Page 46 of One More Chapter
The bees puff out their chests, and I can’t hide the fact that I am a little bit proud. Andi says she’s parking, then hangs up while we all wait in limbo for her to check in. In those few minutes, I chance a look at my brother. His knee is bouncing, eyes wide as he looks from Dominic to the door and back. Themoment Dominic’s mom steps in, I see his breath catch in his throat, and his eyes grow into the shapes of bleeding hearts. She, on the other hand, falls to her knees in front of her son.
“Dominic, baby, whathappened?” she asks, stroking his head and his face and squeezing his hand with her other.
“I don’t know, Mom, I just…”
He breaks down. Collapses against his mother. It’s such an intimate moment, I feel like I shouldn’t be here.
“I’m so sorry. He just lost his dad, and these changes have been alot, which Iknowis not an excuse, but…”
Lucy shifts, taking control of the meeting.
“Why don’t we move over to the conference room?”
As the meeting shifts across the hall, Andi and Ian share a few private words, and Nathan dismisses me as well.
“Thanks for your help. If you wouldn’t mind holding down the fort while Lucy and I proceed…”
“No sweat.” I clap him on the shoulder, then meet my brother in the hall as the door quietly snicks shut before us.
“We gonna talk now or later?” I ask. His eyes become coal.
“Later.”
Shoving his good hand into his pocket, he turns to leave, but I grab him before he can.
“Hey. Let me know when later becomes necessary, yeah?”
He nods gruffly, then signs out at the front desk, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake.
As if the day could not get any weirder, mine wraps up with detention duty, something I somehow couldn’t weasel my way out of, even with my shiny new fake-administrator badge.
Worst of all? It’s with Pen.
Which sounds crass, I know. But we haven’t talked about last night, which means the next hour of our lives is going to be awkward as hell, and there is no way of stopping it.
I make my way to our classroom just in time for the eighth grade stragglers to check in. As they’re all slumping into their seats, I break the ice right away.
“How goes it, boss? Day go alright without me?”
She levels me with one of those gazes that could flatten pancakes.
“Yes, Anthony, contrary to popular belief, Icanmanage teaching math without you.”
I puff out my cheeks, blow out an extended breath, and swipe the detention clipboard from the front desk to take inventory—and also, to have something to do with my hands.
“Alright. How does this work?”
She swipes the clipboard from me and takes out the sheets that are on the inside of the plastic contraption.
“They fill out a reflection sheet, and when they’re finished, they have to come share it with one of us. Then, they’re free to work on homework or do a challenge packet. Here. Make yourself useful.”
She slaps my chest with the stack of forms, and I hand them out to the six students, explaining the rules before I join her at her perch in front of the classroom. As pencil scratches begin filling the silence, I open my big dumb mouth.
“So uh, did you get that firefighter’s number or what?”
I will not call him a firemanbecause “man” would imply that he has balls that I don’t. Then again, said balls just sucked up into my stomach at the look Penelope Barker just doused me with. The one I rightfully deserve.
“Excuseyou?”