“Sorry, Mom,” Theo said, though he really didn’t feel that bad. “I’ll make straight A’s and show them.”
“Attaboy. Now go tell your father.”
Theo and Judge hustled up the stairs and found Mr. Boone at his desk. “Got some bad news, Dad,” he said as he handed over his paperwork. Mr. Boone chewed the stem of his pipe as he frowned at the numbers. “What happened in science?” he asked.
“I don’t know what happened, Dad. I did the best I could. Science has never been my favorite.”
“Then you should work harder there. One lousy point. If you had worked harder, you would have made Honors.”
“I really don’t think it’s the end of the world, Dad. Our high school has good teachers at every level.”
“But, Theo, you should always strive for the best. This is disappointing.”
“Sorry, Dad. I did the best I could. I’ve never done well on standardized tests, you know that.”
“That’s no excuse.”
“Mom is not upset. Why should you be?”
“I’m not upset, just disappointed. And I’m not your mother. She thinks these tests are a waste of time. I happen to think they’re very important. They measure how well the students are doing, and they keep the pressure on the teachers.”
“I can still graduate from high school with high honors, and that’s what I’ll do. I’ll show them.”
“Did Chase make it?”
Chase’s parents were best friends of the Boones. Theo almost blurted, “Why do you care about Chase?”—but bit his tongue. He knew there was competition between the parents, though he didn’t really understand it. He said, “Of course he made it.”
“Well, good for him. We’ll discuss this later. I’m very busy right now.”
Theo and Judge went to his office. He locked the door, fell into his chair, and stared at the wall. He could not remember the last time his father had said he was disappointed with something he’d done. It was a lousy feeling, and the longer he brooded the worse he felt.
Since it was Friday, the Boone family routine called for dinner at Malouf’s, an ancient Lebanese restaurant owned by an old couple who liked to yell at each other. The Boones always ate fish and the meal was usually pleasant. But things would be different tonight. Things would be tense because Mr. Boone would say something about Theo blowing the tests, and Mrs. Boone would rush to his defense. They rarely agreed on issues or events, but they kept their little feuds civilized. Theo decided, as he stared at the wall and rubbed his dog’s head, that he would remain in a foul mood. He would try his best to ruin dinner, and that would inspire his mother to go after his father.
He liked his plan. He and his mother would gang up on his dad and make him feel rotten.
At four, Theo left to meet April at Guff’s.
Chapter 9
As always, Theo slept late on Saturday morning, and when he finally ventured downstairs his mother was at the kitchen table, still in her robe, reading the morning newspaper and waiting for him. “How about some scrambled eggs and bacon, Teddy?”
“Sure. Thanks. Where’s Dad?”
“He’s running errands, said he’d be back at nine to pick you up. He’s excited about playing golf for the first time in a month. It’s a gorgeous day, a little on the cool side, but he’s ready to go.”
Dinner at Malouf’s had been the disaster Theo wanted. His father again expressed his disappointment at Theo’s performance on the tests. His mother disagreed sharply, and though they did not argue in public, they were pretty frosty with each other. Theo just pouted. The entire evening was tense, and Theo couldn’t wait to get home and run to his room.
“So Dad’s okay this morning?” Theo asked. His mother was at the stove, cracking eggs.
“Oh, sure, Theo. We’re lawyers, we disagree and argue, but no one carries a grudge. We’ve also been married for twenty-five years and know how to get along.”
“I don’t like it when Dad’s disappointed with me.”
“Theo, your father and I are very proud of you. You do your best in everything—scouting, debate, golf, schoolwork. He is not disappointed.”
“Well, that’s not what he said.”
“He said what he said, but he didn’t say it very well. I think he has some regrets, and he wants to play golf and talk about it.”
“Then I’m not sure I want to play.”
“Be a sport. How many eggs?”
“Two for me, two for the dog.”
“You might want to look at the newspaper and check out the headlines this morning.”
“What’s happened?”
“It’s all about the test scores. The city schools did very well.”
“Great. Just what I need.” Theo reluctantly picked up the Strattenburg Daily News. The lead story was a glowing report on how well the city’s third, fifth, and eighth graders had performed on the standardized tests. Congratulations all around. Of particular importance was the impressive rise in scores at East Middle School. East was traditionally the weakest of the three middle schools in town, all three of which fed into Strattenburg High. The eighth graders at Strattenburg Middle and Central had always scored higher, with East dragging behind. There had even been a story about the school facing probation if it did not improve. East was on the far edge of town, and Theo knew very few kids who went there.
In the center of the front page was a large photo of Dr. Carmen Stoop, the city’s superintendent of education. She was quoted saying all sorts of great things about the testing and the performance of “our” students. Theo had never met her, but she was often in the newspaper. He got the impression she was an important person, though her job was often controversial. She seemed to enjoy the moment a bit too much, at least in his opinion.
Under her photo was a graph comparing the eighth-grade results. Strattenburg and Central dead-even with East only a fraction behind. Next to it was a similar graph from the year before, with East far behind. Dr. Stoop congratulated the hard work being done at East and said the improvement was “amazing.”
The bacon was frying and the kitchen suddenly smelled delicious. Judge was now standing by Mrs. Boone at the stove, begging as always.
“Good news for East, I guess,” Theo said.
“Oh, I suppose,” she said, skeptical as always. “I guess it means the teachers there finally figured out how to prepare the students for the tests. I doubt if the kids are any smarter. They just know how to take the tests.”
“Mom, I’m kind of tired of this conversation.”
“So am I.” The toast popped out of the toaster. She spread butter on both pieces and placed them on Theo’s plate. She added peach jam, his favorite, poured him a glass of grapefruit juice, and served both him and Judge.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You are very welcome, Teddy. Now enjoy breakfast while I go take a long, hot bath.”
She would stay in the tub for an hour, something Theo would never understand. He had hated baths since the day he was born. He didn’t care much for showers either, but there were few other options. There was something—what was the word? Unclean?—about sitting in a tub of hot water that was okay when the bath began but got dirtier as the ordeal progressed. At least in the shower the dirty water was washed away.
But he kept these thoughts to himself. Bathing was another reason he loved the camping trips. He could go unwashed for days and no one cared.
He heard his father’s SUV roll to a stop in the garage. Judge, on cue, offered a lame growl as if he was always on guard and might attack at any moment, then he quickly returned to his eggs and bacon.
Mr. Boone entered the kitchen with a big smile and a hearty, “Well, good morning, Theo.”
“Morning, Dad.”
“Are you ready for golf?”
Only if we don’t discuss the tests. “Sure.”
As he walked by, he tousled Theo’s hair and said, “It’s a beautiful day. Hurry up.”
Theo smiled. His dad was fine. All
was well.
Chapter 10
Late Sunday afternoon, Theo was in his room staring at his homework, bored, and thinking of something else to do. His phone beeped with a text from April: Theo, we need to talk. Now. Urgent. Meet me at Guff’s.
Such a message from her only meant trouble. Her home life was not stable, and strange things happened there. He texted: Okay. What is it?
I’ll tell u when I see u. Now!
Theo hustled down the stairs and told his mother he was meeting April for a frozen yogurt. Predictably, she said, “Okay, but aren’t you eating too much of that stuff?”
His father, who was reading the Sunday News, piped in with, “It’s just yogurt. Isn’t that healthy?”
“It’s full of sugar, Woods, and I think Theo is eating too much of it.”
“I’ll just have one scoop, okay?” Theo said, though he’d never had just one scoop and wasn’t about to cut back now.
“Be home in time for dinner,” she said. Sunday dinner was Theo’s least favorite meal of the week because his mother prepared it. She had little interest in cooking, and her lack of experience was obvious.
“Sure, Mom. Be back in an hour.” As he left the house, he made a mental note that his mother had not specifically told him to have only one scoop. He had made the offer, though halfheartedly, and she had ignored it. Therefore, at least in his opinion, he was free to order as much as he wanted. A kid in Theo’s shoes, with two parents as lawyers, had to stay on his toes.
April was waiting in a rear booth, far away from anyone else. She had not ordered and seemed nervous. “What are you having?” Theo asked.
“Nothing.”
“Okay, if you’re having nothing, then I’m having nothing. And if we have nothing they’ll ask us to leave.”