Chapter Sixty-One

Taking the Moral High Ground

Lunette opened the door to Experimental Lab One and heard the sound of shattered glass on the way to the coffee pot.

"Just how many years of bad luck are you up to?" Lunette asked as she poured herself a cup.

"84, I think," Jennifer replied, swiftly cleaning it up and getting a new full-length mirror out of the pile she had lined up against the wall.

"Don't worry, Jackie. I got you covered," Lucky said, and Lunette turned around fully to see Lucky standing at the counter, using her wand to fiddle with an enlarged Sorting device.

"Good morning, Lucky. I wasn't expecting you here," Lunette said.

"Yeah, I got drafted," Lucky explained, Lunette smirking at that.

"Those Sorters run entirely on number logic, and I had trouble getting it to do what I wanted it to do. I decided to call in an expert," Jennifer explained.

"Always a good idea," Lunette agreed. "Did you work out those spell conflicts on the platform and swinging arms?"

"I did. In fact, I stayed up all night working on it," Jennifer admitted. Lunette put her hands on her hips.

"You haven't been to bed yet?" she asked critically.

"I have just the week off, and I'd like to get the prototype to the point we can start testing by Saturday," Jennifer explained unconcernedly.

"Are you expecting any of the other girls in today?" Lunette asked.

"Rosemary will be here in half an hour and Lav will be in once Kenzie starts her shift, but the other two went on a double date to the Magical Creatures Animal Park. They'll be in tomorrow," Jennifer replied.

"Then I suppose I'll pitch in with those mirrors. Lucky, would you mind stepping out to ask the butler to have Liberty report back here when she arrives?" Lunette said.

"On it," Lucky said, going out the door.

"And Jennifer, I want you to explain to me how to charm and install one of these mirror sections so you can get some sleep in the Tolstoy room. I'm not sure you can afford any more bad luck, even with Lucky here to negate it," Lunette teased.

"Yes, alright," Jennifer said, checking her watch to see how much time she had left on her Wakeful Dose before instructing Lunette, and afterwards Rosemary, on how to charm and attach a mirror section before finally making her way up to claim one of the empty nap cubicles.

By Easter Sunday, Jennifer was more than ready to take a day off, relaxing at the Kingler's Cafe neighborhood party with quite a number of strangely colored deviled eggs and a lovely country ham slice with Red Eye gravy. Severus and Quintin sat across from her, and Quintin was sporting a pair of bunny ears on his head after raiding the very large Easter basket that Sally had given him filled with small toys, candy, and a black bunny Beanie Baby.

"We did get the prototype finished, although I think the sorting mechanism needs some fine tuning, and I need to do a bit more work to the memory device to stabilize it," Jennifer explained to Severus. "I did have to break out those cursed memory items in the end to reverse engineer how they were stabilized. Oh, and guess what... I understand how Wandmaker Clemmons made the Mallus Craw Ring and how he was able to crystallize the memory strands now," she said brightly. "I could duplicate it at will now if I wanted to."

"How about you don't go there," Severus said so dryly that Jennifer chuckled.

"No, of course I won't, but it is nice to understand it all the same, in case I find a more productive use for those charms," Jennifer assured him. "Anyway, as far as the prototype is concerned, it's a matter of setting up a testing protocol, and now that school's going to be back in session, we're setting up a schedule so that we can go over in small groups and break up the workload but still making it so that it gets worked on five nights a week. At first it's all going to be safety testing anyway, which can be handled in groups of three, then we'll progress to proof of concept tests."

"It sounds like your team has the matter well in hand then," Severus replied.

"Yes, with fingers crossed that I'm not chasing shadows here. I'd hate for all of this work to be for nothing," Jennifer admitted. "I'll admit to being a bit anxious about how disappointed my team will be if this doesn't work."

"Jennifer, you of all people know that even a negative result in research is still progress," Severus pointed out. "And even if you forget that, I'm sure that Lunette and Rosemary will also remind you when you get downhearted."

"As will you," Jennifer said knowingly.

"And Quintin too, isn't that right, Quintin?" Severus asked, and Quintin gazed at him curiously for a moment before beaming at his mother.

"My mum is smart and clever and pretty and she likes bunnies!" Quintin declared.

"Hm. He modified my suggestion for a complement somewhat," Severus admitted. Jennifer couldn't help but chuckle at that.

Beautiful pink and white blossoms were blooming on all of the fruit trees and the dogwood trees. In the garden, tulips, daffodils and daylilies were vigorously taking over their sections by the time Monday rolled around. It was warm despite being breezy, and the heavy dew and lifting fog left the air fresh and untainted. Jennifer walked to the Commissary with a large picnic basket in hand, quite cheerful and ready to get back to work. Seeing that Wind and Brenda were having coffee together, Jennifer stepped over to their table first.

"Good morning! Did you have a nice break?" Jennifer asked.

"Great, thanks! My husband and I went on a Wizard Cruise to get away for awhile," Brenda said.

"Lovely! You, Wind?" Jennifer asked.

"Back to Greece," Wind replied. "And Thereus asked me to pass on a message. We were able to renegotiate fishing rights for the constellation within the Magical Reserve area."

"That is good news! He did express concern about that while we were there," Jennifer replied.

"How went the research?" Wind inquired.

"We have a finished prototype... whether it's working correctly or not is yet to be seen, since we just started testing it," Jennifer admitted.

"Still, that is impressive progress," Wind commended her.

"Thanks, Wind! I have a very good feeling about it!" Jennifer said enthusiastically. "By the way, we're going to start some students on the newspaper today. With any luck, we'll have something to pass around to the students by Friday after next."

"Keep up the good work, Jennifer," Wind said with an encouraging smile. Jennifer went over to her table and put the basket in front of her curious friends and then went to get herself a cup of coffee. Wind watched her with a sigh. "She seems to be so upbeat and positive. I wish I had a good feeling about things. Instead, I feel a cloud hanging over us."

"What has you so put off today?" Brenda asked with a frown.

"I had very little Owl Mail on my desk when I returned yesterday," Wind explained. "Four days worth of mail, and yet no letters of outrage from either Stacey Cole or Steve Mason. I expected Stacey to send me a long letter explaining to me why Jennifer put Quintin up to throwing her in the pond, despite my standing there. I expected Steve to complain about some made up reason why Jennifer's Patronus was hidden Dark Magic, or some other bull," he added, and Brenda smirked softly at the pun. "I didn't have a letter from either of them, and that worries me. I think Steve must be plotting something, and if he included Stacey, he probably included quite a number of other people as well. I suspect he has some sort of protest planned for the next school board meeting," Wind concluded.

"That's not good. Weren't you planning to propose adding a wireless station to the school next meeting?" Brenda asked, wondering if he shouldn't put it off.

"I still plan to," Wind replied. "But that doesn't mean I'm not bracing myself for whatever they have in store for us when I walk into that room Thursday night."

"Then I think I'll go along for the ride this time, in case you need backup," Brenda decided.

"Thank you Brenda," Wind said with a smile. "I hope I won't need it, but at the same time, I'll be quite surprised if I don't."

The school board meeting room was packed; but fortunately, Wind saw that it wasn't all filled with angry parents this time. Instead, there were quite a few parents that were there simply to find out what the current plan was with the Wizardnet down. Many had originally assumed that they would simply redevelop a hybrid network first... until, that is, the Federal Wizard Department decided to make them illegal, joining the majority of other countries who decided that combining the two networks was far too risky. Nobody wanted to go through that again.

Brenda was already sitting up front, smiling at Wind as he stepped up with both the proposal for the new media program and a notebook in hand. He greeted David and Willa, both with notebooks of their own.

"Good evening," Wind said with a thin smile. "And how are things going at your schools? Smoothly, I hope."

"Oh yes, we're much better adjusted now," Willa replied.

"As are we, thank you," David agreed. "And ready to start making plans for next year."

"Yes, so are we, although I am also a bit sad that there are only six weeks left. I will very much miss my current Items teacher when she goes home," Wind admitted.

"So will we," Willa chuckled. "She always seems to have an answer for everything, no matter what problem we had getting our schools running again. She always has a rabbit to pull out of her hat."

"Even though sometimes it is her husband," David said with a grin. "But I am wondering what trouble is brewing today. I heard coming in that the Parents of Educating Wizards had a proposal of some kind that is supposed to have some board support."

"Let me guess. Stacey Cole is presenting it," Wind said evenly.

"Yes, but how did you know?" David asked.

"Call it an educated guess," Wind replied, then glanced up as the board members took their places. "At least we won't have long to wait to find out," he added.

They settled in as the board went through their regular routines of reading minutes and budget reports, and a lot of other trivialities that none of the deans were all that interested in. But finally, they called for outside proposals, and Wind was only mildly surprised when Steve requested that the PEW proposal be read first; typically, the Deans spoke before any public organizations, but it was obvious that the Masons and Powers on the board were chomping at the bit. Wind didn't protest, ready to see what it was they had been plotting.

Stacey walked up in her best dress, a youth-invigorating facial, and perfectly colored and highlighted blonde hair, styled as if she had spent all day in the beauty parlor. She was wearing expensive earrings and a pair of platinum framed reading glasses with amethysts along one side that matched her slimline purple dress.

"Esteemed board members, Gentlewizards, and Gentlewitches," Stacey began. "I come to you on behalf of the Parents of Educated Wizards about a matter of grave importance to the sanctity of our school district. As most of you know, this year Whitebridge has been hosting a teacher from Hogwarts who has a very questionable past," she began. Rosemary raised her eyebrows at that, while Wind rolled his eyes unabashedly at the comment. "In fact, she has quite the criminal record, and despite having been pardoned for some of her misdeeds, she was never pardoned for all of them, including such offenses as casting experimental spells in front of non-magic citizens of her country," she said, getting a reaction from the crowd. "teaching magic to an underaged child from a non-magic family," she continued, getting an even larger response, "and even casting the Comet Strike spell and destroying a city street in the process!" she said, the crowd even more surprised at that.

"A bit late to bring it up, isn't it?" Brenda murmured. Wind nodded, thinking it odd as well.

"My complaints on this matter, when brought to Dean Elk, was met on deaf ears. I brought it to the attention of one of the local attorneys, who also seemed disinclined to do anything about it. I later learned that attorney had agreed to take Ms. Craw as a client for some undetermined reason," she reported. "I have been going over the school board's written rules, regulations, and policies when it comes to the matter of the Morality Clause as it pertains to the licenses and hiring contracts of teachers and administration," she went on, and Wind squinted. "But apparently, the clause is quite vague. There are no definitions as to what a 'high moral standard' actually means, and has been left up to the interpretation of the administration of schools and the school board as to what that actually entails. Which means, of course, that it can mean anything at all, and therefore is never called into question, regardless of criminal behavior. Mr. Chairman, our children deserve better than this! A teacher should be of a high moral standard, and I am disturbed and horrified to learn just how many of those we entrust our children and grandchildren to have a very questionable past. I therefore have sponsored a petition, signed by members of my organization, parents of children that live in this district, several board members, and other community leaders," she said, showing the lists, "to modify the morality clause so that it bans the hiring of any teacher or administrator who has any sort of an arrest record, regardless of level of offense and penalty, and regardless of nationality."

Brenda, Wind, and David leapt to their feet, Willa soon following in suit while Rosemary was banging on her light indicator, making it flash rather than glow.

"The board recognizes Mrs. Carmody for two minutes," Mr. Charleston said.

"I don't need two minutes. I just want to point out that such a revision goes too far," Rosemary snapped. "If you include minor offenses, that's going to include a lot of teachers and administrators who have a record after being involved in social justice actions."

"Mrs. Carmody, banning people with a public record does not take away anyone's freedom of speech or right to protest, as long as they do so legally," Stacey pointed out smoothly. "Furthermore, it is not the school board's place to pick and choose between arrest records and make exceptions to some and not for others. However, it does have an obligation to keep the criminal element out of our schools to keep our children safe."

"Mrs. Cole, may I point out just how much those protest laws have changed over time, including which groups of people the government believes has the right to protest and where, slighting minorities and women disproportionately?" Wind pointed out. "It was not so long ago that the only ones allowed to protest were single white men... and when the rest of us were finally given permission in name, we were only allowed to demonstrate in places where our protests couldn't be heard."

"Dean Elk, it is not your turn yet. Please wait to be recognized," Mr. Charleston replied.

"Damn the wait! You're simply illustrating the point!" Wind snapped furiously.

"I agree with Wind! We're not going quietly, Charleston, you'll be hearing from the ACLU about this!" Brenda shouted angrily.

"This is completely ridiculous! You are going to unheard lengths just to get rid of one teacher who is only going to be here another six weeks!" David added fiercely.

"This isn't about Jennifer anymore, it's about getting rid of us," Wind murmured to David. "That nationality comment was aimed at me." David stared at him, realizing he had a point before looking back at the board and noticing that they had been ordering them to sit down for some time now.

The four of them did not sit, but they did quiet down to the point that the superintendent could finally call Steve Mason, who had been waiting calmly to be recognized.

"Mr. Charleston, I myself am one of the five board members who signed Mrs. Cole's petition, and I am glad to sponsor the proposal on her behalf," Steve Mason replied cordially, picking up a paper. "I would also like to say something about our out-of-order Deans and assistant Dean. I'm afraid their opinions are biased on their issue due to the fact that their jobs are on the line. Dean Martinez has a record for unlawful assembly, trespassing, and failure to comply in California, Texas, and Florida," Steve explained, David's knuckles going white. "Assistant Dean Johnson has a record in Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Michigan, and Minnesota," he added. Brenda glared at him, seething. "And I am not even getting into Dean Elk's record, which stretches back as far as records are even kept."

"You can't hold him responsible for some of that!" Brenda snapped. "Especially since he was given a FWA pardon and a Humanitarian Award for his advocacy for his tribe."

"I wasn't planning on including that," Steve said calmly. "It doesn't excuse his arrests in New York State, Illinois, Washington D.C., and a dozen or so other states in connection to anti-war movements and other unpatriotic activities!"

"I'm so distressed that I did anything that the United States thinks would be unpatriotic," Wind said, his words dripping with so much sarcasm that no one could miss it.

"Steve, while I understand and partially agree with the addition of this bill, I must admit to both you and the petitioner that I hadn't realized just how many teachers this bill would affect," Mr. Charleston admitted.

"Oh, these three are the tip of the iceberg, Brian," Rosemary warned. "My daughter has a record in Berkeley, Portland, and Chicago, and I have no doubts that quite a number of other teachers also have minor offenses for one reason or another."

"That just shows the level of corruption that's in our schools!" Steve retorted. "It's time we cleaned up all of this reckless hooliganism and get respectable teachers in here that will be more appropriate role models for young inspirational minds! Children should not be taught by thugs!"

"Mr. Mason, I certainly understand where you and Mrs. Cole are coming from, but we cannot possibly refill so many positions by next year," Mr. Charleston pointed out.

"Then we will modify the proposal so that those who are not compliant with the new standard can finish out their current contract first before finding new employment. That will stagger how many teachers will need to be replaced each year until the matter is resolved," Steve suggested.

"Very well. I will allow you until next meeting to resolve those details. We will then read the proposition and allow public comment before the vote," Mr. Charleston decided. "Miss Gail, add it to the records please."

The four of them slowly sat back down, Wind gesturing to Gail to let her know he had no intention of presenting his proposal tonight.

"I don't know what we can do. It sounded to me like the superintendent is in favor of his," David murmured quietly.

"I have at least four teachers that this is going to affect," Willa said.

"I have more than that," David admitted. "Not excluding myself. What are we going to do?"

"Fight it in the courts. They can't hold this over us," Brenda whispered angrily.

"Technically they can, if they can prove that the rules apply to everyone," Wind replied softly. "Just stay calm, perhaps the public will be sympathetic to our situation."

"And if they're not?" David asked worriedly.

"Then I'll go find out if Jennifer has another rabbit to pull out of her hat," Wind murmured. The four of them faced forwards, but didn't really pay attention to the rest of the meeting.