the Secret Life of Damien Carmichael

16. The Eleventh Hour (part II)

It was nearing midnight on Halloween eve and Damien's father was still no closer to getting Oliver out than he had been that Wednesday.

"I'm sorry son," his father said. "My lawyer is working as hard as he can on this project, but parents and students each sign a contract when they attend Westlake which states that punishment is at the sole discretion of faculty. And they won't budge."

"Surely solitary confinement counts as some sort of civil liberties' violation!" Damien argued.

"It's a private school Damien, one which has millions of dollars at its disposal to throw at any law that might come their way in order to protect students."

"What if we argued that he's staying with us? And therefore doesn't require the suspension corridor because he has somewhere to go?"

"We tried that already," his father countered. "As neither I nor your mother are his legal guardian however, we are not permitted to just declare ourselves such."

"So he can't spend the holidays with us?"

"I don't think the school honestly cares what he does, they're just trying to be argumentative to make a point. In the meantime I'm afraid I've exhausted the majority of my options here Damien, I'm sorry."

Damien sighed, "Thanks for trying father," he said solemnly, hanging up the phone. "Well that's it then," he said with a frown.

Carrie eyed him, "Surely you're not giving up now," she said.

Damien shook his head, "Carrie, as much as I admire your optimism I don't know what you expect from me. Money is one of the few languages that everyone seems to speak."

Carrie snorted, "So is sex," she replied with a smirk.

"You want me to seduce Principal Updike?" It was an avenue he hadn't considered, and he wasn't exactly thrilled to consider. Though he supposed for Oliver, he would try just about anything.

Carrie rolled her eyes, pulling out a set of keys from her bra. "No need, I already lifted these from Susie," she said.

Damien's eyes widened, "Holy shit! But what do we do if they notice he's gone?"

Carrie gave him a look, "No one will notice. Trust me."

"And if they do?" Damien asked.

"We bribe them," Carrie suggested with a shrug, though she didn't seem all that worried about it.

"Why didn't we think of that before?" Damien asked, already pulling on his trainers and making his way towards the door. "You mean I've spent this whole year worried about getting caught doing shit when I could have just bribed people?"

"What kind of rich kid are you anyway?" Carrie asked.

"The kind who tried not to be gross with their money," Damien replied, getting to his feet.

"How's that working out for you?" she asked making her way towards the central living area.

Damien sighed, following after her. "Let's just get this over with," he said running out the door, toward the stairs.

"I mean, just because you can bribe people doesn't mean you should be an idiot," she said, shaking her head as she kept to the shadows.

Damien glared, "My boyfriend's been sitting in a cell for two weeks! I'm furious!" he said. "I just want him back!"

Carrie nodded, taking the stairs two at a time in order to get to the bottom as quick as she could.

"Do you know where you're going?" Damien asked jogging down the stairs behind her.