Page 37 of Facade

“I’ll be happy to, sir,” Heath said.

Jace

He had spent most of his free time over the last couple of days literally and figuratively sniffing around maintenance workers and groundskeepers. One of the maintenance men had a drinking problem, with bottles stashed in his locker. Another had serious health concerns that caused him to miss work, and made his attendance unreliable.

Jace hadn’t discovered anything of interest about the head groundskeeper. He was positive that there was something, and would keep digging until he found it.

Clarke was right that Russell was a valuable resource for information. The librarian had been dead on about the maintenance crew. Jace had suggested that Clarke direct their conversations with the goal of learning about staff members who hadn’t come up in previous discussions.

There was no guarantee that Russell’s gossip would lead to Charlie. But learning as much about the staff as possible could put them on that path. It also might help narrow their focus.

Jace put those thoughts out of his mind. He had dressed in Mars College sweatpants with a gold t-shirt. It was Friday, time to display school pride, and have some fun.

Mars and Venus both had shuttle buses of varying sizes. Jace signed out one of the smaller vehicles an hour before the start of the football game. He had reserved it a week ago, in anticipation.

Mars was playing against a college with which they had a long-standing rivalry. He was looking forward to this game. The stands would be packed.

A few larger buses were idling near the exit. They would stop at the dorms for students who didn’t drive who had reserved seats.

Underage students were required to be attended by a monitor. Jace and Clarke had planned this together, but neither Mitch nor Ray had reserved buses, or contacted either of them about sharing one. It seemed odd that none of their high school students would choose to attend. He drove around the perimeter of the campus, and parked behind the powered dorm.

Dozens of students milled around the parking lots of all the dorms, talking, joking, packing coolers, and piling into cars. All of them wore gold and burgundy, displaying their school colors.

He was about to text, but didn’t need to. The back door opened, and Clarke stepped out with the three underage, powered students. They all wore jeans and hooded, burgundy sweatshirts with a raven on the front, and gold stripes on the sleeves. Jace opened the hydraulic door.

The boys marched onto the bus eagerly, clearly looking forward to the game. Clarke took in the activity in the parking lots, gazed at the dorms, then looked at the seats on the bus.

“Do we have time to stop at the other dorms?” Clarke asked.

“We do,” Jace answered. “Are you sure you want to start this fight?”

Since Mitch and Ray hadn’t reserved buses for the game, Jace guessed that they probably hadn’t given the younger students the chance to participate. The shuttle had plenty of room for all the underage students. That wasn’t the problem.

If he and Clarke invited the younger casters and elementals, it would highlight Ray and Mitch’s shortcomings. They already had it out for Clarke. This would stir the pot in no uncertain terms.

Mitch and Ray deserved to reap negative consequences, but doubtless, neither of them would see it that way. If previous experience was anything to go by, this would get really ugly, really fast.

Still, the boys deserved to get out of the dorm, and have some fun. They should be able to go to the game if they wanted to. None of them should be punished for having lazy, negligent monitors.

Some of these kids had experienced traumatic transitions when their powers emerged. Most of them weren’t comfortable with their abilities yet. Socialization, and feeling like they were part of a group, was vital to their emotional and mental health.

“If Mitch and Ray want to throw down over this, so be it. They already have a problem with me. These boys shouldn’t be isolated. You can’t tell me that you wouldn’t feel as guilty as I will, if we don’t offer to take the boys with us, and leave them sitting in the dorms.”

“You’re right, I would. And the department heads will know that Mitch and Ray didn’t request buses for their students whether we bring them with us or not. It’s all on record.

“Ok, but I’ll invite the elementals, and deal with Mitch,” Jace said as he closed the door. “You should stay out of it.”

“That works for me. You shouldn’t have to do everything, though. I’ll invite the casters,” Clarke said as she sat down in one of the front seats.

Jace just nodded. Even if the powered students weren’t listening, he wouldn’t have argued. She was determined to be involved, and it made sense to divide and conquer as it were.

As he put the shuttle in gear, one of the boys said, “Thank you, Mr. Voudrie, Mr. Smith. We were talking about the game after evolution class the other day. Adam said he didn’t see a sheet in the caster dorm to sign up for the game.”

“Yeah, same for the elementals, and Brandon really wants to go,” another said.

Jace drove the short distance, and parked. He didn’t mind keeping an eye on all the boys, but this was ridiculous. Ray and Mitch should want the kids to participate in school events. Even if they didn’t, chaperoning them at games and pep rallies was part of the job.

Clarke knocked on the door of the caster dorm, and disappeared inside a moment later. Within three minutes, the door opened, and the young casters jogged to the bus. Ray was standing on the threshold with Clarke, saying something. Oddly enough, he looked friendly instead of angry. They shook hands before Clarke walked away.