Chiron Academy

Chapter 18: At the Principal's Office

"Excuse me," Todd said.

He stood in front of an enormous wooden desk.

The secretary looked up. She was a somber-looking woman with her hair pulled back into a tight bun at the back of her head. The only splash of color to be found on her were her red-framed glasses. She looked up from a stack of papers she was handling and turned her gaze toward the sound. As she looked at Todd, there was no hint of smile or reassurance. Just a cold acknowledgment of his presence.

"Mr. Buckingham asked for me," Todd continued tenuously. "I was told he-"

The woman pursed her lips and pointed to some folding chairs off to the side of the hallway. They had some padding on the seat and back. They must have been original to the building because they were covered in a burnt orange shag material. Despite the age, they seemed in good condition with no signs of obvious wear.

"Take a seat, Mr. Anderson," she said, straight-faced. "Director Buckingham is in a meeting. He should be done shortly."

Once the words were out of her mouth, she immediately turned her attention back to the papers she'd been handling on the desk, leaving Todd standing in front of the large desk.

"Thank you," Todd replied to the woman.

She made no response, her attention fixed firmly to the papers in her hands.

Todd made his way over to chairs and took a seat.

Todd hadn't spent much time in this part of the school. It was on the far side of the school from the dormitories and classrooms, so there was never much of a reason to walk through it. It was mostly home to the faculty offices.

He remembered that somewhere down here was the psychologist lady's office, but he hadn't seen it when he'd walked down.

Todd had only barely sat down in the chair when the door to Mr. Buckingham's office swung open. Todd's eyes swung over to see emerge, Mr. Buckingham, in a crisp looking navy blue suit. Behind him was Dr. Hammond, the man in charge of teaching at the school. Todd had only seen him once or twice. He was an older man of middling height, middling weight, medium sort of features. The only thing Todd knew about him was his penchant for wild paisley ties. Today's was a deep chocolate brown with gold and purple speckles. He normally seemed very controlled in actions, boring even. But at this moment he looked livid.

"-if you experience any more troubles, Dr. Hammond," Mr. Buckingham said soothingly," I would love to talk about them with you. My door is always open to any of our faculty, but most especially to you, our star teacher."

"Oh, believe me," Dr. Hammond seethed. "We'll be talking again very soon, Buckingham."

He glowered at Mr. Buckingham for a moment and made his way down the hallway away from the office.

"...Very soon," he repeated, as disappeared around a corner.

Mr. Buckingham ignored the invective, maintaining his good-natured grin.

"I look forward to it, Dr. Hammond," he called calmly after him down the hall.

He turned his eyes to Todd sitting in the bright orange folding chair.

"Ahh, Mister Anderson," he said in his rich drawl, "How very good of you to come. I'm very sorry about the short notice, but some business has to be done promptly."

The light glinted off of the American flag pin on his lapel as he pointed over his shoulder at the woman Todd had talked to behind the desk.

"Did Shirley treat you all right? Miz Krebs is my personal secretary; she's worked for me for years. She's the best in the business. When I was asked to join this project, I knew exactly who I had to bring with me."