Children Of Deurom

“Most people believe that laws are what separates us from the animals. And for the most part, they aren’t wrong. But the most important thing that separates us from the animals, is history.”  Mr. Johnson expressed, trying to keep his student’s attention. Aidan is relaxing back his seat, bored out his mind. History was never his strongest subject, he always found it hard to pay attention. As he stares at a PowerPoint of the Revolutionary War when suddenly, a paper ball hits him in the head.             Aidan picks up the ball and looks around, only to see his friend Ian, chuckling in the corner. Ian is a thin kid with a sort of baby face, if you didn’t know he was in high school you could never tell by looking him. Completely opposite to Aidan, unlike Ian, Aidan has short lighter black hair and has a more mature face. Aidan looks to see if Mr. Johnson is paying attention before tossing the ball back at Ian, throwing it a bit too high, barely grazing Ian’s brown hair. Ian subtly picks the ball of paper up and goes to throw it back. Halfway through the air, Mr. Johnson catches the ball of paper.             How’d he get over here so fast? Aidan thought. Ian looks at Mr. Johnson in shock.             “Aidan. Ian.” Mr. Johnson scolds. “Is tossing a paper ball really more important than learning about George Washington?”             “I wouldn’t say more important, but it’s certainly more entertaining,” Aidan replies sarcastically. The class chuckles in response.             “Both of you—” Mr. Johnson is cut off by the school bell ringing. Aidan and Ian slip off with the rest of the class and slip into the hallway.             “That was a close one,” Aidan remarks.             “I’ll say.” Ian and Aidan continue walking in the hallway when suddenly, something catches Aidan’s attention. A display case with a bunch of school photos and trophies, but also in the case was a sword. It was an old roman gladius; the blade looked brand new, the metal parts of the handle shined in the case. Aidan was drawn to it, completely mesmerized. “That’s weird, wonder who put that in there?”             “Mr. Johnson did.” Says a voice behind them. Ian jumps but the surprise snaps Aidan out of his trance, he turns around to see a new student standing next to another friend of his, Chloe. She begins to laugh at Ian’s panic, her emerald eyes showing a particular shine, drawing Aidan’s attention away from the sword.              “Christ, give someone a heart attack why don’t you?!” Ian exclaims.             “Sorry, I saw you guys standing here and figured I’d pop by.” Chloe looks at the new student and then back to Aidan and Ian. “I’m sorry, where are my manner? Guys, this is Joan, she’s an exchange student from France, she’s gonna be staying with me for a while.”             “It’s nice to meet you. Chloe has told me much about you.”  Joan greats, her French accent makes it somewhat difficult to understand her. She is rather short for someone who is supposed to be going to high school.             “Nice to meet you too, Joan,” Aidan replies.             “Welcome to the US of A,” Ian says jokingly. Joan merely looks at him confused.             “He’s welcoming you to America. Don’t pay attention to Ian, he’s a bit of a goof.” Joan nods in understanding. Aidan turns back to the sword, trying to figure out why he was so mesmerized by it. “Anyway, Mr. Johnson put it in there like last week. Something about the school’s heritage or something.” Chloe explains. “I’m surprised you didn’t notice it sooner.”             “Me too.” Aidan whispers.             “That dude irks me sometimes. There’s just something off about him.” Ian comments. The four students begin to walk out of school.             “So, you guys have any plans for tonight?” Chloe asks.             “Nope, probably just gonna head home,” Aidan replies.             “Actually, I was gonna see if you wanted to pop over for dinner, Aidan.” Ian invites. “My folks have been asking about you. I’m sure they’d like to see you.”             “Alright, sounds good.” Aidan turns to Chloe and Joan. “And what about you?”             “Lots of studying,” Joan replies, much to Chloe’s embarrassment.             “Yeah. Just a boring night of studying.” To Aidan, the answer was somewhat suspicious. He couldn’t explain it to himself, but something about the answer didn’t seem right. However, he merely shrugged it off.             “Sounds like a dull night.” A car horn is heard in the distance, a woman in a mini-van begins waving towards Chloe and Joan.             “That’s my mom,” Chloe explains. “We gotta go, Joan.” Chloe begins to pull Joan towards the mini-van.             “It was nice to meet you both,” Joan calls back. Ian looks back at Joan.             “She’s kinda hot.” Ian comments.                  “I guess,” Aidan replies, catching a final glimpse of Chloe’s swaying ponytail before walking towards Ian’s car. Aidan always enjoyed going to Ian’s house. His parents always opened their home to him, especially after his mother started getting sick. He actually stayed there for a while after she died, but once her affairs were in order he moved back to his house, but would still visit from time to time. Ian opened the door and did the usual call out to see if anyone was home.             “Mom? Dad?” No answer, probably still at work. The boys tossed their backpacks in the corner of the den and proceeded to sink into the couch and play video games. Ian was kinda slacking, constantly ignoring a call or text message.             “Who keeps calling you?” Aidan asks after Ian got them killed for the umpteenth time in Zombies because he ignored another phone call.             “My parents are making me go see this tutor,” Ian replies. “Guess they don’t get when they’re being blown off.”             “Apparently so.” Aidan restarts the game, the two finally get back to the game, finally uninterrupted. Ian’s parents came home and began cooking dinner while the boys played until they reach Level 49, the dreaded level. Something Aidan and Ian had always said they would do is make it to Level 50, but couldn’t get past 49. They would always come close but always ended up getting killed by the Zombie Overlord.             “Ready?” asks Aidan, wiping the sweat from his hands.             “Oh hell yeah, today's the day we hit 50.” The two played and stuck with their normal strategy. Since the level was essentially a deserted town, they would pick the smallest house, hide in the corner and mow down zombies until the Overlord appeared, then they would scatter and try and create some distance.             “New plan,” Aidan suggests. “One of us kinda mow around him while another one stays in the corner and blast him.”             “Sounds like a plan. I’ll stay in the corner if you want, you mow.”             “Deal.” They executed their plan, Aidan ran around the Overlord while Ian blasted it with a shotgun. Their plan was going perfectly. And just as the Overlord was about to die… another one showed up.             “Are you kidding me!?” Ian shouts.             “Keep it down in there boys, it’s just a game.” Ian’s father yells into the Living Room as the new Overlord rips Ian’s character to shreds in the corner, while the almost dead Overlord finally catches Aidan and pops off his head.             “So… frickin… close.” Aidan slumps in his seat. Defeated.             “Who would have thought that there were two? That’s not even right.” Ian remarks dropping the controller. Ian’s mother comes into the room, a smile on her face.             “Dinner time boys.” The boys shake their head, Aidan turns off the console and the two go to eat dinner. Aidan missed home cooked meals, he missed sitting down with his mother and the two talking about their day. The four sat around the table as Ian’s mother dished out dinner, lasagna. A particular favorite of Aidan's.             “So how was school today?” Ian’s mother asked.             “Pretty good.” Ian shrugs.             “Same old same old.” Aidan chimed in. Ian’s mother turned to his father.             “And how about your day, mister?” Ian’s father looked up from his dinner to his wife, after almost being completely immersed in his dinner. Ian’s father was a construction Forman, running his own business. Long hour days, lots of manual labor, even for the Forman.             “It was pretty good. New hires started today so I got a bit of a reprieve and got some actual paperwork done. How about yourself dear?” Ian’s mother, on the other hand, was a chef at a pretty nice restaurant. She used to waitress there when Ian’s father had just started his business, he had lunch their everyday. That’s how they met. Aidan was a bit jealous of the story. He never even met his father, none the less, knew how his parents met.             “A bit stressful to be honest. Javier quit during the middle of the lunch rush.”             “Again?” Ian asks unamused.             “Yes. Again.”             “How many times is that now Mrs. M?” Aidan asks.             “Well, this would make this, his… fourth time, I believe.”             “Hey, I’ll learn to cook if you wanna hire me,” Aidan replies. It’s been hard for him to find work having no prior experience, regardless he doesn’t really need the money, it’d be nice to have a bit more of it and stay busy at the same time.             “Sorry sweetie, but the owner would kill me if he knew I hired a 16-year-old to be behind the grill.”             “Worth a shot.” Aidan continues with his dinner. As Ian’s mother turns her attention to Ian.             “But… we do have an opening for a dishwasher.” Ian ignores his mother and keeps eating. Ian’s father tries to get his attention.             “Ian.” Ian looks up at his father. “Your mother was talking to you.”             “I’m sorry, what’s that mom?” Ian asks, his attention now totally on his mother, if it may be a bit unwillingly.             “I was saying, they have an opening as a dishwasher at the restaurant. I think you should apply.”             “A dishwasher huh?” Ian asks, unamused.             “It’d be good for you to get a job, you’re 17 years old. It’s time you started working anyway.” Ian’s father chimes in. Aidan sat there, eating his dinner in an awkward silence. He never liked when they did this. They would always try and get Ian to do something he wasn’t keen on doing and it would become a small argument before he said he was leaving and took Aidan home. But to Aidan’s surprise, that wouldn’t be the case.             “You’re right. I’ll apply.” Ian says, going back to his dinner. Ian’s parents sat there a bit dumbfounded that they had won so easily.             “O…ok then. Good.” Ian’s mother stutters. After they finished eating, Aidan thanked them for dinner and Ian drove him home.             “Can I ask you something?” Ian asks, stopping at a stop light.             “Sure.”             “Something like… kinda personal.” Aidan looked at his friend, a bit concerned.             “Of course.” Aidan notices Ian is tapping his foot, a bit nervous.             “Do you… like, do you like your living situation?” Ian finally asks. Aidan was a bit floored by the question. It was an easy living situation, Aidan’s older brother gave him money for the bills, food and some money just to throw around. All Aidan had to do was make sure the bills were paid on time and take care of himself.             “I mean… I guess. Not much too really complain about.” Aidan replies. “Why do you ask?” Ian began to grow nervous again.             “I was just talking to my parents ya know. And they're worried about Adonis not being around and...”             “And?”             “And they were talking about inviting you to… come stay with us.” Aidan was completely flabbergasted.             “Woah.”             “Yeah, I mean, we’ve been friends since the crib. It would only make sense. Our moms were friends after all, and Adonis is always away on business.” Aidan thought about it, it would be nice to be a part of a family again. With his mother gone and his brother barely around, it does get lonely. But was he really ready to give up his independence?             “Can I think about it?” Aidan asks.             “Of course. Just… let me know. We’re here for you man.” Ian pulls up to the driveway of Aidan’s house.             “Thanks for the ride.” Aidan gets out of the car, taking his bag with him. He and Ian give each other a quick fist bump.             “See ya tomorrow.”             “See ya.” Aidan watches as Ian drives away and makes the walk up the front porch. The house was surprisingly clean for its only occupant to be a 16 year old. Aidan tosses his backpack on the counter and takes out a metal kettle from one of the kitchen cupboards. He attempts to light it on the stove, but to no avail, no spark, only gas. “No again with this crap.” Aidan roars in frustration, slamming his hand down on the counter, to his surprise, the pilot roared on. He quickly turned down the gas and put the kettle on. He walks into his Living Room and turns the TV on. Sometimes it makes him feel like he’s not alone. Maybe he should take Ian up on his offer. It’s not like Adonis would be back anytime soon, he can’t even get a phone call out of him half the time. Aidan blankly stares at the TV when he’s interrupted by a phone call. He takes the phone out and notices the number.             “Hello,” Aidan answers the call, knowing his night was about to get a lot more interesting. It was a local fight promoter. He would call Aidan from time to time for boxing matches, a habit he picked up from his brother. The promoter looked past Aidan’s age in exchange for a large cut of his dues. Aidan didn’t mind. He did it for the competition above all else.             “Hey hey, Aidan.” The promoter loudly greets into the phone. “Listen, buddy, I got a last minute cancellation in the Heavyweight class--”             “Heavyweight? But I fight Light Heavyweight.” Aidan cuts him off. “And I barely fit into that.”             “Yeah, yeah I know.” The Promoter replies. “But you’d be doing me a favor and the payday is pretty good. Huh? What do you say? Can you get here in 30 minutes?” Aidan looks at the clock, 7:30, he could make it.             “Yeah, why not,” Aidan replies. “I’ll be there.”             “Thanks, buddy see ya there!” The Promoter hangs up. Aidan turns off the kettle and quickly runs into his bedroom and grabs a beat up sportsbag. He does the normal check and makes sure the lights and stove are off before running out the door.              Aidan walks through the back entrance of the gym, the musty air quickly inhabits his nostril. He tosses his bag on a bench which he could swear was about to fall apart and begins getting changed into his gear. As he begins to tape himself up, the Promoter walks in.             “Hey hey hey. You made it!” He almost cheers. He must have really not had a backup, he’s never this happy to see me. Aidan thought.             “I told you I was,” Aidan replied. “So who is this guy?”             “New guy from a different gym. Alejandro Martinez, undefeated at his old spot. Good luck kid.” The Promoter pats Aidan on the back and quickly leaves.             “d**k,” Aidan whispers to himself. Gloved up, Aidan begins to shadow box, trying to devise an attack plan. Undefeated. So he’s either quick or strong, maybe there’s the off chance that he’s both. This is obviously a squash match, I should stay out of his reach and just jab at him. I won’t win but at least I won’t get pummeled. A guy wearing a headset pops into the locker room.             “You’re up kid.” Aidan bats his gloves together and walks out into the arena. The stands were fairly normal, lots of empty gaps, this was a very small gym after all. That’s when Aidan got a look at Alejandro. He was a tall Hispanic man covered in tattoos, he was lean but still fairly muscular. Aidan notices him stare at him with discontent and whisper something to the Promoter. The Promoter shakes his head and responds to him but he’s out of earshot. When Aidan gets into the ring and in his corner.             “Alright, Gentlemen.” The Promoter begins. “I want a good, clean fight. Got it?” The two fighters nod their head. “Good. Then by the sound of the bell, you may begin.” The Promoter ducks out of the ring and the bell rings. Aidan holds out a glove to touch gloves, but Alejandro gets right to it and hooks Aidan in the face. Aidan puts his gloves up to defend but Alejandro's punches come heavy. Just like I figured, he’s strong. Aidan thought. He ducks out of the corner and begins to jab at Alejandro, landing a few hits, but Alejandro counters with a hard shot to the gut.             Aidan throws a few desperate punches before the bell rings. Alejandro goes to his corner and Aidan plops down in his. The more he stares at Alejandro, the angrier he gets. Bumping gloves are supposed to be a sign of respect, he used it to take a cheap shot. Aidan felt this fire burn inside him. He stood up, more ready than before, focused. As soon as the bell rung, Alejandro charged him and begin to throw punches. Aidan dodged all of them landing punch after punch to Alejandro's face and body. Hook after hook, Aidan was too caught up in the fight to notice that his gloves were starting to catch on fire. He landed a good hook on Alejandro and he dropped and rolled out of the ring. Officials came and began tearing off Aidan’s gloves, he was so full of adrenaline though he didn’t see why. But then he smelled it. What’s burning? Then he looked down at his hands, the top of his gloves on fire. He quickly helps the official tear off the last glove and runs to the back. Aidan throws the sink on and holds his hands underneath. To his surprise, he didn’t hurt. His wraps were burnt as well. But he was panicked, he tore off the wraps, grabbed his bag and headed out the door. He began walking in the alley when he heard a man’s voice.             “Hey, kid!” The voice called to him. Aidan ignored him. “Wait, hold up.” Aidan tried to walk faster but the man was in front of him now. He looked to be in his 40’s, short, slicked-back brown hair with a full goatee.             “Hey, I just wanted to see if you were alright. That was some fight, especially the whole… fire thing.” He calmly explains. Aidan didn’t know what to say, he was a bit touched this stranger came to check on him, but at the same time, he was in a hurry.             “I’m fine, now if you excuse me—”             “How’d you do that? The fire thing?” He asks. “It was a pretty cool trick--”             “Look, I appreciate the concern but I really need to leave,” Aidan replies, pushing past the man as he begins to walk faster down the alley. “Take care, Aidan.” Aidan turns back to see the man still standing there, he walks faster until he leaves the alley. It’s him alright. The man thought. No mistake about it…Rest now, Aidan. Our paths will cross again soon.