As he's walked through the halls at 7:15 am, knocking on doors and announcing the time and temperature like some medieval town crier, Alexander contemplated his disappointment again as he approached August's room.
He felt so betrayed by Wilhelm. He really believed Wilhelm was different than people like August, but it seemed he was wrong. He had been happy at the idea that they could eventually have a king who fought for people who were different, who would change things and modernize the country, but Wilhelm was just a hypocrite. He protected himself and the Royal Family and let Alexander take the fall.
Alexander knocked and waited for the door to open. August slowly opened the door and waited as Alexander made his announcement.
"Come in a minute."
Alexander followed him into his room and closed the door behind him.
"Have a seat." August seemed very serious, to the point that he almost appeared angry but was clearly calm.
"What's going on?" Alexander started to get nervous as he sat in the chair next to August's desk. August sat on his bed opposite Alexander and began.
August pressed his fingertips together as he spoke. "We have to forget the deal we made. If they report me, you don't have to take the blame, and I'm not gonna bring up the drugs to get Simon in trouble. I'm not sure they will report me, but just so you know, we're not doing that anymore. I don't think it would work anyway."
"What?! But... Wille tried to screw me over! I was lucky my parents could afford to get me out of it, otherwise I wouldn't even be here right now!"
"Yeah, I know it sucks, but he was trying to protect Simon. If Simon had gotten in trouble, he definitely wouldn't be here, so...
I mean, really, we were all using the drugs. We shouldn't have had them to begin with. I don't think any one person deserved to take the fall."
"Why are you changing your mind now? You were so sure about this before. Now suddenly you feel sorry for Simon or something. Fuck Simon! And fuck Wille for using me! I don't care what you say! Whether they report you or not, I'm still turning Simon in for the drugs!" Alexander stood up and moved toward the door. August stood up to cut him off.
"Wait! It's not going to work! What the hell do you think? I lied to Wilhelm...they didn't find any drugs with Simon's dad's name on them. If they had, wouldn't they have looked into it when they caught you with them? They just put it on you because they were in your possession but there was no ID on them. I made that shit up. I kept all the marked bottles because they could be traced back to Simon and then he'd say I was the one who wanted them.
It'll just look like you're trying to put the blame on someone else, but you've got no proof. I mean, let's be real, you were carrying the drugs!"
In August's mind all he heard on repeat was "fuck fuck fuck" as he spun his lies. He thought the more he said, the less credible it sounded and he needed to stop talking now before Alexander saw through it.
"It just won't work. Listen, I'll obviously tell the Royal Court that you were loyal and deserve special treatment. Don't worry. This won't change any of that."
"Nah, fuck that, they need to pay! I'm out of here!" He pushed past August and threw the door open, storming out into the hallway.
"Fuck!" August said under his breath. He felt genuinely panicked. He didn't know if any of Simon's dad's info was on the drugs they'd found on Alexander, but he wouldn't bet his life it wasn't. He assumed maybe not, but there were so many bottles and packets that he couldn't be sure. He knew he'd kept the ADHD medication for himself, but there might have been other meds with a name on them. There was the fact that when Alexander was caught, somehow there were no questions about who Micke Eriksson was, so possibly the drugs weren't marked...but there could have been some other reason it was ignored at the time or just not mentioned.
He hoped that his lies had put enough doubt into Alexander that he would at least hesitate a while before saying anything. August knew he didn't have much time regardless.