Chapter 191
Billie’s eyes were round. “How come? Mom says y’only get held back if you’re bad.”
Ugh. Mace would say that, wouldn’t she? Not that it wasn’t the fucking truth. “Kinda was,” he admitted. “Used to fight all the time. Got in a lot of trouble. They held me back a year on the theory that I wasn’t mature enough for school yet. Thought being a year older would sort me out.” Hadn’t. And then there was Jason, who was getting into fights all the damn time. It was lucky either of them got through high school at all. If it wasn’t for No Child Left Behind, they probably wouldn’t have.
“Oh.” Billie considered that. “I fight sometimes. Sorta.”
“What for?” Andy asked.
She fidgeted a little. “Because Derek is a giant poop-head.”
“Yeah?” Scooter snorted. Oh, God, Mace would have loved that; another kid who was a scrapper. Not, he reminded himself firmly, that he should in any way encourage that sort of behavior. He was supposed to parent now. Sort of. If Billie would let him. “What did he do?”