.:Life As it Should Be:.

An Encounter Occurs!

     Mr.Baltimore stands back as the principal stood before him, facing the class. A disapproving scowl contorted his face as he began to speak.

    "I've heard of a growing concern about... issues of bullying in this classroom. I've grown tired with it, and now I have a whole list of who caused the issue. If you didn't say anything, I will not hesitate to expel you now depending on scale of what you've done."

     With that, the principal began to read out a list of names given by the snitch who'd originally wanted to complain about 'staff'. Mr.Baltimore was, and also wasn't surprised at the same time of how many kids were called out. Most of them were called. He felt a twinge of betrayal as some of his favourite students were stood up as their names were called, but didn't dare show it. This was the first time he'd ever seen The Principal lose his cool, after all he was known for his ever-present cooled down and laid back nature.

     "I am truly disappointed in you all. When will you learn...? Your parents will most certainly hear about this." The Principal made a motion for the kids to follow him-- his informant was with him. Most of the kids grimaced and called them awful names as well. 

     Most of the kids were gone but approximately 24 were left. Convenient, since that was enough to keep a peaceful class. Some of the most quiet or shy were left, which was slightly expected. The math teacher quietly sighs. 

     "There... is basically no point in continuing class, so," He sets out a few math cards for algebraic equations for the kids to solve together. "Have fun, don't get too loud, and set your notebooks up on the front desk at the end of class."

     The kids smile and take the cards, all but one. A girl nicknamed Playtime came up to the upset teacher and hugs onto his waist. She was pretty tiny, but no less smart. Sometimes she needed help but Mr.Baltimore didn't mind, it was good that she was learning at least.

     "Can I practice with you?" She asks innocently. Mr.Baldi smiles and nods, grabbing some simple cards from his desk. For a while together they answered questions together, the teacher occasionally needing to correct her gently or remind her of a way to solve them.

(Time skip because I'm lazy and not good at filling)

     At the end of class, Mr.Baltimore was just finishing up explaining what the rest of the week's plans were as The Principal walks in. The teacher smiles politely at The Principal, saying a quiet "Hello, sir." The Principal smiles back and turns to the rest of the class.

    "You all handled the issue well. I'm proud of you guys. So, I brought candy!"

     All of the kids beamed happily. They knew if they were kind, and followed the rules, The Principal was happy to reward everyone for proper behaviour. They all formed a line and in turn got a piece of candy. When the kids were distracted with the snacks, The Principal turns to Baldi and sighs, giving him a polite smile.

     "Can you come and see me after class?"

     Since it was the last class of the day, Mr.Baltimore nods and smiles, dismissing the kids. The Principal walks out with the student, patting a few on the back as he left to his office. Mr.Baldi goes to his desk, grabbing his coffee mug and locks up the door, humming a short tune. He takes a deep breath and continues down the hall to the Principal's office, knocking on the door softly.

     The Principal answers the door and grins sweetly, making the math teacher's heart pound.  "Mr.Baltimore! Come in, come in! Take a seat." He greets.

     Baltimore nods and walks in, keeping his head down shyly. His heart hurt, it was beating so fast. He knew he must look odd, but he continued on and sat in a chair across from the desk that The Principal used. 

"Mr.Baltimore...." The teacher became worried. Did he do something wrong? "In no means should you panic. In fact, we've come up with a pretty alright solution. The students who've committed vandalism of school property will be expelled and the parents charged, the ones who've been causing gossip will be suspended and have a report on their record."

     Mr.Baltimore sighs, thinking. It wasn't really his choice. "And... why are you telling me about this?" He asks. The Principal sighs and chuckles, brushing hair out of his face."

     "Because, legally you can press charges for defamation of character and destruction of property," The Principal explains. "You can get money back for the things they broke. Even if it's just the amount of gossip, that's defamation of character. They can't do that, technically speaking." 

That was... pure gibberish to me. 

     Mr.Baltimore raises an eyebrow. "Uhm... excuse me?" He asks.

     "You can get compensation for what they've done through legal proceedings against them." The Principal explains more simply. "I would, if I were you. Because they broke items."

     The math teacher shakes his head gently. "No, no, that seems like.... too much trouble. And a lot of time I don't have." He glances back up to The Principal, who had a face of sweet understanding. Mr.Baltimore absolutely adored him, the way he was so kind, the way he always seemed to be calm and understand the issue.

     Before he realized it, a few tears spilled to the teacher's eyes. The Principal even further loses his cool, causing his pure inky black eyes to leak a goopy, dark red gorey substance and he begins to panic. "Mr.Baltimore, are you okay? Why are you crying?" He asks as he begins to try and wipe the tears away. Out of instinct, Mr.Baltimore draws away from The Principal, now shaking.

     "Better question is if YOU'RE okay!" He stutters out as he trembled. "What's happening to your eyes..?"

     The Principal wipes the goo with his sleeves and looks down at it. "Oh... hyphema. This happens sometimes." He mutters calmly as if it were normal. 

What's hyphema?

     The teacher decides to voice his curiosity. He asks, though as soon as The Principal explains, he regretted it.

     "It's a condition with a person's eyes where there's blood trapped from a blown vessel in the internal eye. Also called an eight ball fracture. It's just really old blood." The Principal explains as if it were nothing. 

     Mr.Baltimore reaches forward and takes The Principal's hand, smiling reassuringly. "Oh. If you don't mind me asking, how'd that happen?" Before his boss could answer, a knock sounds at the door. "Doors are closing in two hours and I don't feel like cleaning up after y'all, you need to go home." The janitor calls in. While the Principal's face goes bright red, Mr.Baltimore doesn't exactly understand. Despite the confusion, the math teacher stands and goes toward the door. He twists the knob, but the door wouldn't open.

     The Principal reaches around Baltimore and clicks what seemed like a lock, opening the door. "There." He chuckles softly, patting the math teacher on the shoulder.

     "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess." Mr.B murmurs awkwardly, before walking out.