Chapter 3: Fred and Velma
Over at Coolsville Central High School, 16-year old Frederick Herman Jones IV was lifting weights in the school gym following a morning jog on the school field.
The blonde grunted as he lifted up 300 pounds, all part of the training regimen he had embarked as part of his participation on the school's baseball team.
Already, he was sweating profusely from the workout, and as he put the weight down, two of his pals walked into the gym.
"Hey Fred, what's new?" Chuck Grogan, who's the shortstop on the baseball team, asked in greeting as he and the left outfielder Biff Cooke stepped into the gym, prompting Fred to pause from his loading up the weights and turn towards them.
"Ah, the usual, Chuck." Fred responded as he bumped fists with his two teammates. "What about you guys?"
"You know Mondays." Biff remarked. "Just one h*ll of a morning to start another s**ty week."
"I get that feeling." Fred agreed before noticing the newspaper in Chuck's hand and added, "What do we have on the news to start off the week, Chuck?"
"The reopening of the County Museum of History has been pushed back yet again." Chuck responded as he held up the newspaper and showed the blonde the front page. "Report has it that the shipping of the artifacts that would be the centerpiece of the reopening has been held up due to concerns about a supposed curse associated with the Black Knight, which has been billed as the main centerpiece as part of the long-awaited reopening since it closed for renovations two years ago."
"You don't say." Fred narrowed his eyes as Chuck handed him the paper for him to scan the front page. "The trucking company originally assigned to ship the Black Knight from Metropolis Harbor has backed out of the work, citing concerns about driver's safety associated with the curse, it says."
"Legend has it that the Black Knight comes alive at night and goes after anyone that has disturbed its final resting place." Biff interjected.
"Not to mention many of those involved in the original archeological expedition to Lebanon that unearthed the Black Knight in the late 19th Century have died under mysterious circumstances within ten years following the expedition, which does suggest the existence of a curse." Chuck said.
"Just like the Curse of the Pharaohs." Fred nodded. "Though it is worth noting that Dr. Jameson Hyde White, the main archeologist that led the expedition and is supposed to have been cursed the most by the Black Knight's Curse, lived to the ripe old age of 79 before dying in 1903, some twenty nine years after he led the expedition that unearthed the Black Knight."
"Though that hasn't stopped reports of any mysterious going-ons wherever the Black Knight goes on display, specifically those about it coming alive." Biff remarked. "On top of reports of bad fortune befalling any place that has hosted the Black Knight."
"Most notably the Arkham family of Gotham City." Chuck remarked. "Rumour has it that not long after they've received the Black Knight as a gift, the family matriarch went insane from the disturbing images she has been seeing and hacked two of her children to death, thinking they were possessed, before taking her own life."
Fred whistled. "What was known about the Black Knight?"
"According to archeologists, examination of the armour suggests that the Black Knight was among the participants of the first Siege of Tripoli in the aftermath of the First Crusades." Chuck responded.
"And the fact it was unearthed in Lebanon suggests the Black Knight was likely slain in defending Tripoli during the second Siege almost two centuries later." Fred nodded. "Which could also be where legends about a curse originated."
"Yes indeed." Biff agreed. "Now, notwithstanding the intrigue surrounding the Black Knight's curse, what do you make of the recurring delays in the County Museum's reopening?"
"It just seems like the County can't get its s**t together as always." Fred quipped. "And that's on top of the cost overruns in the renovations."
"Considering all the other shenanigans going on with the county administration, it's a miracle that the administration could carry on with business as usual when it's so dysfunctional." Chuck nodded.
"Having a parent that is on the City Council, I can certainly attest just how much of a pain it is for my Mom to deal with the County." Biff interjected. "H*ll, she said that the school children she used to teach in elementary school are more mature than the members of the Board of Supervisors she has to deal with on a daily basis."
Fred nodded but didn't offer anything. With a father working at his own private law practice, Fred wasn't sure what to offer to further the conversation when the family aspect enters the picture.
It has been ages since his father Frederick Jones III had his last stint holding elected office in Coolsville and Crystal Cove, his first and only stint holding elected office, to be precise.
The Jones family are what many in town will refer to as an "Original", which is often described by the townsfolk as someone part of a family who has long-established their roots in Coolsville and Crystal Cove, notwithstanding the Native Americans who have been residing in the area for millennia.
It started when Captain Rutherford Jones, late of the Army of Northern Virginia, first settled into what is now Coolsville as part of a westward wave of migration to California following demobilization after the Civil War.
Although the heyday of the California Gold Rush, the peak of which led to statehood in 1849, was long gone by the time Rutherford Jones settled, the area offered gold and silver reserves that were previously untapped during the gold rush.
As the town's population grew and following Crystal Cove County's formation in 1869, Rutherford's son Ronald led the efforts to bring in home rule for the ever-growing Coolsville, whose population growth was fostered by industrialization.
Following the passage of the City Charter, Coolsville was officially incorporated as a city in 1899 and Ronald became its first mayor.
Ronald's son, who is the first in the family to bear the name Frederick, followed his father's footsteps in entering a career in law, which cumulated into his election as the county's District Attorney.
The second in the family to bear the name Frederick was the first born child of Frederick I, but he died before reaching adulthood, and he would be used as the namesake for the first born son of his younger brother Donald.
Donald saw action during the Second World War, which included a stint in the OSS, and like his father before him, he embarked in a career in law which cumulated into his election as the county's District Attorney.
Given the family's domination by a long line of lawyers, it is natural for Frederick III to follow in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great grandfather in pursuing a career in law.
After graduating from Darrow University with high honours in 1980, Frederick III was commissioned into the United States Navy as an ensign, having had enrolled in the University's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program during his undergraduate studies.
He was injured while participating in the 1983 invasion of Grenada, subsequently, he transferred to the JAG Corps as a lieutenant (junior grade), where he remained until seven years later, when he was transferred to the reserves as a lieutenant commander in order to run for election as Coolsville's City Attorney.
The City Attorney of Coolsville is considered by many in Crystal Cove to be the stepping stone to the District Attorney's Office, and many have believed that Frederick III would achieve the feat of establishing a full on dynasty by being the third in the family to serve as the District Attorney of Crystal Cove County, especially after he won the election as City Attorney.
Concurrent to his service in the JAG Corps, Frederick III met Peggy Gorman, who was an Army JAG officer posting at the Defense Service Office at Barnstow as part of an inter-service exchange, and the two instantly clicked when they went out on a date.
They married in 1992, halfway through Frederick III's term as City Attorney, though the birth of Frederick IV was a difficult process.
Frederick III was devastated when Peggy flatlined not long after giving birth to Frederick IV, and she never woke up in spite of the best efforts of the attending doctors and nurses.
It was in part the devastation from his wife's death that contributed to Frederick III's decision to not seek a second term as city attorney a year later and not pursue the District Attorney's Office, instead he joined a private law practice where he has since been promoted to senior partner.
Given the long line of lawyers in the family, it was expected that Fred would feel the pressure of following through with his family's legacy, though that itself was complicated by the rather distant relationship he has with his father.
Father and son rarely talked much, owing to the third Fred's workaholic ethic, preferring to spend more time at his law firm than at home with the fourth Fred.
Even so, the third Fred made no secret of his desire for the fourth Fred to follow his footsteps and pursue a career in law, something the younger Fred had also made clear he would hear none of it.
"Anyways, we better finish up here and hit the cafeteria before the Urchins crashes our morning." Chuck suggested.
Fred, who was looking towards the door to the gym, nodded towards the door as he said, "I think we're too late for that."
Chuck and Biff turned around, and immediately they both tensed.
Standing at the door to the school gym stood Randolph "Red" Herring, the quarterback on the Urchins, alongside Gary Colton and Ethan Carson, and the three football players stared down at the three baseball players.
"What's this you're saying about us crashing your morning?" Ethan said. "You wimps couldn't handle the reminders of how much you've been embarrassing our school during your games?"
"Oh, we were just heading out, Ethan." Biff folded his arms as they headed towards the door, though neither of the football players motioned to move out of the way.
"Not so fast." Gary said firmly. "Perhaps you guys could use a friendly reminder about the upcoming regional tournament."
"Yeah, we've been practicing our a**es off for it." Fred frowned. "What about it?"
"Mainly the fact that Ridge Valley's standing last season was about as pathetic as you guys are currently, if not worse." Red snorted. "So maybe you wimps should get your s**t together, lest you humiliate us further by getting swept by them."
"You think we don't know anything about how much Ridge Valley has improved their gameplay since last season, Red?" Fred stepped forward confrontationally. "Maybe getting yourself slammed in the head one too many times during the games has caught up to you."
"At least it was all for good effort." Red growled. "The fact that we, as the reigning champs in the regional football league, are from the same school as you sorry bunch of losers who has been in the basement for quite the while is a f**king embarrassment."
"And being an Original, you of all people should know better than to continue to hang around with those losers in the baseball team, Jones." Ethan sneered at Fred. "It's practically beyond me why you've opted to not join the winning team in school."
"Maybe because I'd rather keep my intelligence and not get my mind jumbled up by one too many slams in football, thank you very much." Fred responded.
"Oh, because your Daddy is trying to groom you to become a lawyer, isn't it?" Gary said mockingly.
Gary's mocking insult seemed to have riled up Fred, because his hands soon curled up into fists.
Before the spark could lit the flame, a seventh voice boomed.
"Fred!" The voice boomed, prompting the six students to turn towards its source.
It was Buck Bender, the school's football coach and the main gym teacher, who has a large, imposing figure with messy brown hair and a mustache, and he had his hands on his hips as he approached the six quarrelling students.
"Coach Bender." Fred said.
"Are my boys givin' you guys trouble?" Bender demanded.
Fred, Biff and Chuck exchanged glances briefly with Red, Ethan and Gary, then Fred replied, "No, sir. We were just on our way to the cafeteria for breakfast."
"Good." Bender nodded firmly, though the six could tell he knew that they have been arguing and that things could've escalated into a fistfight had he not stepped in. "Make this the last time you lads get yourselves into a pissin' match with my boys, because I'm not havin' any of the sort happenin' on my watch when we're reaching the crucial moment of the season, which could spell bad news for morale, is that understood?"
"Yes, Coach." Fred, Biff and Chuck all nodded before they took their leaves, prompting Bender to turn towards Red, Ethan and Gary, who were all looking rather smug.
"This goes for the three of you as well." Bender said sternly, prompting the smirks on Red, Ethan and Gary's faces to disappear. "We're approachin' the crucial moment of the season, and I cannot afford to have any of you distracted by whatever beef you have with the baseball team and compromise your performance, and thus throw away our chances for the post-season."
Velma Dinkley was bored out of her mind as she sat at Mr. Raffalo's chemistry class that morning, groaning internally while the chemistry teacher once again rambles on as he wrote on the chalk board.
It didn't help much that the classroom itself had a dull appearance. Plain, cream white walls that makes it easier for one to mistakenly thought that the school was built in the 1960s or 1970s with the dull modernist architecture.
In fact, Coolsville Central High School's architecture was Gothic in nature, as was typical of the architecture of the buildings in Coolsville when it was incorporated as a city in 1899.
At the time of its incorporation as a city, Coolsville's city limits were limited to the west bank of the Roan River, which, up until 1959, was the boundary separating the City of Coolsville from the neighbouring City of Crystal Cove.
It is worth noting that while the City of Crystal Cove had a longer history of settlement than Coolsville, rapid industrialization and explosive growth in commerce during the 1920s and further accelerated by mobilization for the Second World War, coupled with the drying up of the mines that made up the majority of the City of Crystal Cove's economy, led to Coolsville overtaking the City of Crystal Cove as the most-populous settlement in the county.
The changes in the settlement patterns, coupled with the contrast of the economic prospects between the two cities, was a major contribution to the rivalry between Coolsville and the City of Crystal Cove, a rivalry that has carried forward into the collective memories of their respective residents after 1959, when Coolsville annexed the former City of Crystal Cove and expanded to its present-day boundaries.
Even to this day, it is still a frequent habit for the town habitants to refer to the western half of Coolsville as "the old city" while the eastern half continues to be referred to as old Crystal Cove, and the contrast between the two sides of the Roan River couldn't be more starker even fifty years after the annexation.
Furthermore, the rivalry between the two sides of the Roan has continued to play out in the form of the intense rivalry between their two high schools, namely Coolsville Central High School and Crystal Cove High School.
It wouldn't be a normal school year for the faculty of either high school without the annual Kidnapping of the Mascots, in which the two schools will "kidnap" each other's sports mascots in the leadup to the regional football finals in which the two schools will meet.
Further fueling the rivalry is how rowdy the games often ended up becoming, a situation that was particularly problematic during the 1980s.
The low point in the rivalry occurred during the regional football finals in the 1986-1987 school year, in which the Coolsville Central Urchins met the Crystal Cove Fighting Boars at Hawks Stadium in the former downtown of Crystal Cove.
A dispute over the umpire's call of a controversial pass against the Fighting Boars led to shoving between the Urchins and the Fighting Boars, and thrown in some smuggled alcohol from the attending students and some snacks, it didn't take long for the spark to lit the fire and the shoving between the football players descended into an all-out brawl between the students.
By the time the melee was cleared and the police moved in to restore order, 69 students in total had to be hospitalized for injuries, 13 of them serious, and in the ensuring fallout from the brawl, measures were implemented to prevent a similar incident from repeating in the future.
In the school years that followed, the Urchins and the Fighting Boars meet at a neutral venue outside the county, and the ban of alcohol and drugs was thoroughly enforced by police providing security at the matches.
The rivalry between the two schools has largely toned down somewhat by the early 2000s, and by the 2003-2004 school year, it was deemed safe enough for the matches between the Urchins and Fighting Boars to be held in Coolsville again.
Of course, the history of the school's rivalry with Crystal Cove and its connection to the rivalry between old Coolsville and old Crystal Cove weren't in Velma's mind as she sat in Mr. Raffalo's chemistry class, dejected by the boredom.
It wasn't the teacher's monotone that was boring her out, although she was certain she has come close to dozing off at her desk, a sentiment shared by many of her fellow classmates.
Rather, it was her familiarity with the subject matter that has made her feel bored, given her rigorous review of her chemistry textbook and having had prepared notes diligently the minute she received it on the first day back to school.
As she dragged her pencil on her notebook paper, Velma exhaled as Mr. Raffalo turned towards the class.
"Now, can anyone explain to me what hard water is?" Mr. Raffalo asked in his usual monotone. "And please, don't say 'it's water that feels hard'."
Before either one of the students could explain, the boredom was broken by the desk telephone ringing, prompting Mr. Raffalo to frown before he put down his chalk, walked over to his desk and picked up the phone.
"Yeah?" Mr. Raffalo answered while the students exchanged glances with one another.
Velma was the only one staring at the teacher and observing him speaking on the phone, nodding curtly as he listened to the party at the other end.
"Very well, I'll have her excused from her class." Mr. Raffalo nodded before he hung up the phone and turned towards the classroom.
Scanning the classroom briefly, his eyes settled onto Velma and he beckoned her over to his desk.
"Miss Dinkley, could you come over for a minute?" Mr. Raffalo asked.
Velma nodded as she walked over to him with her belongings in hand.
When he had her attention, the teacher said, "That was Principal Quinlan, she wants you over at her office right away."
"Understood, Mr. Raffalo." Velma nodded before she turned away and headed out of the classroom.
Arriving at the principal's office, Velma found Principal Allison Quinlan seated behind her desk as she asked, "You asked to see me, Principal Quinlan?"
"Yes, it's your mother, Velma." Quinlan replied. "She's at the Don Messick Memorial Hospital after an medical episode at her lecture at Darrow University."
"Jinkies, is she alright?" Velma asked.
"Her condition's stable, thankfully." Quinlan explained. "Though I don't think she'll want to step foot into her office and lecture room when the dust in there can trigger an asthma attack."
"That was the medical episode that sent her to the hospital?" Velma raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, it was." Quinlan nodded. "As I said, her condition's stable, but I figured you would like to be excused from the rest of the school day to be with her."
"Of course, appreciate it, Principal Quinlan." Velma nodded.
In no time did Velma made it to the hospital after a fifteen-minute bus ride from school, and upon arriving at the reception, she was directed to her mother's bed.
"Mom." Velma said, prompting her mother Angela to turn towards her and exhaled.
"Velma." Angela said as she reached over to briefly embrace her daughter.
"Are you alright?" Velma asked. "What happened?"
"Was going through the leadup to the collapse of the Roman Empire when I was starting to have breathing difficulties." Angela replied. "Was able to administer the medication from my inhaler, though my chest still feels like something inside is pressing hard against it."
"Was it dust in the lecture hall that triggered this asthma attack?" Velma prompted. "I thought you went to the administration to raise the issue about the the ventilation system after you had another asthma attack last year while lecturing about the English Civil War."
"Can't say for sure, but I did raise the issue after the asthma attack last year." Angela explained. "However, you know the university administration, always telling me about how much they need to pinch their pennies on the maintenance."
"They've been dragging their feet for far too long, Mom." Velma exhaled. "You really ought to file a claim for workplace health and safety against the university for their failure to guarantee the health and safety of students and faculty."
In discussing the university, Velma and Angela were referring to Darrow University, where the latter is a professor of medieval and Renaissance histories and an associate dean in the university's History Department.
Darrow University was founded through the efforts of Rutherford Jones, who was able to secure the donations from a group of influential merchants, lawyers and high society members that were instrumental in the establishment of Crystal Cove County in 1869.
Of the donors that contributed the most to the university's establishment, the Darrow family, of which the university would bear its name to, were the biggest contributors to the university's establishment.
As the biggest landowners and most wealthy mining family in Crystal Cove, it was the Darrow family that donated the land of which the university would be built on.
In his will, Cletus Darrow donated the Darrow Mansion to the university, a mansion that has since become the home of the History Department and housing the university's museum as a historical landmark.
While the mansion was sizable, given the presence of the museum at the ground floor, there wasn't enough room to accommodate the department's growing faculty, so in 1961, a new building for the department's lecture halls was constructed and opened adjacent to the mansion.
The building, since named Darrow Hall, was where Angela was holding her lecture when she had her asthma attack, and the ventilation problems discussed was in referral to the aging mechanical and electrical systems in Darrow Hall.
As a matter a fact, the lecture hall Angela was in has not had a functioning air conditioning system for the past couple of years, a situation that was especially problematic during the hot summer months where the room would heat up to 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit or 37.5 degrees Celsius, in spite of the temperature outside being anywhere but 37.5 degrees Celsius.
Angela has lost track of the number of instances she had to have her students keep the lecture hall doors open during the summer classes, and she couldn't recall the exact number of students who had to step out of the lecture hall halfway through her class in order to cool off, nor could she remember how many times she herself has break the class to cool off.
Something about the aging ventilation system must've trapped the heat inside the lecture hall, and coupled that with the lack of regular maintenance, Angela was beginning to wonder if the Darrow Hall could still be deemed as safety habitable.
She has went to the university's administration to bring up the issues, but time and again, the standard response was that due to the economic downturn from the 2008 crash, the university simply doesn't have the budget to overhaul the aging mechanical and electrical systems.
For the time being, Angela has resorted to stacking her lecture hall with fans to cool the students and herself down during classes, in addition to breaking the classes into two parts so they could take a ten-minute break halfway through to cool down.
Stacks of water bottles were provided for the students to cool down, and she has always asked her students to stop her if any one of them is feeling unwell from the blistering heat.
Considering her asthma attacks, though, Angela has also figured that as long as the university continues to drag its feet on maintenance and refurbishments, it's only a matter of time before someone in her classes has a heat stroke and passes out in class.
"I'll certainly consider that, dear." Angela nodded.
As she made the remark, Angela's hand subconsciously reached over to the locket attached to her necklace.
The locket has a photo of Velma's father Dale, who had earned his undergraduate degree in civil engineering at Darrow University and had died a couple months before Velma was born in 1993.
Noticing the way her mother was holding her locket, Velma asked, "You okay, Mom?"
"Yes, yes." Angela replied as she noticed the way she was holding onto the locket. "I was...just thinking about your father."
Velma nodded. "Do you think he would have approved of the way the university was being run?"
"To tell you the truth, sweetie, I can't say for certain, though even before you were born, he said that the university's funding model cannot be sustained over the long run." Angela said. "Almost twenty years after he told me that, the university's still relying on the same funding model."
"Seems pretty suspicious that the university's President could afford to travel abroad when the university's still struggling with funding." Velma remarked.
"You said it, but as long as the Board of Trustees continues to maintain confidence in his leadership, there's nothing much I could do about the matter." Angela sighed.
Velma nodded. "There's gotta be something that can be done to fix this."
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