#4 Truth and Nothing But (5 page)

SPECULATE

“Well, sorry I couldn't get here before your mayor-elect got up and gave a speech, but I guess he just couldn't wait for me to concede,” said Mr. Brown, surprising us all by coming on-stage and taking the mic.

No one laughed, though Mr. Brown was trying to make a joke. I could only imagine how he felt. It couldn't be easy to lose an election, to put your whole heart into it, and to have it not turn out the way you want. However, Mr. Brown had proven to be a despicable man, and the citizens of Charlotte showed him by electing my father by a landslide.

“Okay, okay, I see you guys didn't get the joke. Well, really, I want to congratulate Mr. Sharp and his family. Shucks, maybe I need to go get a bunch of beautiful girls, and I could win next time.” Again, no one laughed. “In all seriousness, we're going to have a fine mayor. And Mr. Sharp, I wanted to let you know I am here to serve you however you need. It's all about the city of Charlotte, right?” Finally, he got a bunch of cheers. “Let's keep it Sharp!”

My dad nodded to thank everyone, and the crowd erupted. Mr. Brown went over to my father, grabbed his hand, and lifted both of their hands in the air. Mr. Brown was pointing at my dad and bowing in front of him, like he was a king or something. My father looked uncomfortable, but he graciously played along.

“That man is full of crap,” Shelby said, standing by me.

She knew best. After all, it was her boyfriend's mother who was married to the jerk. I couldn't believe the lady admitted at a public event that her husband was abusing her. I didn't know much about where their relationship had gone, but she did move out. Ever since that happened, the public pulled away from him.

My dad's campaign manager took the mic and said, “Alright… enough of the speeches, let's celebrate the victory because, thanks to you all, we did it!”

“Thanks, Brown, for coming,” I heard my dad say to Mr. Brown as he tried to take his hand back.

Mr. Brown wouldn't let it go though. “You could have waited for me to get here to say some words before you accepted. That's real tacky.”

My father retorted, “I thought you conceded in your own hotel. I didn't know you were coming over here to congratulate me too. You didn't give any of my staff a heads-up.”

Frowning and cocking his head, Mr. Brown uttered, “So…”

“So either you meant you are going to support me, or you are planning to continue the foe mentality,” the mayor-elect stated.

Mr. Brown stomped and said, “Whatever. You're going to run this city into the ground.”

Fed up, my dad said, “Alright, that's enough. You don't have to speak with all this hostility in front of my family.”

“Your family? Like you care about them…”

“Watch your mouth,” my dad said to him.

“Stanley, come on, honey,” my mom said to my father as she placed her delicate arm in his. “Obviously, he's dealing with the loss. Let's leave him to it.”

He kissed my mom lightly on the cheek, and they walked off the stage. My four sisters followed, Shelby rolling her eyes harder than I'd ever seen her do. Actually, she looked like she wanted to punch the man.

Shelby wasn't the only one who was angry. I wanted to tell him off too. Yeah, he was my elder, but he was acting like a baby. He didn't need to ruin this night for my father. When he walked off the stage, I followed him. After all, investigation was in my blood. Was he spouting lies, or was there some truth to what he was mouthing off about?

“Mr. Brown, Mr. Brown!”

“What!” he rudely screamed before turning around and seeing it was one of the Sharp girls. “Oh… you,” he said, smiling like we were old friends.

“What you just said to me, my family… why would you say that?” I asked in a cold tone.

Even colder, he said, “Because I meant it. Your dad is a pretender. Everybody thinks his stuff is all in order, like his hands aren't dirty. He gets my life exposed while he stays clean… I've done my investigating, and clean he is not.”

“Sir, I don't believe you,” I said, even though deep down I did have doubts.

He reached into his coat jacket. I was afraid to see what he was searching for. He pulled out a picture, but I could only see the back.

He turned it toward me and said, “I'm not trying to ruin your world, even though mine got ruined tonight. But what's this?”

My eyes bucked wide. “It's my dad.”

“Right, and that ain't your momma. They're mighty close, and this was taken in the window of a hotel. Your sweet lil' dad close to a girl who looks closer to your age than his age,” Mr. Brown stated with too much enthusiasm.

I knew who the lady was. That was clearly Miss X. She and my father at a hotel? Mr. Brown was right. My family was falling apart, and most of the people in the Sharp family had no clue. Now that I knew, I was determined to make sure our demise didn't happen.

“That's my gift to you, sweetie. You enjoy that cozy photo,” Mr. Brown stated as he patted my head and strolled out of the ballroom.

I couldn't show it to my sisters right away. I had to come up with a plan. I was going to save my family. No doubt about it.

“Okay, so I know, Ms. Spears, you were really excited about me rewriting the article about why PTSA is growing. I got that, and I'm on it. I promise I am going to work on it. Now, I have got a whole other idea that I think is even bigger to go on the front page. You're going to love this. Seriously, seriously, you're going to love this!” I said.

“Alright, settle down, Sloan. I love the passion, but you also have to be able to present. When you're too fired up, sometimes the idea doesn't come across. Take a deep breath, slow down, and tell me what you're talking about. What's this juicy story?” my journalism teacher said.

“I want to write about how the teachers at Marks High aren't really for us.”

Shaking her head, making an ugly face, like I'd offended her, she said, “You want to do what?”

I calmly responded, “Okay, not all the teachers, but I want to write it about how there are some shady teachers here at Marks High. I want to expose them. I want to break the story.”

The expression of sheer disgust on her face became more intense. However, I wasn't going to back down.

I pressed, “I can give you the details. I'm not going to make anything up. If I put it in print, it's going to be factual.”

“Sloan, you know how hard it was for us to get the administration to let us start this paper. It had to be okayed by the principal, who had to get it approved by the superintendent, and the superintendent had to let the board approve it. There are only certain types of content we are allowed to put in here. Bashing the school system is not one that is allowed.”

“I'm not trying to bash the school system. I'm just going to call out a few shady teachers or things that are going on that aren't working in the best interest of the students. That's what we're supposed to be reporting: real news, right? This isn't just some fluff magazine.”

“I've already given you a story. Why don't you work on getting that corrected before you jump on to something else?”

“So are you saying you don't want my story?”

“I'm saying you're not the editor. Write what you're given, and do that well.”

“Well, maybe I should be the editor, to push the envelope, to get to the readers who want true news,” I replied.

Ms. Spears stepped closer to me and said, “I know you're feeling yourself because your dad was just elected mayor.”

Cocking my head back at her comment, I explained, “That's not true. I'm not trying to cross you, but at the same time, I'm not going to let you bring down my dreams either.”

“Trust me on this… let it go.”

“Okay, fine. Can I go interview this SGA guy?”

“Now that's what I'm talking about,” Ms. Spears said in a nicer tone. “You sure can, but only if he is in a class that he can be pulled out of.”

“It should be no problem because he's in weight training. I've done my due diligence. He already has permission to talk to me for fifteen minutes.”

“Okay, then I'll expect you back before the class period ends.”

“The nerve of her,” I said to myself when I stepped into the hallway.

“The nerve of who?” Reese came up behind me and said, startling me.

“You scared me!” I said, hitting his hand.

“You looking for me, right?”

I nodded. “I was on my way to the gym.”

“My teacher told me that I needed to come to your classroom.”

“My classroom is the last place I want to be right now.”

“Another teacher tripping, huh?”

“You don't know the half of it.”

“Talk to me,” he said as he playfully nudged me.

“We've got to figure out where I'm going to interview you,” I said, trying to make the interaction professional.

We walked into the media center. There was a couch and a chair. We went over and sat down.

“Okay, talk to me,” Reese said acting all concerned.

“You're not supposed to be interviewing me,” I said to him, not wanting pity. “I'm supposed to be interviewing you.”

“Talk to me, Sloan. What's got you so mad?”

“Like you care…” I said, not even knowing why I said it—probably trying to hide my feelings that I couldn't stop from growing.

“If I didn't care, I wouldn't have asked. I don't know what's up with you. Sometimes you're so warm and cool, and then other times you're so cold and hot under the collar. Am I doing something to you?” he asked.

“Today it's not you,” I huffed and said being too honest. “Here I am on the newspaper. I want to be a reporter to tell the public the real deal. I want to inform people, give them breaking news they don't have so that they can use it for change. But when people in charge of the paper won't let me report stuff because it could hurt their job or something, it's like, why do politics have to be involved in everything? I know my dad just became the mayor, but I don't know, I feel like I've had enough politics to last me a lifetime. I'm tired of playing games.”

“Well don't get frustrated with it. Until you're able to be a decision maker you walk within the guidelines you're given. But that doesn't mean you still don't write what you want to write. Even if it's just to get it out of you, even if it's just to put it on your computer, there'll be a time when you can use it. It's like me with my speeches. When I got something to say, sometimes it just comes from nowhere and I got to get a handheld voice recorder. I got to get it out when I got something to say. You should do the same thing; that's all I'm saying. Adults rule the world. But we don't have to be limited by their way of thinking.”

I just wanted to reach out, grab Reese's neck, and hug him so tight. I so needed to hear that. Now I understood another reason why he was a motivational speaker. He wasn't just spouting rhetoric; deep down he was profound, and I liked that.

“So, what do you need to ask me about for the interview?”

“Honestly, I think I'm good. Just knowing what you said to me, every student in the school needs to know the same thing. Don't be limited, think outside the box, and settle for nothing less.”

“Yeah, that's me. I said all that?” he joked.

“Maybe not in so many words.” I teased back. “But you're alright, Reese.”

“I think the same thing about you, Sloan Sharp,” he said, as our hands found their way to touching.

“Urgh, excuse me!” my sister Yuri came over and said, startling me.

Yuri eyed Reese. We were sitting sort of close. He and I jumped far apart, like we had been caught kissing or something.

“Well, that's it, Reese. Thanks.”

“That's why I popped in. I knew you really liked that boy!” my sister declared when the two of us were far from Reese.

“I do not.”

“He's cute!” she admitted.

“He's sweet!” I responded.

“Yeah, if I had a million dollars, I'd bet y'all would become a couple because you like him.”

“Don't waste money you can't make back. There's nothing to it,” I said, blowing off my growing feelings for Reese.

“Okay, if that's what you want to tell yourself. But I see love in your future.”

I just smiled. Reese was cool because during my journalism class, I was fuming, but he had turned all that around. Maybe there was something there.