As Alex walked to the high school at a quick pace, his phone buzzed with a million text messages from Angie. He scrolled through them, but when he replied he didn't mention the story she had sent him. All Alex sent was, 'Can you call?' Angie had a free period during the day. He assumed, based on the insane amount of text messages, she was free. Luckily, she was, and he didn't have to have the 'no texting in class' talk today as well.
"Dad!" Angie exclaimed. "It wasn't Philip's fault; really, it wasn't. The guy totally deserved the punch to the face. You would have been so mad-"
"Slow down," Alex replied. "Tell me what happened. Calmly, please."
"Okay- sorry. Philip and I have the same lunch period and we were out sitting in the courtyard at separate tables. We have different friends, after all. Anyway, there was this older guy- a senior, I think- who kept hitting on me. I continued to wave him off, but he just kept bothering me. Eventually, Philip noticed and got involved. At first it was just words, but then he said something about Mom and Philip was the first one to take a swing. It escalated from there."
"All of this because a boy was hitting on you?" Alex asked. He didn't like it, but it seemed sort of ridiculous. His daughter was a strong girl; she could handle herself.
"Dad, you know he's more sensetive today," she reminded him. "It wouldn't have gone down like that on any other day."
"You're right," Alex sighed.
"I usually am," Angie remarked.
"Ha, okay," Alex laughed. "I'll see you when you get home. Stay out of trouble, alright?"
"Bye Dad." With that, she was gone and Alex was entering the school. Having been briefed on the subject, Alex was ready to roll up his sleeves and fight with the administrator that thought he was going to suspend his son.
When he arrived at the principal's office, Philip was sitting quietly on his phone next to the secretary who looked fairly unamused. Philip rose when he saw his father. Clearly, he was uncomfortable and showed it by shoving his hands into his pockets.
"The kid deserved it, pop," Philip mumbled.
Alex put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it a bit. "Before we go in there, why don't you tell me the story? Angie gave me the basics over the phone, but-"
"Angelica called you?" Philip had a stern look on his face. He almost never used her full name like that.
"Yes, is that a problem?" Alex asked inquisitively.
"She shouldn't have called," he muttered.
"Just tell me the story, Philip," Alex demanded.
"Phil, you finished the law homework?" One of Philip's friends called from across the table.
"Yeah, I finished it, but no way in hell you're copying it," Philip laughed.
"Aw, come on man," he whined.
"No way," Philip laughed again.
Another one of his friends sitting next to him then nudged Philip and said, "Yo, Phil, who's that guy getting all up on your sister?"
Philip turned around to see his sister sitting with her friends, being harrassed by a guy that looked way to old to even be slightly interested in her. "That's George Eacker," Philip remarked, standing up and getting defensive.
"Isn't he a senior like us?" His friend asked.
"Yeah. Who the fuck does he think he is?" Philip strode over to George, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms.
When he got closer, George's voice became audible. He heard George say, "Your momma teach you those manners?" If Philip was angry before, he was infuriated now.
"George, she clearly doesn't want to talk to you, so get the hell away from her," Philip said, grabbing George's shoulder and pulling him away from Angie.
George looked Philip up and down then glanced back at Angie. "You let other people fight your battles for you? Who is this guy; he you're boyfriend?"
Angie opened her mouth to speak, but Philip cut in. "Her brother, actually."
"Aw, big bro I think you're being a bit over protective, don't you?" George smirked. Angie was standing up with her arms folded now. It was clear she wanted to say something, but at the same time didn't want to get involved.
Philip ignored the comment and instead said, "You're harrassing a sophomore. Leave her alone." He gritted his teeth and tried not to be the first one to throw a punch.
"Oh please. You're Hamiltons', aren't you?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Didn't your dad go fucking around with some girl while he was still married? You're probably the same as him."
"Don't you dare talk about my father like that!"
"No wonder your sister doesn't have any manners. You come from a house of sluts. Your mom's probably a prositute too." George snickered, but his laugh was quickly drowned out by the punch Philip threw at his face.
Alex was quiet for a moment. "It seems Angie left out a few things," he muttered while running a hand through his hair. Philip looked up to him in a guilty way, but Alex knew he had no reason to feel guilty. He would have taken more than just a swing if he were in Philip's situation. "Let's go in."
Four years ago, three years before Eliza died, Alex was in a rough place. It was an election year and George was up for a spot in congress. The stress began to pile on and his morality began to slip. He did something he wasn't proud of and to make it worse, it was with an intern. Somehow, the press got involved. The headlines on the articles said things like, 'George Washington's Right Hand Man Committing Adultery!' Eliza asked questions and Alex didn't have answers. He put out a press release revealing what he had done, emphasizing that it had been a mistake. Philip was thirteen; Angie was eleven. They still lived with his affair in the back of their minds every day.
Trying to shake the memories from his thoughts, Alex walked into the principal's office and, suddenly, the world stopped.
The man sitting behind the desk, who Alex assumed was the principal, was mesmerizing. He had curly, brown hair that was pulled up into a ponytail and freckles that dotted his nose and cheeks. He had a very official look on his face, but his dimples hinted at a smile. Alex had to remind himself to breath.
Unfortunately, seeing Mr. Eacker and George sitting in the two chairs across from the man brought him back to reality. Mr. Eacker stood to shake his hand.
"Mr. Hamilton," he said with dismay.
Alex returned the favor. "Mr. Eacker."
The principal looked disgruntled. "Gentlemen, thank you for coming in," he said, clearing his throat. "Clearly, the boys both have different sides of the story, but no matter what, physical violence cannot be tolerated on my campus."
Alex looked to the man's name plate and said, "Mr. Laurens, sir, with all due respect-"
"Call me John," the principal said. Alex smiled for a moment, but then remembered the task at hand.
"John, my son was only trying to defend my daughter and my name. It seems that George here was harrassing her, and Philip stepped in."
John sighed. "Is this true, George?"
"My son was doing nothing of the sort. Right, George?" Mr. Eacker said pointedly to his son.
"Yes, father." George shrunk into his chair. It seemed that he could not act all high and mighty when he was sitting next to his dad.
John mulled over his thoughts for a moment. "Mr. Hamilton, will you and your son please step out for a moment? I think I'd like to do this seperately, if you don't mind."
"Yes, yes, of course," Alex responded, nodding his head in agreement. "Call me, Alex," he added before walking out the door with Philip.
Alex and Philip sat outside the office in uncomfortable chairs, hoping for the best. Alex began to go through his phone, seeing that there were a few missed text messages from his sister in law.
Angelica: Angie just texted me to tell me what's going on. Do you need anything? This George kid sounds like a douche.
Alex laughed. It was hard to imagine Angelica saying 'douche' in any context.
Alex: Agreed, total douche. We're sitting outside the principal's office waiting for the verdict.
Angelica: Hopefully they won't be too harsh. Kid's got enough on his plate.
Alex: There has never been a more true statement.
Angelica: Good luck!
Next to her last text, she sent a bunch of smiley face emojis, obviously trying to lighten the mood. It wasn't long before they were called back in again. Mr. Eacker basically dragged his son out by the neck.
In uncomfortable silence, they took their seats back in front of John Laurens's desk. He was the first one to speak. "Listen, Philip, I obviously can't let you go off scot free. You hit another boy in the school yard." Alex and Philip both grimaced. They knew what was coming. "But, it's clear that your actions were not unprovoked. A few students have come in to give their sides of the story, and what he said to you was unfortunate. You'll be receiving a one-day suspension from school, and I expect that all of your schoolwork that you miss will be made up. Are we clear?"
Philip was wide eyed in shock. He wasn't expecting such a pleasant punishment. "Y-yes sir. Thank you, Mr. Laurens."
"Just, don't do it again, okay Hamilton?" His face softened. It was clear he liked the boy.
"Thank you, John," Alex said, shaking the man's hand.
"My pleasure."
"He didn't ground you, did he?" Angie asked Philip. He was sitting on the chair in the corner of her room, doing his homework and talking with her. This wasn't unusual for them. They had become really close over the past two years, especially after Eliza died.
"No, thank god," Philip sighed. "Honestly, he probably would have done the same thing, so he can't exactly ground me."
Angie laughed. "Too true."
"Angie, why didn't you tell Dad about what George said about his affair?"
She looked down at her homework and shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't want to upset him," she muttered.
"It happened a long time ago, Ang. It wouldn't have upset him," Philip explained.
"Yeah, well it upsets me," Angie snapped. She looked up at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry. I just, don't like to talk about it."
Before Philip got the chance to respond, Alex was knocking on the door. "Philip? Ang?" He asked from the other side. "Can I come in?"
Angie wiped the tears that were forming in her eyes and Philip said, "Yeah."
He stepped in, his hands in his pockets and a fake smile on his face. "Are you guys alright?"
"Yeah, we're good," Philip replied. The look on Angie's face said otherwise, but he let it slide. "What's up?"
"Listen, you guys, I know today has been rough. Do you wanna watch a movie with Will and I? Maybe we can get our minds off of everything," Alex tried.
Philip glanced at Angie and then said, "Yeah, but can you give us a second?"
Alex gave Philip a concerned look, but Philip just pursed his lips together and slightly shook his head. "No problem. I'll go pop some popcorn."
"What'd you do that for?" Angie asked quietly after their dad had left the room.
"Ang, we gotta talk about this."
"No, we don't. You're right, it's over, so I should get over it," Angie sniffed.
"You and I both know it's not about the affair; it's about Mom," Philip empathasized. Angie rolled her eyes slightly. "Don't do that. You're mad that he hurt Mom; I get it. But she forgave him before she died. Why can't you?"
Angie's lips quivered. "I- I don't know."
Philip paused. This hadn't come up in a really long time, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to go away. People at school knew. They were going to ask questions. "Let's go watch the movie, okay?"
"Okay," Angie whispered.
During the movie, both Angie and Will fell asleep. Will was in Alex's lap, while Angie was leaning on Philip's shoulder. It had been a long day. When Alex was sure the two were asleep, he whispered, "What was going on in Angie's room? She was clearly upset."
Philip turned his head, but made sure not move too much so that he wouldn't wake his sister. "She was upset about the Reynold's Article."
Alex cocked his head and bit his lip. "Really? Did George get to her?"
"I don't think it was George, I think it's the fact that the whole school probably knows by now. I don't know how George found out. We were so young when it happened, none of our friends paid any attention, but now they will," Philip explained. "She's embarrassed."
Alex ran his hand through his hair and kissed Will on the top of his head. He didn't know how to respond. He had been dealing with this for years. He explained it to his kids when they were younger. He didn't want to keep talking about it, but it seemed they were going to have to.
"Dad?" Philip whispered after a little while.
"Yeah Phil?"
"She doesn't forgive you for what you did." Alex nodded in response. There wasn't much more he could say tonight. He turned off the television and picked up Will.
"Can you get her to bed?" Alex asked, beginning to take Will to his room.
"Yeah, I got her." He nudged Angie, but she didn't wake up. It was clear she was completely out. It had been awhile since he had done so, but he picked her up and carried her to her room. She was lucky to be getting uninterrupted sleep, so he let her be. "Night, Ang," he whispered.