Junior Year Box Set полностью

I needed to notify Frank that pictures would be on certain people’s social media accounts.

“I have something serious to talk to you about, and it might affect you,” I said.

“What now?” she asked, getting serious.

“Alan was the one who hacked Lisa’s private blog and posted it on the Lincoln chat board,” I said.

“Are you sure?”

“I had Frank Ingram’s team take it down and track who posted it. He assures me Alan did it.”

“What do you plan to do about it?”

“I’m contemplating whether or not I should distance myself from him. Alan hasn’t really acted like a friend for a while. He’s gotten a mean, snarky edge to him, and I can’t really see a good reason for what he did to Lisa.”

“Without Jeff around to cushion him, I’ve been wondering the same,” Tami admitted.

“I thought it might be just me. What do you think we should do?”

“I don’t have to do anything because I don’t have to deal with him at Wesleyan,” Tami said.

“You’re such a wuss. You’ll be sucked into this as soon as I do anything. Alan is nothing if not a tattletale. You’ll be his first call,” I predicted.

“Okay, ‘stupid boy,’ this is what I would do. First, you need to tell Lisa that Alan’s the culprit. Instead of encouraging her to kick his ass, talk her into reporting it to the school. He used school resources to bully her; there’s no way they can let that slide. Alan won’t stop unless there are consequences.”

I liked the idea of Lisa taking the lead. It would be good for her to be in control. I was confident that with help and support from Tracy, Pam, and me, she could do it.

“What scares me is that Alan might pull out the nuclear option. He was there on the recruiting trips and present for some of the stunts we pulled growing up. While it wouldn’t be the end of the world, I’m not proud of everything that happened,” I admitted.

“That’s your best argument for not getting me involved. I can be the voice of reason and warn you if Alan decides to do anything rash,” Tami said.

I would then show up at his door and bring my mom with me. Alan may not be afraid of me, but my mom scared the shit out of him. She would have a five-minute conversation with his parents, and Alan wouldn’t see the light of day until he moved away for college.

That was when my conversations with my mom and Coach Haskins pushed their way into the front of my brain.

“Does this really matter?” I asked Tami.

“What do you mean?”

“When I dithered over what to do about my future, I had a talk with Coach Haskins. And in fact, I had a similar conversation with my mom.”

“What about?”

“He told me that when he was my age, he got a chance to play baseball professionally. He grabbed that opportunity and never looked back. I asked if he ever regretted leaving all his friends behind, and he told me he honestly hadn’t ever thought about it, so he guessed not. Mom said something similar about her high school friends. She only kept in touch with Mrs. A.

“Coach said that while high school had been an important time in his life, it was only a moment in the larger scheme of things. He did admit that he sometimes wondered how everyone turned out, but I guess his point was that I focused too much on it. That once I put high school behind me and start to live the life I’m supposed to live, that will become my focus.

“When I look at Alan, my first thought is he’s been one of my best friends since we started grade school. But I guess the real question is, why? I look back and realize it was because of Jeff. The longer Jeff is gone, the more it’s evident that he was the glue between Alan and me.

“You and I were different,” I admitted.

“How’s that?”

I smiled.

“When you walked into my class, you looked like you needed a friend. I think I realized that I also needed one. What I found was someone who had my back no matter what. That was why I let you boss me around.”

“So that was it? It had nothing to do with you being a lazy sack?”

“Maybe,” I admitted.

“So, what’s your point?”

“I guess I’m asking, is Alan worth the effort? If ten years from now, my life is completely different, and Alan won’t be in it anyway …” I trailed off.

“That’s kind of a harsh way to view it,” Tami pointed out.

“But is it the wrong way?” I asked.

Tami became silent. I smiled again.

“You know, I almost took the Star Wars part. I almost did like Coach and just stepped into my life. I realized that if I took that role, I would never look back.”

“What stopped you?”

“Something my uncle taught me. Being a man of your word means something. If you give your word, it doesn’t mean ‘until something better comes along.’ I’d given my word to Chubby Feldman that I would do his movie, and the Star Wars movie would have overlapped it. When it came right down to it, I had to be able to wake up in the morning and look at myself in the mirror.”

“You’re a better man than I deserve,” Tami said.

“You’re only now figuring that out?” I asked with a nervous laugh.

I heard her take a deep breath. Was she crying?

“You okay?” I asked.