The Crew

Untitled Part 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

He seized Watson's arm before the Headmaster could speak, loosening his grip only after getting everyone's attention. We sat transfixed, staring at Mr. Watson to see his reaction, startled at the interruption. Mr. Bry held his grip, not looking at me, staring at Watson, the blood retreating from his hand and the vitality from his jovial face.

However, there was still fight in those eyes. He wasn't going to give in until the Headmaster gave him a chance to speak. Mr. Bry knew damn well that the rest of the faculty didn't want him to speak, especially Mr. Watson. But fair is fair. He was a tenured teacher and a faculty member who had been there since the 80s, much longer than many of the other teachers in the room. To not allow him to speak on the matter would have been a bad chess move on the part of Mr. Watson within the bureaucracy of St. Andrew's. He had no other choice; he relinquished the floor.

"Ok, ok, Mr. Bryce. Yes. You may have your say. Go on."

Mr. Watson reluctantly gave in, shooting a hasty glance at Mrs. Licardia, who seemed as if she was about to stand up and walk right out of the room. Bry released his grip, settling back into his chair. The usual playfulness in his manner was tempered but still there, the sure-fire giveaway that beneath the appearance of a 45-year-old man, behind the professorial demeanor, there still lived a boy of 12, an inquisitive kid still hungry for the excitement of the unknown, the freedom of youth before it becomes mired in the caution that rules adulthood.

Mr. Bry's bushy eyebrows drooped slightly and his mouth was drawn taut, a straight line, concern expressed on his face. The color had returned to his hands and he tugged at his tie, not like it was an appendage to be tolerated, but a noose he wished he could disengage from, turning back the clock and joining us in our quest for self revelation, joining our Crew as its acknowledged figurehead. Wouldn't that have been wild?

He looked right at me as he spoke. "Jack, I have seen you grow in so many ways since you've begun my course at the beginning of the year. Your writing is truly inspired, you always turn in assignments, participate in class, engage in group discussions, even come in early and often leave late with questions, questions, questions."

I swallowed and felt my pulse speed up. Mr. Bry legitimately cared for me. And I cared for him. Our bond was perhaps unrealistically pure, since, unlike my mother, there had been no emotional strings attached. He hadn't hurt me the way she had, her codependence and narcissism a result of her mother's harsh severance of her motherhood in the mid-1960s. My mother had defined herself in opposition to her mother and in doing so had forced me to oppose her, a cycle, a familial system. Where the rationale was for that I wasn't sure. Growing up, Mom had been asleep at the switch.

Mr. Bry paused for a second, a warm smile unfolding on his face. He looked up, remembering we weren't the only two people in the room. He squelched his genuine affection, along with his smile, harnessing both into a solemn line again and began addressing the faculty now, the adults.

"I have seen Mr. Donnigan grow immensely in the last few months. And, as I mentioned, he has done an extraordinary job in my class, going above and beyond my expectations. I have no doubt in my mind that Mr. Donnigan will move on and one day continue his English studies, particularly his writing, as that appears to be his greatest passion and his strongest talent." He paused and took a breath.

"I wish I could say that what I have listened to for the last half hour, the statements made by both Mr. Goldstein and Mrs. Licardia, were unfounded, untrue. However, that is impossible. We all know that Jack Donnigan has a reputation here at the school. There is no debating or sidelining that reality. Of course, what he does outside of school is his business. However, there's also no possibility of pretending that Mr. Donnigan and his friends have not said and done things right here on campus that have created potential issues for us to contend with as an institution."