Jokerigami

Click Here to read “Batfold: Novick Detention”

Jokerigami

By SF Guillermo

Early Off Note
By William Martin

“Boom!” I say, jumping onto the couch laughing. My friends, who I had just invited over are laughing too.

I smile. This made me happy…to have all of them here, in one place, clapping and cheering…for me.

I was one of the finest straight A’s students in Kane High. Here’s where your question might pop in:

“But Mr. Martin, why would you say ONE of the finest?

And that is when I say stop right there.

I live my life in a carefree manner. I don’t watch the news, nor will I ever (or so I thought). My parents and I live in a small flat, because we can’t afford anything else. It’s a mile away from Kane, in one of the poorest places of the city. 

I can’t really complain though, even if my parents have a fight or I’m left alone taking care of myself, the situation always ends up cooling down. Since I know that, I’ve learned to not worry about a thing. My mother taught me that, actually.

The most important things in my life, my friends from school and my grades, remind me that not only am I a good person but I make an excellent student, and someday I will be able to escape my parents economic troubles and make a life of my own.

My life is great, nothing can go wrong…nothing at all…

…Oh Wait
By William Martin

That was a week ago, just a week. Much has changed since then. I just wish things hadn’t happened the way they did, but I can’t change the past, no matter how much I want to.

Everything started going downhill ever since mom came to pick me up that day after school. 

I was just finishing stuffing all my things in my locker. I was late enough as it was, because Mr. Randall had given us more worksheets to work with about the early modern period, and since my bag was already so full, oh man, I couldn’t fit it all inside, I had to hurry up and cram everything into my locker: sheets, notebooks, even markers.

Once I put it all inside, I closed the locker door with a large “bang” and hurried, Mom was going to be so angry I made her wait. 

I was almost out of the school, coming through the doors, when Alan Wade, the Batfold (note: he had recently told the school that at some dumb meeting) this rich dude with no parents, stopped me.

“Hi William!” he said “How are ya?”

“Oh, I’m alright, now could you let me through, you know, my mom is waiting?” I answered, annoyed. This guy really represented quite the opposite of what I was used to, he had a mansion, he had everything free practically, he wouldn’t care if an ice cream cost him three dollars instead of two. 

“Look,” He placed a hand on my shoulder “Don’t be so serious, it’s bad for your health, trust me, enjoy what you have, instead of, you know, being depressed.”

I wasn’t going to listen to this guy, I sure wasn’t, HE, was not going to teach me about a hard life. But I knew that being hostile is no way of life. 

“Thanks” I smiled, even though I didn’t want to. 

He let go of my shoulder, I walked through the door without looking back at him. I opened the door and I saw something I would’ve never liked to see. 

I just wish Alan Wade hadn’t made me lose time.

Beginning Real Life (After Incident)
By William Martin 

I lost my mother that day. I don’t know much about it, but there was a car accident. Apparently, my mother had tried to open the car door just when another car was coming and… well, you know what happened. 

Now I’m left with my dad, in a dark house, awaiting to attend a funeral we can barely afford, everything just seems so dark suddenly, when things were just shining and I couldn’t even see it. Gosh, I was so blind. 

But who’s fault is it actually? Who, when everything was going RIGHT, came to a halt right in front of me, and DARED to ask me if I’m OK, tells me to cheer up because it’s BAD for my health? While my mother was having a car accident, and I would never see her again, a key element in my life. 

Alan Wade, the Batfold, has just destroyed my family.

And he was going to pay for it.

Grades
By William Martin

“Alright guys, great to see you all back from that trip to DC!” Mr. Aziz, our math teacher said, “Now I’m gonna hand out to all of you the tests you did a week ago. I corrected it really fast because this grade will be important so you know approximately what you will get in your finals.” He finished.

“Oh boy” I thought. The exam hadn’t come out the way I expected it to come out. My mother had just passed away two days before the test, and it hadn’t come out very good. 

“I’m a bit disappointed by some results, even though some of your grades went up, I didn’t expect them to be lowered for certain people.” He looked at me in an indirect way. 

I hadn’t told him about my mother, why would he need to know, would he care? I didn’t seem to think so then, now I realise it could’ve helped me. Then again, I also thought it would be common knowledge, I mean, it happened on school grounds. The system was just covering it up.

He started handing out the exams and I took a look at it, F. 

I put my hand over my mouth, I could not believe I had come so low. This was unexpected, even in this situation, for me. 

Mr. Aziz came to me and spoke in a low voice. 

“Look William, I don’t know what’s happening to you, do you want to talk to me or anything?” He sounded sad. He didn’t know about true sadness though. 

“No, thank you,” I said. Without looking at him, I didn’t care about being disrespectful. 

My eyes started watering, my life was just changing so fast. 

I hoped this was just a temporary thing, that my grades would go back up. 

They never did.

When I got home from school, I came in without saying a word. Dad asked me what was wrong, he had immediately noticed something was off. 

“It’s nothing, trust me” I always answered. 

FRIENDS

By William Martin. 

While I had lost the most important part of my family, and I was lowering my grades, there was still one more thing I could count on, friends. 

However, my inevitably growing state of depression let me do stuff or answer badly to some people that had been nice to me before. Life didn’t give me a break for some time. 

One day after Third Period, we had a half an hour break until the afternoon classes began.

I reached the cafeteria where me and my friends always went to buy a hot dog while we talked about stuff. You know, like friends do during recess. 

Only this time I didn’t feel like it, I just went there to seek some refuge from my mental depression. 

I went to the cafeteria where my friends were waiting, and they all looked at me as I came in, I didn’t wanna hear what they had to say. 

“Oh boy!” Aldrich said, “Dude, why are you coming so late now, we’ve even discussed one topic already.”

Aldrich obviously hadn’t heard about my mother, I hadn’t told him, so he didn’t know anything at all, everything happening was all weird nonsense. 

“He’s right, you always came here first and got in line so we didn’t have to wait so much,” Lenan said, laughing.

I realised I was hanging out with weirdos. Not only were they weirdos but they had been using me, or at least that’s what I thought then, I was grieved.

“Dude, just get in line and get a hot dog.” Andrich said, “Don’t get so mad with life.” 

My mind spoke for myself.

“Mad with life? Mad with life? So what if I don’t want to get a freaking Hot Dog!? Who would like to hang out with stupid guys like you guys anyway?” 

I left as soon as I said that, I wouldn’t like to hear from those guys again. 

And now I have lost my friends. 

A NEW RISE

By William Martin

Walking away from the cafeteria, my eyes started watering again, I couldn’t hold them from crying. Everything had been taken away from me, and the things that I still had, would only be a matter of time before they are taken away, that’s the true reality of things, nothing lasts forever, and it was about time I learnt that. 

I was thinking during that time that everyone was looking at me like if I was a weirdo or something, if not, they were whispering to each other while looking at me or something. It was one of those times you think everyone is against you for some reason and your head starts to get really hot. At least that’s what it’s like for me.

I was walking home from school, on the streets to Kane and this new school, Novick when a big fist grabbed me. One of Novick’s group of bullies had just been heading my way and I hadn’t seen them coming. 

“Hey, look at this guy.” One of them said, “Have u lost ur way, sur?” that’s literally what he sounded like. He laughed, so did all the others. 

“Please let me go,” I said, facing them, but keeping my head low. “I’ve got enough on my plate already as it is.”

“Look kid we don’t wanna fight, just give us what you got and we will leave.” 

“I don’t have anything, I really don’t.” I answered them, “guys, please” 

“Alright,” He said. He punched me in the stomach and left, along with his gang, leaving me there alone in pain, right in front of Novick. 

Y’know those times when you want to cry, but you don’t know why, you start laughing for no apparent reason? That was one of those. I had two things to do: Submerge myself into a pool of unforgettable and indefinite pain, or take matters the other way, just live. 

THE MAKING OF A FOE

By William Martin.

You know the quote: ” Either you die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain”? 

I never thought that was true, more like a catchy quote from the Dark Knight to set the movie in a cool tone. 

The thing was, later that night, I started thinking I was too tired to carry on like this, to get beaten up by bullies, to get embarrassed in front of my friends, and to lose everything which I loved and made me happy. Those times were over.

Alan Wade had lost his parents, but he didn’t know what it means to be alone, he never has been. He has his butler, his friends, and his huge mansion with nearly one and a half million dollars on personal spend. I, on the other hand, had no friends and could never attend parties others hosted. You needed money to go in, I didn’t have any money.

Alan Wade, the Batfold had destroyed it all and he, Batfold, and his heroic schemes were at an end. 

Origami had started to be a part of the school for some time now, I was soon going to participate. 

Batman’s greatest villain, the Joker, would soon be made into an origami puppet. The only problem was, it was already taken by this other rich and famous maniac guy, Conrad Mordecai. 

Conrad Mordecai was a maniac, his Joker made sense. He was based on the 1989 or Animated series Joker, just a completely insane dude. 

I, on the other hand, was not tied to the rules of society anymore, no one else to care about.I could be like, the Jared Leto Joker, or something. 

I got to work, using some green and purple colored paper I had at home, and using black and red colored markers, I made my Joker, ready to defeat the Batfold. 

A Plan… That I won’t tell

By William Martin

I walked into school, now the loner that I am. I took out a Joker Card, the puppet in my pocket, and I slid it into Alan’s Locker.

I looked away, and made my way away from the door. One day, someday very far from here, it will all come together. All will be in place.

THE AGENCY CARD ON THE LOCKER 

By Alan Wade 

I opened my locker door right after the last final when something fell to the ground, a rectangle of paper. 

I picked it up. 

Better said, it was a card. A Joker card. I sighed, rolled my eyes, and felt indifferent.

It read:

This will make ME immortal

I tossed it in the trash. Conrad, I’m sure, is just messing with me. I have so much on my mind, I don’t care.

William Martin does not return until a story in Fold 4… why don’t you go back and read more?

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