Getting the Boot (11 page)

Her heart began to hammer as Dr. Wainwright ambled in, a large roll of paper tucked under his arm. She knew that whatever happened, he would be merciful; it was the thought that she'd disappointed him and Andrea that bothered her the most. And she couldn't even imagine her parents' reaction. She'd be sent home in disgrace, grounded for at least the first semester of senior year; they'd probably make her skip the prom, too. Whatever any of the adults decided, Kelly couldn't say she'd blame them: She had botched this big-time.

The mantel clock above the fireplace ticked like a time bomb in the still room. Kelly tore at a cuticle and watched a tiny bead of blood appear and slowly spread until finally she stuck her finger in her mouth. One thing was for sure: Dr. Wainwright was in no rush to end her misery. He carefully fished his reading glasses from his shirt pocket, put them on, and began reading from a folder, page after page. The mysterious roll of paper rested on the desk beside him. At long last, he glanced up at her.

“So, Andrea tells me that she discovered you on her doorstep early this morning, quite a while after curfew. Is that true?”

“Yes, sir.” Kelly couldn't meet his warm eyes.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“It's just like I told Andrea, sir. I went out with some friends—way before curfew—and we danced for a while. Then an emergency came up and my friends had to leave. They told me to wait for them, which I did until I realized how late it was. Then I called a cab and came straight back here.”

“That's not exactly what you told me, Kelly.” Kelly had almost forgotten that Andrea was in the room, she had been so still and silent. “You said you lost your friends, but you never mentioned an emergency. That sounds serious.”

Kelly cursed herself for not keeping the details of her story straight. Always state the facts truthfully. “This girl got sick and kind of passed out, and they had to take her home. She was Italian, not somebody from the program.”

“You must have been frightened.” Dr. Wainwright's voice remained friendly and calm. This was not the bawling out she expected at all.

“I was, I guess. I was pretty angry at my friends, but later on I got worried. I still don't know if they got home or not.” Actually, she was furious, and she wasn't at all sure she cared whether Joe and Rodney were back in one piece.

Dr. Wainwright pressed his fingertips together and rested his chin on them. “Kelly, every day of our lives, we each create a self-portrait. As we define ourselves, we erase a bit here, add a bit there, make this side more colorful or that one more subdued. Each experience adds more depth to the picture.” He grinned. “I'm still a work in progress, obviously.” Kelly nodded and tried to smile back. She hadn't a clue what this philosophical rambling could possibly have to do with her being expelled from the program.

“I suspect that at home, you're a very well-adjusted person. You have a certain stature in your school, in your community, and in your family. Here, you were asked to start with a blank slate, to adjust all over again.”

“I haven't adjusted at all,” Kelly blurted.

Dr. Wainwright smiled. “When I first moved here, I felt like I was on Mars. It took me time to appreciate the many charms of Italy and its people, and even more time for them to appreciate me. Now I wouldn't trade living in Rome for anywhere else in the world.

“But we're here to talk about you, and how we can make you feel more at home here.” He began unfurling the roll of papers that he'd brought in with him, revealing several of Kelly's drawings. “This morning Andrea showed me some of the work you've done in her studio-arts class.”

Andrea's class was Kelly's favorite. The drawing and painting were pretty fun, and she was crazy about Andrea. She had genuinely been interested when the stone carver visited class to talk about his work restoring churches, and when the fresco painter taught them to make tempera paint the old-fashioned way, using egg yolks and bright, powdered pigments. Those two hours were always the fastest-moving part of Kelly's day.

Dr. Wainwright was still flipping through the pages of her artwork, squinting rather comically and turning them every which way. She hoped her drawings didn't reveal that she was crazy or anything.

“I'm not the expert Andrea is, but I think these drawings are absolutely marvelous. You have a wonderful, free style and a color sense that really reflects your exuberant personality. I think you're a very talented young woman.” He looked at her over the top of his glasses, smiling.

For once, Kelly was speechless. Now that he mentioned it, she had always gotten pretty decent grades in art. And Andrea always went out of her way to compliment Kelly in class. But she had never expected to receive such strong praise from Dr. Wainwright, especially today.

“What I'm worried about, Kelly, is that you're not making very good use of your free time here, and both the PIR and the S.A.S.S. program have high standards to uphold.” Dr. Wainwright removed his glasses and leaned across the desk toward her. “May I be completely open with you?”

Brace yourself for impact.
“Sure, I guess so.”

“I'm sorry to say this, but I think that Joe Leahy is the worst person you could ally yourself with right now. His behavior has become increasingly erratic and irresponsible since he's been here. I strongly suspect that he is the catalyst for your lateness and lack of preparation in class on several occasions. And I'll wager he was one of the friends you were out with last night.”

Kelly bit her lip. Dr. Wainwright knew far more than she had thought about her many missteps this summer. She wondered if Sheela had ratted her out. Dr. Wainwright was clearly waiting for her to speak, but she couldn't think of a thing to say.

“I had no choice but to notify your parents about your recent tardiness to your classes and your violation of curfew last night,” Dr. Wainwright said. “We want you to stay in the program, Kelly, but it's school policy to keep parents informed about this type of behavior. They're as concerned about you as we are.”

A droplet of sweat crawled down Kelly's back. So her parents knew. Kelly had thought she'd just have to explain what happened to the locket; now her upcoming conversation with them was going to be even more painful.

Dr. Wainwright handed the sketches back to Andrea. “Andrea is putting together a small group of gifted students to paint a mural on the south wall of the dining room. It will involve a lot of hard work, and will probably take up much of your free time.

“We've been thinking that a composite of some of Rome's most cherished sites would create a beautiful vista. The decor down there, as you know, leaves something to be desired.” Dr. Wainwright gazed at Kelly with his lively blue eyes. “What do you say?”

“It sounds great. What's the catch?”

Dr. Wainwright threw back his head and guffawed. Even Andrea's mouth twitched slightly.

“Besides your promise to be absolutely punctual to class from now on, there's only one real catch. I must ask you to reduce your time with Joe to a minimum. Before the two of you get into real trouble, this friendship needs to go on the back burner. Otherwise, I'm fairly certain that one of you will end up heading home early.”

Kelly nodded slowly. “I understand. And I think you're right about me and Joe. I'll take care of it.”

Dr. Wainwright smiled sadly. “I know it won't be easy, but it truly is for the best.”

“I'm sure you're right.” Kelly nodded. “And I think I'll enjoy working on the mural.”

“I know you'll be a wonderful asset to the team,” Dr. Wainwright said. Andrea nodded and smiled in agreement.

Kelly stood up to go. “Thank you for having faith in me.” She trudged up the four flights to her room, utterly drained. Kelly had envisioned so many ways this meeting would end, and none of them involved her staying. Maybe she really did deserve to be here; the compliments Dr. W and Andrea gave her had certainly seemed sincere. It was time to end the pity party and drag a few small victories out of the smoking wreckage of her summer.

 

 

Joe appeared at Kelly's bedroom door only minutes after she finished with Dr. W and immediately grabbed her up in a crushing bear hug. “I've been out of my mind worrying about you, babe. Where have you been? I've come up here six times already.”

Sheela, who was sitting at her desk in the common room, rolled her eyes. She pointedly turned her back on them and returned to her reading assignment. Kelly shut the bedroom door. She had no idea what she was going to say, but she certainly didn't want Sheela to hear it.

“I just got totally reamed by Dr. W and Andrea. I had to wake her up last night to get into the building, and they're both megapissed at me. They even called my parents.”

Kelly was exaggerating; as far as she was concerned, Dr. W and Andrea had been incredibly fair with her. But she wanted to make Joe feel as guilty as possible. He deserved it after what he had put her through. “Now I have to work on some special mural project. Where the hell were you guys? You were supposed to come back for me, remember?”

Joe's face was the picture of remorse.
Aargh.
The last thing she wanted was for him to be sweet right now. “It was pretty bad, Kel. Laura puked for like an hour straight, and when we brought her home, her father basically threatened to kill me and Rod. We were all the way over by Trastevere, and we couldn't get a cab. We didn't get back till like four A.M.” He sat on the bed and looked up at her winningly. “How could you think I'd forget about you?”

Kelly felt herself wavering, but shook it off. “Look, I covered your asses this time, but I'm not gonna do it again. I don't even understand why I did it—anyone with half a brain would have hung you out to dry after what you did to me, not to mention poor Laura. You drugged us, for God's sake! I don't think I can trust you anymore.”

Joe was hanging his head, but his face still wore its usual smirk. “Seriously, Kel, I think you're making a big deal out of nothing, don't you? I just wanted to make you feel better.”

“How dare you say that! I was terrified, stuck at that club all by myself. And now Dr. Wainwright is making me work on some art project so he can keep an eye on me.” She paused, cheeks flaming. “He specifically said you and I shouldn't hang out anymore.”

To her surprise, Joe smiled broadly. “But that's so cool, like Romeo and Juliet. Sneaking around is a great way to spice up a relationship.” He leaned in for a kiss, but Kelly pushed him away.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Have you heard one word I said? Keep it up, Joe—you'll end up getting expelled. We're definitely finished.”

Joe stared at her for a long moment, his eyes blazing with anger. Then his mouth twisted into a sarcastic smile. “Whatever, Kel.” He threw open the door and strode out of the room.

Kelly slammed the bedroom door and fell back on her bed, sobbing. Her summer was completely ruined. In one lousy week, she had lost her locket, her boyfriend, and her oldest friend.

She lay there for what seemed like hours. Finally, Sheela came in and sat down next to her. “I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with Joe. That took serious guts, you know.”

“You think so?” Kelly felt a small glimmer of hope. Maybe it was still possible to make things right with Sheela.

Sheela nodded. “Joe can be as charming and persuasive as you—just in a creepy, weaselly way.” She handed Kelly a tissue. “If you didn't have so much backbone, you easily might have caved. I'm proud of you.”

If Kelly hadn't been so miserable, she would have smiled. “That means a lot to me. Especially after—you know, everything. I'm really sorry I've been a jerk.”

Sheela nodded and stood up. “Listen, Jarvis and I are going to the Borghese Gardens. Do you want to come? The view of the city at sunset is supposed to be really gorgeous.”

“And romantic,” Kelly added. “I don't think you need me tagging along on your date. It is a date, isn't it?” Sheela didn't answer, but her cheeks flushed purple.

“Anyway, I have to tell my parents I lost the locket. And Dr. W called them about my being late to class and stuff. They're going to be furious at me. Might as well bite the bullet and get it over with.” Kelly wiped her eyes and reached for her cell phone.

Sheela thought that ending things with Joe took backbone? Once Kelly realized what kind of person he was, it had almost been easy. This phone call, on the other hand, was going to be pure agony. She couldn't make up for all the things she had done, but facing them was a good first step.

Her father picked up on the first ring.

“Hi, Dad,” Kelly said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

“Kelly, I was just thinking about you. Mom and I were planning to call you later today.”

Kelly winced. Her dad was using his courtroom voice—a voice not to be reckoned with.

“I heard from Dr. Wainwright earlier this morning,” he continued. “I wasn't happy to hear that you broke curfew. And he says you've been late to class repeatedly. Is that true?”

“Yes, Dad,” Kelly whispered. “I'm really sorry.”

“You should be. You promised us you'd keep up your grades and make a real effort this summer. This is especially embarrassing for us since Dr. Wainwright is a friend of Sheela's father.”

“I know,” Kelly said quietly, her eyes filling with tears. “I'm going to try harder. I promise.” She took a deep breath. “Is Mom around? I need to talk to her about something else.”

Kelly's heart was hammering so hard she could almost hear it.