Page 166 of Conquer
But Cy heard. "She's watching, Vi, and I'm sure she's proud. Hell, wouldn't surprise me if that old bat found a way to meddle."
"Or just paid enough attention to realize that the easy answers aren't the only ones," Luke said, but the rumble of a bus made us all turn to look down the drive.
The bus was white, small, and unmarked. Slowly, it trundled up the long gravel drive, coming to a halt right where the slope to the cabins was the smoothest. At the front of the mess hall, I could see another group of people standing together, waiting for our first students.
"They're here!" Faith said, turning to walk towards the bus.
I spared one last look at the ring on my hand, then reached down to take Luke's and pulled him after her. We made it just past the barn before the door opened and the first kid stepped off the bus. It was a boy, and he moved to the side, standing like he'd been told to wait. Through the window, I could see a line of bodies waiting their turn to make it down the stairs, and none of them were pushing.
Then the second kid stepped down - and took off running right towards us. Faith squealed, running to meet him. Zeke's pale hair made him easy to spot, but his blue coveralls didn't look right on him. He also didn't care. The two kids met in the middle, wrapping their arms around each other in the tightest hug, refusing to let go even while the other kids disembarked.
"I missed you so much," I heard Faith saying as we finally caught up to them. "So much has happened, and Sissy's a lot bigger! Please tell me it wasn't bad? Are you ok? No one tried to shank you or anything?"
"It's juvie," Zeke assured her. "It was boring, but I'm back." And then he turned. "Oh, and check this out..."
One by one, the kids lined up, standing shoulder to shoulder. Four, five, and then six of them. When the seventh kid made his way out, Zeke pointed as subtly as he could.
"Quinn Morales," he told Faith. "Beat up his stepdad, he said. The guy was molesting Quinn's sister. He's cool." Then he lowered his voice. "Andcute!"
"Whoa..." Faith breathed.
Beside me, Luke groaned. "I am so not ready for her to be dating."
"Dad!" Faith whined, sounding mortified.
"Either of you," Cy admitted. "Trust me, try making friends before worrying about the kissing parts, ok?" Then he pointed at the mess hall. "And your mom is over there, Zeke."
"Go with him," Luke told Faith.
That was all it took. The pair raced off, but I wasn't done yet. Releasing Luke's hand, I looked at my ring one more time, and then decided that I would do this my own way. I didn't have to be exactly like Gran. She'd never wanted me to copy her. She'd hoped that I would learn from her and improve on it.
So I stepped toward the group of kids, aware that there were four boys and three girls standing there. With Zeke and Faith, that made nine students starting school at Southwind tomorrow. Nine lives to shape into whatevertheyneeded to become.
"Good morning," I told the kids. "My name is Violet Dawson. Behind me is Luke, Cy, and Ash. We are not your parents. We are not your babysitters. We will become something more. This? It's my home, and I am offering to share it with you. Each of you was tried and convicted of a crime, but someone thought you had a good reason. Here? We're giving you the chance to erase that. No, it won't be easy, but the things worth doing rarely are."
"You will graduate from high school," Cy said, taking over. "That is the agreement you made with the state. This? It is your school, your home, and your salvation - if you let it be. Work with us, and we will be your best friends. Push us, and you will realize that we cannot be broken."
"Because," Ash said, "we used to be you. All four of us spent time here. All four of us are committed to offering you a chance that the rest of the world has probably said that you don't deserve."
Then Luke gestured to the mess hall. "The largest building over there is currently serving breakfast. I shouldn't have to say it, but I will anyway: no fighting. Obey the rules and you will get the chance to earn privileges. Not that lame crap you're thinking either. Real privileges, as determined by you, because as of right now, you're no longer criminals. You are students. Nothing more. Nothing less."
"I'm sure people have told you that you don't deserve this," I said, looking at each kid in turn to watch their expressions. "Maybe they called you worthless, too much trouble, punks, or anything else. How about we prove them wrong? You got here because you were brave. You did the right thing, and I will make you one promise. I will never judge you by what you do or have done to your enemies. I will only judge you by how you treat your friends, so make sure I am one." I held out my arm, encouraging them to start moving. "Welcome to Southwind, where I won't make you stand in lines and answer like you're in the military. Let's go get some food, hm?"
There was a moment as the kids all looked at each other, and then Quinn - the boy Zeke had pointed out - moved first. "We can just... go?"
"This isn't a jail," I told him. "Yes. You can just go. Once you're warm and fed, we'll assign each of you a cabin of your own."
"Shit," someone else breathed.
More kids muttered like that, sounding completely confused, but they started moving, the line quickly falling apart as it became something more like a cluster. Cy stepped forward to deal with the bus driver, pointing to let the woman know how to turn around and get back out.
Then Ash wrapped his arm around my waist, his eyes pointed the same direction as mine. "That? It's proof that Heaven has rainbows, Vi. Lots of them, made up of lost kids who were found when they needed it most. We did it."
"And we won't stop doing it," I breathed just as Luke and Cy moved to stand with us. "We're also going to need some very comfortable rocking chairs."
"Which is why we're going to offer woodworking," Cy pointed out.
Luke just leaned in to kiss the side of my head. "And all of our kids should go to school here."
"Both," Ash corrected.
Luke just chuckled. "Mm, keep telling yourself that, Ash. Violet tends to be an overachiever."
"Mhm," Cy agreed. "So, welcome to the rest of our lives. Let's make sure the rainbow doesn't end with us."
