Free Finding Tom by Simeon Harrar Page B

by his personal secretary. Dr. Groves sat behind a mahogany desk large enough to seat a family of fifteen people for dinner. He looked at me disparagingly and motioned for me to sit in a small wooden chair by the desk. I sat and waited quietly, looking at the floor. After saying and doing nothing for an awkwardly long time, Dr. Groves broke the silence, ready to proceed.
    “Tom. It is good that you came promptly to see me. I have been rather busy, but of course you cannot be expected to understand my line of work.” He cracked his milky knuckles one by one with great precision, all the while staring directly at me. “You are probably wondering why I summoned you today. Word has reached me that you are rooming with young master Montgomery. I suspect that arrangement has been up to your standards thus far?”
    He had a way of dragging out his words to make every sentence drip with condescension and belittlement, as if somehow my very presence here was beneath him and he could call at any second to have me carted out and thrown into the trash. Each word was like the grating of fingers on a chalkboard.
    I blocked out his tone and attempted to grovel appropriately. “Yes, Dr. Groves, everything has been very satisfactory. I am exceedingly grateful for my chance to receive an education here at Locklear.”
    “As you should be. Locklear is a sacred place, and its reputation is not to be sullied. And that, my lad, is exactly why I have called you here today. I heard from a close friend of mine who made your acquaintance recently, and whose name will remain anonymous, that you came across as cheeky and obstinate. That sort of behavior will not be tolerated, and so I have taken it upon myself to keep a special eye on you should you choose to step out of line. You would do well to remember that your presence at Locklear is a privilege, not a right. You are here because others thought you to be a pleasant project, but I am not one of them. I do not believe in charity. It only encourages laziness, which I believe to be the most horrific of vices. Discipline. Now that is the building block of greatness. Should you fail to meet all of my expectations, it will bring me no sadness to have you shipped off. In the future, I expect that you will be on your best behavior to avoid any further missteps. You may leave now.” He stared at me with those horrible, unblinking yellow eyes.
    I left without saying a word. Infuriated by Groves’ condescending manner, I had no doubt that Charles’ father had ratted me out. I would find a way to repay the rich buzzard.
    I told Dr. Emory about my run-in with Groves, and he just nodded his head. “Oh yes, there he goes, playing his little power games. He just wants you to know that your fate is in his hands. He is intoxicated with his own power, I’m afraid. He is a bully, a scrawny, self-indulgent bully who preys upon young men like you. What a miserable existence he has. Just mind your business, Tom, and hopefully he will forget about you.”

CHAPTER 10
    A Twist of Fate
    AFTER A FEW MORE WEEKS into my eminently forgettable existence at Locklear, the unexpected struck. I was doing my final round of the library all the way at the far end of the basement, when I heard some muffled voices. Normally upon hearing voices, I would turn around, not wanting to interrupt any rendezvous taking place. But this time I distinctly heard multiple male voices. Slowly creeping forward on the padded carpet, I leaned up against a bookcase and listened in.
    “I now pronounce this meeting of the Secret Sevens to be in order.” I gasped when I heard this. The Secret Sevens Society was the oldest and most legendary of the secret societies. They were a perennial burr in the side of Dr. Groves and his staff. Already in the first few weeks, I had seen signs of them at work around campus. They were always rearranging furniture in the buildings, painting 7s on windows, and doing other odd tricks.
    A second voice spoke up. “I