She texted Shelly, who sent back a heart. I’ll fly out and go with you.
It’s not for six weeks.
Ugh so long?
First one she had.
Cassie was about to give her sister a call just to hear her voice when her phone rang.
Andrew.Finally.
“Sweetie!” she said. “How’d it go?”
“Grandpa FaceTimed me in the middle!”
“What! He doesn’t even know how to FaceTime.” This didn’t compute. Her father had a cell phone but barely used it. He sort of knew how to text, but she doubted he knew what FaceTime was.
“Well he did,” he moaned, “and I forgot to turn off my phone.”
“Oh Andrew.”
“It went off in my pocket. One of the deans got pissed and yelled at me for like a whole minute on how I was disrespectful. Iwasn’tbeing disrespectful, I just forgot.”
Her stomach swooned with anxiety. “So what happened?”
“I think they were going to let me off with a warning. That one dean was an asshole, but the other two were nice. They asked me what happened and if I knew I made a mistake. I said I did, and I wore the blazer like you said and—”
“Miss Cassie?” Mrs. Macuja stuck her head in the door. “I need to ask—”
Cassie waved her off. “Not now.”
“What?” Andrew said.
“Not you, sweetie!” She motioned to Mrs. Macuja to close the door. She couldn’t believe the woman had barged right in! Wait. What if there was an emergency? “Hang on, honey.” She set down the phone and dashed after Mrs. Macuja, who was already on her way downstairs.
“I’m on the phone with my son. What’s the matter?”
“You out of Mr. Clean. Okay to use vinegar on the floor?”
“Oh, my God. That’s all? Yes, vinegar’s fine.” She hurried back to the bedroom. “Mix it with water,” she called. CNN was blaring on the TV downstairs, and a throbbing had started behind her left eye.
“I’m sorry, honey, someone’s here to help with Grandpa. Tell me what happened.”
“They suspended me,” he said glumly. “For a week.”
“Oh no.” This was what she’d feared, that the school would want to make an example of them. Phil had been way too sanguine about this. “What about the other kids, were they suspended too?”
“They haven’t had their hearings yet. They’re calling us in separately.”
Outside the window, a striking yellow bird with black wings tucked into the safety of the red maple. A goldfinch maybe. She didn’t know her birds. In the city you mostly saw pigeons. Utilitarian birds that knew how to survive. “And your friend, is he still in the hospital?” Her heart ached for this boy, whose life might be forever altered.
“His name is Jack. His parents flew him home to Dallas. I tried calling, but his mom wouldn’t let me talk to him.” Andrew sounded like he was on the verge of tears. “I just wanted to see how he was doing.”
“Of course you did.” She still felt an undertow of unease about how a boy could fall and hit his head like that. What Andrew wasn’t saying. Not surprising that the mother wouldn’t let Andrew talk to him. She’d be outraged too if her son was lying in the hospital and the other kids had walked away. “Why don’t you fly home? I’m at Grandpa’s, you could come here.”
“And do what?”
“You can’t go to class for a week. What are you going to do there?”
