I sat at my desk and stared straight ahead. I wasn’t sure what to think or how to feel. For the first time in my life, I was in deep trouble. Not came-home-late-from-the-park or didn’t-clean-up-my-room trouble. Serious, maximum-punishment trouble.
In some ways, I was glad it was over. When I woke up the next morning, I wouldn’t have to make up a story about where I was going or where I’d been. That was a relief. But part of me was going to miss my secret life, the one where I was a football player who stood up to bullies like Spencer Randle and Julian, and who could run the wildcat better than anyone else on the field.
Thinking about that made me smile, even as I realized I was about to get grounded the day before the Fourth of July. Evan would have to watch the fireworks with her friends from the pool. When I had served my time, maybe she and I could go see Dr. Pirate 2. I knew she’d be up for it.
Eventually, I heard a knock on my door.
“Can I come in?” Dad asked.
“Sure,” I said.
He walked into the room and sat down on my bed.
“I’m sorry I lied,” I said. “And I’m sorry I played football after you told me not to.”
“Thank you for saying that,” Dad answered. “But that’s not what’s most important to me.”
“Do you want me to pay you back for golf camp? Because I will.”
“We’ll get to that. The more important lesson is that your mom and I need you to tell us the truth, all the time, no matter what.”
“I tried to,” I said.
“I know you did. I should have listened. I was just really excited about playing golf with you. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. And now that you’re finally old enough and capable, I didn’t stop to think that you might not be as excited as I am. So while I can’t excuse what you did, I can understand it.”
Dad nodded. “I think you were a son so determined to do his own thing, he defied his parents.” He squeezed my ankle. “But independence comes with responsibility, Wyatt. If you’re going to be in charge of your own life, you have to learn to make good decisions, or there are going to be consequences.”
“Can I play football again?” I asked. “There’s a big game tomorrow and it’s really important.”
Dad was quiet for a moment.
“Can I?” I asked a minute later.
“Look, here’s what’s going to happen,” Dad said, standing up. “Mom and I will talk tonight about what your punishment should be. Tomorrow after dinner, we’ll sit down with you and Aaron and we’ll let you both know what we’ve decided.”
“Is Aaron in trouble too?”
“He lied about what he was doing. He hasn’t been volunteering at all. Apparently he’s just been hanging around all summer. Those were his words. So, yes, he’s in trouble too. In the meantime, I’ll let you judge for yourself whether playing football with your friends is the right thing to do.”
“Really?” I said. I couldn’t believe Dad hadn’t said no. “Can I watch the fireworks too?”
Dad started to say something, then stopped himself. His expression became sad, just for a moment. Then it seemed to pass. “I’m not saying yes or no, Wyatt. I want you to make the right decision on your own.”
It wasn’t until later that I realized what Dad hadn’t said. But by then, there was nothing I could do.
There was a quiet moment while Dad made his way to the door. When he had one foot in the hallway, I said, “Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really sorry.”
“I know you are,” he replied. “But I’m not the only person you need to apologize to.”
That was the understatement of the year.
The next person I had to apologize to was Mom. Then I’d have to call Francis. And Evan too, since I’d almost gotten her in trouble at the store.
As if that wasn’t enough, I had no idea whether or not to play football and go to the fireworks tomorrow.
I fell asleep later that night without any clue what the right answer was. Usually I was good at multiple-choice questions, especially when there were only two options. But this one stumped me. Maybe that was because there was no right answer. If there was, I hoped I would find it in the morning.