Every day for two weeks straight, Chris would come to my place after school and study for at least a couple of hours. Most of the time he'd bring Gordie, and if he didn't... let's say those afternoons were less productive. We'd usually get sidetracked and end up spending most of the study session topic-hopping. We'd talk about trivial stuff - new TV programs and movies, the new ice-cream flavors that Violet was experimenting with in the diner - anything that had nothing to do with real life. My place was like an escape for Chris - a sanctuary where he could come and feel motivated towards the future, not pulled back into his everyday worries and battles.
But one day, he could not leave the outside world at my front door. The usual spark of inspiration he usually got when he sat down at my dining table didn't even flicker. He heaved his weighty textbooks out of his satchel and lumped them on the table in front of him and then just stared at them under a heavy brow.
I set down a fresh batch of chocolate chip and toasted coconut cookies that I had just baked and got no reaction. Now, that got me worried.
"What's the matter?" I asked, slipping into the chair opposite him.
He slunk his head down and rested it on his arms, and then began lightly thumping it on the table.
"Chris?"
He raised his head but kept staring at his books. "We had the test today," he muttered. "You know the one we've been studying really hard for?"
"Yes..."
"I got an A."
My eyebrows rose at least two inches in surprise. "Wow, way to go!" I said, reaching across the table to give him a congratulatory slap on the arm. "You kidder! You had me all worried, thinking you'd failed or something!"
"I did fail."
"What?"
"They wouldn't give me the A. They think I cheated." Chris reached into his satchel and slipped out a sheet of paper that was his test. Tick marks lined the edge, all the way down, with only a couple of cross marks in the middle. The teacher had written an 'A' at the bottom of her markings and then crossed it out to replace it with a big fat 'F'.
I snatched the sheet of paper out of his hands to inspect it more closely. The answers he'd gotten wrong were the topics he'd been really struggling with, and so that didn't surprise me, but he'd nailed everything else.
"This is outrageous!" Rage flowed through me in waves. What that teacher had done was appalling, despicable, disgusting. And for the first time, I truly understood the situation that Chris was in.
"I don't feel like studying today," Chris said, grabbing his books and stuffing them back into his satchel. "I dunno when I'll back." He rose to leave, but I called after him.
"Chris, what's your teacher's name?"
-2-
The lobby of the reception area felt dark, dank and empty as I stood in the reception area of Castle Rock Junior High, waiting for the school secretary to return from her lunch. I admit that I was nervous - I was only 18 myself, not exactly an authority figure over these teachers.
The secretary finally strolled in, showing her lack of enthusiasm for her job. She slumped her weighty body behind her desk and into her tattered chair and ignored me as she began stamping envelopes.
"Excuse me," I said.
"Yeah?" she replied, looking up at me with an 'I don't have all day' expression.
"I'm looking for Ms. Anderson. I was hoping to speak with her."
"You a student?"
"No."
"You a parent?"
"No." Geez, do I look like a parent?
"OK," she said, handing me a little clipboard and a pen. "Fill this in, and I'll make you an appointment."
I gritted my teeth and took the clipboard from her. As I began filling out the form, she opened a big book labeled 'Annual Planner' and flicked through to the current date.
"Nothing today..." she mumbled, "nothing tomorrow..." She flicked through several further pages. "The earliest I can get you in is next month."
"Next month?" I blurted out. "I only need to speak with her for five minutes."
"I'll make your appointment for five minutes then," she said smugly.
"What? No... I just need to speak to Ms. Anderson!"
"I'm Ms. Anderson," said a prim voice from behind me.
I swung around to see Chris's teacher conveniently standing behind me. She stood tall with her bright red high heels together and her nose in the air. She looked around age 40 and wore a very fitting gray suit, cat-eye spectacles and bright-red lipstick which was smeared on so thick you'd think she'd used the entire stick.
"Ms. Anderson? My name is Cassandra O'Connor, and I'd like to talk to you regarding one of your students."
"Which student exactly?"
"Chris Chambers."
"And are you related to Christopher in any way?"
"No, I'm..."
"Then we have nothing to discuss," she smiled before turning to totter off down the hallway.
I had a strong feeling that the pompous bitch knew exactly why I wanted to talk to her.
Poor Chris, I thought to myself, having to deal with 'this' every day.
"Why did you accuse Chris of cheating?" I shouted at her down the hall.
She abruptly stopped, spun around and then tottered back to me. Maybe she did want to have this conversation after all. "Because he cheated."
"No, he didn't, and I can prove it. I'm gonna bring out the truth."
"Huh huh ha!" she laughed, fluttering her thick, fake eyelashes. "Nobody will believe you, girl. Who would ever believe that a Chambers could pass a test let alone score an A? The entire family are nothing but drunks and jailbirds, and you know what?" She leaned in so close to me that I shuddered from the cold draft of her whisper. "Your little friend will become exactly that."
I erupted inside like a volcano. I completely lost my cool. I seethed at her as she gave me a sickening smile of satisfaction before turning on her high-heels to totter away.
It was time for plan B.
I briskly turned to the reception desk. The secretary looked just as smug as her cold-hearted co-worker.
"Where's the principal's office?" I demanded.
She smirked as she held out the little clipboard and pen. "Please fill-"
I rolled my eyes before storming down the hallway to look for the principal.
Ms. Anderson must've realized my intentions because she came tottering after me yelling, "Where do you think you're going? That is off limits!"
Now I knew I was heading in the right direction. There was a line of students perched on a bench in one of the hallways, and that made the principal's office easy to find. I barged through his doorway without even bothering to knock.
"Who are you?" the principal bellowed from behind his desk in his fancy leather chair. "What are you doing charging in here like that?"
Ms. Anderson burst through the doorway behind me. "I tried to stop her, Mr. Smith!"
"Are you a student here? I don't recognize you."
I took a calming breath to prevent myself from losing it and achieving nothing. "My name is Cassie O'Connor and I'm here because Ms. Anderson has accused one of your students, a very hard-working student, of cheating on a test."
"That's a very serious allegation," he said, looking to Ms. Anderson as if offering her an opportunity to explain herself.
"I gave him the appropriate grade," she said confidently.
"Based on what? His surname?" I said in outrage. "Chris got 95% of the answers correct, and you failed him!"
"Chris? You mean the Chambers kid?" the principal said.
"That boy has been studying his ass off, but nothing he does is ever good enough for you people!"
Mr. Smith gave me an authoritative glare. "Watch your tone in my office, Miss O'Connor or I will throw you off the school grounds myself. You have no right to be in here in the first place."
Ms. Anderson gave me a pompous smile.
"However... I've seen Chris after school every day for the past few weeks, and I must say, I've noticed a change in him. He's been keeping good attendance, completing all of his homework, and we've even discussed college courses for next year. If he keeps up this rate of learning, then I think he may very well achieve that."
I wanted to drop to my knees and kiss the guy's feet. Finally, somebody was on our side and for that person to be the school principal was a bonus.
The look on Ms. Anderson's face was priceless. Her lipstick smeared bottom lip fell open to utter, "But, but, but..."
"But," Mr. Smith continued, "I am not willing to question the competence of my teachers unless I have good reason to. If Ms. Anderson is sure that Chris cheated on a test, then I am in no position to call her a liar."
"But she is a liar, and I... Chris can prove it," I said. "Write him a new test and sit him alone in a room - even watch him if you like - and I guarantee that he won't fail. I guarantee that he'll get an A."
Mr. Smith's eyes rolled towards a very nervous looking Ms. Anderson as he pondered on my suggestion. Meanwhile, I was working on plan C, which entailed reciting a list of his superiors that I would go to if he denied Chris the opportunity to prove himself.
"Ms. Anderson," the principal said, "write Chris a new test. And make sure it's fair."
"But, Mr. Smith!"
"Chris will sit the test, right here in my office at the end of the week. Let's put an end to this nonsense once and for all."
"But..."
"You're dismissed, Ms. Anderson."
Ms. Anderson turned on her heels and tottered out the door with her nose at a significantly lower level than when she walked in.
"Thank you, Mr. Smith," I smiled appreciatively.
Mr. Smith smiled in return and mouthed, "Well done."
-3-
Kids flooded out of the school gates during the after-school rush. I sat on the wall across the road and waited with high anticipation for Chris to finish his daily meeting with the principal. He finally emerged from the main building with a slight spring in his step, and his head held high. He saw me, and I waved before slipping down off the wall and running to meet him.
"How was school?" I grinned.
He stared at me blankly as if he couldn't believe that this was real. "They're asking me to resit the test."
"I guess we'd better go study then, huh?"
"How did you do it?" he asked.
"The principal has your back, Chris, more than you realize. He seems like a decent person."
"He hasn't been the principal for long - just a few months. He's new to town."
"That explains a lot."
"Thanks, Cass," he beamed at me. "I owe you one. Or more like... a million."
"Well, maybe you can give me a good job when you're the CEO of some top corporation, or you can wheel me a deal when I need a hotshot lawyer. I'm sure you'll come in handy somehow," I laughed, ruffling his hair.
He laughed back, and I clapped him on the shoulder to begin our walk back to my place for a study session.