Page 115 of The Rest is History

She laughs too. “Oh, I know. Well, I don’t really know, but you know what I mean. Anyway, I heard Deliah’s trying to get herself a spot in the hearing as a witness for the school district.” She sighs. “Can’t believe people think they can debate the merits and faults of your personal lives like it’s any of their business.”

We say our goodbyes and at the door, Dotty stops us. “Another thing. Tell Ash that Gerald is also going to give a statement at the hearing. That’s what I heard. Tell Asher not to talk to him.”

We walk out of the store together and suddenly, it feels awful, all of this. Worse than before, when Asher first brought the news home.

Chapter 55

Asher

Principal Watson is apologetic. He’s sorry, he says, when I meet him in the parking lot at quarter to nine. Things have taken a turn for the worse. So much trouble in town over this whole thing. School kids running wild, demanding my return.

“Never thought I’d start a Friday morning like this,” he tells me.

“Think of it as a meeting,” I reassure him, although I’m not entirely sure why he needs reassurance. I’m the one about to get sacked, probably.

He sighs, and maybe he’s aged a bit since this whole thing started. Such scandals are not what Principal Watson can usually deal with, being the non-confrontational man he is.

“Let me show you how bad it is,” he tells me, and I follow him through the parking lot and over to the science building until we reach the senior campus lawns.

“This is what we’re dealing with,” he says.

On the lawn, at least sixty students sit, cross-legged, unmoving, all staring straight ahead. Their expressions are severe, and their arms are crossed over their chests. Sam sits in the front with the football team behind him. A sign is propped up in front of the seated students. NOT YOUR BUSINESS, it says.

“They’ve been here since six-thirty this morning,” Principal Watson says. “They won’t respond when you talk to them. We warned them that if they don’t get up and go to class by ten-thirty, we’ll have police escort them out of the building.”

“Maybe I should talk to them,” I say, trying to catch Sam’s eye. He’s NFL material. He can’t afford this kind of trouble.

“It’ll be a violation of your suspension terms but—” He sighs again. “Try. I’ll take the flack for it. I’ll say I got desperate. But they’re so stubborn. I don’t know if they’ll even listen to you.”

“What are they demanding?”

“What else, Cameron? They want to stop this hearing and have your suspension lifted.”

“I’ll talk to them.”

Principal Watson nods. “Go ahead. Otherwise, they’ll find themselves in a heap of trouble too.”

I make my way to the lawns. With his eyes on me, Sam begins to chant the Eagles’ war cry. The team follows him, and the remaining students behind them join in until the air is filled with a deep rumble of unified sounds until they become deafening. I let them have their moment because their efforts must be acknowledged. Then, I move until I’m directly in front of them. Their cries simmer down until it's quiet again.

“I appreciate your efforts,” I tell them.

They nod, pride spreading across their faces.

“But this is something I’ve got to fight on my own, guys. I can’t let you risk your futures over my personal life, as admirable and commendable as your intentions are.”

“Sometimes we need to walk away and sometimes we need to fight, Coach,” Sam says from his seated position. “It’s what you taught us. This is the time to fight. It’s wrong, and we can’t be silent.”

I get down on my haunches in front of him. “Buddy,” I say quietly. “You hold a lot of power here. Don’t take that lightly. When you walk, people follow. When you speak, they listen. You need to use that power wisely here, Sam.”

He looks me dead in the eye. “What would you have done, Coach? Would you have stood by and let it happen, knowing how wrong it is?”

“I’m saying it’s not worth the risk.”

“Fighting for the right thing is always worth the risk. You taught us that.”

And then, when I struggle to find a response, he continues. “So many of us would be lost now if it weren’t for you, Coach. So many of us would’ve given up and continued to live the lives our parents did. You showed us how to win. How to fight and push through no matter what. Because of you so many of us get to have the lives we want. We won’t let them get away with what they’re doing to you.”

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that, Sam, but it’s my fight.”

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