Victor: A Character Study Chapter Two

I strongly recommend that you read Chapter One of Victor: A Character Study before you read Chapter Two, as you will most likely be very confused as to what is happening and possibly enter a state of insanity caused by lack of understanding, when one enters this state, they will exhibit aggressive behavior and suffer from leg spasms. These spasms will eventually lead to seizures, which can be fatal. If you do not wish to suffer from these symptoms, you will want to read Chapter One first, which can be found here.

Chapter Two
Yelsby road was the main road that ran through Dreet, Virginia and it was also the road I took to travel from Kevin's house to mine. After the incident at the party, we thought it would be best if we all left and pretended that the whole thing never occurred. I was the last to leave, due to a confrontation with Kevin as I followed Sarah out the door.

"I realize that you were first one to see what happened, and that you did not mean to draw attention to Freddy and me during...well, you know." Kevin stated.

Kevin wore an expression of embarrassment on his face, which he quickly hid under a guise of anger. He took a breath in and looked me straight in the eyes.

"But if you happen to accidentally draw further attention to me by pulling a little stunt like the one earlier", Kevin threatened. "I will not do what I said I would do downstairs. I will make sure you have no friends. I will drive you to the point of depression, so far that I hope you kill yourself."

It dawned upon me that the only reason Kevin was threatening me was because he was a coward. Kevin was an asshole and a coward. An asshole coward is what you could call him. He feared for his reputation, not just at school, but in his family.

Kevin's father was an architect who strongly disliked homosexuality and Kevin's mother was one of the coordinators in the local church group. Both found homosexuality to be a grave sin and disapproved of it in any form. They tolerated Kevin's friendship with Freddy only because Freddy kept his homosexuality a secret to his family. Only Freddy's close friends knew he was gay.

If Kevin's parents were to discover what had occurred that afternoon, Kevin would most likely suffer from an overexaggerated, severe punishment. Once his father had threatened to send him to military school if Kevin did not try out for the football team. When the results were posted, Kevin had not made the team. Kevin's father was enraged at this fact and even went down to the coach's office to give a small lecture about hidden talent.

Kevin's father was nearly ignored by the school's sport staff and Kevin eventually convinced his father to stop persisting a goal that Kevin himself didn't even want to achieve. It took his father several days to finally calm down but he still was disappointed in Kevin and the school.

The point was, Kevin's parents—mainly his father—would most likely send Kevin to an Amish village if they had found out that Kevin had kissed Freddy.

I looked at Kevin and waited for him to continue his threat, but he merely stared me down waiting for me to show any sign of comprehension.

"I won't tell a living soul." I replied. "Not even my cat."

Kevin nodded and then pat me on the back.

"Thanks bro, I'll see you at school alright?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah", I said as I walked out his front door. "See you later."

By the time I had gone outside, the sun was beginning to set and there was a slight drizzle that set the mood of what had just happened. I walked through the wet grass in front of Kevin's home toward my car, which was parked on the street, just by a neighbor's mailbox.

The drive home was a very dreary one. I had pulled out of Kevin's neighborhood expecting traffic, but much to my surprise, there were few cars on the road. It was a twenty minute trip from his house to mine and there were no passengers in my car at the time, so I turned on the radio to kill the silence that was condemning me to a strong feeling of guilt. As to why I felt guilty, I am not sure. I was not the one who kissed Freddy.

The announcer on the radio stated that the corn farmer, Winston Burns, had gone missing. I had seen Winston once or twice in town, but I did not think much of him. He was a simple man who owned a farm and sold his crop to earn a living. I felt that he did not understand what year we were living in, as one could go to the grocery store and buy as many ears of corn possible.

"Mr. Burns was last seen driving on Yelsby road, towards town. His pickup was found two hours ago. There were no signs of violence, the only possession found of Mr. Burns was a small silver crucifix necklace that-"

I turned the radio off. The report was far too depressing to listen to while driving in this weather. Winston had been driving down this road...

I suddenly had the urge to get home as fast as I could. There was something bound to happen within the next five to ten minutes if I did not speed. I pressed my foot down on the gas pedal and began to accelerate. My car went around the bend and I made sure to let off the gas temporarily so my car would not skid on the wet tar.

I arrived home five minutes earlier than usual, thanks to my speeding stunt. Luckily, there were no police on the road, despite the disappearance that had occurred several hours before. I walked in through my front door into a dark room. Clearly my parents were not home. I flicked on the lightswitch to my left and walked into the kitchen. It had been about five hours since I was at Jeanine's and I wanted to satisfy my crave for food.

I opened up the fridge and found nothing but some bread, turkey, swiss cheese, pickles, and a couple of cups of yogurt. The refrigerator was in desperate need of restocking. Using what I had, I made two sandwiches and took them into the living room. I slumped down on the couch and turned on the television.

The news was the first thing that came on. Ben Grats, an "action news reporter", was on Yelsby Road, standing in front of Winston's truck. Ben Grats was Victor's father. He was a stout man who stood at about five feet and six inches, but he had a good size of muscle to make up for his lack of height. As he talked of the recent disappearance of Winston, his thick mustache bobbed up and down, covering his mouth and giving him the appearance of a cartoon character.

I had never met Mr. Grats personally, although I had seen him on television plenty of times. It was puzzling that Victor struggled to socially interact with people daily while his father was such a charismatic man. One would think that his father could at least give his son some advice or try to help him fit in more. But, I did not know what type of man Victor's father was, he could be a neglecting, arrogant asshole and everything I saw on the television was just a show.

The more Mr. Grats talked, I slowly began to fall asleep, as the information he was giving me was just redundant of what I had heard on the radio. My eyelids fell over my eyes and the last thing I remember was Mr. Grats voice stating: "The only piece of evidence found so far was Winston's silver crucifix necklace..."

I awoke to a loud crash of thunder and the sound of movement in the kitchen. The television was turned off and it was dark outside. I scratched the back of my head and got up from my resting place on the couch. The kitchen light was on and the familiar smell of my mother's chicken soup was dispersing throughout the rest of my house.

I walked into the kitchen and found my mother sitting at the table on the phone while the soup cooked in a pot on the stove. I did not know who she was talking to, but I did know what she was talking about.

"It's crazy." My mother said to the person on the other line. "To think that such a nice man could have been murdered or kidnapped..."

She was talking about Winston Burns. It's amazing that the disappearance of one man can cause a commotion in a small town so quickly, and while no one ever really appreciated the hard work or cared for what Winston Burns did until he was gone.