As a handsome middle-aged gentleman in a brown ponytail
stood by her side, Linda Williams took center stage of the gymnasium with a
microphone in hand. She noticed the sullen expressions on her students’ faces
as they filed into the bleachers one by one. Linda caught a glimpse of Adrienne
Simpson sitting in the far upper corner by herself. The Principal’s heart ached
for her and all of this new trauma she had to deal with. That was not to
undermine the sadness of the other students filling the seats, all of which had
slumped over postures and saggy frowns.
Right at the time everybody was seated where they needed to
be, Linda tapped the microphone a few times and tested it for feedback. She
gazed around at the audience before her with a combination of sympathy and
strength in her face. She needed to be strong when others felt they had the
strength sapped right out of them. Linda took a few breaths to steel her nerves
and brought the microphone up to her lips to begin her oratory.
“Before I get started with this emergency school assembly, I
want to get two talking points off my chest. First, I’d like to thank each and
every one of you for coming today, students and teachers alike. I wish this was
all under different circumstances, but it is what it is. And secondly,” Linda
patted the ponytail-wearing gentleman on the shoulder and said, “This is Paul
Corbin. He will be your new US
Linda gazed down at her loafers to allow for a beat of
silence. Reengaging the audience, she said, “I’m sure some of you heard by now
what happened with Tom Simpson and why he’s not here today. For those of you
who need to be brought up to speed, let’s just say he won’t be working here
anymore. He made a bad decision and it cost him his job. I know that argument
sounds familiar to those of you who were close to one Scott George. I know how
quickly rumors can travel.”
Pacing back and forth with slowness in her step, Linda
cleared her throat and said, “We can debate all day long about the morality of
what Scott George did. Then again, we can also do the same thing for Mr.
Simpson. And for Alan Young, another student whose name you might recognize. Varying
opinions aside, I have a confession to make as it pertains to my tenure here at
Perkins High.”
“I haven’t been a perfect Principal. I’ve made a few enemies
here and there. But the one thing I can never forgive myself for…is allowing my
own students to be victimized. I’ve been blind to the mistreatment going on
around here. I thought it was just another day at the office. And then I saw a
You Tube video of Scott George sobbing at his father’s grave while the
so-called filmmaker Alan Young laughed in the background. That never should
have been the ultimate breaking point and for that I’m sorry.”
Pointing her arm at the new teacher, she said, “As you can
see from Mr. Corbin’s presence, there are going to be some changes around here.
These changes are going to shake the very foundation of this once esteemed high
school. No more abuses of power. No more hostile work environments. No more
mediocre school lunches. Everything is going to change around here from top to
bottom, left to right. Mind you, these changes aren’t going to happen
overnight. Reforming a broken school takes time and effort. While I realize
that patience isn’t always a virtue among everyone here today, it is needed if
we’re to make these changes in a civilized and methodical way.
“To put it as delicately as possible, Scott George hit some
bumps in the road during his educational experiences here. I’ve no doubt that
many of you feel the same way. The only difference is, his story came to my
attention first. And his story is the reason why these radical changes are
happening in the first place. As long as they’re happening, I’d love know your
stories as well. You know why? Because unlike what Tom Simpson had been
preaching this whole time, democracy isn’t dead. Your voices matter now more than
ever. You have the right to be heard and there’s not a teacher walking this
earth that can take that away from you.
“Which brings me to my final talking point of the day. If
you’ve been following the local news, you’d know that Scott is currently sitting
in jail awaiting his final sentencing. The crime he committed had no victims,
yet he currently has a five thousand dollar bail looming over his head. He
doesn’t have a lot of time left before that bail will be revoked and his prison
sentence will officially begin.
“Therefore, I am announcing to you all this morning that
I’ve set up a Go Fund Me page to pay for his bail. The link to the page will be
posted on the bulletin board outside of my office. I don’t expect any one
person to fork over the full amount. In fact, I don’t want any of you to think
that the new changes to this school will be contingent on how much money is
donated to the cause. This isn’t extortion. This is purely optional. One dollar
would be fine. A quarter. A nickel. Every little bit will help.
“If you’re wondering why you should care about a kid who was
rebellious at his worst and tearful at his best, then know that I would do the
same for any one of you if you were placed in a similar situation. No student
deserves to be taken advantage of. No student deserves to be silenced. Every
student has the right to an education should he or she decide to pursue it. I
feel that way about Scott George, a kid with so much promise and so much of an
upside that it breaks my heart to see him lose it all over an asinine loophole
in the law he allegedly broke.
“I’m not asking you all for help. I’m pleading with you. I’m
all but on my hands and knees. I’m asking for this school to be united, not
torn apart by bullying or abuse of any kind. If there’s one thing Scott George
will teach you all, it’s that empathy and love will go a lot further than empty
disciplinary tactics and mindless conformity. He wants you all to be free
thinkers. He wants you all to take advantage of the opportunities you have. He wants
to see these changes to our school just as much as you all need them. I’ll
close this assembly with one final plea: can you find it in your hearts to give
Mr. George another chance?”
The expressions on the students’ faces spoke volumes: angry
eyebrows, defeated frowns, and tense stares. One by one they left the gymnasium
without waiting for Miss Williams to give permission to exit. They never said
one word, presumably because for so long they had been fed the “democracy is
dead” shtick like it was the worst tasting medicine imaginable, worse than any
worm-infested food Scott George would eat in his new home. The only student who
didn’t get up and leave was Adrienne Simpson, who pulled her knees up and
tucked her head in her lap, feeling dejected and forlorn.
As soon as the bleachers were empty sans Adrienne, Paul
Corbin placed a gentle hand on Linda Williams’s shoulder and said, “You did
your best to convince them.”
“Did I really, Paul? Is this just another chapter of broken
promises and ignorant leadership?” asked Linda in a sullen tone.
“Nobody’s perfect, Linda. Not you, not me, not Scott George
himself. But that’s what makes us human. We grow, we adapt, and we learn
things. Isn’t that what school is all about?”
“It’s too late for us now,” said Linda. “These changes
should have been made long before Scott was taken into custody. I could have
prevented all of this from happening. But instead, I sat by and did nothing. I
was naïve to think everything was okay. Does anybody really tell you that everything
is wrong in their world? For god’s sake, I should have never hired Tom in the
first place.”
Linda’s stonewall strength had crumbled all around her and
she couldn’t help but shed a few silent tears. How could she remain strong
after all that’s happened? She believed it was all her fault and that she had
no right to cry about it in the first place. But the tears kept coming, albeit
in a silent sob that still caught the attention of Paul Corbin. The new history
teacher gave the Principal a hug light enough to avoid awkwardness, but strong
enough to know that he was by her side.
“Excuse me, Miss Williams?” said Adrienne, who was now
standing within close range and Linda hadn’t even realized it until she picked
her tear-soaked face up. The little freshman held out a twenty dollar bill and
said, “I want to contribute this to Scott’s bail. It’s not much, but I hope
it’s a step in the right direction. I’ve been saving it for a rainy day.”
A smile spread across Linda’s face despite the flowing
tears. She accepted the twenty dollar bill and said, “Oh, Miss Simpson, bless
your little heart. I know Scott means a lot to you. He means a lot to me too.
Speaking of rainy days…” The last sadly joking sentence was punctuated by
pointing at her own teary face, hence the raindrops.
“I’ve been doing that a lot lately too, Miss Williams. It’s
nothing to be ashamed of. You’re still one of the strongest women I know, next
to my mom.”
Linda sighed, “I guess we all have to be strong now, don’t
we? I just hope Scott feels the same way. Of course, it’s hard to be strong
when you’re all alone behind those barred walls.”
