Page 77 of Once Upon a Holidate
Hunter looked at her, then at the floor, before raising his gaze to the instructor. “I lied on my application.”
Wynn gave the other man credit. His expression didn’t change at all.
“In what way?” he asked.
“I faked my mom’s signature.”
“I see.” Major Rumsey looked at her. “So you didn’t know Hunter had applied.”
“Not until I got a call from Camilla, asking a few questions.”
The major’s expression turned thoughtful. “I’m sorry to hear that, Hunter. Why didn’t you talk to your mother about the program?”
His shoulders hunched. “I don’t know. I really wanted to do it, and I was afraid she’d say no. A couple of my friends wanted to apply and their moms said they couldn’t.”
Major Rumsey kept his gaze on the teen. “But you never discussed the program with your mother?”
“No. I thought...” He sighed. “I was wrong. I should have had the conversation with her. She’s not unreasonable. I just kind of reacted and that was dumb. Then I signed her name.” His shoulders hunched more. “I don’t know why I thought that was a good idea. It wasn’t.”
He straightened. “It’s all on me. She didn’t know any of it. Once she found out, she said she was in an impossible situation. If she ratted me out, I’d get kicked out of the program. If she didn’t, she was teaching me the wrong lesson.”
“I see. So how did you come to be in my office today?”
“She said it was up to me. That she would do whatever I decided.”
Major Rumsey looked at Wynn. “You took a chance.”
She managed a slight smile. “I hoped for the best.”
“And it happened.” He glanced between them. “I assume that your presence here today means you’re not opposed to JROTC.”
“No. I’m not sure what I would have thought before, but from what I’ve read about the program, I’m impressed. I think Hunter would have done well here.”
Major Rumsey turned his attention back to Hunter. “How old are you, son?”
“Fourteen.”
One corner of his mouth turned up. “I made a lot of mistakes when I was fourteen, and they all had consequences. What have you learned from this?”
Hunter shifted in his seat. “That I need to tell the truth. That there’s a price for screwing up and it’s really high.” He stared at Major Rumsey. “I really wanted to do this. I think I would have been good at it. I like the training and the guys already in the program. I wish...” He hung his head. “I’m sorry.”
“How are you going to punish him?” Major Rumsey asked her. “Take away his phone?”
“That’s an ordinary punishment. This isn’t an ordinary infraction.” She glanced at Hunter. “I’d planned to talk you about this later, but as it came up, I’m thinking you can pressure wash and paint the deck in the backyard over your holiday break and do twenty hours of community service between now and the end of January.”
Hunter’s eyes widened, but he didn’t speak.
Major Rumsey nodded. “That sounds fair. It will give Hunter a lot of time to think about what he did wrong.” He steepled his fingers. “Junior ROTC is different from the college program. There’s no commitment of military service, and we are working with young people who are still developing. I have a fair amount of discretion when it comes to admissions. Our goal isn’t to exclude anyone interested in our program. Society as a whole is better when people understand commitment, leadership and service.”
He dropped his hands back to the desk. “If you complete your punishment at home and the community service and stay out of trouble, you can reapply for next fall.” He looked at Wynn. “Assuming you agree.”
“I do.”
“Then we have a plan.” He stood and held out his hand to Hunter. “I hope you take this opportunity to learn an important lesson.”
“I will,” Hunter promised. “You’ll see.”
Wynn thanked him and they walked out. Once in the hallway, Hunter leaned against the wall.
