"Teenage Dirtbag" Part 4

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Aunt Stacy sat at the kitchen table pouring over the morning paper as her cigarettes heat neared her fingertips. The fight involving Camaro and four other students had made the crime blotter and second page of the paper. Stacy sighed heavily as she noticed that the unfiltered cigarette had been singeing her finger for at least the last minute. “Goddammit” she muttered and not being near an ashtray dropped the butt to the floor and mashed it out with her bare feet. A moment later an ashtray was placed in front of her. “Thanks” she said knowing it was Camaro up for his morning run. “How are you handling your time off?”

“It is not time off” he replied. “I was suspended for defending myself.” Camaro snatched a napkin off the counter and simultaneously picked up and wiped the floor clean where the cigarette butt landed.

“Says here that you snapped” Stacy said, placing the paper on the table. “That you are the quiet type. Keeping to yourself. Not participating in school activities.”

“Does it say how the attack on me was unprovoked?” Camaro asked.

“No, but it does say that you started the fight because you were jealous that Todd Stevens was dating Harriet Thornburg and dumped you because you were a loser” Stacy said. “Do you think you’re a loser, Camaro?”

“No.”

“Good, because you’re not” Stacy said and motioned for him to sit. Camaro sat down and placed his hands on the table. “We need to have a talk. Don’t look at me that way. This isn’t about girls, sex, or what you did to those boys because if you had done differently I would’ve kicked your ass.” Camaro raised his eyebrows questioningly at his aunt Stacy. “Don’t think because I cant feel shit that I cant fight. Back in the day I could take your father down in a heartbeat.” Stacy lit another cigarette, took a long drag, and blew the smoke away from Camaro. She noticed him looking at the burn on her finger. “Don’t worry about that.”

Stacy suffered from a form congenital analgesia causing her to not register pain. As a child it made her feel invincible, but as a teen and adult she had to hide it to stay in the family business. She was viewed as tough by many in her training. The truth is that she just could not feel the broken bones that rattled her body and the normal pain that would force one to relax or heal properly. Stacy retired from work years earlier than she had planned but once in a while would still do freelance assignments.

Camaro sighed and retrieved the first aid kit from the bathroom and placed it on the table. He looked at his aunt until she groaned and placed her hand in front of his. He lightly picked up her hand and begin to treat the burn.

“You’d better not tell me to quit smoking” Stacy said.

“I kill people” Camaro replied. “Children specifically. Whether or not you die from smoking is not a concern of mine.” Stacy yanked her hand away from Camaro. “Did I say something wrong, ma’am?”

“Are you crazy?” she asked Camaro. “That is not a rhetorical question. I need to know if I’ve raised a goddamn psychopath. You cant just tell people that you don’t care whether or not if they die. And when did you learn to be so glib? I definitely heard glibness in that statement.”

“I believe you are using the word glib in the wrong context” Camaro said as he finished bandaging Stacy’s finger. “And my apologies if I offended you. I do not wish to do that to you. I do care whether or not you live. I do not know where my previous statement came from. Perhaps I am not used to…being suspended.”

“No, you’re not used to not killing when you’ve been attacked” Stacy responded. “And the fact that you didn’t kill any of those boys is a good thing. I’m fucking proud of you for not doing that. But we do need to talk about the fact that you’ll be graduating next year. What do you want to do after that? Like, with your life? Where do you see yourself five years from now?”

Camaro stared at the first aid kit. He had never actually thought about where his life was headed. He considered what he did simple. New school, new tragedy, training for next mission. Five years from now? He had absolutely no idea where he would be.

“College” Camaro replied.

“College’s are already covered by twenty three other operatives” Stacy said. “Unless you meant to go there and learn. Is that what you meant?”

“No, ma’am.”

“That’s what I thought” Stacy said. “I have an idea for you. Since the colleges are already taken care of and going overseas doesn’t make any sense for a young man like you there is something else we can do. Somewhat of a makeover.”

“A makeover, ma’am?”

“Yeah” Stacy said as she held her hands up framing Camaro’s face. “You look too pretty. That’s not a bad thing in the regular world, but in your occupation it can be seen as a sign of weakness.”

“What would you suggest I do?” Camaro asked. Though he was considered attractive by almost any female he never did anything to alter his appearance to attract anyone. He still did not have to shave yet.

“We need to fuck you up.”