Prep School Blues: A Novel - Chapter One Preview

For those who haven't gotten a chance to read the new Prep School Blues novel, here's a sample excerpt from the first chapter!

CHAPTER ONE (PREVIEW)


“I told you I’d be home later tonight, Grandma,” Jack Winters said into his cell phone as he walked out the front door of Prospere Academy. Outside the small private school, housed in the converted building of an old auto showroom, afternoon traffic rolled by on the busy main street of Beaumont, Illinois. His glance wandered over the tree-lined street, noticing some migrating birds flying overhead signaling the approach of spring. He only half listened to his grandmother’s responses over the phone. “I know, I know. I’ll do my chores when I get home. Come on, I told you I have drama practice today.”

Everywhere else, Jack seemed awkward and clumsy, always knocking things over and never able to lose that last trace of baby fat, but he never felt that way on stage. He looked forward to that hour after school every day when their ragtag drama department rehearsed the plays, mostly Shakespeare and Ancient Greek drama, selected by their Headmaster.

Jack sighed as his grandmother launched into another lecture. She was his sole guardian since his mother had left, and he loved her, but sometimes he just was not in the mood. He quickly cut her off. “I’ll walk. Don’t worry, it’s not like we live that far. And no, I won’t ride with strangers. Okay. Bye, Grandma.” Jack hung up the phone and stuffed it into the inside pocket of the navy blue blazer that completed his school uniform of jacket, khaki pants and tie. He walked down the block towards the neighboring Chinese restaurant that their Headmaster had bought out several years earlier and converted into a makeshift theater.

Mr. Dubois, who styled himself Headmaster, had been steadily buying up old buildings on Main Street for decades, pouring his life savings into a school that exemplified his own personal idea of what modern education should be. Through sheer persistence and force of will, he had created Prospere Academy, a cross between a think tank, a bohemian artists’ colony and a reformatory. The students tended to be either highly gifted or deeply troubled, often both. The academy was a place for kids who did not fit the mould. Jack’s grandmother had enrolled him in hopes he would finally find his niche, maybe even make some friends. But even in the insular world of private school, he could never seem to connect with anyone.

Jack suddenly realized that he had forgotten his marked up copy of Julius Caesar upstairs in his backpack. As he turned around to retrace his steps to the main school building, he collided head on with Larsen, who was running out the front door.

No one at school had called Michael Larsen anything but Larsen since he decided that his last name sounded far more mysterious. Now, at the age of sixteen, and a high school sophomore like Jack, he had a reputation as a troublemaker matched only by his good looks and arrogant laugh. His large brown eyes always held a mischievous spark and his dark curly hair never managed to stay in place. He always smelled faintly of cigarette smoke and cologne, sometimes with a hint of sweet whiskey on his breath. Jack did not know much about Larsen and had spoken to him only once years ago when they met as children.

When he was ten, Jack was out exploring and came across the local junkyard. Unbeknownst to him, Larsen had commandeered the place as his own personal playground. He made it very clear that Jack was not welcome there. Larsen had knocked Jack down then too, except on purpose that time. Jack had gone home crying to his grandmother. Even though both boys ended up at the academy, they ran in different circles and had never interacted until this very moment. This time, Larsen was not nearly as cruel. Jack could feel Larsen’s muscular frame fall on top of him as they tumbled down onto the sidewalk with a thud. Jack saw Larsen’s face hovering above his own and heard Larsen’s deep voice say the words, “You okay, man?”

“Yeah. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking.” Jack always apologized for everything out of habit, even when it was not his fault.

Larsen quickly rolled over and got up. He offered a hand to Jack. “You’re Jack, right? I’m Larsen. I saw you in that play.”

“Yeah?” Jack had never considered the possibility that someone like Larsen would ever be interested in school plays. “Prometheus Bound? I was in that.”

Larsen nodded. “I didn’t really get it, but it wasn’t half bad.”

“Thanks.” Jack shyly smiled at this. “I didn’t think you liked plays. I mean, you don’t seem like you would be into that sort of thing.” As soon as he said that, Jack wished he had not. For some reason he did not want Larsen thinking that he had thought about the matter one way or the other.

“Well, I went with my girlfriend, actually.” Larsen took a step back, brushing dust off his blazer, giving Jack a knowing glance. “Didn’t really see much of the show. You know what I mean.”

Somehow, Jack felt disappointed. He motioned towards the school. “Oh, well, I’d better…”

“Me too. I got to go. I have some friends waiting.” Larsen was already walking away before Jack could say anything else. Without looking back at Jack, Larsen called out, “Take it easy!” and was gone.

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