𝑬𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝑴í𝒂 | ᴮᵒʸ ᴹᵉᵉᵗˢ ᵂᵒʳˡᵈ

56: A Cry In The Wild

"You know the best thing about studying at your house?" Shawn asked Cory.

"The good lighting in the bathroom?" He replied. "No Feeny." Shawn said. As soon as those words left his mouth, loud tapping came from the backdoor.

"Morning." Mr. Feeny greeted with a smile from the other side. "That is really not fair." Shawn muttered. He continued to knock, waiting for someone to let him in.

"Shawn, you're closer to the door. Let him in." I said. "No way, you're closer. I don't need to be hassled this early in the morning." He responded. "That door is doing exactly what it's supposed to."

"Cory, it's your house. You open it." I told him. "Fine, but only because that man is a pro." He replied, standing up and walking to the door. "He leaves that principal stuff at school."

Cory opened the door, and Mr. Feeny walked inside. "Ready for the test, you three?" I buried my face in my open textbook. "I agree with Shawn. Not fair." I muttered into the pages.

"We're studying, Mr. Feeny." Cory told him. "See, my history book is right under Adriana-Camila head." Shawn said, patting me on the back. "No," I said, lifting my head. "Yours is still in its wrapper." I pulled it from Shawn's backpack and passed it over. "Well, yeah. I get top dollar on the resale." He responded.

"You know, Mr. Hunter, I've noticed that students who do best in my class have usually read the book." Mr. Feeny said. "Yeah, what's that get 'em?" Shawn questioned. "Into college." "More books."

"George, are the boys in trouble?" Mrs. Matthews asked as she came down the stairs. "Probably." He answered. "But that's not why I'm here." He passed her a small gold box with a red bow. "You remembered it's my birthday this Sunday." She said, taking the box with a smile. "That is so sweet." Shawn and I stood up, standing by the kitchen island with Cory.

"Oh, morning, George. Are the boys in trouble?" Mr. Matthews asked as he came down the stairs. "George remembered it's my birthday." Mrs. Matthews said. "Oh, you got a birthday coming up?" He humored. "Ha! I'm kidding. It's Sunday. How could I forget? The Eagles are playing." "Not for you, Honey." Mrs. Matthews mumbled.

She opened the box and took out the gift. "A key?" "To my cottage in the mountains. I thought you two might enjoy a romantic getaway this weekend." "Oh, George, you are the best." She said, placing the present on the kitchen island before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you." Mr. Feeny smiled at her.

"But wait a minute, I thought you sold your place in the Poconos." "I intend to. I don't get up there very much, but I assure you, it's very romantic." "Well, that's very considerate, George, but see, I already had plans for her birthday." "Well, hang onto the key. Another weekend, perhaps." Mr. Feeny said.

Shawn and I shared a look before I reached across the island and placed my hand on top of the key. I slid it towards myself until it fell off the counter and into the palm of Shawn's open hand. I took the ring off of my pointer finger and loosely tossed it into the backyard through the open door.

"Oh, whoops. Lost my ring." I said. "Shawn, Cory, come help me find it." I took their hands and pulled them outside. Shawn pulled the backdoor shut as we exited.

"Cory, I've got the coolest and most rebel without a cause idea I've ever had in my whole life." I said. "For security reasons, we should use our code." Shawn responded. "Well, we don't have a code, so, yeah." Cory answered. "Really? Friends like us should have a code." Shawn said.

"You can bring that up in the next meeting," I told him before turning to Cory. "But right now, I very much need to tell you this." "When's your next meeting?" Shawn asked. "We don't have meetings." I answered, looking at him over my right shoulder. "This club blows." He muttered.