Wise Counsel

For a moment, Sebastian considered crumpling the letter into a ball and tossing it into his bin, but when he read the words again he hesitated. “What if it is real?” he wondered. Despite his misgivings, he was unable to escape the letter's intrigue. After all, working his way through his yearbook had been the highlight of his summer. He began to wonder if he really could put his “sexual prowess” to the test, as the Committee put it, then wondered what exactly that meant. “Points will be awarded on a discretionary basis” was hardly enlightening.

If Sebastian had stopped to think, he would have worked out for himself something that he would later be told. Now that the idea of the Cobham Challenge had been planted in his mind, it didn't matter whether it was real or not. For the moment, however, Sebastian was unable to advance his mind past the matter of verification.

It occurred to him to ask someone. Unsure of who exactly, he thought about the people in his life who might have answers. He would have to shower the letter to his friends sooner or later, but he doubted they could help him. If they knew about the Challenge, they would have told him, surely? This wasn't something he could discuss with his teachers either. If the letter was a hoax, that would achieve the presumed end of humiliating him.

Then it hit him. Aunt Laura. She had attended Cobham High just like he had. If the Challenge had been around long enough, she might have heard of it.

Aunt Laura's commute to and from the city was a lengthy trek, so Sebastian always endeavoured to have dinner ready by the time she got home. He didn't mind the chore. In fact, he considered himself a reasonable cook, and figured it was the least he could do.

Sebastian wasn't sure how to broach the subject. He'd had most of the day to think about it while readying himself for his return to school, and had come up with nothing. As they ate, Sebastian opened his mouth several times to speak, but scooped his dinner into his mouth instead. Laura noticed his hesitation. “Something on your mind?” she asked.

The letter had remained upstairs in its envelope. Despite the close relationship Sebastian had with his aunt, there remained limits. He had told her about Courtney because he felt he owed her an explanation for his occasional bouts of moodiness, and because she was clever enough to guess he was pining for a girl. The letter would be taking things a bit too far.

Sebastian decided it was best to be direct. After all, he could always plead ignorance if she pressed for details. “Have you heard of something called the Cobham Challenge?” he asked.

Laura looked at him. “The what?” she replied, and Sebastian repeated the question. “It rings a bell,” Laura said after a contemplative pause. “What is it?”

“Just something at school. It seems to be an old student tradition or something.”

“Not something official, then?”

“No, but I thought maybe you'd heard of it when you were there.”

“Well, as I said, it rings a bell, but that was over a decade ago for me.” Laura saw the disappointment in Sebastian's face. “If it's as old as you think it could be, Ms Jones might know. She's been at Cobham since before I was. Maybe you should ask her.”

Sebastian was surprised that he hadn't thought of it himself.