Ricky

Learning about Drake

         “Hello, Officer Collier?” he asked the person who answered on the other end. The answer must’ve been in the affirmative, because Mr. Bitely continued, “This is Rob Bitely at the high school. I was wondering if you could give me a student’s phone number to get a hold of his parents.” Officer Collier must’ve been thinking or explaining something because the principal fell silent again. Ricky felt somewhat uncomfortable, just sitting there, so he looked out the window behind Mr. Bitely and watched traffic speed down the street. He couldn’t believe someone had beat Drake into the hospital. He knew the kid could get annoying sometimes, but Ricky had been teaching him to stop saying provocative things to the wrong people and Drake was a fast learner. All the sudden, Mr. Bitely’s voice got a little louder. He had told the officer Drake’s name and something odd must have come up because the principal looked confused.
         “Really? Are you sure we’re talking about the same Drake Kennie here, sir?” Mr. Bitely asked the officer, which sparked Ricky’s curiosity and he glanced back at Mr. Bitely to find that the principal was looking at him oddly while listening to Officer Collier’s information about a Drake Kennie.
         “Well, then, sir, I guess we are talking about the same kid. Could you give me his parents’ number anyway? They deserve to know,” the principal added, quickly grabbing a pen and scribbling the number down on scrap paper. He thanked the officer and hung up, leaning back to look at Ricky, who couldn’t stop himself.
         “Sir, what was that about? Drake’s record or what?” Ricky questioned, confused. Mr. Bitely cleared his throat, and then leaned forward a little to lean on his desk.
         “Well, Ricky, it seems that Drake wasn’t only in the system for those crimes. There was a missing persons report filed for him almost a year ago. Drake ran away from home, Ricky,” the principal finished, which cleared some things up, but confused others.
         “So, are you still going to call them? I mean, if Drake has stayed away for a year, there had to be a good reason,” Ricky added, now unsure about his best friend’s home life. Ricky didn’t always get along with his parents, but he couldn’t imagine staying away from them for a whole year. Something had to have been really wrong at Drake’s house for such a hyper, talkative, up-beat kid to just leave his home and his family. Mr. Bitely sighed; then he leaned all the way on his desk, putting his head into his hands, obviously torn about the situation.
         “Well, Ricky, the hospital and I have an obligation – both moral and legal – to tell Drake’s parents about this. This information doesn’t change that,” Mr. Bitely explained, shifting to legal jargon, probably to reassure himself, Ricky decided, as Mr. Bitely picked up the phone yet again. This time, though, he put the number in a lot slower, glancing at the paper to be sure the phone number was right.
         “Hello, Mrs. Kennie?” he asked after a minute. The lady said something to confuse Mr. Bitely because he rechecked the two phone numbers. When he was sure they were the same, he tried something else. “Ma’am, do you have a son named Drake Kennie?”
         All the sudden, Ricky realized that Drake had a scar on his neck. Ricky always thought it looked like someone had tried to slit the kid’s throat. If Drake had run away, maybe Ricky had been right.
         “Yes, ma’am, you can come up here, if you’d like,” Mr. Bitely commented. Ricky must have been thinking harder than he had known, since he missed the entire conversation. He watched Mr. Bitely as he said good-bye to Drake’s mom and hung up. The principal looked back at Ricky.
         “Well, Drake and his mother have different last names, but she has still been worried about him. Apparently, he took off two days after she remarried. If you want, Ricky, I could let you sign out to go see Drake,” Mr. Bitely added, somewhat changing the subject, throwing Ricky off.
         “No, I can’t because the only one home is my brother and I’m not sure if he can sign me out or not. My parents are both at work and they actually wouldn’t want me to leave anyway,” Ricky told him, a little saddened that he couldn’t go see Drake.
         “Well, according to your file here, your brother can sign you out of school. If you want, I could call one of your parents for you,” Mr. Bitely offered. Ricky hadn’t realized that the principal had pulled up Ricky’s file on the computer. He thought for a minute then nodded. Mr. Bitely could probably convince Ricky’s parents to let him go.
         “Yes, sir. It’d be better if you called my dad because he’s the one that’d get mad if I left without him knowing,” Ricky explained. His principal nodded, then dialed the phone, glancing at his computer screen. When he finished dialing, he settled back in his chair, waiting for Ricky’s dad to answer. When he did answer, Mr. Bitely straightened up and explained who he was and why he was calling; stressing the fact that Ricky wasn’t in any trouble. As the principal explained the situation, there was a knock at the office door, startling Ricky.