game.” Turning to them, James added, “He’s a solid student. First-time offense. Had to take an incomplete last semester due to the broken wrist, so he’s squeezing in extra hours to make up for it. Your project would help him get there.”
Alex thought about it. It wasn’t as if Brody was selling meth out of his locker. Pranks went wrong all the time. Some would say it wasn’t the action that mattered as much as the reaction.
He exchanged a look with Sydney. Hoped the one he got back from her was interpreted correctly as give him a chance. “That’s a lot of snow to get indoors. You must’ve had help. Why aren’t they in here, serving time with you?”
James gusted out a sigh that would probably topple a cat. “He won’t rat them out.”
Brody rolled his eyes. Clearly they were retreading familiar ground. “It was my idea. I take all the blame. If I’d thought to bring towels, I wouldn’t have slipped and gotten hurt. Nobody would’ve known. My fault, my punishment. Nobody else’s.”
It was a good answer. Alex respected him stepping up. And for covering for his friends. Integrity mattered.
Besides, when he was in high school? He’d put all the football tackling dummies on the roof after those no-necks had insulted the basketball team. Along with the balls. And dyed their white practice jerseys hot pink…and left them on the roof, too.
Who hadn’t pulled a prank in their time?
Decision made. “Brody, we need help out at the Three Oaks Inn.” Alex crooked his thumb in the direction of the inn. Maybe. Hard to tell in this windowless bunker of a room. “You know it?”
“Yeah. The place is kind of a mess.”
Why did everyone lead off with the obvious? And was Sydney really snickering behind him? “Hopefully not for long. That’s where you come in. We’re looking for someone who knows their way around tools to help with rehab. Would you be interested?”
That brought out the first real smile from the kid. “Heck, yeah. The whole point of this class is to help me get ready for a real job over the summer. That’d be great.”
James cleared his throat. “It would also work off your probation faster. As well as count toward your mid-semester project.”
Wow. Alex had just been hoping that James would sanction the request. Giving the students an incentive would no doubt entice more volunteers to end up on the inn’s porch.
“I knew you’d come through for Alex.” Sydney poked James in the belly with a grin. “I remembered that big ol’ feather pillow of a heart below all those layers of muscle and pizzas.”
Relief coursed through Alex faster than the burn from a shot of Jäger. “Thank you, James. So much. We’d be thrilled if only Brody shows up, but if you could wrangle up to five students to send our way, we wouldn’t say no.”
Picking up the other half of his sandwich, James said, “I’ll use that email on the board to hash out the logistics. You may have to talk to some parents. For your own sake, you should probably have the kids sign liability waivers, too.”
“Already prepared.”
James gestured to the big, empty classroom with a wide sweep of an arm. “Feel free to swing by and hang over lunch anytime. Update me on how everything’s coming together at the inn. It gets boring in here by myself.”
“Why not go to the teacher’s lounge?” Sydney asked.
James did a whole-body shudder that shook the floor. “That’s for people counting the days until retirement. All they do is complain about the kids, the lesson plans, the other teachers. I’d want to quit after a week cooped up in there.”
Brown eyes wide, Brody said, “You mean Mr. Stanley, don’t you? He always says that teaching us sucks the joy out of his days.”
“What a di—” Alex caught himself. Mostly due to Sydney’s well-timed plant of her foot across the top of his. “Dismal, horrible thing to say. The man shouldn’t be in charge of children.”
“Volunteer to take his place and the job’s yours.”
“Brody didn’t say what he teaches.”
“Doesn’t matter. That doorbell over there could do a better job than Stanley Long. We’re always looking for fresh blood to replace dinosaurs like him.”
For a split second, Alex was tempted. Maybe three whole seconds. Because the thought of anyone treating students with such disdain and lack of care made him hot under the collar.
Then reason prevailed. “Thanks, but I’ve got my hands full.”
Sydney beamed a smile at him warm enough