Chapter 115

Noon, Saturday

Andy and Chris timed their arrival at C-B until almost everyone had been seated. Andy had tried twice to contact Regan - once after his ceremony ended and once the next morning - but the call went to voicemail each time. He didn't think what he had to say should be conveyed in a message so he'd simply hung up.

He didn't realize that Regan's phone had lain uncharged since Thursday night. She couldn't get in contact with the only person she wanted to talk to so she hadn't even thought about it.

Chris had been correct. The DeLancys and Dalrymples were stuck in the cheap seats with the other families that didn't endow Clairborne Benedict Prep with millions of dollars. Andy caught a glance of Regan's contingent when he entered - but they had been surrounded by a bunch of men and women who probably had their hands out for more funds.

Collette Dalrymple reached over to grasp Andy's hand when he sat down beside her husband. William was far more cordial than a month earlier when Andy had met him in the school's dining facility.

He gave Andy a pat on the knee and a smile.

"You have some very interesting friends, Andy," William said with a laugh. "I swear, if that Rico would show up at my office Monday, I'd hire him in a minute. He was very impressive."

"So I've heard," Andy said, shaking his head.

"Watch this," Collette offered. She pulled Joy's phone out of her purse and pulled up the video. Andy watched the scene unfold but kept the volume down so as not to draw attention to himself.

"The guy looks like a putz," Andy remarked.

"I think it's pretty obvious that looks weren't deceiving this time," William said with a sigh. The revelation that even kids from good families might be jerks had caused several families of C-B students to take a hard look at their children.

"This is where your friend explained the relevant state statutes about underage drinking and the 'yes means yes' legislation," William pointed out on the screen. "And this is where he explained that he was going to make sure Mr. Carter paid for his infractions. It was very impressive - even more so when I realize he did it solely because he cares about you and not because you asked him to."

"I never would have asked him to ... threaten ... somebody," Andy said, shaking his head again. "I ... I figured Regan had gone to meet the guy. Rico showing up like that would have frightened her - and I'd never want to do that."

"Have you spoken to her yet?" Collette asked.

"I tried but it just goes to voicemail," Andy said with a frown.

"Well, I'm sure you'll get your chance this afternoon," William said.

"Chris and I have to go as soon as they finish the names," Andy told him. "Our ceremony is this evening and it's going to be tight getting through Saturday traffic as it is. I'll try to say hi but ... it'll have to be quick."

"Maybe you should go down and ask Rita if she can speed this up a bit," William joked. "It's hotter than blazes out here."

Andy nodded. He wasn't accustomed to wearing a suit at any time and certainly not when the temperature was close to 90 degrees.

"Are you going to come to the graduation party tomorrow?" Collette asked.

"Uh... ," Andy replied. "I don't know that I'm invited now. I guess we'll have to see how things go the next time I talk to Regan. Maybe you could let her know that I ... I'm trying to reach her."

"I will," Collette promised. "Oh, good, they're getting started. It's about time."

Andy sat through the boring opening portion of the ceremony. The graduates were seated in the front two rows so he didn't see anyone he knew. He tried to catch a glimpse of Regan but she was hidden by a corpulent family stationed directly behind the graduates on her side of the aisle.

Andy's thoughts drifted back to the evening before - the first time he'd seen his parents in several days. They had tried their hardest to hide it but he could see they were disappointed that he hadn't felt as though he could confide in them.

Camille had been particularly unhappy that her son had thought Rico had been a better choice of confidante than she would be. Andy had tried his best to explain his thinking but finally had to admit that he just needed to be somewhere else for awhile in order to get his thoughts in order. He'd realized it was a mistake when a host of information came his way the night before.

He couldn't even imagine how he might feel if Regan had harmed herself because of something he'd done. The worst part for him had been admitting that even the time away hadn't helped. The only way this would be resolved would be to sit down with Regan and talk it over. He'd finally been forced to confess that he was hiding from the situation rather than confronting it.

Things were less tense before he left for Regan's graduation but things still weren't back to normal with his parents. He knew it might be awhile before they were. Part of it was the new surroundings. He had a bed that he'd never seen before in a room he'd never visited before. The house smelled different than the suite - or the house he'd stayed for three nights.

His mother had unpacked his belongings and arranged his closet - and Andy couldn't find a single thing the first place he would look for it. He'd asked his mother if she could pick him up a phone but she'd refused.

"You have money of your own," she had told him. "If you want a phone, get it yourself - or go pay Regan for the one she bought for you. I'm not your errand girl. I've got my own things to do."

Andy had to agree that he'd had plenty of time - and plenty of money in his bank account - to pick up a phone. He supposed a part of him wanted his old phone back - if for nothing else than because it contained a host of memories on the SD card.

Andy realized that the parents were being introduced when the Dalrymples stood - followed immediately by the DeLancys. It took a few more minutes for Rita and Robert Riley to be announced and stand. Andy was only 10 rows behind them and he felt bad about how tired they both looked.

He caught his first look at Regan when the final family was introduced - Harmony Wentworth's mother and father - and the large man directly behind Regan turned to wave at the others in the small crowd (something no one else had done).

It was a fleeting glimpse but Andy's pulse quickened slightly just from seeing the side of Regan's face beneath the traditional mortarboard cap. The caps and gowns for C-B were snowy white and Andy could see the black tassel against Regan's reddish hair.

Far before Andy was finished looking at her, the Wentworths sat back down and his view was obstructed again. He ran his hand over his mouth and chin and glanced at Chris. Chris gave him a slight shrug and directed his attention back to the stage.

"The parents of this year's graduating class," a woman said. "Let's give them another round of applause for the fine, well-rounded daughters they've raised."

The assembled guests clapped again (as though they hadn't politely applauded the individual families as they arose).

"Thank you," the woman said. "As is our tradition here at the Clairborne Benedict Preparatory Academy for Girls, we select one of our outstanding graduates to deliver our farewell message. This year, I'm pleased to introduce Miss Regan Riley, daughter of Robert and Rita Riley. Regan is an honors graduate and she will attend Stanford University in the fall. Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Regan Riley."

Andy found himself holding his breath as he watched Regan arise gracefully from the folding chair where she sat. She carried herself upright and confident as she walked up the stairs and shook hands with the woman at the microphone.

The sun shined brightly off her gown and the cap she had pinned to her hair covered part of her face in shadow. But Andy could see - even from 12 rows back - that she looked smaller. Her face was paler than he remembered from only a few days before. She looked frail even though he knew she wasn't. He wanted to go to the stage to stand beside her as he'd done less than a week earlier.

Instead, he sat in the audience without her even knowing he was there to support her.

"Fuck," he muttered softly.

Chris reached over and tapped Andy lightly on the thigh with his fist. He hadn't wanted to be a part of the subterfuge but Joy and Ruth had convinced him that the cause was worthy.

He had wanted Andy to come with him but he would have been fine if he'd had to sit by himself with the Dalrymples and DeLancys. But, he had to admit that Ruth had been right (about almost everything). Chris was more comfortable with Andy beside him; and Andy would be affected by simply seeing Regan.

Chris hadn't been filled in on the second part of the plot. Ruth and Joy had kept that to themselves because they suspected that Chris would balk if he'd known.

"Thank you," Regan said in a hoarse voice. She poured some water from a pitcher beside the lectern and took a sip.

"Thank you," she said in a stronger voice. "As my fellow graduates know, I am not a product of the entire Clairborne Benedict system. I am a transplanted New Yorker and I spent only the past year and a half here. I think, in many ways, it gives me a unique perspective on our school. It gives me the ability to compare and contrast things here with things I've already seen."

Regan took another small sip and glanced down at her notes.

"Three months ago, this address would have been far different than what I've prepared for today," she announced. "Three short months ago - 90 days from this date and 94 days from my official entry into adulthood - I would have stood here and offered the same platitudes that I'm positive every graduate before me has provided.

"I would have said that Clairborne Benedict has provided me with a quality education and the building blocks for a successful future. And, like those who've said that before me, I would have been wrong."

The school administration was seated behind Regan and Andy saw at least one of their jaws drop.

"Clairborne Benedict Preparatory Academy for Girls is no different than thousands of similar institutions across the nation," Regan continued. "They provide the exact same information in the exact same way that almost every private school does. It has the same group of self-entitled, privileged children that almost every private school in America has. It has the same sort of money-grubbing administrators that every private school in America has. It has the same fawning educators hoping to impress the student rather than make an impression on the student.

"Quite simply, and facts bear this out, Clairborne Benedict Preparatory Academy for Girls is no better or no worse than any private school you could have sent your children to. Almost 97 percent of students from private, all-girls schools attend four-year universities upon graduation. This year, Clairborne Benedict is slightly below that number at 96.4 percent.

"And, of course, we all know that Clairborne Benedict's tuition is the highest in the area and among the highest in the state. So, does that mean my time - not to mention the money my parents shelled out - has been well-spent? Three months ago, I would have given you an emphatic 'No!'"

The audience was starting to shift nervously in their seats and several administrators were look uncomfortable. Andy was positive that it had been anyone but Rita Riley's daughter making these statements, the hook would have been out in a hurry. But Regan appeared to directing her comments to the graduates - and her parents, who were seated in the center behind the girls in white gowns.

"But a lot can happen in three months," Regan continued. "A person's perspective can change as she grows and learns. A person who thought she already knew everything might come to find out she really knows nothing. A person that looks upon the world as though it owes her everything might find out that she gets only what she's willing to work for. For many of our graduates, this knowledge came long before three months ago. For others, it's waiting for them in the future when harsh reality lands upon them.

"For me, it came because of a chance meeting with a special person three months ago. Looking back, I could only describe myself as spoiled, self-centered and arrogant. My family is wealthy; I believed I was special; and my future was already provided for. On a very strange night, in a place I never should have been, I ran into the person who has helped me change not only my perspective but also the expectations I have for me.

"On that night I learned that happiness doesn't come from money; I learned that influence is not the same as respect; and I learned that for some people, all the money in the world will never be able to buy them class. Since that night, I've tried to look differently at this school and the people in it. I've tried to make it a point to stand up to things I believe are wrong. I've tried to make sure that I treat every single person the way they deserve - be it with kindness or with contempt. I have tried to..."

Regan's voice had grown stronger and she had lifted her eyes from the graduates to speak to the rest of the audience. She had seen Ruth's parents and noticed Chris Grant beside them. She had found Joy's parents but her eyes stopped when she saw the person beside William Dalrymple. She lost her train of thought and felt a lump in her throat as she stood on stage and stared at Andy Drayton.