“And as you can see here, the assailant can be seen throwing the victim against the door, hence the force of impact pushing it open. I’ve highlighted pertinent areas for your clarity and convenience.”
“Objection.” Todd shouted, his hand raised. “First of all, I can’t be seen in this footage and neither can your diorama because the camera is outside of room.”
“It’s assumed.” Ivan replied.
“Secondly, you haven’t highlighted anything, you just used a filter which adds devil horns and the words ‘I’m guilty’ to my school photo.”
“Overruled. It’s a clear improvement to the base image.” Ivan said. He stood in front of a large computer monitor with a keyboard in his hands.
“I’m sorry, can we go back? How do you have this footage again?” Ms. Fields asked. Ivan smoothed his hair.
“As President of the Fillmore Security Council I have clearance to access all footage as a matter of club necessity.”
“That is definitely not an approved club on the directory.” Ms. Fields replied. Ivan put his hands on his hips.
“The real question is: where is the justice? How do I get restitution, compensation, remuneration for the heinous act of academic vandalism inflicted upon my person?” Ivan placed his hand on his chest and looked wistfully out the one window with partially opened blinds. “I just think, in my heart of hearts, we live a country, nay a society which values fairness and decency. Ah shucks, call me naive, but gosh darn it I believe in a Fillmore that cares about the student.”
“Give me a break.” Todd muttered as he rolled his eyes. He almost wished to be back with the angry mob. Ivan did a fantastic job getting them whipped into a frenzy over his alleged sabotage. Todd didn’t even realize that many people would care, but they reacted as if he’d burned Filmy, the beloved school mascot, in effigy. Todd compared the way the crowed pushed and shoved as Ivan grossly exaggerated the situation, and there was no contest when put up against another minute of Ivan’s hyperbole. The reaction even managed to surprise Ivan and he was forced to try and ratchet thing back, but by that point they were too far gone. Fortunately, Ms. Fields heard the commotion and stepped in, but the idea that Todd would destroy someone’s homework sent them to the edge. The fact that nobody in the crowd, including people Todd remembered being a in class with, could remember him did not go unnoticed. What was worst of all was the look of shock on Sarah’s face.
The entire ordeal landed Todd and Ivan in Principal Park’s office with Ms. Fields. He was forced to sit and be slandered by Ivan in a trial which would make Salem blush. The lights were dimmed as security footage played and replayed of Todd going into the abandoned chemistry lab, oblivious but unseen commotion, and Ivan entering sometime later. All of it underscored by constant and inaccurate insults from Ivan. The only bright spot was the fact Todd was able to watch Ivan stroll into the room, then run back out in hysterics over and over again. He noticed that neither Ms. Fields, nor Principal Park seemed to give much weight to Ivan’s antics. It was a saving grace, but technically speaking, Ivan wasn’t one hundred percent wrong. Todd was in the room and played a role in the destruction of Ivan’s diorama. Of course, it wasn’t on purpose and Todd didn’t know it was Ivan’s at the time, but Todd still felt more than tinge of guilt.
“The footage places Todd Stewart, average at best student, into the room long after the last student to turn in their project. That student confirmed the room was not in disarray when she left. Case closed. I demand a full written confession from Stewart to be stapled to his permanent record, full marks on the assignment, his immediate expulsion, and he is forced to be my butler-”
“Enough.” Principal Park said. Ivan flinched. The principal didn’t raise his voice, but commanded attention all the same. He spun in his chair to face the others. “Ms. Fields, you can confirm Mr. Stewart was in your class on time today...correct?” he asked.
“That is correct.” she said. She held up her phone. “The other teachers on his schedule confirm the same.”
“The timestamp on the video show he entered before the end of the assembly.” Ivan said.
“Without footage of the exit we have no way of knowing what happened prior to your arrival...correct?” Principal Park asked.
“Well no, there was some sort of glitch and-”
“I’m afraid I cannot hold this young man liable without solid...proof. Particularly when your bias is so obvious.”
“Perhaps it was someone else.” Ms. Fields said. “Your project was the only one lost or, as you say, sabotaged. Why would Tom do that to just one diorama?” Todd sighed.
“Todd.” he said, lips pursed.
“Todd. Sorry, it takes me a minute to learn the names of students new to my class.” she said. Principal Park raised an eyebrow. Todd looked at the ground. How was it possible that only Ivan’s diorama was ruined? Whatever that creature was threw almost everything project.
“The answer is simple: he’s always been jealous of my academic prowess and this is his latest subpar attempt to become the top honors student. After last year’s fluke, and the whole going crazy-”
“Enough.” Principal Park shouted. Everyone in the room, including Ms. Fields, shrank back. “Under no circumstances will I allow you to mock a student’s struggles. Is that...understood?” Ivan trembled as he nodded. “The fact of the matter is that Mr. Stewart isn’t in any honors courses this year.” Todd felt his face flush and he wanted nothing more than to evaporate into thin air as he glanced at Ivan’s face.
“Oh.” Ivan said. He poorly disguised the glee in his voice. That bit of news took him from frightened to filled with joy in a flash. Todd sank in his seat.
“While I can commiserate with the loss of your hard work there simply isn’t enough information to support deliberate...sabotage. And that’s whether it came from Mr. Stewart or someone else. I cannot ask a teacher to bend their grading with such scant evidence.” Principal Park flicked his eyes towards Todd. “Wouldn’t you agree...Mr. Stewart?” Todd gulped.
“That’s not fair!” Ivan protested. Todd watched him stomp his foot and felt pity. For as much as Todd disliked almost everything about him, it was unfair for him to lose out like this; Ivan seemed genuinely on the verge of tears.
“I’m sorry Ivan, but for all we know you did it yourself. I’m not saying that’s the case, but from the outside looking in, we have nothing to go on.” Ms. Fields said. Ivan took a big gulp of air as his lip quivered.
“Wait.” Todd said. “I think I have the right to say something.” He looked at the other three and his mind raced as he contemplated his options. The one card he hadn’t pulled out was Jun. If it wasn’t for him, Todd would have never been in the room in the first place.
Principal Park stared at Todd with his usual intense gaze, but instead of making Todd feel like the principal could see through him, it almost seemed as if the principal were trying to read him. Todd gulped and cleared his throat.
“I just wanted to state I did not purposefully sabotage Ivan’s work.” he said as he chose his words carefully. “I did go in the room. I didn’t know it was where the honors projects were being kept.”
“Why?” Ms. Fields asked. Todd hesitated.
“I was looking for a friend after he left the assembly. I wanted to make sure he didn’t get in trouble, and when I got there...” Todd bit his lip and sighed. “The room was fine so he didn’t do anything either. I didn’t sabotage your project, but it got ruined while I was there, so I take full responsibility. Give Ivan his grade and I’ll take the punishment.” Todd said. He looked at the ground. It wouldn’t have been right to put everything on Jun. From the sound of it, he needed a chance to prove himself even more than Todd. It hurt that, he only managed one shortened day back before everything fell apart, but it was better than throwing someone else under the bus.
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“I knew it!” Ivan shouted. He pumped his fist. “It’s over Stewart. Not even Haynes Academy would accept you now.”
Ms Fields and Principal Park exchanged glances before she got up from her seat next to Todd and walked to the desk. The two whispered back and forth as Ivan tried to inch his way close enough to hear. One glance from Principal Park sent him scurrying back around the desk. Todd felt a sting in his eye.
“Expelled.” Ivan silently mouthed at Todd, a huge grin on his face.
“A decision has been...reached. Ivan will receive full marks for completion of his project.” Ivan nodded his chin jutting out. “And Todd you will attend detention tomorrow afternoon for unauthorized access to a classroom. Report to cafeteria. Don’t be...late.”
“What? That’s it?” Ivan asked. “He attempted to kill my academic career in a fit of jealousy and all he gets is a detention?”
“The decision is...final.” Principal Park said. “Unless you would rather forfeit today’s reprieve to suspend your unauthorized club activities.” Ivan’s eye widened and his face grew pale.
“I’ll just see myself out.” Ivan grabbed his things and rushed out of the room.
“As for you Todd Stewart,” Principal Park said “While it may seem admirable to protect your friends, at Fillmore we expect honesty above all else.”
“What do you mean?” Todd asked.
“While you were waiting for that mob to disperse, we spoke with your friend, Jun. He explained everything. It’s good you kept him out of trouble in that room, but a good friend doesn’t lie for him.” Ms. Fields said. “And I understand it’s embarrassing to have an accident during school but this is safe environment.” Ms. Fields used air quotes at the word accident.
“Wait...what?” Todd sat up in his chair.
“I commend you facing your fear of small rodents in order to help Jun.” Principal Park said. “That couldn’t have been easy on top of the soiled pants. I’m sure Hammy the Hamster appreciates not being party to some prank...as well. That said, we have therapists you can speak with about your fears.”
“And we can keep a pair of spare pants in the nurse’s office for you.” Ms. Fields added.
“Jun said that? He said I-”
“It’s okay, everything here is confidential. Nobody outside this room will know.” The door creaked and Todd turned around as it slowly closed. “These things can happen, at any age. My father has them all the time.”
“I can’t believe this.” Todd groaned as he cringed in his seat and covered his face with his hands.
----------------------------------------
“Yeah. That’s what I said. Well, I used the words thunderous diarrhea, but that’s pretty much it.” Jun said. He twisted in his chair to stretch his back, as Todd stared daggers at him. For the first time, Todd was pleasantly surprised when he found Jun sitting near the back of the room in his last class. He waned answers; actually Todd wanted to wring Jun’s neck, but considering that Todd had never been in a fight before, answers would more than suffice. Unfortunately for Todd, the answers were far from satisfying.
“Why. Why would you say that? Of all possible stories.”
“Because saying ‘Todd Stewart botched his fight with a Wereberus puppy’ wouldn’t fly and would give me second hand embarrassment. It wasn’t a Wereberus at all Todd.” Jun shook his head and Todd closed his eyes then pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I think you’re missing the point.”
“I took the brunt. I told them you stopped me mid prank, and that you were afraid enough to soil your pants again to make you look heroic and lighten your punishment.”
“Soiled two times?” Todd nearly shouted.
“Nobody cares if you pooped your pants.” Jun said. A pair of students who stood near them stopped their conversation and moved away. “We needed a reason the room was a mess and your pitiful flailing created one. Minimum trouble and we both get exactly what I need.”
“Which is?”
“Detention.” Jun said.
“Silence.” Mr. Scofield shouted as he kicked the door open. It interrupted Todd’s attempted to ask what Jun meant and he quickly sat down. This was the closest thing to an honors class on Todd’s schedule, he couldn’t afford doing anything to risk it. Jun sat in the desk next to him seemingly without a care in the world. Initially, Todd tried to get him to leave before the teacher arrived so they could both avoid trouble, but Jun was surprisingly adamant that he was in the right place. Todd just hoped that whatever his aim turned out to be, it wouldn’t drag Todd down with him..
Nedd strode into the room, a pair of sunglasses on, and threw his brief case towards the desk at the front of the class. The throw was just short and the brief case landed on the floor with a loud thud as Nedd turned to students and smiled. He delicately took his sunglasses off and cupped his chin with his hand. “Grades. Standardized. Average. Teacher’s office hours. I want you to throw all of that out of your mind. Forget you ever heard those words born of the uninspired and the untalented. You will not need them. I’m going to turn your mind and the educational paradigm on it’s head. On their own minds. Which I will then turn on its head. Through a process of rigorous and merciless evaluation.” A girl in the front row raised her hand.
“So we will have grades or not?” she asked.
“Get out.” Nedd replied quickly. “Shoo.” The girl gasped and looked around, then ran out of the room. “I can see how that’s confusing, yes there will be grades.” Nedd said. He clasped his hands together and smiled. “Perfect segue. There will be only four A rated grades handed out on any given assignment. Once that’s gone, the best you can do is B, so on and so forth. Since you’ll all be working on your own assignments for a given subject, DEN will rate, rank and hand out the grades for your work. That means, you may need to give A plus effort to get an A. Regular A work might net you a B, and B level work could see you promptly, unceremoniously, and gleefully booted out of the room.” Nedd’s smile dropped as he stared at another student sitting in the front you. “You.” he mouthed and pointed.
“How will the system determine which assignment gets A grades if five deserve it?” A different boy asked.
“You deserve nothing.” Nedd snapped. He smoothed his flannel shirt. “Also, you receive bonus points for speed, so the earlier you turn your work in with top notch work, the better your chance of getting that coveted A grade. If all the A grades are given, better luck next time. At the end of every two weeks, any students with a C or D in the class are replaced by A and B students from classes rated below this one. Students with failing grades are sent directly to the basement. It’s both a figurative academic basement and a literal basement in the building. I don’t know what they do down there between sessions eating glue, and frankly I don’t want to know.”
Todd’s kneed bounced and he fidgeted in his chair as his mind raced. Setting aside the fact his Dad would kill him if he found out Todd was in a class like this, even Viltburg didn’t put this kind of pressure on their students. How was Todd going to be able to be one of the first four for every assignment? He developed a system of getting work done early, but this was ridiculous. Todd watched Jun sleep blissfully unaware of what would likely happen to him in two weeks; if Jun wasn’t discovered for being in the wrong class before then. Todd shook his head and looked at the other students. To his surprise, their reaction was almost overly eager. It was as if the teacher promised a juicy steak to a starving group of people. If he didn’t know any better, Todd would’ve said it reminded him of the energy from the mob earlier.
“Are there parameters or limits to what we can study?” the girl next to Todd asked.
“Finally, someone asking the right questions. Of course not, if your work hasn’t been accused of being against nature, is it really worth doing?” Nedd asked. Everyone else exchanged uneasy glances. “Oh you mean with the...yeah, DEN will give you a subject, say equations and you come up with your own research. Nobody in this class needs some photocopied handout asking you to fill in the blanks.” Todd put the study guide template he’d printed at home away and raised his hand.
“I understand perfectly, but maybe others in the class might need clarification: how do we know what we’re studying exactly?” he asked.
“Bleh.” Nedd scoffed. He made a face as if he were about to vomit. “Too clever by half, young man. He typed something on his phone and walked over to a desk in the front row. He knocked the student’s books off the desk and set his phone down, camera lens facing the whiteboard. The phone projected a painting of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Eylau on the board. “In this one image you have art, history, art history, geopolitics, economics, almost every conceivable subject matter can be pulled from an expounded upon with one painting. Instead of giving a worksheet to memorize, I want you to give DEN every detail and tangent detail you extrapolate from this painting. The next assignment might be an equation, I want you to do the same. Onward and so forth until you fill your empty heads with vast sum of human knowledge.”
“Every class is doing this?” Todd asked.
“You keep asking questions like the dumbos and you’ll find out soon enough.” Nedd said, his eyes narrowed. “Of course not. You’re the academic elite, they need paint by number, repetitious, hand holding for babies. You all have proven the capability to break free from that. Whether that capability is real will be revealed in time. No more are you going to be shackled by the oblivious and the obtuse. Rise cream of the crop.” Todd frowned. He’d never heard a teacher talk about students like that before. He didn’t like it, but there was a part of him that agreed with it. All the people who apparently couldn’t bother to remember him, who didn’t appreciate how hard he worked. Maybe Mr. Scofield was right.
“How are we supposed to know when to stop on an assignment?”
“If you’re asking that question you don’t belong here. The prize I mentioned at the assembly was junk food for your inferiors. Here’s the real reward: one hundred thousand dollars, and a job with my company upon graduation.”
“Wow. One hundred thousand dollars.” a boy said in a hushed tone.
“And a job with my company.” Nedd added.
“Oh yeah, that too. I forgot.” The boy said. Nedd scowled. Everyone else broke into excited whispers. Todd could feel the shift from sitting on pins and needles to a slight mania. The other students spoke, but not in normal conversation. They spoke with an aggressive edge and more at each other rather than to each other; just like in the auditorium.
“This is wild.” He whispered to Jun, who yawned and turned away from Todd in reply. That was a huge prize to offer seventh graders; there was no way that was allowed. Todd wanted to ask for clarification and he looked back at Mr. Scofield. His heart skipped and he felt a jolt. This time there was no possible mistake: there was a dark, golden light in the teachers eyes.
“Whoops.” Nedd chuckled as he surveyed the room. He patted his shirt then threw his sunglasses on. “But remember, this is a holistic and brilliantly innovative approach to learning, that I invented. So have fun and don’t worry about anything other than being first and best.” Nedd checked his phone and walked towards a door which lead to a small teacher’s office. “And remember: don’t bother me. Oh, I almost forgot. I’ve sent an email with your first assignment, don’t worry about it today, this is just the first day. It’s an introduction and a day for fun, so take it easy. I’m sure no one in the class is going to use it to get a head start. Probably.” Nedd winked and shut the office door.