Post by Silver_Highwind_Magician on Apr 30, 2010 17:23:52 GMT -5
It is now later on in the afternoon. Children are either walking home, or being escorted, via their school bus, to their remote or local residences. Time for homework and preparations for future examinations --- a timeslot that most students dread. Being that the city of Brooklyn is known for its great cultural diversity, the idea of a handsome young man --- such as our latest heroic hopeful --- being there is never overlooked or unseen. This young man that you see before you is 12-years-old… His name is Jonathan.
Growing up in the same neighborhood since birth --- Kensington, Brooklyn, New York --- Jonathan has shown himself to be a young man filled with dreams and endless aspirations. Thus, his future is both wide and full of possibility. As a young man, Jonathan often places his dreams on paper --- whether through lyrics, poetry, short story, or drawing. However, Jonathan feels as if these dreams will never be seen. It kind of scares him when he thinks about it… To never see one’s dreams become reality…is every boy’s worst nightmare.
Walking on the opposite side of the sidewalk is a young girl. She is a girl who wishes to have no recollection of her past --- none at all. Just a few months ago, before her parents moved from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Shantelle was a victim of a fatal experience that placed an emotional scar in her…that continues to affect her to this day. She rarely talks about it, and only addresses the issue with her parents. As a child under the care of The Witness Protection Program, 9-year-old Shantelle Malawski has grown up far before her time, carrying with her a wisdom that a grown woman should have instilled in her. Just the sound of her speech surprises some of her residents, especially the younger generation.
In her arms is her baby, Millie, that she carries with her everywhere. Shantelle has an emotional tie to Millie that links to the life-changing situation --- Millie was given to her by the victimized daughter within the family that was slaughtered before her very eyes. As she walks forward, the memories begin to pop back into her head, one by one. She dreads this --- the thought of the terrifying event playing back in her mind…
January 5th was the day of the event, right after Shantelle and her bestfriend, Taylor Wiley, gave their “Thank God for a New Year” speech on stage before hundreds of adoring families. It was a project given to them by their, then, teacher, Randall Edinburg. Edinburg always took a liking to Shantelle and Taylor, calling them “his superstar pupils” because of their advanced thinking skills. The two girls were voted “Mostly Likely to Become Famous” in their class by both students and the working staff. It was an honor that both the Wiley and Malawski Family took with great appreciation.
The People’s Christian Academy still preserves this personal accolade for the girls in their Leaders of Tomorrow section in the center of Hall A. As the school motto says: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” That is Isaiah 40:31, a saying that has paved the way for many since 1971. But, although the school’s mascot is an eagle, things weren’t flying well on that day. It was on the evening of January 5th, the timeslot where Taylor was scheduled to be admitted into The Saints’ Program through an interview with her teacher, Mr. Edinburg, and school board representative Leslie McNamara.
Shantelle was on her way to meet up with Taylor to study for a very important exam that would get them enrolled in the T. S. Program with flying colors --- The All-Saints’ Regional Examination. Only the brightest students could take this test and score at least 50% on any portion of the 3-part examination. For grades K - 5, Mathematics, English and Science are the main topics that the students must have a good grasp on. If Shantelle and Taylor can get a good mental hold on the required subjects, they are sure to get into the T. S. Program with no problems at all. But, something went wrong in the mind of Mr. Edinburg at exactly 6:21 PM.
The catastrophe started with a kind gesture…right in the middle of Dr. McNamara’s important explanation of the program…
“Your daughter shows much promise --- this test will prove her superiority towards her peers.”
“Does the district require such an examination?”, questions the concerned Mrs. Wiley.
“It is up to the parents to choose whether or not their child should enroll in the program --- with the consent of the child, of course.”, answers Dr. McNamara.
“I personally wanted my daughter to enjoy her school life, but…”, begins the doubtful Mr. Wiley
“She will still have her social life, but her experience will be more advanced compared to other students.”, smiles Dr. McNamara. Mr. and Mrs. Wiley are intrigued. Dr. McNamara continues by saying, “Taylor has excelled at all regular courses with straight A’s since kindergarten. Our school board has eyed her for quite some time now --- the same goes for her friend, Shantelle Malawski. We believe in these girls, and we see a bright future ahead of them.”
“If you take this opportunity, we promise you that we will make The Saints’ Program ‘home away from home’ for Little Miss Taylor.”
Edinburg’s words shifted the doubt within Mr. and Mrs. Wiley’s hearts. Through some more conversation, the perspective of the loving parents began changing. Upstairs, Taylor finishes the last of her studies for a test that’s scheduled for the following Tuesday. Next week, on Tuesday, is Taylor’s birthday. She will be 10-years-old. At this moment, she’s so excited to know that she’ll be going to The Canadian National Exhibition with her family, her bestfriend, Shantelle, and her bestfriend‘s family. Just picturing the brilliance of SkyDome before her eyes brings joy to her young heart. At the moment of this thought, Shantelle enters into Mount Pleasant East from her family apartment in the Western Division.
Taylor finishes combing Millie’s hair, dressing her in a white gown that she bought from the local toy store on the previous Saturday afterwards. This dress means a lot to her because --- in her young heart --- this dress stands for opportunity and prosperity. Although she knows little about these things, besides what her mother and father tell her about them, Taylor has a feeling that prosperity will come if the opportunity is presented to her. There is little that she can do to help herself --- after all, she is only 8-years-old.
But then, Taylor sees something happening outside of her window…Mr. Edinburg walks to his car, opens the door, leans into his vehicle and grabs something shiny from his glove compartment. He places the shiny thing into his jacket coat, closes the door, locks the car with his alarm keychain piece and enters back into the Wiley House with suspicious disposition. You see, the one thing Taylor --- or Shantelle --- never knew about their loving teacher…is his obsession over them. Mr. Edinburg has a serious psychological disorder --- Bipolar II Disorder --- and is currently in the “psychotic” state. This means that Mr. Edinburg is in a state beyond that of regular mania…and both Dr. McNamara and the Wiley Family are in grave danger of being victimized by Mr. Edinburg’s premeditated destructive behavior. Shantelle grows closer and closer to the Wiley Residence with every step.
(“I can’t wait to go to SkyDome next week! Taylor and I are going to have so much fun there! I just hope everything will be all right --- Mr. Edinburg will be at the house with the ‘doctor lady’, so I better stay quiet while we play upstairs together.”)
Meanwhile, Taylor walks to the stairs and suddenly hears the sound that goes like “bang”, in a very sharp, loud, and piercing manner. And then, there comes the scream of her mother. The scream of Dr. McNamara comes right after that. Their screams overlap each other in a terrified and huffing manner, as if they were starting to shed tears as well. Taylor comes downstairs fully, peeps her head around the corner, and sees Dr. Edinburg standing above her kneeling and crying mother and a guarding Dr. McNamara. Dr. McNamara stands before the cowering Mrs. Wiley with her hands side to side, crucifix style, in front of the armed Dr. Edinburg. As Taylor walks into the living room, she looks to her left and sees the most horrifying image --- her father has been shot through his cranium on the right side. This only indicated that Mr. Edinburg walked into the house, aimed the gun at the standing Mr. Wiley --- probably on his way out of the kitchen --- and fired on sight, execution style. It is murder at its coldest and finest, carried out with disgusting profession and mercilessness. The very thought of the act is stunning, even to the crying Taylor.
Taylor runs up to her father, falls to her knees, and begins shaking him while crying, “Daddy, daddy, daddy wake up! Daddy, please, wake up! Mommy and the Doctor-lady are in trouble!”
“Taylor, sweetie, get away from here --- Daddy’s just sleeping!”, yells the concerned Mrs. Wiley to her panicking daughter.
“Yes, Miss Taylor, you should leave before you end up like daddy!”, psychotically threatens the armed Mr. Edinburg to the little girl, while looking over his right shoulder.
Dr. McNamara takes this time to ram her right fist into the jaw of the careless Mr. Edinburg --- he falls to the ground and loses his weapon! Mrs. Wiley watches as the tough Dr. McNamara tackles Mr. Edinburg and fights him to get near the gun, which is three feet away from them! Mrs. Wiley manages to stand to her feet, and begins running forward towards her daughter… But then, the worst happens --- Mr. Edinburg wins the fight over Dr. McNamara by punching her in the face with his right fist! Mr. Edinburg makes it to the firearm, grabs onto it and aims at the running Mrs. Wiley! And then, that is when Shantelle walks into the house…to the one thing that she never wanted to see in her entire life. Random gunfire…the bodies of the people in the house are scattered across the floor, left in a bloody bath of homicidal mania…
That month, Shantelle was one of many who attended the burial of her bestfriend and close family friends. The young girl cried tears worthy if the entire state of Canada. Her heart broke into millions of what it once was, eventually robbing her of all emotion for a very long time. It’s been months, but the vivid image of that memory still haunts her with every breath that she takes. It is in this state, where she is alone and vulnerable, that she is fated to meet young Jonathan --- the boy who will become the greatest friend that should could ever ask for.
The children bump into each other --- the troubled young girl, the dreaming young boy --- instantly feeling that itch that people feel when they meet someone that they’re suppose to have in their life. That itch, my friends, is called "destiny". Unlike Shantelle, Jonathan has lived a very normal life. No murder witnesses, no involvement with anything of the sort at all. Perhaps Shantelle can benefit from having a person like Jonathan around her. Someone to play with, someone to grow older with, someone to share secrets with, someone to do things with… A true friend when in need of anything. Jonathan, although he appears as a troublemaker --- with his New York gangster-centric taste in clothing --- is just what the doctor ordered.
“Hello, little girl”, smiles Jonathan in a friendly manner.
“Hi”, sadly replies Shantelle.
“Why do you look so sad, little girl.”
“My name is Shantelle, not 'little girl'.”, irately says Shantelle.
“And my name is Jonathan --- you call me 'Jon'. You go to school around here, Shantelle?”
“I’m going to Berkeley Carroll this year”, sadly answers Shantelle. Jonathan giggles at her. Shantelle angrily barks, “What’s so funny, big nose?!? I didn‘t say anything funny!”
“It’s pointy nose, not big nose --- and I actually see that you need to talk to someone. You look mad at the world, girl. Take some stress off your hands and talk to someone who will listen --- like me.”
“What could you do to help me?”, questions the irate Shantelle.
“To start, I’ll walk you home. We can talk about what has you looking like that along the way. I’ve lived in this rat hole of a city long enough to know that people need someone to talk to. What’s the difference when it comes to kids like us, right?”
Shantelle loses breath at the sound of such kindness coming from a boy that barely knows her. In a way, it’s very flattering --- to hear someone show concern for her in such a pure manner. She smiles, knowing well that she may have just struck gold with this guy. From the way things appear, this relationship looks very promising. Now that they’ve met up with each other, their involvement with the Prophesied One will come into fruition sooner than they think.