see, Charles here is a fine athletic specimen,” Owen said.

“I don’t appreciate your sarcasm, thank you very much.”

“What happened out there?” I asked.