In
Maquoketa, Iowa, all of the neighboring families knew my family and how us
corn-bred folk lived. Sometimes my
brother and I went to town looking for a few babes to go on dates with. The typical feeling was mutual in that we were
both looking for someone to lose our virginity to but being twelve and my
brother being fifteen we often struggled with this at times.
My brother, Charlie, was always
there teaching me everything he knew. It
was summer and we had all the time in the world to find the girl of our
dreams. Or at least one girl that we might
share for a while if we had to. That’s
how it was with me and Charlie. We
didn’t care so much about how other people felt about us. The other people in town would judge us
either way. All the other boys in town
were doing the same old stuff as we were.
Our parents would constantly leave during the summer to drink at
friend’s homes or go to the casino to reminisce about the fun times they might
have had once.
This left me to have many
opportunities to go out and become a man.
With Charlie at my side the girls were sure to come running. He had muscles by the end of the school year
and grew a mustache which only a couple of other kids in his grade had. Charlie was the type of guy that got all the
girls numbers and it made other guys jealous because they knew she would choose
him first. Her, being the hottest girl
in the freshman class this fall. Hannah
Hicks was who everyone at the time was chasing.
All the guys in our school would attempt to flirt with her in class but
she always went for the older ones.
There were rumors floating around
town that she had been dating a senior when she was thirteen which made her
seem even more enticing to the rest of the guys. Charlie made a pass at her a couple times
when they were both in middle school but she wasn’t allowed to date back
then. Homecoming was coming up for the
high school kids this October and all freshmen through senior year students
were allowed to attend. Typically the
freshman and sophomore boys went with their buddies hoping to get lucky even
though they didn’t have a date. Either
that or they would leave early to drink with the seniors in the school parking
lot until they had to be home.
Charlie and I came up with a plan to
get Hannah interested in him though.
Last week we were at the drive-in movie theater when we saw some older
high school girls pull their car up in the line in front of ours. They were definitely from out of town but
looked familiar. As Charlie and I
thought a while about ways to hook up with Hannah, we came up with an
idea. If Charlie got one of these girls
to go to homecoming with him he would be sure to draw the attention of others
in our school. A couple of the girls
were cute so he decided to go after the blonde one with the training bra. Assuming that she would be more excited about
being asked to another school’s dance than worrying about Charlie’s goal in our
plan.
Charlie went up to the mini-van of
girls as they giggled to make him more nervous.
He came up with a couple of lame pick-up lines that would sure to
interest one of them. After about ten
minutes of talking they were holding hands in the back seat of their van. Charlie definitely had a way with the
girls. It wasn’t a surprise to see him hanging
all over a girl while I sat somewhere nearby taking notes. Some day this would be me but my moves
weren’t quite perfected yet.
The summer seemed to fly by and it
was September already. I’m in seventh
grade this year and have been dating a girl for almost a week now. Her name is Nicole and we often go to the
football games on Friday nights. We like
to walk along the track that rounds the field and pretend to watch the game as
we flirt and hold each other’s hand while our parents watch from the stands. Charlie was playing as the running back this
year because the coach talked him into it.
He was never much of a football player but rather wrestled during the
winter. It was a way to get into shape
and attract the attention of the younger girls.
Later after the game I saw my
brother run off the field as we met with our parents. They told us to walk home together once we
were done hanging out with our friends since we lived only a couple of blocks
away. My brother seized the opportunity
to talk with Hannah who he saw gazing at him during halftime. They met behind the stands opposite the side
of Main Street. This was where all the
older high school kids went to make out after the game. Shortly after I saw Charlie and Hannah walk
hand-in-hand behind the large metal bleachers, I heard a loud scream come from
where Charlie was headed.
A crowd surrounded a dark area
underneath the visitors section. I worked
my way through the crowd and then I see it.
Hannah was sitting there in tears distraught and confused as to what
just occurred. Her hands were cradling
her head as she rocked back and forth over and over. My brother Charlie lay flat on the ground
next to the garbage thrown from above. I
knelt beside him and quietly started sobbing in front of everyone. It took me only one glance and I knew he was
dead. His neck was cocked so far
sideways that it was hard to tell if it was still him. The local and
neighboring city cops arrived soon after to clear the wondering eyes from the
scene. Hannah was standing now still
gasping for air all the while distressed and unsure of what to say. Fighting back the tears, she gathered up the
courage to tell the police what she had seen.
The following day the local
newspaper went as followed:
Charlie
Evans, 15, of Maquoketa died late Friday on
October
11, 2003. Investigation reports of a
random
act of
violence at a local football game.
A true local tragedy.
This was the last time I would be
able to look up to my brother and at this moment I was empty. I felt so hopeless the following night I
found myself in complete and total desperation. I walk into his room and look at the
pictures of us from only months before as I reminisce about all of the
cherished yet foolish goals we had.
Making my way into the kitchen I see my parents crying over their
favorite son paying me no attention or concern.
I slip away to the garage and grab the razor blade from my father’s
toolbox. I think for a second and then
slit my throat just twice. The blood
drops down to my hands with tears to follow and I fall into a solemn sleep
crashing to the cold cement below me, soon to see my brother once more.
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