274 Decision 2

Noah and I spent the thirty minutes waiting for Mr Miller, just talking about what the week without Zeke will look like. He was convinced that we would finally have freedom, but I couldn't really see a difference. It's not like Zeke hovered over us, controlling every minute of our day. Normally we see him when he drove us to and from school, plus baseball. But we won't even be playing baseball this upcoming week so would we really feel the difference?

Mr. Miller eventually showed up and honked the golf carts horn, signaling for us to hurry up. We jumped off the bleachers with our backpacks and hurried along. As he drove us up, Noah gave him the rundown of everything that happened last night. Mr. Miller agreed with him that the school would probably help Zeke out since he's a standout.

He dropped us off and waved at us as he drove away. "See you boys at practice."

Noah waved back, before turning to the school. "I wonder if it's already been resolved or not." He thought for a minute. "It won't hurt to stop by the office for a second before heading to class."

I froze. "Do we have to?"

Noah looked over at me. "Why? What's wrong?" Then he realized why I didn't want to. "Is this about that counselor lady? Golladay? Come on Jake, she's not here anymore. What's there to be afraid of?" He snatched my wrist and started to drag me.

He walked right in the office, and pushed through some kids who had an actual reason for being there. As we moved around the crowd, my heart started to race. She's not here, she's not here, she's not here.

"Jake? Noah? What are you two doing here?" A familiar male voice asked. Super familiar. In fact, I heard this voice last night. We turned to face Dr. Moore. "Is something the matter?"

I sighed with relief.

"Ah, Dr. Moore." Noah greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been helping out a few students here when my schedule allows it." I recalled that Mrs. Atkins had once said something about that after Golladay got fired. Dr. Moore was truly a kind person. "Jake? Are you sure you're okay? You looked like you were scared for a minute."

"Nah, he's fine." Noah answered for me. "He was unjustly worried that Mrs. Golladay would still be here. But really, we're here to check on Zeke before going to class."

Dr. Moore nodded, understanding what I was scared about. "It's good to face these little fears head on, Jake. I'm glad you have a friend like Noah to help you."

Help me? More like forced me. I let out a little sigh, but nodded. Noah's pretty great all around.

Dr. Moore looked between us for a second, then settled on Noah. "So you said something about coming here for Zeke?"

Noah nodded. "He came in here with Mom to talk about taking his midterms early or late so he can go visit some colleges down south."

"Oh? That sounds a little counterproductive."

Noah shook his head. "There's no baseball practice or games during midterms week, so to Zeke, this would be the perfect time to go. He wants to knock out three colleges when he goes."

Dr. Moore smile. "Right. Baseball is everything to you boys these days."

"These days? You mean, every day." Noah corrected. "Even after I cant play anymore, I'll start training to be a coach. Baseball is my life."

I shifted from foot to foot. I really can't say the same.

Dr. Moore laughed. "Okay, I get it." He looked passed us. "Looks like your mom and Zeke are done speaking with the principal and vice principal. Here they come."

We both turned. Sure enough, there was Zeke with his mom coming out of the principal's office. Mrs. Atkins shook hands with the two adults, then Zeke followed suit. They both came this way, coming to a halt after spotting us three.

Mrs. Atkins looked surprised to see us with Dr. Moore. "Are you two here visiting Dr. Moore? Is something wrong?"

Noah laughed at the repeated question. "Nah. We came to see what they told Zeke. We just happened to run into Dr. Moore."

Dr. Moore nodded and smiled lightly. "Exactly. I was just on my way to the office. I had some free time this morning, so I figured I could see if any students needed some help."

Mrs. Atkins returned his smile with one of her own. "That's generous of you Dr. Moore." She glanced at Zeke. "Didn't you make your decision? You can tell Noah the tentative plan."

Zeke looked like his normal blank self, yet he seemed to have a slightly depressed vibe hovering over him. He glanced down at us. "I'll be able to take all my midterms. Without any deductions."

Noah's jaw dropped. "Wow. Too amazing. I didn't think the school would be so generous towards you."

Zeke's face twitched. "The exams will all take place tomorrow. All day."

Noah looked even more shocked. "You have to miss the game??"

Zeke gave a short nod. "It's not a conference game so it'll be fine. I'm going to call Coach now, and I'm sure we'll talk more at practice." He glanced at his mom. "I'm going now. I'll see you after practice."

Mrs. Atkins nodded, looking pleased with the school's decision. "Sure, honey. Go call Coach. I'll see you at the house." Zeke left. She looked down at us. "Shouldn't you two be going as well? Class should start soon."

Noah nodded, still a little stunned by Zeke's decision to skip a game, in order to take midterms, just so he could visit a few colleges. How complex. This time it was my turn to grab him and drag him out of there so we could still get to class on time.

***

"Well, Dr. Moore, it's nice to see you, but I should be going as well." Mrs. Atkins gave the psychologist a friendly smile and started to take her leave.

"Wait. Mary." He held her back. "Did Wayne talk to you about last night's conversation yet?"

"Last night?" She looked confused. "You mean your appointment with Jake? No. At dinner we were caught unprepared with Zeke's decision to visit schools in Southern California. It's been pretty hectic. Why? Was something wrong?"

"Wrong? Not really. It was a good session. It's just...I have some suspicions." He pushed up his glasses. "Why don't we go to my office here for more privacy? We can call Wayne as well and have a more open conversation."

Mrs. Atkins started to look worried. "Okay. I'll call him and get him on speaker."

"No need to look so worried. It's nothing bad." Dr. Moore tried to reassure her. "In fact, if one of you go with Zeke down south, this might be a good opportunity for Jake as well."

"For Jake? Should I be taking him on this trip too?"

"No. It might be detrimental if he goes back there. But if you or Wayne would go with Zeke, then there might be something for either of you to do." Dr. Moore waved her to an empty office. The room was plain and held no decorations but it gave them the privacy they would need for this conversation.