Educational Experience

Part III--Chapter 30

Oh, my God, I finally GOT here!

No, it's not finished. In fact, I can already tell that this chapter alone will probably be pared down a heap before it's done. But I wrote full out, to whip myself up into an emotional frenzy for the last part, which just felt sooooo good. I know how character arcs are supposed to work, I know all the tricks. But in the end, I decided to be true to my own vision--and Colt's.

And I'm glad I did. I hope you are, too. And DO WHAT HE SAYS. Check out the next "chapter" for a really sweet surprise. No reading. Just...a present for you.

Bless all of you who hung in there the whole way. I'll be reading you now, while setting this aside for a good long time before plunging into the second draft. It's been a wonderful adventure, and I'm so grateful to have had you along with me.

And now...finally...

There was...a horse now. A picture of a beautiful bay standing next to this little juniper tree just chillin'. Reminded me of Butch. Probably reminded her of Butch, too.

And I knew where junipers grew. In Arizona, anyway. But she didn't have to be in Arizona.

This "Where's Wyatt" thing was making me crazy. Really crazy. I'd tell myself to just let her do what she had to do, to stop obsessing over it and turn off the phone. And then I'd get this weird, nervous, almost scared feeling and go right back to checking my cell, checking my cell, checking my cell...

I heard Che say, "The superintendent's office says..." and came back from wherever I'd been. I really wanted to concentrate. I was the one who'd called everybody. They deserved my attention.

On my laptop screen, Che hit "Send" and then read the rest so everyone could hear.

"...'The building will be razed'—weird word for knocked down—'the debris cleared and all biohazards removed or neutralized before the arrival of four pre-fabricated units that will be renovated and transported from other closed campuses over the summer.'"

"So the building we're seeing here will be destroyed?" Hugh asked, sort of squinting like he was really thinking this over carefully.

"And everything else," Che said. "Or, I guess they're going to try to disinfect it or...whatever."

"Can we ask whether there are any other locations that could be used?" Hugh asked. "Just to see what they say before we do anything else? Would that appease my liege?"

I missed my cue because I was looking at some more pictures from Wyatt. More little Indian kids, some sheep, an old car that looked like Bonnie and Clyde should be driving in it, some ruby red cliffs. And then more landscapes like that. Somewhere crazy beautiful that she'd landed for a while, maybe. New Mexico, looked like. Close enough, if so. For me to get there if she asked. If she wanted.

Whatever.

Amelie hissed, "Fils de putain," real loud and got my attention back.

Hugh's face made me laugh. He was pretending to be shocked, but his eyes were twinkling like he really just wanted to bust a gut. See, that's some fancy French swearing right there, that literally means "son of a whore."

So I gathered she wasn't buying what the district was selling. In fact, she was still running the little slideshow of shots I'd sent her like she might just hock up and spit right at the screen.

"'Removed and neutralized,'" she said. "Ils sont fous! Je ne peux pas croire que ces gens!"

That meant, "They're crazy! I cannot believe these people!"