Her eyes had drifted to the bookcase to the right of Principal Davis’s desk. At the top sat the basketball we’d won the state title with last year. All the guys on the team had signed it. The day we presented it to the principal, I thought he might actually cry. The school hadn’t won a championship since his senior year, which had been over twenty years ago.
Sunlight streamed in through the window in the corner. I stole a glance, immediately wishing I was outside shooting free throws. There was a great court down the street from my house. Like the rest of Magnolia Valley, the basketball court was surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, and the view was really incredible. I’d definitely miss it next year when I was playing for UGA.
Scratch that, if I was playing for UGA.
“Excuse me. I don’t mean to interrupt, but why am I here?” Wren asked, dragging my mind from my happy place back to the depressing situation at hand. “I have a ton of homework, and I’d like to head back to study hall.”
She refused to look at me. I couldn’t blame her… Even though I wasn’t the guilty party and nearly five years had passed, I still felt responsible for her hideous nickname. I’d never admit it, but I hadn’t been brave enough to shut my classmates down when they were teasing Wren and calling her Wrentainer. I cared too much what they thought about me. Marissa was the one who came up with it, but I was the one who repeated it, loudly. I was the one who made all our classmates laugh. I was the reason Wren got bullied.
If it hadn’t been for that night and the repercussions that followed, I totally would have gone for Wren back in the day. Not only was she smart, but in middle school, she used to have a wicked sense of humor. I bet she still did. On top of that, she was pretty and not in that ten-pounds-of-makeup way like Marissa. Like today, her light brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, which accented her hazel eyes. She wasn’t very tall, maybe five foot three at best, but her legs were long and lean from the countless hours she spent running around the track. Thank you, cross-country team.
Principal Davis cleared his throat, bringing me back to reality. “Wren, Coach tells me that you’re refusing to tutor Fuller.”
“It’s not fair,” Wren said quietly.
“Not exactly,” the principal said, tapping on the screen of a tablet that sat on his desk.
When Wren’s eyes landed on the video that he’d pulled up, her face turned ashen.
“It appears that the two of you were engaged in a food fight today in the cafeteria,” Principal Davis said. He paused the video and zoomed in on Wren launching a handful of food in my direction.
His voice had taken on a serious tone, but I knew that we wouldn’t get in trouble for the fight. It all made sense. The only reason he’d dragged Wren in here was to guilt her into tutoring me. She was hands down the best student in AP Lit, and we already had study hall together. Now that Principal Davis had some leverage over one of the smartest students in the entire school, he’d apply pressure.
I had his moves pegged.
Principal Davis looked directly at me and then Wren. “Normally, I’d hand down your punishments and not think twice about it, but today, I’m giving you two an ultimatum.”
Wren’s entire body tensed. “What about all the other kids involved in the food fight?” As far as I knew, she’d never been called to the principal’s office or gotten into any kind of trouble at school. I wasn’t sure if she was scared of earning a black mark on her record or just plain furious with me.
Probably the latter, since that was her default setting.
Mr. Davis straightened his tie and stole a quick glance at the game-winning basketball. “They’ll be dealt with, Wren. Don’t you worry. Now, you owe our custodians, Mr. Tillson and Miss Constance, an apology. That part is not debatable. And either you both agree to this tutoring arrangement, or you’re both suspended for two days and given five days of detention.”
“What?” Wren gasped.
“Was that not you throwing food in the lunch room today, Ms. Carter?” the principal asked. He arched an eyebrow and pointed to his tablet. “Or do my eyes deceive me?”
“It was me, but I…” Wren stopped speaking and looked down at her hands.
I watched as her fingers tightened and she dug her nails into her jeans.
“Wren, I’d hate for you to lose the opportunity to go to the STEM Academy Camp at UNC over winter break…” Mr. Davis sat back in his chair.
“Wait. What?” Her jaw fell open in disbelief.
Mr. Davis steepled his fingers. “Any record of suspension automatically revokes your spot in the program.”
Wren didn’t say anything. Instead, she just sat there, looking totally shell-shocked. I felt bad for her, but getting that scholarship was more important than some nerd camp.
Preparing myself to lay it on thick, I cleared my throat. “I’ve already started writing my apology to Mr. Tillson and Miss Constance. I’ll deliver it to them today before practice and, if it’s okay with Wren, I’d very much like to work with her in order to bring up my AP Lit grade. The guys on the team are counting on me, and I don’t want to let them down.”
“Thank you, Fuller,” Principal Davis said.
Wren cringed.
Guilt washed over me, but that didn’t matter. I had to look out for my family and myself right now. My entire future depended on it. Wren was so smart, she probably had ten scholarships all lined up for next year.
“Wren, I’m really sorry for throwing food at you today. I think…” I paused for dramatic effect. “I think that sometimes I act out because even though I try to be good at everything, the harsh reality is that I’m not. I’m flunking AP Lit, which means if I don’t get a good grade on the next paper, I’m riding the bench in the season opener. Basketball means the world to me, and if you could please give me a chance, I promise to work hard and listen to everything you say.”
The words sounded sincere as they left my lips and, to be honest, some of them were closer to the truth than I’d like to admit. Up until this year, I’d never struggled with my grades. But the mounting pressures had gotten to me.
After Coach had called my parents to let them know I might not get to play in the first game, they’d ripped into me. I vividly recalled the feeling of heat creeping up my neck and the tight knot forming in my stomach. I’d never felt more ashamed. Missing any of the upcoming games could risk my future at the University of Georgia, my dream school. The coach had come out to the State Championship game last season and, if the rumors were true, he planned to come out again to the season opener to watch me play. Missing the season opener could have a disastrous impact on my future.
Coach remained silent as Principal Davis let out a sigh. “Miss Carter, the choice is yours. Either suspension and detention or tutoring Mr. James until he brings his Lit grade up to at least a C, although an A or B would be preferred.”