Centurion- Dark Genesis

by Christofer Nigro

  “Benny, I’ve known those kids you were having that altercation with since they were in middle school. You may not believe this, but they aren’t bad people at all. They just get stupid sometimes, as young people tend to. Not only that, but they have a lot of stress on them, what with the hockey team and the cheerleading squad taking up so many of their spare hours, and all the expectations placed on them…”

  “So, you’re saying I would be showing some good school spirit by overlooking what they do to me and Craig every day? That our agreeing to be the equivalent of a cat’s scratching post while they get to be the cats is a fair way for the unpopular to ‘bend’ for the popular?”

  “Benny, stop getting wise with me, you know I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “I think I heard what you meant loud and clear, Mr. Zach. Do you think what they do to me every day doesn’t stress me out? Do you think maintaining my website to showcase my writing in the hope of attracting a publisher after I graduate doesn’t put as much stress on me as their precious high school sports does for them?

  “Ohhhhh wait, I forgot! Those popular guys who have all the girls fawning all over them and treated like the royalty of the school because of their great ability to throw a ball across a field or knock a puck around a floor of ice are soooo valuable to this school! Certainly much more than someone whose talents lie in the power of the pen rather than the far greater power of the hockey stick, or the kicking foot. My bad!

  “So how do I deal with my need to let off steam, huh, Mr. Zach? Maybe go outside and kick the neighbor’s little brother around a while? I mean, that little boy agreeing to serve as my personal punching bag is the least he could do for an upstanding, stressed-out writer like me, right?”

  “Look, Benny, you’re feeling sorry for yourself right now, and self-pity is never a productive emotion under any circumstances. But more than that, you’re starting to smart off to me, so lose the attitude, go to your first class before it starts in a few minutes, and think things over. Or I’m going to be the next one to lose his temper on you.”

  “Fine, I’m out of here,” Benny said softly as he shuffled down the now empty corridor towards his first period class.

  I’m going to hurt them just like they always hurt me and Craig, he thought to himself as the twin inferno of rage and bitterness began consuming his soul like a gasoline-soaked rag put to a flame.

  Chapter 2: Escalation

  Benny trod down the mean streets of Buffalo’s Upper East Side after vacating the less-than-hallowed halls of Buffalo Historical School. He cringed at the sight of the decrepit houses dotting the landscape like oozing sores on septic flesh. To him, this rampant urban decay embodied a concrete manifestation of the corrupt social values engendered by the system that only encouraged the worst in humanity. He planned to one day put his revulsion towards the world order he lived under to paper (or its modern digital equivalent), hoping to do his small part to incite reform--or, better yet, a full revolution.

  His loathing of the system that allowed such decay in its architecture—which he felt naturally extended into the attitudes of the people who populate such an environment—was likely matched by his detestation of himself and what he believed to be his lot in life.

  Needing a sounding board to vent his usual frustrations, he pulled out his cell phone and typed a text message to Craig, asking why their situation should contrast so heavily to that of the ‘royalty’ of the student hierarchy.

  “Dunno,” Craig sent back in a text filled with all his usual misspellings and grammatical errors. “I not filosipher. Plz stop with big words ur killin me with them.”

  “You’re no help at all, dude, you know that?” Benny quickly typed and sent back.

  “i only cann tri,” was Craig’s snide response.

  Benny closed his cell phone with a huff of annoyance and continued the several block trek to the home he shared with his grandparents and uncle, just as he did each school day upon disembarking from the subway station. During his walk home, his thoughts were a morass of existential contemplation.

  Okay, I’m aware that nobody’s life is actually perfect. But compared to my life, it certainly seems that way. Why are the lives of people like Craig and I so low on the metaphorical rung of our peers’ social ladder? I hate self-pity, and I hate envying nearly every other person in that freaking school. But if almost everyone you spend five days a week with for nine months out of the year abhors the very ground you walk on, how can you not come to hate yourself just as much? How can I have confidence in myself when everyone else around me considers me a total waste of oxygen consumption?

  Why can’t the Powers That Be in the cosmos either strike me down, or offer me a major change in my personal status quo? What did I do in this life, or a past one or whatever, to merit this suckish existence? If there isn’t a force for Justice in this universe, can’t there at least be a force for Mercy?

  Benny finally had enough of feeling sorry for himself. Oh, geez, would you stop with the chronic internal whining, Lonero? You’re actually starting to annoy yourself here!

  Of course, whatever respite his home life may have given him from school was frequently diminished by the actions of his two well-intentioned surrogate parents. His relationship with them was heavily strained. After all, how can you support someone that you do not understand, even if you genuinely love them?

  Hence, Benny knew he had little to look forward to in the walls of the domicile he called home besides a warm bed and good dinner. In fact, he constantly worried over what may trigger another violent confrontation with his formidable grandfather.

  His psyche then became filled with fantasy scenarios illustrating the many ways he wished he could make those who raised him--but refused to understand him--suffer retribution alongside those who willfully misunderstood him during his life at school. Needless to say, Benny wasn’t exactly proud of many of the thoughts that comprised his daily internal monologues.

  ***

  As Benny entered the front door of his grandparents’ modest but comfortable home on Buffalo’s West Side, his grandfather, Dominic D. Lonero, stood in front of the youth with his patented expression of anger; it was a look that the distraught adolescent had grown to dread. Dominic wasn’t tall in stature, and in fact barely matched Benny’s 5 foot 6-inch height.

  However, his musculature was impressive for a man well into middle age, the product of over two decades of hard labor and beneficial eating habits. He had endured the tough streets of Buffalo’s less savory areas as he grew up, and it most certainly showed in every aspect of his being. The wisps of slowly graying black hair on his head which were all that remained of a long-departed coif only seemed to enhance the tough features and aura of menace that he exuded if you dared get on his bad side.

  “I heard the way you talked to your grandmother this morning,” Dominic said with a volatile tone. “You need to understand whose house this is, and how easy we could have you put away if you continue to act like this.”

  “Oh, yes, I forgot,” Benny replied with his usual acerbity. “If you provide for a child materially, he owes you the same deference that a serf owes the king for allowing him a few little tracts of land on his property. After all, it’s not like you actually chose to take care of me when I didn’t go with my mother, as if it was actually a responsibility of some kind. Nope, it’s all due to your good, altruistic nature, and nothing more. Oh wait, I forgot—you don’t have a naturally altruistic nature! My bad!”

  Benny moved to walk past Dominic, who stepped in front of him, barring his path into the living room.

  “Don’t be a wise ass with me, kid,” the burly man said. “You don’t appreciate anything we do for you. Remember, you need us, we don’t need you. So, you better watch it.”

  “I’m not economically dependent on you by choice,” the boy spat back. “If you and my grandmother gave me the emotional support I needed and didn’t think providing me with material necessities was all it took to be a good
parent or grandparent, maybe you would have earned my respect!”

  “We don’t owe you any respect! This is our house, not yours!”

  Benny struggled to hold back both his temper and his tears. “Look, please leave me alone. I had a bad day at school today, and I don’t want to fight with you again.”

  “Of course, you had a bad day at school. I know that nobody there likes you, except for that Craig screwball you bring around here. I don’t blame those kids for treating you that way, because I know how you are.”

  “Okay, that’s enough! Leave me alone, now!”

  Dominic grabbed his less muscular grandson by the left arm, squeezing it hard. “What did I tell you about giving orders in his house? I’m the boss, not you! This is my home, and you’re just a guest!”

  “Get your hands off me!” With that firm request made, Benny swatted his grandfather’s arm. Dominic then grabbed his defiant grandson and pushed him against the front door. This caused the adolescent to suffer a flashback of what occurred earlier in school with Mickey Judge and Jeff Wolfe.

  Finally losing his temper as a result, Benny grasped Dominic by his bulky shoulders and began fighting back, despite not being able to match the older man’s strength.

  “You better get your hands off me!”

  “Why? You couldn’t lick a stamp and you know it, you no good little bastard!”

  “Maybe you’d be happy if I just blew my brains out!”

  “Go ahead, you animal! Everyone in this house would cry for two days, and then we’d forget all about it! Do you hear me? You’re no goddamn good!”

  As the fight began to escalate, Benny’s grandmother and Dominic’ wife, Grace Lonero, came rushing into the front room, nearly tripping on the flowing gown she often wore during her leisure hours.

  “Alright, stop it now!” she yelled as she pulled the two apart. She then turned to her now nearly berserk grandson, careful to stand in front of Dominic to keep her equally fiery husband from striking down Benny where he stood. “Benjamin, are you causing trouble again? Like you did this morning?”

  “Yeah, you and my grandfather have such stellar personalities, anyone who gets into it with either of you has to be a ‘troublemaker,’” Benny answered with biting irony. “Only an ungrateful punk like me could possibly live in this house and avoid developing a severe case of scoliosis for not constantly bowing down before your gracious majesty.”

  Dominic then redoubled his efforts to get his hands on his grandson, prompting his wife to increase her restraining grip on him. “He’s no good, Grace! He’s an animal! Why don’t we just put him away?”

  Benny angrily turned and punched the front door, leaving a visible indentation in the wood. The degree of emotional pain that assailed his mind overwhelmed his recognition of the physical pain now afflicting his throbbing knuckles.

  “I’m out of here!” he said as he opened the door and stormed out.

  “But I’m making dinner right now!” Grace protested.

  “Give my portion to the birds outside!” Benny shouted as he huffed out of the front hallway.

  “You little son of a bitch!” Grace bellowed.

  “Maybe he’ll jump in front of a car while he’s out there!” her husband said.

  “Shut up, Dominic!” his wife yelled in the robust man’s face. “You can be a creative troublemaker around here too, you know!”

  ***

  Back at Buffalo Historical School, the lights remained illuminated in the gymnasium as Mickey Judge and Jeff Wolfe practiced after school for their hockey team with a few fellow members of the Icemen. Leah Stanton and her friend Marissa Robbins were also present, leaning against the bleachers as they offered supportive caterwauls to the players. The team had been doing quite well for the duration of the semester, and much of it was thanks to these two boys and their dedicated, skillful performances on the rink.

  The attractive smiles and admiration of girls like Leah and Marissa was another major incentive to good performance, of course. It was certainly one of the ‘major perks’ of athletic success and the accompanying social popularity, as Jeff often put it. Though the girls were themselves star athletes for the champion volleyball team that routinely made the school proud, the support they gave the boys was well reciprocated.

  “Shake that booty of yours down the ice and whack that puck like you mean it, Mickey!” Leah shouted with euphoric glee. “You’re lookin’ goooood, dude!”

  “Give those Hut Tek players hell on ice, Jeff!” was Marissa’s loud contribution to the supportive verbiage. “You’re so totally hot I’m surprised the ice doesn’t melt beneath ‘yo feet during a game! Haha!”

  Life seemed good for all concerned in this gym, and despite having the everyday problems that typically afflicted adolescents, their regular routine was one they greatly looked forward to. None of them knew what the future had in store for them, but they all felt that there was no reason why it wouldn’t be a bright one.

  As they ran across the shiny floor to practice their skills and stay in shape for the upcoming game against North Park, doing their best to simulate being on actual ice, Mr. Zach entered the gymnasium. He had to stay late for a staff meeting, and he wanted to take advantage of the extra time by having a talk with some of the school’s premiere students.

  Whistling with his fingers to get the small crowd’s attention, Mr. Zach motioned with his hand for Mickey and Jeff to approach him. The man then looked at Leah, who was still observing from the same spot at the bleachers, and he indicated for her to likewise come forth.

  “Hey, Mr. Zach!” Jeff greeted the popular teacher with high enthusiasm. “The Icemen are gonna kick some major North Park ass come the 4th of next month!”

  “Actually, Mr. Wolfe, it’s on the subject of ass-kicking that I want to talk to the three of you,” the bespectacled, earnest-looking man said.

  “Please don’t tell me you’re going to lecture us about Lonero and Minkel,” Mickey said with a roll of his eyes.

  Leah shook her head and uttered a very audible sigh.

  “Listen, all of you,” the math teacher stated firmly. “Is Lonero really so bad that you kids have to dislike him that much? I know he’s far from perfect, and that he can be irritating at times, but have you ever considered that some of his more annoying behavior can stem from his acting out as a result of the treatment you all deliver to him every day? Don’t you think he has feelings too?”

  “Mr. Zach, all Lonero ever does is act like a nerd everywhere he goes,” Leah said. “He totally brings that treatment on himself. And I don’t care for the way he looks at me, either.”

  “I see lots of the boys looking at you ‘that way,’ Leah,” Mr. Zach noted. “And this includes your friends on the team there. Yet I don’t see you crying harassment when they do it.”

  “That’s different!” she exclaimed. “They know how to earn a girl’s respect. Lonero and that friend of his are just… okay, I won’t say what they are, but you know what I mean.”

  “I can vouch for that,” Jeff added.

  “Seriously, Mr. Zach, don’t you think it would be more productive to give Lonero a lecture for the way he acts than the way we and others treat him because of how he acts?” Mickey queried with barely concealed contempt for the subject of the unwanted conversation.

  “I have spoken to him, Mr. Judge,” Zach assured the young athlete. “In fact, I’ve spoken to him more than once, including earlier today. I want you all to be honest with me here. Was he really to blame for what took place this morning? Or should all of you have gone to the office along with Mr. Minkel?”

  “Hell no!” Leah spat. “I sure wasn’t the one who ogled him up and down like some kind of perv!”

  “I was only trying to defend her,” Jeff said. “Does she have to put up with that, Mr. Zach? And do we have to put up with him and the Minkel Monster every day?”

  Mr. Zach frowned. “Miss Stanton, would you have gotten half as angry if you were ‘ogled’ by a boy you didn’t
know but whom you happened to find attractive? And Jeff, do you honestly believe that Miss Stanton here really needed you to play knight in shining armor, or was that just an excuse to pummel someone you dislike? And someone who also just happens to be an easy target, as well?”

  “I can’t believe you’re taking that little poindexter’s side, Mr. Zach!” Leah complained.

  “I’m not taking the side of anyone in particular,” Zach stated curtly. “Rather, I’m trying to take the side of honesty. No doubt Mr. Lonero brings the proverbial ax down on himself enough times in his wrong-headed attempts to get the type of attention he doesn’t receive legitimately, but you kids are often thought of as leaders of the student body. Is this how people who are supposed to provide positive examples for others supposed to behave?”

  “I can’t believe we’re hearing this,” Mickey said almost under his breath.

  “And I can’t believe I need to tell you this, Mr. Judge,” was the last thing the well-respected teacher retorted. “Try to show a bit of empathy for those you view as beneath your status in life.

  I just hope this doesn’t get completely out of hand, because you don’t need a math teacher to explain the statistical probability of things like this going very bad if you take it too far.”

  With that said, Zach turned and departed, hoping that the faith which the entirety of the staff had in this trio of well-liked students was merited.

  “Hmmm, I think I need to have a ‘talk’ with Benny-boy myself tomorrow,” Mickey noted aloud, with a heavy degree of ire evident in his voice.

  “No doubt,” Jeff remarked with a smile. “Need any help?”

  “None at all, but it’s still more than welcome,” Mickey replied. “It wouldn’t be fair that I was the only respectable member of the sophomore class who got a piece of him.”

  “So where is this ‘talk’ going to take place?” Leah asked with anticipation.

  “In the boys’ locker room tomorrow, right after the last class is over,” Mickey answered.