Jackson Clay Did It

Chapter One: Present Day

Sixteen-year-old Jackson Clay sits alone in his room, all of his friends have left him at Black Water orphanage. They were all adopted, every time a young couple saw him they frowned. They were either afraid of him or just didn't like him. As the years went by, he slowly began to not care. The more he didn't care, the more sinister he became. Each year when a new child came something unfortunate would occur. Last year when nine-year-old Olivia Johnson came, someone had super glued her eyes shut. Everyone knew who had done it, Jackson Clay did it. The glue had taken the vision from her right eye.

  The day she came back from the hospital she made sure to avoid Jackson. A knock on his door caught the teen's attention. "Come in," his voice was monotoned. The door opened to reveal Miss Jewel, you can see how the years took a toll on her. She took over the orphanage after Mrs. Ketch died in 2010. Miss Jewel gives Jackson a gentle smile, "I have some great news. This lovely couple is looking for an older brother for their young son." Jackson cocks his eyebrow in curiosity, a couple wants to adopt him for once? "What's the kid's name?" He asks, his voice is still emotionless. Miss Jewel's smile faltered slightly, she knew this was a bad idea. She even told Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer that Jackson wasn't a good choice. "His name is Benjamin," she said. Jackson grinned and leaned back on his bed, he placed his arms behind his head. "Well, I'm gonna call my new baby brother Benny."

  The next day Jackson patiently waited for his new family, he holds his suitcase in his lap. He lightly taps it as he hums, Miss Jewel said they would be here at twelve. Jackson glances at the clock, it reads five minutes till twelve. "Are you Jackson Clay?" Asked a soft female voice. He looked up to see a woman in her mid-thirties, she wore a pink silk blouse and a pair of black slacks. Her light brown hair is tied into a bun. Jackson nods, the woman smiles at him and holds her hand out to him. "My name is Maggie Sawyer, my husband and I are the ones adopting you." She says. Jackson shakes her hand and fakes a smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you." He replies.

  A man appears behind Maggie, he looks close to forty. He is wearing a grey suit and shiny black shoes, his greying brown hair was combed back. He smiles at Jackson, the smile doesn't really reach his eyes. "Hello," says Jackson as he replaced his smile with a grim line. For as long as he could remember Jackson has never liked men. Before his mother abandoned him, she would have various lovers. When he was two there was Carlos, he believed in physically harming and burning children. When he was three there was Adam, he believed in fondling little kids. Finally, when he was four there was Blake, he believed in having intercourse with little kids. Jackson glares at the man, "This is Johnathan Jackson, he's my husband." Maggie explains. His glare deepens, Johnathan holds his hand out to Jackson. Slowly he pulls his hand back, an awkward silence falls over them.

  Maggie clears her throat and claps her hands, "Well! John grabs his suitcase and we'll get going." She says as she hands the suitcase to her husband, Johnathan reluctantly takes it. He leaves Maggie and Jackson alone, Jackson looks down. "I-I'm sorry I was rude to your husband, I just have a hard time speaking to men." He mumbles. Jackson glances up at her through his lashes, a sad expression is dawning her tanned face. Slowly a grin spreads on his face. He's got her right where he wants her, "Come on honey, I want you to meet your little brother." Says Maggie as she gives me a gentle smile. Jackson returns her smile and stands up.

  Young Benjamin was a carefree child, he was happy and innocent. Jackson hated it, he hated how loud and happy the boy was. He won't stop bugging him with questions, one caught him off guard. "Why did your parents leave you?" The boy asked. his mother had scolded him for the question. Jackson held his hand up, he slid his cold green gaze over to the curious boy. "My dad died when I was one and my mom abandoned me when I was five," Jackson replied monotonously. He didn't mind answering this question, none of that mattered anymore. His father, who was a pristine lawyer was shot and killed because he lost an important case. Then his mother began to go mad when he was only three, but that's all in the past. When Johnathan parked the red Buick Jackson looked out the window. The Sawyer's home was small, it was a simple white one-story house. The lawn was short, the color was a bright green. A white wooden fence wrapped around the perimeter of the small home. A rose bush stood on either side of the gate to the fence, they both were fully bloomed.

  "I know it's not big like the orphanage, but we hope it will feel like home." Said, Maggie, as she looked at Jackson through the review mirror. Jackson smiled at her, "It's alright Maggie. I'm sure I'll feel right at home." He replied. The happiness in his voice sounded forced, twenty minutes with these people and he is already hating them. Jackson couldn't understand why they were so happy, there is no happiness in this pathetic life. "Hey, Jackson? Why do you have strange marks on your arms?" Benjamin asks. Jackson pulls down his gray sleeves and glares at his new little brother. "Don't ask about those." He snaps in irritation. Jackson rubs his arm, he remembers what happened.

  "Hold still you little brat! N-No! That h-hurts Carlos!" Jackson shudders in fear, he grips his arm as the burns from the past flare up. "Jackson honey, let's go I want to show you your new room." Maggie breaks his trance. He didn't even notice her open the back door. Jackson blinks hard and looks up at her with childlike eyes. "R-Right...sorry." He mumbles as he gets out of the car. For the first time in eleven years, Jackson was finally able to have a real family, a family that would soon regret picking him. On the inside of the house, it was much bigger, it seemed wider. Jackson's green gaze floats around curiously. A tug to his hand catches him by surprise, he looks down to see Benjamin. His tanned face showing a bright smile, his brown locks fall over his blue eyes. The more Jackson stared at him the more he grew to hate him and those blue eyes. "Come on big brother! Let's go to your new room!" Benjamin cheered as he pulled the brooding teen down the hall. A frown settles upon Jackson's face, his new brother's happiness is beginning to get to him.

  Since he was five, Jackson never understood why kids were happy. Nothing in this pathetic, useless, and cold world is happy. There are freaks, criminals, and just horrible people in general, he remembers when he pushed Tommy Bengt off the slide. Seeing him happy just struck a nerve in Jackson, why should Tommy be happy when he wasn't. "J-Jackson Clay did it! I didn't do anything." Jackson grins at the memory, the fall broke Tommy's arm in three places. Everyone knew he did it, but no one did anything to him because they were scared.

  Everyone at Black Water was terrified of Jackson, even his friends, but they still talked to him. "Jackson! Are you going to come in?" Benjamin's voice broke his trance. He blinked hard and looked down at Benjamin, the boy still has that ridiculous smile on his face. "Don't you ever stop smiling? It's getting really annoying." Jackson finally loses his patience. In front of him a white door stands slightly ajar, "Is this my room Benny?" He asks. "Y-Yes," the boy's voice trembled a little. Jackson nudged his door open, light flooded into the dark room from the hallway. His suitcase lays peacefully on his full sized bed, he walks in and slowly drags his fingers over his black comforter. It reminds him of the nightgown his mother use to wear. The covers were silk, but fluffy.

  Jackson could feel the child's gaze on his back, he turned around and glared. "Would you get out of here?" Jackson snapped. Fear passed through the boys blue orbs, Benjamin runs down the hall. Jackson hums in thought, "I know a game that Benny will love to play." He mutters to himself. Later that day, after Jackson got settled in, the new family sat down for a meal. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer sat at either end of the rectangle shaped table, the two boys sat in front of each other. Dinner was going peacefully until Benjamin's chair flew backward. The boy wailed in pain as his head bounced off the wooden floor. "Oh my god Benjamin! Are you okay!?" Yelled Maggie as she sprang from her chair. Jackson took a bite of green beans to hide his smirk.

  "J-Jackson did it, mommy!" Benjamin wailed as he held his head. The teen dropped his fork, a loud clatter caught everyone's attention. Slowly tears welled up in his eyes, "I-I didn't do anything. How would I be responsible for you falling?" Jackson's voice trembled slightly. Maggie pulled the teen in for a tight hug, "Benjamin apologize to your brother." She says sternly. Jackson flashes the boy a devilish smile, it was a simple thing, all he did was just use his foot to kick the chair back. Later that night Jackson slowly crept into the boy's room, in his hand he held a pair of scissors. Gently he lifts the boy's arm and places them underneath. The next morning a loud scream echoes through the house. Jackson grins as he flips through the channels on the television, Johnathan ran into the living room. His brown hair was unevenly cut, "Whoa! What happened to your hair? It looks like cats fought on it." Said, Jackson, as he tried to hold in his mirth.

   "Did you do this?" Johnathan asked as he tried to hold his rage in. Jackson puts on an innocent face, he places his hand on his chest. "Now why would I do that? I have no reason to harm you in any way." Jackson replied as he tried to put on his best innocent face. Johnathan narrowed his eyes at the suspicious teen, "But! I did see Ben with a pair of scissors last night. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen." Jackson hid his grin with a 'What can ya do' smile, Johnathan stormed off to his son's room. Jackson held his hand up and began to slowly began to slowly bring his fingers down. "Benjamin! You are grounded!" A grin broke out on the teens face, he just had to get him in trouble, Benny told on him.

  Jackson glares as he sits in the backseat of the red Buick, Maggie said he had to go to a public school. He hasn't been to a public school since second grade, he was kicked out for pushing a paraplegic kid down a flight of stairs. The principal told Miss Jewel that the boy needed help, but she didn't listen. Before he was kicked out, his teacher asked him to draw his favorite thing to do. Jackson drew himself beating up some other kid, later that day the school counselor had called him to the office.

  "Jackson, honey we're here. Your father and I will be here around two to pick you up." Said Maggie. Jackson blinked and looked at her through the review mirror. He just nods and pushes the rear passenger door open, Jackson hikes his book bag up on his shoulder. "Have a good day honey!" Maggie calls. Jackson slams the door shut and walks towards the school. He jogs up the steps and pushes the double doors open. The long hallways were empty, the walls were painted red and blue symbolizing the school colors. A blue dragon was painted on the wall as well, "Ah. I've heard of these guys, Miss Jewel always raved about the Black Water Dragons." He mumbles.

  A kid runs past him, obviously in a hurry. Jackson grabs the boys arm, he looks younger than Jackson. The boy's hair is black, his hazel eyes are wild. "Do you know where the front office is?" Jackson asks as he grips the boy's arm tighter. The boys face grows visibly pale, Jackson looks the boy up and down. The child is small, his black shirt hand loosely from his body, his white jeans clung onto his lower half tightly. "U-Um...i-it's down the hall to the left." The boy stuttered, a light blush tinted his cheeks. Jackson released his arm and followed the boy's instructions. Sure enough, the office was there, Jackson pushes the door open. His presence catches the secretary's attention, "May I help you?" She asks. Jackson forces a smile on his face as he replies, "Yea, I'm a new student. I'm sure my mother called ahead to let you know." The woman's eyes light up. "Oh yes! Mister Clay, you're our newest junior. I have your schedule here, your first period is Mrs. Henderson, room one fifty-six." She explains as she hands him a piece of paper.

  An array of classes were printed on the front of the paper, his first period was math Mrs. Henderson, he always hated math. He walks out of the office holding the paper, below his first period a new subject came to view. Advance placement Literature Mister James, "They must have obtained my stats from when I was homeschooled." He mumbles. His third period was science, and his fourth was history. The rest of the classes didn't catch his interest. "I'll go to math class just for today, after that no more of that." He states as he looks at the multiple doors lining the hall.

  Jackson mumbled each number under his breath, at the end of the hall there stood the classroom. The wooden door stood open, a shrill voice drifted out into the hall. Jackson walks in and asks, "Are you Mrs. Henderson?" The short skinny woman stopped talking. She turned to look at the teen, she looked to be in her early forties. She wore a brown pencil skirt and a light blue silk blouse with ruffles. Her graying brown hair was tied into a tight bun, a pair of glasses lay on top of her head. "Yes, May I ask who you are?" She asks. Jackson flashes her a fake smile as he hands her his schedule. She puts her glasses on and looks over the paper. "Class, this is Jackson Clay. He is new here. So, make him feel welcomed."

  Jackson takes his schedule back and heads to the back of the class. He had almost tripped due to someone sticking their leg out. Jackson stabled himself and glared at the kid to his right, he could already see that the kid was a failure. For a simple addition question the moron put a large number, the question was three plus four which is seven. "you idiot." He mumbles as he takes a seat in the back. The kid looked back at him, he smirked and flipped the kid off. As the class went on Jackson began to see why he never liked public school, people always picked on him. A kid from the other side of the room kept pelting him with paper balls, each time he was hit his eye would twitch. When the bell rung he made sure to be the first one out, "Hey freak! Slow down, I want to talk to you!" He heard a deep male voice call after him.

  Slowly Jackson stopped walking, he looked over his shoulder to see the guy who threw the paper balls at him. "What did you just call me?" He growled as he glared at the teen. "Chill dude I was joking, your name is Jackson right?" The teen was ignored, Jackson's glare deepened. Anxiety shot through the bully's body, "L-Listen...I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at lunch." The boy stammered over his words. Slowly a wicked grin spread across Jackson's face, "Sure, meet me on the roof at lunch and come alone." He replies. Confusion showed on the boy's face, "U-Um okay, my name is Dylan by the way." Jackson nodded and walked to his next class. A smirk stretched to life on his face, his blond hair covered his eyes, "We're gonna hang out alright."