East Side Academy

by K. E. Woodward

  “James!” Mia says happily. “What are you doing here?”

  "I came to see you," James says and he sits on the couch next to her and his eyes glance towards the TV. "Has he still not gotten rid of that Cassie girl?" James says and both Mia and I stare at him.

  “You watch the Bachelor?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

  James coughs into this elbow and readjusts his seating. “My sister watches it,” James says. “Not me.”

  “I’m sure,” I say, winking at him while he rolls his eyes.

  "Anyway," James says, turning to Mia. "I'm sure Arya already told you that she told me everything." Mia nods, I told her as soon as I came home and while she felt terrible that I had to encounter Henri again, she was so happy that James and I were back together. "I'm sorry about what happened to you, Mia. It's not your fault and no one deserves to go through that. It took a lot of courage to tell Arya what happened. There is no doubt that we both believe you and we will always be here to support you however you need." He comes in closer to her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. She puts her head in the crook of his neck and I know she is holding back her tears. James wraps his other arm around her to hold her close. "You always have us, Mia."

  ***

  “Thanks, James,” I say out on the front porch, the porch lights on in the darkness.

  “Of course,” James says. “I feel responsible for her as well, she’s like one of my little sisters.”

  “I don’t know how you do it,” I say. “I have both parents and just one sister and I couldn’t even protect her.”

  “Hey,” James says, coming up close to me. “You are a great sister. Mia is lucky to have you. You can’t take responsibility for what happened with Henri. That’s all on him.”

  “It hurts,” I say, “to see someone you love in pain and not know how you can fix it.”

  “Believe me, Arya,” James says. “I know. Does she know about Eric?”

  “Only from the gossip at school,” I say. “I downplayed it as much as I could. I didn’t want her to somehow feel responsible for what happened.”

  I see the headlights of my dad’s vehicle turn into the driveway. “He’s probably not going to be very happy to see me here,” James says.

  “He’s going to have to get over it,” I say.

  “Does he still hold a grudge for me for staying over the one night?” James asks.

  "I think he just sees you as the reason for me being miserable the past couple of weeks," I say. "I let my parents believe that our break up was all that was wrong."

  “Geez, thanks, Arya,” James says sarcastically with a smile.

  “He’ll come around,” I promise.

  "Arya," Dad says coming out of the garage door instead of going into the house. "I see you have some late-night company."

  “I was just leaving, Dr. Secord,” James says.

  "Do you think you can just come here whenever you like?" Dad says.

  “Dad, please,” I say.

  "You try to sleep with my daughter, in my house I might add, then you break up with her, and now you think you can just come around here as if nothing has happened?" Dad says. Okay, so he still holds a grudge.

  “Dad, it’s not like that,” I start.

  “I gave you the benefit of the doubt, James,” Dad says. “I liked you, I trusted you, but you are no better than any other teenage boy at that school.”

  “Dad!”

  “You are not good enough for my daughter, James,” Dad says seriously.

  “Dad, please…”

  “No, Arya,” James says, looking at my dad. “He’s right. I’m not good enough for you. But Dr. Secord, I will spend the rest of my life trying to be. I care so much for your daughter and she means everything to me. I want to be the one to protect her. I have never felt this way about someone before.”

  The two most important men in my life just stare at each other. James is trying to let my dad know that he is a good guy and that he would do anything to protect me. My dad is trying to figure out if it’s true. Then the front door opens.

  “Mom,” I say.

  “James, it’s good to see you again,” she says as if she didn’t already know he was out here. “A little chilly for a chat on the porch.”

  “James was just leaving,” Dad says.

  “Steve,” Mom says.

  “He’s right,” James says. “I was just leaving. I’ll see you guys later.” He looks at me. This is where he would kiss me before he leaves but he’s not stupid enough to do that in front of my parents. “I’ll see you at school, Arya.”

  And then he leaves, and we all go back inside.

  “What was he doing here, Arya?” Dad says to me.

  “He was checking in on me,” I say. “He was only here for like twenty minutes. Even ask Mom.”

  Dad looks to Mom and she nods. “So after all these miserable weeks you just take him back? Arya, I can’t believe you are letting a boy have so much control over you.”

  “He doesn’t!”

  “He broke up with you and then you go into this depressive state,” Dad says. “And now you are going to turn all happy because you have him back? Arya, you are extremely smart and a great soccer player. I don’t want you to lose yourself to some boy. You are so much better than that.”

  I can't tell them the real reason I was upset these past couple of weeks. "I'm my best with James. I'm my happiest with James. He doesn't pull me down, he brings me up. It's okay if you don't think he's good enough for me because I know that he is more than good enough for me. And I'm going to continue dating him whether you like it or not."

  “Steve,” Mom puts a hand on Dad’s arm. “Your daughter really likes this boy, and I can tell he likes her a lot too. Don’t ruin it.”

  Dad looks at Mom. “I just want what’s best for her.”

  “That’s James,” I say. “Dad please, James is one of the good guys. He cares for me and I care for him.”

  Mom raises an eyebrow at Dad. While Dad is blinded to how much James cares for me because he sees him as just another teenage boy trying to get lucky with me, I know my mom sees it. She knows how much James cares for me and how he would do anything for me.

  “If he ever causes you pain ever again,” Dad says, “that’ll be it.” I smile and then hug him. I know he just wants to protect me, I know he just wants the best for me. I just wish he would realize that it’s James. James is the one to protect me and he’s the best for me.

  ***

  "Who would have thought that all you guys needed was to be sent to the principal's office to finally get back together!" Diana says in our English study group during class, consisting of myself, Teddy, Diana, Lincoln, and George with all of our desks turned towards each other.

  "Diana, can we please focus on the reading," Lincoln says into his book.

  “Lincoln, I know you didn’t do so well on the last test,” Diana says in mock humour, and I can sense Lincoln getting irritated beside me. “But it doesn’t mean you can spoil my time finding out how the best catch in Grade 11 is now off the market again.”

  “Hey!” both Teddy and George say at the same time.

  “I love you guys,” Diana says, “but I know too much about you to even think of you in that category.”

  “So what did he say, Arya?” Diana asks me across our desks. “What did he do? I heard he punched one of the guys on the West Side soccer team.”

  “Diana, please,” Lincoln says. “We can have this conversation at lunch.”

  Diana concedes and we go back to our readings. I talked with Mia the night before and we agreed on what to do for now. She and I both told our closest friends the entire story, which they all promised to keep to themselves while Mia and I figured out what we were going to do next. For now, James and I both have a soccer team that we need to get into the finals for the championships.

  Chapter 45 – The Game

  “I'm stronger cause you made me / You will never faze me / You can never take me down / 'Ca
use you know that / I've been doing my thing / I've been running my game / And you know I won't look back / You know that / Everywhere I go / When everyone who knows me / Knows that I would stand alone / It's all part of the game” – The Game, Alyssa Reid

  Arya

  There are only six teams in our area to compete against for the county championship. We each play each other once and then the bottom two teams are knocked out. 1st place vs. 4th place and 2nd place vs. 3rd place in the semi-finals, with the winners of each match playing each other in the finals for the championship. The winners would then go on to play in EOSSA to play the best soccer teams in Eastern Ontario. Currently, the standings for the senior girls’ soccer team are as follows:

  1st – West Side Academy

  2nd – East Side Academy

  3rd – Greenwood Academy

  4th – Whitewater Academy

  The standings for the senior boys’ team are as follows:

  1st – West Side Academy

  2nd – East Side Academy

  3rd – Whitewater Academy

  4th – Silver Valley Academy

  Both James and I would have to play the third-place teams while West Side got the easier job of playing the fourth-place team, but I was confident in both our teams being able to take home the championship.

  “Hope you don’t choke this time as well, Arya,” Isabella says to me as we step out onto the field for our semi-final match. “What’s that? Five games you have been in this rut? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we win this championship with or without you.”

  “Like how you beat West Side?” I say, and Isabella glares at me. “Look, Isabella, we have to work together for this team. You know that together we could crush these teams easily. Yes, I have been in a rut since the beginning of the season, but it stops today,” I say confidently.

  "Just stick to your side of the pitch," Isabella says, walking over to the left edge of the center circle and I stay on the right.

  James

  "Same lineup as last game," Mr. Quirrel calls from his clipboard.

  “Coach!” Daniel says. “You’re seriously keeping Fox on the starting line up? He hasn’t been able to play the past five games!”

  “Quiet Daniel,” Mr. Quirrel says. “I will do what I think is best for the team. Now get out there and let’s show them who’s the better team!”

  All the guys cheer, going out on the field, pumped to play in the semifinals, and get one step closer to the championship game.

  "You better not fuck it up this time, Fox," Daniel says, passing me by.

  Don’t worry, captain, I think to myself. I’ve got the girl back and my touch as well.

  No POV

  Both East Side teams won their games. Neither game was even close. Both the girls and the boys dominated their games with their star players finally back to their star performance level.

  Both West Side teams won their games as well. It was what the town always hoped and looked forward to every sports season, a West Side vs. East Side championship match. And now there would be two.

  Chapter 46 – Not Afraid

  “I'm not afraid (I'm not afraid) / To take a stand (to take a stand) / Everybody (everybody) / Come take my hand (come take my hand) / We'll walk this road together, through the storm / Whatever weather, cold or warm / Just letting you know that you're not alone / Holler if you feel like you've been down the same road (same road)” – Not Afraid, Eminem

  Arya

  “The game is this Tuesday, James,” I say into the phone, sitting at my desk late on a Saturday night, “how are you feeling?”

  “It’ll be fine,” James says confidently. “I am very confident that both East Side teams will win.”

  "You sound sure of yourself," I say.

  “West Side just barely beat us, both in your game and mine,” James says. “And that was when we were underperforming. There’s no way they can beat us now.”

  “Everyone’s going to be out there,” I say. “West Side vs. East Side in the championships? They’re going to let out the entire school for it.”

  "Well, you are fortunate that you will play on the home field and have the school cheering for you," James says. "I'm the one that will have to play at West Side with their fans."

  "I wish I could be there to watch you play," I say.

  “I wish I could watch you play as well,” James say. “I told you to lose so you could finally watch me play soccer!” I laugh and he does as well. After a moment of silence, he asks, “Does your dad still hate me?”

  “As much as any dad hates the guy their teenage daughter is dating,” I say to try and lighten the mood, but James is silent on the other end. “He just wants what’s best for me, James.”

  “And I’m not it,” James says.

  “You are,” I say. “If it takes my dad a little longer to realize it, that’s fine. He will.”

  “I don’t know what to do to prove it to him,” James says.

  “Just be the guy I know you are,” I say.

  “A broke East Sider who has a thing for soccer chicks?” James says and I know he is smiling.

  “Chicks?”

  “Chick,” James corrects himself. “Singular.”

  “Good.”

  I hear a knock on my door and turn to see my sister opening the door slightly to poke her head through.

  “James,” I say into the phone. “I have a gremlin in my room right now, I’ll see you Monday.”

  “Gremlin?” James asks but I hang up on him and put the phone on my desk face down.

  Mia comes into the room and sits on my bed. I come and sit next to her, knowing that there is something big on her mind. “What is it, Mia?” I ask, brushing my hand through her hair lovingly.

  "It's time," Mia says.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “It’s time for people to know,” Mia says. “They need to know the truth.”

  “What are you suggesting exactly?” I ask.

  My sister wanted to create a video to tell her truth. To expose everything that Henri did and explain her feelings and her side of the story.

  It was time she said. We couldn’t charge Henri, but we could make sure that everyone knew what he did and have them come to their own conclusions. The fresh start wasn’t enough. Not when all the bad came back to follow us. She won’t say it, but I know my sister can’t stand how people have treated me and how they look at me. I tried to brush it off, especially now since my friends and James know the truth, but Mia doesn’t want that for me anymore. But there would be repercussions. Henri’s father wouldn’t take a scandal like this connected to his name sitting down. He had threatened our father’s dentist practice. I reminded Mia of this.

  “You know what he’s capable of,” I say to Mia.

  “I know,” Mia says. “I think it’s time to stop hiding from everyone. Time to ask for help and stop running from the past.”

  “I thought a fresh start would be best,” I say. “I didn’t mean for it to go so horribly wrong.”

  “It was the best, Arya,” Mia says. “At the time. But now it’s time to tell the truth.”

  “Dad needs to know, Mia,” I say.

  “I know,” Mia says. “Everyone has to know, and we need to tell Mom and Dad first before sharing any sort of video.”

  So we did. We told them everything the next day, from the rape to the graffiti to the threats. Obviously, my parents were upset. Obviously, they wished we had come to them earlier. It took a lot of convincing to get them not to call the police then and there.

  “It will only make things worse,” I say.

  “He needs to pay for what he did,” Dad says.

  “And that’s what we are trying to do!” I say back. “You know if we go to the police that it will just backfire on us.” I look at my dad, trying to get him to understand the pain that Mia would have to go through with a route that does not guarantee a good outcome.

  It then takes even more convincing to keep my dad in the house
instead of driving up to Henri’s house and seeking his own justice, like I had done.

  “Steve,” Mom says, “you know you can’t do that. See what happened to your oldest daughter when she tried to ‘seek her own justice’.”

  “I’m sorry Mom,” I say to her.

  "Don't apologize, Arya," Mom says. "I know that sisters are known for keeping secrets, but you both must understand now how extreme this one was. This isn't something you should keep from us." Mia and I both nod. I know what Mom says is true, but it's very hard to reveal something like this to anyone, let alone a parent. It'd be easier to say a guy was stalking you or, or someone stole from you, but being raped is different. Other crimes are more clear-cut, but rape isn't and the trauma from it is much worse than a stolen purse. I think my mom understands why we kept it a secret from them. She just felt hurt that she didn’t know how much her daughters were suffering underneath her own roof.

  Despite everything, they were kind. They were supportive. I emphasized the threat Mr. Young made to my dad. Dad knows what Mr. Young is capable of. My dad is the one that told me all the stories about him.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Dad says.

  “Dad.”

  “Don’t worry, Arya,” Dad says. “You do what you have to do, and I’ll do what I have to do.”

  That night, I would help my sister create a video of herself. A video where she explained everything that Henri did, exposing him as the real monster he is. Most importantly, expressing how she felt, and what the experience did to her.

  But there was something I had to do before Mia made the video. Before the truth came out for everyone to see. I phone him again like I have for the past week with no success.

  “What’s wrong?” Mia asks me.

  “Nothing,” I say.

  “It’s not nothing,” Mia says.

  “I’ve tried to call him so many times, but he’s ignoring me,” I say. “Not that I blame him, but I want to talk to him before the video is in cyberspace.”