Work Text:
“Why’d you get kicked out?” Mac inquires.
“You’re not allowed to fraternize with the Inuit,” Jim explains.
“He tried to score with an Eskimo!” Maggie crows.
“I was just trying...” Jim begins an impassioned self-defense but seems to realize mid-sentence that he doesn’t really have much of an explanation. He looks down and admits “just trying to get past the disappointment of the penguins.”
The room chuckles and Mac quickly directs them to the next task, but not before raising an eyebrow at Jim. “That is a story we’ll have to hear later.”
Sure enough, later that week at Hang Chews, Maggie brings it up again.
“Oh Jim,” she calls, walking over from the bar with a pink drink in her hand. “We want to hear the Eskimo story.”
Jim sighs. “That was a long time ago.”
But Mac is in on it too. She plops down next to Jim and elbows him.
“I want to hear how Sam and Lynn handled this one,” she says.
“You know exactly how they handled it,” Jim laughs, “same way they handled everything. They put me to work.”
Mac loves hearing stories about Jim growing up. His parents were both teachers and seemingly masterminds at coming up with work for him to do as a consequence for any possible childhood or adolescent infraction. Mac loves it because it means he works three times as hard anytime he makes a mistake, and she rarely even has to point them out.
“You were in college?” She asks, and Jim nods.
“It was the summer after my freshman year,” he begins.
—-
[10 years earlier...]
19 year old Jim Harper finishes unpacking in the bunkhouse style room he will be living in for the summer with a dozen other students from various universities. Already this trip is not shaping up to be exactly what he had envisioned, beginning with what he will come to call “the disappointment of the penguins.” He learned this at the first orientation session that afternoon, just hours after getting off the plane.
At that same session, the director of the program reviewed the rules of the program, which Jim did not really paid attention to, a fact made clear three weeks later when he finds himself in the director’s office for violating said rules.
But that first day, he is busy meeting the other students and figuring out his schedule. One of the girls, Leah, starts flirting with him constantly, but Jim isn’t interested. He tries to turn her down gently (and politely) but she does not seem to take rejection well. As it turns out, she is the one who tells the program director that Jim is spending a lot of time with a local Inuit teenager named Nan.
Jim meets Nan near the end of the first week. She works at a coffee shop near campus, is a few months younger than he is, and something about her just captures his attention right away. It seems that many of the local young people can’t wait to get out of the close-knit community, but Nan tells the most beautiful stories about the Inuit people. She wants to be a writer and in her words, “share the depth and beauty of the Inuit with the rest of the world.” Her name is short for an Inuit name, Nanurjuk, which means “star.” Jim spends several long afternoons at the coffee shop where Nan works and a whole Saturday letting Nan show him around.
The following week, the two meet for dinner, after which they a share a kiss which is unfortunately witnessed by Leah, who wastes no time in informing the program director. The next morning, the director calls Jim to her office, where she makes Jim read aloud to her the section of the study abroad program handbook outlining the rules and expectations regarding relationships with locals. Jim admits that the rules are clear (now that he reads them) and that he violated them, and the director informs him he will have to be dismissed from the program.
He has to call his parents from the director’s office to explain the situation. As he typically does when he is in trouble, Jim calls his dad.
“Hello?”
“Hey, dad, it’s Jim.”
“Jim! We didn’t expect to hear from you until the weekend. Are you ok?”
“Yes, sir, I’m fine, but...well...I have a little bit of a situation. I am going to have to come home early.”
“What? What happened? Are you hurt?”
“No, nothing like that, I’m fine, it’s just...” Jim takes a deep breath and glances over at the director, who is at least pretending to be immersed in other work. “I broke a rule that is a pretty big deal, and I didn’t realize it. I mean, I should have, I just didn’t pay close enough attention. I’m sorry, Dad, I’ll pay you and mom back for this trip.”
“What did you do?” Jim’s dad’s voice is genuinely curious, not angry.
“Dad, can we talk about it when I get home?”
“We will. What did you do?”
“I went out with a girl from here. And there’s a rule about...um, not fraternizing with the Inuit.”
“When you say you went out with her, what exactly does that entail?”
“We hung out, I kissed her once, that’s all.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes, sir.” His dad pauses and Jim knows to wait, to give him a minute to consider the situation.
“And this is against the rules of the program?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you decided to ignore the rules?”
“No, sir. I mean, I did break the rules, but I didn’t realize it. I should have. It was my fault, and I take responsibility. I didn’t read the whole handbook and I guess I wasn’t really paying attention when they went over that part.”
“Son, this is a big opportunity you are losing out on.”
“I know, dad. I’m sorry.”
“Because you didn’t pay attention to what was expected of you.”
“Yes, sir, I know.”
“Ok, let me figure out what I need to do to get your flight changed and I’ll email you the information.”
“Thanks, dad. I’m really sorry. I know I really messed up. I’ll do whatever you and mom decide I need to do.”
“We’ll figure it out. I love you, son.”
“I love you too, dad.”
“Behave yourself, understand? Pay attention to what you’re supposed to be doing, will you please?”
“Yes, sir, I will.”
“Ok, we’ll see you soon then.”
“Dad? Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“What should I tell Nan? That’s the girl I was seeing. I don’t want her to think it’s her fault. Maybe I could just tell her my grandmother is sick or something and I have to go home early.”
“You think lying to her is going to make it better somehow?”
“No...I don’t know. I just don’t know what to tell her.”
“Lying usually makes things more complicated.”
“I know, you’re right.”
“Tell her what you just told me, that it was your responsibility to know the expectations and you didn’t. Apologize and be polite. I think you know how to handle this.”
“Ok...” Jim dreads the idea of having this conversation with Nan, but he doesn’t have much of a choice.
“Do make sure you talk to her. Don’t you dare just disappear and leave the country.”
“I know, I won’t.”
“Your mother would send you back on the next plane to apologize.”
“I know.” Jim’s mom has always made a huge deal about Jim being super polite to girls he dates, largely because, in Jim’s opinion, his older sister had dated way too many jerks who didn’t know how to return phone calls.
“Ok, I’ll email you soon then.”
“Thanks, Dad.
When Jim hangs up, he turns back to the director.
“Dr. Morgan, I just want to apologize. Again. I should have paid more attention to the rules. I’m sorry to put you and the program in this position. My dad is going to work on getting my flight changed. Is there anything else I need to do?”
She looks at him for a moment before responding.
“Jim, I’ve been directing this program for 12 years and you are the 10th student I’ve had to dismiss. You are the first one one to offer a sincere apology. Usually students are sorry they got caught, but I have never had a student apologize for putting me in this position.”
Jim isn’t quite sure how to respond to that so he just nods.
“Just let me know when you get your flight information.”
“Yes ma’am, I will.” He waits for her to dismiss him but she pauses.
“Let me ask you something. You seem to have a good relationship with your parents, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll be honest. I’ve heard parents yell at their students, I’ve heard them act like they didn’t really care, but I’ve never heard quite the level of respect that I just heard between you and your dad.”
Jim isn’t quite sure how to respond to that either.
“He’ll have more to say to me when I get home,” he tells her. “But my parents aren’t really the yelling type. They just give me work to do. They always say if I’m getting in trouble, I must not be busy enough.”
“Well, whatever they have been doing seems to have worked. You’re a great student, and a very respectful young man. I really hate to have to dismiss you. But this is one of those rules on which I don’t have any leeway.”
“I understand.”
—-
Two days later, Jim’s dad picks him up from the airport. He gives him a big hug, takes him to lunch, and doesn’t even bring up the incident until Jim does.
“Dad, I’m really, really sorry.”
“I know, son.”
“How mad is mom?”
“Well, she isn’t happy, but it’s not the end of the world.”
“It kind of feels like it.”
“You’re a good kid, son. You’re going to make mistakes.”
“I know, but this was a big one. And I know you and mom spent a lot of money on that program. I was thinking. If I get two jobs for the rest of the summer, I think I can pay most of it back before school starts.”
“We‘ll see. We’ve got some work for you to do around the house. And I think your mom can use your help with the new course she’s prepping for the fall.”
“She’s going to make me read every book on her syllabus, isn’t she?”
Jim’s dad grins and nods.
“Ok,” Jim says. “Fair enough. What else?”
“Well, you can start with cutting the grass. And don’t forget to do the edges. I already called and cancelled the landscaping company for the summer, so you can save us some money that way.”
“Yes, sir.” Jim knows he’s in for a busy summer, but if he’s honest, he is not dreading it. Even in the few weeks he was away, he had missed his family, and there is a part of him that is glad to be home, even if it’s not in the best of situations.
—-
Later that night, Jim’s mom gets home late from the university. Jim’s dad has already gone to bed, but Jim is reading a book in the den.
“Jim!” His mom drops her bags and comes over to embrace him, clearly happy to see him.
“I didn’t think you’d still be up. You’re not exhausted from the flight?”
“I’m not quite sure what time zone I’m in,” he admits, “but I really wanted to see you tonight.”
She suspects he wants to get the lecture over with, and she smiles at him, trying to lighten the mood a little.
“You’re going to need your sleep for all the work I have for you to do.”
“Yes, ma’am, I know.”
“Jim, I don’t have the energy to have the whole conversation we need to have tonight. I’ve got a crazy schedule this summer and today’s my long day. I know we need to talk and we will, but not tonight, ok?”
Jim nods. She’s right, he was hoping to get this over with.
“I’m really sorry, Mom.”
“I know you are, and you know I love you no matter what.”
“I know. I love you too, mom.”
“We’ll talk soon, okay?”
“Dad wants me to mow the lawn tomorrow. Is there anything else you want me to do?”
“I want you to get some sleep. We’ll talk about the work. But I’m not mad at you. I’m disappointed. And frustrated. You know better than to skip reading the handbook.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Did you know Dr. Morgan emailed us to tell us how impressed with you she was?”
This was a turn Jim was not expecting.
“She did?”
“Yep. Said of all the students she’s had to discipline, you were by far the most respectful.”
“I guess that’s one good thing, at least?”
“Well, I’d rather you have paid attention to the rules and stayed out of trouble.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.”
“But I’m proud of you. You’re going to make mistakes, your dad and I know that. And learning how to take responsibility for them is sometimes as important as avoiding making them in the first place.”
Jim nods, and his mom leans over and kisses him on the cheek.
“Now get some sleep. It’s good to see you, sweetie.”
“It’s good to see you, too, mom.”
As it turns out, Jim spends the summer landscaping his parents yard and helping his mom prepare for the new course she is teaching. He does all the assignments, including exams, to give her an idea of what to expect from her students. His dad, who teaches high school, is also on a committee to revise the school’s student handbook. He makes Jim read it cover to cover, reminding him that reading handbooks is a valuable life skill. This will indeed prove useful, as Jim reads and practically memorizes the army field manual when he and Mac are embedded with the Marines. This is why he knows exactly how to help Maggie get through her panic attack.
The night Jim tells this story at Hang Chew’s, Maggie wonders about this, but she doesn’t want to think about panic attacks tonight. Instead, she wonders just what it was about Nan that captured Jim’s attention.