Unpleasant Christmas Surprise
ow many of them are going to come in here?”
The quartet of teen boys watched the line of men and women in dark suits and ties who were carrying matching black leather briefcases march from the teacher’s access stairwell out from the first floor through the main hall to the faculty room. Matt leaned back with his arms folded. Troy stood next to him while Randon peered around his ankles as a cat. Tom was sitting on the drinking fountain again, tilting his head with a peek over his sunglasses, wondering with a moan so loud that a few of the testing proctors in suits glanced over at the group.
“I have no idea,” Matt murmured. “But it sucks to have testing in the middle of Christmas break.”
“We get a break?” Troy chuckled. No one went home for the holidays except Selena—including Rick, though his maternal grandparents had invited him. It was too close to the full moon to risk it.
The cat Randon meowed and pulled into shape, rising onto his two feet. This time a man in the line lurched out of step, staring. One of his associates tugged him back in line with a wordless look of warning. Clearly they had been told what kind of school it was. But seeing and hearing were just two different things.
“What’s going on?” Selena asked, strolling up to where the boys were gathered. She was wrapped in her newest festive red-and-white faux fur cape.
Matt pointed over as Tom smiled at her. “Testers. We’re supposed to take the national exams this week.”
“You mean the SAT and ACT?” Selena asked.
Troy shrugged along with Randon. “Not for us this year, but for the seniors like you, maybe.”
Tom hopped off the drinking fountain, getting a little closer to her. He stuck his face near her chin. “I hear we’re taking IQ tests and those national assessment thingies. They get to decide whether Gulinger will stay accredited.”
Rick walked into the hallway with a basketball under his arm, tempted to dribble it. But after a worn glance at the testers, he hesitated. Then he turned to where the boys were gathered, his eyes setting last on Selena with an even more tired eye roll. He nodded to Matt. “Hey.”
Matt pointed to the line. “Do you know anything about that?”
Shrugging, Rick replied, “Maybe. But Dad doesn’t want me talking about internal school matters.”
“Whoa.” Tom hopped to Rick. “Are you saying your dad discusses school board stuff with you?”
Emitting a tired grunt, Rick tilted his head to the side, regarded Matt carefully then sighed. He nodded. “Sometimes. He says I have to start thinking about the company. He wants me to report on the effective running of the school—or ineffective, depending—and I have to submit them in emails. He calls them tutorials.”
Matt raised his eyebrows at Rick. There was a lot Rick had not said, such as how his father was expecting him to take up managing part of the business by the time he reached eighteen, something Rick was dreading. Rick also had not said that he was feeling weighed down by similar pressure from his grandparents, but in mingling social circles. They were upset he had not been showing up at social functions with Selena as a couple anymore, and it was wearing him down. It was what had been on his mind when he had said
Impressum
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 19.09.2014
ISBN: 978-3-7368-5206-8
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