Nicholas wasn’t totally sure, but he suspected Aiden and the captain were dating again. He was tipped off by the way they were holding hands. He was about to share this observation with Seiji when his attention was thoroughly distracted.
Coach Arquette, Coach Robillard, and Coach Williams approached their group, walking across the golden sands until they reached them. Coach Arquette and Coach Robillard’s faces were solemn. Nicholas couldn’t read Coach Williams’ face.
“Monsieur Robillard and I just wanted to say we’re sorry about the confusion, and of course Mr. Kane is no longer banned from Camp Menton,” said Coach Arquette.
Aiden blinked at them slowly, reaching out to hold the captain’s arm as well as his hand, as though Harvard were his anchor in strange seas.
“I’m—not banned?” Aiden asked.
“That’s right,” said Coach Arquette.
“But—if I’m not banned from the camp, that means—”
“I’ve spoken to your school principal. You will be fully reinstated at Kings Row as well,” Coach Robillard said in a firm voice.
Aiden looked dazed. “But—”
He glanced at Harvard, but the captain seemed just as lost as Aiden. Apparently, nobody had any answers.
“I explained everything to Coach Robillard,” Seiji piped up from beside Nicholas.
Everyone turned to stare at Seiji in astonishment. Seiji gazed sternly around.
“I explained that when it appeared Aiden had broken curfew, he’d merely been searching for me,” he reported. “Because I got lost in the woods at night.”
“And you all… believe that,” Aiden said slowly.
Coach Robillard gave an expressive shrug. “Of course I wouldn’t with anyone else, but I remember training this kid last year. This is Seiji Katayama.”
“Yes,” said Seiji. “I’m Seiji Katayama.”
Coach Robillard shook his head, apparently lost in memory. “He doesn’t lie about rules. He got an RA out of bed one night because the other fencers were having an illicit midnight hot chocolate. She said she’d let it go this once, and he said she couldn’t let it go.”
“They had a match the next day!” Seiji protested, clearly scandalized.
Coach Robillard rolled his eyes. Coach Arquette apologized again to Aiden, and she and Coach Robillard left, leaving Coach Williams with her team.
After a moment of silence, Aiden said, “Coach? About… staying at Kings Row. Did you mention to anyone that I told you I was going to break curfew?”
Coach shrugged. “Must have slipped my mind.”
“Did… it…,” Aiden said.
“Very pleased you’ve decided to behave, very pleased my team’s not going to be decimated at the state championship.” Coach said. “And that’s that.”
She turned on her heel, leaving the boys standing on the beach.
Aiden cleared his throat. Then he asked Seiji, “Why would you lie for me?”
“You’ve helped me with Jesse twice now,” Seiji answered, earnest as only Seiji could be. “Now I’m helping you in return. That’s teamwork: I thought you should know how it goes.”
“I’m deeply shamed to be receiving lectures about social interactions from Seiji Katayama,” Aiden mused.
Before Nicholas could bristle at Aiden’s ingratitude, Aiden gave Seiji a weird smile. It was Aiden’s smile, dazzling and mocking and coaxing everyone to smile back at him, but there was a certain hardness missing. As though there had always been an invisible shield in front of the smile, and now the shield could be lowered.
“Thanks, Seiji,” Aiden added with his new smile. “Thanks, everyone. I mean it.”
“Well, of course,” Nicholas said, thawing. “You’re part of the team. You belong at Kings Row.”
If Aiden wasn’t expelled, then everything would be right with Kings Row and Nicholas’s world.
Camp Menton had been great, but his team and Kings Row were the best. Nicholas was ready to go home.
Bastien Robillard, Colm from Ireland, and several other guys looked crushed about Aiden holding Harvard’s hand as they climbed onto the bus. Bastien pulled himself together and called out instructions to Nicholas about a few moves he should learn before the Kings Row team had to leave. Bastien was cool, Nicholas thought, but he still believed Aiden had picked the right guy.
On the bus, Aiden slept serenely with his head on Harvard’s shoulder, Harvard humming a contented tune all the way to the airport. The rest of them sat at the back and gossiped.
“This is such a wild, exciting, romantic ride!” Bobby enthused.
“I’m glad they are back together,” Seiji said, to the surprise of all. “I think Aiden was sad. And that was bound to affect his fencing.”
“Wow, Aiden has feelings?” asked Nicholas.
Seiji, sudden expert on feelings, elbowed Nicholas in the ribs. Nicholas looked to his other friends for help, but Bobby was wearing an expression that strongly endorsed Seiji’s elbowing.
Once on their first plane, Seiji revealed he had prepared several books for Nicholas, as well as a brief fencing quiz. Nicholas appreciated the thought but wanted a trade, so he made Seiji watch a movie he liked about ice hockey and plucky underdogs. Seiji spent much of their second flight darkly observing that the plucky underdogs weren’t training properly and didn’t deserve to win.
On the bus ride back from New York, Nicholas couldn’t settle with any of Seiji’s books or even a quiz. He found himself pacing up and down the aisle of the bus, feeling as though he had an itch in his brain, restless until they reached their destination. He wondered if this was how it felt to be homesick. Nicholas had never experienced that before.
However uncomfortable the itch in his brain was, it was nothing compared to the relief when the bus turned the corner and laid out before them all were the deep evergreen woods and not the lemon trees, the deep lake and not the sea. Waiting for them down the long driveway were the redbrick, white-windowed buildings of Kings Row.
With immense satisfaction, Nicholas studied the school logo depicted over the door as they drew closer. A shield wearing a crown, with two swords crossed behind it. An inverted K against a background of gold and blue, and an R against gold and crimson. Underneath were the words Unitatis Mirabile Vinculum, which Nicholas knew meant The Wondrous Bond of Unity. It meant being together as one.
Harvard’s friends Kally and Tanner were walking by a window, and when they saw the bus roll up, they leaned out and yelled a welcome home. Nicholas observed the way their eyes flew right to Aiden and Harvard’s joined hands, noted how they whispered to each other and beamed. Kally and Tanner were clearly happy for them, and Nicholas realized he was happy for them, too. He watched as Harvard lifted Aiden’s hand to his mouth and kissed the back, and saw the way Aiden looked at Harvard’s bent head.
The best part of a journey was coming home. That was something new for Nicholas to learn.
In that moment, Nicholas was sure he felt the wondrous bond of unity with his school and all the people in it. Especially the people in this bus. Sparkly Bobby and solemn Dante, having one of their unbalanced conversations that seemed to balance. Seiji and his stern face, still cranky about plucky underdogs succeeding without training. Aiden and Harvard, so surprisingly and unmistakably happy. And Nicholas, the scholarship kid who shouldn’t belong here, but might anyway. He turned his head and caught a grin Coach Williams tossed his way.
“It’s good to be home, kids,” Coach announced. “Home’s our first step to victory.”