Between The Line || EstWilliam AU

Six

The school hallways were quieter than usual as Est strolled down them with his friends during lunch break. They were joking about their upcoming exams, sharing some banter about which subjects were the hardest. Est kept things light, but his mind was always somewhere else—thinking about William, worrying about what kind of trouble he might have gotten into lately. It had been a rough few weeks for his brother, and Est was beginning to hear whispers around school about William's behavior worsening.

Just as he turned the corner near the principal's office, something stopped him dead in his tracks.

William's mother was standing there.

She was in conversation with the secretary, her face tense, worry etched into every line. Est frowned, excusing himself from his friends with a quick, "I'll catch up with you later," and started walking toward her. His stomach twisted slightly. She wasn't supposed to be here—at least, not during school hours. It had to be something serious.

"Mom?" he called out, his voice calm but laced with concern. Even with William's mother, he called her as 'mom', same goes with William to Est's mother, its their tradition to tighten the bonds between two families. She turned to look at him, startled by his sudden presence.

"Est," she sighed, the worry in her eyes deepening as he approached. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"What's going on?" Est asked, even though he could already guess. His heart sank a little when he saw how her gaze flickered with hesitation. "It's about William, isn't it?"

His mother nodded, biting her lip as if she was trying to hold back the frustration and sadness building up inside her. "The principal called me in this morning. Apparently... William and his friends got into some trouble again." She glanced around nervously, as though worried someone might overhear. "It's serious this time."

Est's stomach dropped further. He had heard rumors of William messing around with his friends, but he hadn't thought it would come to this. "What did he do?" he asked quietly, his voice tense.

"They didn't say much over the phone," his mother explained, her voice trembling slightly. "But they want to have a meeting... and I don't think it's going to be good news."

Est looked at his mother, seeing the strain on her face—the weight of her disappointment, her fear. She had always doted on William, spoiling him in ways that probably hadn't helped, but now it was clear she didn't know what to do anymore. And neither did Est, really. But he couldn't show that. Not now.

"Come on," Est said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll go with you. Let's see what the principal has to say."

She nodded, grateful for his support, and together they walked toward the principal's office. Est's mind raced with possibilities of what William could have done this time. He had always been reckless, careless about rules, and prone to pulling his friends into trouble. But he never thought it would get so serious that the school would call his mother in.

When they arrived at the principal's office, they were greeted by the stern face of the school's headmaster, Mr. Pakorn, who had always been strict but fair. His expression was grim, and next to him sat the school's discipline officer, a woman known for her no-nonsense attitude when it came to student behavior.

"Thank you for coming Mrs Kaewpanpong," Mr. Pakorm said, gesturing for them to sit. "It's good you're here too Est." Said the headmaster. Est sat beside William's mother, his back straight, his heart beating steadily in his chest.

"We'll get straight to the point," the principal continued, adjusting her glasses as she folded her hands on the desk. "William and his friends were caught vandalizing school property yesterday. Graffiti on the walls, to be specific. Not on one wall, but 3. They were seen on cameras and admitted to it when confronted."

Est's jaw tightened. Vandalism. That was serious. He glanced at his mother, who looked utterly deflated.

"That's not all," Mr. Pakorn continued, exchanging a glance with the discipline officer. "This is not the first time William has been involved in incidents like this. As you know, we've been monitoring his behavior for a while now. He's repeatedly shown disregard for school rules and authority. His language, his attitude... it's been a cause for concern among the teachers."

The discipline officer nodded in agreement, her face stern. "We've tried speaking to him several times, giving him warnings, but nothing seems to get through. This is the final straw. We're issuing William a yellow letter."

Est felt his breath catch. A yellow letter was a formal, written warning from the school. It was serious. The next step would be a red letter, which meant expulsion.

"If William continues to behave this way," the principal said, "we will have no choice but to issue him a red letter. He's dangerously close to being expelled from this school."

At those words, William's mother paled. Her hands clenched in her lap, her knuckles white. She glanced at Est, her eyes filled with a mixture of desperation, sadness, and a silent plea for help. She never had a powerful hand to mold her son to be a well manered, because she knew she never had the time to spend with him, be with him and understand her son. Est swallowed hard, feeling the weight of her gaze. She didn't need to say anything. He knew exactly what she was thinking. William had gone too far, and they were running out of options.

"I understand," Est said quietly, his voice steady. "I'll talk to William. I'll make sure he understands how serious this is."

Mr. Pakorn nodded, his face softening slightly. "We hope you can reach him, Est. He looks up to you, and I believe you can help him see the consequences of his actions."

The meeting wrapped up soon after that, but Est's mind was still reeling from everything he had heard. As they walked out of the office, his mother's face was a mask of worry, her hands trembling slightly as she held onto her purse.

"He's... he's just so difficult," she whispered, more to herself than to Est. "I don't know what to do with him anymore." Her eyes started to glistening with tears.

Est stopped and turned to her, placing a reassuring hand on her arm. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll handle it. I'll talk to him and make sure this doesn't happen again."

She gave him a shaky nod, her eyes filled with gratitude. "I'm so proud of you, Est. You've always been the responsible one. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Est smiled softly, though the weight of responsibility pressed down on him harder than ever. "I'll take care of it," he repeated, more for himself than for her.

As they left the building, Est's thoughts were consumed by what he needed to say to William. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep bailing him out of trouble, but one thing was clear—William didn't understand the gravity of his actions. He had gotten used to Est cleaning up his messes, confident that his brother would always have his back. But this time... it was different. The stakes were too high.

Est knew he had to get through to him before it was too late.