ALL MINE

thirteen

[Enjoy🩷]

A few members of the board prepared to leave the meeting. The school's president, Michael Bolden, made sure to speak clearly. He was careful with his words and tried to be thorough yet precise.

The atmosphere in the room was... challenging. The alum trustees sat amongst each other with their notepads and pens. They were prepared to take notes and ask President Bolden and Dean Mitchell millions of questions. By the end of the meeting, Mitchell had turned red from not being able to answer most. He pulled his tie out of nervousness while glancing at Winston's President and VP.

As soon as the members left the room, Dr. Bolden placed his eyes on the dean, who was busy rummaging through his paperwork. Alisa Mosely, the Vice President of Winston, realized what was happening, so she grabbed her belongings and excused herself from the room. She figured Bolden would want to speak to the dean privately.

Dr. Bolden cleared his throat, and that caused Mitchell to look his way. He sighed hard and decided to put his paperwork on the desk. He figured the president was about to give him a lengthy lecture.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Dr. Bolden questioned him.

Dean Mitchell scoffed before saying, "I've been working at this school for nearly twelve years." He leaned his head to the side and added, "I know exactly what I am doing."

Dr. Bolden pushed out a small laugh that was laced with sarcasm. He couldn't believe the way Dean Mitchell was behaving. He acted as if he wasn't being neglectful to the school. His self-centered and inattentive behavior caused a student to lose their life. It was Winston State University's responsibility to ensure the students on campus would be protected. There was a mandated policy included in each handbook. Unfortunately, it wasn't important enough for the dean to carry out.

"Oh, do you?" Dr. Bolden glanced at the iPad on his desk. He realized the dean had an article pulled up. "Then what is this?" He tapped on the tablet's screen, which caused Dean Mitchell to move his eyes toward the sound.

"Jerome Montgomery's parents sue Winston State University over wrongful death." Dr. Bolden spoke intelligibly and cleared his throat afterward. "A 5-million-dollar lawsuit."

5 million dollars.

Winston was notorious for their expensive tuition. The college was a historically black university that was privately owned. Most of their finances came from donations. Those monies came from alums and prestigious fundraisers. The school had enough money—judging from the school's upkeep. The students had fresh meals, new gym equipment, brand-new books to purchase and borrow from the library, and other necessities. Winston's buildings stayed revamped—the expensive buildings, and the lawn was always freshly mowed. However, the money didn't go toward security. Winston needed local law enforcement and better surveillance cameras with excellent resolution.

The 5-million-dollar lawsuit would hurt the school, and that caused stress to rain over Dr. Bolden. The alums and other staff were already concerned about the recent murder, and the media was continually staking around and harassing the students for a story. All in all, the publicity was not good for Winston-State. Alums and big corporations were threatening to stop supporting the school. Without their support, the school wouldn't receive financial assistance to fund Winston State University and their programs.

"Your reaction to this...news is very alarming, Mr. Mitchell." Dr. Bolden spoke up after pushing his thoughts away. "I'm not sure where your mind is at...but I would like you to put everything together and realize this situation is terrible....not only for the school but for you too."