Secret of the Sevens Read Online Free Page B

“That whole Pillar thing is stupid to begin with. Why does someone deserve all those perks just because they get better grades and suck-up to the teachers? Why should a kid like me be penalized because I have a learning disability?”
    â€œHow can you say that, Talan? It’s not just about grades. You know how hard I work organizing activities and volunteering all the time.”
    â€œSo? Anyone can volunteer.”
    Her face pinches. “Oh? Then why don’t you? At least my time is spent helping other kids. You get more attention for running around in a red football jersey a few hours every weekend. The jocks get plenty of perks here, and you know it.”
    â€œGeez, okay already.” I sigh. “I’m sorry I said anything. I’m just crabby I had to waste one of the last days of summer stuck inside with Headmaster Boyle.”
    â€œYeah, well, you’re lucky he didn’t suspend you.”
    â€œHe almost did. Mr. Kane wanted him to, but all Boyle could do was take privileges and give me detention. Oh, and Professor Solomon convinced him to put me in his Ethics and Virtues class, too.”
    â€œOh Shitsu,” she says, gnawing the corner of her bottom lip.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWell, I have some good news and some bad news.” Laney scratches her forehead. “Which do you want first?”
    The expression on her face guarantees my day is about to get worse. “The good, I guess.”
    â€œKollin and I are signed up for that class, so we’ll have it together.”
    â€œHaving a class with Kollin is the good news? I can hardly wait to hear the bad news.”
    â€œAll the Pillars will be in there too. It’s part of the requirements when you apply.”
    â€œDamn!” I pound my fist into her pillow. “I should have known Headmaster Boyle would burn me. His eyes practically lit up when Solomon suggested it. I swear the guy hates my guts. He always has.”
    â€œWell, I’m glad you’ll be there. I can use an ally. It’s gonna suck listening to Cameron Moore and the Pillars bragging about all the cool stuff they’re getting.”
    I squeeze a stuffed dolphin sitting on her bed, gripping it like a football. “What the heck happened today, anyhow?” I pull my arm back, aiming for an imaginary receiver. “These Pillars aren’t anything like the ones they usually choose.”
    Before I can nail the door with Flipper, Laney snatches the thing from my hand and sets it carefully on her shelf. “That’s because Mr. Rathbone was always the Chairman of the Board. My dad said he always relied on the teachers’ suggestions when he selected the Pillars. But Stephen Kane took over when Rathbone died, and he insisted on choosing the Pillars himself.”
    I scoot back, snuggling into the mound of pillows lined neatly against her headboard. “It doesn’t make sense. We get a lecture from this Kane guy on how excellent Pillars are, and then he chooses the biggest group of losers at our school. Who is this Kane idiot, anyhow?”
    Laney stands up and wanders slowly toward her desk. “Mom said Stephen Kane was a hero when he went here. He was the boy who discovered the fire that killed William Singer and those students. Kane tried to rescue them, but it was too late. The Board was so impressed that they rewarded him by putting him in charge of reinventing Mr. Singer’s secret society. He helped come up with the Pillars as the replacement. That’s why he was the first Pillar.”
    â€œReinvent the secret society? Why would they want to do that?” I shake my head. “After the murder, you’d think they’d want to forget it ever existed.”
    Laney slides into her desk chair. “They had to, for legal reasons. Mr. Singer’s will left all of his assets, including Singer Enterprises, in a trust to Singer School. That way, the school could go on even after he was gone.