King adjusted his tie and, before he could turn back toward his office, I asked, “You’re not going to callthemin?”
He followed my eyes and we both settled on my friends, two of whom were now suggestively pressing their nipples to the window.
“What’s the point? None have enough credits to graduate even with intervention. Besides, they’ll be gone by lunch.”
“So that’s it? No ultimatums? You’re just giving up on them?”
“They’ve given up on themselves. Do you know that I personally called every one of their parents this morning? One after another, I dialed up the emergency numbers on file, and I got through to a parent or guardian of every single one of them. Your father was the only one who brought you back.”
With that little doozy of a parenting truth ringing in my ear, I stepped out into the arms of the worst influences on the planet. Valentine was escorting me down the hallway before my right foot had even left the office. He clapped me on the back, his bloodshot eyes rolling in their sockets as he spoke. “I’ve got the back door to the gym propped open. Let’s roll, boys. Party time!”
I ground to a halt. “Wait. I thought we were going to the zoo.”
“We are,” Fire Crotch confirmed. “But it’s by the beach, brah. It’s a total party zoo.”
“Less chit chat and more walking,” Valentine prodded. “We only have a few minutes to disappear before the bell rings.”
This didn’t seem the right time to tell him about my life-changing revelation or that I was going to have to part ways with his dopey ass if he continued to try leading me astray. Besides, I needed to tread lightly with Valentine, seeing that he was about to become Pearl Beach High’s newest dealer. But that conversation was going to have to wait because I had neither the time nor the colorful crayons to explain everything to him.
“Dude, not today. King busted me. I’m in some trouble. I need to lie low for a while.”
“Lie low? What the fuck? We’re always in trouble. Why is today special?” He gripped my arm much like Principal King had and pulled me along.
Again, I came to a standstill. “Look, I promised my dad I’d stay in school, and” – I lowered my voice, feeling suddenly embarrassed by my pending future – “graduate in June.”
By the perplexed expressions on my friends’ faces, you would have thought I’d just explained to them that some restaurants don’t serve all-day breakfast.
Valentine blinked once. Then twice. Maybe even three times before responding. “Wait, like,thiscoming June?”
“Yeah, man, we’re seniors, remember?”
“I know,” he said, his brows slanting in a downward trajectory. “I just… I thought we all agreed we were going to be Super Seniors next year. The five-year plan, bitches.”
“I think the term Super Seniors only applies to the mentally challenged,” I said.
Proving my point, Screensaver jerked his head up as if he’d just been awakened from a deep sleep. “Oh, man,” he whined. “Five more years?”
“Yes.” I nodded at my little friend who had the IQ of a deck chair. “You’ll be twenty-two when you graduate.”
“Oh.” He gripped his chest, exhaling a sigh of heavy relief. “That’s not so bad then.”
“Not for you, bud.” I patted his shoulder. “Not for you.”
“So, what exactly are you saying, Keith?” Valentine asked.
“I’m saying I’m not leaving school with you today… or any day. I’ve got to graduate, dude.”
“And smokeouts?” he asked cautiously, as if fearing my response.
I shook my head. “Done.”
“What the fuck? What about the business?”
Brett Valentine had been my right-hand man for a while now, so he was my natural successor. I nodded toward him, and his eyes widened. Maybe he hadn’t believed me before, but now he understood this was no passing phase. For me to give up the kind of money I was making, there had to be a compelling reason.
“Shit, you’re serious. You’re just walking away from everything? For what? A piece of paper that says you aren’t as dumb as you look?”
“I’m walking away for my dad.”
