Silent Sanction: A Novel

by Joseph D'Antoni

  After listening to Wade, Mr. Pete interjected, “There may be another way. There are some things going on with Janelle that could be coming to a head outside of school. I can’t get into those with you, but her situation with the school may be changing. For now, you will have to continue your pattern of avoidance with her. Hopefully things will work out for you.”

  As the meeting was ending Wade turned to Mr. Pete and asked, “What if I had told you I wanted to be with her?”

  Mr. Pete replied, “I would have wished you well on your journey. You see life is all about the decisions you make and the consequences of those decisions.”

  The meeting ended with Wade realizing the importance of his decisions and the consequences of those decisions. He knew there were factors he couldn’t control, but he understood the importance of taking responsibility for those he could. He also felt a new combination of relief, trust, and power as he fully realized that Mr. Pete was going to try to help him work his way through this serious problem but wasn’t going to try to fix it or tell Wade what to do. Mr. Pete wasn’t going to punish him or intervene outside the office. He remembered the words of Mr. Pete in previous sessions, “You don’t get to choose your parents. You can only make choices about how you live your life.” Wade learned valuable lessons about trusting others and about how serious consequences can be when poor decisions are made.

  Still, Wade was not safe yet. He basically had to disappear from all of the places where he usually spent his time.

  Two months later, Wade heard from a friend in his math class that two plain clothes detectives were waiting outside of Janelle’s history class. When class was over, Janelle was arrested and lead to their unmarked dark blue car in handcuffs.

  In addition to two alleged murders under investigation, Janelle was also suspected of kidnapping. Some months later he heard that she was found guilty of most of the charges against her, including the murder charges. She was sentenced to two 23 year consecutive prison terms totally 46 years. Wade thought his relationship with Janelle was now in the past forever. Little did he know that an unwelcomed messenger from her would appear in his life several years later.

  8

  Wade was approaching the end of sixth grade at Westbrook and was fully expecting to continue at the school the next year. As required of all students, he took the same battery of tests he had taken to get in. His year-end test results were in, and a meeting was set up with Wade, his parents, and Mr. Pete to go over them.

  The results were all positive, particularly in areas of former deficiencies. On most tests, Wade made a one or two year increase in grade level. His parents had also had several sessions with Mr. Pete and had come to like and respect him. They were all eager to hear about Wade’s next year at Westbrook, so they were not ready for Mr. Pete’s words as he began the meeting.

  “I’m going to tell you something that you may not be expecting. Based on Wade’s test results, we have decided that he is ready to go back to a regular school curriculum.” He continued, “As much as we like having Wade here, and have admired his growth and progress, both as a person and academically, it’s now our job to get him back in the regular school system.”

  Wade’s father sounded confused. “It seems to me you’ve just started to make headway with Wade, and now you’re asking him to leave. I believe Wade is still on that probationary list and can’t go to a Catholic school.”

  “Wade’s test scores demonstrate that we’ve done our job in getting him back on track. You’re correct that he probably can’t go to a catholic school from here. You have several options within the public school system.”

  Wade and his parents were completely taken aback. They simply had not seen this coming. The room was oddly quiet. The outburst Wade expected from his mother did not come. As she sat quietly, his father said, “What are our options?”

  Mr. Pete replied, “There are a couple of alternatives. There are three public schools in the general area where you live. I’m assuming Wade will be moving back home?”

  Wade and his parents all nodded yes.

  “Of the schools in your area, you might consider Monroe Jr. High. It has a pretty good academic reputation, an excellent football team, and there is very limited gang activity around the school.”

  Pete added, “I also happen to have gone to school with the football coach. In several of our sessions, Wade indicated his interest in sports that Westbrook doesn’t offer, particularly football. We’re not set up for league sports at Westbrook, as you know; perhaps that might happen sometime in the future. Monroe, on the other hand, has a top notch football coach, and the school came in either second or third in the city.”

  Mr. Pete went on, “Even without knowing whether you’d have any interest in Monroe, I took the liberty of contacting my long time friend Coach Baxter. He said the team was not only looking for good players but that he would very much like to meet Wade. I told Coach Baxter I would pass along this information to you.”

  Mr. Pete handed Wade a piece of paper with Coach Baxter’s phone number. “You might also consider Freeman Jr. High, which is a little further away from your home. They also have a good academic reputation. Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone from Freeman School who might help you. However, if Freeman is a school that interests you, I would be pleased to make some inquiries.”

  Wade’s mother commented, “Maybe playing football will keep him out of trouble”

  “I’m sure Wade will do fine,” Mr. Pete said.

  Wade’s father looked doubtful. “We had our hopes set on Wade staying at Westbrook another year, perhaps two years.”

  “I understand that, but I think Wade has made tremendous strides while here, both in his personal development and academically. The concept of our alternative school and its charter is not to be long-term unless the student requires continued help. Wade has responded to our approach and by all indications is ready to continue life in a regular school. He is ready academically and psychologically for the regular school system and will do fine.”

  Looking intently at Wade’s parents, he went on, “It’s important that he receive some support on the home front as well. We have discussed this at length in our sessions this past year. My door will always be open to Wade, and if any of you have questions or want to discuss issues as they come up, please call me.”

  Mr. Pete rose from his chair. “I wish you the best. And, Wade, please don’t forget to check in with me from time to time. I’ll be following your progress through Coach Baxter if you choose to go to Monroe.”

  Wade moved back home with his parents. He also called and arranged a meeting with Coach Baxter at Monroe, and there was an instant rapport between them. Coach Baxter was not at all like Mr. Pete. Baxter was a former marine drill sergeant who had come up through the ranks to be an officer. He was the son of a career Marine father and was all about discipline and conditioning. In their first meeting, after talking about the upcoming football schedule, school rules, and the like, Coach Baxter told Wade, “Everyone competes for a position to play on this team, even seniors. Nobody gets a free ride. If you come into my program you’ll work your ass off – harder than you’ve ever worked in your life. We start practice for the next season in early summer and go until school starts. Practice on most days in the summer is twice a day. If you have a girlfriend, hobby, like to go fishing, or like to go on vacation trips with Mommy and Daddy during the summer, you need to forget about making this team. If you screw up with grades in school you’re off the team, period. If you want to chase girls and party, then go out for the volleyball team, not football.”

  He frowned and his eyes scanned Wade’s upper body, “You look a little skinny and flat-chested to me. I want to see you get in the weight room as soon as possible if you come here.”

  The coach paused, and his tone changed. “Look, if you’re up for my program I’d love to have you. I just need your full commitment. Let me know by next month what you decide.”

  He stood up to shake W
ade’s hand; the meeting was over.

  As Wade walked out of the Coach Baxter’s office, he passed the weight room and smiled as he saw himself among all the guys seriously working out.

  Because he was so impressed with Coach Baxter, Wade knew he wanted to go to Monroe. He could hardly wait to sign up for football. Wade moved home, registered at Monroe and spent most of his summer in the weight room, at football practice and started school in the fall.

  Life at home seemed different. There was less yelling and screaming. In particular, his mother’s outbursts were less intense and more infrequent. Her health had also started to decline. From drinking, chain smoking and a host of other bad habits, she had developed diabetes, and liver and kidney problems. She had trouble getting around and confined herself to the house.

  The parent sessions with Mr. Pete may also have helped Wade’s mother achieved a quieter state. She was more peaceful and easier to be around. Wade’s father had received a regional promotion and was travelling more. With his mother in bed most of the time, Wade largely had the house to himself. The quieter environment allowed him to study and prepare school papers.

  Coach Baxter, like Mr. Pete, became an important part of Wade’s life, but in a very different way. The coach was tough, and prone to yelling if you made a mistake. Baxter had a muscular, marine combat-ready frame. He was not shy about getting on the line with the players without a helmet or any protective equipment – and slamming them into the dirt in order to demonstrate a point.

  Thanks to hard workouts on the field and in the weight room, Wade was becoming more muscular, and he also became mentally tougher during this junior high period. His academic grades were very respectable, averaging B’s and high C’s. He excelled in football, making first string on the varsity squad his first year. He maintained that position throughout his two years of junior high school.

  More than one female student was interested in Wade. But other than friendly conversation and the occasional date, Wade showed little interest in potential relationship opportunities. Coach Baxter required his team to scrimmage with older high school teams, and those were brutal contests for the younger and smaller junior high team members. It hardened them long before their regular games against other junior high schools.

  Wade’s admiration and respect for Coach Baxter grew steadily. Coach Baxter’s respect for Wade grew as well. He admired the kid’s toughness and winning spirit. From time to time, Wade would ask for Coach Baxter’s advice on personal matters unrelated to football and “Coach” would give him straight answers.

  There were occasional fights between players in hotly contested games, but those were quickly broken up before they amounted to anything other than threats. There was some gang activity around the school area, but Wade stayed clear of those activities and people.

  The school sponsored dances on weekends, and those were especially fun when the team won. The dances were chaperoned by teaches, coaches, and some parents. The school also hired private security guards for the dances to prevent any problems from getting out of hand. It was in 8th grade that an incident brought Wade wheeling back to some darker times at Westbrook Alternative School.

  Wade had been dancing with a cute girl in his class. Two older guys Wade didn’t recognize approached him when the music stopped between dances. One of them said, “Someone wants to see you outside.”

  “Who is it?”

  “He knows you and just wants to see you.” The guy pointed to a side door where there was no guard. It was the door that led to the trash and delivery area of the building. These two looked liked tough gang members from outside the area. Wade turned to one of his big lineman teammates, who was dancing near him. Wade asked him to come with him to see the guy outside.

  His lineman friend said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  One of the two gang guys said, “He just wants to talk to you,” pointing to Wade.

  The two guys, Wade, and Wade’s friend went to the side door. Standing under the overhead light, there was a third gang-looking guy even older than the first two. Everyone gathered around Wade and the older gang member. The older guy was well built, taller than Wade, and definitely looked like a hood. He said, “I’m calling you out, asshole”.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t like you.” The guy said, “Just you and me; these guys will just watch.”

  “I don’t know you,” said Wade, starting to turn back to the door.

  “You know Janelle?”

  “I’m not sure I do.”

  The guy replied, “She says hello.” He continued, “Look man, if you don’t want to battle here, you know where Lafayette Park is, just a few blocks away?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll meet you at 10:00 pm.”

  Wade simply looked at the three of them before walking back into the dance with his friend.

  Wade never showed up at the park, but he was suddenly thrown back into an awareness of gang operations, and he felt certain they would try to follow him. He drove home in a roundabout way, alert for anyone following. Wade didn’t tell anyone about the incident at the dance. He designed and welded together a metal drop-down drawer that he had seen someone else make at a garage. The drawer served as a hidden compartment under the dashboard of a car. It worked by means of a hidden button which activated the drop-down mechanism when pushed. He installed the secret compartment on the underside of the dash in his '55 Chevy. He painted everything the same black color as the dash. The compartment could not be opened unless the remote hidden button was pushed. Wade’s metalwork job was excellent. The outline of the hidden compartment couldn’t be seen even on close inspection. Without anyone’s knowledge, for the next three months Wade carried a loaded .45 pistol that his uncle had given him in this compartment. The handle was wrapped in white surgical tape so fingerprints could not be identified if he had to use it. Wade’s early years of hunting and fishing in the woods and along the bayous of Louisiana were coming in handy now. He knew how to operate the .45 and wasn’t afraid to use it.

  9

  Wade couldn’t get the incident at the school dance and the unsettling memory of Janelle out of his mind. If she was in prison, he couldn’t understand her motivation in tracking him down. He wondered if she’d gotten out.

  A few weeks after the encounter at the dance, Wade was invited to have dinner at Aunt May’s house, which would mean he’d be near Westbrook School. He called Mr. Pete and asked if he could drop by that day.

  Pete said, “Sure, let’s meet at 4:00 pm.

  After some initial small talk about school and football, Wade told Mr. Pete about what had happened at the dance.

  “Did any of the guys use a gang name or call each other by name?”

  “No. . . I can’t really remember, but I don’t think so.”

  “Can you describe them to me?”

  Wade gave Mr. Pete a good description of each person, including build, hair, and clothing.

  Mr. Pete took notes while Wade described the gang members. Then he said, “I think I know who these guys are, but I want to do some checking with my police contacts to be sure. I believe they are from a gang around here.”

  “You were smart not to engage them. If this is the head guy, and I think he is, your confrontation would have been a fight you couldn’t possibly have won. First, the guys standing around all had switch blades or ice picks. The leader is an experienced fighter. He uses brass knuckles, caries blades, and also wears a pistol behind his back in a hidden belt holster. There was no way you could have survived this fight. And if by some lucky chance you’d seemed to be winning, the other guys wouldn’t have just stood around watching. They would have come in, probably with knives. That group is wanted for three gang killings right now. And they may have recently been arrested as part of a big gang war near Pontchartrain Beach two weeks ago.”

  “But how does Janelle come into this?”

  “If these are the guys I’m thinking about, they’re a split-off of J
anelle’s old brother gang.”

  “But what does this have to do with Janelle if she’s in prison?”

  Mr. Pete explained, “Janelle is in prison, with two consecutive terms of 23 years each, and she’s not getting out. But she’s still involved in gang-related activities on the outside. I think this was a sanctioned hit on you, or else a favor to Janelle from her old gang.”

  Wade said, “But why now? It’s been almost two years?”

  “People in prison have long memories and a lot of time on their hands. I don’t really know why yet, but I’ll do some investigating.”

  “Remember, you were here when Janelle was arrested. You were very close to starting some kind of relationship. She may think you turned on her and were somehow involved in her arrest. At any rate, I don’t want you taking matters into your own hands. If you see these guys again, call the police. I’ll alert my contacts there so your call will be taken seriously – in fact, call this number if you see them, or other guys you don’t know hanging around your school.”

  Pete handed Wade a piece of paper with a name and number.

  Wade chose not to tell Mr. Pete about the gun he was carrying in his car.

  Wade’s football prowess at Monroe didn’t go unnoticed. In the middle of his eighth grade his performance in two close games made the difference in Monroe’s winning and attracted the attention of John Metler, head coach of the football program at St. Johns, one of the large catholic high schools in the city.

  Coach Metler was also a long time friend of Coach Baxter and, unbeknown to Wade, both coaches had spoken several times about Wade’s performance and potential in the sport. Wade was approaching the end of his two-year career at Monroe and hadn’t given much thought to high school. It was near the end of the football season, and Wade was no longer looking at a summer practice schedule for Monroe. He had time on his hands to pursue his mechanical interests in motorcycles and cars.