Breaking Down Your Walls

Chapter 8

Mike

Principal Pamela Victor was a short, slender, brunette woman around fifty years old, with a gaze reminding you of a hawk and a resting bitch face that terrified even the biggest troublemakers at school.

In my experience, while being her student in History as a freshman, I was fascinated at how she could weave seemingly unrelated events to cause and effect chains that formed an even greater pattern of activities and could affect populations and cultures for hundreds of years. When she had explained to us in three lectures the reason why the Ancient Greek and Roman cultures are considered to this day the foundations of the modern western civilization, it was the moment I fell in love with history. While discussing with her after class about possible assignments, her character proved to be the opposite of what I imagined; a very kind and insightful woman, but strict with the regulations.

So when I stood in front of her desk, my anger soon diminished and calmness took its place as she smiled at me questioningly and asked me to sit on a chair across her spacious desk.

'How have you been Mike? It's been a few months since we actually talked. How have things been? Did you have any news regarding the ambush you and your friend were victims of?'

I looked at her and smiled back 'professor Victor, things have been going very well. The perpetrators are currently behind bars. The police was reluctant to share too much information, but we were their fifth target in that month. So when evidence piled up, they went in jail for quite some time.'

'Good to hear that our streets are safer now; hopefully the jail time will help them see through their own mistakes so that they can be re-established as civilized and proper men back in our community. Sorry for the run of the mouth, it's just that you were one of my best students and I also know you aim for studies in the humanities.'

'Indeed. And because of that exact reason is why I am here. Mister Johnson sent me here, or I pretty much threw myself out of the class.'

She looked at me surprised 'why would this happen? You are a quiet, excellent student with proper grades. Why would there be a clash between you and Mister Johnson?'

I looked down at my hands and sighed. So I told her what happened in class and also about the distorted video of our attempted ambush incident that was going around school and ruined my social circle. Once I was done, I handed her my phone over to see the video herself.

She didn't try to butt in my argumentation once. Her eyes however went darker as she watched the video.

'So someone is really trying to ruin your social status. This video can serve as grounds for a court case for defamation. So I guess, Mister Johnson has seen this video recently and saw you hanging out in the smoking area of the school. Oh I know' she smiled knowingly as I looked at her surprised 'I know all about it. Technically it isn't allowed, but teenager smokers will smoke more if you prohibit it from them. Plus their parents know, thanks to our surveillance system, so whoever goes back there smokes tobacco and drinks coffee with their parents' consent. But whoever tried to ruin you socially, maybe added your affiliation with those young men to ruin you more, now aiming to damage you academically? Hmmm' she said thoughtfully as she sipped her coffee and offered me some honey roasted nuts and a bottle of water from her pantry. I accepted gratefully and nodded.

'Maybe these two events aren't related themselves. But for professor Johnson, they turned him into a hurtful person to you. I know and see through your grades how much you love History so it took me by surprise you didn't achieve the highest grade yet or a distinction in his class. Or pretty much any other student in his class' she said as her voice went low and a cold anger coated it 'maybe he isn't fit to teach an advanced class after all.'