“Senior sent me that one too. But this one’s funny, isn’t it?”
“I think Senior got annoyed at us for not getting along. Did he tell you he went and got his own room because Jasper and I kept arguing?”
“He did,” Dad says, and the tone in his voice lets me know he thinks it’s amusing. “Wait a sec, I’ll send you another photo. This is a good one.”
It comes through a moment later. Senior must have taken it yesterday, when we were all skiing together. It’s a candid shot, with Jasper in the centre of the frame, his goggles off, grinning to himself. I’m in the background behind him, my skis in a triangle shape, smiling at the ground.
“You look like you’re having fun,” Dad says.
“Yeah. It was really fun,” I say, staring at Jasper in the photo.
“The grandson’s a looker, isn’t he?” Dad teases.
“Dad. You can’t say that, it’s creepy.”
“How’s it creepy? I’m saying for you —”
“I know, just —”
“Besides, I’ve heard enough of the boys and girls you like to figure out your type and —”
“Dad!” I interrupt. “Please. Don’t.”
Since I was in primary school, I told him about the boys and girls I thought were pretty, though I stopped once I got to high school and got embarrassed to talk about crushes the way all teenagers do. The upside was that I never had to come out to Dad. The downside is that he begins embarrassing conversations like this, where I almost die from mortification.
“Okay,” Dad says in a quieter voice, sounding a little guilty, the way he did when he mentioned Michael. “I’m sorry for teasing.”
NowIfeel guilty. I know he’s just trying to cheer me up.
“It’s okay.”
If I’m being honest, Dad’s right. Jasper is attractive, with the prettiest green eyes I’ve ever seen. It’s a blessing he has such an appalling personality, because otherwise I would be scarily defenceless against him.
I think of what happened in our room at the snow, and remember how it started in the first place, with me on top of him, because he threw his phone at me, because I taunted him about jerking off because he said —
My body goes cold. “Dad.”
“Yeah?”
“Who’s paying for my school fees?”
There’s a beat of silence, and my stomach drops.
“Senior’s covering them for now,” Dad begins. “They wanted an upfront payment. It was too much for me, but I’ll have it by the time you graduate, and then I’ll pay Senior back. Kieran, don’t worry about it.”
I rub my nose. I feel stupid for not realising it earlier. Sure, Dad only has to look after me and not a huge family, and he’s always been a big saver, but at the same time, he only earns an average amount. Not enough to easily pay for Easton Grammar’s tuition fees.
“Did Senior tell you this?” Dad asks.
“No. Jasper did. I don’t even know how he figured it out.”
“Kieran, seriously, don’t worry. Of course I’m going to pay Senior back. I’ve already started to.”
“But are you sure that you can afford it, though? I don’t want to make things tight for you, money-wise…”
“Course I can,” Dad answers. “Just have to do a little rearranging, fix my budget, stuff like that. Please don’t worry about it. Focus on school, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, relaxing against the wall. I can do that. I trust Dad — he’s the one who raised me, after all. He wouldn’t have sent me down here if he wasn’t certain he could pay Senior back for all his help.
