R.E.M. Part 5

They all objected to the end-of-term dinner at Kevin’s mother’s house. Powell objected because he was still sulking and sullen and didn’t want to do anything other than go home to California. Zach objected because he firmly believed that any night not spent drinking was a waste. Todd objected on principle; he always objected to Kevin’s plans.

Kevin didn’t listen to any of them, and they all ended up in his cavernous ancestral home at 6:00 sharp. Todd presented the flowers to Mrs. Buchanan on the others’ behalves and they made small talk about what a good job they’d heard little Jessie had done in the seventh grade play.

“So, what are you boys planning to do this summer?” Mrs. Buchanan asked them over the soup.

“My flight to California leaves tomorrow,” said Powell.

“Todd and I are going to Fort Lauderdale,” said Zach.

Todd shook his head. “I meant to tell you. You have to count me out of that one.”

Zach’s head snapped up in surprise. “You were the mastermind behind the whole thing!”

“I know. I wish I could,” said Todd honestly. A beach party that never stopped was about as close a thing to heaven as Todd believed in. Now that he was saying out loud that he wasn’t going, he started to regret his decision. A touch of the old anger boiled up inside of him: It’s Marty’s fault I’m not going. That bitch.

“But you passed the test. Your parents can’t still be mad, can they? You said they were getting you a new car.”

“No, they aren’t mad.” The lie, as usual, tasted sour on his tongue. He’d known Zach for two years but had never mentioned that his mother was long dead. “But I’ve decided to stay in Llanview this summer.”

“And do what?” asked Kevin dubiously, as if Todd couldn’t possibly capable of doing anything other than partying and he’d find a better summer party almost anywhere else.

“Summer school,” Todd announced. He hadn’t planned this, but he should have. He wouldn’t have to listen to anyone’s real thought on the subject, not with Mrs. Buchanan and her gravitas in the room. Hell, he could continue selling himself to Mrs. Buchanan as a well-mannered, responsible young man. She had the kind of connections that could give him a cushy, worry-free job as soon as he graduated. Even better, she moved in the same circles as Blair. The more his path crossed with Mrs. Buchanan, the more his path would cross with Blair.

Powell, Zach, and Kevin’s mouths hung open in perfect fraternal unity.

“They would have expelled you otherwise?” Kevin asked at last.

Todd sat up a little straighter, the soul of contrition. “No, the dean gave me a choice. But I believe that I have responsibility to my family and my teammates and myself to take every advantage of my second chance. If spending a few months in summer school means my academic standing won’t come down to one test again, then that’s a sacrifice I felt I had a duty to make.”

Zach’s pretend manners were the equal of Todd’s pretend manners, but this was too much for him. He snorted sarcastically and had to pretend to cough as a cover.

Mrs. Buchanan gave Zach an icy glare. “That’s very mature of you, Todd,” she said.

“Thank you,” he answered, almost wishing he meant it.

“And since you’ll still be here for the rest of the week, you can help me make sure KAD house is in condition for inspection before they lock it up for the summer,” Kevin said smoothly. Todd swallowed his sneer. Kevin knew how to use his mother’s presence, too. There would be no saying no and no going back on his word. It was something like signing an agreement in front of a notary public.

“Be glad to,” said Todd.

“Where will you stay if they close up KAD house?” asked Powell, radiating anxiety.

“They aren’t making him sleep on the street or anything,” said Kevin.

“Although that might build character,” chimed in Zach.

“They leave the two big dorms right in the middle of campus open,” Todd explained.

Zach made a face. “The freshman slits? Sleeping on the street might be better.”

“It looks like a dungeon in there,” shuddered Powell. “All those concrete walls with hooks on them. If I were a freshman and I saw that place, I’d turn around and go home.”

Ordinarily, Todd would have told Powell that that wasn’t saying much because Powell was afraid of everything, up to and including pink bunny rabbits. This time he kept quiet because Mrs. Buchanan was there… and also because he didn’t disagree. Something about the place turned his stomach. “I’m not looking forward to it,” he admitted. “They should tear those dorms down, not keep them open for the summer.”

“They’ll never do that,” said Powell. “Some famous architect designed them. He was going for ‘modern collegiate gothic.’”

“If that means ‘claustrophobic and ugly,’ he got what he wanted.”

“Are you gonna be okay there?”

Todd barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “I almost ended up on academic probation. I’ll take my punishment like a man.”

“Yeah, Powell,” agreed Kevin. “He can think of it as extra training. He’ll be extra violent for the team next year if they keep him in a cage all summer.”

“Kevin, darling,” Mrs. Buchanan, injected, “will you help me get the main course?”

Kevin stood up and followed his mother.

“Think he’s in trouble?” asked Zach.

Todd grinned. “One way to find out.” He gave Kevin and his mother a few seconds’ head start and then followed them. He had only been to Llanfair once before, so it wouldn’t be hard to claim that he’d been looking for the bathroom if they caught him eavesdropping.

Todd hovered beside the closed kitchen door and almost immediately heard his own name.

“… Would you like to invite your friend Todd to stay here for the summer?”

“Todd?” repeated Kevin in a tone that indicated that he believed his mother had taken leave of her senses.

“Well, yes. He’s your friend, isn’t he? You certainly spend enough time together.”

“He’s my brother,” Kevin answered, like they all did, always, because that was the KAD way. Not for the first time, Todd wondered why Kevin had bothered to join a fraternity. He didn’t need the connections and he certainly didn’t need an ersatz family. He had a real one.

“He’s taking such responsibility for that little setback he had,” Mrs. Buchanan went on. “He might do better in his summer classes if he’s in a more comfortable, more supportive environment.” Unconsciously, Todd wrapped his arms around himself. Kevin didn’t know what he had. He really didn’t.

Kevin inhaled sharply. “The way Todd acts in front of you is not the way Todd acts at the frat house.”

“I should certainly hope not. Everyone behaves differently in different situations. Or is it something more serious? You don’t think he’d be a threat to Jessie or to--”

“No. Of course not.”

“Then what?”

“It’s more subtle than that.” There was a clinking of plates; apparently they really were preparing to serve the main course. They must have sent the cook or the maid or whoever she was out so they could discuss Todd in private. “You see how Powell’s been acting? Quiet, nervous, anxious?”

“He always was a sensitive child. I was surprised he was willing to come to school so far away from home.”

“It’s more than that. He idolizes Todd, and when Todd gets upset Powell picks up on it and it drives him crazy.”

“But Todd doesn’t seem upset. He appears to have made a genuinely mature decision.”

“Yeah. That’s not really like him,” said Kevin. Todd growled in the back of his throat.

“It’s hardly Todd’s fault that Powell is so susceptible to his moods.”

“I guess it’s not.”

“But if you aren’t comfortable inviting him to stay, we won’t. You don’t need a reason.”
Todd thought that that was going to be it, but then Kevin spoke again. “Why are you so interested in Todd?”

Mrs. Buchanan appeared to think about that. “I don’t know, really,” she mused at last. “He’s your friend, of course, and I like to get to know your friends. But I’m drawn to him in a way I absolutely cannot explain.”

“He’s magnetic. He’s got you and Powell fascinated with him.”

“And perhaps the pole of that particular magnet just happens to repel you instead.”

Kevin sighed heavily. “No. I just—I just hadn’t thought of inviting him to stay. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it will help if he feels like someone cares. I was there when his father called after he failed that exam. I couldn’t hear everything, but what I did hear was really bad. I can’t ever imagine talking to Duke that way, no matter how bad he messed up…”

Todd backed away slowly. If he listened any longer, he would end up storming into the kitchen and strangling Kevin. First Kevin had forced Todd to talk to his father, then he had listened in, and now he was sharing with his mommy and whoever else would listen. Kevin had probably already told Powell and Zach everything. Todd looked at them out of the corner of his eye when he returned to the table and tried to read their minds to see what they knew about Peter Manning.

“I thought either all three of you got lost or they caught you spying and buried you in the backyard,” said Zach conversationally.

“Nope.” Todd busied himself rearranging his napkin on his lap. Whether Mrs. Buchanan ended up asking him to stay or not, he didn’t want her to take one look at him and regret ever having thought about it. He had always been good at ingratiating himself to adults who didn’t know better. It was people his own age who saw through him even if they couldn’t always put the nature of his damage into words.

“So what were they talking about?” Zach prompted.

Todd gathered himself to tell the best kind of lie: the lie that was technically the truth. “They were talking about you, Powell,” he said.

“Me?”

“They’re worried because you seem so tense all the time. They’re hoping you just need a vacation.”

Zach and Powell seemed to accept that, and the rest of the dinner went smoothly. There was no mention of inviting Todd to stay, which was just as well; sharing a frat house with Kevin (not that Kevin usually spent the night) from September to May was quite enough.

Then, when Kevin drove them back to KAD, he said goodbye to Zach and Powell but announced that he wanted to talk to Todd. Todd’s heart pounded mutinously in his chest. Somewhere along the line, ingratiating himself to the movers and shakers had stopped being a game and become a test. And Todd did not have a good record with tests lately.

“My mom and I were talking,” said Kevin. Todd clenched his hand around the door handle. “We were thinking that since you’re staying for the summer term and KAD house is going to be closed, you might like to stay with us instead of in the dorm.”

“That’s really nice of you and your family, Kevin.”

“And?”

There was only one answer. “Yes. Thank you.”

Kevin raised his eyebrows. “You must really want to avoid Powell’s dungeon dorms. You know you can’t throw parties and get drunk and bring home women in my mother’s house.”

Todd smiled in Kevin’s face. “I’ll be too busy to throw parties, I’ll get drunk at Rodi’s, and I’m swearing off the entire female population of L.U.”

“Okay, then,” said Kevin, and he was gone.

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