Tales from Gulinger High: Tale Sixteen E-Book

Julie Steimle

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Gulinger Private Academy has a way of taking the fun out of Christmas break. . . This year includes a school-wide exam. But when the scores come back, Matthew Calamori and friends learn the deeper reason behind the testing session. It is not just the usual yearly assessment. But something so life-changing that Rick Deacon is keeping secrets again from his pals. Gulinger High may be splitting into two schools. One for the intellectual elite. The other for the rest. The question is, who will go to which school? And what can they do to stop it? If they can. . .

Leseprobe

Julie Steimle

Tales from Gulinger High: Tale Sixteen

Testing...Testing...

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Unpleasant Christmas Surprise

                      ow many of them are going to come in here?”

The quartet of teen boys watched the line of men and women in dark suits and ties who were carrying matching black leather briefcases march from the teacher’s access stairwell out from the first floor through the main hall to the faculty room. Matt leaned back with his arms folded. Troy stood next to him while Randon peered around his ankles as a cat. Tom was sitting on the drinking fountain again, tilting his head with a peek over his sunglasses, wondering with a moan so loud that a few of the testing proctors in suits glanced over at the group.

“I have no idea,” Matt murmured. “But it sucks to have testing in the middle of Christmas break.”

“We get a break?” Troy chuckled. No one went home for the holidays except Selena—including Rick, though his maternal grandparents had invited him. It was too close to the full moon to risk it.

The cat Randon meowed and pulled into shape, rising onto his two feet. This time a man in the line lurched out of step, staring. One of his associates tugged him back in line with a wordless look of warning. Clearly they had been told what kind of school it was. But seeing and hearing were just two different things.

“What’s going on?” Selena asked, strolling up to where the boys were gathered. She was wrapped in her newest festive red-and-white faux fur cape.

Matt pointed over as Tom smiled at her. “Testers. We’re supposed to take the national exams this week.”

“You mean the SAT and ACT?” Selena asked.

Troy shrugged along with Randon. “Not for us this year, but for the seniors like you, maybe.”

Tom hopped off the drinking fountain, getting a little closer to her. He stuck his face near her chin. “I hear we’re taking IQ tests and those national assessment thingies. They get to decide whether Gulinger will stay accredited.”

Rick walked into the hallway with a basketball under his arm, tempted to dribble it. But after a worn glance at the testers, he hesitated. Then he turned to where the boys were gathered, his eyes setting last on Selena with an even more tired eye roll. He nodded to Matt. “Hey.”

Matt pointed to the line. “Do you know anything about that?”

Shrugging, Rick replied, “Maybe. But Dad doesn’t want me talking about internal school matters.”

“Whoa.” Tom hopped to Rick. “Are you saying your dad discusses school board stuff with you?”

Emitting a tired grunt, Rick tilted his head to the side, regarded Matt carefully then sighed. He nodded. “Sometimes. He says I have to start thinking about the company. He wants me to report on the effective running of the school—or ineffective, depending—and I have to submit them in emails. He calls them tutorials.”

Matt raised his eyebrows at Rick. There was a lot Rick had not said, such as how his father was expecting him to take up managing part of the business by the time he reached eighteen, something Rick was dreading. Rick also had not said that he was feeling weighed down by similar pressure from his grandparents, but in mingling social circles. They were upset he had not been showing up at social functions with Selena as a couple anymore, and it was wearing him down. It was what had been on his mind when he had said ‘Hey’ to Matt.

“So, testing…” Tom murmured. He let out a headachy whimper. “In a room full of people…tempted…ugh…to cheat. I hate testing.”

They all glanced to him. Tom had dramatically clutched his head and moaned, dragging himself across the hallway as if he were turning into a man-eating undead, though he merely leaned on Selena’s fuzzy velvet covered shoulder, his lower lip quivering while making big orange eyes at her.

“Hold me,” he said.

“Oh, for pity’s sake!” Selena shoved him off, casting not Tom but Rick a dirty glare before stomping off.

Rick broke into snickers, covering his mouth. Then laughing out loud, he walked down the hall in larger strides, letting the basketball fall into a dribble all the way to the students’ stairwell.

“Tom Brown!” Mr. Wilderman shouted from his office.

 “It wasn’t me!” Tom pointed after Rick. “Am I even a basketball freak?”

Rick cackled, plucking up his ball before jogging upstairs.

“It sounds like you!” Mr. Wilderman opened the door.

The suitcase-carrying test proctors had finally passed, though the last in the line peered over at the boys. The headmaster glanced at the test proctors then sighed aloud, much like Rick had. He seemed unexpectedly despondent.

“What’s going on?” Matt asked, advancing.

Seeing Matt, Mr. Wilderman’s mouth screwed up in a frown. His eyes took in the other boys, then the rest of the hallway of classmates who had also been watching and were now waiting to hear his answer. But he had been long enough at Gulinger to know that the only way to keep a secret was to keep his mouth completely shut around Matthew. He whirled around and slammed his door, locking it.

“Suspicious,” Randon said.

Troy nodded. “Very. Did you get anything, Matt?”

Matt shook his head. “No. But his silence is an indication that something besides just testing is up.”