by Angel Smits
Ryan’s earlier explanation almost made Marcus proud of his son. Proud of his convictions, anyway.
But Marcus also knew Ryan. He’d learned over the past few months how to deal with Ryan’s “ideas.” He could “outdeal” him, or accept the proposition. Carolyn had been so much better at this than he was.
He didn’t have the energy for dealing tonight. “I want you off the computer by ten. Lights out by eleven.”
Ryan did a fist pump and shoved the plastic container into the microwave.
“But—” Marcus knew better than to let Ryan think he was totally off the hook.
Ryan slowly pivoted on his heel. “But what?”
“Tonight you get the tournament. Tomorrow we’ll discuss your punishment.”
The boy’s smile melted. “I’m sorry you got called, Dad.”
“But you’re not sorry for the fight?”
Ryan had to think a minute. “Not really.” The microwave’s timer sounded, and Ryan grabbed the hot dish. “Gotta go. Got homework to do.”
“We will discuss this,” Marcus yelled over the sound of Ryan’s footsteps on the stairs.
“Sure, Dad,” Ryan yelled back, his footsteps crossing the ceiling overhead.
Marcus sighed. To be young and so resilient. “Sorry, Carolyn,” he whispered, “I’m trying.” But the life she’d tried to help him build, the one with the family that came home and had dinner together every night, just wasn’t meant to be.
Marcus glanced at the kitchen table. It was covered with his backpack, books and laptop. They wouldn’t be eating there anytime soon.
Besides, it wasn’t as if he had a lot of extra time. Today was the deadline for the midterm essays. It could be an awfully long night.
* * *
EVERYONE ON THE teaching staff took a turn monitoring detention. While it wasn’t the norm for Addie to take a rotation, she was happy to step in since Lindy was out of the rotation right now. It was swim season, and between coaches and club sponsors, options were few.
Today there were four kids seated in the desks where, normally, Mr. Hudson taught English lit. Addie knew all four of them. She’d been the one to assign them detention.
Ryan was already seated in the back, his work out in front of him. Two other boys were here for fighting as well, and a girl, Melissa Hopper, had cut history class one time too many. Nick was nowhere to be found. Why wasn’t she surprised?
“Afternoon, everyone.” Addie put her own stack of work on the teacher’s desk. The irony that she was in detention, something she’d never gotten in school the first time around, wasn’t lost on her.
There were a few mumbled responses. The door slammed open then, and Nick came stomping in. He slumped into the first seat he came to, dropped his backpack and propped his feet on the chair in front of him.
“Good of you to join us, Mr. Holden.” She stood and walked over to him. “You can work on your homework for the next hour.”
“I don’t got none.”
“You do know I can call your teachers and check, right?” She really tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“They already went home.” Defiance came across loud and clear.
She debated arguing with him. Part of her was tempted to let him sit there and be bored for the next hour. It would serve him right. She owed it to her staff to encourage him to get his work done.
“You ain’t my mother, you know.”
Thank God. “No, I’m not. I’m your principal. Almost the same thing.” As a teacher, she’d often spent more time with some of the kids than their parents did.
He glared at her and, with a heavy sigh, reached for the backpack. The rasp of the bag’s zipper was loud in the quiet room.
“Thank you,” she said and returned to the desk. The other kids were watching, a fact she didn’t acknowledge. Ryan’s eyes were wide, though, when Nick pulled out his phone. “You know the rules, Nick. No phones. Put it away. Now, or it’s mine.”
“But I don’t have anything else to do.”
“Sorry, that’s the way it is. Kindly, put it away.”
Ryan watched closely as Nick sullenly shoved the phone into a side pocket. She could see Ryan wanted to get up and help her out. Thankfully, he didn’t. That protective streak. She wondered if he’d gotten that from his father.
Marcus Skylar’s face came to mind, and she found herself curious about him.
He’d done a good job with Ryan. The boy was a good kid. She’d done some investigating after they’d left her office. Paul Hudson had been more than happy to fill her in on what he knew. He’d defended Ryan, but didn’t know the complete details. She’d get them, she knew. She just had to find the right person to tell her. If it wasn’t for the school’s no-tolerance policy on fighting, she wasn’t sure Ryan would be here right now.
The hour dragged by. Even Ryan ran out of work to do and started fidgeting in his seat before it was time to leave.
“It looks like most of you finished your work,” Addie finally said. The looks she got were almost comical. She could tell they were hoping she’d let them go early. Not a chance, but they didn’t have to know that. She looked at the expectant faces. With the exception of Nick, these were all pretty good kids.
“Let’s talk about a couple of things.” She walked around to perch on the front of the desk. “How many of you are looking for summer jobs?” Eighth grade—the year before high school—was usually the year kids started to seriously think about jobs, about spending money and getting out of the house to hang out with their friends.
Three of the five students shot their hands up. Nick ignored her, and Ryan shrugged. “Ryan?”
“I don’t know. We just moved here.”
She nodded. “That can be a challenge. Does anyone have any ideas to help Ryan get to know the area?”
“What part of town do you live in?” Melissa asked.
“In Sommerfield. Over by the baseball fields.”
That wasn’t far from where Addie lived, and where she’d grown up. “You could see if the parks department is hiring,” one of the other boys offered. “They take care of the ball fields. Use kids to do it sometimes.”
“That’d be cool.” Ryan grinned and nodded. “I’m hoping to play baseball this year.”
Nick paid attention to the conversation for the first time. “Yeah, like you could throw a ball.”
Addie speared him with a glance. “You like being in detention, Nick?” she asked him. “That wasn’t polite.” She looked over at Ryan, half expecting to see either anger or hurt in his eyes. The boy was standing, hard determination on his face. “Sit down, Ryan. Nick, apologize.”
“Sorry,” Nick mumbled.
“As an apology, that could use some work.” It had been a whole lot easier when she’d had to deal with her three brothers. At least then she’d had the final weapon—Mom.
Sighing, she chose to take the win with the other kids and ignore Nick’s behavior. “Back to our conversation. Anyone have other ideas to help Ryan? Each other?”
“There’s a strip mall east of there that has lots of shops,” the other boy offered. Everyone, except Nick again, nodded.
“Lots of good ideas,” Addie said. “Here’s what I’d like you all to think about. As the principal, I get people contacting me who are looking to hire students. I hear about opportunities. I’m more than happy to share that information with anyone who shows potential.”
Four heads nodded. “But...” She looked at each kid, holding their gazes for a long moment. “Detention doesn’t show potential.” Nearly every gaze fell. “So, think about your actions, about what you do through to the end of the year. You stay out of here for the rest of the year, and I’ll seriously consider sharing any job information with you.”
“Thanks, Ms. Hawkins.” Melissa smiled. Like the others, she wasn’t a bad
kid—she just needed to engage and want to work at school.
Addie made the same offer to any of the kids who were in detention. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes they just needed a little nudge in the right direction. Other times, nothing worked. She glanced at Nick.
“Okay, everyone. The hour’s up. You can leave, but remember what I said.” The noise of everyone gathering their belongings filled the room. “See you all here tomorrow.”
She or one of the teachers would, anyway.
Ryan stopped at the door and looked back. “Ms. Hawkins?”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you a sorta personal question?”
“Uh, yes. Not sure I’ll answer.” She’d learned to hedge her bets a long time ago.
“How long have you lived in Austin?”
“Most of my life. Why?”
He shrugged. “Just curious. We lived in Chicago before we came here. It’s different.”
“I’d expect it to be. Do you miss Chicago?”
He thought about it for a minute. “I miss some of my friends, but my dad’s happier here. I like that. Have you ever been to Chicago?”
Her answer seemed to be important to him. He must have a strong sense of pride for his hometown. “No. But I’d like to.”
“Are you sure?” he asked urgently.
“I think I’d have noticed.”
“Oh.” He looked a little crestfallen.
Addie frowned. This seemed a bit more than hometown pride. Her answer seemed to confuse him. “But I promise, if I ever go, I’ll be sure and check with you to see about what I need to see.”
“There’s a lot of cool stuff.” He nodded, though his smile didn’t return. “You gotta try the pizza.”
“I’ll remember that. You’d better hustle so you don’t miss the bus.”
“I walk home. It’s close enough.”
She nodded. “Healthier, too.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.” And when he was gone, the silence of the room suddenly seemed heavy. Addie gathered her things, her mind already three steps ahead. She still had way too much to do before she headed home. But she had to admit, she’d enjoyed chatting with the students. Damn Lindy for being right.
* * *
ADDIE TAPPED HER pen on the desk. Another Monday was nearly over—for the kids anyway. Surprisingly, after a week of supervising detention, she missed it. She’d managed to get something done while the kids worked on their homework.
And she’d gotten to know them all a little bit. They’d ended each session with a few minutes of discussion. And every day Ryan had stayed behind to ask a question or two.
He now knew that her favorite color was blue. He’d learned that while she hadn’t been to Chicago, she had gone to college at the University of Illinois in Urbana. That answer had made his eyes light up with his smile. He’d been extremely interested in hearing about her siblings, especially Wyatt’s ranch and the horses.
She missed their interactions. Glancing at the clock, she figured it’d be another couple of hours, at least, before she finished with the pile of paperwork. She had finally figured out the budget, though. She wanted to pat herself on the back for getting that done. Now the employee files perched on her desk taunted her. She sighed.
Time to look at year-end reviews. What exactly did this have to do with education?
“I’m heading over to the admin office with this,” Gina said from the doorway, a box in her arms. “Do you need anything before I take off?”
“A million dollars?” Addie mumbled to herself. “No. Thanks.” She stared out the window. The bus stop was just outside, and she watched as kids waited and the big yellow buses arrived.
Maybe a cup of tea would help her concentration. She stood, intending to head to the teachers’ lounge. That’s when she saw them.
Ryan was with another boy, leaning against the wall at the corner of the gym building. This was his first day out of detention.
She couldn’t quite identify who the other boy was. Their heads were bent over the screen of one of their phones. She was almost afraid to wonder what had grabbed their attention. Whatever it was, it was apparently quite enthralling.
She liked seeing the smiles on both their faces, though she didn’t really want to know what was going on inside the heads of two thirteen-year-old boys. Still—
She moved closer to the window. From here, she could see them more clearly. The other boy was Dex Silvano. Dex was one of those kids everyone loved, but who she was convinced would grow up to be something great—like a jewel thief or used-car salesman.
He and his family lived only a couple of blocks from her, and Addie frequently ran into his mother at the grocery store. Addie knew more about Dex than she did any of the other kids at the school. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Maybe some fresh air would help more than tea. She headed to the door and outside. “Hey, Principal Hawkins,” rang out several times. She smiled, stopping to talk to several kids who’d been her students last year. It helped fill up that little hole that grew inside when she spent too much time alone.
She wondered why Ryan and Dex were still here. They both lived within walking distance. Addie herself sometimes walked to work on nice days. Like today.
“Hello, boys.”
Ryan looked up, and, while his smile didn’t go away, it faded some. She felt a little guilty. He thumbed the screen of his phone dark.
“Hello, Ms. Hawkins.” He shoved the phone into his pocket. “Am I in trouble?”
Addie laughed. “No. I’m just taking a break. Thought I’d enjoy the sunshine.” She lifted her hands toward the sky. “Nice day, huh?”
“Yeah.”
She looked over at the other boy. “Hi, Dex.”
“Hello.” The boy nodded.
“You heading home?” she hinted with a glance toward Ryan.
“Yeah. My dad’s picking me up today.” Ryan gathered up his backpack and hitched it over his shoulder. Dex didn’t have his backpack with him. She almost asked him where it was, but didn’t. His mother would be checking on him, making sure he got his homework done.
“Baseball tryouts start tomorrow,” she reminded Ryan. He’d mentioned it the first day of detention, but not otherwise. Nick’s presence hadn’t helped.
He looked up, seemingly surprised she remembered. “Yeah.”
“Are you going to try out?”
He shrugged. “I dunno.”
She looked closer. “What happened to the boy who couldn’t wait for practice to start last week?”
Ryan glanced over at Dex. Was he worried about what his friend would think of his wanting to play baseball? Dex didn’t let her down, though.
“You didn’t tell me you were playin’ ball. Cool. What position?”
“I dunno yet. I might not make the team.”
“Did something happen? Why the doubts?” she asked.
“No doubts.” Ryan glanced sideways at Dex again. She inwardly smiled. Oh, yeah, even thirteen-year-old boys had to uphold their macho image. He reminded her of her brother DJ. At about the same age, he’d wanted so badly to be just like their brother Wyatt.
“I think you can do whatever you set your mind to.” She repeated the words she’d heard her mom tell DJ back then. “But make sure it’s you you’re trying to be, not someone else. You—” she emphasized the word “—like baseball don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“You should go for it, man. Show that dumbass Nick—” As if suddenly recognizing what he’d said, and to whom, Dex colored. “Uh—”
“I’ll let you off the hook for your language, Dex.” She didn’t want it to interfere with her conversation. “But I expect you—both of you—to let me, or one of your teachers, know if there are problems with other kids.”
“Everything
’s fine,” Ryan answered too quickly.
And there it was. The lie he’d nearly told her last week in her office, and in detention. It hurt that he did so now.
“Well, have a good afternoon, gentlemen.” She turned away, then paused and turned back. “Remember, my door is always open.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ryan whispered.
Had she missed something? Why was he distant all of a sudden? She took a few steps backward. “Maybe I’ll stop in at practice tomorrow. See what coach is planning this year.”
That got a smile out of him, and she was shocked at how it transformed his features. She couldn’t look away.
Memories of another boy, another time—an equally devastating smile—overwhelmed her. Before the ache became too much, she shook her head. Reality, and the school grounds, thankfully returned.
Marcus Skylar was going to have his hands full with this one. Someday, some girl was going to fall head over heels for that smile. Addie just prayed Ryan didn’t break that girl’s heart like Cal had hers.
As if summoned by her thoughts, a late-model Jeep pulled up to the curb near the boys. Ryan’s father sat behind the wheel. He glanced at Addie and their gazes locked. For just an instant. He smiled, not the way his son had, but gentle and warm, inviting.
Addie looked away first, turning to go inside. What was wrong with her? Twice, in a few minutes, she’d lost complete track of her thoughts.
She needed caffeine more than she’d thought.
CHAPTER FOUR
IT WAS LATE when Marcus walked into the coffee shop. Only a few people sat at the scattered tables. The scents of coffee, vanilla and rich aromas from around the world wafted around him. He took a deep breath—and savored it.
Ryan had gone to a weekend baseball camp this morning, leaving the house far too empty for Marcus. Ryan’s joining the baseball team last month had been one of the best things that had happened to Ryan since they’d moved here. He was a happier kid than he’d been in a long while, and he’d made friends with his teammates. For once, Marcus wasn’t worried.
At least as far as his son was concerned. He’d have to remember to thank Principal Hawkins for encouraging Ryan. It had made a difference.
