POV William

William sank onto the sofa. He wished the cushions would swallow him whole. He couldn’t look his dad in the eye. Between the guilt and the anger, he wasn’t sure which one was going to register clearer.

Mathias took a deep breath and paced the room. Oh, this wasn’t good.

“Just ground me for the summer and get it over with,” William said, sulking. It had been a horrible night. He just wanted to go to his room.

“Granted,” his dad replied with such firmness that it startled him. He didn’t actually want to be grounded all summer. William rose from his seat, tears blurring his vision. The words ‘That’s not fair!’ were primed for launch when his dad spoke again. “We’re far from done.”

William sat down. Though his dad would never raise a hand in anger against him, it could get so much worse. “You were told to be here at two. You got home at five after ten, three minutes before the city’s curfew this evening.” Short statements of fact. His dad was livid. He was starting with the crimes that were the least offensive, and he’d build up from there. “So we’re clear on the consequences when you inevitably get caught in breach of curfew, you will be jailed for your own safety. I will not be here to welcome you home. Can you connect the dots why that is?”

William shrugged and pouted, his brain freezing under the pressure for answers. His dad didn’t let him stew in his stunted thinking for long. “Because I won’t be here to greet the officers; I’ll have gone out on patrol. Which, by the way, I’m late for.”

Sweet relief came with knowing that his dad was too rushed to lecture him. Honestly, he could do without the guilt trip and the motivational speech about how he needed to be the best version of himself, if not for his dad and the community, for himself. His dad was going to be too exhausted come morning to revisit William’s Sunday crimes.

“You’re not off the hook,” Mathias said, noticing that the weight from his son’s shoulders had lifted. “You’re not getting that there are very real consequences to your actions. You’ve been in your rebellious stage for the past couple of years. That much is obvious. I say ‘right’, you go ‘left’. I was a teenager once, too.” He sighed and softened his next statement. “I hoped that you’d learn about yourself. You’d learn to understand your personal boundaries, maybe even discover what you want out of your life. I thought maybe, especially with the way you pursued enrollment with the Academy, that you might actually champion your own life. Which is great! I want that for you!”

His dad took a seat at the edge of his big brown chair. “The problem is not so much about pushing my rules. Don’t get me wrong, they’re there to protect you, to keep you safe, to help you grow, but it’s natural that you’d resist as you get older and start exploring your identity and what independence means for you. That said, I wish you’d respect me enough to be home on time. I worry when I don’t know you’re home safe, especially while I’m out on patrol. If I say be home at two, there’s a reason for it, William. Believe it or not, I’m not some insane control freak! But when you risk breaking the law… that’s a whole other matter. I can’t save you from that.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“I didn’t break any laws!”

Mathias nodded, the silent ‘yet’ passing between them. He reached into his trouser pockets and produced a neatly folded paper and handed it to William. The Red Order’s elaborate symbol marked the top of the page. The letter was addressed to Mathias; it was about allowing William access to a tablet during the summer. William’s heart fluttered with excitement.

“I was informed today that you will not be attending the Council’s Academy in the next school year,” his dad said as he took back the letter.

William shrugged. “I passed the exams. I mean, I did more than just pass. I scored in the high nineties for each one. It’s not like I didn’t learn anything!” He pouted. “They’re just looking for an excuse to get rid of lower-class people.” That wasn’t true, sort of, and he knew it, but he wanted his dad to focus his outrage on someone else. He wanted his dad to take his side for once.

“Eighty-three percent of the student population is lower class, William!” his dad exclaimed in disbelief.

“Yeah, if they’re first years! Lower-class people are basically non-existent as of year two. So don’t make this about me, when it’s really about them.” Which was technically true. Most first years wouldn’t attend their second year because they couldn’t afford to go and didn’t qualify for sponsorship. The only people left were those who could afford the insane tuition fees.

“You didn’t hand in any of your assignments. All year.” His dad paced the room again. “All year! And that’s their fault? William! School isn’t just about being able to repeat what you are told; granted there is a lot of that. It’s really about developing a solid work ethic. It’s about building the habits and skills that won’t let you down in your life. Like the ability to adapt and overcome through persistence, continued learning, and intentional application. All of those are really great skills to have!”

William rolled his eyes and sighed. “But I don’t have to do any of that!”

“Right now, maybe not. How about tomorrow? Next week? Next year? When you’re serving your tour? Is writing an exam on munitions the same thing as operating the weapons? Is that what you think? You think you can just read about building a house, and what, it’ll just appear? A lot of what’s worthwhile in life takes time, effort, and persistence! If you keep down this path, you’re going to end up living the sort of life where you’re always the victim of circumstance. If you’re not willing to put the work in to do better for yourself, why would anyone else have to make your life easier? What’s the point? I can teach you to fish, William, but it’s up to you to catch your own meal.”

William rolled his eyes again, desperately wanting to be in his room. He’d live without dinner.

Mathias sighed. “Look, I’m late, and you’re obviously not interested. I’m going to write back thanking the Cardinal for his generous allowance, but you’ll be attending the monastery next year.”

“What?!” William jumped from his seat. “That’s not fair!”

His dad was taken aback and cocked his head in disbelief. “You really don’t understand consequences, do you?” It wasn’t meant as a question, but the surprise was clear on his dad’s face. “You know that when you touch a hot stove, it’ll burn, right?”

“I’m not an idiot, dad!”

“Language.”

William fell back onto the sofa. “I’m not going to the monastery, and you can’t make me. I’ll just do the re-entry exam for the Academy.” He couldn’t look his dad in the eye, but he felt his glare. Taking the re-entry exam had been his plan since he found out it existed as an option. According to his affluent sibling friends, Reginald and Sarah, the re-entry exam was the only way they could keep up with their social obligations while at the Academy.

“Good luck with that,” his dad said after a minute.

William smirked as his dad passed him by, late for his nightly patrol.