“Don’t worry. Dr. Daugherty knows you will be late.” He told me.
“Am I in trouble?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. Should you be?”
“No!” My voice sounding shocked at such a statement.
He smiled.
It was a rare sight to see Mr. Resler smile, since he was a solemn man and took his job very seriously. So if you were presented with a rare treat of seeing him smile, you knew things would be okay. I liked him very much. Most students found him unfriendly and a bit of a dream killer. But I always thought he just gave his honest opinion when I’ve talked to him. He certainly didn’t sugar coat things.
He finished up his work, laid his pen to the side, placed his hands on the desk and crossed his fingers as the class bell rang. He directed his attention to me. I sat up straight, which was expected when addressing any teacher or administrator and waited for him to begin. I wasn’t keen on missing Dr. Daugherty’s class, but it must be important if he told Dr. Daugherty that I would be late.
“Ms. Harbinger…” “Nancy?”
He nodded. “Ms. Harbinger is sick and will be unable to attend the orientation on Friday night at seven. You know the Orientation is only for new students and their parents.”
I nodded.
“She was going to announce the factuality to our new parents and take any question they might have before. Would this be something you would like to do in her place?”
I sat back a little surprised. Normally this honor was only for the Counsel of Twelve Junior Class to do. Nancy was the class president.
“Shouldn’t Kammy or Lindsey do this? They are the V.P. and Treasurer of the Junior Counsel.”
He agreed. “Yes. But neither has been through our program since Kindergarten, such as you.” Mr. Resler held up his hand to forestall my question. “The Senior Counsel of Twelve will be doing other things during Orientation. You don’t have to, but you have been an excellent student here at Apollo Academy and I thought you might like the privilege.”
“I am really honored. I would very much like to do it.” I beamed. Dad would be all sorts of proud too.
“Good. I’ll see you at six. You may go to class now.” He stood and shook my hand.
“Thank you Mr. Resler.” I grabbed my bag, waved to him and left.
“Congratulations.” Mrs. Douglas congratulated me.
“Thank you. I hope I don’t mess it up.”
She shook her head. “You’ll be fine. If you can read then you won’t fail.”
“I can read.” Laughing I went off to Dr. Daugherty’s class.
When I got to class, Dr. Daugherty was writing something on the board, therefore, I quietly let myself in and took my seat.
“Welcome back, Ms. Ritter.” Dr. Daugherty said as he continued to write on the board.
“Thank you. It’s nice to be back.” I said.
Brooke hissed at me. “What happened?”
“I got picked to give the opening speech at the Orientation.” I told her.
She gave me two thumbs up.
“God, I hope you do a better job than Robert last year. I thought Mr. Resler was going to get up and toss him off the stage.
We laughed.
“He might be a good leader, but he isn’t very good at public speaking.” Tina agreed.
“Neither was Abraham Lincoln when he first got into politics.” Dr. Daugherty turned around. “Don’t underestimate him. He’s got a good sense for politics.”
Robert was really good. Everyone said he was a natural at soliciting ideas from other students and getting them to agree on one.
“Okay. Turn to page one hundred and sixty nine of your Chaucer book and we’ll jump right in.”
The entire day, plus every chance I got, I practiced the speech given to me by Mr. Donahue’s personal assistant, Tatiana. She was a really nice person that appeared very at ease around people. I’d never met her before when Mr. Donahue came to the school but she was a beautiful shadow that was always by his side. A small woman of five feet four inches or so, dark brown hair, big brown eyes, and a smile that went from ear to ear. Tatiana didn’t seem to have a last name because no one ever used her last name when they addressed her. Not even Mr. Resler, who called everyone by their surname. Tatiana told me to be ready on Friday by five thirty when the limousine would pick me up.
I sat on the back porch reading the speech to Cooper, who laid asleep on the lounge chair next to me.
“You want soy sauce on your noodles?” Dad yelled from the kitchen.
“You know I do.” I yelled back.
Soon he appeared with two plates full of egg noodles, steak and chives. He set a plate down on the table next to me. Cooper jumped up as he shooed him off the lounge chair.
“Get out of here, you mutt. You have your own food.” Dad fought Cooper off with his elbow.
“Cooper.” My voice commanded sternly.
He trotted over to my side, sat, laid down and put his head on his paws.
“Wish he’d listen to me that well.” Dag grumbled stuffing noodles in his mouth.
“You wish any woman would listen to you that well.” I snickered, sneaking a noodle down to Cooper.
“Ha, ha.” He gulped more noodles down. “You ready?” He said after chewing and swallowing.
“I hope so. It’s a really long speech.”
“You’ll do fine. Just remember if you get nervous, they say to think of the audience all naked like.” He smiled.
“Yeah, that’s going to help me.” I ate more noodles.
“It might. You got something nice to wear?” He said.
My head nod made a noodle whip up and slap me in the nose. I wiped off the sauce. “Yeah.”
“Good. I can’t wait to watch.” He finished up the last of his noodles and steak.
“You are not coming!” I told him.
“You bet your ass I’m coming. I’m so proud of you. This is a great honor and I’m not going to miss it.” He got up.
“Just don’t heckle me from the audience.” I handed him my plate.
“I hadn’t thought about that. Thanks for the idea.”
“Oh, god.”
All day Friday my mind consciously walked through every kind of scenario that would make me look foolish up on stage. All the while my nervousness followed me like a bad shadow to my classes creating an environment of sever unfocusness. It would have been nice to see Gabe, he would have put my nervousness at ease with just a look, but unfortunately, I hadn’t seen him during passing hour or anytime during the day. When I got home, I rushed to take my shower, fix my hair and put on a nice spring blue dress that was light and airy. The limousine arrived right on time. Dad walked me to the limousine, he kissed my head, said how proud he was and helped me in. The limousine arrived in plenty of time; the limousine driver helped me out, complimented me on my dress, and I walked to the auditorium.
When I arrived, Mr. Resler greeted me.
“Hello Ms. Ritter.”
“Hi Mr. Resler. Is there anything you want me to be doing?”
Senior Counsel was busy placing chairs on the stage for the Regents and doing whatever Tatiana seemed to be telling them.
“Just go on up and stand at the podium so the sound engineers can get a good reading for the audience. Then tell them how fast you want the teleprompter to scroll. Tatiana will take care of you.” He turned and left.
Doing as told, I walked up to the stage, Tatiana greeted me and we got started.
Fifteen minutes before the start of the Orientation, I found myself wandering out front of the auditorium. The officers of the Counsel of Twelve were busily passing handouts to those parents that were arriving early. Punctuality was one of the top Tenants that governed our school. Classes, meetings, plays, sporting events, everything started when it said it would. The Counsel of Regents believed that promptness was a quality that should be taught at an early age. Tardiness was a crime that was punished swiftly and without mercy at Apollo Academy.
Many students have been expelled because of their inability to follow this simple rule. And tonight will be no exception. I moseyed over to the holding room and greeted Ted.
“Hey Ted. Ready for the angry parents that come in late.”
Ted was a wiry young man with red hair and a big nose. His blue eyes looked apprehensive as he sighed. “I was hoping that I’d get one of the easier jobs, but at least I have Mr. Winkler and Mr. Marion with me.”
Mr. Marion was the wrestling coach
“You are in good hands then.” I said.
He smiled.
Checking the clock, it read seven till seven. “I have to go. Good luck.”
“You too.”
Moving down the side hallway to get backstage, Tatiana greeted me.
“Ready?” She led me to the podium without me answering.
On stage behind the curtains sat the Counsel of Regents: Dr. Zang, Dr. Daugherty, Mrs. Shoen, Mrs. Hannity, the Civics teacher, and Mr. Harlon, the music teacher. Next to them sat Mr. Donahue and Mr. Hatzenbueler, Mr. Donahue’s lawyer for the school. His reputation for being an aggressive lawyer was well known around the school due to the cases that he had argued, some even in front of the State Supreme Court. Rumor also said that his wife, Mrs. Hatzenbueler had argued cases in front of the Supreme Court of the United States. Both of his little girls go here as well.
Each sat quietly talking among themselves, joking softly as the noise of the audience cancelled out anything they said from being heard. The green teleprompter came on.
“We are about ready to start.” Tatiana said behind me. “You good?”
I nodded nervously.
“Don’t mess up, JJ. I’ve got twenty saying you will.” Dr. Daugherty chuckled.
“Psh, don’t listen to him, JJ. I’ve got you covered.” Dr. Zang said.
“Thank you, Dr. Zang.” I stuck my tongue out at Dr. Daugherty.
The doors closed amid several angry protest before the lights went down. The audience quieted and the curtain opened. Spot lights sprang into life, startling me as I began to read from the teleprompter. I won’t go into detail about my speech. It basically covered the founding of the school, its philosophy, and its dedication to the development of future leaders. My part lasted about thirty minutes or so, at which time the audience clapped very politely, combined with a very loud clapping from my dad up towards the doors. Dr. Daugherty slipped Dr. Zang a twenty with a shake of his head.
“I’d like to introduce to you, our principal, Mr. Resler.” I stepped away from the podium clapping and Mr. Resler came on stage.
“Thank you, Ms. Ritter.” He nodded to me then raised his hand to quiet the crowd.
I walked off stage and sat down next to Tatiana. She slapped me on the knee. “Good job.”
“Thank you. I was sweating badly up there.”
She waved off my remark. “Couldn’t tell.”
I thanked her again and listened to Mr. Resler as he introduced the board, Mr. Donahue, and Mr. Hatzenbueler.
“As was so eloquently stated by Ms. Ritter, a product of our education since Kindergarten through her senior year, here at Apollo Academy, we strive to teach a sense of understanding of the world around us, while molding future leaders that aren’t afraid to change things. This Orientation is for parents to come and ask question about our program and to see if Apollo Academy is a place for their child to grow and learn. One of the first lessons that is taught is promptness. Our belief is that employers along with other industries want employees to have good time management skills. As you take a moment to look around you, you will see that there are a few empty seats.”
Mr. Resler paused giving the audience the time to look around them. I counted thirty seats out of the one hundred and fifty seats were empty.
Mr. Resler continued. “At our academy, tardiness is treated very seriously. Each of those empty seats represents a lack of courtesy for our school and for each of you and is punishable by expulsion from the academy.”
A gentleman raised his hand. “For being tardy? Isn’t that a bit excessive.”
Mr. Resler shook his head. “An employer isn’t going to want an employee to be late. Each tardy is subject to review by our Regents.”
“This isn’t a job.” A woman commented.
“I disagree. You can never be too young to learn ethics.” Mr. Resler explained. “The sooner bad behavior is consequenced, the sooner positive behavior will be reward and reinforced. That is our goal.”
He waited and continued. “As each of you have had contact with one of our counselors, you understand that your child can be dismissed from the academy for any action deemed inappropriate along with the action of the child’s parent.”
Another hand went up. “I’m still unclear about that. Can you clarify ‘inappropriate’?”
“Of course. The rule that gets students dismissed the most is being rude to faculty or to other students. Bullies are dealt with swiftly and so are disruptive students. The academy isn’t here to discipline your children. That is your job.” Mr. Resler paused and waited for the customary reaction of nods of approval and vigorous shakes of the head in disagreement. “Let me reiterate that. ‘We are not here to discipline your children. Their action can be consquensed. i.e. dress code violation, behavior, Tenant code violations, and anything a faculty member deems inappropriate. Did I answer your question?”
“No. The faculty can come up with anything? What if they don’t like the kid? Can they just make stuff up and they will get dismissed?” The father said.
Mr. Resler nodded. “That could happen. But all dismissals are reviewed by our Regents along with a neutral party and that list can be found in your student/guardian handout.”
“But that doesn’t mean your neutral party won’t go along with whatever decision the Counsel makes.” Someone said.
“Then you clearly have not done enough research on the Academy. Those individuals are leaders of industry and pillars of the community, they wouldn’t risk their reputation just to satisfy a petty complaint.” Mr. Resler shook his head. “Besides, this is how we run the Academy. We look upon our Regents as the Supreme Court and their ruling is final. We don’t require a fee for attending the Academy. If any family finds these rules to be unacceptable, you may leave at any time. Just as we can dismiss your child at any time.”
There was a ripple of disquiet among the parents of the new students. The parents that have children at the Academy were busily talking to their neighbors to ease their fears. Even Dad was chatting with someone in the back.
“What if we think the ruling is unfair or prejudice? We can sue you to reinstate our child.” A mom smugly commented.
Mr. Resler was about to respond when Mr. Hatzenbueler politely interrupted him. He stepped to the front of the stage.
“Madam. If you feel your only recourse is by suing, then you are encouraged to seek whatever justice you need for your child. Unlike the public school system that shies away from frivolous lawsuits because it might damage their reputation or whatever their cowardly administrators believe. I have no such qualms.” His voice held a subtle menacing quality that seemed to cowl the woman. No one else said anything about suing.
Mr. Resler waited politely for the buzz to die down and for Mr. Hatzenbueler to return to his seat. Mr. Donahue patted his shoulder, leaning in and sharing a joke.
“I hope our position is clear. We expect our students to abide by the rules, within an atmosphere of individualism and cooperation. We expect our students upon leaving here to achieve whatever goals they have. Lawyers, doctors, artists, social workers, community activists or whatever. No one is a failure in our eyes unless they fail themselves by not following their joys.”
Again, Mr. Resler paused here to let his words sink in. When he resumed, the Orientation continued for about another hour before he concluded.
“I want to thank each of you for coming and choosing Apollo Academy. We have refreshments in the cafeteria and the Senior Counsel, and our Reag
ents will be on hand to answer any questions. Please feel free to ask whatever you think is necessary. I look forward to seeing all of you at the start of summer term.”
The applause went up and he bowed graciously. The curtain closed and everyone began to stretch and leave.
“Nice job as usual Mr. Resler.” Dr. Daugherty said. “Now, I can’t wait to get to the eats. Rumor has it the Culinary Class planned something special. Coming?”
Dr. Zang nodded. “You know it.” They left.
“Mr. Resler. Is it okay if I leave?” I asked.
He nodded. “Thank you, Ms. Ritter. Good job tonight. See you on Monday.”
“Yes, sir.”
I peeked my head out of the curtain as the people were filing out of the auditorium. My Dad waved to me and I waved back. Stepping down off the stage, I fell in behind some people and caught up with Dad.
He grabbed me and kissed my head. “I love you. Great job up there.” His smile warmed my heart.
“Thanks. Nerve racking if you ask me. Even reading the prompter was weird.” The prompter seemed to move much faster than when I was practicing.
“You going to the cafeteria for the free eats?” He asked.
“I think I’ll head on home. This wore me out.”
“Okay, I left the jeep out there. I’ll find a way home after some of that great food. That is one thing I’ll miss around here. The food.” He rubbed his belly.
“Psh…I’m sure you will find a way to come back.”
He grabbed his chin. “Maybe you need a little sister?”
When my jaw dropped he laughed. “Sucker.” Patting my shoulder he left.
“You’ll be sorry when I drop from a heart attack sometime when you joke like that!” I yelled.
“Who said I was joking.”
Speechless, I walked off toward the parking lot and my jeep. The light of the full moon mingled with the florescence parking light poles. Fishing my keys out of my purse, my nose caught whiff of a strong stench. It took me a moment but I recognized it as the same stink of cologne that Christian had earlier in the year. I looked to see if he was around when I spotted a man over by the light pole. His features were lost to the shadows of his hat, but my pulse began to increase noticeably as he looked at me. He pushed himself away from the pole and began to walk slowly toward me. My breathing increased as I fumbled with my keys to open the jeep door. In my mind’s eye he was running towards me, but in reality it was a very slow deliberate walk. That didn’t keep me from panicking in trying to open my door.
Dragon Amour (Dragon-Half Breed Book 1) Page 22