Chapter 49 Endings, Beginnings
Chapter 49
Endings, Beginnings
Parker
Office of the Vice Chancellor
Student Disciplinary Committee
Dear Mr Di Rossi,
We have recently undertaken a full review of the case that led to your expulsion. The panel has considered revised witness statements, including one from Amanda Deloitte.
In light of your actions in protecting a vulnerable student, the panel withdraws its decision to remove you from your studies, with immediate effect.
The panel also expresses its unreserved apology, and we look forward to welcoming you back for your senior year in September.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. C. Drescher
Head of Student Services
* * * *
“Your mom must be bouncing off the ceiling”, Simon hands my phone back. “I’m glad the panel finally saw sense. What do you think made that young woman come forward?”
Brandon had told me about his message to Millie, and once I’d gotten my head around everything, I reached out to thank her. Take care of Carter , she replied, Because he’s going to take care of you .
In theory, this fixes all my problems.Back to college, safe in the knowledge that I tried MMA and it wasn’t for me. I’ll get my degree. Return to a Darwin-free fraternity house. There’ll be a summer job waiting for me at Summit when I’m done. I’d only be an hour away from Brandon. My mom will be proud.
And all of that’s important. It is.
But I can’t help feeling like something’s missing.
“I’ve pretty much finished everything on the shit list”, I say, “I’ll get those windowpanes repainted tomorrow, and make sure the storeroom is all cleared out before I go. I’ve finally managed to talk Sheryl down from keeping those paintings of soccer players with animal heads, so I’ll burn those before she changes her mind”. I trail off at his expression. “What? You like them?”
“No, they’re terrifying”, Simon leans across the desk. “But why are you talking like you’re going somewhere?”
“I mean, I just assumed…” I falter, “You only hired me because I got kicked out of college. Now I’m back in”.
“I only hired you because your mother emotionally blackmailed my mother, and she in turn emotionally blackmailed me”, Simon grins, “And thank God she did. It really worked out”.
It’s only then it really hits me, how far we’ve both come. When I first started at Summit, it was my last chance. Simon didn’t want me here. Now, the thought of leaving is getting me way more choked up than I ever did when I left home or college.
I guess it’s a sign I belonged, even for a couple of months.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever said it”, my hands twist together, “But I really owe you. You’ve been a mentor to me, and gave me a chance when nobody else would. These last six weeks have been the best of my life”.
“Mine too. Well, top ten, at least”, Simon says, pushing his glasses up his nose. “And Uncle Alberto would be impressed, Parker”.
The mention of my dad’s name twangs softly, like the gentle strumming of a guitar on a sandy beach, “I guess he’ll just have to settle for having a college graduate as a kid instead”.
“Is college really what you want?” Simon asks. “Because you have options”. There’s an impatient knock on the door. “I said to give me ten minutes!”
“I got tired of waiting!” Zara leans against the doorway, one hand on her hip. “How long does it take to offer someone a job, Simon?”
“I was trying! He was getting all sentimental on me”.
“I thought you were mad at me”. I haven’t seen Zara since the day after my fight, when I stopped by the gym to tell her that I’d decided I needed a break from MMA. Time to regroup, and reflect on what I really wanted out of life.
I’ve never seen someone go through the six stages of rage all at once, but once she’d calmed down, she told me she respected my decision.
Through gritted teeth.
“Oh, I was. Furious. So furious I stormed up here to chew out my ex-fiancé for wasting my time sending you to me in the first place, but that’s when he showed me this”, she unbuttons her coat and slides something over to me. “Then we got to talking”.
It’s my notebook. All the dumb ideas I’ve had over the last few weeks jotted down. Including my ten-point plan to set up kids with apprenticeships. “I”, I find my voice. “I never showed you this. How did you—Brandon?” They both nod. “I’ll kill him. These are just dumb ideas. Never intended to see the light of day”.
“Some of them are”, Zara agrees, “I don’t know how much money you think your cousin makes, but offering full scholarships for thirty kids a year would cost literally fuck-you millions of dollars”.
“And the Monthly Family Fun Day idea made me want to rip my own skin off”, Simon adds. “No offence, cousin”.
“But the rest of it shows a lot of promise”, Zara adds, taking a seat next to me behind Simon’s desk. “Why should we do it?”
I’m speechless. How should I know? “I…I don’t know”.
“You do”, Simon says. “These are your ideas. You did the work”.
I take a deep breath.
“I mean... I guess, there are huge advantages to any business by building ties in with the local community”, I begin, “Reputational, financial, and for long-term growth…”.
Zara and Simon both listen intently as I begin to explain my plan. I trip over my words a bit at first, but by the time I get to talking about how Summit’s most attractive feature is the culture that Simon’s cultivated: elite training but with a personal touch, I begin to hit my stride.
I wasn’t exactly prepared to pitch anything, but as I talk through my ideas I feel strangely confident, and by the time I’m talking about a scheme to provide work and apprenticeship opportunities to local kids in the foster system, and how giving back to the community is a big part of how clubs market their social media, I’m well and truly on a roll.
“If I’ve learnt anything from the two of you”, I finish, “It’s the importance of working together and asking for help when you need it. You both took a chance on me, when you didn’t have to”.
“I did it because my mother made me”.
“I was trying to prove that I was over Simon”.
“You both run successful, profitable businesses. There’s no reason why that has to change. You don’t need to partner with snooty ass hotels to build your brand. Especially when there’s plenty of local companies”, I nod towards Zara, “Who could work with you to run specialised classes, offering a tailored experience that players don’t get anywhere else”.
“It sounds like a really unique selling point”, Simon muses. I can tell he’s interested. “But there’s two parts to this. I don’t know that elite level players would be interested in running sessions or providing mentoring when they’re trying to recover from injury”.
“It wouldn’t be mandatory”, I point out. “But there’s plenty of people who already work here who are open to it. Sheryl. Archie and Will. I already asked Dean, and he’s going to the Premiership next year. And Brandon said he would”, I blush, as Simon and Zara exchange a look. “I know he’s not MLS yet, but…”
“But he will be”, Simon says, with surprising certainty. He turns to Zara. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s a hell of a lot of hard work. Building relationships takes time. There’s a lot of local businesses around here to win over. But”, she adds, a glint in her eye, “It reminds me a lot of one of the first drafts of your business plan for Summit when we were in college”.
“It does?” I ask. It’s hard to picture Zara and Simon in college. I mean, God. They’re almost in their forties.
“We were young once, you know!” Simon digs me in the ribs, reading my mind. “This is going to be a big change”.
“You said yourself you worried sometimes about what you give back to the community”. I remind him. Zara looks over in interest.
“Did you say that?” Zara’s regarding him with a look I don’t quite recognise. “Really?”
“I’ve not always been a corporate stooge”. He shrugs, “You of all people should remember that”.
“I do”, Zara says, after a second. “I do remember that”.
“It could make such a difference”, I press. “This is such a big city. I didn’t realise how many kids there were who could really benefit from an opportunity like this”.
“You’re thinking about Jack”, Zara’s eyebrows knot in realisation. I nod, “And kids like him. Kids like me. Who needed someone to believe in them. Who just need a second chance to get back on the right path”.
“Sounds like as good a reason as any”, Simon grins.
Excitement rises in me. “You mean you’ll do it?”
“No”, Zara exchanges glances with Simon, who stands up and offers me a hand. “ We’ll do it”.
* * * *
I spend the rest of the day walking on sunshine.
I call my mom and tell her everything. She screams really loudly and then gets Donnie and makes me tell them all over again. Then she loops in Simon, who makes a finger across the throat sign when she suggests conferencing his mom too, and I have to make up an excuse to get us both off the phone.
Not before she’s insisted on bringing the whole family up to Summit and going out for a celebratory dinner. Which is maybe one of the reasons I can’t stop smiling.
The other is my job title. Which is pretty fucking cool, even if I say so myself. Chief Outreach Officer. I feel, for the first time, that I'm making something of myself. On my own terms.
And I’m determined not to blow it. I take out my phone, pull up a familiar contact, and press dial.
A moment later, Vanessa answers. “If it isn’t my former employee of the month”. I picture her reclining behind her desk, lighting a cigarette.
“I hope I’m not calling you too early”.
“Parker, it’s the middle of the afternoon”.
I take a deep breath and tell her everything. About college. About MMA. And about my new job. “And I owe you a huge thank-you”, I finish breathlessly, “Because a lot of it’s down to you”.
“Honey, I really didn’t do anything”.
“You did me a huge favour”.
“I fired you”.
“And I never even thanked you”. I hesitate, “You held me to account, and demanded more from me, at a time when a lot of people would have walked away. I also want to say sorry. Since it’s been pointed out to me that’s not really something I do. I am sorry, for the fight at the Rosebud. I knew better”.
There’s a long pause. “You’re always surprising me, Parker Di Rossi”.
“There’s something else”. I twiddle with my fingers. “Does that offer still stand? Of a meeting with your therapist friend?”
“Of course. I’ll set it up”. She hesitates, “But I thought you just said everything was going well?”
“Everything’s great. For once, it really is”, I say, as Brandon’s car pulls up outside. “And I want to keep it that way”.
This is it , I realise, as Brandon stumbles out of the door, carrying a massive bundle of balloons and a bottle of champagne. He bounces to the front door, and lets himself in. In a second, he’ll greet me with a kiss hello, and I’ll kiss him back.
This is how you do it.
This is what it looks like to be happy.