Go read Part One if you haven't already done so. This is a continuation of the same storyline.
Characters: Sharpe, Michael, Emiko, Fellowship, Candace Pruitt, Peter Screwtape
Rated: G
“What was that all about?” The quiet query came from Tyler Martin and the tall African American boy sat back in his chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the black countertop. However, before Michael could answer, Sharpe re-entered the room, followed by an older-looking woman. There was a frown on her face and she was speaking in hushed tones to Sharpe.
“Yes, I am aware of that, Candace,” Sharpe’s voice was equally as quiet and Michael had to strain his ears to pick up even that much of their conversation over the sounds of Katie Myst talking excitedly to Kiran Shasthri, the latter choosing to ignore the perky cheerleader. “You must also remember that I have personal business to which to attend this afternoon.” Absently, he removed a small object from his pocket, gave it one glance and returned it to its original position.
Candace was frowning, her already thin lips pulled into a line. “Not that again, I hope.” Though she was at least a head shorter than Sharpe, her presence was imposing, especially as she glared at him through her spectacles, which were pushed down on the bridge of her nose. “Peter will not be pleased and that will not be beneficial for anyone involved.” She paid little attention to any of the students who were in the classroom, especially since most of them had gone back to their normal activities of passing notes and exchanging answers to the homework for Ackerman’s history class.
Sharpe nodded. “I understand, but I have obligations at four o’clock this afternoon.”
“What time will they be done?” Candace tapped her foot against the tiled floor a few times, an old habit of hers that she’d picked up from her roommate at university. Or maybe Priya had picked the habit up from her; Candace didn’t know and right now, it was not important.
The younger of the two shrugged. “I do not know,” he replied simply, his dark glance circling around the room before returning to Candace. “But as a teacher, I have given students my word that I will be present if I am needed.” There was an awkward pause and he turned back to face some of his homeroom students, making eye contact for a brief moment with Emiko Takahashi. “They need me more than Peter does. Now, if you will excuse me, we can talk about this later.” With that, he crossed over to the front of the room, leaving Candace standing near the door in the back.
The older woman frowned slightly, then walked out of the room, shaking her head. Getting Sharpe– and many of the other younger teachers– to come to these meetings was just about as bad as giving Saami (her cat) a bath. But this meeting was something that was absolutely necessary if they were ever going to resolve their differences and figure out how to save the school. A small muscle near the corner of her mouth twitched. Perhaps Maplewood was not meant to be saved, even by her. As Candace thought about it, it made her sad; the further she walked from the small classroom that Sharpe held his classes in, the more she realised that this might be the end of everything. All that she had worked for all these years might come crashing down, just because some of her co-workers were too immature to swallow their pride and just cooperate with one another. No, she could not let that happen. She would not.
Her resolve steadily increased and firmed itself until she walked into the building that held the offices. She searched her memory in an attempt to figure out why Peter was calling this assembly. Did it have something to do with the school board meeting that she had missed the week before? She knew something must have been said– by Testuya Takahashi, no doubt– and the teacher frowned to herself. Tetsuya had been one of her students back when he was in high school and the chemistry teacher was even the least bit surprised to find that the man had not changed. Before, he was the president of the Student Council; now, a politician who had much power over the school board of Maplewood Academy.
With each passing second, she could feel her heart pound in her chest. She had gone to meet Peter several times before, so why was today any different? She reached out to knock on the door, but it was already part-way open.
“Come in, Candace,” a nasal voice sounded from inside. The voice unmistakably belonged to Peter Screwtape, the principal of Maplewood Academy. “There’s some things we need to talk about before the staff meeting.”
Candace let herself into the rather spacious office that Peter had claimed for himself as soon as Mark Wheeler had vacated his position. “You know I had family obligations the night of the board meeting,” she began, but before she could continue, Peter held up his hand. After a few moments of standing near the doorway, Candace entered the room and took a seat, sitting perfectly upright in her chair. “But I hope that Mr. Takahashi hasn’t gotten his head turned upside-down yet.”
The corners of Peter’s lips turned up the smirk that Candace knew all too well. “Basically, yes,” he admitted. “You know how Tetsuya is, though. I seem to recall you mentioning that he was in your class when he was still a kid.”
The chemistry teacher nodded. She had been teaching at Maplewood for over a quarter of a century and she’d seen her fair share of students pass through the halls, easily learn the rules to name chemical compounds and several tricks to solving the mathematical problems associated with the physical sciences, but fail to learn what she’d termed as the important lessons of high school. “More stubborn than the rest of us put together,” Candace offered. Perhaps Peter didn’t need Sharpe, but Candace felt she did. The younger man always knew how to stand up to the principal.
Peter tilted his head downwards and it was a full minute and a half until he made eye contact with Candace again. “Candace, you must not tell any of the other teachers about this until the meeting, but Takahashi wants the school to close down.” As soon as those words came from Peter’s mouth, Candace paled. There was no possible way this day could get worse, was there?
tbc
Characters: Sharpe, Michael, Emiko, Fellowship, Candace Pruitt, Peter Screwtape
Rated: G
“What was that all about?” The quiet query came from Tyler Martin and the tall African American boy sat back in his chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the black countertop. However, before Michael could answer, Sharpe re-entered the room, followed by an older-looking woman. There was a frown on her face and she was speaking in hushed tones to Sharpe.
“Yes, I am aware of that, Candace,” Sharpe’s voice was equally as quiet and Michael had to strain his ears to pick up even that much of their conversation over the sounds of Katie Myst talking excitedly to Kiran Shasthri, the latter choosing to ignore the perky cheerleader. “You must also remember that I have personal business to which to attend this afternoon.” Absently, he removed a small object from his pocket, gave it one glance and returned it to its original position.
Candace was frowning, her already thin lips pulled into a line. “Not that again, I hope.” Though she was at least a head shorter than Sharpe, her presence was imposing, especially as she glared at him through her spectacles, which were pushed down on the bridge of her nose. “Peter will not be pleased and that will not be beneficial for anyone involved.” She paid little attention to any of the students who were in the classroom, especially since most of them had gone back to their normal activities of passing notes and exchanging answers to the homework for Ackerman’s history class.
Sharpe nodded. “I understand, but I have obligations at four o’clock this afternoon.”
“What time will they be done?” Candace tapped her foot against the tiled floor a few times, an old habit of hers that she’d picked up from her roommate at university. Or maybe Priya had picked the habit up from her; Candace didn’t know and right now, it was not important.
The younger of the two shrugged. “I do not know,” he replied simply, his dark glance circling around the room before returning to Candace. “But as a teacher, I have given students my word that I will be present if I am needed.” There was an awkward pause and he turned back to face some of his homeroom students, making eye contact for a brief moment with Emiko Takahashi. “They need me more than Peter does. Now, if you will excuse me, we can talk about this later.” With that, he crossed over to the front of the room, leaving Candace standing near the door in the back.
The older woman frowned slightly, then walked out of the room, shaking her head. Getting Sharpe– and many of the other younger teachers– to come to these meetings was just about as bad as giving Saami (her cat) a bath. But this meeting was something that was absolutely necessary if they were ever going to resolve their differences and figure out how to save the school. A small muscle near the corner of her mouth twitched. Perhaps Maplewood was not meant to be saved, even by her. As Candace thought about it, it made her sad; the further she walked from the small classroom that Sharpe held his classes in, the more she realised that this might be the end of everything. All that she had worked for all these years might come crashing down, just because some of her co-workers were too immature to swallow their pride and just cooperate with one another. No, she could not let that happen. She would not.
Her resolve steadily increased and firmed itself until she walked into the building that held the offices. She searched her memory in an attempt to figure out why Peter was calling this assembly. Did it have something to do with the school board meeting that she had missed the week before? She knew something must have been said– by Testuya Takahashi, no doubt– and the teacher frowned to herself. Tetsuya had been one of her students back when he was in high school and the chemistry teacher was even the least bit surprised to find that the man had not changed. Before, he was the president of the Student Council; now, a politician who had much power over the school board of Maplewood Academy.
With each passing second, she could feel her heart pound in her chest. She had gone to meet Peter several times before, so why was today any different? She reached out to knock on the door, but it was already part-way open.
“Come in, Candace,” a nasal voice sounded from inside. The voice unmistakably belonged to Peter Screwtape, the principal of Maplewood Academy. “There’s some things we need to talk about before the staff meeting.”
Candace let herself into the rather spacious office that Peter had claimed for himself as soon as Mark Wheeler had vacated his position. “You know I had family obligations the night of the board meeting,” she began, but before she could continue, Peter held up his hand. After a few moments of standing near the doorway, Candace entered the room and took a seat, sitting perfectly upright in her chair. “But I hope that Mr. Takahashi hasn’t gotten his head turned upside-down yet.”
The corners of Peter’s lips turned up the smirk that Candace knew all too well. “Basically, yes,” he admitted. “You know how Tetsuya is, though. I seem to recall you mentioning that he was in your class when he was still a kid.”
The chemistry teacher nodded. She had been teaching at Maplewood for over a quarter of a century and she’d seen her fair share of students pass through the halls, easily learn the rules to name chemical compounds and several tricks to solving the mathematical problems associated with the physical sciences, but fail to learn what she’d termed as the important lessons of high school. “More stubborn than the rest of us put together,” Candace offered. Perhaps Peter didn’t need Sharpe, but Candace felt she did. The younger man always knew how to stand up to the principal.
Peter tilted his head downwards and it was a full minute and a half until he made eye contact with Candace again. “Candace, you must not tell any of the other teachers about this until the meeting, but Takahashi wants the school to close down.” As soon as those words came from Peter’s mouth, Candace paled. There was no possible way this day could get worse, was there?
tbc
1 comment:
Very good! You had me wishing throughout the post that the continuation was done and up!
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