Page 35 of Lost
“A little bruised, but nothing fatal.” Before Zack had a chance to ask anything more about the nature of his son’s condition, James Randall said, “He got himself into a fight.”
Zack’s heart sank.
“A fight?” he repeated. Maybe he’d misheard. “Are you sure?”
“Quite sure. And I’m sorry to say this isn’t the first time.”
Of all the things that his son could have inherited from him, Zack had hoped that a knack for getting into trouble wouldn’t be one of them. But it seemed he was out of luck. He ran a hand through his dark hair, unsure of what to say. Was he supposed to apologise on behalf of his kid? Promise that the boy would be disciplined appropriately?
James Randall must have sensed his unease.
“You understand, I’m sure, that Lysander’s actions cannot be ignored. He and the other boys involved have been suspended for the rest of the week. And should this happen again, further punishment will be required.”
Suspended. Well, it could have been worse.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry about this, Mr. Randall. I’ll be sure to have words with him.”
“I’m sure you will.” There was a moment in which the principal was silent, but then he said, “The last time this happened I expressed my concerns to Mr. Maverick that he might be acting out because of his mother’s death. I offered him the services of our school counsellor, but he declined. Obviously you would know him better than most. I was wondering if you felt it would be necessary.”
The question threw him off. Lysander rarely mentioned his mother and, as much as he was ashamed to admit it, Zack never gave much thought to the woman either. Besides the one time that Lysander had broken down in front of him, Zack never got the impression that her death was affecting his son any more than it would have affected any other child. Sure, the boy missed her, kept her photograph on his bedroom nightstand and probably thought about her all the time. But he had never acted out because of it.
Until now, it seemed.
Then again, it could also have something to do with his sister not being back yet. Zack hadn’t bothered to tell the school about her, so James Randall wouldn’t have made the connection. Maybe heshouldhave told them.
“I’ll talk to him about it,” he said, “and get back to you if I think he needs to speak with someone.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bennett.”
“Not a problem. Is he still with you?”
“He is.”
“Could you tell him I’ll be there to pick him up in ten minutes?”
“I can. You have a good day.”
“You too, sir.”
Zack’s mind buzzed with what he’d been told, but he didn’t have time to stand around and think about it. He returned to the rest of his band long enough to tell them he was stepping out for a while, then got into his car and headed toward the high school.
He found Lysander sitting on the front steps of the main building, conversing easily with a blond boy. Both teens quickly shut their mouths and looked up at Zack with identical guilty expressions as he approached, telling him two things: they were friends, and they were in this together.
“Hi, Dad.”
Lysander sounded uncertain — even moreso than the day they’d first met. Zack hated that. Hated that Lysander had found it easier to talk to him as a stranger than now, when he was in trouble. Didn’t that mean he was doing something wrong? What else had his son not been talking to him about? He’d thought he’d been doing well, but maybe he’d been deluding himself.
More unsettling was that he didn’t know how to handle this situation. What would his mother have done?
She’d have yelled and grounded him, he was certain. Maybe whacked him with a wooden spoon. That had always been the way with her. Probably because his fights had been a regular occurrence, every other week at minimum. Her yelling hadn’t made him want to stop, either. It had only made him angrier, fuelling all that teen angst he didn’t have a place to channel until he found music.
He wanted to do better. For his son to do better.
“Lysander.” He slipped his sunglasses off. “You wanna tell me what happened?”
“Got into a fight,” the boy replied shortly. “Didn’t Randall tell you?”
“I was hoping to hearyourversion of things.”
