Four: Fallout
Class was more unpleasant than ever, with audible comments from one or other of the gang all the way through. Astrid was hating being called a liar and her cheeks were flaming with anger at the insults from the people who set Dagur onto her. But the final straw was Civics and Society where the teacher, Miss Bannon, was determined to split them into boy-girl pairs for the main project of the semester. She projected a list of pairs and Astrid's eyes widened as she saw her name-next to Hiccup's.
It was clear he saw it as well because he put his hand up instantly. Miss Bannon walked over to him. She was a petite brown-haired woman with soft grey eyes and a gentle manner.
"I can't work with her!" he protested hotly. Miss Bannon looked at him intently.
"Why not?" she asked calmly and Astrid looked up, wondering what he was going to say. He cast a glance at Cameron, who was smirking.
"Well, she's a liar who's got a friend of mine in a heap of trouble, she's a total loser and my girlfriend is without a partner so I can't help out someone she hates while Cameron is all on her own!" he protested clearly. Miss Bannon stared at him.
"Unfortunately, Mr DeRange has not arrived in class so his assigned partner will have to work alone," Miss Bannon said firmly.
"But why do I have to work with someone I hate when someone I love is forced to work alone?" Hiccup protested as Cameron simpered. Miss Bannon folded her arms.
"Which one of us is in charge of class assignments?" she asked pointedly.
"Which one of us calls the Mayor 'Dad'?' he replied levelly. She stared at him with an unreadable expression on her face as he stared smugly back. "All I want is to work with someone I know I can work well with instead of someone who's horrible and a liar and I hate and who will sabotage my work!" Miss Bannon stared at him for a moment more and then turned away.
"Very well," she said quietly. "You may be partnered with Cameron Bogthorpe. Miss Hofferson will be assigned her partner...when he rejoins class." Astrid raised her hand. "No! My decision is final! Get to work with your project packs!"
But Astrid's hand remained raised and finally, after ignoring her for almost the whole class, Miss Bannon deigned to walk over to her.
"I hope you're not going to complain about your class partner, Miss Hofferson because..." she began but Astrid had had enough.
"Of course I am," she said through gritted teeth.
"I thought I had made it clear it was my decision..." the teacher snapped but Astrid glared at her.
"Clearly not, since you caved when Hiccup protested he wanted to be with his little girlfriend," she told the teacher. "But the fact is that you CANNOT pair me with Dagur DeRange." Miss Bannon stared at her.
"I'm afraid my decision is..."
"Dagur DeRange is currently in the police station, charged with assaulting me last night," Astrid hissed. "He grabbed me as I came out of work and tried to brain me with a tyre iron. Do you think, even if he was bailed, he would be allowed within a mile of me? Let alone be my partner on this project?" Miss Bannon stared at her-and then at the silent classroom. All eyes were on her-and especially Cameron and Hiccup, who were sitting so close they were almost touching, both with triumphant smirks on their faces.
"And they knew that?" she asked. Astrid gestured to Hiccup and Cameron.
"They did," she said firmly. "I'm not sure what you can do about it, but I cannot be Dagur's partner. And I will be making sure Principal Wing knows about this when I see her after this class." The bell rang and Astrid rose. "All I care about is my ability to pass this class and get a good grade. How you run it is up to you." And then she limped out, to peals of laughter and Miss Bannon's voice protesting that the class were all in trouble.
But as she reached Principal Wing's office, she paused. She hated that she felt so persecuted for just being herself. All she did was play soccer to the best of her ability, worked hard and held down a job to help support her Mom and herself...and for some reason, a bunch of privileged and selfish kids had her firmly in their radar. But she bit her lip and knocked. She was invited in at once.
Mala Wing was a tall, serious woman with cool green eyes and pageboy cut strawberry blonde hair who watched as Astrid limped in and took the seat that was indicated.
"Are you alright, Astrid?" Mala asked and Astrid nodded. Then...
"No," she said in a small voice. "Sorry but no." The Principal stared at her and then nodded.
"Tell me," she said,
oOo
Hiccup was fed up when he had gotten home. There were far more mutters going around the school-and he caught sneers about Cameron more than once. The others-especially Snotlout-were picking at him because he couldn't guarantee that he could get Dagur out. In fact, he was certain that he couldn't-because he knew his father respected the rule of law and order and would not interfere in the judicial process. And part of him wanted to believe that the law applied to everyone, not just poorer people. But it was getting very wearing.
His father was at work but he had asked Valka to tell Hiccup that he would need to speak with him when he returned and the boy had slammed up to his room with a bad grace, trying to do his homework and realising he hadn't been paying any attention in Civics and Society and would have to work hard to make up the assignment. But he pushed aside his annoyance and his qualms about what Cameron had done and sat down to his Math, almost finishing by the time his father returned and Valka called him down for dinner.
Once they had eaten, Stoick called him to his study and Hiccup closed the door behind him, still smarting about their last conversation here. He didn't like his choice of friends questioned and the reasons he had been given for not getting Class President had been hurtful. Yet a small portion of him that was the decent young man raised by his parents before High School was reminding him that his father hadn't actually said anything that wasn't true. He sat sprawled in the chair opposite his father, arms crossed and expression sulky.
"Son, I have a question and I need to ask you to answer truthfully," Stoick said gravely. Hiccup's green eyes widened and he nodded.
"Ask away," he invited. Stoick fiddled with his pen for a few moments.
"One of your friends, Dagur De Range, was arrested and is charged with assaulting Astrid Hofferson with a deadly weapon," he said grimly. "It worries me because we were talking about Astrid a few days ago. And the purpose seemed to be to cripple Astrid so she would have to surrender the Captaincy of the Football Team. But she could have lost her chance to ever play football again as a result. Did you know?"
Hiccup froze. He had heard Cameron suggest the idea but he had no idea she was going ahead with it. They had all heard the argument as Heather asked Astrid to let her brother off. And Cameron had been delighted that her team-mate had been injured instead of appalled.
"No," he mumbled. "She was just talking but we agreed that she wouldn't do it..."
Though she never agreed. In fact she saw nothing wrong in doing it...
"Hiccup?" Stoick asked. "This is serious. Dagur is likely to get a custodial sentence for this. It was a very serious assault-and the witnesses heard him threaten Astrid wanting to break her leg." Hiccup cringed.
"Can't you put in a good word for him?" he asked. "I mean, he is a buddy and I'm sure he didn't really mean any real harm..." Stoick scowled at his son, his eyes disappointed.
"Hiccup, you can lie to yourself but not to me," he said grimly. "He plainly meant terrible harm to a young woman whose only crime, it seems, is to be a better soccer player than your girlfriend. And rather than your Cameron seeing this as a reason to work hard and improve her skills, she decided to maim the competition. I really don't approve of your relationship with someone that callous, Hiccup. If she can do that to a girl who is a top student, hardworking with an unblemished disciplinary record, I have no doubt that she will be as ruthless in any other situation." Hiccup's face twisted into a scowl.
"I'll choose who I go out with!" he snapped back. "I love Cameron with my everything and I can't believe that she had anything to do with this. If she said anything, it was as a joke, a hypothetical situation. If Dagur decided to attack her, it was off his own back!"
"And when did you intend to tell me about your sexual relationship with her?" Stoick asked shortly. Hiccup's fists clenched.
"Never," he snapped back. "It's not your business..."
"And you think I don't speak to my brother or know when Simon is coming up to the cabin...a day after you told me he and the others were coming?" Stoick asked him directly, watching his son wince. "You lied to me, son. And that was very disappointing. I always raised you to be honest. So I know you were up there with Cameron-alone. And not for the first time. How long?"
"I..."
"How long have you been in an intimate relationship with her?" the Mayor demanded. Hiccup glared back.
"Eight months," he revealed. "I'm taking precautions, Dad. I took Health class..." Stoick rolled his eyes.
"Just don't tell your mother," Stoick sighed. Though she already knows-but she is as hurt as I that you can't be honest with us. "She worries about you. Hiccup-I will always love and support you...but there are some things I can't protect you from."
"Like the law?" the boy said quietly as his father nodded.
"Son, money won't sort everything out and relying on money and connections doesn't encourage you to work and better yourself," Stoick sighed. "I got where I am by working hard and realising that my duty to others as Mayor must be put ahead of any dreams of self-aggrandisement. I am working on a property deal that will make us very comfortable when it's completed. But at the moment, we've bought a significant amount of land that is worthless without the last extensive parcel...which I'm going to close the deal on tomorrow. And when that's done...we'll have secured our future and protected Berk." Hiccup frowned.
"Why do you say that?" he asked and the Mayor sighed.
"The new Property Developers who have been causing problems recently want the same parcel of land for their development-to build a huge out of town shopping outlet that will double traffic from the south, especially the cities of Reaper and Berserk. And trucks coming through the town will triple. It will ruin the peace of the town."
"And the jobs?" Hiccup asked but Stoick sighed.
"This outlet Mall will probably close half the shops in town," he sighed. "Lots of people will lose their jobs. And the centre of town will be decimated..."
"And your idea?" the boy asked his father quietly. Stoick smiled.
"It will turn Raven Point into a nature reserve with exclusive properties being built on the periphery as well as a decent community down in Gothi's Hollow, where there is a terrible shortage of social housing." Hiccup frowned.
"So how is that supposed to make money?" he asked and Stoick smiled.
"Rents from the social housing, sales from the exclusive properties and joy from the reserve." Stoick said. "Some things don't have a monetary value but are a gift to the future," he said gently. "A Chief-or Mayor serves. Our family have lived in Berk for over a thousand years and they have always led and served our people.I want to carry that on. We may not end up as rich as the Thorstons or even the Jorgensens-but we will be well off enough...and we will have left something for others out there. We won't have just taken everything for ourselves and left nothing for the rest." He gave a small smile. "I want people to walk through Raven Point and think that Stoick made sure everyone in Berk has that opportunity until the end of the world. That would be a legacy to be proud of." And despite himself, Hiccup found himself agreeing with his father: that was something pretty special.
"Off you go, son," Stoick sighed. "Val and I are going round to Stefan and Margot Jorgensen for drinks this evening. You'll be alright?"
"Dad! I'm nearly eighteen!" Hiccup protested.
"Meaning you're still seventeen!" Stoick grinned. "No wild parties. Get your homework done and then bed, son. School tomorrow!" And he rose. Hiccup scrambled up and gave his father a small hug.
"Okay, Dad-you and Mom have a good time." He paused and gave a small smile. "I promise the house will still be standing when you get back!" The Mayor chuckled.
"I'll hold you to that, son!" he laughed and swatted his shoulder. Valka arrived at the door, her coat on and Hiccup gave her a kiss as he passed, accepting her hug before heading up to his room. He waved from the landing-but they were barely out of sight when he called Cameron.
"Hey, Milady," he grinned. "Parents are out. You fancy coming round?"