Johnny Gets His Wings

Chapter 5

About ten minutes later, a large black policeman entered Bennet's office. His uniform was dazzling. I couldn't spot a single wrinkle in his blue shirt or black pants. Plus his shoes had been polished so thoroughly that I could almost see my reflection in the leather. He only had one flaw. There was a toothpick dangling out of his mouth, which seemed a tad unprofessional. But it gave him a definite tough-guy look. This was a serious man.

He removed it before smiling at Father Bennet. His teeth were big and white and beautiful. "I'm Officer Ken, and I'm looking for the boy who struck Lieutenant Colonel Bradley." He gazed upon me with disdain in his eyes. "Is this the guilty punk?"

Bennet bobbed his head up and down. "Behold the scoundrel in the flesh."

Ken kicked my chair, and I almost toppled to the floor. "Boy, are you retarded or something? Bradley's got a lot of friends in this town, including me. He's a genuine war hero who saved my nuts when I was over in Iraq. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be breathing right now."

"It was an accident. I didn't mean to do it."

Father Bennet rolled his eyes. "That's the same lame story he keeps telling me, too."

Ken cuffed me upside my head with the palm of his hand. "Keep talking shit, son. And we'll see how far it gets you."

"What do you want me to say?"

"So now you're talking back to me?" Silence. "OK, retard. Get on your feet and take a poke at me. I've still got both my legs."

I looked him up and down for a moment or two. And let me tell you people something. There was no doubt in my mind that I could take him in a fight. I was considered one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the entire state of Louisiana. True. Officer Ken was a big guy. Much larger than me. Yet he was in his 50s, so beating his ass wouldn't have been much of a problem.

However, he was a cop, and I had already decked a decorated lieutenant colonel. Therefore, why throw gasoline on the fire, right? Sometimes, it's simply better to take your beating like a man.

The officer cuffed me upside the head once again. "Come on, pussy. Let's see what you're made of."

Father Bennet raced around his desk and placed both his hands on the policeman's chest. "This is a school, Officer Ken. Consequently, it's not a good idea to assault the teenagers. If you want to take him to some dark alley and read him the riot act, then that's your business. You won't hear a single complaint from me. But you can't do it here."

Ken smiled and nodded his approval. "I get what you're saying, Father. You're a smart man. Delicate matters are best handled away from prying eyes."

The priest patted him on the shoulder. "Now you're starting to see the light."

The officer grabbed me by my shirt collar and lifted me out of the chair. Then he slammed me against the wall and patted me down like a common criminal. After that, he slapped on the cuffs. The worst part was the actual walk to the police cruiser. He paraded me through the halls of the school, and all the kids saw me being led away. It was very humiliating.

With that said, I always tried to look on the bright side of life in those days. My father had just been fired, so I would have been kicked out of Saint Mary's anyway. One of the perks of Dad's employment was free tuition for his offspring. Yet there was no way in hell that my family could have afforded a Catholic education without the financial help of the church.

Final analysis? I left Saint Mary's with a bang. Good for me.