Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 103104 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103104 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
He grimaces, and I continue.
“I’ve already filled out all the paperwork.” I pull it out of my backpack and set it on his desk. I copied it using the printer at Lou’s diner. “There has to be a spot for him at the elementary campus. Just one.” The thought of seeing Tyler actually get the services he deserves makes my palms sweat. I swallow, thinking fast, my mouth saying things I don’t know I can deliver on. “Look, forget the scholarship for him. I…I can pay you back a little at a time. I have some savings and a job. I’m a great waitress. It won’t be much, and you can charge me interest or whatever your administration prefers, but I swear, I will pay for his tuition, and then when I get to college, I can get another job, maybe one that pays more, and—”
“Ava.” He cuts me off. “I can’t give you a loan. To even enroll him with a payment plan, I’d need half of the money. Do you have fifteen thousand dollars?”
My gut clenches. “No.”
“My dear…” His voice softens. “All monies for scholarships have already been allocated for this year. It’s out of my hands.”
I stand up. I didn’t walk in here today just to be turned down so quickly. I’m prepared to fight. I look down at the Anaïs Nin quote on my backpack, words I put there with a sharpie. Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.
Never give up, Ava.
“Then ask that donor, or call the administration at the campus to check for sure, because I promise you this: if you don’t find Tyler a spot on your roster, you’re going to lose me. I can drive down the road to Morganville, and they’ll roll out the red carpet. You and I both know my scores are some of the best this school has ever seen. You wouldn’t have called me and asked me to come back if I wasn’t poised to put Camden at the top of the list of best private schools in the state. Do you really want your biggest competition bragging about my scores?”
I’m bluffing about Morganville, who also happens to be our biggest football rival. The only reason I haven’t approached them already is they don’t have the special needs program Camden does.
“Plus, I came back here. I came back. Doesn’t that look good for those future students who might be wondering about the moral quality of the young men you’re educating here? Maybe there’s a future football star out there wondering if Camden is the right place for him. Maybe there’s a smart girl who can afford Camden, but she goes to Morganville instead because she’s heard rumors.” I hesitate. I do like him, always have, but… “I get requests for my story from reporters who don’t have a thing to do with this town, who aren’t afraid of the money here. Would you like to see me on some national morning show? I’d hate to draw unwanted attention back to Camden and perhaps suggest that this school and town didn’t do enough for me.” My voice cracks. It’s a lie. There are no reporters. Nobody gave a shit about what happened to me.
He takes his glasses off and wipes at them slowly, a surprised expression on his lined face. His eyes crinkle as he squints at me. “I don’t remember you being quite this…assertive.”
“There’s a lot that’s different about me, Mr. Trask.”
He runs his gaze over my hair, giving me a long, searching look and then a sigh and a nod. “I see that, and I’m sorry for it. Deeply.”
Just give me what I need.
He smiles briefly. “Let me make some phone calls and get back to you by the end of the day. Will that work?”
Nodding, I move to the door. “He’s the only thing I’m living for right now. If he’s not near me, this”—I wave my hands around—“is a no-go. I won’t sign anything.”
He nods. “End of day, I’ll let you know.”
I walk out of the office and, lo and behold, Mrs. Carmichael has a pass ready.
I saunter out into the hall, feeling proud that Ava 2.0 does indeed have a backbone.
All I have is this one year to set everything right, and if I’m going to be miserable here, at least my brother will get a fresh start.
6
Class with Ava has me extra wired. Sitting next to her was intense, the smell of her hair when she moved, the way her lips puckered when she was pissed at me, and those eyes—don’t even get me started. I don’t like the heightened emotions she brings out in me, how she has this ability to goad me with just a look.
And when she touched me? Oh, fuck nah. I didn’t dig that at all.