AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Our position in society—our name—doesn’t just come with privileges, Zachary,” he says in a lofty tone. “It comes with responsibilities, too.”
“I know that.” I hold his gaze. “I have every intention of serving society. But I’ll do it in my own way.”
“Where could you serve our country better than in politics?” my father asks in a withering tone.
My mother lifts a hand and lays it on his forearm. She doesn’t need to say a word for him to bite down and breathe in, nostrils flaring, as he pulls on the reins of his anger.
“You’re doing a great disservice to many sectors by implying politicians serve this country best,” I tell my father in a cool tone. “Sectors such as, oh, I don’t know—medicine and healthcare? The justice system? Academia and education?”
“You think aschoolteacherhas as much impact as a minister?” My father’s voice quivers with cruel amusement.
I shrug. “In certain ways—more.”
He opens his mouth, but my mother finally speaks up.
“Caleb, please.” She doesn’t look at my father when she says his name but smiles at me, a gentle smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Zachary is free to choose his own future, of course.” She squeezes my father’s arm and tosses me a look. “All we ask, Zachary, is that you make your choices carefully.”
“I always do,” I assure her.
Her eyes widen slightly—the same fawn brown as Zaro’s, framed by the same curly black lashes that give them both that doe-eyed look of innocence. She’s unhappy with me, that much is easy to tell, but she’s a politician through and through.
“Excellent,” she says. “That’s all we can ask.” Then, with an airy laugh, she releases my father’s arm and picks up her wineglass. “Besides, it’s so early in the year. You still have plenty of time to decide.”
I want to tell her I’ve already decided—that I’ve known all along—what I want to study when I leave Spearcrest. But I suppose I have some politician in me, too, because I answer her insincere smile with one of my own.
“Exactly.”
Chapter 18
Spearcrest Wolf
Zachary
Onthewaybackto Spearcrest, I brief Zaro thoroughly on everything she needs to know, from how to get around campus to the kind of expectations teachers have. I give her a thorough breakdown of the social hierarchy of the school, both the staff and students, and I tell her which students she should befriend and which she should stay away from.
I answer all her questions with complete honesty, even the ones that force me to paint my friends and myself in a negative light.
When she’s finally out of questions, I take her hand and squeeze it in mine.
“I’m going to ask one thing of you, and that’s it. One thing.”
She sighs but nods. “What is it?”
“I want you to use our mother’s maiden name while you’re at Spearcrest. I’ll speak to Mr Ambrose myself about it if you let me.”
“You don’t want everyone to know I’m your sister?” she asks.
“I don’t want everyone to know I’m your brother,” I correct.
“That means the same thing.”
“Almost. Trust me, Zaro, please. Whatever you’ve done, whatever you do—I’ve told you before, I’m not our father. The only thing I care about is that you’re safe and happy. You don’t want people to know I’m your brother. Spearcrest is just like the real world, there’ll be people there you can’t trust. People that might wish to use you as a way to get to me or my friends, or worse, people that might wish to use youagainstus. I want you to have a blank slate when you get there—and trust me when I say people will be scouring the internet for any information they find about you. You don’t want them to have anything over you. I’ll be there for you regardless. But trust me on this, alright?”
She stares at me, and for the first time, I see a flicker of worry in her eyes. Her glossy sheen of confidence wavers and she swallows nervously.
“Alright,” she says. “Alright. I’ll do as you say.”
Ispendthefirstday back at Spearcrest, making sure Zaro’s arrival goes as smoothly as possible. I visit Mr Ambrose and ask him to have Zaro’s surname changed to our mother’s maiden name—Auvray—on the school registers. When he asks me for my reasons, I give him nothing but the truth.
