Page 9 of Echoes of Us

I nod. Aunt Beth steps toward me for a hug but all I can manage is a smile. I turn to walk down the hall and out the front door. In front of the house, there is a black Mercedes sedan parked on the street. Of course that is what he drives. That thing sticks out like a sore thumb in this neighborhood.

The car ride is filled with EJ’s chatter. “Do you like Disney movies?” he asks excitedly.

“Not, really,” I reply quietly, staring out the window.

“Really? We should watch The Lion King! I love Simba and I think watching it will totally make you like them!” he exclaims.

I can’t help the small smile that escapes. “Maybe someday.”

Ethan glances in the rearview mirror giving EJ a wide-eyed look. “We’re almost at the school,” he says, looking forward again.

EJ, still excited, adds, “You are so gonna do great on your test. I just know it!”

He’s making it hard for me to maintain my well-practiced brooding. “Thanks, kid,” I reply softly.

We pull into a parking lot as EJ screams, “Look, Teagan! This is our school!”

This school is ridiculous. The five massive buildings, all with their tall towers and red brick walls, seem like they are trying too hard to impress. It feels like something out of a cheap fairytale, not a real school. The size of the place is overwhelming and annoying, like I’ll need a map just to find my classes. Everything about this place screams pretentious and overdone. It was as if the school is more focused on looking impressive than actually being a place for education. My school looks like it was hit by a zombie apocalypse compared to this place. Mr. Briggs begins to explain to me what each of the buildings are. EJ constantly interrupts him to add unnecessary stories of things he has done in each building and to provide me with directions to his class from each.

“You have to come see me in class sometime! I make the coolest stuff in art hour. I’ll make you an awesome drawing if you come on drawing day,” EJ says excitedly.

“Sure. Sounds cool,” I say still looking out the window as we circle the large campus.

We finish touring the outside and park in front of the ginormous entrance. “Headmaster McNeely’s office is in the high school building. That is this one here.” Mr. Briggs points to the largest building.

We enter the school, and I can’t help by let my mouth drop open. The lobby is a beautiful circular room with tall ceilings, marble floors, art all over the walls and the school crest in the center of the rotunda. All of the furniture is modern and looks brand new. It doesn’t match the old-money aesthetic the exterior shows. A tall man with salt and pepper hair sits at the desk typing on the computer. He has round glasses and is wearing a suit and tie. That is so weird for a Saturday morning.

“Headmaster, I hope we aren’t too late!” Mr. Briggs says as we approach the lobby desk.

He looks up from the computer, eyes wide open in shock. He obviously didn’t hear us come in. “Ethan! EJ! How are you both this morning? No, no, you are right on time. I was just printing out the new admissions exam for the girl you said you were bringing.” He smiles at both Mr. Briggs and EJ, but when his gaze lands on me he frowns. “You must be… Teagan? Is that right?”

I stare back in silence. The headmaster looks warily to Mr. Briggs and says, “I am Headmaster Aaron McNeely, but you can call me Mr. McNeely or Headmaster.” He pauses, clearly waiting for me to acknowledge him. Yeah, I’m not gonna do that.

“Right, welcome. I am sure Ethan has informed you this is a prestigious private institution. We are also a very devout Baptist school.” He pauses again. I’m still not talking to you, buddy.

“Uhh…anyway. Ethan, you mentioned she was highly intelligent, so I just added a few harder questions to the exam. We’ve never had someone come in the middle of their senior year. I wanted to take the opportunity to see what courses she could handle. Please follow me.”

We follow McNeely into his office. The office is as big as the pastor’s from the other night, but even nicer. There is a worktable in one corner, a large meeting table at one end of the room, a huge mahogany desk with two curved computer screens and a laptop connected to them. These people really have too much money. It makes me sick.

“Please take a seat at the work table Ms...?” McNeely starts.

“Parker.” I mutter.

“Ah okay, well Ms. Parker the test is not long. There are four questions from each core subject. As I stated, I made this one a bit harder to see what classes you should be placed in with our rushed timeline of admittance. Please begin when you’re ready.”

I sit at the desk and stare down at the paper. Mr. Briggs and EJ leave the room to wait in the lobby. Before they leave, I hear EJ tell Mr. Briggs I was too cool for this school. I am really starting to like that kid. If I absolutely have to do this, at least I have the kid to make things a little more bearable. I write ‘Screw You’ across the page and hand it back to McNeely with a smile. He looks down at the paper, his face falling.

“One moment please.” He turns to leave the room, and I sit back down at the table giggling to myself. I am not taking some stupid test to see if I am ‘worthy’ of coming to this school.

The door opens again, and I look back to see Mr. Briggs enter. He sits beside me and looks at me for a long moment, contemplating what to say. “I knew your mother, you know.”

My head shoots up, unable to mask my shock. “How? That is literally not possible.”

“We were good friends in high school, well, before she dropped out when she got pregnant. She and your aunt lived next door to me in Trenton,” Mr. Briggs continues to meet my gaze. “You look a little shocked to know I came from your old neighborhood, huh? After what happened to your mom it changed something in me, and I knew I had to get out of there.”

“So, my mom was someone you didn’t want to become, cool. Thanks for the kind words.” I turn to face the door.

“No, Teagan. It was seeing someone who should have gone further than anyone else fall victim to the demons that haunted our neighborhood. She was destined for greatness. I wanted to get out and spend my life helping people like your mom turn their life around. From what I remember of her, she would want you to do the same.” He is silent for a moment, then sighs. “Look, I know you’re angry you’ve been pushed into this, but please let me help you. This is a great school and the college opportunities you can get with a diploma from here are endless. Especially if you’re as smart as Beth says you are.”

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