Perception

Part 9: Mrs. Hampton

Henry Hampton was a senior at Hillson High. He was the only senior who'd been in my office in as many weeks. "What's the problem today Henry?" I asked him when he was standing in my doorway again. "I don't have a problem." he said. "Then, why are you here?" "He's here because I gave him a referral." Mrs. Moore said gasping for air as she stormed in behind Henry. "What's the referral for?" "Henry put gum in my chair." She rolled her eyes at him and he let out a loud cackle. "Quiet down Henry." I told him. "I will take care of this Mrs. Moore, thank you." I told her. As she excused herself, I turned to Henry. "Henry, I've seen you more than I'd like to lately." He shrugged his shoulders and sat back in the chair. "Because you seem to be having such trouble behaving, I'm going to have to expel you." I said flatly. He laughed again. "You can't expel me." he said matter of factly. "I'm not sure where you're getting your information, but I most certainly can and will expel you. Your behavior is out of control and to be a senior, you act more like a first grader." Henry became angry instantly. "YOU CAN'T EXPEL ME!" he stood up and yelled. "You will calm down, you will sit down, right now or you will be escorted from this building, is that clear Mr. Hampton?" "You can't tell me what to do." he said more calmly and childlike but the look in his green eyes said he was anything but calm. He was glaring at me with vengeance in his eyes. His blonde hair hung in his face and he didn't bother to move it. His fist were balled up and he was sitting on the edge of the seat.

I picked up the phone on my desk and called Mr. Jackson, one of the security guards. When he got to my office I explained that Henry, who had been giving me a cold stare the whole time, needed to leave my office. "Please have him wait with you while I contact his parents." Mr. Jackson nodded and took Henry by the shoulders and led him out of my office. That boy has future serial killer written all over him I thought. I picked up the phone and called the phone number I had on Henry Hampton's file. No one answered but a woman on the voicemail said 'thank you for calling the Hampton residence. Please leave a message and we'll call you back'. I left a message explaining that Henry was being expelled and why and that he would need to be picked up as soon as possible. About an hour later my phone rang with Henry Hampton's angry mother on the other end. "What is this about Henry being expelled?" she said angrily. "Henry is being expelled, as I explained on your voicemail, because his behavior has been out of control. He's been in my office six times in the last four weeks."

"Just because Henry has been in a little trouble is no reason to expel him!" she yelled. "He graduates this year!" Mrs. Hampton I'm going to have to ask you to calm down." I told her. All her yelling reminded me of her son and now I knew why he thought it was acceptable. "I will not calm down! This is a travesty!" she continued. A travesty was a bit extreme for this situation I thought. "When will you be able to get here to collect your son?" I asked her. "Collect him?" she huffed. "Yes, he has been expelled and is no longer welcome at Hillson High." "No longer welcome?! What gives you the right to expel him!?" she screamed. "The fact that I am the principal gives me the right. The fact that it is my responsibility to make sure the teachers and students here follow the rules gives me the right. The fact that your son has been in some sort of constant trouble gives me the right." I told her. She laughed. "You're new aren't you?" I didn't respond. "Well I'll have you know that the superintendent is my husband! So you can take your expulsion and shove it right up your ass!" she screamed one last time before hanging up.

I'll admit that I was shocked at the news that Henry's father was the superintendent Mr. Perkins. No one ever mentioned anything to me about this and neither did he.I didn't know how this would play out. I did know that my punishment would stand one way or another.

Another hour later Mrs. Hampton, in all her glory, was standing before me. She bustled in my office with no introduction. But she needed none. I knew exactly who she was when I saw the same blonde hair and green eyes that belonged to Henry. She was wearing red high heeled shoes, a black dress which showed so much cleavage I was afraid there'd be an incident, a black fur jacket, and a Louis Vuitton bag. She filled my office with the smell of flowers. As she slammed her bag down on my desk she demanded to know where her son was. "May I ask what son you're referring to?" I asked just to aggravate her. "You know damn well!" she yelled. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't." "Henry!" she yelled again. "First of all Mrs. Hampton, as I asked you on the phone earlier, I don't like to be yelled at, so please, calm down." "Where is my son?" she demanded again but quieter this time. I picked up the phone and asked Mr. Jackson to bring him back to my office. "What's going on here Henry?" she asked him. "Nothing!" he yelled at her. "Well why does she want to expel you?" Henry slumped down in the chair as he had earlier and didn't answer her. "I explained to you that Henry has been in my office several times. This time it was because he put gum in Mrs. Moore's chair. I think it's time for Henry to deal with his actions." "That bitch! Should have known she'd pull something like this." she said more to herself than to me.

"He's not going to deal with anything!" she said. "I'll have my husband deal with you!" she yelled at me. "Come on Henry, let's go." She and Henry shoved past Mr. Jackson and went out into the main office. I could hear her on the phone with Mr. Perkins. Mr. Jackson shook his head and followed them. A few minutes later my phone was ringing. "Kelly York." I answered knowing full well that it was Mr. Perkins. "Uh, hi Kelly, how's everything?" he stuttered. "Fine, everything is fine." "Well as you know of course, Henry Hampton was in your office today...his mother called and, uh, said you were trying to expel him?" "Not trying, Mr. Perkins, I have already filled out the paperwork. I haven't been able to present anything to your wife because she refuses to be calm and examine the possibility that Henry should be punished. If I allowed him to carry on like this, what would the other students think?" "No, no, you're right, Kelly, you're right. It's just that, Phil, well, he kind of let things with Henry slide. I didn't mention anything to you because I didn't want you to think ill of us...but the wife, she's upset, and expulsion, that's serious Kelly!" he added with a sense of urgency in his voice. "I'm sorry she's upset, I understand, but Mr. Perkins, I'm not Phil. I can't let things slide...has no one considered this is maybe why he acts like this? He has no consequences." I explained. "But he graduates this year." Mr. Perkins said softly. "No, actually, he doesn't. Have you looked at his grades? He's got an F in precalculus algebra, an F in sociology, an F in history, an F in science, oh and a B in gym. In fact, I haven't seen anything other than F's and a few D's for the last three years."

"Listen Kelly, I'm gonna level with you...Henry is my stepson. Wendy and I just got married two years ago. I'm kind of trying to keep things smooth...she can be a handful and he's just like her. She's used to getting her way and..." "I appreciate your situation sir." I said cutting him off. "But the rules are the rules, you know that. Besides, with Henry's grades, you're not doing him any favors by passing him along." He let out a long exhausted sigh. "You're right." he said. "You're absolutely right goddamn it! She'll just have to deal with this, that's all." he said definitively. "Send me the papers, I'll take care of it." "Certainly." I said. A few minutes later, Mrs. Hampton started yelling into her cell phone and I could only assume she was on the line with Mr. Perkins. After about five minutes she and Henry left but not before she could throw me another cold glare wishing me death. I smiled in spite of myself.

It was more important for me to be respected than liked.

Especially after what I'd been through.