Chapter three: Meet Steve

Daniel came into the cafeteria after cleaning up the pee stained hall way, grabbed some food and than slammed it down on the table across from Steve.

Steve was Daniel’s only real friend and they had been friends since they were little.

“You know if you stopped pulling all these pranks you might not be so mad all the time,” Steve said as he chowed down on another cupcake.

Steve was well round or fat if you want to call it. He had a round face, big round eyes and a round belly. He had carefully combed blond hair and blue eyes to match. Steve’s hair was his pride. He shampooed, conditioned and combed it ever so carefully.

“Why would I want to do that?” said Daniel. “Hedges isn’t so tough. I can take whatever he can dish out.”

“I’m not saying you can’t but you might be a lot happier if you just stop causing so much trouble.”

Steve wasn’t one for taking chances. He had some of the best grades in the orphanage and it was surprising that he would be friends with Daniel. Steve didn’t take any chances and liked to stay below the radar. He occasionally got caught up in Daniel’s pranks but Daniel always stuck up for him. It was the only reason they had become friends in the first place.

Steve’s had died along time ago in a construction accident and his mother was so over come with grief that she took her own life. Steve didn’t have any family either. Instead of taking the route that Daniel had taken and causing pranks Steve focused on his college and dreamed of becoming a lawyer or a doctor and making something of himself.

Steve met Daniel when he had first got there. An orphanage can be a tough place and Steve didn’t make friends easily. Steve became an easy target for some of the kids. One particular day, three kids were calling him names and pushing him around.

“Hey fat kid why don’t you talk back,” said one.

“Yeah do you miss your mommy you like dork,” said another.

They pushed Steve into a mud puddle and started kicking him mercilessly.

“Well your mommy isn’t here now,” the kids chanted.

“Hey, leave him alone!” Daniel yelled.

He came strolling up with his fists clenched.

Daniel was a trouble maker but it didn’t mean he wasn’t a good person and knew what was right from wrong he just had a blurred line between the two sometimes.

“I said leave him alone,” Daniel said again.

“And what are you going to do about it?” one said.

Daniel’s clenched his fists even tighter and before he could realize what he was doing he had charged into the nearest boy bringing him to the ground. He landed a couple punches on the bully’s head and chest before one of the other boys came from behind and hit him on the side of the head. Daniel fell to one side and grabbed one of the other bully’s legs at the same time and bit down hard into it. The bully tried to shake Daniel off but he had already unbalanced him and sent him crashing to the ground. Daniel was up in a flash and side stepped the third bully tripping him at the same time sending him on top of his friend.

The bullies all got up slowly called some names and than trotted off somewhere else to lick their wounds.

Steve has sitting up now covered in muddy water while trying to fight back tears.
“Hey it’s alright,” said Daniel.

Daniel plopped down next to Steve.

“Don’t let those jerks bother you,” said Daniel. “We all miss our parents sometimes. There is nothing wrong with that.”

“Thank you,” Steve sobbed.

“Hey don’t worry about it. So what is your name?” said Daniel.

“It Steve,” he said trying to calm down.

“Well my name is Daniel,” Daniel said. “Your new hear right.”

“Yep,” Steve said burying his face into his arms as he leaned on his knees.

“Hey I’ll show you around and teach you how to deal with these guys. Most of them are all talk. All you need to do is act calm, stay cool headed and most of them will leave you alone,” said Daniel.

This was back when both of them were just ten-years old and they had stayed friends since then. Daniel kept people from picking on him and Steve helped Daniel with his class work. If it wasn’t for Steve Daniel would probably still be in the eighth grade. Daniel wasn’t dumb, but he got bored easily and Steve helped him focus.

So there they were six year later like always. Sitting at down at lunch in the cafeteria and discussing what Water Pail was going to do next to Daniel.

“What do you think he is going to have you do this time?” said Steve.

“I don’t know but when I decided to do this I didn’t think I would be cleaning up pee afterward. I can’t get the smell off either,” said Daniel.

“I was wondering what that smell was,” said Steve holding his nose.

“Well I don’t. I’ll think of a way to get back at him. It wasn’t may fault that stupid janitor ran into the room and slipped on pee and brought half of the kids in the hall way down with him,” said Daniel.

“If you didn’t drink three quarts of blue food coloring before the urinalysis none of this would have happened at all,” Steve replied.

“How else and I supposed to kill time around here?” asked Daniel with a sinister grin on his face.

“I don’t know maybe you could try studying?” Steve asked sarcastically.

“I do fine,” said Daniel. “I don’t care about all that stuff. Besides I’m just killing time in here. You’ll see I’ll make something of myself and be a big shot.”

“I’ve heard that before,” Steve said again sarcastically.

“What you don’t…”

Daniel was cutoff in mid sentence to the sound of feedback over the intercom system in the cafeteria.

“Daniel Smyth please report to the headmaster’s office at once,” said the scratchy distorted voice.

“What for? I didn’t do anything else yet,” Daniel said pushing his tray away and getting up. “Damn it and I like sloppy joe day.”

Steve sat silent with a spoon of mashed potatoes in his mouth as Daniel stormed off across the cafeteria slamming the double doors leading into the hall way against the wall as he left with a loud THUD!