Author's Notes: I'm back. This chapter was hard to decide for which cliche to attack next. I thought to myself, I'm going to do the one with Deathstroke acting like he should be in Teen Titans, but I decided to go for another Bully fic cliche. I wanted to avoid doing another one about Dick Grayson for a while, because there were just so many of them, but this one was more possible to write. More dramatic and less funny, by the way. Just letting you know. So many essays to write and I am happy that I made a lot of progress on one of them that I decided to spend time of this chapter after adding 3 pages to my final. Yay!
Principal Williams sat in his chair, listening to the end of an account of what just occurred earlier that day.
"-he was berserk – I don't know what I did to him – and then he tried biting my knuckle off when I tried prying him off Jonny." He was shown teeth marks on an index finger, the only part of the story that he deduced was accurate, but for the wrong reasons…
"-and that's when Mr. Higgens pulled us apart and sent us to your office." Anthony McBride finished with a huff of frustration meant for the theatre.
"-and when he sent that Grayson kid to the nurse." Anthony's friend, and apparently, victim to the alleged "assault", Jonathon Daniels added with a grimace. "I don't know, sir. He's only been here for a day, but I think that kid's nothing but trou –"
"Mister Daniels, was I asking about your side of the story or your opinion about Richard Grayson?" Principal Williams glared at him.
"Um…the story?" Daniels said in a reluctant voice.
"Thank you, now I want you both to wait outside my office and not to move. I'm going to see Mister Grayson now." It took all of his willpower not to scream his lungs out, and even more to maintain the "stern disciplinary that looks for a reason to punish someone for a wrongdoing, no matter the circumstances" act. Anyone that knew the man – really knew him – would say he was actually putting an effort into the "pal" part of principal.
The hallways were empty, save for a few students still gathering their things from their respected lockers. State of the art and fool-proof security systems that only allowed the person who owns the locket to open them. Another great donation from Wayne Enterprises that brought locker-theft down by ninety-percent.
When he could hear the nurse talking in a soft voice from a distance, Principal Williams gathered his willpower not to rush frantically into the office. He had to abide by his own rules; what if there was an emergency? What sort of example would he be giving to the student body? Frantic behavior would only end with people getting hurt or worse.
Nurse Rogers' door was closed when he got to it, but there were still noises coming from behind it. Principal Williams rapped the door with his knuckles – that reminded him of the only true part of the fabricated tale he was heard – and heard a "Come in!"
He turned the doorknob and pushed, letting himself into the room. It was relatively large, mostly for the multiple beds that were being housed in the area. A reminder of last fall's flu epidemic and the lack of beds for so many kids. Three beds proved to be useless that time, since so many as ten to fifteen people for the four dreaded days came into the office and fought over the bedding like animals.
If they had inhaled more of that Joker gas…
Principal Williams inwardly shuddered and quickly scanned the room for the person he wanted to talk to. Sitting on one of the beds in the far right-hand corner was a little boy, standing a little over four feet and still room for growing. Black hair cropped the crown of his head and barely even made it halfway down, ending several inches above the jawline. Just looking at the poor kid made Principal Williams want to go back to his office and give those two boys a piece of his mind. And his fist.
"Richard, how are you doing?" Principal Williams put on a gentle smile meant for the younger students. It always helped make him an approachable figure, albeit on the stern grandfatherly-side. Seeing Richard not return to smile made Williams silently clench his fists.
That proved to be the wrong thing to do, it brought about a sudden change to Richard's figure, shifting from shy and uncomfortable to tense and ready to fly.
Wrong choice of words, Williams. He cursed himself. Hasn't that poor kid been through enough?
Rogers, a frown on his thirty-something face, looked up from Richard, kneeling on the ground as he put on a bandage. "Principal Williams, is there something you need?"
"Yes, Steve. I wanted to talk to Richard about what happened."
The blonde-haired man nodded and looked back at Richard. "Do you want me to tell him for you or…–"
"I-I can tell him." The young boy spoke in a quiet voice. He cleared his throat and spoke louder. "I can tell him."
Nurse Rogers nodded and gave a smile.
Principal Williams walked over to Rogers' desk and gestured to his chair. "May I?"
A quick nod and Principal Williams sunk into the chair, taking quick note of the soft cushion underneath. He continued. "Richard, I just want to say that I'm sorry this whole thing happened. I'm going to contact your legal guardian about this."
He held up his hand when Richard opened his mouth in objection. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. It's school policy. I just need to know what happened; could you give me your side of the story?"
Richard had already begun talking three words before Williams had finished, almost bursting with new energy at having the chance to speak. "I was getting my stuff out of my locker and those two jumped me. I-I don't know their names, but one of them pushed me into the locker and…and…started calling me names."
Principal Williams raised an eyebrow. "Like?"
Richard blushed and looked down, his desire to fight dying. Rogers spoke up. "They made fun of his mother and called her the 'w' word."
How original. Principal Williams thought dryly to himself.
"They also suggested that Mr. Wanye…"
Rogers looked down, his face flush red, more from anger than embarrassment. There wasn't any need to hear the rest.
Principal Williams nodded. "And we all know where that nonsense came from."
Right out of someone's ass. He thought to himself.
Richard looked up, his eyes glistening with tears. Dear God, was this the first time someone actually thought those rumors were nothing but horse-shit?...or is it true and he's upset that he thought someone he could trust is still treating it like it's nothing.
"Thanks." Richard whispered. "No one else believes me. I-I mean, I don't think the teacher believes me…"
"Why do you think that?" Principal Williams asked.
"Cause I heard her in the teachers' lounge…she said Bruce must have gotten tired of the girls if he took me in."
Williams could feel his face grow hot – even the teachers buy this crap?!
"I'll speak to your teacher about that later, then." Principal Williams reassured him. "What's their name?"
"Um…"Richard paused. "Miss Burgen-something?"
"Burgeson." Principal Williams corrected him gently. The goddamn English teacher's too lazy to check her sources like she teaches kids?! "Now, back to the fight. What happened when they were saying those things?"
Richard tugged at a sleeve, torn a little from the fight. "I…started kicking and that's when they started hitting me. I bit on someone's finger and they punched me in the face…and that's when a teacher broke up the fight and brought me here."
"Did they ask if you were alright?"
Richard nodded, Principal Williams made a mental note to thank Mr. Higgens for breaking up the fight before it got worse and took the initiative to help Richard.
"Alright. Sit tight, son. I'm sure Mr. Wayne will be here in twenty minutes. Steve?"
Rogers looked at him.
"If Mr. Wayne comes in here first and not my office, make sure he knows that the fight wasn't Richard's fault and that he needs a few days to recover."
"You mean like suspension?!" Richard looked indigenous.
"That's a part of protocol –" Principal Williams started as he stood up.
"But I didn't start it!" Richard suddenly shouted.
"You're hurt." Principal Williams continued calmly. "All parties involved in the incident must face discipline, but it's also an excuse for victims to take a few days off and get to a doctor. You are not in trouble, this is for your safety and health."
Richard seemed satisfied with this answer, but he still looked upset. Principal Williams looked back to Rogers.
"Could you bring Richard when Mr. Wayne comes? We'll probably have the other parents coming in sooner or later."
"Yeah." Rogers said.
The phone suddenly rang, startling everyone in the room. Rogers walked over and picked up the phone.
"Nurse's office, Steve speaking…yeah, he's here."
Rogers covered the speaker. "Mr. Wayne's here, so are Daniels' and McBride's parents."
Principal Williams sighed. "Alright, I'll go talk to them. Richard, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me, if you're done."
"He is." Rogers nodded. Richard stood up from the bed.
"Hold on." Rogers pulled open one of his drawers and withdrew…
"Here's your lollipop. For being a good patient." Rogers smiled. Richard gave a weak smile back and pocketed the red candy on a stick. Principal Williams also smiled, he knew how much Rogers and his wife, Peggy, wanted to have kids of their own. Not a bad position for someone who returned from the war.
He heard rumors that Rogers was getting group therapy with some people he met a few years back. They had become near inseparable, and there were even further rumors that one of them was as rich as Mr. Wayne. Any rumors related to Rogers and the other guy were clearly forgetting about their respected wives.
Principal Williams walked half a step behind Richard, as if he wanted to be sure that the boy was still there and wouldn't vanish the moment he turned his back on him. There was no doubt that the parents were going to be up in arms about this, and possibly refusing to see their children as the bad guys.
And yet, the nine-year-old is the one who got hurt the most… Principal Williams thought bitterly.
There was no way he was going to budge an inch after this. Daniels and McBride might have stayed out of his office for as long as they could, but Principal Williams heard through the grapevine. He saw how other kids reacted when they saw the two teenagers in the same room as themselves. And he knew that they tried to justify their unofficial posts as the terrors of Gotham Academy with their positions on the football and swimming team.
Bruce Wayne was waiting outside of his office, his arms crossed and his face restrained with anger and disappointment. The Daniels, both rich enough to not have to work, were dressed as if they had just gotten out of bed, he could smell lavender from his position. The McBrides weren't as off guard, Mrs. McBride smelled like she was cooking something.
I hope she knows how to work a fire extinguisher. Principal Williams thought.
He kept his face calm and blank; Richard might know that he wasn't in trouble but that didn't mean he had to broadcast to the two liars sitting on the bench that he saw through their act. The last thing he needed was for them to try making themselves look like the victims in front of their parents.
"Mr. Wayne, I'd like to talk to you and your ward first. Could the rest of you wait outside?"
Principal Williams didn't wait for a response and opened the door, letting Mr. Wayne walk in briskly. Richard followed through as though he were a man on death row.
As Principal Williams closed the door, he could see the two teenagers giving each other smirks of triumph. Honestly, if they were going to pin the blame on someone else, the least they could do was to not drop the act when the person they were trying to convince was close by. And was it that hard to come up with a story that actually didn't contradict itself and leave little room for logic?
No. Williams thought. I shouldn't be encouraging those bastards to be trickier. Letting them carry on with their current methods will make my job a lot easier and a lot of students safer after today.
After the three had settled into their seats – Principal Williams took a quick look at Mr. Wayne and wondered if he actually believed those two teenagers – Principal Williams cleared his throat.
"I'd like to start off by saying that Richard was a victim in what I gather to be an unprovoked attack. I already explained to him that he will be excused from school under the guise of a suspension while he recovers. We'll mail his assignments daily so he doesn't fall behind. Is there anything else you need to talk about?"
As he spoke, Principal Williams watched as Mr. Wayne's expression show quick but brief flashes of shock and embarrassment.
I know he's a goofball sometimes, but how could he have bought that lie so quickly?!
"I understand. Thank you, sir, for letting me know this." Mr. Wayne nodded. He added with a grimace. "I was, sadly, under the impression that Richard had acted out. I…I can't believe that I bought that story so quickly."
Well, I can. But from the looks of it, Richard looked surprised to hear that his own guardian was taking someone else's side over his without hearing everything.
Mr. Wayne must have noticed this too. "Richard, I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions like that. I hope you can forgive me."
Richard looked at him, maybe wondering if he should, before giving a small smile. "Okay."
"We better go see Leslie, then." Mr. Wayne stood up to leave.
"Who?"
"The family doctor." Mr. Wayne explained.
"Our nurse already checked in on him." Principal Williams explained. "Everything's been taken care of."
"I just want to be sure." Mr. Wayne gave a charming smile. "She'll be after my blood if I don't let her be sure."
"Understood. I'm sorry that you had to go through this on your 1st day, Richard. I'm going to deal with those two, I promise."
The moment Mr. Wayne opened the door, the other two families fought to get inside first, not caring if they were blocking people trying to get out.
Mr. Wayne took Richard's hand into his own and almost pushed everyone aside. Richard turned his head back to stick his tongue out at McBride and Daniels.
As soon as both families sat down, the accusations began.
"Our sons were trying to be gentlemen to a poor boy and he attacks them –"
"-the worst offense I've ever had to deal with –"
"-we were trying to be nice to him and he goes berserk –"
Principal Williams held up his hand until everyone finally quieted down. He was that close to getting into a screaming match.
"Let me just start off by saying for the record that I know you two," He gestured to McBride and Daniels, "are lying."
The protests began again before Principal Williams raised his voice to a wordless shout.
"You two described to me how Richard suddenly attack you as you approached his locker. And the first time you told me this story, you never mentioned wanting to say 'Hi' to him." Principal Williams reached for the jug of water near him and poured a tall glass. His head was already hurting. "You also described – in great detail and contradictions, by the way – what kind of injuries you received. Anthony, where're the pencil markings on your arm that you said came from Richard trying to stab you with his pencil? Jonathon, I see you gained a black eye in the past ten minutes since we last talked? Care to explain how Richard could be at two places at once between the time you were telling me about your 'assault' and the time that I was walking in with him?"
"Don't make my son sound like a liar –" Principal Williams slammed his hand down on the desk to make Mr. Daniels shut up. He continued speaking in a calm don't-fuck-with-me tone, holding back a smile as he knew there would be no more interruptions.
"Now, what's even more confusing is the difference between the states you two are in compared to Richard. Now, the only accurate thing you two have said to me was the bite on Jonathon's finger. If you say you were just minding your own business or wanting to be nice to someone – whichever one makes more sense, I would think the first story would match your behaviors better – then why did Richard have to go to the nurse's office with so many injuries on his person? If you just wanted to say hi, I would think you would want to avoid hurting him. Maybe even get away from him and report Richard without starting a fight. Now, that would be more in character if you two were actually decent people."
All four parents flinched and opened their mouths in protest, but Principal Williams beat them to it.
"Your children might not have been sent to my office until today, but I have kept complaints and been gathering evidence for the past three years. All actions have either taken place off campus or where merely insults or injuries that conveniently looked like accidents in large places. If you don't believe me, we have security cameras showing those two instigating the fight. Amelia."
He looked at Mrs. Daniels.
"You annually give large donations to the Foundation for Children in Need. I would expect you to be horrified and maybe even ask if Richard were alright, you saw his injuries, I'm sure of it.
"So, in short. I'm expelling your children until their hearing with the School Board. And none of them are fans of money, I'm afraid, so you're going to have to rely on a damn good lawyer."
Principal Williams took a deep breath before speaking again. He glared at Jonathon and Anthony and spoke in a cold voice. "That boy had just lost his family, and that was how you showed your consideration?! I want you two to get the fuck out of my school and never come back."
"That's not fair –" Anthony protested.
"You're right, do you know what's fair?" Principal Williams spoke in a sarcastic voice to his two former students.
Beating you two the same way that Richard was, then ripping out your innards to show the whole world what heartless little shits you are!
Neither of them gave an answer. The Daniels actually became more awake from the rant, Mrs. Daniels looked like she was about to cry. The McBrides, famous for their excuses, were unable to give any for once. And to think, he was expecting a verbal match just to get more than one word in at a time.
How anti-climactic and satisfying at the same time.
"Just get out of here before I call security."
And with that, both families left in stone-cold horror.
Principal Williams sighed loudly. It wasn't even April yet. When did the summer start, again?
Author's Notes: Four things helped inspire this chapter:
1) This retelling of Robin's origin called Becoming Robin that took the Juvie cliche and played it out more realistically, showing how much a month in a place like that could affect an 8-year-old who just lost his family. One scene bugged me, when two bullies attack Dick and then play it out like they were the victims. Bruce actually bought their story and didn't see otherwise until he looked at the security cameras. I was wondering why the school didn't have similar footage and why did Bruce assume something that quickly, he was the World's Greatest Detective, after all. In the end *spoilers* the bullies didn't get much of a comeuppance aside from being forced to leave town, so that always bugged me. I wouldn't read the story again because it was kind of too intense at times and I didn't want to re-read Dick being hurt by assholes.
2) This spitefic called Perspective Charliefrom the book, Twilight, where Bella's father automatically pokes holes in Bella's story about falling down two flights of stairs and then out of a window. So I was writing the principal using the author's version of Charlie Swan as inspiration. So his little rant at the end of this long chapter was me using Charlie's voice in the dialogue with more anger.
3) One of my favorite scenes from the movie, Scream, where the principal chews out two students for dressing up as the murderer, Ghostface, and running around the school scaring people. What I loved the most about that scene was that the principal was actually doing something about two insensitive idiots after two homicides occurred the previous night. Principal Williams' thoughts at the end were sort of a paraphrase of "Fairness would be to rip your insides out and hang you from a tree so we can expose you for the heartless, desensitized little shits that you are!" And the best part? I was just thinking when those morons were doing it "Too soon!" And I found much catharsis in a movie avoiding the useless (and typically jackass) principal cliche. The hypocrisy that the principal shows in the next scene did ruin the moment a bit, but he was wearing the Ghostface mask in his office with no one but himself in the room at the time.
4) This one shot series called Daddy Bats has the first chapter deal with the bullying cliche at its worst and the worst part? The principal decides without hearing dick's side of the story that Dick was the troublemaker and wouldn't even let him speak in his own defense. Artemis and Barbara managed to record it and show it right after the principal threw Dick out of the office, but I was turned off by that chapter alone and wanted to throw something. Seriously?! One of the best, if not best, schools in Gotham and the principal won't hear the story from all perspectives?! And not even listen to the son of the richest man in Gotham's side of the story?!
Why don't fanfics show the principal listening to Dick's side of the story too and maybe pulling a Sherlock scan and thinking "This doesn't add up at all"? It wasn't even that hard for the guy to do and he's not Batman.
Cheers for the longest chapter in the story so far. Next update will be May 14th, unless I post a short chapter before then.