Valerie scoffed at the letter she held in her hands. It sat there on her desk, waiting with the daily mail the secretary dropped off. Rage did not begin to describe the emotion she felt this very moment.
"That arrogant prick. He did it just to get back at me."
She immediately picked up the phone, dialing an important number.
"Yes, this is Principal Weiss of PS 69, could you put me through please. Yes, it is urgent."
Put on hold, Valerie did not know how she would react once the man picked up on the other end. All those veiled threats were lifted, now becoming a morbid reality.
"Valerie, what do I owe the pleasure?"
"You son of a bitch! I don't even get a courtesy call telling me you're shutting down my school at the end of the school year!?"
"Your school? You mean my school. Budget cuts. We cannot keep spending money on a failed project. Grades are not up. Expulsions are rising. You even hire criminals on staff. What else am I to do with limited funding? We need to tighten our belts and not run in the red," he answered in a cocky tone.
"This is what it is about, me not firing Mr. Knight? What has you so hard up on wanting him out of here? This is not exactly a plum assignment where I have people kicking down the doors to work here."
"It is a complicated matter, Miss Weiss, way above your pay grade. I told you before that keeping him on staff would have consequences. All those students now without a school come the summer, all because you did not listen to easy advice."
"You can go fuck yourself. This ain't a game. I'm ashamed to be working for someone like you, playing with people's lives. Some of the kids here actually make it in the real world because of the program we've put into place, and now it'll be snatched away from them. Don't you have a heart anymore as an educator?"
"A kind soul has to make way for political and economic realities. Even without the issues surrounding school hiring policies, your school is the worst performing in the district. Fact, not fiction. I need to keep the budget in the green. Someone's school needed to get the axe. Nothing would change that short of some generous donor feeling like propping up a school district. Accept it, Principal Weiss, come the summer Public School 69 will shut its doors. Now, if there is nothing else, I think this conversation has reached its point. You have a fabulous day, Principal Weiss."
He hung up on her, leaving Valerie fuming. What could she do to change his mind and save the school? If she found donors to cover the budget for another year, would the superintendent relent or demand Nik still get the axe?
"Stupid politics. These are people's lives we're dealing with here. Think, Valerie, think, there must be something that can be done?"
Knock...Knock...Knock...Knock...
"Yeah, come in."
"Sorry to interrupt you, Principal, but you wanted to be reminded about your 9:30 appointment with a parent," the secretary stated.
"Right, it's that time, isn't it? Send him in please."
Valerie quickly composed herself, grabbing the letters from atop the desk and stuffed them in the top drawer. Duty called. Despite knowing the future that did not change she had responsibilities in the present. Putting aside the grim information, she put on her well-practiced business smile, awaiting the parent.
X
"You know, you've been looking better, Suzy," Sammy observed, doing her makeup in the washroom mirror. "New diet?"
"I've been going to the gym. Working out some frustrations."
"A little muscle looks good on you. Give those punks something to think about."
"Maybe I won't get whipped like a dog again if I can put up a fight," Suzy replied.
Knife in hand, she kept pressing the hilt button to shoot the blade outwards then retracting it, over and over again.
"Jimmy Jack had a good hundred pounds on you and a solid foot. Lucky enough to get out alive. You know what he did to that girl he pimped out."
"I'll be ready next time. Why are you getting dolled up anyways?"
"Boyfriend is taking me out for an expensive dinner after school. Seeing which shade works best. If he is dropping hundreds on fancy meal, least I can do is give the signal he'll get blown afterwards. How does it look?"
"Slutty."
"Good. Just what I wanted. Cheer up. Don't look so glum," Sammy added. "Don't tell me you're going to the gym for another purpose? Someone wanting to catch the eye of a hunk?"
Teasing Suzy, Sammy giggled. The brainiac knew the right buttons to push but also how hard to press them.
"Shut up. I'm doing it for me, not some dumb jock."
"That what Mistah Cracka-man is now, some dumb jock? Hate to break it to you, Suze, but he slams Asian women. Some of the girls saw him drive off on a bike with a hot ass slant, like poster level hot. Guess the rumors about him banging Mrs. Jackson were lies."
"I said I'm doing it for me not for him," Suzy snapped back.
"Hey, it's me, Sammy, you know I yank your chain. What is eating at you lately? You still rocky after what happened?"
Sammy now turned her attention solely towards her best friend, ignoring the open makeup case on the bathroom counter.
"I felt so vulnerable, Sammy, laying there in that trash heap. Garbage, literal garbage. I don't want to feel that way again so I'm going to train to ensure it doesn't. I don't care you're telling me he fucks some slant, or if he boned Mrs. Jackson, hell even if he made the principal his whore. I'm getting in shape for me and me alone."
"You're serious, you're really not doing it out of a schoolgirl crush. Okay, I get it, Suzy. I'll stay off the topic."
"Look, I'm fucked in the head right now, Sammy. With the hospitalization, the extra help with the girls, and my training, I'm all trying to figure it out. I need time, okay?"
"Yeah, sure, Suzy, time, I get it. Hey, you never told me where you're living now."
"I've got a relative that I'm staying with. A cousin. I only met her once or twice but she got sympathetic. I have a bed and some food. I'm not expecting anything else from her," Suzy made up.
Sammy took out a small package from her purse sitting next to the open makeup case. An envelope folded in two, she placed it in Suzy's hand. Nodding, the gang leader knew exactly what she received but said nothing.
"I'll still pull for you to get your dreamy hunk one of these days," Sammy said, teasing Suzy again.
"You got the dream guy, Sammy. Those brains of yours landed a loaded whale."
"Nah, wasn't my brains he wanted. Ain't just white guys who get jungle fever. My brains have me knowing what a good deal I have is though. I feel sorry for some of our girls. They get too brainwashed by the size of the man," Sammy said, turning back to the open makeup case. "All they think about are the inches inside the pants rather than the inches inside the pocket. A huge cock won't keep the heat on in the winter, or food on the table. No, they don't see the bigger picture. Plain and boring size is good enough for me as long as my stomach is full and I'm not shivering asleep."
