Push and Shove: The Ghost Bird Series: #6 (The Academy) (18 page)

“Rocky’s up to something,” Silas said. “I don’t like it.”

“Up to something like Hendricks?” I asked.

Silas shook his head. “Last week at practice, he was urging me to break up with you and go out with some other girl. Now he's grabbing your ass and right in front of my face.”

“I’ll just stay away from him,” I said.

“I don’t know if that’ll work,” Silas said. The corners of his broad lips tightened. His dark eyes narrowed. “I might have to introduce him to the floor the next time he does something stupid.”

“Silas,” I said, leaning over the top of his desk. “You can’t...”

Silas balled up his hands into fists on top of his desk. “I can’t let him do that to you. You can’t let a bully just walk over you,
aggele
. You have to show them you won’t take it, or they keep coming after you.”

I started shaking my head. Was Rocky bullying Silas? It seemed incredible to think so. But Silas couldn’t just hit him. I thought about the other times fights broke out. If Silas hit him, wouldn’t the football team be mad at him? Would he get kicked off the team?

But the teacher redirected our attention to the front of the class before I could tell him what I was thinking. I turned around, lowering down into my seat.

Silas slid his feet under my chair. His feet hugged around mine, quietly telling me he was there.

But I wasn’t paying attention to class work. I was thinking about Rocky. My goal was to avoid him. If I stayed away, maybe he’d lose interest and Silas wouldn’t get into any trouble.

––––––––

S
ilas escorted me to Japanese class. He stood outside the door with me for a moment, looking at me.

“Silas?”

He pursed his lips and squeezed my hand gently. He leaned in close, and his lips brushed against my ear as he whispered. “This party after the game ... I’ll try to leave as soon as I can. Kind of wish you could come with me.”

“I’d end up in the closet again,” I said quietly.

“Maybe with me this time,” he said. He backed up and then the corner of his thick lips tilted upward in a slight smile. “Did I tell you the new joke I heard about the toilet?”

I started to grin. He had a thing for trying to make me laugh with strange jokes. “No.”

His eyes lit up, and he said in a straight voice, “Wait, I can’t. It’s dirty.”

Dirty toilet. I started giggling at first, because it was a terrible joke. It was the way he told it though that really had me going. He reached out and poked me in the ribs and I cracked up into laughter.

“Don’t start her on that.” I heard Dr. Green’s voice before he stepped out of the classroom. He was wearing a blue shirt today, with a yellow tie and tan slacks. His sandy blond hair was combed nicely, although a couple of locks fell across his forehead, complementing his happy face. “She’ll be giggling all through class.”

“Sorry, Doc,” Silas said.

“Go to class,” Dr. Green said. He reached out for my elbow, giving it a gentle tug for only a moment and released me, urging me inside. “This is my time with her now.”

Silas rolled his eyes and started heading down the hallway. I watched after him a moment.

Dr. Green caught my elbow again, holding on for longer this time. “Come on. I’ve got your favorite today.”

“My favorite?”

“Yeah,” he said and the grin on his face broadened, lighting up his eyes. “Pop quiz.”

I groaned, but I was grateful for the humor. I’d been really stressed the entire day. A class with Dr. Green, even a pop quiz, would be a pleasant break.

Victor was supposed to show up for class, but when the bell rang and he wasn’t in his seat near me, I glanced at Dr. Green. Dr. Green checked his phone, and then looked at me with a slight shake of his head. I nodded, understanding. Victor was held up. From Dr. Green’s expression though, it wasn’t serious. I hoped it wasn’t another fight. Maybe Mr. Blackbourne was getting him to break into other lockers now.

The pop quiz was short. For the rest of class, Dr. Green told us a little bit about Japanese culture, and wrote out particular words on the blackboard that he wanted us to remember. Out of all my classes, Dr. Green’s was the one I really looked forward to. Maybe part of it was because I knew him better now, but his personality really was captivating. Lighthearted and friendly, even students who looked like they’d sleep during class sat up and paid attention to him.

When the bell finally rang, I hung back. I was supposed to be excused from gym today, but I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to go to gym and sit out, or go to the office. I thought Dr. Green would know.

When the students left, Dr. Green was shuffling through the quizzes and glancing at the results. He shook his head. “You’d think they didn’t read the homework assignment at all.”

“Maybe they didn’t,” I said quietly.

He looked up, a soft smile spreading over his face. “Did you?”

I nodded. I’d been busy and maybe I was excused from homework for his class, but I’d read ahead, like the boys taught me to do, so I wasn’t that far behind. “Did you check my quiz?”

He shuffled through the papers and found the one I’d completed. He checked the answers. He shook his head, frowning. “Oh no.”

My mouth fell open. “What?” I asked. I’d been sure about the answers. I went through the questions in my mind. Did I miss something?

He shook his head, trying to look disappointed, but those soft green eyes were lit up, betraying his amusement. “I put you on sick leave and you get an A.” He picked up his teaching materials from the desk, and turned, placing a hand on my lower back to guide me toward the door. “I should give you an F for failing to follow a doctor’s orders.”

“Was I supposed to fail the quiz?” I asked.

He ushered me to the door and snapped the light off, closing up the classroom as we got out to the hallway. From there, he stayed beside me as we walked down the hall. “How am I ever supposed to give you bonus points, or fudge your grade a bit if you keep getting A’s?”

“Sorry,” I said. “Didn’t know you were trying to.”

“Don’t want you to think I don’t care,” he said. The hallways were quieter now as classes filled in. He didn’t hurry, or usher me on, so I suspected I was supposed to stay with him. “I give everyone else bonus points.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “Might as well give these kids something for being volunteers for my class. I may be the only A on their report card the entire school year.”

“Why do you want to teach?” I asked. “I mean, Mr. Blackbourne’s here, but he’s not really teaching.”

“Part of the secret,” he said, his voice softening to almost a stage whisper. We made it to the stairs and I followed him down. “Hang on. Let’s get to the office and I’ll tell you about it.”

I stayed quiet while I walked beside him down the hallway. When we got to the main office, he opened doors and sent me quiet winks as I passed through.

When we got to the unmarked door that was the office he shared with Mr. Blackbourne, he took out his keys, unlocking the door. “That’s a cute outfit you’re wearing, by the way.”

Out of reflex, I checked what I was wearing, a skirt and T-shirt, soft cottons. “Gabriel picked it out,” I said.

“He mentioned,” Dr. Green said. He opened the door, ushering me inside. He closed the door and locked it behind us again. “Have a seat, sweetie.”

I started to move to Mr. Blackbourne’s chair to give him his own, but before I moved to do so, Dr. Green curled his fingers at me and then pointed to his desk. He wanted me to sit on it.

I’d done it a lot before, but usually I was distressed or hurt. It felt a little strange to do so now when I was fine. I did as he wanted, though, putting my book bag on the floor and sitting on the desk, my feet swaying a little. “Do you have to go to the hospital now?” I asked, knowing he usually took off right after class.

He pulled out his cell phone, checking the screen. “If there’s nothing pressing, I can sit here with you for a bit.” He sat down in his chair, rolling it toward his desk. I started to scoot off, but he dropped a palm on my knee, patting it. “Stay there. You’re fine.” He went to the computer, rolling the mouse around to light up the screen. He clicked on an email icon and then scanned the messages. “Ugh. Teacher meetings. I hate those.” He deleted the email. “Oops, didn’t get it.”

I smiled, although I hoped he wasn’t going to get into trouble for not being at meetings.

“Anyway,” he said, patting my knee and keeping his warm hand there. “Like I was saying before, it’s not like I’m a real teacher. I only signed up for a couple of these classes as a cover. Owen’s in administration so he’s got the office covered. If I became the teacher, I may get a few teachers on our side and talk to me about what’s going on around here.”

“Is it working?”

He shrugged. “It’s okay. I was still the new kid in the beginning, and since Mr. Hendricks lies to them, tells them I’m here to take their jobs or something, not a lot of them talk to me. Some do, but not the ones I was hoping to get to know.”

“Must be hard,” I said. I hadn’t realized he’d been working, like the boys, to figure out what Mr. Hendricks was up to.

“I’m hoping it’ll be over soon,” he said. He swung a bit in his chair. He paused, scooting closer, and hooked my legs over the arm of his chair, placing my feet in his lap. “I mean, I don’t mind finishing the year, but I’m a doctor now. Didn’t expect to be teaching classes on top of an internship.”

“Are you still working late?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at what he was doing. I hovered my feet over his lap, not wanting my shoes to dirty his clothes.

He hooked his fingers into my sandals and slid them off my feet, dropping them to the floor. Then his fingers started massaging the balls of my feet in small circles. He sighed, and it was like this, rubbing my feet, was more relaxing for him. “I think I’ll be working late for the rest of my life, but I’d like to at least be in one place, more or less. I think I prefer a hospital. Or a small, private practice.”

I leaned back on my hands a little. I wanted to tell him he didn’t have to continue to massage my feet, but it felt really good, and he looked like he was relaxed and happy. I hadn’t noticed before ... did he get nervous teaching in front of other students? He’d mentioned he didn’t care to teach, but he made the sacrifice in order to help the school and his Academy team. That was admirable. “You want your own doctor’s office?” I asked.

He nodded quietly, focusing on my feet, massaging between the toes. “A closed office,” he said. “Only clients I pick out. Relaxed hours. Some cute little nurse named Sang working beside me.” My cheeks heated at this and I wanted to comment, but he continued. “We’d only be open when one of the boys might be sick, or for someone we like. Otherwise, I think we’d keep the schedule pretty loose.”

He was talking like the goal was to barely work at all. “So you don’t like working at the hospital?”

“It’s fine for now,” he said. He picked up my other foot, keeping the other in his lap. He started in the middle of my foot this time, massaging and rubbing across my skin. “I’m learning a lot. I like it, but to be honest, I’ve been there all my life. I wouldn’t mind a break.”

I thought he was teasing. “You haven’t been a doctor all your life,” I said, although the comment came out more like a question. I knew it couldn’t be true, but the way he spoke...

He laughed, shaking his head. “Close enough.” He lifted his eyes from my foot to meet my gaze. “Did the others tell you?”

“About what?”

His eyes softened, as did his smile, losing the spark of humor for something much gentler. “I was found there when I was a baby.”

“What do you mean?”

“My mother,” he said. “My real mother. She left me at the hospital.”

Air escaped me and my heart stopped at the same time. The room seemed to still around us. I expected him to continue but he didn’t, only looked at me, like he was checking to see if I believed him at all. I did, but it really was a surprise. “She left you?”

He nodded, his fingers slowed against my foot, but he continued to massage. “I was left behind without a note, no clue where I’d come from. An abandoned baby left in a battered car seat.”

I couldn’t believe it. Mr. Blackbourne had mentioned all the boys had family problems of some kind. I couldn’t have imagined. “What happened? Did they ever find her?”

He shook his head. “There was nowhere for them to start,” he said. “She left me without a birth certificate, no clue as to who she was. I don’t even know my real name, if she gave me one at all.” The side of his mouth lifted, but just a fraction, and it didn’t reach his eyes like before. “You know, when I heard you never knew your mother either, that the thing with your stepmother had been a lie, I thought—as wrong as it sounds—destiny. Two babies left behind, and here we found each other years later. Although I don’t know for sure who got it better. You were lied to. I never got the benefit. The folks who adopted me told me right from the start.”

I swallowed. I hadn’t been expecting this. I couldn’t imagine a little Sean Green. It could be it wasn’t even his real name, not the one his mother gave him. Abandoned as a baby, brought up by parents who told him... Would I have been happier knowing the truth early on? Was it truly better to have been lied to all this time?

His lips tightened and he lowered his head, focusing on my feet again, although his massaging reduced to simply rubbing gently, tracing my skin. “Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to... I don’t know why I started talking about it.”

I reached out, wanting to be supportive. I didn’t want him to stop talking. I don’t know why, but in a strange way, it was comforting to hear him and I was driven to know more. “But who found you?” I asked. “You were adopted after?”

“Found by the woman who later became my adopted mother, actually,” he said. “She worked as a translator, and she was at the hospital that day to work with doctors for foreign patients. She had gotten lost, took the wrong hallway and found me behind a trash can near a back door. She said I’d been crying, hungry. She brought me to administration, thinking some new mom put down her baby and forgot about me. Social services offered to take me in, but she wouldn’t let them take me. She held on, and she’s done so ever since. She felt I was her responsibility from then on.”