Page 6 of Beyond Perfect

Wishing this didn’t have anything to do with sex, which had been on his mind too much lately, he smiled. “All right. Let’s start with what the topic means.”

“That’s easy.” This from Bryce. The smartest. The richest. The most entitled. He stole a car for a joyride with some older kids and when the cops stopped them, the others bolted. “Using a rubber and that stuff.”

“It does mean types of contraception. But isn’t there more to the idea of sexual responsibility?”

No one raised his hand.

“Looks like you gotta tell us,” Frankie said.

“I’d say the first thing to consider is your partner.”

“What does that mean?”

“Anybody want to take a guess? And no wise-guy stuff.”

Tim O’Malley spoke up. “I think it means you gotta be sure she’s ready.”

“Uh-huh. That’s the first thing. What about others?”

“You gotta be…you know, gentle while you’re doing it.”

“Yep. What else?”

“People talk about making it good for her too.” Quentin, introverted Quentin Wright, surprised him by speaking out on this sensitive subject. The kid was caught with a hit list in his locker and admitted he wanted to take his enemies out. A serious occurrence these days of school violence.

“Do you agree with that, Quentin?”

“I would, if…hell, I’m just gonna say it. If I knew how.”

“Tell us that, Mr. Kane.” Frankie pushed. “We all wanna know that.”

Hell! What had he gotten into here?

Chapter 2

“We’re here to talk about Frankie Pecorino.”

Maisy sat in Jackson’s office once again. Gemma Kendrick, the psychologist and Adam Phillips, the principal, were in attendance, along with his other teachers. Hale Hanson, the Phys Ed teacher grinned. “’Morning, Maisy.”

“Hi, Hal.”

Jackson cleared his throat. “Maisy, why don’t you tell us your concerns.”

“Frankie’s usually so upbeat. In the past two days, he’s seemed inordinately depressed.”

“Why, do you think?” Jackson again.

“Well, he got a fourth demerit for trying to go over the fence. He knows that one more will send him back to juvie.”

Jackson frowned. Deep lines around his eyes indicated he didn’t sleep well. “I know. He’s on probation here now.”

“Yes.” This from Maisy. “That’s why I asked for this meeting.”

“What do you think is going on?”

“My guess would be it has something to do with his little brother. The boy was taken away from his father and put in foster care. Maybe that isn’t going well.” The kids were allowed phone calls to family only.

“I’ll get all the information for the boy’s placement.” He looked in Frankie’s folder. “His name is Freddie. This might give us a lead on how to help Frankie.”

---