Branded - Eric Walters [5]
“Oswald, you’ve been uncharacteristically quiet,” Mr. Roberts said.
“It might be the uniform. Maybe it’s having a positive effect on me already, like medication to control my normal hyperactivity.”
“I can only dream,” Mr. Roberts said. He and Oswald reached across the table and gave each other a little low five.
“I meant, what do you think about the uniform?” he asked.
“It’s a little stiff, but I guess it’ll soften up as I wear it. The tie feels a bit like a noose.”
“Stand up,” Mr. Roberts said.
Oswald got to his feet. Mr. Roberts stood and leaned across the desk to adjust Oswald’s necktie.
“Is that better?”
“Much,” Oswald said. “I think, all in all, this won’t be the worst thing in the world, at least for me.” He turned to face me. “But I’m a little worried about Ian, here.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, on me, this really works, but I don’t know if you have the basic cool to pull it off,” said Oswald. “On you it might look a little geeky, that’s all.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“But don’t worry, Ian, you just keep hanging around with me and you’ll benefit from the cool halo that surrounds me,” Oswald said, gesturing to himself.
“If that’s why people hang out with you,” I said, “then you’d be a pretty lonely guy, standing alone in your polyester jacket and—”
“Polyester blend,” Oswald said, cutting me off. “See here.” He opened the jacket up to reveal a label. “It’s eighty-five-percent polyester and fifteen-percent cotton. So, like, fifteen percent of it is one-hundred-percent natural.”
“You’ll have to excuse me now,” Mr. Roberts said. “I have a few more hours of work to do before the day is done, and I’m sure the three of you are anxious to start your weekend.”
We thanked him and left his office. I closed the door behind me.
“Thanks a lot,” Julia said.
“Sure, no problem,” Oswald said.
“I was being sarcastic,” she said.
“Really?” Oswald replied, leaving no doubt that he was being sarcastic.
“Could you at least take off that stupid uniform?” she asked.
“No can do. I know for a fact it’s against the present dress code to walk around in my boxers. Although I could pull off that look too.”
“Just shut up and go and get changed back to your regular clothes,” I said. “We’ll wait for you at the back door.”
chapter four
We sat on the wall and waited for Oswald. A steady stream of kids came up and told us how upset they were about the uniforms. It looked like a very unpopular decision.
All the commotion had a plus and a minus. Having other people around meant I didn’t have to talk to Julia. That was good. The downside was that they gave her more ammunition. I really wasn’t looking forward to the ride home. If it wasn’t so far, I might have thought about walking. It was Julia’s car, so it wasn’t like I could leave without her.
I had the strangest thought—I could ask to borrow the keys because I wanted to wait in the car. Then I’d just drive away. If she was angry now, I could just picture her face when I honked, waved out the window and drove away in her car. It almost would have been worth it.
Oswald came out of the school.
“Let’s go,” I said to Julia.
“Hang on,” she said. She turned back to the three girls she was talking to. “I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we’ll do something about those uniforms,” she reassured them.
Oh, great, she was going to do something. That, of course meant she’d want me and Oswald to do something with her.
I motioned for Oswald to come with me, and we left her behind. We walked across the parking lot and sat on the hood of Julia’s little red Neon. It sagged under our weight.
“Look, whatever you do, don’t say yes to anything Julia suggests on the way home,” I said.
“What if she suggests stopping at Wendy’s and buying us both a number one combo, her treat?”
“She’s not going to suggest that. And even if she did, that would only be a bribe to get us to go along with her.”
“I’m open to bribes,” Oswald