"Dr. Shortman."
Arnold entered the office of Principal Joseph McLeod, an orderly workplace, save for the busted window. He shook hands with the lanky administrator in a blazer, golf shirt and jeans as well as a plump Hispanic woman who introduced herself as Miranda Jimenez, an English/homeroom teacher at Ocean Avenue Jr. High.
"I assume traffic was bearable."
"Relatively." Arnold replied. "Though it is strange that you'd call for someone miles and miles away."
"Well, we heard that you're the best and…we can't exactly take our chances with this one."
Principal McLeod pulled out an overflowing manila folder and continued to speak as Dr. Shortman gingerly thumbed through its contents. Paper-clipped to the folder's exterior was the photograph of a scowling preadolescent girl whose very presence screamed 'help'. Conduct report after conduct report testified to a long pattern of attempting to escape the school, vandalism of personal/school property, as well as too many elaborate and bizarre verbal threats to count. Cementing her ferocious disposition were stacks upon stacks upon stacks of notebooks which contained deeply disturbing doodles and short stories practically oozing with detailed acts of violence.
"Her name is Kamala Love, age 12, a fifth grader in Mrs. Jimenez's class." Principal McLeod continued gesturing to the educator. "She shows a great deal of rage far from typical in a child of her peer group and a history of behavioral problems since the third grade."
"Mhm." Arnold replied as he continued scanning through the stack of papers handed to him. "I kind of got that by the fifth time she mentioned a river of blood running through the hallway. How and why exactly did you not alert any legal authorities sooner?"
"Because for the most part, Kamala has kept her rage confined to words." Mrs. Jimenez replied. "She's anti-social, but up to now has done nothing to physically back up her rage. Mostly her mother has been our primary contact in situations like this."
From the corner of his eye, Arnold could see Principal McLeod inhale deeply and make a face akin to holding in a massive fart during a funeral.
"Whom, speaking of which, still has yet to-"
As of by hackneyed writing, the door to his office swung open. Scowling in the threshold was a blonde and fit woman in her early to mid-thirties. While she could still turn enough heads, life clearly had left on her its fair share of wear and tear. She took off her large overcoat revealing a white lifeguard-style tank top and red booty shorts dedicated to a Babewatch themed eatery in town. Dr. Shortman quickly ascertained that her name was Summer courtesy of the nametag pinned to her left breast.
"Ah, Miss Love." Principal McLeod says hiding his displeasure. "Welcome to my office."
"Principal McLeod, a pleasure." Summer responds with gritted teeth. "Miranda, and…?"
"Dr. Shortman." The young man replies. "Dumb question, but have we met before?"
"Depends on whether or not you've been to the Babewatch Café." She responds.
"I've seen the show, my wife was a fan way back…(ahem!) Anyway, we're here because of Kamala."
"Of course." Summer snarls. "What the hell did she do now?"
"Well," Miranda Jimenez began. "We seem to think Kamala shows signs of aggression-"
"She's a teenage girl, what do you expect?"
A mangled spiral-bound notebook is placed on the desk followed by two additional overflowing manila folders, and math sheet with a 98 dated last week.
"Kamala's writing seems to be quite…vivid to say the least." Mrs. Jimenez continued. "I've always seemed to be quite fond of her assessments in class, and how she ties together her life with the main characters of a given novel. I've even entertained some of her more…um…creative works in spite of the detailed levels violence she seems to pepper them with. Again, I've always believed that creativity shouldn't have to be sunshine and lollipops as long as what you write doesn't translate into the real world…"
"OK now get to the point." Summer thought.
"-but today after math class, she was bought to my office after a group of girls mocked her in the bathroom." Principal McLeod continued. "Apparently, they weren't too happy with her receiving the best grade on a recent quiz and a brawl broke out between the four of them. Her absence in this office is a result of her escaping-"
"-Which brings us to this little collection before you." Dr. Shortman finished. "Threats against specific students, threats against the school, threats against you and a Sandy Colfax. Couple this with her escape and the only recommendation I can make is therapy twice a week. Nothing too intense, but something where we can discuss these anti-social feelings and examine what possible routes to take to make something constructive come from it."
"While this is peachy and all doc, I'm not exactly sneezing gold here, so what pray tell is this going to set me back?"
Shock struck Arnold like a speeding truck; Summer's daughter was in a world of trouble and her first instinct was to haggle over the price of whatever help offered (even if the school district was covering all expenses). With the financial quandaries squared away, Summer flippantly gave her blessing to Kamala's therapy before excusing herself back to work.
"Between you and me, you get used to her." Principal McLeod said after Summer's car peeled out of the parking lot. "She and I were classmates back in the day."
"Really now?"
"Oh yeah. Always made noise about being the next big thing on Babewatch. Even had her eyes on this sand castle contest as a teenager…"