Page 76 of Crossing the Brooklyn Briggs
She glances between me and Mark, who looks furious. “Well, considering this is his first offense, I think—”
“It won’t be the last,” Mark growls.
“Mark, please. As this is Mateo’s first offense here at Sky View, I will let him off with a warning. But he has already skipped a few classes, and we only tolerate so many absences, excused or otherwise. Mateo.” She leans forward, clasping her hands on her desk. “What you do in your high school years will determine the start of your adult life. I know you have it in you to be something brilliant, but it requires effort. You can’t sit on the sidelines of your life and expect to get somewhere.”
Dang, she’s good. Whenever I got stuck in the principal’s office, he tended to yell about how I’d never amount to anything. She is legitimately inspiring.
Mateo still has anger and defiance in his expression, but there’s something else lingering under the surface. Fear, or desperation.Something. I try to see this moment from his perspective.
Honestly, I didn’t know he was smart enough to correct a teacher who’s up for STEM Teacher of the Year. Mom said his grades were good, and if he’s managing that while skipping classes, there’s probably a lot more going on in my brother’s head than he lets anyone see. If he really was trying to help make sure his fellow classmates learned the right thing, getting called out like this would be really frustrating.
I turn my gaze to Mark, who is too busy glaring at Mateo to notice me. “Was he right?”
Blinking, Mark looks at me. “What?”
“Was Mateo right about the math problem he corrected?”
Turning a deep red, he splutters something unintelligible, which is answer enough.
I stand and offer my hand to the principal. “Thank you for taking the time to help my brother, Mrs. Cheng. I’m sure Mateo will work on offering suggestions in a more respectful manner, but it sounds like this was just a misunderstanding.” I give Mateo a pointed look.
He seems to consider going against me, but then he sighs. “I’m sorry. I’ll work on it.” He says it to Mrs. Cheng, not Mark, but I’m fine with that. I’m not sure Mark deserves an apology with the way he’s still scowling.
How is this the guy Brooklyn has been admiring for so long?
Mrs. Cheng nods to me, gives Mateo a parting smile, and then I lead Mateo out into the hall beyond the administrative offices.
The instant we’re on our own, Mateo turns to me. “You believe me, right? I wasn’t trying to—”
“I know.” I massage the back of my neck, wincing at the tension in my shoulders. “I think Mr. DeNiro is just a…” Probably shouldn’t finish that sentence because I’m not coming up with a nicer way of putting it.
Mateo smirks. “Yeah, he is. I dunno, when Miss Briggs told me I should correct him in class, I thought—”
“She told you what?” I doubt there is more than one Briggs teaching here.
Mateo shrugs. “My chemistry teacher. She said Mr. DeNiro likes when his students call him out.”
Oh, Brooklyn, you didn’t.
Holding back a groan, I look around the hallway, trying to decide my best course of action. She’s probably gone by now, and I haven’t spoken to her since yesterday morning. But if this is the start of a revenge mission against Mark, I need to stop it before it gets even more out of hand.
I need to talk to her.
“Matty, I need you to go straight home.”
He doesn’t waste a breath before he starts protesting. “I can’t. I need to—”
“Mom wants you at home.” I grab his shoulder, begging him to listen to me for once. “Please don’t make her worry about you today.”
To my surprise, tears fill his eyes, and he nods once. “Okay. I’ll go home. Jordan?”
It takes me a second to realize why that sounds strange, but then I realize he’s never called me that before. To my family I’ve always been Danny, and I had no idea Mateo even knew that I prefer my middle name. “Yeah?”
He swallows, eyes on the ground. “Thanks. For defending me.”
Something in my chest clicks into place, like a brick that was off center and affecting the rest of my soul, making my edges rough and uneven. Now it’s smoother than before, if not perfect. It’s like I can breathe more deeply as I stare at my little brother like I’m seeing him for the first time.
I smile. “That’s what a big brother is for, right?”
