The Academy Page 16

  “For now,” he growled. “After breakfast, report to the headmaster’s office. I’ll give you that long to think about telling me the identity of the person who was out with you. If you don’t come up with it by then, you’re looking at automatic expulsion. Do you understand me, Jameson?”

  Slowly, I nodded. “Y-yes sir,” I stuttered. I understood him all too well. I would be forced to leave the school, my father would be notified, and both Kristopher and I would be exposed. It was the worst possible outcome. But if I told on Broward, I would probably be murdered in my sleep.

  What was I going to do?

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “What the hell were you thinking?” North snarled. Apparently Lackson’s shouting had woken him—probably along with the rest of the dorm. When I came into the room, he was already pacing the floor, his blue eyes fierce and angry.

  “I—” I began, but he didn’t let me finish.

  “Why were you sneaking out in the middle of the night, anyway?” he demanded. “Damn it, Jameson, you scared the crap out of me! I woke up and found you gone and my lamp missing. Who were you meeting anyway? Was it Wilkenson?”

  “I wasn’t meeting anyone,” I said with as much dignity as I could muster.

  “You weren’t?” His eyes narrowed. “Well then who was it that Lackson saw you with out there? I heard him raving about it and then he said something else I couldn’t catch before he let you back in the room.”

  I sighed and decided to tell him as much as I could without revealing my secret. “Since you must know,” I said, “I went off campus tonight. When I came back, Broward was waiting for me. He said Nodes had seen me sneak out. He was going to beat me up until Lackson saw us, but he ran away before Lackson could see his face.”

  “God above!” North ran a hand through his hair. “Why in the hell were you sneaking off campus? Do you know what they’d do to you if they found that out, Jameson?”

  “Probably what they’re going to do to me now—expel me,” I said dully. Sinking down on my bed, I put my head in my hands. Everything had been going so well. If only…

  “What do you mean, expel you?” North asked. His deep voice had a funny note in it and when I looked up, I saw that he was upset—maybe more upset than I had ever seen him.

  “I mean Lackson says if I don’t inform on the person he saw me with he’ll give me an automatic expulsion.” I shook my head. “But I can’t tell on Broward—he already wants to kill me.”

  “You’re right about that.” North looked grim. “There’s no threat in the world I could make that would keep him off you if you ratted him out. I can’t be with you every single minute of the day—you’d be dead meat.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” I scrubbed a sleeve across my eyes. “I wish I could think what to do but I’m so tired.”

  “I’m not surprised—you’ve been out all night breaking the rules all to hell.” But North’s voice was slightly gentler, despite his rough words. He sighed and sank down on the bed across from me. “Just tell me this—what was so damn important you had to get off campus for?”

  “I had to make a call,” I said stiffly. “To someone…someone I care for very much. I had to warn him that he might be in danger.” I looked up at North. “I’m sorry—that’s all I can tell you.”

  “Okay.” He nodded. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t risk yourself for nothing.”

  “I wouldn’t have gone if it wasn’t urgent,” I said shortly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try and get some rest. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Or a short one—depending on how you look at it.”

  North frowned. “Try to get some sleep. Don’t worry about the expulsion thing—we’ll get it worked out.”

  “Right,” I mumbled, looking down at my hands. “I’ll just wave my magic wand and make the whole mess disappear.”

  “I’m not kidding, Jameson. Look at me,” he demanded. When I finally looked up and met his gaze, I was surprised to see his blue eyes blazing with determination. “I swear to you here and now,” he said. “That you will not be expelled. Do you understand? I won’t let it happen—I won’t.”

  Slowly, I nodded. I didn’t see how he could keep his promise or even why he would want to help me, considering the silent treatment he’d been giving me for so long. But I was too tired and miserable to say any of that. I just sighed and lay down in my bed, still fully clothed. There was only an hour until it was time to wake up and I didn’t feel like going into the closet and changing into my pajamas.

  Oh Kristopher, I thought, as I rolled on my side and looked at the blank wall. I hope you can get out in time. I hope you’re a billion miles away when the Academy and Father find out what we’ve done.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  The headmaster’s office was exactly as I remembered it. The antique books lining the shelves, the holo-pics, the huge burnished wood desk dominating the room. Only this time the man sitting behind that desk had a very angry look on his face. Headmaster Chauser was glaring at me in a way that made me feel sick to my stomach. On one side of him stood Lackson, also glaring, and on the other, his personal assistant Hinks (Kinky Hinks my mind chanted) who looked mildly amused.

  “Have you anything to say for yourself, Jameson?” the headmaster thundered at me. “Are you ready to give up the identity of the cadet who was with you late night?”

  Miserably, I shook my head. “No sir.”

  “Be reasonable, Jameson.” Chauser’s voice dropped a notch—apparently he’d decided to try a different approach on me. “Sneaking out past RLO isn’t normally an automatic expulsion but I must have the truth from you. Your father paid a great deal of credit to send you here and he’s not going to be happy when he hears I have to refund it.” By the look on his face, the headmaster wasn’t going to be very happy about that part either. “You’ve been a model student up until now,” he continued. “You’ve gotten top marks in all your classes. It would be a shame to let all that hard work go to waste, now wouldn’t it?”

  “Yes, sir.” I nodded. “But I still can’t say who it was.” I looked at him pleadingly. “Can’t you just believe me when I say it was too dark to see his face?” Which was sort of true. I hadn’t seen much more of Broward than his angry, piggy eyes.

  “I heard you talking to him,” Lackson growled. “So I know that you know who it was. Tell us, Jameson, or face the consequences.”

  “Which I will determine.” The headmaster gave Lackson an irritated look and the dorm monitor stepped back and shrugged apologetically. “Now then,” Chauser continued. “I don’t want to expel you, Jameson. But I will if you don’t give me a name right now.”

  “I’m sorry, sir,” I said, shaking my head. “But I just can’t—”

  “It was me.”

  I turned in surprise to see North striding into the headmaster’s office. “North?” My voice was squeaky with surprise.

  My roommate nodded at me briefly before coming up to stand beside me in front of the headmaster’s vast desk. “I’m sorry to come in without permission, sir,” he said, addressing Chauser. “But I couldn’t let Jameson face these charges on his own. Not when I’m the one who is really to blame.”

  “What?” Lackson, Chauser, and Hicks all exclaimed together. I simply stood there, too surprised to even talk.

  North lifted his chin. “I said, I was the one who was outside after RLO with Jameson last night. And in fact, leaving the dorm in the first place was my idea, not his.”

  “North!” I hissed but he only shook his head.

  “Don’t try to stop me from telling, Jameson. I should have stayed with you last night. It was cowardly of me to run.”

  “But very brave of you to come forward now,” Hinks gushed, smiling at North. “So sweet of you to defend your roommate.”

  “Indeed.” Chauser steepled his fingers and rested his elbows on the desk. Leaning forward, he studied North intently. “But I’m curious to know exactly why you were out there i
n the early hours of the morning, North. What possible explanation can you have?”

  “We wanted to watch the Haley’s II comet,” North replied, without batting an eyelash.

  Lackson frowned. “And you couldn’t see it from your dorm room window?”

  “Not with an unobstructed view,” North replied. “Besides, being outside in the dark at night, the atmosphere is so much more…” He coughed and his cheeks turned red. “So much more romantic.”

  Both of Chauser’s bushy eyebrows shot up and Hinks actually gasped. Lackson, however, was still frowning. “I don’t buy it, North,” he said. “You don’t strike me as the type.”

  “And what type is that?” Hinks demanded huffily, glaring at the dorm monitor.

  “You know what type,” Lackson growled, glaring back. Clearly there was no love lost between the two of them.

  “All right, all right.” Chauser held up both hands, calling for silence. “Mr. North,” he said, frowning at my roommate. “As you know, we don’t have any, ah-hem, formal policy about this sort of thing. When it comes to sexual orientation, the Academy operates on a don’t ask, don’t tell system which seems to work just fine.”

  It seemed to me that was the Academy’s position on just about everything from bullying to bathing but I didn’t say a word. I was still too stunned by what North was implying about the two of us.

  “Now, you and Jameson are both fine students,” the headmaster continued. “From two of the very best families in the Prometheus system. And, North, I can understand how the tragedy you suffered might make you…ah-hem, look for comfort from a…ah-hem, from a nontraditional relationship. When I lost my wife…” He cast a quick glance up at Hinks who was looking lovingly down at him. Chauser’s face got red and he shook his head. “Well, that’s neither here nor there. The point is, that considering this is a first offense and that you came forward willingly, I won’t expel either of you.”

  Beside me, I could feel North breathing a sigh of relief. I would have been breathing one as well except I was still so confused. Had North really said what I thought he said about the two of us? And why would he claim such a thing when he’d told me pointedly at the beginning of the semester that he wasn’t gay?

  “However…” Chauser raised one finger. “You were still out after RLO and that cannot go unpunished.” He looked at me. “Jameson, since you were the one Lackson actually caught, I’m forced to give you ten licks. Will you choose the cane or the paddle?”

  My heart leapt into my throat and not just because I knew the beating would hurt. Would I have to drop my uniform trousers as Broward had, to receive the punishment? And if I did, what if the headmaster noticed my lack of male equipment? North’s lie would be for nothing and I would be found out anyway!

  But before I could say a word, North was pushing me behind him.

  “Sir! Sir, please,” he said as the headmaster rose from behind his desk, presumably to go get whatever instrument of punishment I chose.

  “Yes, North. What is it?” Chauser frowned at him.

  “Sir, it was my idea to leave the dorm after RLO.” North’s voice sounded slightly strained. “I’m older than Jameson and I’ve been at the Academy much longer. I know the consequences and yet I led him into breaking the rules. So I should be the one to receive the punishment.”

  Chauser shook his head indecisively. “I don’t know, North. That’s not usually how we do things…”

  “Oh, let him! Dudley, you have to let him.” Hinks was looking at both North and myself with shining eyes. “Don’t you see?” he asked, turning to the headmaster. “He’s sacrificing himself for the one he loves. It’s beautiful.”

  “Yes, well…” The headmaster cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. “All right,” he said at last. “I’ll allow it this once.” He looked at North. “Which will it be—the paddle or the cane?”

  North lifted his chin. “The cane, sir. Thank you, sir,” he said clearly.

  Chauser frowned. “We’ll see if you’re thanking me when we’re finished, North. I’m not going to go easy on you for the sake of ‘true love'.”

  “No, sir,” North said stoically. “I wouldn’t expect you to, sir.”

  “Good, well…” Chauser sighed. “Hinks, I suppose you’d better bring me the cane.”

  “Right away.” Looking at us as though we were a chapter of his favorite romance novel come to life, he hurried out of the room.

  Lackson shook his head in disgust. “I’m leaving. I trust this is all over with, Headmaster?”

  Chauser nodded shortly. “Yes, Lackson. You’re dismissed.”

  Lackson turned to go but first he pointed at North and myself. “I’ll be watching you—both of you,” he snarled and then left, banging the door of the headmaster’s office on his way out.

  Not a moment later, Hinks returned, carrying a long, flexible length of polished wood that looked positively lethal to my horrified eyes. Was the headmaster really going to strike North with that? Was North really going to take my punishment?

  It seemed that he was. He surveyed the cane with a cool, detached look in his eyes. A look that said he was prepared for the pain and that he didn’t fear it. I didn’t understand that look—how could he not be terrified right now? And why was he willing to do this for me in the first place? He had barely talked to me in the past few months—why was he willing to take a beating for someone he obviously didn’t like?

  Chauser took the cane from Hinks and swished it through the air a few times, as though warming up. It made a vicious hissing sound that made me think of a poisonous snake. “Well,” he said at last. “I supposed we’d better begin. North, since you chose the cane, please remove your uniform jacket and shirt.”

  “Yes, sir.” Immediately, North began unbuttoning his jacket. All this time I’d been standing here watching him, saying nothing. But finally my paralysis broke.

  “North,” I whispered, grabbing his elbow. “Please…I can’t let you do this for me.”

  He shook me off and finished taking off his jacket. “It’s already done, shrimp.” He flashed me a quick grin as he started on his shirt. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Of course I worry about it—I worry about you. And don’t call me shrimp,” I said through numb lips.

  North’s grin widened. “Okay, shorty.” He finished unbuttoning his shirt and shrugged out of it. “Seriously, relax, Jameson. I’ll be fine.”

  “But—” I began.

  “Enough chatter,” Chauser said, interrupting my half-formed protest. “North, assume the position.”

  Without a word of complaint, North walked forward and placed both his hands palms down on the headmaster’s large wooden desk. He bent his head, presenting his broad back as a target and waited.

  When the first blow fell with a flat crack, I jumped and gasped, making much more noise than North. He simply bit his lip and stared down at the headmaster’s antique oriental carpet without saying a word. The blow left an angry red welt across his smooth golden skin, just between his shoulder blades.

  “One,” Chauser announced and then drew back his arm again. Once more the cane fell. “Two,” he continued.

  By the time he’d gotten to the fifth blow, the welts had become wounds. Trickles of blood were flowing down North’s sides and the headmaster was breathing heavily—clearly he was really putting his back into it. Hinks was standing to one side, his hands clasped just below his chin with a look of sympathy on his face.

  I felt like my insides were twisted into one big knot. North continued to be stoically silent though I could see his knuckles turning white as he gripped the sides of the headmaster’s desk. I, on the other hand, gasped every time the cane hit his flesh—I couldn’t help it. It was too horrible—so awful that I wanted to turn away and not look. But North was doing this for me, was enduring this burning pain so I didn’t have to. I owed it to him to watch. I kept my eyes fixed on the brutal sight, not allowing myself to so much as blink.

  By the time
the seventh blow fell, my tears were falling as fast as the blood was flowing from North’s broad back. Crimson droplets pattered onto the oriental rug but the headmaster didn’t seem to care. Either he had it cleaned regularly or its pattern of brown spots was the result of similar punishments. I couldn’t help comparing the beating North was receiving to the one I had seen Broward take. Back then, I’d thought the headmaster wielded the paddle with startling savagery. But it was nothing to what North was enduring under the cane.

  “Please,” I moaned, putting out a hand. North saw me and shook his head.

  “Almost…done,” he gritted out. “Let him…finish.”

  I drew back my hand and bit my lip until it bled to keep from begging. North was right—there was nothing I could do but be quiet and let the headmaster finish administering the beating. I was slightly relieved when the last three blows seemed to come more quickly than the others. They might have been a touch lighter as well—probably because Hinks was glaring at Chauser in obvious disapproval.