Romans Road Detour

by Todie West

  “Michael, are you okay?” Trish put her hand on his shoulder.

  “Oh, hi. What can I get you?”

  “I already ordered. What’s going on?”

  “Remember I told you about the weird stuff in my classroom, the writings on the blackboard?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, Ruby caught wind of it, and fired me for teaching religion.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “That’s what I said. “I’ve called the teachers’ union and they say I can state my case before the District Board, but that the Board would have the last word. The union is in the process of setting up a hearing.”

  “Well, I’ll go to bat for you.”

  “What could you possibly say?”

  “I could tell them what you told me.”

  “I could have told them that, too, but then I’d still be fired because then they’d think I was crazy. And who’s going to hire me then? I’m beginning to think maybe I am crazy.”

  “I see your point. But remember that day I was in your classroom and the scripture the truth shall set you free was written up on the board? There is a lot of truth to that, you know.”

  “There’s really nothing else I can say, except the truth. Anything else would just point the finger at myself, and I had nothing to do with it. I just went with it. My kids asked and I did not teach it to them. I told them if they wanted to know what it meant to go look it up themselves. What else could I say?”

  “Other than just erase it and ignore it.”

  “I could have done that, too, but it was the beginning of my first year of teaching. I was trying to form a bond with some of these kids. They were enjoying it. It got them thinking and that’s what we want, isn’t it?”

  “Write all this down. This is exactly what the Board needs to hear.”

  “Okay. I will. I feel so much better now. Thanks. Now enough about me and my problems. Let’s talk about you.”

  “Not much to tell. Born and raised Mormon, three brothers, two sisters. Went to BYU, of course. Earned my credential at Chapman, and here I am.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  “Well, there’s this guy at my church I’ve gone out with a couple of times, but he’s kind of boring. We have absolutely nothing in common.”

  “Don’t they say opposites attract?”

  “Yeah, but you have to have some of the same interests, don’t you think?”

  “I guess.”

  “So what about you? Any girlfriends?”

  “Not since my marriage fell apart.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  “It was for the best.” Michael didn’t go into details of the financial woes caused by his ex-wife.

  “No dates since, either?”

  “Not really.”

  When he noticed the twinkle in Trish’s eyes, Michael wished he hadn’t said that. He only wanted to be friends and was not going to lead her on. So he decided to cut the meeting short. He glanced at his cell phone. “Oh my gosh. Look at the time! I really have to be going.”

  “Oh, okay. Well, if there’s anything I can do.”

  “I’ll let you know.”

  “Do you have my phone number?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” Michael didn’t have her phone number and didn’t really want to have it.

  “Here it is, just in case.” Trish wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it to Michael.

  “Thanks.”

  “Let me know when the hearing is. I’d like to come. If that’s okay.”

  “Sure. The more the merrier. It’ll be a real circus. Come and watch me be crucified in front of the whole town.”

  “Oh, you’re going to be fine. Remember. Truth.”

  “Right. Truth. Got it.”

  “See you later.”

  “Later.”

  Chapter 12

  The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools. (The US Congress 1782)

  Michael and Tabby had formed a special bond since Mom died. The old cat was his only real connection to her. Michael sometimes missed having a brother or sister, but, on the other hand, he was the lone heir to his mother’s estate. It was not so much about the monetary aspect as it was about not having to deal with the drama that usually occurs when family members bicker over who gets what. If I cared about money, Michael had always said, I certainly wouldn’t have become a teacher. His only problem with money was being taken to the cleaners by his ex-wife and now he was unemployed.

  Michael was most grateful for the two people who were like brothers to him, and how they stood beside him through his darkest hour. He felt another very dark hour was on the horizon and was certain they would be there for him once again.

  Michael left a message on Jason’s voice mail. He just needed to talk to one of his brothers. Since Jason wasn’t answering, he called Brad.

  “Brad’s Garage.”

  “Hey Brad. Can you stop by after work?”

  “Yeah, sure, what’s up? You sound upset.”

  “I’ll tell you when you get here.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there in about a half hour.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Later.”

  * * *

  With the house cleaned up, and the leaves raked, and no papers to grade, Michael had too much time to think. The walls began to close in on him and he screamed out loud. What are you doing, God!? He decided to finish working on his defense for the hearing.

  * * *

  “Come on in, Brad.”

  “What’s up? You didn’t sound too good on the phone.”

  “Well, I’m not. I got fired today.”

  “You what?”

  “I got fired.”

  “For what? Sleeping in your classroom?”

  “I don’t think they could fire me for that. No, there was another Bible quote on the blackboard this morning and I fell asleep, so I didn’t have time to erase it before Ruby found me.”

  “She found you asleep? That’s embarrassing.”

  “Well, Roy, the janitor, actually found me first and didn’t realize it was me before he told her.”

  “So you never found out who was doing the writing?”

  “No. I could just kick myself. I stayed awake until 4 a.m. and then I woke up to the sound of Ruby’s snarly voice. Then she looked at the blackboard and there it was, another quote.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I have an appointment with a union rep tomorrow at 10 a.m. The Board will probably have a date set for the hearing by then so we can start planning our strategy.”

  “So what are you going to tell them? I can corroborate any story you want to make up.”

  “No. I’m going to take Trish’s advice.”

  “Trish? That cute teacher?”

  “Yes, Trish, the cute teacher. We’re just friends.”

  “Sure. Whatever. So what did she say?”

  “She said I have no choice but to tell the truth. I told her it will make me sound crazy, which I may be before this is all over, and so be it. I’m just going to tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may. I may want you to come and testify, though. You know, the conversations we’ve had about the whole thing.”

  “Even the part about you asking if I believed in ghosts?”

  “Yeah, all of it. Don’t leave anything out. I went to visit my mother’s grave today and I really believe that’s what she would say, even though she might even be the one that started the whole thing. I just don’t know. If it wasn’t her ghost, then somebody very quietly snuck in there between 4:00 and 7:30 this morning and I have no clue who it is, unless it is my mother’s ghost.”

  “Sounds kind of creepy.”

  “So you see where I’m coming from?”

  “Yeah, but nobody could make this stuff up, could they?”

  “It’s pretty bizarre, if you ask me.”

 
; “Well, whatever you decide, I’m there for you. If the union rep wants to meet with me, just have them call me at the shop anytime.”

  “You might want to go home and write down what you remember about our conversations, while it’s still fairly fresh in your mind. That’s what I’ve been doing here. See?”

  Brad read what Michael had written so far. “That’s exactly how I remember it. We can do this. Hang in there, Mike. Everything’s going to work out.”

  “Thanks, Man. You’re the greatest.”

  “Have you talked to Jason about this yet?”

  “I left a message on his cell. I’ll probably talk to him later tonight.”

  “Well, if you want to get together sometime this week, the three of us, we can talk about it and make sure we don’t forget any important details.”

  “Good idea. But we don’t want it to sound like we’re trying to corroborate a lie, so let’s just write it out as honestly as we can. Okay?”

  “Got it. Call me tomorrow and let me know how the meeting went.”

  “Sure will. Thanks. Later.”

  “Later.”

  * * *

  “Mr. Webster? Come on in. Take a seat. I’ll be right with you.”

  Michael was surprised to have a woman union representative. He felt it could be a little uncomfortable, but maybe she would give his case a fresh perspective against an intimidating principal and her troops.

  “Marian Grant.” They shook hands. “I just got off the phone with the District representative and your hearing is set for Wednesday night. I know we don’t have a lot of time, but the sooner you can get back to work, the better.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “Well, let’s get started. We have a lot to cover in a short amount of time. Since you are a probationary teacher, meaning you have not yet attained tenure, your dismissal is at the discretion of the District, so let’s see what we’re dealing with here. Start from the beginning. This first warning. When did it come and what is your side of the story?”

  “You know, Ma’am, I tried to twist this story in my head to make it make more sense, but I can’t. If I tell you the truth, it really won’t make any sense, but it’s too bizarre to make it up, so here goes.”

  Michael continued. “About three weeks ago my mother died.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Is that relevant to your case?”

  “It could be. You see, the day after I was notified of my mother’s death I came into my classroom and up at the top of the blackboard was a quote, written in very neat cursive. I knew it wasn’t one of my students, because none of them could write that clearly.

  “What did it say?”

  “It said something about the Bible being the rock or whatever.”

  “So you erased it?”

  “No. In hindsight, that’s probably what I should have done, but I had a very rowdy class and I had tried every tactic to bond with them. One girl asked what it meant. I went with it. I told her if she wanted to know what it meant, she should look it up herself and bring me her answer the next day.”

  “Was that it?”

  “No, there were actually two girls who agreed to my challenge.”

  “And was there a reward of any kind, did you grade their answers?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Explain.”

  “You see, I read this article about how a sixth grade teacher turned her class around by getting them involved in the process. She set up this like town atmosphere in her classroom, where there was a mayor, and city council, and other public servants.”

  “Is this relevant?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Michael continued. “I also gave each student a mock checkbook. I am teaching them how to balance a checkbook, be responsible. They receive fake money in their checkbook for things like keeping their desk clean, helping each other out, turning in assignments on time.”

  “And do they ever spend the money?”

  “Yes, I have fines for misdemeanors such as chewing gum, talking out of turn. I have lists I can bring you on all of this.”

  “That would be helpful. I think. Go on.”

  “Anyway, just spontaneously I told the class on this particular day that anyone who researched the quote and brought me back an answer as to what it meant would receive 100 fake dollars in their mock checking account. And, oh, I forgot, the quote was signed by President Andrew Jackson. That was another reason I thought it would be okay. It was just a teachable moment and I went with it.”

  “So the girls turned their answers in and you gave them their money, and that was that?”

  “Well, then they read their answers to the rest of the class.”

  “Okay. Then what?”

  “There was another quote on the board.”

  “Really. What did this one say?” Ms. Grant looked at her watch in an agitated manner.

  “It was signed by Christopher Columbus, about the gospel being preached to all lands, or something like that. I can get copies of the students’ answers, that would have the quotes written down exactly. But they’re in my classroom.”

  “We’ll arrange a time when I can go with you after school and get them. Now, did it stop there and when did Ms. Mason find out about all this?”

  “About a week later. It was the day of my mother’s funeral.”

  “Really,” Ms. Grant responded with a skeptical tone.

  “I had gone out with a couple of my buddies for beers and we got to talking, because I had a quote on the blackboard every day up to that point.”

  “All religious quotes?”

  “Yes. And so one of my friends suggested we go down to my classroom and stake it out, see if we could find out who was writing them.”

  “What time was that?”

  “Let’s see, the funeral was at 1:00, I think we got out of there about 3:30 and by the time we got to the school it was probably about 5:30.”

  “Then what?”

  “Well, Ruby, I mean Ms. Mason was still in her office. When she saw us, she called me into her office, said she had something to ask me.”

  “Was it about the quotes?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Was this the first warning?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you tell her what you just told me, that you did not write the quote?”

  “No.”

  Ms. Grant asked “Why not?”

  “In hindsight, I probably should have, but I was focused on finding out who was doing it.”

  “Go on.”

  “So I said fine, I wouldn’t let it happen again and my friends and I went down to the classroom. We thought we’d hang out there for a while, see if somebody came in and tried it again.”

  “Did anyone come?”

  “No.”

  “Then what did you do?”

  “My friends and I left, and two of us planned on trying to stake out again on Friday. This was Thursday. Last week. So the next stakeout would have been Friday night.”

  “You and …”

  “Jason. Jason Bardwell. He said he would testify to all this.”

  “And what’s your other friend’s name?”

  “Brad Wharton.”

  “Okay. I’ll need their phone numbers before you leave.”

  “Sure. Anyway, Friday night Jason and I got a pizza and a six-pack of root beer.

  Then we piled boxes up in a corner and sat behind them, tried to be real quiet in case someone came. We could see in between the boxes.”

  “Did anyone come?”

  “No, Ma’am.”

  “How long did you stay?”

  “About two hours. We decided I would come back on Monday night, by myself, and spend the entire night.”

  “You were going to stay up all night?”

  “Lots of coffee, I figured.”

  “Is that what you did?”

  “Yes Ma’am. And the last time I looked at the clock i
t was 4 a.m. and the next thing I knew Ms. Mason was standing over me.”

  “Did she fire you then?”

  “No, Ma’am. I didn’t think there was a rule against sleeping in your classroom, but I guess I should have told her about it first.”

  “So then what?”

  “As she was walking out of the room she looked at the board and there was a new quote. And that’s when she called me into her office and fired me.”

  “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

  “That’s pretty much it.”

  “Did you discuss this with anyone else?”

  “One other person. Trish Taylor.”

  “Who is she?”

  “She teaches fourth grade, in the classroom next to me.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “When it first started happening, I asked if she had seen anyone going in and out of my classroom.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She said no.”

  “Then what?”

  “Then I asked her if she believed in ghosts.”

  “Really?”

  “Then later I told her what was happening and asked if she had any idea who did it or even if she had done it.”

  “And she said ‘no?’”

  “Correct.”

  “Okay, we’ll be contacting her as well.”

  “So do you think I have a case?”

  “I’ve seen stranger things in my life. We’ll see. By the way, I do like your practical lessons, teaching them about banking and city government.”

  “I had a good thing going there. We were all really connecting. I just hope this disruption doesn’t do irreparable damage.”

  “We’ll do what we can. Get you back in there as soon as possible. I’ll be in contact before next Wednesday so we can go down and get those lists from your classroom. And be sure and call me if you think of anything else, or anyone else you might want to call as witnesses on your behalf. And I’ll need all three of your friends’ phone numbers.”