The Big Time

CHAPTER THIRTY

TROY LEANED TOWARD THE screen, afraid that what he saw might somehow affect his mom's outlook on Troy reuniting with his dad.

"Stuff here with the IRS and the Justice Department?" Troy said, trying to talk lightly. "Man, I guess sometimes being a lawyer is going to get you mixed up with some suspicious characters."

"So long as their money's green, right?" Nathan said.

When Troy looked at him, Nathan shrugged and said, "Hey, I saw it on TV."

"Well," Troy said, glancing at the clock. "Enough for now. I'm sure there are some other big-time people he keeps under wraps, you know, confidentiality and all that. A lawyer has to know how to keep quiet."

"Yeah, that's for sure," Nathan said. "Everyone knows that."

At lunch, the talk about Troy's dad continued. Only a couple of times during the day did the three friends discuss the Border War game, but when they did Troy assured them both that his finger was so much better that he thought he might even be able to practice the next night if he taped it up tight.

"Awesome," Tate said. "That scholarship money's got my name on it."

"You and me both, sister," Nathan said, slurping the last bit of milk from his carton with a straw. "My cousin says you can't go to college without a flat-screen TV and an Xbox Elite."

"It's a scholarship, for books and tuition and all that, not video games," Tate said.

"Hey, it's about the educational experience, Tate," Nathan said. "That's college."

"College is supposed to be a learning experience," Tate said.

"Do you know how hard it is to learn all ten maps in Gears of War 2?" Nathan asked. "You think this algebra stuff is tough? Sheesh. You ain't seen nothing."

The day couldn't pass quickly enough for Troy. When he got off the bus at the end of his driveway, he was surprised to see his mom's green VW bug waiting for him with its engine softly purring. He swung open the passenger door, and his mom told him to get in.

"I've got a surprise for you, Troy," she said, her face glowing.

No matter how hard he begged, she only grinned and shook her head as they spun down the dirt drive, kicking up grit and small stones. He could only imagine that it had to be his dad. His mom must have gotten the papers, then called him to work out the details for visitation; that's when she must have seen how closely his ideas meshed with hers. The two of them must now be united in their efforts to get Troy the best deal he could possibly get and to take advantage of the media frenzy.

His dream went up quickly, soaring like a lump of clay thrown into a towering vase the way his art teacher could do on a potter's wheel. He even dared to dream the ultimate dream that somehow, some way, his parents would end up back together.

When they turned the final bend in the road, the fragile tower of perfectly balanced clay wobbled violently, then crashed down into a mess of slimy mud.