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 What? No. Not this time. I told you before: don t tell me how to do my job.
 DW would keep him safely under the control of adults while we protect him.
You re supposed to back me up.
 I am backing you up. My job is to teach these boys and keep all of them safe
twenty-four seven. I don t work for you now, Max. I had another replay of him fully
clothed, firing me as I scrambled to flip my pants my body tender and sated, my
emotions raw. He just pissed me off.  Further, I m not going to discipline him for your
convenience. I ll speak with Bibby if he doesn t fall in line.
 Look, you set the example and they follow. That s how it works. If you don t take
L.B. Gregg
this seriously, they won t.
 I m not sure what to take seriously. As far as I can tell, there s been no direct
threat. He s a good kid and he gets it now. He ll do as he s told, Max, or suffer the
consequences.
 The consequence is that he could get hurt. Keep that in mind.
 I will. I guided him toward the door,  Look, let s talk in the morning. I looked
at the time.  Later in the morning. I ll see you at breakfast. Wait. Are you attending
classes with him? God, Max, you can t do that to the kid.
 I won t sit in on his classes. I ll be unobtrusive.
I checked him out.  Will you have a weapon? In class?
 That s none of your concern.
 It is my concern. I need to know this. If that gun got into the wrong hands Just
keep it in your pants or wherever you keep it.
Max gave me a tiny smile, shaking his head.  You re so funny.
 I m a real riot. Good night, Max. See you at breakfast. I shut the door on him and
stumbled back to bed.
From: Sam Sparks (samsparksno1@yahoo.com)
To: Michael Finnegan (finneganm@daltonprep.org)
Mike,
I appreciate your taking the time to email me about Hemmi s academic progress. As you
can imagine, life on the set is hectic. We ll wrap up Tuesday morning. I ll be in Connecticut
later that evening. I ll turn my thoughts towards Hemmi and his college plans at that time. I m
sure the leg work you ve done to prepare us for that journey will be a great jumping off point for
the professional college counselors.
Samuel Sparks
Cover Me
To: All School
From: Dalton Preparatory Business Office
Because of the high incidence in key replacement this term, the cost of a new key has been
increased to $50.00. This must be paid upon receipt and cannot be billed home.
Chapter Five
 You going to stand there enjoying the sunshine, Mikey, or would you care to put
those feeble muscles to work?
 I m good, thanks. I ll hold the door.
Evan and I worked, hauling benches and the larger set pieces from the back of his
pick up. We d rounded up some stray kids on their way to soccer practice to pitch in.
Athletic bags lay in a heap by the walk. I nudged another one out of the way with my
sneaker.
 You think this is all you re going to need or are you gonna further abuse my
generosity?
 Mr. Generosity, I built half this stuff last summer. I m the brains, you re the
brawn.
 I got all the looks, you got the attitude. I hear ya.
 Keep dreaming.
 Mr. Finn, one of the boys called.  What re you wearing at the dance tomorrow
night?
 To the dance? I corrected automatically.  It s a surprise.
I regretted setting a precedent with my magic eight ball costume that first year.
Everyone pestered me and now, with Max here, my costume selection caused me no
small regret.
L.B. Gregg
Bangor came huffing down the sidewalk waving his arms.  Mr. Finn!
One could never be sure if a student s exuberance was due to an excess of high
school drama or a real crisis. I waited on the sidewalk, hoping he d stop before he
barreled into me. Bangor came to an ungainly halt at the tail gate of Evan s pickup.
 Mr. Finn. You need to come back to the dorm! He was flushed and sweating; his face
matching his hair and, unfortunately, the deeper hue of his athletic shirt. Our school
colors were red and white.
 Slow down, Bangor. His agitation, unchecked, would be contagious. Evan
stepped around the truck to see what the fuss was about.
 Mr. Finn. There s some nasty shit excuse me crap up on the second floor. Mr.
Douglas told me to come get you.
I turned to my brother,  Can you keep these guys working while I check this out?
 Sure, Mikey. I winced. Could he not call me that here?  Mr. Douglas? You mean
Max Douglas? Max is still here? Evan seemed confused and then his look turned
curious. That dick winked at me.
 Yes. I didn t have time to explain to him. I took off for the dorm, Bangor
dependable yet florid and wheezing, along side of me.  What did he say?
 I don t know! I was coming down the stairs and he grabbed me by the arm and
told me to go to Brisbee and get you right away, he gasped.  It s something with
Sparks, though.
Adrenaline kicked in. Hemmi should have already left for Outdoor Club. He d
have gone back to the dorm to change out of dress code and then we d meet up at five
past three outside the dining hall. We hiked every afternoon. I went from a jog to a run,
leaving Bangor in the leaves.
In the dorm, everything appeared as it should: book bags lay sprawled throughout
the common room; blazers tossed on the back of the couch and on the floor; the TV
played to an empty room. The building seemed hollow with all the kids at their sports
commitments. I took the stairs two at a time and came to a sliding stop next to Bibby. I
hadn t expected her. She waited on the landing, looking wan but pissed. Her lips
mashed grimly in a pale pink line and if I didn t know any better, I d say she was about
Cover Me
to lose her lunch. She was green. However, her eyes were narrowed and blazing. Not
much drove the Head of School to this level of emotion.
In front of Hemmi s room, Max took photographs with a small digital camera. He
moved deeper into the doorway, the narrow space flashing with pops of light.
It was quiet and stuffy.  What s going on? Where s Hemmi? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]