His mother put her hand on his father’s hand. “Sean,” she said, giving him a look. “That’s not going to help.”

His father raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t say anything else. Both of his parents were looking at him as if they were waiting for him to say something.

“I’m really sorry,” he said, because he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

His father nodded, pursing his lips. “You’re sorry,” he said. “A child is sorry. A man takes responsibility for his actions.”

“Sean,” his mother was saying again, her voice strained. “We agreed that we weren’t going to do this right now. We need to focus on what our plan is.”

His father took a deep breath. “Well,” he said, looking at Will. “What’s the plan?”

“I don’t know,” Will said. He had no idea how to make this right, or even if it could be made right.

“No plan for this, huh? You have a plan to get beer, a plan to party, a plan to run all over town with your rich-kid friend, acting like you own the place. You don’t, by the way, if that hasn’t been made abundantly clear to you. Well, here’s a plan. You can join up. It was good enough for me, and it’s good enough for you. If they’ll have you after this.”

“I don’t know if it’s come to that yet,” his mother said. “Can we talk seriously about this, please?” She turned to her husband. “First, I think we need a lawyer. We should at least consult someone. Will, you’re being charged with trespassing and felony vandalism, among other things. You have to turn yourself in at the courthouse for arraignment. I don’t think you’ll have to . . . stay. Not yet, anyway.” Her voice caught and her eyes welled up with tears.

Will swallowed. The thing he had been dreading had finally happened. Why had he thought he might get out of this? He stared dumbly at his mother, not knowing what to say.

“Do you understand what this means, Will?” his mother asked. “These are serious charges—if you’re convicted, you could be facing jail time. And it’s not just that. Everything is at risk—you could lose your scholarship, or even your place at Princeton, Will. Your guidance counselor called. It was her strong recommendation that you disclose this to Princeton yourself. She seemed to be unsure of whether the school would need to start contacting colleges, since it wasn’t a school academic or disciplinary matter. But the fact that she called at all means that they are at least considering it. According to her, some kids have already pled guilty to minor charges, and she’s getting a lot of calls from parents about this.” She paused. “I don’t suppose you could talk to Hunter’s dad? Get his advice?”