“And what do you plan to do about it, Mr. Savage?”
“I … I’ll speak with my father.” Another shot of embarrassment lights my veins. My only fucking option. A terrible option.
The right corner of his lips curls into a crooked half-smile. “You do that, Ryan.”
Not “Mr. Savage,” the name he read off the paper, but Ryan. Yeah, he definitely knows my father. I’m forced to stand there, grasping for words like a fish out of water, while he disappears through the doors. I’m going to have to call Father now. I have to try.
Spinning, I almost ram chest-first into Major Jarvis. The man’s clean-cut—military-precision hair, smooth, shaved jaw, and he fits his service uniform well. He’s unfairly good-looking, but the only attractive thing about him is the way he looks. His personality is shit.
I come to attention, standing taller, arms by my sides. “Sir.”
“Are you injured, cadet?”
“Sir, no, sir.”
“Do you have permission to be here?”
I take a breath. “Sir, I?—”
“Not interested in anything but yes or no sir.”
“Sir, no, sir,” I mutter.
“How many demerits is it for being where you don’t have permission to be?”
“Five, sir.”
“Correct. And how many demerits for speaking disrespectfully to a member of staff?”
“Five, sir. But I didn’t?—”
“I didn’t hear a single sir, but I did hear a threat.”
Professors and civilian members of staff don’t get the same standards of deference that officers do, but we’re supposed to treat them with respect. I don’t agree that I threatened him …okay, well, maybe I hoped contacting my father wouldconcernhim, but it’s clear he didn’t feel threatened.
“I’m tacking on another five for the threat, which means you’ve earned yourself two evenings of corrective duty, cadet.”
My hands ball into fists, and my knuckles crack. “Sir, permission to speak, sir.” This fucking place. Having to ask just to speak. It’s a prison. But I can’t afford more demerits than the ones I’ve already been given.
“Go ahead.”
“Sir, my brother shouldn’t be cleared for drills, sir.”
“Are you saying you know better than the physician who saw him?”
“Yes, sir. I’m his brother. I know him better than anyone.”
“If you think you know better than a physician, you’re too cocky, cadet. Two days of corrective duty had better humble you, or I’ll do it for you. Do I make myself clear?”
“Sir, yes, sir,” I say, but the anger’s about to bubble over. I’m one more irritated word away from doing something stupid.
“I was his Block leader,” he continues, and my eyes flick to that ring of his, the one I know cracked across Griffon’s jaw. “He needs a little tough love. Someone has been coddling him, and now I know it’s been you.”
My teeth grind, forcing my mouth to stay shut with the last ounce of willpower I have.
“Report to Major Carter. He’s holding detention in the drainage ditches today.”
Joy.
