Brent did have a nanny. She lived in the Bonham house. She had been with them for as long as he could remember. His nanny did everything his parents did not. They were always so busy saving the world. They sometimes forgot about their son’s needs.
Brent was a low-maintenance kid. He never got into trouble and always did what he was told. There were times when rebelling sounded appealing. He wanted to be a free spirit. He would even describe himself that way. But breaking the rules came with weighty consequences. Embarrassing his family was definitely not on his agenda.
There was a mixture of students today at Living Proof. Some of them had been through the boot camp before. A few of them even attended Summit Middle School where Brent was a seventh grader. But he recognized a lot of them, even if they were from across town. He saw them on Friender or FlashChat. With social media, the days of anonymity were over.
Brent used to sit in on these meetings and not know a soul. But he was catching up to the Living Proof students in age. Slowly, he began to recognize more and more faces.
One person in particular was Coby Reynolds. He had been the leader of his crew since kindergarten. They were hard-core. If there was a fight, Coby and his boys were involved. If there was something stolen, they were involved. Brent typically avoided that type of kid. But they didn’t want to hang out with him either. They were on different paths.
Brent sometimes wished he could be as feared as the guys his father mentored. But he didn’t even know how to begin. His brain didn’t function the way theirs did. He was more straight-laced. He watched them, wondering what their lives were like. Did they go home to cruel and overbearing fathers? Were their mothers at home, making treats and cooking meals?
Brent had a few friends at school, like Holden, Aiden, and Finn. They were all in the same orbit. First, go to Summit. Then to the magnet program for high school students. Then to Texas A&M, UT, or some Ivy League school.
It made him yawn. There was nothing more boring than having your life planned by your parents. Neither of his parents had followed their parents’ advice. Even their marriage was rebellious. It was the first interracial marriage for both families. There were a lot of growing pains all around.
His father’s family had taken it the hardest. His mother was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She was the first African American Bonham. Brent was the second. She had come from an average middle class family, nothing like his father’s.
The Bonhams were one of Texsun City’s leading families. They began the oil boom, drilling the original wells. Brent’s mother was unaware of this when she met his father. She was political and motivated, fighting for reform in the oil industry. His father found her passion very attractive.
One year after meeting, they married at the courthouse. Then came Brent, their beautiful curly-haired, caramel-colored baby. His parents balanced each other. Brent brought the whole family back together. A lot was expected of him. So much that it stressed him out sometimes.
His relationship with his father was never smooth. Now with his mother out of town, the wrinkles in their relationship seemed even more obvious.
About the Author
Shannon Freeman
Born and raised in Port Arthur, Texas, Shannon Freeman is an English teacher in her hometown. As a full-time teacher, Freeman stays close to topics that are relevant to today’s teenagers.
Entertaining others has always been a strong desire for the author. Living in California for nearly a decade, Freeman enjoyed working in the entertainment industry, appearing on shows like Worst-Case Scenario, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and numerous others. She also worked in radio and traveled extensively as a product specialist for the Auto Show of North America. These life experiences, plus the friendships she made along the way, have inspired her to create realistic characters that jump off the page.
Today she enjoys a life filled with family. She and her husband, Derrick, have four beautiful children: Kaymon, Kingston, Addyson, and Brance. Their days are full of family-packed events. They also regularly volunteer in their community.
Freeman’s debut series, Port City High, is geared to high-school readers. When asked to write for middle school students, she knew it would be a challenge, but one that she was up for. Summit Middle School is the author’s second series. She hopes these stories will reach students from many different backgrounds. “It is definitely a series where middle-grade students can read about realistic life experiences involving characters just like them. Middle school can be a challenge, and if I can help students navigate through that world, then I have met my goal.”
Freeman loves writing a series that her children and numerous nephews and nieces can enjoy.
Silentious (Summit Middle School) Page 6