Rory ignited, almost with joy. “I’m sitting right here!”
“Look at him,” I said. They looked. “Shirt out, sneer on. Does he look like he cares even remotely about this? Does he look repentant—”
“Remotely?” Now it was Rory who interjected. “Repentant? Shit, Matthew, give us the dictionary, why don’t you?”
Holland knew. She knew I wasn’t stupid. “To be honest, um, we could have used you last year in our, um, year twelve cohort, Matthew. You never looked that interested, but you were, weren’t you?”
“Hey, I thought we were talking about me.”
“Shut up, Rory.” That was Claudia Kirkby.
“There, that’s better,” replied Rory. “Firm.” He was looking firmly somewhere else. She hugged her suit jacket a little tighter.
“Stop that,” I said.
“What?”
“You know.” But now I was back onto Holland. It was afternoon and I’d come home from work early to be well-dressed and clean-shaven, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t tired. “If you don’t expel him this time, I’m going to jump over this desk, rip off that principal’s badge, pin it on me, and expel the bastard myself!”
Rory was so excited he almost clapped.
Claudia Kirkby somberly nodded.
The principal felt for the badge. “Well, I’m, um, not so sure—”
“Do it!” cried Rory.
And to everyone’s surprise, she did.
She methodically did the paperwork, and suggested surrounding schools, but I said we didn’t need them, he was going to work, and we shook hands and that was it; we left them both behind us.
Halfway to the car park, I ran back. Was it for us, or Claudia Kirkby? I knocked on the door, I reentered the room, and they were both inside, still talking.
I said, “Ms. Kirkby, Mrs. Holland, I apologize. I’m sorry for your trouble, and just—thanks.” It was crazy, but I started sweating. It was the truly sympathetic look on her face, I think, and the suit, and the gold-colored earrings. The small hoops that circled a glint there. “And also—and sorry to ask this now, but I’ve always been caught up with Rory—so I’ve never asked how Henry and Clay are doing.”
Mrs. Holland deferred to Ms. Kirkby.
“They’re doing fine, Matthew.” She’d stood up. “They’re good kids,” and she smiled and didn’t wink.
“Believe it or not,” and I nodded to the doorway, “so’s that one out there.”
“I know.”
I know.
She said I know, and it stayed with me a long time, but it started outside at the wall. For a while I hoped she’d come out, as I leaned, half bruising my shoulder blades, but there was only the voice of Rory.
“Oi,” he said, “you coming?”
At the car he asked, “Can I drive?”
I said, “Don’t even Goddamn think about it.”
He got a job by the end of the week.
* * *
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