Chapter Seven: Subtle Pride — Part 5

Aside — Thick Oak Plank

Jynx has been waiting all day in the shadows of the school, pretending to attend classes while stalking Ted, learning his habits, and steeling her heart. After two weeks of observation, she has determined that Ted is a parasite, and must be dealt with accordingly. Far from feeling remorse or distancing himself from ChoCho, Ted has actually continued to converse with ChoCho between classes. Worse yet, Ted is stringing ChoCho along with apologies and sweet compliments, all the while getting ready to set him up for something worse. ChoCho, Jynx knows, is too stupid with lust to see what Ted is doing. She has overheard Ted brag to his jock friends about what he plans to do next, and she’s certain that the foursome around him have copies of all of Ted’s video recorded exploits. She knows that, as one person, she can’t take down the five of them. More importantly, the only person that she knows Ted has hurt directly is ChoCho. Today Ted makes a mistake. He invites ChoCho to go out hiking with him. ChoCho’s heart leaps, and he agrees, cautiously.

“Don’t worry ChoCho. Next time you come out with me, I won’t be so assertive. You’re just so cute, something about your tight little ass brings out the animal in me.”

“You’ll pick me up tomorrow then?” ChoCho asks, suddenly hopeful.

“Tomorrow, right after school.” Ted replies. “Just wait for me in the parking lot.”

ChoCho hears the bell ring and skips away, his eyes laughing with anticipation.

The butch boys laugh when they think he’s out of earshot. “I can’t wait to see what you do to that dumb ass next.” One of them says.

“Too bad his parents turned on him. Good thing for him he has ‘Good Old Ted’ to look after him.” Ted smiles that charming, sick smile that has somehow won ChoCho back for another round of abuse.

Stupid. Jynx bites her lips to keep from shouting it.

She has allowed time to let things cool down, allowed two weeks to see if the heat in her blood might settle, to allow Ted to push ChoCho out, but he hasn’t. She’s angry, because of this, and she wants to see Ted hang for hurting her boy. Of course, ChoCho isn’t aware at this point that he is her boy. He just knows that Jynx and him share a bed in a house where the parents are never home, and that the fridge is always stocked. He knows she’s been treating his wounds, to include draining the infections Ted’s bites have left on his body, keeping close to him, driving him to school, picking him up after classes. She has paid for his blood tests to make certain that Ted hasn’t exposed him to more serious diseases. She has done everything that ChoCho’s parents should have done for him except for one thing. She intends to correct that, tonight, having already arranged for ChoCho to have a ride back to her house.

She hasn’t tried to seduce him, just yet. For all intents and purposes, her warm body is enough comfort for ChoCho, and so long as he’s fed, he’ll feel safe. But ChoCho isn’t safe, Jynx knows. So long as Ted thinks he’s gotten away with what he’s done, so long as he thinks he can trick ChoCho into letting him do it again, ChoCho will always be at risk. Jynx wants ChoCho’s feeling of safety to be less illusion than it is. Part one of that plan currently involves Ted, a two by four, and Ted’s head.

Ted hears the crack seconds before it registers that he’s lying on the ground, stunned by a blow to the top of the head. Jynx kicks him onto his back, smacks him upside the head with the wood section again. She’s angry, but controlled. This, for Ted, is a bad combination, as he is merely disoriented and off balance. Before he can get his wits about him, he’s hanging from his ankles against the steel bar fence that surrounds his high school. Nobody is in sight. The attack has happened quickly and effectively. Bribes have been made, promises kept, the security and the police will be nowhere near for fifteen minutes, as Jynx has timed their rounds precisely. Jynx is in her native element, Ted is in her clutches, and the world is as it should be.

“Hey Ted.” Jynx says.

“Hey, uh, Jynn is it?” Ted says, his mind in a state of distraction.

“Jynx.” Jynx cracks him in the ribs with the post. “You’re lucky, you know.”

“What do you mean?” Ted says between coughs, knowing that his ribs are broken.

“ChoCho made me promise not to kill you.” Jynx says. “It’s why I brought a wood plank instead of a metal bat.”

“How sweet of you.” Ted counters.

“Stay away from ChoCho. Keep that little crowd of butch fags that hang around you away from him too. He’s mine now.”

“And If I say no.” Ted says.

“I break my promise to him.” Jynx says, cracking him in the ribs one more time for good measure. “I’m a killer, Ted. You or your friends go near ChoCho again and you aren’t safe.”

Jynx walks away, leaving Ted hanging on the bars. The look in her eyes has him too scared to talk. An hour later, a janitor will find him and cut him down, call an ambulance for him, which he will refuse. By that time Jynx will be at home, having dinner with ChoCho, trying to ignore his hopeful banter about Ted and their date tomorrow. Jynx had dropped out of school some time before, mostly because of people like Ted and the school’s tendency to look the other way. ChoCho can’t drop out, given his age, so he has to attend classes, and is forced into close contact with Ted. Jynx stays close to ChoCho the next day, making certain that Ted follows through on his obligations. The boys she knows only as the butch fags are all in sight, all cowed. Their eyes are dark embers set with hate and discomfort.

She’s watching the morning greetings unfold. Jynx is unseen in the crowd as the morning rush of school creates the usual distraction of faces and sound necessary for her quiet, obligatory surveillance. Ted approaches ChoCho like he always does, with his gaggle of cruel friends. Only this morning there is no sick sweetness. Ted’s eyes are bruised. His ribs are visibly wrapped under his summer mesh football jersey. When he approaches ChoCho, his walk is done with discernable difficulty. Instead of making comments that lead ChoCho on and cause his friends to laugh, Ted clears his throat, careful to say ‘Please don’t let Jynx kill me,’ but without actually saying it.

“I uh, have had a change of heart.” Ted says. “I don’t want to fuck with you anymore. Don’t talk to me.”

“But –” ChoCho starts up.

“Listen kid. You were fuckable, once. Now you’re just fucked.” Ted staggers off, his leg aching.

Jynx makes sure that she’s visible to Ted as he walks by with his friends. He’s too afraid to even make eye contact with her, and none of his friends even notice her. Jynx is relatively certain that his pride won’t allow him to tell his friends that she beat him up. She doesn’t bother to wonder what story Ted came up with for his friends. Once they are out of sight, Jynx walks up to ChoCho, who’s standing alone, in the middle of the sidewalk, crying openly. Everybody, staff, students, security, even the police officer that is passing by to collect a list of truant students, are simply too busy to stop and check on him.

People are ignoring him. Jynx thinks aloud, Typical.

“You’re going to be okay.” Jynx says. It sounds very matter of fact, and ChoCho is forced to believe her.

“I think we need to get out of the city.” Jynx says, when ChoCho stops crying. “Just you and me, for a couple of days.”

“We’ll take The Girl?” ChoCho asks, his interest suddenly piqued.

“Of course we’ll take The Girl. Let’s go home so you can freshen up while I pack a few things for the trip.”

Once they are at the house, ChoCho heads straight for the bathroom, closes the door, and starts washing the tears and snot from his face. He is oblivious of how hard Jynx has fallen for him. All he can think about is getting as far away from Ted and school and the city, getting some alone time out in the woods or the desert, or the scrub. He thinks about dropping out of school early, wonders if the truant officer will catch him, or how his parents will react when they are called about his absence on Friday. He thinks all of this until he is staring into the mirror, drying his face with a towel. He doesn’t stop thinking until Jynx and her reflection come in, placing an arm around his shoulders.

“We’re packed.” Jynx says, “The Girl is warm and ready. You want to go anywhere in particular?”

“I want to go nowhere in particular.” ChoCho sounds suddenly reasonable.

“I think we can arrange that.” Jynx says, leading him to the truck.

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