Bernard x Oc

School Property

Scott Calvin arrived at the school sporting an oversized Christmas sweater and jeans. Entering the facility, he notices Laura and Neil waiting in the middle of the hall. Laura smiles at Scott, and the two walk over to greet him, "Scott! Hey! You trimmed your beard." Laura wraps her arms around Scott, giving him a welcoming hug.

"Yeah."

With a broad grin, Neil holds his arms out to Scott, "Come here, big guy. Whoa! Lost some weight there, huh? Slim-Fast?" He pulls back, noticing how skinny the man has become. "You don't know how fast," Scott admitted, walking between them.

"We should get going." Laura gravely expressed even as she adjusted her handbag on her shoulder, side glancing at Scott.

"Oh, okay."

"How do you always know when there's a problem?" Neil asks, his hands in his pockets and a quizzing gaze on the jolly man.

"I see you when you're sleepin'. I know when you're awake. Which is a pretty frightening concept when you think about it." Scott snickers nervously.

"We're really worried about Charlie." Laura seemed confused by Charlie's actions.

"He keeps upping the ante. This time he defaced school property." Neil added.

"It's classic acting out."

"I'm blaming myself for this." Scott bends his head, grief eating in his gut.

"We're both his parents." Laura tries to vouch for the man.

"Where is he?" Scott perks up, viewing the other two.

"He's waiting for us in Principal Newman's office." Neil sighs, and Laura bobs her head in agreement.

"Something about her makes me want to deface public property," Scott grumbles before snapping his eyes before him, noticing the Principal stand in front of them with her arms crossed and a glare on her face.

"Hello, Mr. Calvin. Laura, Neil." She greeted.

"Miss Newman." Scott sarcastically saluted the Principal with a phony grin.

"Principal Newman. I haven't seen you since the last time Charlie was in trouble." She spoke unamused by Scott Calvin's actions. He snickered, squinting at her, "I've been travelling for work."

"If you spent more time with your son, there'd be fewer problems." She stated, slightly scowling at him.

"Then I wouldn't spend so much time with you, which is always such a pleasure," Scott replied, his unreal grin not faltering. "A battle of wits. It's a shame you come unarmed." Principal Newman berated before glancing over Scott's shoulder, "Excuse me."

"Ouch!" Scott uttered, watching Principal Newman stride over to a boy riding his skateboard in the hall.

"Good morning, Principal Newman." The boy swallowed, clenching his board. Principal Newman plucked the board from the boy's hands, keeping eye contact with him, "Mr. Picardo, I want you to look into my eyes. What do you see?"

"It's dark. And it's cold." Mr. Picardo quavered, his eyes wide and face pale. "It's your future, Mr. Picardo; keep this up, and you will spend your life stabbing trash. Do I make myself clear?" Principal Newman stepped closer, making Mr. Picardo take an unsteady step back, "Yes." His voice shook.

"So, what are you gonna do?"

"I'm going to geometry."

"Have a nice trip."

The boy spun quickly on his heels, walking hastily to his classroom, leaving his skateboard behind in Principal Newman's hands. The Principal turned around and paced back down the hall to Scott, Laura, and Neil, "Follow me," She spoke, not glancing at the stunned adults.

Reaching the Principal's office, Charlie sat in the chair, waiting for them. Principal Newman sat in her chair, opening her laptop on her desk. Logging into the computer, she turns it around, showing the painting on the gymnasium wall. Sitting next to Charlie, Laura and Neil were startled to see the damage. Scott stood behind Charlie, disheartened by his son's actions.

"It's an affront to authority and blatant disrespect for property. If this continues, I'll have no other recourse than to suspend..."

"Excuse me." Scott lifts his hand, stopping Principal Newman from continuing, "Is there a rest stop between here and the end of the lecture? I'm more interested in why this happened in the first place." He crosses his arms, averting his eyes back and forth between the painting and the Principal.

Principal Newman nodded her head, "So am I. Charlie, we're all worried about you. It feels like you're trying to get someone's attention. What's bothering you?" Principal Newman folds her hands on her desk, staring at Charlie. Charlie didn't answer, only stared at the desk. Then, realizing that she wasn't getting anywhere with Charlie, Principal Newman laid her eyes on Neil, "Dr. Miller?" She addressed.

"Neil."

"Neil, any theories?" Principal Newman contemplated.

"Well, frankly, I have several," Neil answered back with his hands on his lap and straightened up in his chair.

"Here we go. Let's just order a pizza." Scott interrupted, moving to a chair next to a large cabinet behind Laura and Neil, "Scott, you're not helping." Laura responded, peering over at Scott behind her shoulder. "I was listening to a tape series on child development last night." Neil initiated.

BANG!

BANG!

Everyone spun to see Scott hit his head on the cabinet and stand up, "You know what the problem is? Excuse me, Neil." He turns to Neil apologetically, then back to Principal Newman, "It's four weeks until Christmas. That's a holiday in December."

"Oh." The Principal speculated, pretending not to know.

"Have you noticed the hallways? Not a decoration, not a twinkle light, not an expression of the joy kids are supposed to be feeling. What kind of school is this?" Scott pressed, leaning over Laura and Charlie's shoulders as he frowned at the Principal.

"A public school. A top-rated public school. That takes effort. And money. Spending any of that money on holiday decorations would take away from the things that truly matter." She calmly responds to him.

"Forgive me, but I think holiday cheer really matters." Scott retorted back.

"What are we going to do? We are worried..." Laura points, clutching Charlie's arm in concern. Scott rests his hand on Laura's shoulder, "Let me handle this. You know what you did is wrong. Right?" He probed, pointing his finger at his son in question.

"I guess so." Charlie shrugged his shoulders, "There's no guessing. The guessing is gone. It was wrong what you did. And you're not gonna do it again. Promise me." Scott didn't like Charlie's earlier response but hoped his son would keep an agreement with his father.

"Okay," Charlie vowed, refusing to look his father in the eye. Scott nods, satisfied with Charlie's answer, and turns to Principal Newman, "There you go. He won't do it again. The meeting is adjourned."

"It most certainly is not! Charlie..." Principal Newman stood up from her chair, surprised as Charlie snatched his bag and stomped out of the office, pursued by Laura and Neil. Before Scott left the office, he turned to Principal Newman and flung a dollar on her desk, "You know what else? Here's a little donation. Why don't you buy yourself a wreath?" Scott whirls around and quickly retreat out of the room, leaving a startled Principal Newman with her mouth hanging open. Once out of the office, Scott tries to stop Charlie as the troubled teen scurries down the hall, "Ch-Charlie! Stop!"

"Scott, trying to get him to open up at the school isn't going to work. We'll try speaking to him at home." Neil suggested. Scott and Laura nodded their heads as Charlie slammed the school doors open and marched outside.