After (Parallel Series, Book 4) Read online

  When it was time to go to health—my last class, and the class I had with Billy—my heart began to pound. The school day was coming to a close and I had yet to talk to Mr. Cunningham or the nurse. As strongly as I felt about not being weighed by the school, I was nervous about the consequences.

  As I sat in my seat and waited for Billy to arrive, I crossed one leg over the other and jiggled my foot, trying to release my nervous energy.

  “Hey, Morgan,” Billy said as he sat beside me.

  I turned to him. “Hey. Have you gone to the nurse’s office? I heard they’re taking kids out of class.”

  He nodded.

  I stared at him. “What happened?”

  He told me how he’d refused to be weighed, and now he’d have to spend a week in detention.

  “Oh. That’s not too bad, I guess,” I said.

  He shrugged. “I guess not.”

  The teacher started class, and after taking roll she told me and two other kids to go to the nurse’s office.

  This is it. I smiled tentatively at Billy, then got up and headed toward the door.

  I smiled at the two girls who were walking with me. “You’re not going to let them weigh you, are you?”

  The girls glanced at each other, then looked at me.

  “Uh, I don’t know,” one of them said.

  “No way,” the other said at the same time.

  Just before we reached the nurse’s office, where there was a short line, I said, “Stay strong.”

  They looked at me funny, like I was being overly dramatic, but I just smiled as I got in line and they stood behind me.

  When it was my turn, the nurse asked my name, then told me to get on the scale.

  “My weight is none of your business,” I said.

  Her eyebrows rose. “Ms. Campbell, Mr. Cunningham warned me about you.”

  What did that mean?

  “He told me to send you to see him if you refused to be weighed,” she said.

  I stared at her, surprised that she didn’t just tell me I’d have to go to detention for a week like she’d told Billy.

  “Go on,” she said.

  I turned and left her office, but decided I had no interest in talking to the principal and instead went back to class. Defying the principal like that was not something the old Morgan would have ever done, but I’d changed, and I believed I’d done nothing wrong. There was no reason for me to be singled out. At least that’s what I told myself.

  “Back already?” Billy murmured to me when I slid into the seat next to his.

  I just smiled tightly, then faced the front to listen to the teacher’s lecture.

  The moment class ended I turned to Billy with a frown and told him what had happened.

  He put his books in his backpack. “I wonder why he wants to see you.”

  I shrugged like I wasn’t worried, but inside I was a little concerned.

  We left the classroom, but before we could leave the building, Mr. Cunningham intercepted me with a frown.

  “Morgan, the nurse told you to come see me.”

  “I didn’t want to miss class,” I said.

  “Hmm. Well, I’d like to talk to you in my office now.”

  I glanced at Billy.

  “I’ll wait for you outside,” he said.

  I nodded, then followed Mr. Cunningham to his office. After we were seated, he looked at me with obvious unhappiness.

  “I’ve spoken to a number of students who refused to be weighed,” he began. “When I asked them why they were refusing, guess what almost all of their answers had in common?”

  Uh-oh. This can’t be good. “That they believe their weight is no one’s business?” I said.

  “Nope. They said they were part of an organized boycott. Organized by you, Morgan.” He leaned back in his chair, and the leather creaked in protest. “What do you have to say about that?”

  I’d been nervous about having this conversation with the principal, but now that I was sitting in his office I found I wasn’t scared at all. “I’d say that they’re old enough to make up their own minds about what they want to do.”

  “With a little nudge from you, of course.”

  I shrugged. “There’s nothing illegal about making a suggestion.”

  “A suggestion to break a rule,” he said as he leaned forward.

  “A rule that shouldn’t exist,” I shot back.

  Mr. Cunningham’s jaw clenched as he stared at me. “I think it’s time I invited your parents in for a chat.”

  Great. Even though I knew my parents understood my point of view, I wasn’t certain that they would support me in my attempt to defy this new rule.

  “Please wait outside of my office,” the principal said.

  I held back a sigh, then left his office and sat in one of the chairs just outside his door. He closed his door so I wasn’t able to hear his side of the conversation with whomever he was calling. Since Dad was at work, I figured he was calling Mom.

  I thought about the fact that I was the only one being singled out, even though Rochelle had been as involved as I was with organizing the refusals. Surprisingly, that didn’t upset me. Not only would it not have helped me if she was also in trouble, but if she was kind of a secret organizer, then even if I was in trouble, she could keep things going behind the scenes.

  A few minutes later Mr. Cunningham poked his head out of his office. “Your mother will be here shortly.”

  “Can I tell my friend that I’ll be a while longer? He’s waiting for me in front of the school.”

  “Yes, but come in with your mother.”

  I nodded, then hurried out to find Billy. Like before, Rochelle was waiting with him.

  “What did he say?” Billy asked.

  “He called my mom and she’s on her way here,” I said.

  “That’s not good,” Rochelle said.

  “I know.” At least I’d be able to intercept her before we went into the principal’s office.

  “Did you get called into the nurse’s office?” I asked Rochelle.

  “Yeah.” She smiled. “And I refused to be weighed. Got detention too.”

  She seemed so proud of herself that I couldn’t help but laugh. “Good.”

  “I guess we’ll find out how many other kids refused when we go to detention on Monday,” Billy said.

  I nodded, wondering if I’d be in there with them, or if I’d be suspended. We talked about other things until I saw Mom pull up. I headed toward her car and met her as she started up the walkway to the building.

  “I’m not thrilled to be here,” she said with a frown as she walked beside me.

  “I’m sorry he called you.”

  She sighed. “Morgan, I know you feel very strongly about this, but how far are you willing to go to change things?”

  “As far as I have to,” I said.

  Chapter 34

  Morgan

  When we reached Mr. Cunningham’s office, he invited us in.

  “I’m sorry I had to interrupt your Friday afternoon, Mrs. Campbell,” he said as he closed his door. He gestured to the pair of chairs in front of his desk. “Please have a seat.”

  After we were all seated, he glanced at me before focusing on Mom. “Like I told you on the phone, Morgan has admitted to instigating misbehavior by a number of our students.”

  I hadn’t admitted to anything and I wanted to object to his claim, but decided it was best for me to keep quiet.

  “Were you aware of your daughter’s involvement in persuading the other students to refuse to participate in the weight study, Mrs. Campbell?”

  Weight study. That was the first time I’d heard it called that.

  Mom shifted slightly in her seat, and I waited to see what she would say. I’d told her what I was doing and she hadn’t told me not to.

  “Are we here to talk about me or about my daughter?” Mom said.

  Mr. Cunningham stared at her a moment, obviously surprised by her refusal to answer. “I’m concerned
about Morgan’s unwillingness to follow the school’s rules. She doesn’t seem to understand that without rules we would have anarchy.”

  “What rules has she broken?”

  Mom’s direct question seemed to fluster Mr. Cunningham. “Well, the new rule to be weighed once a month.”

  “I’m sorry, but can you explain to me how breaking that rule would lead to anarchy?”

  I wanted to hug Mom as I bit my tongue to keep from smiling.

  Mr. Cunningham cleared his throat. “It’s not that specific rule that’s the problem, Mrs. Campbell. Rather, it’s Morgan’s attitude that she doesn’t have to follow the same rules as everyone else.”

  “I see,” Mom said, then she paused as if considering a difficult problem. “What if a student strongly disagrees with one of your school’s rules? What recourse would that student have?”

  “I assume you’re talking about Morgan’s refusal to be weighed,” he said.

  “Yes.”

  “You may not be aware, Mrs. Campbell, but you can choose to opt Morgan out of the monthly weigh-ins.”

  My mouth fell open. No one had ever mentioned that before, and I wondered if they didn’t want anyone to know.

  Mom glanced at me. “Then I’d like to do that.”

  Mr. Cunningham produced a sheet of paper as if he’d been prepared for this exact outcome, and handed it to Mom.

  Mom quickly read it, then filled in the blanks and signed it. Though that meant I was off the hook for being weighed, what about the other kids? Obviously I’d need to let them know they could opt-out, but I knew that many kids would still be weighed every month.

  “Here you go,” Mom said as she handed the principal the signed opt-out form.

  He took it from her. “The students who chose to disobey the new weigh-in rule without having a signed opt-out form will be required to attend detention all next week,” he said. “That will include your daughter.”

  “But I just signed a form to opt Morgan out.”

  “Yes, but that was after this week’s weigh-in. If you’d signed the form before today, then she wouldn’t have been required to be weighed.”

  “You never told us about being able to opt-out,” I said, not able to listen in silence any longer.

  “I’m sure I announced the opt-out option this week,” he said. “Perhaps it was on one of the days you were suspended.”

  Narrowing my eyes, I frowned. That could be true, although neither Billy nor Rochelle had mentioned it, so that didn’t seem likely. Even so, I wasn’t prepared to call him a liar to his face.

  “In any case,” he said as he focused back on Mom, “as the one who instigated the protest, or whatever they’re calling it, Morgan will be disciplined further.”

  What? I squeezed my hands against my thighs to keep from speaking out again, as I knew Mom would not appreciate that.

  “However,” he said, “rather than disciplining her directly, I’d like to offer Morgan the opportunity to pay restitution by giving of her time.”

  “What did you have in mind?” Mom asked.

  “Mrs. Bennett has requested that Morgan participate in an additional public service announcement.”

  “No,” I said, not able to keep my thoughts to myself. “I won’t work with her.”

  Mr. Cunningham smiled at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes, and I knew he’d about had it with me. “It’s not up to you, Morgan.”

  Mom put her hand on my arm, but stayed focused on Mr. Cunningham. “What if my husband and I don’t give permission for this?”

  He sighed. “Why would you do that, Mrs. Campbell? Don’t you agree that Morgan needs to behave while at school?”

  “What other options do we have?” Mom pressed, ignoring his question.

  “There are no other options for restitution. However, there’s always the option of moving her to another school.”

  Another school? I’d barely begun to feel comfortable here. I had no desire to start over. Not only that, but Billy would still be at Fox Run.

  Mom removed her hand from my arm and sat up straight. “Move to a different school? You’re not serious.”

  “Absolutely. I won’t have one of my students causing trouble for the entire school. We tried suspension—just this week. Clearly, that didn’t make a difference. Perhaps she would benefit by being in a different environment.”

  “Did she really cause that much trouble?” Mom asked.

  “Due to her . . . encouragement . . . twenty percent of my students refused to be weighed.”

  A smile blossomed on my mouth. Twenty percent? Awesome! I noticed Mr. Cunningham frowning at me, so I quickly got my expression under control.

  “Now I’m going to have to contact all of those parents,” he said. “As well as have extra teachers stay after school all week to oversee the students’ detention. Yes,” he said with a stern look. “She really did cause that much trouble.”

  I almost blurted out that he should make sure and tell the parents that they could opt-out, but I decided I’d tell the kids myself.

  “But if Morgan does the PSA, that will be the end of it? She can continue attending Fox Run?” Mom asked.

  “She’ll still need to attend detention next week with the other students, of course. But yes, she will be allowed to continue attending school here.”

  “I’ll need to discuss this with my husband.”

  Mr. Cunningham took a card from his desk and held it out to Mom. “Please call me as soon as you’ve made a decision. My cell number is on the card.”

  “Thank you,” Mom said, although I wasn’t sure what she was thanking him for. “Let’s go, Morgan,” she said, then she stood and turned towards the door.

  Mr. Cunningham stood as well. “Thank you for taking the time to come talk to me.”

  Mom stopped and looked at Mr. Cunningham. “My daughter’s well-being is my top priority, and I’ll do what I believe is best for her.”

  Mr. Cunningham seemed taken aback by Mom’s words, as well as her tone, and I held back a smile as I felt her unwavering support for me.

  “Good-bye,” she said with a smile, then she left the office with me trailing after her.

  The moment we cleared the office, I opened my mouth to speak.

  “Not now, Morgan,” she said, cutting me off, although she hadn’t even seen me open my mouth. I guess she just knew I would have something to say.

  I didn’t understand why she suddenly sounded angry, but I kept my thoughts to myself as we walked out of the building. I saw Billy and Rochelle waiting for us and I headed toward them.

  “You need to come home with me,” Mom said.

  “Can I tell them good-bye?”

  Mom looked at me with a frown. “You have three minutes. I’ll be in the car.”

  “Okay.” As Mom walked toward her car, I hurried over to Billy and Rochelle. “I only have a minute,” I said, then I told them what had happened.

  “We can opt-out?” Rochelle said, the news clearly new to her too.

  “So you guys never heard him say that you could?” I asked.

  They shook their heads.

  “He was lying when he said he announced it,” I said, then paused. “We have to make sure everyone knows they can opt-out.”

  “I’ll start posting that right away,” Rochelle said.

  Mom honked the horn.

  “I have to go.”

  Billy pulled me in for a kiss, and I was suddenly in no hurry to leave. After a moment he released me with a smile. “You’d better go.”

  I smiled in return, then nodded. A moment later I climbed into the car. “Thanks for standing up for me,” I said to Mom as we pulled out of the parking lot. I didn’t want to make her any angrier, but I wanted to get a conversation going.

  “I’m not happy with you,” she said.

  That was obvious. “What do you want me to do?”

  She sighed. “I don’t know, Morgan. I need to talk to your father.”

  “Okay. But I really don’t
want to do another PSA.”

  Mom glanced at me. “So you’d rather go to a different school?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then I don’t see how you have a choice.”

  We drove in silence, and then I remembered Billy’s revelation about the ad campaign for SlenderBars. Glancing at Mom, I saw her mouth pressed in a straight line and decided I’d ask Dad directly about his firm’s new ad campaign.

  When we got home Mom turned off the engine then turned to me. “I’m not happy about having to argue with the principal of your school, Morgan, even though I understand why you did what you did.” She looked at me with confusion. “You really didn’t know you could opt-out?”

  I shook my head. “He never said anything about that. I even asked Billy and Rochelle and they’d never heard that either.”

  “Hmm. Well, regardless, you must know that Dad and I can’t keep the school from meting out whatever punishment they feel is justified.” With a grim look on her face, she continued. “Including making you do the PSA with Holly.”

  Chapter 35

  Morgan

  The tick, tick, tick of the cooling engine filled the silence as I contemplated Mom’s words. If I had to do the PSA with Holly, what would she make me say? What would she make me do?

  “There’s got to be some other way,” I said, although I had no idea what that other way could be.

  Mom reached for her door. “Let me talk to your father. Maybe he’ll have an idea.”

  When we walked into the house, Zac and Brandon were throwing the couch cushions at each other, and Amy was standing with her hands on her hips, obviously frustrated with our brothers.

  “That’s enough,” Mom said, her voice sharp. “Put the cushions back on the couch.” She turned to Amy. “Thank you for watching them, honey.”

  “They’re little monsters,” Amy said, then she turned and went up the stairs.

  Mom looked at me with a frown, and I knew she wasn’t happy that she’d had to drop everything to come to my school.

  I half-shrugged. What else could I do?

  “You’re on dinner duty tonight,” Mom said, obviously knowing exactly what I could do. “And dishes.”