Page 150 of A Dead Man's B-Side
He was hasty in his plans despite the time given to think his offer through.
Ajax hummed. “I’ll say one weakness to look into is his supposed shaky relationship with his father.”
Wolf straightened, an idea seeming to form in his head. “My aunt hosts her annual film festival over the holidays. Matthew Queen is sure to be a guest. We could ask him ourselves.”
“Is that wise? Looking into something the board didn’t authorize?” August chimed in carefully.
I considered his question, wondering how the board would feel about us digging into matters they considered personal.
Rain met my gaze, and I cleared my throat. “Well, there is really only one way to find out. I’ll handle Thaddeus if things go south. There’s only so much he can do after all he’s invested.”
Paris clapped her hands. “Then it’s settled. The final Gallery Dinner of the year,” she said, and winked at us, “has been another success.”
I smiled despite myself, going to take another drag of my cigarette, only to find my hand empty. I zeroed in on the curved shape it remained in, to cradle said cigarette, before curling it into a fist.
The stretch of my lips drooped as I tried recalling when I had finished it. My eyes fell to the ashtray, the bud of it, there, long extinguished.
I titled my head.
Strange.
“Mr Miroslav, a moment of your time, please.” I opened my mouth wide and let out a silent scream, lifting my hands to grip my hair for a second before righting myself and turning back into Mr Browne’s classroom, composed.
“You wished to speak to me, sir?”
Mr Browne smiled that polite and plastic stretch of his lips before holding up a sealed envelope as though it was supposed to mean something without an explanation. At my blank expression, he elaborated, “Your grade report.”
My heart picked up in its pace as I looked at the envelope that now shone in a new light. When he went to open it, I rushed over and plucked it out of his hands. “Wait!”
Mr Browne reared back and looked at me as if I’d grown two heads. “Mr Miroslav, that was inappropriate. And frankly, rude.”
I rolled my eyes subtly, looking down at the envelope with my name on it, mumbling, “I want to see them first.”
I reached for the letter opener he had on his desk and sliced the seal apart, stuffing my impatient fingers inside. With a deep breath, I pulled out the papers, all of my assignment marks held inside. I didn’t care for them, shuffling them down the order before reaching the final exam report.
I read the title and closed my eyes before they could move farther down without the command of my mind.
I slid my eyes back open but didn’t look at what I very much wanted to. Instead, I flicked my eyes to Mr Browne.
A smile was growing on his face, and I turned my head away before thinking better of it and turning around completely, stepping farther away lest he looked over my shoulder.
“Really?” He asked from behind me.
I kept my back to him as I squinted with hunched shoulders. Anxiety filled my gut.
I’d never been so stressed about receiving a grade before. I’d been so used to the less-than-stellar comments from teachers after a test that I didn’t think I’d ever grow out of it. Except, here I was. Too scared of the results to look at a piece of paper.
You can do this.
I exhaled and inhaled twice in succession before forcing myself to justlook. My eyes blinked wide and sharp.
At the results, I sagged. A visible strain and air of failure surrounded me.
“I’m… sorry, Alexandr. It doesn’t seem to be good news… Well, if it makes you feel any better, I feel too bad to scold you right now.”
I turned my head to meet his eyes over my shoulder. “Yeah… You will be sorry.”
He reared his head back, blinking wildly. “Excuse me?”
