Page 42 of Powerless

I walk away from her to conceal my smirk. Kathryn and I are definitely being safe. Mom and I hear Dad finish with his phone call, and I knock on the door. “Yeah,” Dad says.

I open the door and wait for Mom to enter before I do. “Our son has something to tell us.”

“What is it?” Dad sits back in his chair and crosses his arms in front of his chest.

“Before I start, I need you to know I’ve thought long and hard about this.”

Dad straightens, and the smile on Mom’s face fades. “What have you thought about?” Mom asks.

“I’ve decided that I’ll be moving to Stanford.”

“What?” Dad leaps to his feet and moves around the front of his desk, where he leans against it. “Yale is a family tradition.”

I’ve gone over this argument in my head a million different ways. “I know it is, but, I want more than Yale can offer.”

“Yale is an Ivy League school.”

“So is Stanford. But Stanford’s political science program ranks higher than Yale’s.”

Dad’s eyes narrow as he lifts his chin to stare at me.

But it’s Mom who asks the next question, “And what about Jen?”

“She’s moving with me. And so is Liam.”

“The three of you?” Dad’s brows lift as he straightens. “The three of you are moving to the other side of the country to go to Stanford? Just like that? With no discussion?”

“The three of us have discussed it. And I was accepted.” I pull the letter out of my back pocket and offer it to Dad. “We all were.”

Mom and Dad look to one another before Dad takes the acceptance letter. “And you’ve kept this from us for how long?” Mom asks.

“We made the decision pretty early on.”

“This.” Dad makes a circular movement indicating Jen, Liam, and myself. “Is this some kind of freaky love triangle?”

“Darling,” Mom gasps in shock.

“Are you asking me if the three of us are in a relationship together?” I’m not even sure how to respond to this.

“I’d like to think we’re pretty open-minded people, but I’m not sure I can accept that kind of relationship,” Dad says.

“Rest assured, Liam and I are nothing more than best friends. So, no, we’re not all in a relationship.”

“Good.” Dad shivers with revulsion.

I don’t like his reaction, because who’s he to judge how people want to love? But, that’s an argument for another time. Right now, I need to convince him that Stanford is the right place for me. “Let’s put your feelings aside and focus on Stanford.”

“Yale is where you’re supposed to be. That’s where I went, where your grandfather attended, where your great-grandfather went.” Dad pushes off the desk and begins to make his way back to his chair, essentially ending the conversation.

My shoulders sink as I stare at him. Mom catches my reaction. “Why do you want to go to Stanford?” she asks.

I knew this was coming, and I’ve been racking my brain as to what to say that’ll make them see Stanford is the school for me. “Out of all the Ivy League political science programs, Stanford is sitting at number one and Yale is sixth down the list.”

“Absolutely not, Bennett. You’ll stay at Yale, end of discussion.”

Mom starts moving toward the door, but I refuse to leave. “No. It’s not the end of the discussion. I’ve been accepted to Stanford, and I’m going. If you let me finish, Stanford has the best political science program in the country. I want that program because I’ve been thinking about where I ultimately want to land.”

Dad hesitantly looks up at me. “Which is?”

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