Dodge had included all the bells and whistles performance-wise so they could test the car’s limits. That meant that it had more horsepower and beefed-up brakes compared to what ended up coming off the production line-and the production version was no slouch. The car was a beast and a joy to drive.
“Keys,” David said, holding out his hand.
“Can’t. I’m supposed to drive you,” Manaia countered.
“Either you let me drive, or I’ll make sure you’re the sole driver for the kiddy van. That means driving them to and from daycare, playdates, and the like ... forever.”
Manaia could see he was serious and just tossed David the keys. Being stuck in traffic with five two-year-olds would make anyone want to blow their brains out, especially if they weren’t yours. He wouldn’t put it past David to feed them sugar to get them amped-up before the trips, either.
David got in and adjusted the seat backward to accommodate his long legs. He fired up the engine and gave Manaia a grin as it rumbled to life.
“I haven’t gotten to drive since I went to make my movies,” David admitted.
“That’s probably another reason I should drive,” Manaia grumped.
David ignored his whining. He pulled the car from the back garage and found his mom standing in the middle of the driveway.
“Did you narc me out?” he asked.
Manaia gave him a sideways look and shook his head ‘no.’ His mom walked around to the passenger door and opened it.
“Get in the back. I’m going with you.”
David was impressed when Manaia did as he was told without a word. It seemed his mom had Manaia better trained than he did.
David didn’t even comment that his mom was going with. She would want to review his classes and see where he was going to live. There was no point in fighting it.
“We’re picking up Lexi,” Mom announced when she had her seatbelt on.
’Frick!’ David thought.
He’d been avoiding Lexi since he’d sent her home from New Zealand. If Oklahoma hadn’t had their collective head up their posterior, he would have been free of Lexi. Living in the same city might make that more of a challenge.
They caught a break on the ride to USC as they missed most of the morning rush hour. When anyone drove a car like the Demon, they’d naturally want to let it run, not be forced to endure LA’s stop-and-go traffic.
Coach Farrow walked David’s group over to admissions and got all the necessary paperwork filled out for him to be able to register for classes. David also received his student ID.
They then walked across campus to see a counselor at the Marshall Office of Undergraduate Advising to get him signed up for classes.
David wasn’t surprised when his mom took over. She had a folder with everything they needed from his high school days to show he had the necessary AP credits to skip a year’s worth of the basics like calculus.
Monday-Wednesday-Friday:
9:00 am - 10:00 am Principles of Microeconomics - 4 units
11:00 am - 12:00 pm Communication Strategy in Business - 4 units
Tuesday-Thursday:
8:00 am - 9:30 am Introduction to Financial Accounting - 3 units
10:00 am - 11:30 am Marketing Fundamentals - 4 units
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Applied Business Statistics - 4 units
By the time they left there, his head was spinning. On more than one occasion, David’s mother had changed his classes when he was in high school. She’d been behind many of the AP classes he’d taken. Why did he think, now that he was an adult and paying for college out of his own pocket, that she wouldn’t decide what he was taking? That would have been crazy talk.
On reflection, when David reviewed the schedule she’d put together, he was okay with it. Coach Farrow made a token objection that it might be a bit too much load for a typical athlete. His mother countered that they were all classes he either wanted to take or needed for his major. In the back of David’s mind, he planned to get his degree in Business Administration with a possible minor in Comedy.
Yep, they offered a minor in Comedy, but no one took him seriously, so that suggestion had died a quick death. He could figure out a minor later.
David knew he’d indulged his mother today, but it had to stop, or she would be doing stuff like this when he was fifty. Everyone was always saying that you had to pick your battles. This was one that needed to be fought.
“Mother.”
His mom surely knew what was coming.
“While I appreciate the help, I’m a grown man now and will decide my class schedule.”
His mother now had the full force of her gaze locked on David. He just stood there, did a Dawson, and went quiet. After a couple of minutes of them looking at each other, the counselor, Coach Farrow, and Lexi all started to fidget.
“What would you change?” Mom asked.
“Nothing. They’re all classes I need for my major and would have to take at some point anyway. That isn’t my point,” he said and could see his mom’s body language tighten up. “Before you explain to me why you’re taking over, let me ask you a question ... two, actually. Would you have put up with this if your mom had butted in and picked your classes in college?”
His mom’s eyes narrowed, and he could see her pinch her lips. He took that as a ‘no.’
“Did you go with Greg when he registered for college?” David asked.
He knew she hadn’t done that to his brother.
David knew why she’d done it this time. He was her youngest, and his mother wanted to hang onto him.
“I was trying to help,” she finally said.
“You did,” David conceded. “And I wasn’t always the most responsible in high school. I mean, even I knew that rock music appreciation wasn’t the best choice at the time. But I left home last May and have been on my own for a while now. It’s time you begin to cut the apron strings and let me make my own decisions.”
David and his mother were very similar when they butted heads. They tended to go at each other pretty hard. He expected her to dig in and come back at him. He was surprised when she got a thoughtful look and just nodded.
David knew enough to just shut up and take the win.
Their next stop was University Housing, where David had to get a special key card and PIN to be able to get into Sandoval Hall. They also issued a parking pass for the secure lot behind the residence hall. Coach Farrow explained that most freshmen didn’t receive parking passes because there weren’t enough spaces around campus. One of the many perks of living in Sandoval Hall was the ample room it had for both residents and staff to park.
David had met Alejandro-or Alex, as everyone called him-on spring break his senior year of high school. On his trip, David had traveled first to Monte Carlo and then to Mykonos. It was in Greece that David met Alex and his family.
Alex had a twin sister, Natalia or Nat-Alex had nicknamed her ‘Squeak.’ They were the same age as David. Alex’s father, Umberto, had family involved in the drug business in Colombia. Umberto had gone a different route and become an archeologist. That didn’t stop rivals from targeting Umberto and his wife and children as a means of gaining leverage on his extended family in the business. Umberto had almost been kidnapped shortly after David had left Mykonos to go back to the states.
The unsettling part for David was that his condo had also been broken into. The kidnappers had thought they could grab him as well, but he’d left that morning, and they’d missed him.
That was why Alex and Nat needed extra security to protect them while in college. Umberto had inherited more money than he knew what to do with, so his logical means of solving the security problem was to create a dorm for his kids to live in. Well, it might not be reasonable to the average person, but to the über-wealthy, why not?