Dual Identity - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Friday September 4th 7:38 A.M.

“Hey, look there, Jimmy.” Ben motioned to the curb of the high school as the threesome approached. A sleek black SUV was pulling up, and behind the heavily tinted windows, you could just barely make out the outline of two people. “Want to bet that’s Amy?”

“Not really.” Jimmy said. “Because we both know it is.”

All three boys stood silently as Amy and her guide dog emerged from the vehicle, Blake shoving his glasses up on his nose nervously. It had been almost a week since she had arrived at the school for the first time and everyone still acted a bit shy about her. Her outburst at learning Ben and Blake’s full names only set them back more. Jimmy still hadn’t figured that one out yet. The only people who had seemed to break the barrier of Amy’s disability were Damien and his crew.

Jimmy could still remember just a few days ago when Damien had lashed out at Amy. She hadn’t said a word as him and his goons blocked her way. Then Mickey reached out to knock her books out of her hand and Priscilla grabbed her backpack purse and started going through it, no one around daring to do a thing. So Jimmy stepped forward and told them off.

“Hey, Holy Roller, you and you’re little friends stay out of this, or you’ll be up to your ears in trouble.” Damien’s face had been red as he yelled over the halls of the school, but Amy didn’t so much as flinch.

Later, as Jimmy passed by her desk, Amy stopped him. “About what you did today -,”

“Oh, it was nothing, I didn’t -,”

“I wish you hadn’t.”

That temporarily stunned Jimmy, but something in those sightless eyes a sort of pity – maybe for him – and a type of rage stirring just below the surface. Amy had signs of a temper, and Jimmy knew that if pushed too far, she was capable of probably a lot more than they thought she was.

Amy now said something to the driver, and then closed the door, standing for a moment as the SUV pulled away from the curb. She straightened her pretty shoulders and seemed to firm up her grip on her dog’s harness – just as the three stooges took center stage.

“Hey, Little Blind Mouse!” Jimmy winced as Damien Rodriguez boomed over the din of the street noise.

Amy paused in her step, but while hesitant, she held her head in defiance almost as if she was impatient for Damien to get on with his jeering and leave her alone.

“Can I help you with something?” It was a stated fact, no hint of warmth was even offered as Damien doubled over in fake laughter, his minions following suit.

Then the harsh sound was abruptly cut off when Damien leaned forward. “I don’t think that's possible.” He said, seething. “Because we need directions and that’s quite likely something you can’t help us with.”

“Likely?” Amy arched an eyebrow. “Quite. But not impossible.”

Damien gave a hearty laugh. “Ask a little blind mouse for directions?”

“So why did you bother me?” Amy asked, her southern accent smooth and sly. “Ya’ll so stupid you have to ask a blind mouse? I think you might find some in the lab. I hear the Seniors were experimenting on them last week. One should be blind by now.”

“Who do you think you are you little -,” Damien took a step forward, but Amy didn’t back down.

“You’re pretty tough with all your friends behind you.” Amy’s voice lowered menacingly and she took a step forward, her dog at attention by her side was taking in every move. “But let me tell you something, buster, the moment they take a step back I can give you some sure directions to the nurses office. Or maybe even the hospital.”

Jimmy’s jaw dropped. Was this 110 pound blind girl really challenging 230 pound Damien Rodriguez to a duel? A draw? A fight? Blake was cleaning his glasses off with his shirt as if when he put them back on he might see something other than what was unfolding on the sidewalk before them. In fact, it seemed as though half the school was hanging on for Damien’s next words.

“I could say the same for you.” He sneered. “What about you and your dog? You seem pretty brave with him behind you.”

“Maybe.” Amy seemed to swagger forward. “But, after all, don’t you think that it evens out? You, a 200-250 pound football player up against me, a 100 pound blind girl and her guide dog.”

Priscilla had long since stopped snapping her gum and had taken a step back as if trying to melt into the background. Jimmy glanced around for a teacher or anyone in authority, but it seemed as though everyone was caught in a trance at what was happening. Wasn’t it nearly time for the bell to ring? Maybe he should intervene – but hadn’t she warned him against it?

Public opinion was gravitating to Amy as the students murmured among themselves. Even Mickey Davis was starting to look a little nervous. He, like everyone else, was starting to realize that this was no longer just a jock bullying a weaker student.

Mickey stepped up beside Damien and tugged his sleeve like a little kid. “Man, this is going too far. Let’s get it out now before someone gets hurt.”

Damien wrenched his arm free and with one hand flung Mickey into the onlookers. “Don’t you have any pride?” He never took his eyes off of Amy as Mickey fell back into the crowd, no one wanting to be the one to catch him. “Afraid of a few little boo-boos that might send you running crying to momma?”

Jimmy started, but Ben put a hand on his shoulder. “Wait, don’t ruin it for her. Don’t you see? She’s got something up her sleeve!”

Indeed, it looked as though she did. Amy looked smug and vindicated as if she knew she had already won.

“I just don’t understand, Damien.” She said, shaking her head a little. “Don’t you ever get tired of picking on people smaller than you?”

At this Damien exploded. “What do you mean you insolent little -,”

His beefy hand reached out to grab her, and Amy didn’t so much as flinch.

“Guard, Jasper.”

The dog’s tail lowered and it’s teeth flashed, suddenly becoming a vicious, ravenous beast before Jimmy’s very eyes. He could nearly swear the dog’s eyes were smoldering red, as if they were half burned lumps of coal as he gave a deep warning bark.

Damien stepped back, palms raised in the universal sign of surrender. “OK look, I’m going away right now. Now call off your dog.”

“Unfortunately, Jasper is trained to kill.” Amy was obviously enjoying this, even though she couldn’t see the full effect the standoff carried. Teens had their phones out, and many were talking among themselves or calling out encouragement to her.

“Sometimes it takes a while after something like this to settle him down – that is, if he listens to me at all.”

“What the-,” Damien glanced around nervously, but no one came to his rescue. Not even his so called ‘friends’. “What are you talking about?”

Amy seemed to feign surprise. “Could it be that Damien Orville Rodriguez had finally met his match? And in a blind girl and her dog? My, my, my. I don’t know whether to feel sorry for you or me! Because when I’m done with you-,” Amy took a step forward and poked him just off center the chest. “May God have mercy on your soul.”

Jimmy watched in amazement with the rest of the school as Damien stumbled backwards, Amy’s finger like a smoldering iron that lit him on fire as he ran from the dog and his girl, the crowd slowly parting for him even as phones were shoved in his face.

In the midst of it all, Amy seemed to disappear, and strangely enough, Jimmy realized that she didn’t attend classes the rest of the day.

~

Amy practically dragged Jasper at a fast clip down the sidewalk, him trotting to keep up like he was trained. If she remembered right there was a park around here somewhere. She dug one handedly in her bag for her sunglasses, her roundabout shield from the world.

Hearing the clatter of stroller wheels and a mother’s gentle cooing to her baby, Amy followed behind her, tripping on a crack in the sidewalk.

Amy lost track of the sound, and stopped, lost in her own world as well as the real one. She backed up a bit and felt the soft earth dent under her shoes. She had calmed down a bit, but going back to school now wasn’t a good idea. What had she been thinking pulling that stunt with Jasper? She hadn’t. That was the bottom line right there.

Jasper stepped in place next to her, even highly trained to keep calm he wasn't a sucker for adrenaline any more than she was. Amy scrambled for her cell phone, jabbing at the numbers with a shaky hand so quickly, the automated voice didn't have a chance to finish it's read offs.

“Hello, Lara?” Amy leaned back against a tree's trunk and closed her eyes, swallowing hard. “I'm at the park just west of the high school and I need you to come and get me.” Her voice took a high desolate tone, and she felt broken and alone. “Please, Lara, just come and get me.”

A single tear sprung in the corner of her eye and Amy was barely aware of Lara's hurried question's cut off by reassurances that she was coming. The her arm with the phone in her hand lowered to the ground limply as Amy reached down to give Jasper a hug around the neck.

He was more than just a guide dog. More than even a trained security dog. He was her only friend.

“I love you, Jasper.” She whispered.

~

The Shadow watched as she clung to the dog, waiting for her mother to come and fawn over her and her wounds.

He growled under his breathe. Amy Landers was next to impossible to intimidate. There was just something about that girl – like she was one of those football dummies, or something. No matter how many times he kept hitting her, or how hard, she always seemed to pop right back up. If he could only reach past that annoyingly bright little smile, past the whole façade of peace. Reach past all of that and draw out the little girl that he had known.

The one who had screamed the loudest.

He remembered the look on her face, however, when that kid had threatened her dog. The only time she had let the mask slip.

Hmm, the dog? He had never thought of that angle.

The Shadow picked up his binoculars and zeroed back onto Amy’s face, scowling to himself. She wore those glasses on purpose, trying to put up a barrier, a shield, so he wouldn’t be able to see into her soul. But as she stroked the dog, he could tell that her heart and soul rested in the overgrown, overeager pup.

Maybe that Rodriguez kid earned the fifty bucks after all.