Chapter Six

James

My desk chair creaks with my weight as I pull up my essay on Crime and Punishment for one last look. This essay needs to be polished enough to land me extra credit before I walk through the door tomorrow morning. My doorknob jiggles as someone plays with the lock, then Gavin throws open the door, dragging in his luggage behind him. “My flight was delayed.”

“Welcome back, man.” I get up and pull him into a bro hug. “Want some help?”

“It’d make it quicker, that’s for sure.”

I lift the strap of his soft guitar case over his head and place the instrument in the same spot near his bed where we kept it last year. It’s like his teddy bear.

He plops his suitcase on the bed and unzips it. Per usual, his stuff is a massive lump. It’s like he never learned to fold worth shit. He chuckles while he separates his clothing. “How was babysitting your father’s friend’s kid all day?”

“Could have been worse.”

“What’s her name again?”

“Edelweiss.”

“Different. I like it.” His voice is lower than it was the last time we spoke on the phone in July. “What’s she like?”

“Blonde, pretty, and fierce.”

“Sounds like your type. How long did it take you to pounce on that one?”

“Literally a millisecond thanks to the glare of the sun, but it’s not what you’re thinking. I took her down with my motorbike before the welcome dinner.” I sigh. Watching Gavin fold a T-shirt is like watching a toddler try to tie his shoes. “Let me show you.” I grab one from his suitcase and show him how it’s done.

“So, this new girl. She’s not the girl that Mason just texted me about? The one you pulled in through the lounge window in her underwear?”

I cringe. “Same girl.”

“Ah. And you’re not into her?” He pats his favorite Radiohead T-shirt, which now resembles something less than a lump. “Better?”

I nod. It’ll at least get the thing to fit in the drawer. “No, I’m not into her. I told you, I’m writing off girls this year.”

“The day you write off girls will be the day one of my songs hits the top forty.”

“You’re going to need a lot more confidence if you want to be a musician, Gavin.”

“I’m working on it.” He shrugs. “From what Mason says this girl is ummm…stacked?”

Edelweiss has curves for days. Ones that made it very awkward to be so near her in the shower.

“And to clarify, you aren’t together?”

I lean up against the wall. “You’re interested, and you haven’t even met her?”

“After four years, all the girls in our class seem like sisters to me, and the incoming freshman are far too young to date.”

My phone vibrates on the desk. I sneak a look at a text from Proctor. Don’t tell me you’ve marked your territory on the new chick.

“Looks like you’ll have to get in line.” I hand over my phone to Gavin. The poor girl is going to be swamped tomorrow. There’s no way I can let her walk the halls alone. Dad should never have recommended Brockmore to a sweet, homeschooled, ambassador’s daughter.

My phone vibrates in Gavin’s hand. His smile fades while he reads the text. “You need to call your dad.”

“Yeah, I’ll call him after I’m done with my essays.”

“No.” Gavin passes me the phone. “You need to call him now.”

I’ve spoken with Julie and bought you a train ticket home. Say your good-byes to Brockmore, son.

“Shit.” My stomach plummets through my feet, and I stare at the text, reading it over and over. Another one comes through.

I’ve already requested your transcript. When she sends me the pdf, I’ll submit it to Arnold’s Online High School. Say good-bye to West Point.

“I’ve got to go.” I grab my coat off the back of my chair and glance at the clock. One hour until curfew.

“Where are you going?”

“Out.”

“You aren’t going to call him?” he yells down the hall after me.

“I am, but with backup.”

“Who could have your back better than me?” Gavin tosses a rolled-up sock at me while I open the door out of the guys’ wing.

My aunt. I can’t lose Brockmore over mating prairie dogs.

Ten minutes later I park my motorbike in her driveway and pound on the door of her cottage. “Julie, I’m sorry!”

She pulls open the door and steps aside. “How could you do this to me, James? Undermine me in front of the incoming freshman class! I’ve been fielding calls all night from angry parents because of your prank.”

A knot tugs tight in my chest. “It was supposed to be harmless.”

“So you admit it? For the first time, you admit you were behind a prank?”

Her eyes are red, exhausted. It makes me want to knock my own lights out. “I do.”

She groans, tilting her head back. “Why did you do that? James, now I have to hand out consequences!”

“That’s better than this.” I slide my phone to her across the black-granite countertop. “Read what my dad said.”

Her eyes scan the texts, and her lips part wide. “Oh, Peter.” Her hand floats to her chest. “This isn’t how your mother would have handled this.”

Hearing her mention my mom always cuts into me. Julie would never know it, though. Neither would Dad. They have no idea how much I wish I’d had an opportunity to know her the way they did. How much I miss her.

“Help me, Julie.” I reach out and take her hand, looking into her eyes, brown with yellow flecks, just like my own. “You know I love Brockmore. You saw me working on my essays all summer. I am getting more serious, like Dad wanted.”

“You are, but James, if your father wants to pull you from Brockmore, there’s nothing I can do.” She picks up her laptop with a deep sigh. “Let’s Skype him together. Maybe if he sees my face he won’t be so brutal.”

“Thank you.”

Two minutes later, Dad answers her Skype request.

“Hey, Dad.” I lift a finger of acknowledgment.

He dives right in, bringing the screen to his face at an angle that makes him look like he has a triple chin. “James, how could you do this to Julie?”

“I apologized to her. We’re good, right?” I glance at Julie, making sure the camera gets both of us.

Julie nods. “Peter, we’ve worked through this ourselves. I texted you out of frustration. James admitted to the prank, and there will be consequences.”

“I’m sorry, Julie, but I’m not letting James off so easily. I made it very clear at the end of last semester that if he stepped out of line I’d yank him out of Brockmore. And James, you know sorry is not good enough. This sort of behavior is not tolerable in the real world. What do you think will happen if you pull this shit at West Point? They’ll throw your ass out the door, that’s what. Do you understand me, son?”

“Yes, sir.” I roll in my lips, hating when he uses West Point against me. Going there has been my dream since I first remembered watching Dad put on his uniform.

“And then you’ll be homeless, all for a joke. Because, believe me, I will not be supporting you if you get kicked out of West Point. What were you thinking today?”

“I was trying to have a little fun.”

He shakes his head, and when he shifts, I see the photo of my mom he still has on the shelf in his office. She’s posed wearing a pink leotard and tights on the tips of her slippers, elegantly reaching outward while balancing on one leg.

“James, I’m not a fool. You were not chasing a laugh. Remember, I was once just like you. You were trying to remind everyone that you’re cool.”

“It’s not like I’m selling weed or doing anything illegal.” I press my palm against the cool countertop, willing my frustration to pass through it rather than show on my face. One wrong facial expression, and I’m doomed.

“Hacking into a server is against the law, James.”

My eyes burn from how hard I’m working not to roll them. “It’s not the CIA’s server. I’m not hurting anyone when I do it.”

“Actually, you are. First, your aunt, and second, the school’s server hosts all private student information.”

Julie closes her eyes tight and groans. “Peter, don’t give him any ideas.”

Dad points at the screen. If smoke were pouring from his ears, I wouldn’t even attribute it to a Snapchat filter. “If you hack into any confidential information, I will turn you in to the police myself. Do you remember Uncle Brady?”

“You let your own brother rot in jail for a week after his DUI.”

“Exactly. And I love you enough to do the same to you if I have to.”

“Dad, I’m not going to end up in jail, and you know I have no intention of breaking into any student files. I know wrong from right, and that’s not okay.” I glance at Julie. A little backup would be nice right now. “Julie, I lived at your house the last three summers. All of your computers have the same password, Woodworth—what is that by the way?—the point is, if I wanted to hack into the system to get information, I would have done it long ago. That stuff doesn’t interest me.”

He shifts closer to the screen. “What does interest you though, James? Other than ‘pranks’?”

“Football. West Point. I spent my entire summer straightening out. I basically hung out with Julie’s foster kid, read books, and threw a football. That’s it.”

Julie clears her throat. “I have to stand by James. He did more than his fair share of chores, kept out of trouble, and even finished his essays before summer ended.”

“James, you understood my rules. Your summer behavior does not negate what you did today.” He shrugs, his shoulders relaxing.

A deep terror grips my rib cage. The moment he starts cooling off, it means his decision is already made.

“Come on, Dad. I’m sorry! West Point will never accept a student from an online high school. Don’t do this to me.”

“Fine. I’ll enroll you in the public school near my apartment.”

“Peter, isn’t that a little drastic?” Julie says softly. “He’s nine months away from graduation. Hannah wouldn’t want—”

Dad slams his fist on his desk. “Don’t tell me what my wife would or would not have wanted, Julie. You’ve helped me greatly by hosting James during high school, but he is my son. Hannah was the love of my life and would have stood by my side.”

Julie nods, stepping away from the video monitor. A tear rolls down her cheek. She’s been more of a parent to me the last four years than Dad has for sure. He’s always halfway around the world. All my life, she’s been the closest thing I’ve had to a mother. Sometimes I think Dad forgets that when he lost Mom, Julie lost her sister.

“Dad.” My stomach sinks as I realize that not only will I be losing Brockmore, I’ll be losing Julie. And she’d be losing me. “I can’t leave Brockmore.”

“It’s not your decision, son.”

“Hear me out.” I hold up my hand, my heart thrashing in my chest. This better work. “Edelweiss and I have been getting to know each other online for about a month, and well… We hit it off.” It was only a partial lie. “I like her. She says what she’s thinking. It’s nice. I asked her out.”

Dad’s groan echoes off the walls of his office. “Tell me you’re kidding, James Matthew.” He drags his palms over the sagging skin of his cheeks when I don’t answer. “Why did you have to drag her into this?”

“You were the one who gave me her email address and encouraged me to reach out to her. It’s not my fault that she’s awesome.”

Hm. Wonder what today would have been like if I really had emailed her? Doubt Emma would have been able to get away with that prank. I could have prepared her for Brockmore, protected her.

“Ambassador Lee will hate me if you hurt his daughter.”

“I don’t want to break up with her, Dad, but if I move to upstate New York, it wouldn’t be fair to her. I promised to be there for her this year, and I can’t do that through a computer screen. She deserves better.” I press my lips together, hoping he doesn’t take offense to the fact that our relationship is mostly spent on screen.

Julie steps back on camera, the evidence of her tears wiped away. “Peter, I blew today’s situation out of proportion. If it had been any other student pulling this prank, I would not have notified the parents. This is something that should be dealt with between the administration and the student.”

Dad leans back in his chair. We both hold our breath, waiting for the verdict.

“Fine,” he grumbles. “One more chance. Don’t make me regret this James, and do not make a mess of your relationship with the ambassador’s daughter. The last thing I need is to get a call from his office because you made his daughter cry.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Treat her with respect, the way I treated your mother.”

His words feel like he’s taking a pile of linebackers off my back. Air moves through my lungs easier. “Absolutely. Thank you, Dad.”

“Julie? Can we speak tomorrow? I believe I owe you an apology, but right now I think we’re all too wound up, and I fear my words won’t find the right place. But know I appreciate all you’ve done for me and James.”

Julie smiles softly. “Have a good night, Peter. I’ll take care of things on this end.”

“You always do.” The screen returns to his circular photo on Julie’s contact list after Dad ends the call.

A sigh of relief escapes my chest. “Thank you so much.”

She leans against the counter. “We still need to talk about consequences.”

Anything is better than leaving Brockmore. I know it’s hard for her to pin the stables on some of the other students because their parents call and complain, so that’s always where she puts me. Plus, I sort of like the company of the horses. They’ve got these wise eyes that make them easy to talk to.

Not that I’d ever tell anyone I do.

“The stables, all year. I’m on it. Pretty sure if I didn’t show up to muck out the stalls on Saturday morning your horses would freak out. They’ve grown to like me.”

“Well, then perhaps we need to add an extra level of discipline. I want you to take on more responsibility within the walls of Brockmore. Show everyone the boy I know. Once people get to know the real you, no one will expect you to constantly be ‘on’ and your temptation to impress will be eliminated. All of our other students are involved in some type of council or club, except you.”

“I’m captain of the football team.”

“But that’s like breathing for you. It’s not a challenge. How about joining student council this year? We’re missing a voice to represent the senior boys.”

Of course they lack a voice. No one wants to be on the council. Who wants to wake up three days a week for six a.m. meetings to decorate poster boards for food drives and plan dances?

Julie claps her hands. “It’s a perfect solution. Having you on the council may change the way it’s viewed.”

“Don’t do this to me, Julie. It’s a bunch of kids who don’t know how to wash their faces and think fun is defined by bocce ball and free popcorn.”

“James, I hereby sentence you to student council.”

“Does this mean I don’t have to work in the stables?”

She laughs. “James, no one can muck out a stall like you.”

Right. Well, at least I’ll have my horse therapy for the year. “I’ll be there then.” I slip off my stool to raid her fridge. As always, she’s stocked it with my favorite salami and cheese. As I slice it up for a quick snack before heading back to the dorms, there’s an uneasy pull in my chest. Almost like the one I feel before a big play, like the entire game is riding on me.

Hopefully Edelweiss’s offer to “fake date” still stands. If not, I’m doomed.