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“Stop looking like kicked puppies and sit down.”
We both take our seats. The rector folds her hands on her desk and looks us over, and I suddenly feel like I’m eight years old under her steely gaze. She has iron-gray hair pulled into a severe French twist, a thin face, and a dark hound’s tooth suit jacket.
“This is my first time having any of the Van Den Bosch children in my office to be reprimanded. A family first!” When neither Elise nor I respond, she continues. “You know, the good thing about having all those ugly cameras installed around the campus is that the staff can see any nonsense happening in real time. Imagine my shock when the guard watching the cameras calls me in to show me one of my students punching another in the face, seemingly unprompted. Such a shock…”
“Ma’am, Elise wasn’t involved at all. I think you should let her off the hook,” I insist.
“Oh, I know, but I have a message for you both. But first, what exactly happened? I want to hear it in your own words.”
Leaving out the part about me dating an escort, I explain the best I can how the YouTuber, who she tells me is called Wes, posted defamatory videos on his channel, meant to cause shame for my family and even around the university. The rector seemsunamused at the mention of YouTube, but she takes quick, scratching notes as I speak, giving me her full attention.
“And you do realize, even with all that, violence is never acceptable on campus, right?”
“It was a single lapse in judgment,” I assure her.
She leans forward minutely. “Is there anything else going on with you? Maybe mentally, or family issues that could cause you to act out like this?”
“Just a difficult breakup,” I admit. “But nothing that excuses my behavior.”
She sighs, tapping her nails on her desk as she thinks. “Okay. I will give you a warningthis time,Andries, but if security checks this YouTube channel and finds nothing like what you’re describing, then you’ll be coming back to face harsher consequences.”
“I understand.”
Her face softens. “We have never had issues with anyone in your family or extended family before. If there’s something we can help you with, we have counselors and programs for students suffering from mental health problems.”
“I’m fine.” I sigh.
She doesn’t look convinced, but she makes another note before looking at Elise. “That brings me to you. I hope you aren’t encouraging this type of behavior.”
Elise shakes her head hard enough to send her hair flying around her. “Absolutely not.”
“Good. Now, when possible, I’d like you to escort your brother to classes, and if anything goes awry with this new negative publicity he now has, I’m going to give you both a number to call that will have our campus security come to your location right away. I don’t want either of you to feel unsafe, so for the time being, try to move in pairs. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” we both declare at the same time.
“Any more violence caused by you on this campus, Andries, and you will be suspended. This is your one and only warning.”
Elise and I leave the office, her not relaxing until we are back outdoors. I can tell her first instinct is to tear into me about everything that just went down, but she holds back. After taking a few deep breaths for patience she hugs me quickly.
I pat her back as she does so, and when she pulls back, there is genuine worry in her eyes. “Andries,” she starts. “I’ve never seen you do anything like that before. Do you think maybe… you might want to check out therapy? Or at least those school counselors like the rector suggested?”
“No,” I bite out. “Reiterating the steps of my breakup isn’t going to make me feel any better. The opposite actually. I’m perfectly capable of handling my emotions myself.”
Elise frowns but doesn’t argue. She checks her watch and grimaces. “I’m late for class. Go back to your apartment and I’ll come pick you up for your next lecture.”
I want to argue that I’m an adult man, and that I don’t need a babysitter, but knowing I had just caused my sister a large amount of stress, I just nod instead, making my way home while she rushes to her class.
Biking through campus and back to my apartment is a quick affair, with me avoiding eye contact with anyone possible. When I am finally back in my apartment, the first order of business is to deactivate my social media for the time being, and the second is a cup of coffee from my Keurig with a healthy pour of Bailey’s Irish Cream to settle my nerves. It’s almost too much for me; the heartbreak of the breakup, Roxie’s constant attempts to get in contact with me, having to keep it together at school, and now the entire student body knowing that I’d fallen in love with a former hooker. It’s enough to make a man want to hide away for the rest of his days.
I want to skip class and drink more while working on a few of my manuscripts, but I know there is no point in even trying… not with Elise coming to the apartment to escort me to the lecture hall herself.
I try to nap after I finish my coffee but end up lying on top of my sheets and watching the sun travel across the sky. Waiting for my sister to come and take me to class makes me feel like some criminal that couldn’t be trusted on their own. I should be studying, or writing, but there is no motivation within me.
I’ve lost myself completely in my melancholy daydreams when I hear the buzz from my front door. After a quick time check, I realize it’s about time for Elise, so I crawl out of bed and straighten my clothes.
I pause halfway to the door. Why would my sister be buzzing in? She knows the code to get in on her own. Filled with dread that it’s Roxanne outside again, I check the screen of the intercom before doing anything else. Instead of a blond head, I see a brown one, caught in two identical braids, both of them secured with a bright yellow tie. Tatiana.
If I could get away with ignoring her, I would, but I know she’d just call Elise at the first chance she got, so with a resigned huff, I let her in.
