The Convincing Hour by Ann Roberts

Author:Ann Roberts [Roberts, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2021-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

Mom handed it to me. “Wow, Mom, this is great. Why haven’t you shown this to me?”

“That’s ancient history,” she said, plopping back on the couch. “And I was pretty damn good at that, too,” she laughed. “Just know your mother wasn’t an idiot.”

“I’ve never thought that.”

“Well, I’m not a bragger,” Mom said, shifting her gaze to Char. “I don’t have to tout my accomplishments all the time. I have humility.”

“And you’re saying I don’t,” Char answered.

“Lady, you control Lakeview. You’ve got this town in your hip pocket. Might as well call it Charlotte Barnaby City.”

Char smiled. “That actually has a nice ring.”

When their eyes met again, Mom was frowning. Her attempts to goad Char weren’t working.

Char glanced at her watch. “I have to be somewhere soon so I’d like to tell you about the school.”

Mom stretched out on the couch again and laced her fingers behind her head. “Go right ahead. I’m all ears.”

“Tabula Rasa offers the best high school experience possible, one that will truly prepare Story for the rigors of college. She’ll also learn a vocation and she can dabble in a foreign language, although we know most won’t be able to master it in such a short time. And after she graduates, we’ll pay all costs for her to attend any college that accepts her.”

“Stay away from those frat parties!” Mom laughed heartily.

I held up a hand. “Just listen and please stop being rude.”

“Fine.” Mom sat up and leaned forward. “Let me summarize. You have an amazing school, according to you, one that will, according to you, prepare Story for college. You’ll help Story get into whatever school she wants.” Her gaze never left Char’s face. After a long pause she asked, “So what’s the catch?”

Char shifted on the chair and looked at me. “This is a different kind of boarding school.”

“How different?” Mom asked sharply.

This was the moment. It felt as if Mom was pushing Char against a dark wall in an alley and I was powerless to help her. I glanced at Tyrese. He seemed tense. I guessed he might be feeling the same way.

Char gazed at me. “At Tabula Rasa, students build a community that nurtures them all the time, including weekends and holidays.”

“I don’t get it. How is that any different from any other boarding school?”

Instead of answering my question, Char looked away and I turned to Mom. She was shaking her head. In the silence, the whirr of the air conditioner harmonized with the high-pitched wheeze of the running toilet at the end of the trailer.

“It means, Story, that you’d never come home.”

I winced. “Really? Never?”

“Yes,” Char conceded.

“You want to take Story away from me.”

“Mainly we’re taking her away from this neighborhood,” Char said. “There are too many distractions and temptations.” She looked at me. “And think about your school. Your classes are boring and the teachers spend most of their time dealing with the troublemakers. They can’t teach the way they should.”

Mom pointed the burning ember of her cigarette at Char.

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