She’d been memorizing French verbs out loud after dinner, so her parents wouldn’t register when she answered her phone to talk through stage 2 of the Billy saga: The Family Disapproves.
Billy said his mother was mostly “very disappointed” and it was left to his father to use the heavy artillery: Do you realize what you’re giving up? Do you have any idea how many boys would kill for this opportunity? How dare you presume to walk away from a job half done! Are you a winner or a quitter? You’ll never achieve anything in life if you’re complacent about the head start you’ve had. How do you think this is going to look on your school record? If you had any strength of character, you’d stick with it. You made a commitment and now you’re letting everyone down. You owe the principal, your coach, and your crew an apology. It’s hard to recognize you’re my son.
“That’s all so… harsh, and critical.”
“I’ve had versions of the talk before, but it’s the angriest I’ve ever seen my father.”
“What about your sister? What does she think?”
“She was cranky because my mother’s call woke her up. She thinks I should take the path of least resistance, put up with it till the end of school, and decide then.”
“That sounds like okay advice.”
“Only I’ve already decided. Jeez, it’s not like I’m dropping out of school or using heroin.”
“Your dad’s reaction does sound extreme.”
“Yeah, for someone so smart, he’s really dumb. It just boils down to why can’t I control you anymore?” He sounded tired. “They’re so into me achieving their goals.”
“They just want you to be successful, as they are. My parents want me to be successful, as they are not. When I tell them the artist plan there will be a tsunami of disapproval. They want me to study medicine, too.”
She could hear Billy smile. “We could run a course.”
“Letting your parents down in ten easy steps. Are they punishing you?”
“My dad’s giving me time to think it all over. He still thinks I’ll fold. And that’ll happen when—never.”
“Wow, I don’t get why it’s hard for him to recognize you as his son.”
Billy laughed. “Okay, we’re both stubborn arseholes. I’m guessing I’ll be grounded for a while. So that’ll make two of us who aren’t allowed out.”
“I was kind of joking with the whole date-night-the-final-frontier, but…”
“We’ll find a way.”
The English portal, open on her screen, stepped up with a possible solution. “Do you know when we could do it? Maybe?”
“When?”
“That notice we got today—the film screening.”
“Genius.”
“Good night.”
“Night.”
She smiled as she hung up. As long as she could get Jess on board for a little extra insurance, her parents should let her go on a school-sanctioned outing.