“Ava called me last night.”
“That’s nice,” I said when Mom gave me a meaningful look.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” she asked.
This boy wasn’t falling for that one.
“Nope.”
“You’re sure about that? She was upset about how you picked up Brook.”
I rolled my eyes.
“That was all Paul and Chuck. I straightened them out. They won’t honk when we pull up anymore, right, Chuck?” I said, giving him a meaningful look.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Chuck tried.
Mom looked at him, and he couldn’t meet her stare.
“Really?” Mom said to him, and I think he peed himself.
“He made me do it,” Chuck blurted.
The next time I wanted to knock off a liquor store, I wasn’t taking him. I didn’t feel bad any longer that Paul hadn’t clued him in about breakfast.
“I’m sure that I’ll want to hear all about the ‘honking’ incident,” Mom said, using air quotes. “What I really want to know is why did you break into their house and get naked on Brook’s bed?”
Dad choked on the chicken bone in his coffee, and Peggy had to beat on his back. Chuck got up and ran for the car. We would have to start a pool for how long this little incident would scare him so he wouldn’t be back for breakfast. I put the over-under at two weeks. At some point, hunger would win out.
“Didn’t your mom give you ‘the talk’?” I asked.
Dad rolled out of his chair and hit the floor. For a brief moment, I wondered if Mom and I had finally killed him. We both glanced down, and he was shaking, he was laughing so hard. Peggy gathered the babies, having decided their safety was more important than listening to my mom and me fight.
“But before school …”
“You mean you and Dad have never had morning sex?” I asked.
Dad’s hand reached up and grabbed the table edge as he pulled himself up.
“Your mother’s and my sex life is no concern of yours,” Dad said with as much dignity as he could muster while desperately trying not to break down laughing again.
“Exactly my point,” I said triumphantly.
Mom didn’t see it that way. I got the whole ‘When you live under my roof’ and ‘Respect your elders’ routine. While she ranted, I sent a text to Brook to warn her that her mom was a tattletale. I received back a sad face emoji and a quick note telling me to meet her at school. It sounded like she didn’t need a ride this morning. I decided I could wait to find out why.
When Dad pointed out that I had to get to school, I was finally released. I could tell that Chuck was dying to know what happened, but I put in my earbuds and ignored him.
◊◊◊
Since I was late, I didn’t get a chance to talk to Brook before class. I’d then planned to speak with her at lunch, but I was pegged to host a table today. They’d continued the lunch-buddy app this year. It was part of the school’s new anti-bullying campaign. I knew that Alan would approve of the new spin. It was supposed to give kids a place they could feel safe when eating lunch. I personally hadn’t felt the need to terrorize any freshmen this year, so I was a little confused as to where all this bullying was happening.
Right before lunch, I logged in and had to delete Yuri, Phil, and Roc. It defeated the purpose if I ate with my usual lunch crowd. One unexpected inclusion was Mr. Palm; our vice principal had reserved two seats. My first instinct was to delete him as well, but I figured he must have a good reason. Marshal and Curtis, from my photography class, had also signed up. I let them slide because I wanted to get to know them better.
I got in line to grab lunch and found we were having double cheeseburgers with tater tots. That was about the best lunch they made, so I was a happy boy as I strolled to my table. I was a little confused when Mr. Palm was there with a woman and what looked like her middle school son. I set my tray on the table and then turned to the strange threesome.
“David, this is Dr. Rossetti and her son, Darius. Today is his first day here at Lincoln High. They moved here because Darius had some problems at his last school, and when I told them about the lunch program, Dr. Rossetti wanted to see it,” he explained.
The other participants for today’s lunch were hanging back. Who could blame them? I looked at my lunch-mates.
“Go ahead and take a seat. I’ll be right back,” I said, and guided Mr. Palm, Dr. Rossetti, and Darius off to the side.
I ignored everyone but Darius and looked him in the eyes. Okay, that’s not true, because he was looking at his shoes. His mom had dressed him up like he was going to church, not school. I gave him till the end of the day before someone stuffed him into a locker, or worse.
“What grade are you in?” I asked.
“Darius is a junior. We told him that he can’t go to college until he’s at least sixteen. He had some … uh … social issues at his last school,” Dr. Rossetti said.
“Darius, do you think it would be okay if we let your mom and Mr. Palm leave? I’d like to introduce you to some of your new classmates,” I said.
Everyone was watching us, and I was sure that Darius was mortified that his mom had taken him to lunch with Mr. Palm. I looked around and found Pam. She was probably the best candidate for what I had in mind, so I motioned her over.
“Darius, this is my friend Pam. She’s going to take you through the lunch line and then join us at the table.” She nodded and guided him to get some food.
“What’s his deal?” I asked when he was out of earshot.
“Darius scores off the charts in intelligence. He’s been pushing me to enroll him in college. He’s sure that he would no longer be bullied. I’ve been a professor for a number of years, and I’ve seen other children make the jump. It’s not easy if they have almost zero social skills. It’s my hope that a couple years of high school will help Darius better prepare for college.”
“I hope you’ll make sure Darius survives his first week,” Mr. Palm said to explain his role in all this.
“I’m not sure I want to take this on,” I admitted.
“Please. You won’t even know he’s around,” Dr. Rossetti pleaded.
“I’ve put him in the locker next to yours, and he’s in all your classes,” Mr. Palm said.
“I’m not promising anything, but let’s see how today goes,” I offered.
Pam had gotten him his lunch, and she’d come over to join my table.
“Excuse me, but I need to go play host. I’ll drop him off at the office after school,” I said and then left them.
I could tell that Darius didn’t want to introduce himself to the group, so I did it for him and then began talking about whatever folks wanted to. Once the awkwardness of Mr. Palm and a parent had been removed, everyone started to chatter. I noticed that Darius was taking it all in and becoming more relaxed as lunch went on. He even managed to eat.
◊◊◊
The rest of the day was … unusual. Darius walked a couple of paces behind me and didn’t say a word. I made sure that he had the desk next to mine so I could keep an eye on him. At the end of the day, Darius touched my arm and handed me his phone. On it was a text from his mom saying she couldn’t pick him up after school. I didn’t think he would survive a bus ride home, so I took him to football practice.
I found Coaches Hope, Rector, and Mason in Coach Hope’s office.
“Hey. I need a little help. Darius …” I started, and he touched my arm again, so I looked at him.
“Dare,” he whispered.
“You’d rather be called Dare?” I asked, and he nodded.
Interesting choice.
“Dare and I have been hanging out this afternoon. It’s his first day here. He needs something to do after school, and I figured you could put him to work,” I said.
“Go get dressed. We’ll figure something out,” Coach Hope assured me.
◊◊◊
Coach Mason must have drawn the short straw because Dare was handed a clipboard and followed Coach around during practice. I shook my head at the poor kid as he watched in wide-eyed wonder while he took everything in.