Note: Thanks to crazy4nc128, Banksiesbabe99, DanishGirl, and anne918 for
your reviews. I'm happy that I'm making you all hate Phil Banks as much as
I do and that you are enjoying the story(there are times where I don't
think its going well and then I get to a part that seems to write its self,
like this chapter). Hope you enjoy it.
Adam headed away from his house and toward the park. He was skating as fast as he could, trying to forget about his problems. Trying to forget about his dad, who he felt like he had let down. Trying to forget about his former teammates and so called friends. It just wasn't fair. He hadn't started any of the fights with the Hawks. He had just been defending himself. This wasn't fair. He hated everyone right now. He hated the league for putting him in district five. He hated Bombay for pointing out that he belonged on the Ducks. He hated the Hawks for dumping them like they had. He hated his Dad for pushing him too hard, for only caring about hockey not his son. He hated his brother for being away from school and dropping their father's dream all on him. He hated his mother for not standing up for him more. And he hated himself for letting this all happen. For not being strong enough to stand up to his father. To stand up for himself. For letting everyone else control his life.
Without realizing it he had ended up in Jesse's neighborhood. Even though he and Jesse had become pretty good friends Adam still didn't know exactly where he lived. If he had he would've probably went over to his place and see if he was home. He suddenly didn't want to be alone anymore. He wanted a friend to talk to. However, he wasn't about to go home and try calling any of them. He had no desire to go home right now.
So, instead he just skated the streets aimlessly. At least he didn't have to worry about meeting up with any of the Hawks. They would never show their face in this neighborhood.
"Adam," he heard a familiar voice call. Adam came to a stop and looked around. He saw Jesse standing across the street. Jesse started skating toward him. "What are you doing here?" Jesse asked when he was standing next to Adam.
"I'm not sure," Adam told him. "I just had to get away from my house. I wasn't really thinking about where I was going."
"Is everything okay?" Jesse asked now concerned. Jesse knew how hard Adam worked to make his dad proud of him. Yet no matter how hard Adam tried it seemed as though his dad was never happy. Sometimes Jesse wondered why Adam kept on trying.
"Not really. My dad wants to send me away to boarding school," Adam said his voice starting to waver.
"He can't do that," Jesse said in disbelief and anger not realizing at first how upset Adam was. When he did he lowered his voice and said "let's go to my house and talk," Jesse told him. Jesse didn't even think about what Adam might think about the apartment that he and his dad lived in. He realized how upset his friend was and wanted to help him through this.
The two boys skated silently to Jesse's apartment building. Like most of the buildings in this neighborhood it was run down. Junk was covering what passed as a yard outside of the building. The one railing to the front steps was broken.
As Adam and Jesse came toward the building they noticed that Charlie was sitting on the front steps of the building.
"Hey, Jesse, where have you been? I've been looking for you all afternoon" Charlie said not noticing that his two friends were upset at first. As they came up the sidewalk to the steps though Charlie noticed their downcast expressions. "What's wrong guys?" Charlie asked.
"We'll fill you in upstairs," Jesse said quietly nodding his head in the direction of some neighborhood kids gathered nearby as he and Adam sat down on the steps to take their skates off before going inside. It wasn't that Jesse didn't like them, he hung out with most of the kids who lived nearby from time to time but Adam's problem didn't need to be the talk of the neighborhood and if they said anything outside it would be.
Jesse led his two friends into the building and upstairs to his apartment. The inside of the building was just as run down as the outside. Paint was peeling of the walls and there were holes in the walls here and there, mostly from domestic squabbles. The inside of the Hall's apartment was completly different. The walls were freshly painted and the furniture, though old and worn, was in pretty good shape.
"Is that you Jesse," called Mr. Hall from the kitchen.
"Yeah, Dad," Jesse called back. "Charlie and Adam are with me to. We're going to go into my room and hang out."
"Okay, dinner will be done in about twenty minutes. Your friends are welcome to stay."
"Okay, Dad," Jesse called back as he ushered Charlie and Adam to his bedroom. He closed the door behind them.
Adam sat down on the desk chair and Charlie and Jesse sat on the bed facing him.
"So what's going on?" Charlie asked again completly confused.
"I'm not completly sure myself," Jesse said as Adam had never told him why his dad wanted to send him to boarding school. "Adam, what exactly is going on? Why does your dad want to send you away?"
"When I got home this afternoon my dad was already there. The school had called him away from work to see him. They told my parents that because of all the fighting and stuff going on between me and the Hawks that I won't be allowed to go to the same school next year."
"They kicked you out school. But it was McGill and the others that started all the fights. It's not fair," Charlie exclaimed.
"It might not be fair but its how things works," Adam told him.
"How can you just accept that. If anyone should be kicked out of the school it should be McGill and the others."
"But there are more of them. For the school the easiest and cheapiest way to solve the problem is to get rid of me and make the others happy."
"And you're okay with that. Your parents are okay with that," Jesse said incredulously.
"It's the way things are," Adam said with a shrug.
"I love the way you rich people just rationalize everything in money. Do you people even care about anything else," Jesse said and immediately regretted saying it. He knew Adam wasn't like that. Adam cared about people. He went out of his way to try and make the people around him happy.
"I guess I don't have any friends," Adam said quietly standing up and heading for the bedroom door. Charlie got up quickly and stopped him from leaving.
"Adam don't leave like this," Charlie said. "We are your friends even though we may not see things the way you do or understand the way you grew up we're still your friends."
"Adam I'm sorry. That didn't come out the way I meant it," Jesse said from where he was sitting. "I wasn't thinking when I grouped you into the sterotype I have for rich people. I know your different but its not easy for me to change what I grew up believing overnight. I still want to be your friend."
With a sigh Adam turned around and sat back down in the chair. Charlie stayed by the door. He still wasn't convinced that Adam wouldn't try making a run for it again.
"So I take it your dad wasn't happy about the school not letting you come back next year," Charlie said. "But what does that have to do with you being sent away?" he asked recalling Jesse's earlie words.
"Not happy about it is putting it mildly," Adam said. "My dad was furious. I've never seen him as angry as he was today not even when my brother told him he wasn't going to play hockey at Eden Hall. In my dad eyes me not being allowed to return to Edina Private School is a disgrace to the family. You guys don't understand the social pressures in my neighborhood. Something like this isn't just a reflection on me it's a reflection on my whole family and how where seen by our neighbors."
"You're right, I don't understand because you never did anything wrong. All you were doing is defending yourself," Charlie said.
"There are other private schools around here," Jesse said, "or public school. There has to be more to your father wanting to send you away to school?"
Adam looked down at the floor. He hadn't wanted to bring up to any of the Ducks what his dad thought about them. He didn't know if they would still be friends with him if they knew.
"Adam, what aren't you telling us?" Jesse asked.
Adam tried to figure out how he could say it and still keep them as friends. In the end he didn't have to. Charlie guessed it himself.
"Your dad wants you away from us doesn't he? He thinks we've been a bad influence on you." Charlie said. Adam nodded.
"I didn't want to tell you guys. I thought you'd be mad at me."
"I'm mad at your dad not you," Jesse said. "He doesn't even know us. How can he call us a bad influence."
"Come on Jesse, don't make this any worse. We all knew that Mr. Banks never liked us. That's why he didn't want Adam on the team."
"I guess you're right. It still makes me mad though. I can't believe he might send Adam away just to get him away from us," Jesse said. "There has to be something we can do."
The three of them were silent for a little while. And then Jesse said "hey, maybe if we told Coach Bombay.."
"No," Adam said quickly. "That will only make things worse. Face it guys, if my dad decides he wants to send me to boarding school then that's it. I have to go."
"It's not fair," Jesse said as they heard a knock on the door. "Yeah," Jesse called.
"Dinner is done," Mr. Hall said sticking his head into the room. "Adam, Charlie you're both welcome to stay for dinner."
"Thanks for the offer but my mom has the night off so I better be getting home," Charlie said standing up. "I'll see you in school tomorrow Jesse and Adam if you need someone to talk to just give me a call."
"Okay," Adam said as Charlie made his way past Mr. Hall and headed home.
"You staying Adam?" Mr. Hall asked again.
"Let me call my mom and see if it is okay," Adam said. He didn't really want to go home and have a silent dinner with his parents. He called his mother and she gave him permission to stay for dinner but to come home before too late. Adam let out a sigh of relief as he hung up the phone.
"I can stay," he told Jesse and his father.
"Great," Jesse said. The three sat down at the kitchen table for dinner.
"Is something bothering you Charlie?" Casey asked her son as the washed the dinner dishes together. Charlie's stepfather Al, had retreated to the living room with the newspaper.
"Adam may have to go to boarding school next year," Charlie told his mother.
"What! Why?" Casey asked.
"Because of all the trouble Adam's been getting into with the Hawks this year. The school won't let him go back next year to solve the problem and Mr. Banks seems to think he needs to Adam away from us. He evidently sees us as a bad influence on his son."
"Don't you start believing that Charlie," Casey told her son. "Becoming part of the Ducks is the best thing that could have happened to Adam. It's a shame his father doesn't see that."
"I don't want him to go away. Adam and I were starting to become pretty good friends even though we don't see a lot of each other because he goes to another school. If his father sends him away I'll see him even less."
"But you can still be his friend," Casey said.
"Yeah, but it won't be the same."
"I know," Casey said giving her son a hug. "How about I talk to Adam's mother," Casey said. She had talked to Angela Banks a few times since the end of the hockey season and Casey thought that she and Angela go along pretty well. "Maybe I can convince her that boarding school isn't a good idea and she can convince Adam's father."
"Thanks mom," Charlie said. He knew it was a long shot but it looked like it was the only chance they had.
Adam headed away from his house and toward the park. He was skating as fast as he could, trying to forget about his problems. Trying to forget about his dad, who he felt like he had let down. Trying to forget about his former teammates and so called friends. It just wasn't fair. He hadn't started any of the fights with the Hawks. He had just been defending himself. This wasn't fair. He hated everyone right now. He hated the league for putting him in district five. He hated Bombay for pointing out that he belonged on the Ducks. He hated the Hawks for dumping them like they had. He hated his Dad for pushing him too hard, for only caring about hockey not his son. He hated his brother for being away from school and dropping their father's dream all on him. He hated his mother for not standing up for him more. And he hated himself for letting this all happen. For not being strong enough to stand up to his father. To stand up for himself. For letting everyone else control his life.
Without realizing it he had ended up in Jesse's neighborhood. Even though he and Jesse had become pretty good friends Adam still didn't know exactly where he lived. If he had he would've probably went over to his place and see if he was home. He suddenly didn't want to be alone anymore. He wanted a friend to talk to. However, he wasn't about to go home and try calling any of them. He had no desire to go home right now.
So, instead he just skated the streets aimlessly. At least he didn't have to worry about meeting up with any of the Hawks. They would never show their face in this neighborhood.
"Adam," he heard a familiar voice call. Adam came to a stop and looked around. He saw Jesse standing across the street. Jesse started skating toward him. "What are you doing here?" Jesse asked when he was standing next to Adam.
"I'm not sure," Adam told him. "I just had to get away from my house. I wasn't really thinking about where I was going."
"Is everything okay?" Jesse asked now concerned. Jesse knew how hard Adam worked to make his dad proud of him. Yet no matter how hard Adam tried it seemed as though his dad was never happy. Sometimes Jesse wondered why Adam kept on trying.
"Not really. My dad wants to send me away to boarding school," Adam said his voice starting to waver.
"He can't do that," Jesse said in disbelief and anger not realizing at first how upset Adam was. When he did he lowered his voice and said "let's go to my house and talk," Jesse told him. Jesse didn't even think about what Adam might think about the apartment that he and his dad lived in. He realized how upset his friend was and wanted to help him through this.
The two boys skated silently to Jesse's apartment building. Like most of the buildings in this neighborhood it was run down. Junk was covering what passed as a yard outside of the building. The one railing to the front steps was broken.
As Adam and Jesse came toward the building they noticed that Charlie was sitting on the front steps of the building.
"Hey, Jesse, where have you been? I've been looking for you all afternoon" Charlie said not noticing that his two friends were upset at first. As they came up the sidewalk to the steps though Charlie noticed their downcast expressions. "What's wrong guys?" Charlie asked.
"We'll fill you in upstairs," Jesse said quietly nodding his head in the direction of some neighborhood kids gathered nearby as he and Adam sat down on the steps to take their skates off before going inside. It wasn't that Jesse didn't like them, he hung out with most of the kids who lived nearby from time to time but Adam's problem didn't need to be the talk of the neighborhood and if they said anything outside it would be.
Jesse led his two friends into the building and upstairs to his apartment. The inside of the building was just as run down as the outside. Paint was peeling of the walls and there were holes in the walls here and there, mostly from domestic squabbles. The inside of the Hall's apartment was completly different. The walls were freshly painted and the furniture, though old and worn, was in pretty good shape.
"Is that you Jesse," called Mr. Hall from the kitchen.
"Yeah, Dad," Jesse called back. "Charlie and Adam are with me to. We're going to go into my room and hang out."
"Okay, dinner will be done in about twenty minutes. Your friends are welcome to stay."
"Okay, Dad," Jesse called back as he ushered Charlie and Adam to his bedroom. He closed the door behind them.
Adam sat down on the desk chair and Charlie and Jesse sat on the bed facing him.
"So what's going on?" Charlie asked again completly confused.
"I'm not completly sure myself," Jesse said as Adam had never told him why his dad wanted to send him to boarding school. "Adam, what exactly is going on? Why does your dad want to send you away?"
"When I got home this afternoon my dad was already there. The school had called him away from work to see him. They told my parents that because of all the fighting and stuff going on between me and the Hawks that I won't be allowed to go to the same school next year."
"They kicked you out school. But it was McGill and the others that started all the fights. It's not fair," Charlie exclaimed.
"It might not be fair but its how things works," Adam told him.
"How can you just accept that. If anyone should be kicked out of the school it should be McGill and the others."
"But there are more of them. For the school the easiest and cheapiest way to solve the problem is to get rid of me and make the others happy."
"And you're okay with that. Your parents are okay with that," Jesse said incredulously.
"It's the way things are," Adam said with a shrug.
"I love the way you rich people just rationalize everything in money. Do you people even care about anything else," Jesse said and immediately regretted saying it. He knew Adam wasn't like that. Adam cared about people. He went out of his way to try and make the people around him happy.
"I guess I don't have any friends," Adam said quietly standing up and heading for the bedroom door. Charlie got up quickly and stopped him from leaving.
"Adam don't leave like this," Charlie said. "We are your friends even though we may not see things the way you do or understand the way you grew up we're still your friends."
"Adam I'm sorry. That didn't come out the way I meant it," Jesse said from where he was sitting. "I wasn't thinking when I grouped you into the sterotype I have for rich people. I know your different but its not easy for me to change what I grew up believing overnight. I still want to be your friend."
With a sigh Adam turned around and sat back down in the chair. Charlie stayed by the door. He still wasn't convinced that Adam wouldn't try making a run for it again.
"So I take it your dad wasn't happy about the school not letting you come back next year," Charlie said. "But what does that have to do with you being sent away?" he asked recalling Jesse's earlie words.
"Not happy about it is putting it mildly," Adam said. "My dad was furious. I've never seen him as angry as he was today not even when my brother told him he wasn't going to play hockey at Eden Hall. In my dad eyes me not being allowed to return to Edina Private School is a disgrace to the family. You guys don't understand the social pressures in my neighborhood. Something like this isn't just a reflection on me it's a reflection on my whole family and how where seen by our neighbors."
"You're right, I don't understand because you never did anything wrong. All you were doing is defending yourself," Charlie said.
"There are other private schools around here," Jesse said, "or public school. There has to be more to your father wanting to send you away to school?"
Adam looked down at the floor. He hadn't wanted to bring up to any of the Ducks what his dad thought about them. He didn't know if they would still be friends with him if they knew.
"Adam, what aren't you telling us?" Jesse asked.
Adam tried to figure out how he could say it and still keep them as friends. In the end he didn't have to. Charlie guessed it himself.
"Your dad wants you away from us doesn't he? He thinks we've been a bad influence on you." Charlie said. Adam nodded.
"I didn't want to tell you guys. I thought you'd be mad at me."
"I'm mad at your dad not you," Jesse said. "He doesn't even know us. How can he call us a bad influence."
"Come on Jesse, don't make this any worse. We all knew that Mr. Banks never liked us. That's why he didn't want Adam on the team."
"I guess you're right. It still makes me mad though. I can't believe he might send Adam away just to get him away from us," Jesse said. "There has to be something we can do."
The three of them were silent for a little while. And then Jesse said "hey, maybe if we told Coach Bombay.."
"No," Adam said quickly. "That will only make things worse. Face it guys, if my dad decides he wants to send me to boarding school then that's it. I have to go."
"It's not fair," Jesse said as they heard a knock on the door. "Yeah," Jesse called.
"Dinner is done," Mr. Hall said sticking his head into the room. "Adam, Charlie you're both welcome to stay for dinner."
"Thanks for the offer but my mom has the night off so I better be getting home," Charlie said standing up. "I'll see you in school tomorrow Jesse and Adam if you need someone to talk to just give me a call."
"Okay," Adam said as Charlie made his way past Mr. Hall and headed home.
"You staying Adam?" Mr. Hall asked again.
"Let me call my mom and see if it is okay," Adam said. He didn't really want to go home and have a silent dinner with his parents. He called his mother and she gave him permission to stay for dinner but to come home before too late. Adam let out a sigh of relief as he hung up the phone.
"I can stay," he told Jesse and his father.
"Great," Jesse said. The three sat down at the kitchen table for dinner.
"Is something bothering you Charlie?" Casey asked her son as the washed the dinner dishes together. Charlie's stepfather Al, had retreated to the living room with the newspaper.
"Adam may have to go to boarding school next year," Charlie told his mother.
"What! Why?" Casey asked.
"Because of all the trouble Adam's been getting into with the Hawks this year. The school won't let him go back next year to solve the problem and Mr. Banks seems to think he needs to Adam away from us. He evidently sees us as a bad influence on his son."
"Don't you start believing that Charlie," Casey told her son. "Becoming part of the Ducks is the best thing that could have happened to Adam. It's a shame his father doesn't see that."
"I don't want him to go away. Adam and I were starting to become pretty good friends even though we don't see a lot of each other because he goes to another school. If his father sends him away I'll see him even less."
"But you can still be his friend," Casey said.
"Yeah, but it won't be the same."
"I know," Casey said giving her son a hug. "How about I talk to Adam's mother," Casey said. She had talked to Angela Banks a few times since the end of the hockey season and Casey thought that she and Angela go along pretty well. "Maybe I can convince her that boarding school isn't a good idea and she can convince Adam's father."
"Thanks mom," Charlie said. He knew it was a long shot but it looked like it was the only chance they had.