Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
He left Jean to his uneasy thoughts, and the afternoon hours dragged on at a snail’s pace. Jean wasn’t sure who told Abby or Wymack what Nathaniel had done, but he could tell they knew when they cycled through his room that afternoon and evening with a new energy. Wymack even brought him a laptop and a basic phone he didn’t recognize. Jean looked from one to the other as Wymack set them down on the mattress within reach.
“Talked to Andritch, who talked to your teachers,” Wymack said. “They’re getting you set up to finish the semester long-distance. You’ll have to install all the appropriate programs yourself; I can barely check my email without wanting to shoot my computer. This is a temporary line to replace yours,” he said, stabbing a finger at the phone. “I figure you need to be reachable by your professors, but you don’t need easy access to the bastards you walked out on. After the dust settles and you’re a little more stable we’ll revisit the matter.”
Jean tapped the phone awake. Only five numbers were saved, and Jean didn’t recognize one of them. “B Dobson,” he read aloud.
“Campus psychiatrist in charge of keeping my kids in working order,” Wymack said.
“Not surprised the Foxes need a shrink,” Jean said.
“Don’t knock it until you try it,” Wymack said “Dinner’s running a bit late, but Abby should have it by in another fifteen or so. Need anything else?”
A reason to believe Nathaniel’s deal wasn’t going to backfire and destroy them all, Jean could have said, but he settled for an easier, “No.”
Wymack nodded and left, and Jean pushed both the computer and phone off the bed.
Having classes again injected a much-needed bit of stability into his life, even if it also reminded Jean of all the pieces that were missing. Ravens always took classes with other Ravens. He’d had this class with Grayson and Jasmine, that one with Louis, Cameron, and Michael, and these two with Zane and Colleen. He knew they were all still going to the same classes, but he was so far removed it was disorienting. He downloaded lesson plans and scans of his textbooks via email and felt very much alone.
He wondered what Riko was doing in his absence. Jean had been forced to sit in on his lessons after Kevin escaped, but who had taken Jean’s place? Wayne Berger, likely, as Wayne was Riko’s on-court partner now. Jean should email Riko to check in, but Jean was terrified of the outcome. Surely Riko had heard the news by now. If he ordered Jean to come home anyway, what was Jean supposed to say? Even with Ichirou in the mix Jean didn’t have the right to tell Riko no.
Jean never wanted to speak to Zane again, but there was no one else he could reach out to. He waited until one of their shared classes began before sending a blank email to him, but the answer he got back a few minutes later turned his stomach: “Where the fuck are you, Johnny? Master fucked King up pretty good and threatened to pull him from the lineup. Everyone’s jumping at shadows.”
It took Jean most of the period to figure out a response, and finally he settled for: “Away, master’s orders.”
It wasn’t technically a lie, just a careful version of the truth. There was nothing he could say about the rest of it. In no world would the master ever really sideline Riko, would he? Riko had cost the master his two most expensive players, but Riko was King. Maybe it was just a threat to keep him in line. At most it was a temporary measure to embarrass him into restraint. If the master actually went through with it, they were all dead men. Riko would not take an insult like that well.
Zane didn’t respond, so Jean deleted his email and looked again for a nonexistent second bed.
Friday night both Wymack and Abby were out of the house for the Foxes’ rematch against the Binghamton Bearcats. Jean finally met Dobson, who took on the role of babysitter so he wouldn’t be alone in the house. Jean hated her immediately, even if she only stopped by the room long enough to introduce herself. Something about her made Jean’s skin want to crawl off his bones. He told her not to come back, and she obediently kept her distance the rest of the evening.
Jean had at least sixty pages of reading left to get through, but he dug the TV remote out of the nightstand drawer. There were a dozen-odd sports channels on Abby’s cable plan, and three of those tended to focus on collegiate games. Finding the Foxes’ match was a matter of trial and error, and Jean settled back against the headboard to watch the pregame show.