by S.D. Wasley
****
Laurence opened his door and pulled me inside by the arm. “Jesus, man. I told you not to be seen.”
I stared. “No one saw me.”
“Just, I don’t know, you could’ve worn a baseball cap or something.”
“I’ll come in full drag next time, if it’s easier for you. I just need to find the right shoes to match my purse.”
He didn’t appreciate my sarcasm. “Did you delete my message?”
“Yes.”
“Good. This is going to be the last time we see each other for a while, Jules.”
“What?”
“Don’t come here anymore.”
“Why? What about the meetings?”
“The meetings are on hold until further notice. I’m going to be lying low for a while and you have to keep your distance.”
“Laurence.” I was annoyed by now. “What the hell’s going on?”
“It’s about to get busted wide open,” he said, “so I’ll give you the heads up. I’ve already handed the information onto someone who’s going to act on it.” He ran a hand through his short black hair. “The coal mine Addison wants to put in Balthasar Forest Reserve? You know it got provisionally approved after that last enviro report confirmed it wouldn’t be a danger to the raptor habitat?” I nodded, puzzled. “Turns out the report didn’t confirm that after all. Addison paid off the enviro department pen-pushers to change the report. Fact is, if that coal mine goes ahead it will end up in virtual extinction for a species of falcon, not to mention threatening a bunch of other species and skyrocketing the risk of wildfire across huge tracts of land. Jules.” He grabbed my arms and looked me in the eye. “Your dad knew about this. That’s why Addison’s been so friendly. They’re in it together.”
My head spun. “No,” I said. “No, my dad wouldn’t sink that low.”
“He did. There’s this environmental scientist I’ve been talking to. He was the whistle-blower. He saw the report that went to Addison Mining and he saw the report that got released to the public. He says they’re different. And he says Addison met with the Capulet office to talk about the approvals.”
I still couldn’t believe it. Yes, this coal mine was significant in my dad’s campaign. He was for it, saying the state needed the jobs the mine would create. Lots of people had changed sides from Montague to Capulet purely because they wanted those jobs, and Montague was reluctant for the mine to go ahead until more reports were done. So, yeah, Dad wanted the mine, but he wouldn’t stoop to this. He might have some old-fashioned beliefs and sometimes be intolerant of difference, but he wasn’t corrupt. I shook Laurence’s hands off my arms.
“You’re wrong!” I spat. “Your source is bullshitting you.”
“Jules, for real …?” His hands dropped to his sides and he gazed at me in disappointment. He dug in his pocket and pulled out something shiny. “I’m sorry, man. I’m really sorry I had to be the one to break it to you. Here. Romilly asked me to give this to you.” I recognized Romilly’s happy-sad necklace and stared at it dumbly. He shoved it into my hand.
My mind seemed disembodied … floating around while my mouth spoke. “You saw her?”
“Yeah. Her parents took her phone off her.” Laurence was still looking at me with sorrow. He rubbed his hand over his face. “Jules, I know you really like her. But things are gonna get messy between the Montagues and the Capulets. Can I make a suggestion? Just chill things out between you and Romilly for a while, huh? If people see you with her, they’ll figure she’s in with the Capulets. And you don’t want her to get dragged down into the Addison shit-storm that’s about to hit.”
Another reason to be pissed at him. I pocketed Romilly’s necklace and shoved past Laurence without another word. I had to speak to Dad.
Romilly
Merrick was okay.
Benita’s dad phoned my mom and broke the good news. They’d brought him out of the induced coma and he was weak, but appeared to have all his usual mental faculties. There would be some scarring on his nose and near his eye but the doctors thought it would be minimal. Merrick seemed quite pleased about the scars.
“They’ll make me look badass,” he told Benita and me when we video-chatted with him.
Ty Capulet was formally charged and Benita would need to appear in court as a witness with Merrick so they could both testify against the guy. Mrs. Capulet lost the plot when she saw Benita at the police station again. She screamed at her, calling her a lying little … well, you can imagine what. That made even the softly-spoken Benita so mad she retorted that the woman should go home and bake a pie for her homophobic devil spawn.
Then my father’s office broke the story about the Balthasar Forest Reserve environmental report. The following few days were insane. The one glimmer of relief was that, in the craziness of media interviews and phones ringing off the hook, my parents seemed to forget I’d confessed to dating Julian. They still didn’t give me back my phone but I hoped Laurence had passed on my message and necklace to Julian so he knew I wasn’t ignoring him deliberately. Todd Capulet withdrew his nomination for Governor and his wife spent half her days giving television interviews in which she attempted to deny her husband’s role in the fake report scandal. The interviews didn’t seem to go very well. No one believed her. Simultaneously, the Addison Empire went into damage control, trying to pin the whole thing on the Capulets. Paris Addison sent out some seriously poorly-planned tweets claiming her father was innocent and the media were bloodthirsty animals―and then her account went suddenly silent. I guess her dad’s PR team got hold of her and made her stop. A federal investigation commenced … the peak environmental body, the FBI, as well as some anti-corruption watchdogs. My dad’s popularity as prospective Governor skyrocketed.
Then my parents called me into their room one morning and dropped a bombshell.
“Romy, sweetheart. We’ve made a decision that might surprise you a little but it needs to be done and we think you’ll realize what a great opportunity it is as soon as you think about it a little.”
Uh-oh. They were trying to sell it to me before they even told me what it was? This couldn’t be good. “What decision?” I asked cautiously.
“We’ve found a really great academy we’re going to enroll you in for your last year or so of high school. It’s an exclusive private school with outstanding facilities and the most amazing academic programs.”
I didn’t know what to say. My first thoughts were of Benita and Merrick. I’d been at school with them since kindergarten.
“I don’t want to change schools. I’m doing well at Verona East.”
Mom changed tack. “Your dad’s about to become Governor, Romy. Things are changing. You’re at risk.”
“How am I at risk?”
“There are people who hate your father and his political views. His values. They might take that out on you.”
Her words unsettled me but I was still unhappy about the prospect of changing schools. “What is this school?”
“Mantua Ladies College.”
It took a moment to register. “Mantua? That’s in the next county!”
“It’s an exclusive boarding school, sweetie,” Mom said as though she thought that would convince me.
“In Mantua?”
“Well, yes. But that’s less than an hour by plane and we would fly you home every―”
“You want me to live in the next county?”
“Romilly―”
She didn’t get the chance to continue. My flip-out over the Mantua boarding school proposal was big. I ranted, cried and shouted. The horrible thing was, by the end of it, I felt like I’d got nowhere. Mom and Dad still seemed convinced Mantua Ladies’ College was the best place for me.
“Why?” I asked at last, devastated.
“Romilly,” Mom said, holding me by the arms and looking straight into my face, “we love you. You’re our most important treasure. We have to keep you safe. It’s only for a couple of years and then you can com
e back and live full time in Verona city again. Things should have settled down by then. You’ll be an adult and better equipped to deal with the challenges associated with Dad’s career.”
“You are ruining my life!” I sobbed.
I wrenched my arms out of her hold and ran downstairs. That was it. I needed to get out of here.
