She knew it was bound to happen to her at some point, because it happened to all the teachers at Mountain Vista High School at one time or another. She knew it as soon as this arrogant prick darkened her classroom door. It was part of the dark underbelly around here, some coach strong-arming a teacher because one of their cherished student athletes had run afoul of academia and was put on the exempt list.
Athletics ruled around here and classes merely got in the way of their march to whatever state championship they were chasing. Nina Shepherd was in no mood to put up with any shit but she also knew that teachers who did not fall in line did not last long here.
"Good morning Mizz Shepherd," Coach Jones said as he sauntered into her otherwise empty classroom.
Nina looked up and pondered his drawling out of 'mizz' when he greeted her. Since he had never even bothered to acknowledge her presence in the two years she had been teaching history here, she erred on the side of caution and decided he was just being the asshole she always thought he was.
"What can I do for you Mr. Jones?" She knew enough about him and his priorities that there was probably only one reason he was even speaking to her now.
"Mizz Shepherd," he said, drawling it out a second time much to her annoyance. "It's Coach Jones and we seem to be having an academic issue with one of your students and I'm hoping we can clear things up."
Here it comes, Nina thought. Although she was cordial with most of the coaches and staff at the school, she despised this aspect of teaching here. The only thing worse than the coaches that engaged in these high-pressure tactics were the arrogant, mollycoddled athletes and their parents. If any student was failing a class, they were automatically placed on the exempt list, making them immediately ineligible to participate in any extracurricular school activities until they brought their grades up. It didn't matter if it was band, sports or a club, it was district policy and a bad one in the eyes of the coaches that ruled MVHS.
"Oh, we do?" Nina responded with a slightly sarcastic emphasis on 'we.' "Whom are we referring to?"
Jones looked down at her and said in a stern tone, "It seems one of my swimmers turned up on the exempt list and won't be able to compete in next week's meet. We need to sort this out quickly before it becomes an issue," he said, matter of factly.
"Which student are we talking about," she asked again as she fixed the coach with a cold stare, reaching for her master grade book.
"Hanson. Jeff Hanson. I believe he's in your 6th period class.
Nina knew, of course, that 6th period in any subject at Mountain Vista was generally packed with student-athletes, if they were there at all. It was the last class of the day and an easy one to miss when school invariably got in the way of their games, meets or whatever.
The teacher thumbed through her book until she got to the correct section. Ah yes, Hanson, she thought. He actually was kind of a cute and very nice kid but he always sat slunk down in the back of the class, never participating in any discussions. When she did happen to call on him, it only momentarily snapped him out of his Lalaland day-dreaming and he never knew the answers to her questions anyway.
"Mister, er', Coach Jones," she started, clearing her throat. "Jeff Hanson failed a major test last week and it dropped his overall grade to a 'D' which is why he's ineligible in accordance with policy."
"Mizz Shepherd," he replied, "Need I tell you that my team has an important meet against Plainview next week and Hanson is one my best swimmers? I need him in the pool preparing...today," he said sharply.
Nina responded, her voice rising as she went, "If Jeff doesn't start coming to class prepared, forget swimming, he is going to be repeating history class over the summer."
Coach Jones leaned down placing his balled fists on Nina's desk, his steely dead eyes boring an icy hole through her head as he started in with his tried and true lecture, saying in a low measured tone, "As you know Mizzzz Shepherd," he said, spittle coming out of his mouth now. "Here at Mountain Vista we place a premium on providing the best education possible as we prepare all our students for their next phase in life. As faculty here, we can't afford to let any student fall through the cracks, academically speaking."
Nina responded quickly, "Jeff is not falling through the cracks Mr. Jones, he's in way over his head academically and - "
"Let me finish Miss Shepherd," Coach Jones snapped angrily, cutting her off. "I assume you ARE familiar with the district's personnel review program?" he asked menacingly. "For some reason, teachers deemed unfit to provide the proper education and guidance to students, don't seem to last too long around here. And it's a shame for them when they end up with that black mark on their resume. Sometimes it's tough to find a new job teaching with that hanging over your head," he said with a slight chuckle.
Ah, this is how he does it, Nina now understood. As the longest tenured coach (and teacher) here, she knew Jones held great sway with school and district administrators alike. His in-pool successes brought great prestige and notoriety to the school and he was widely viewed as untouchable by the rest of the faculty. Jones knew this, of course, which is why he pretty much always got his way lest he allow himself to be seduced into joining a competing program at another high school in the city.
Nina was furious that he had dared use the nuclear option on her. She knew this was why ethical teachers with a moral compass that stood up to such bullying either got fired or quit in frustration. But she refused to let Jones get the best of her. Nina knew that while she might placate him today, she would also live to fight another day. He may have won this battle, she thought, but she would go 'scorched earth' and win the whole damn war and take this bastard down once and for all.
Calmly falling into line, Nina replied, "Oh, I see your point now Coach Jones. How about I give Jeff some one-on-one tutoring after school for the next few days and then give him a chance to retake the exam and improve his grade?"
"Excellent idea Shepherd!" Jones said, snapping upright and breaking into a wide grin. "I knew you would come to the right decision." Turning and strutting towards the door, Coach Jones added, "Make sure Hanson gets to practice on time today."
"What a fucking asshole," Nina muttered under her breath as he left the classroom. There is no way she was going to let this piece of crap get away with this. If he thinks this was the end of it, he has another thing coming. This is just the beginning, Nina thought to herself. And Hanson? She would go through the motions and help him as she should, but he'd better earn the grade on his own merit if he ever wants to see the swimming pool again this year, she fumed.
