My fingertips are holding on to the cracks in our foundation

Dear Diary,

This morning I woke up to the melodic pacing of Xavier, back and forth, back and forth across my dorm room floor by my bed.

"What?" I mumbled as I buried my head in my comforter, though I suppose it came out more like "Whuuuuuu?"

"Bloody hell," Xavier exclaimed indignantly. "Someone chose today of all days to sleep in past third period."

"We have school today?" I asked incoherently.

"We have school today?" Xavier imitated with that pinced, nasty look on his face that he gets when he's past the point of acting clever and is on to the immaturely childish reaction phase. "You have school today. I... I, well I can look forward to a lot more days of sleeping in!"

I rubbed my eyes to clear the sleep haze I was seeing through. "Whatcha mean?"

"I'm dropping out," Xavier announced resolutely.

"What?!" I yelled and jumped out of my bed. God, not the day to wear Hello Kitty shorts to bed.

"Did you see him? Did you see the fucking ponce?" Xavier seethed venomously. "Walking around like he owned the bloody school. Because he fucking does!"

"Oliver?" I asked, trying to connect the dots in my head. "Geneveive's friend? The headmaster's son?"

"Correction," Xavier growled lowly. "The new headmaster's son. Our old headmaster decided to retire to the Bahamas." Xavier sighed and looked at me pointedly. I wasn't grasping the dilemma here.

"Marie-Claire, remember the Great Compromise?" Suddenly, I realized what Xavier was talking about. "The Great Compromise" was the term that I had lovingly given to the mysterious method in which Xavier's deadbeat and broke mother ("ex-mother", according to Xavier) had gotten him a place in one of the most prestigious academies in England. Without the terms of the Great Compromise, there was nothing Xavier had to tie him to the school.

"Xavier..." I murmured softly.

"There are worse things that could happen to a bloke then public school," he laughed bitterly.

"You can't leave," I snapped. "You don't understand; I will slit my wrists if I have to deal with this school without you. I will pay your tuition."

Xavier smirked. "You would pay my tuition and you won't fuck me?" I blushed magenta for a second.

"Sorry, hun," I threw back. "But you've never gotten me drunk enough."

"I'm kidding. You're not rich enough to send me here."

I sighed and realized he was most likely right. I thought for a second of every solution possible.

"Oliver's gay!" I exclaimed suddenly. "Genevieve told me!"

"Congrats?" Xavier replied and looked at me questioningly.

"Use sex. Make a great compromise of your own."

Xavier chuckled and collapsed on my bed. "Those tactics only work in soap operas. No sex, even with me," Xavier grinned, "would be worth a $40,000 education."

"You have to try," I sighed.

"I'm a whore, but I'm not a desperate one."

"Public school," I stated for emphasis. "Public school."

Xavier sighed and buried his face in his hands. "This school is my only chance," he said softly. "This is my only chance to not end up some deadbeat teenage father slag who works at a fast food restaurant and does heroin every morning."

"We'll get you out of this," I murmured as I sadly considered a future without Xavier.

"Thanks," Xavier sighed and laid his head down on my lap as he curled up on my bed. "You won't. But thanks."