The Gathering by William X. Kienzle Read Free Book Online

that Alice found the magazine boring. She allowed it to slip from her fingers and fall to the floor. The soft noise caught Rose’s attention. She turned, while continuing to brush her hair. “I don’t blame you, Al,” she said. “Those movie and entertainment mags aren’t worth the trees that have to be cut down to make the paper they’re printed on.
    “Well”—she stopped brushing for a moment—“that was an awkward sentence. But you know what I mean.”
    Alice nodded, as Rose turned back to the mirror. The brushing continued.
    Alice sprawled on the bed. “Why does Mike hit the books so hard? He hardly needs to. He’s a genius—just like you.”
    Rose giggled. “We’re not geniuses. Oh, we may be kind of smart—but we both have to work to live up to our potential. Right now, Mike’s working harder than I am. It’s for the seminary. He doesn’t want to repeat the fiasco that Bob Koesler went through. Of course, Bob hadn’t brought the documents they wanted because he didn’t know they were required. Mike wants to be completely prepared.”
    Alice absently twisted a strand of hair around her index finger. “How about that fight Mike and Manny were in last week? That’s getting to be a popular topic around school … around our class anyway.”
    “Nothing to it, really,” Rose said.
    “I heard there was blood … lots of blood.”
    “You don’t want to believe everything you hear.”
    “No blood?” Alice sounded disappointed.
    “The other guy’s. But Mike’s shirt was torn up pretty bad.” Rose hoped the shredded shirt would satisfy Alice’s seeming fascination with senseless violence.
    “How about Manny?” Alice pursued. “Was that just scuttlebutt too? About how he took the big bully to the cleaners? And got him pretty well beat up too?”
    Rose grinned. Alice couldn’t see the expression. “No. That seems to be the God’s honest truth. And my information is firsthand—from my brother. After all, he
was
there—and God knows he tells the truth.”
    Silence, as Rose reached fifty-three strokes and Alice busied herself in trying to untangle the knot she’d made in her own hair.
    “And all that over a tennis ball!” Alice exclaimed. “Boys!”
    “I think it was kind of brave of them,” Rose said thoughtfully. “It’s like they say about the war … you know: We’re making the world safe for democracy. Well, Mike and Manny are making the playground safe for other kids.
    “Besides … it’s already done some good. The Brothers have set up patrols of seniors and juniors to keep a watch when school’s out and on weekends.”
    Alice thought about the ramifications of what Manny and Mike had done. Manny more than Mike. But Mike had made a contribution. “I guess,” she said, “the guys were pretty brave.”
    “Especially Manny. He’s the one who came up with a reaction ‘above and beyond,’ as they say.”
    “Yeah,” Alice agreed, “but what kind of priest is he gonna make? I mean, priests aren’t supposed to get physical, are they? I never heard of one who did, anyway. Look at Father Flannigan of Boys’ Town. He doesn’t go around boxing guys’ ears.”
    Rose laughed. “Al, Manny hasn’t turned into some kind of goon or thug. Remember: Manny didn’t start this whole thing. He just responded to the bad guy’s challenge. Like the war: We didn’t start it. We didn’t even want to get into it. Then came Pearl Harbor.”
    “Yeah …” Alice pondered that incontrovertible fact.
    “Mike and Manny …” Alice reflected.
    “Mike and Manny …” Alice repeated. “Do you realize, Rose, that Mike and Manny are the only two guys in our class that I know? And I know them only because I know you. You’re Mike’s twin. That’s how I know Mike. And Mike’s best friend is Manny, and that’s how I know Manny.
    “Doesn’t that seem odd?”
    “Um-hmm.”
    “Think about it,” Alice persisted. “Public school kids seem to know everybody … I mean everybody in