Aftermath

The three boys took Julian to the school infirmary and claimed to have found him screaming in the field. The nurses seemed to believe them. They called the ambulance and started giving first aid to Julian who was in extreme pain. He was glad when they decided to give him some pain meds and sedatives. The paramedics came and took him to the hospital that day. 

Julian spent a week in hospital. The doctors placed a cast on his leg and because it wouldn’t heal fast enough, Julian missed the final game. He was able to go and do the high school exit examination and other tests with the cast on his leg but he had barely studied. Julian knew that his results were definitely not going to be good. Unless the scholarship review team decided to understand and be lenient to him, there was no way he was getting the scholarship. He had applied for other scholarships to improve his chances but he was worried that he wouldn’t get them because of the results.

Besides, there were suspicions about his accidents. He had accused the boys who did it but the police didn’t believe him. Neither did the police, they had probably been bribed. Mr. Maslow said he and others suspected Julian of hurting himself so he could be favoured. They didn’t think it was a coincidence that he got hurt on the day the changes were announced. Robbie even falsely testified against him.

The only people who were on his side were Gary and his uncle. It turned out that the three bullies had captured Gary after he told Julian about their plans. They kidnapped him and tied him in Jake’s room. They released him after Julian had been taken to hospital.

By graduation, Julian was able to walk with crutches but he refused to attend. He had passed fairly well, better than he had anticipated but he did not feel like being with all the evil people in that school. His uncle had gone and lied that he was still unwell and was given his documents.

Two weeks after the graduation, Julian went to the school. Since he had no reason for going inside, he knew he would not be allowed. He opted to walk along the fence, heading to the field. He held on to the fence and stared at the field which had broken his dreams. It had given him hope before crushing it within a few minutes.

All his life, football had always been what got him through hard times. Now, it was the thing that had brought a lot of sadness to him. As he stared at the field, he didn’t know if he would ever play again. Having his bones broken while he was conscious had been one of the most painful things he had ever gone through. Not having parents and a normal family was the most hurtful thing for him. What he had gone through that night came second. He knew that he would never forget it.

Julian turned away from the field, feeling angry. He was going to get revenge, even if it was the last thing he ever did on earth. Those three and everyone in the team except Gary deserved to pay for treating him the way they had all those years. Two of those on his list included some of the teachers and the principal of the school for looking the other way while poor students who had been placed in their care suffered. The detective who had closed the case and refused to listen to Julian would also be getting what he deserved. Julian had no idea how he was going to do it but he knew he would have to do something. 

Julian had just turned a corner when he heard someone calling his name. He stopped walking and turned to see one of the boys he had studied with walking away from a food truck. Julian recognized him as Terry Miller. He was a dark skinned boy who was also poor. Terry and he had never been friends, but they had never been enemies either. They were more like acquaintances. Terry was a year lower than Julian so they talked once in a while. Terry was very tall and skinny. He had a nice smile. Had girls been at Fetterville private, he would have got a lot of attention, at least from the girls who didn’t care about the financial status of a boy anyway.

“I heard you didn’t attend your graduation,” Terry said. “That sucks, man. What happened must have been really hard on you.”

“It was,” Julian said.

“So what are you going to do about it? I heard you said it was Kyle, Jake and Logan who broke your leg. Is it really true?”

“Would I have said it if it wasn’t true?”

“I’m just checking man. I know those three are evil but that was just extreme.”

“So what? You think I did this to myself. Do you really think I would incapacitate myself when I knew I was better than everyone on the team? I helped those bastards win all the time but they never appreciated. They attacked me because they knew what I was capable of.”

“I heard you’re going to try and sue them again.”

“Yes, my uncle’s friend is trying to come with a good case but I don’t know if it will help. They squashed the case the first time and I have a feeling they will do the same this time around. These rich people will do anything to shut us up but they will pay for their crimes one day.”

“That’s the hope. Anyway, I gotta get back to the truck. I need to close up and go home. It was good seeing you. Take care.”

“Take care too,” Julian said and walked away. He stopped by a café and had some coffee. He sat by the window and stuffed earphones in his eyes. He stared at the window as he waited for his order.

An hour later, he was leaving the coffee shop. The sun was setting and the streets were crowded with people going back home from their jobs. Julian walked home. 

Nothing prepared him for what he was about to find.