August grabbed the upperclassman by the back of his collar the way you'd pick up something you'd dropped, minimum ceremony, and started walking back toward the door.
The upperclassman tried. "Wait, wait, there are people in here, you can't just---"
"Move," August said.
"Someone help me, please, anyone---"
August looked back once at Alice. Not a meaningful look. Just the kind between two people who knew each other and didn't need to make a thing out of it. Then he turned around and walked out, taking the upperclassman with him. The door swung shut. Footsteps faded down the hall, along with what might have been someone still yelling, though it got quieter fast.
Silence came back to the room.
Lucy, Bryan, and Alice sat with their lunches in front of them.
Bryan picked up his fork. "So when does part two start?"
Lucy tapped her chin. "Seven out of ten. The cliche factor brings it down."
"The what?"
"The door getting knocked open. It's a cliche. Points off."
"There was a person being dragged out screaming."
"That part gets the seven."
Bryan looked at Alice. "Are we doing something about that?"
"Probably not necessary." Alice kept eating. "There must be a reason."
"Okay but," Lucy turned to face him, leaning forward. "Who was that?"
Alice finished chewing. "August Montgomery."
They waited. More did not come. Alice reached for his water bottle.
"And?" Lucy said.
"Future stepbrother. Maybe."
The table went quiet in a different way. Lucy's eyes went wide in the specific way they did when she'd received information she found extremely interesting and was deciding what volume to use about it.
"You're getting a delinquent as a brother?" she said. Loudly.
Alice pushed her face gently to the side with one hand. "Maybe. Mom and Austin aren't married yet."
"They're dating though."
"Yeah."
Lucy sat back and pressed her hands together. "Okay. This is exciting."
"It's not that exciting."
"Alice. He dragged someone out by the collar. On the first day."
"It's his business, not mine."
Bryan had gone quiet, which meant he was actually thinking about it. "Huh," he said finally. "Your mom's remarrying. Didn't see that coming."
"She's not remarrying yet. And I don't mind either way."
"What's Austin like?" Bryan asked.
Alice thought about it. Austin Montgomery was the kind of man who held doors open for strangers and remembered names after meeting someone once. Always something warm to say. The kind of person who made you feel like the room was a little better for having him in it.
"Nice," Alice said. "Normal."
"Complete opposite of the son," Lucy said.
"Yeah. Typical."
Lucy rested her chin in her hand. "I think it's nice though. A sibling." Her smile was easy, unbothered. "I have my brother. He's annoying sometimes but I wouldn't trade it."
Alice looked at his lunch.
A brother. A father figure. A family with more than two people in it.
He turned it over quietly. For as long as he could remember it had been just him and his mother. Her laugh filling the kitchen, her hand on his face in the mornings. That had always been enough. It had never felt like something was missing because he hadn't known what to miss.
A father. A brother.
Alien. Not bad. Just completely, quietly alien.
"You okay?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah," Alice said. "Just thinking."
She nodded and left it there, which was one of the things he liked best about her. For all the talking she did, she knew when not to. Bryan topped off his water bottle and slid it across the table without being asked. Alice caught it.
Outside, the campus moved through lunch hour, loud and bright, full of people who had no idea someone had just been dragged out of this room by his collar. The light was still good. The chairs were still terrible.
Still a very good lunch spot.
Alice decided he could think about the rest of it later.