Page 12 of Dahlias, Sapphires, and Cool Autumn Dusk
Phoenix shrugged. “Wrong Lent brother to talk with about that.”
“Yep.” Marco took out his computer. “Also, you don’t go to the Hamptons, Bethany, because your mother left your father for some Eurotrash. Turn around and stop being a bitch to Alatheia. She’s nice.”
Never, not in any of my previous schools, was anyone ever as nice to me as Marco and Tiffany were being. I blew out a breath, chalking it up to the Lents. They could add miracle workers to their list of qualifications, as far as I was concerned.
The teacher, Ms. Collins, entered then wearing very severe boots. She’d pulled her steely gray hair into a tight bun, without even a hair daring to escape, and her dress was as shapeless as a black sack.
The bell rang but no one spoke; the room had gone silent when the teacher arrived. Phoenix bent over to grab his large headphones out of his bag.Is he going to put them on in class?
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.” My neck swiveled and I stared at the small speaker mounted above the whiteboard. It must be the principal, and I noticed her tone seemed upbeat. “I’m so happy to have you all back for another year at Pullman. I expect great things of all of you. Before we start the pledge, we need to wish Toni Lovelace a happy birthday. She is one of our new eighth graders. Happy Birthday, Toni.”
Marco laughed. “Sucky day to have a birthday. First day of school? That blows.”
“Mr. Madison, language.” The teacher frowned at him.
He shook his head. “Which part bothers you, suck or blow?”
He really must have amused himself because he burst into laughter. The look she shot him said she wasn’t amused. More announcements followed from the speaker, about club fairs and a fall dance. Afterward, she asked us to stand for the pledge of allegiance, which we did. Finally, we took our seats again.
The teacher stared at all of us from the front of the room, her pinched expression severe.
“I am Ms. Collins. I unfortunately know most of you, which I find disappointing. I thought some of you would be out of here by now. If youarehere, you failed a class last year. Failure is not acceptable, and I find it atrocious that people have let you skate by without repercussions. I personally don’t care who your parents are. In my day, the children of the rich had more expectations put upon them, not fewer.” She walked up and down the aisles, and when she passed me, I could smell baby oil. It tickled my nose and seemed strange coming from her.
She continued, her tone droning. “I have files on all of you, but I don’t trust files. I want to see your character for myself. When I call your name, you will rise at your desk then answer questions that I pose for you.”
Phoenix rolled his eyes dramatically, and I was glad Ms. Collins didn’t see it. She didn’t seem the type to have much of a sense of humor or a forgiving nature.
One by one, she called on people. The first boy had failed math, per her file, so she made him answer sums out loud like he was in elementary school. He slumped down in his seat when it was over, mutteringit was precalculusloud enough everyone could hear it. This wasn’t her trying to judge us. She liked this. She was getting some kind of…joy out of it.
Over and over, each student followed suit in their turn. Everyone was forced to do some menial task related to what they hadn’t been able to successfully accomplish the year before. Truthfully, I had no idea what Phoenix failed, but I waited for my turn with a sigh. I’d failed nearly everything.
When she reached Phoenix, who would go right before me, he rose.
“Mr. Lent, back again. My most frequent offender, returned again.”
He stared back at her, unimpressed by her censure. “Yep. I’m back.”
“Not a surprise. You would never be allowed to attend this school if your parents weren’t so important. Your brothers are honors students. Doesn’t it bother you that you are so dumb?”
I caught my breath. I never spoke out in class, I never bothered teachers, but I couldn’t tolerate her summation of him.Dumb?I jerked to my feet before I really thought it through.
“Are you crazy?” I shouted the question, and everyone, including Ms. Collins, stared at me. My fury wasn’t done, though, so I added, “He’snotdumb. He is probably the smartest person in this room. In any room, actually. And if you don’t know that or can’t see it after so many years with him, then maybe there is something wrong withyou.”
She stared daggers at me but then turned back to Phoenix. His eyes were so wide, I was afraid they might fall out of his head. He even breathed a little heavily.Oh shit.Is he pissed at me for saying something?
My gaze darted around the room, and I noticed Tiffany smirked while Marco flung around in his seat to watch the show.
“Is that so? Are you the smartest person in any room? Let’s see, then. Mr. Lent, tell me, can you define mitochondria? Or is that too easy for you?”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s the powerhouse of the cell.”
She stared at him. In that moment, I realized she hadn’t expected him to know.
“Next.” He crossed his arms over his chest, arrogance oozing off him. “Keep going, Collins. Ask me anything you want. I’m here for it.”
She pointed at him. “I don’t like your attitude.”
He shrugged. “I don’t like your dress, but let’s keep going. Come on. Ask me whatever you think I am too stupid to know.”
