Chapter Six
Maxie
“So, Mr. Burke told him not to come to school tomorrow?” Mr. West asks.
“Yeah, he told him to finish out the day and he’d be transferred by this afternoon,” Martin frowns.
Mr. West sighs. “Let me make a few calls. I’ll see what I can do.”
“You’re the DA, dad, I’m sure you can do something,” Martin scoffs.
Mr. West shakes his head. “Martin, I can’t just throw my weight around because I’m in a position of power. I have ethics and morals, and I intend to stand on them. I’ll try to reason with the school board, but I can’t force them to do anything. It’s their call, not mine.”
Martin rolls his eyes. “Why would they do that, dad? I mean, who cares if he goes to school outside of his district? It’s bogus.”
“I’ll find out what I can, Martin. I think I can at least reason with them enough to let Max finish the rest of the week.”
“That’s it? Just the rest of the week? Come on, dad,” Martin frowns.
Mr. West studies his son’s demeanor before speaking. “Martin, have you considered that maybe Max going to another school would be better for him?”
Martin is speechless, but only for a moment. “Are you kidding me? How can you ask that, or even think that?”
“Martin,” Mr. West sighs.
“Max is my best friend, dad,” Martin’s voice level rises, “They’re taking away my best friend, and for what? I need him to stay, ok? Can you do this one thing for me? Make them let him stay, dad, I know you can do that. You’ve done way more than that for me, so I know you can do this. Please?”
Mr. West clears his throat. “Martin, please don’t put me in a position like this…”
“You’re already in that position, dad!” Martin exclaims. “This isn’t right, and you know it. Don’t tell me you’re just gonna let it happen?” Martin shakes his head, his expression full of disappointment. “Is this about what happened between you and Mr. Shaw?”
Mr. West shakes his head quickly. “Martin, what happened between me and Max’s father is between us. I promise you, I will do what I can, okay?”
Martin puts his head down and nods. “I’m sure you will,” he responds, unconvinced.
“Just think about what I said, Martin,” Mr. West grabs his son by the shoulder. “Sometimes things happen in life that we don’t like, but their purpose is to help us grow. This may be just what Max needs.”
Martin shrugs off his father’s hands and walks away while he is still speaking. He makes his way to his room and slams the door shut. Mr. West sighs and grabs his cell phone.
•••
Max watches glumly as Mr. Kent gets off the phone with Mr. West. “Got good news and bad news,” Mr. Kent’s expression is somber.
Max nods and waits for the verdict.
“The bad news is that your transfer is still in effect,” Mr. Kent sighs. Max nods his head knowingly. Mr. Kent continues. “The good news is that they’re giving you until the end of the week to make the transfer. Mr. West spoke with members of the school board and convinced them that making you transition so soon is unreasonable.”
“Making me leave at all is unreasonable,” Max mumbles.
Mr. Kent sighs and sits on the couch next to Max. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay, Max. I’m here for you, alright? I have no problem taking you to school, to the hospital, or even to Martin’s house. In fact, I want you to have these, in case I can’t take you somewhere.” Mr. Kent pulls a set of keys out of his pocket.”
Max stares at the keys and then back at Mr. Kent.
“Keys to my car, Mr. Shaw,” Mr. Kent smiles. “Of course, I wanted to give you my police cruiser, but my boss told me that wouldn’t look good. So, I’m giving you my street car.”
Max stares at Mr. Kent. “You’re serious?”
Mr. Kent nods. “It’s yours whenever you need it, okay? You don’t have to ask my permission. Just let me know where you’re going and when you’ll be back, and make sure you don’t break curfew.”
Max swallows the lump in his throat. “I don’t know what to say.”
“A simple ‘thank you, you’re the best O.K., and when I grow up I wanna be just like you, and I’ll love you for the rest of my life’ will do,” Mr. Kent smiles.
“Well, all of that, then,” Max smirks. “Thank you. My day up to this point has pretty much sucked.”
“Consider this a promise of things to come, Maxie,” Mr. Kent smiles.
Max pauses and looks at Mr. Kent.
“What is it?” Mr. Kent frowns.
“You called me Maxie.” Max answers. “My mom used to call me that. I hated it.”
“Oh,” Mr. Kent gives him an apologetic look. “I won’t call you that if you don’t want me to, Max. Honestly it just come out that way.”
“No, it’s fine,” Max assures him. “It’s just… no one’s called me that since she passed.”
Mr. Kent studies Max. “Max, I haven’t discussed this with your father, yet, but do you think you two would consider going to grief counseling? Say, once a month?”
“Grief counseling?” Max questions.
“Yes,” Mr. Kent looks intensely at Max. “Up to this point you’ve been dealing with your mother’s death alone. Your father has been too involved in his own problems to help you, and though Martin and I can help, you need to be able to interact with people who’ve been there. I’ve noticed a depression in you that I haven’t seen since those first few weeks, and I really think you should get some counseling. Both you and your father together, if it’s possible.”
Max nods. “Will you ask my dad when he gets out?”
Mr. Kent nods. “I’ll suggest it to him and see what he says.”
Love Me Page 6