Oh, the beginning of a new week. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath of the lemon scented air. These were the moments that he loved when the long silent hallways were cleaned during class. Even if the walls were crumbling or the lockers were slightly dented from students bumping into each other, it was literally home to him. The lights that were newly installed last month were well worth it too. They were starting to flicker – that and there were parents that kept calling to tell him that his students with poor eyesight were having a hard time adjusting to the sudden lighting changes throughout the day.
But it wasn't just that he'd be going back to his job, no matter how difficult it was. Yes, there were shenanigans and pranks everywhere he went. He had to give at least one or two detentions a day on average. If only his students would behave. It wasn't too much to ask, not at all. He coughed as he made his way to his office. Green walls that went well with the school flag; hey he loved his office so much that he made one of his rooms at home a replica! Of course, he hadn't intended on that happening. He only did it because of the dispute that he had with Mr. Simmons a few months back. And it had ended a lot better than he expected it to. He had not only come to enjoy his job more and had a better friendship with his employee, but he also found out he was a good karaoke singer.
However, there was a chance that it could be one of the greatest days yet in his life. Last Saturday, Principal Wartz received a phone call regarding one of the students. It was from the CTA, or otherwise known as the Cultural Travel Association. As the principal, he had the responsibility that any sort of event or activity that came from outside sources had to be at its' best for the school; although he had to reason with the budget. Since the Social Studies department was receiving lower grades on average as the years went by, the opportunity showed itself to him on surprise.
About two months ago, he was admiring the prestigious awards that were throughout the same hallways that he was walking in. And as he was passing by the doors to the library, his eyes opened in surprise when he noticed that something was different. In all of his years of running P.S. 118, he never recognized what was even outside the doors hanging on the wall. Principal Wartz stepped back cautiously with an eyebrow raised as he looked at the plaque that hung. It was a paper, a short one, but it was obviously well written by Olga Pataki. Oh yes, she was a model student – someone to be revered.
How he sister Helga Pataki and she were related, he had no idea. A couple of weeks ago, he had informed Ms. Pataki about the sudden rush with her appointment with Dr. Bliss. And only few words could express the frustration he dealt with too when trying to reason with her.
"Ms. Pataki." He was getting impatient. He needed to see her.
"Hold it Principal Wartz; I'll be in a minute," he stared at her suspiciously. Could he trust her? What if she ran off? She was quite stubborn and tended to break the rules every once in a while. He could understand why she was one of the bullies of the 5th grade class. She was the same way each school year. But, as he stared at her, she raised an arm to reassure him – although he did have some doubts.
"I will. Just let me tell Phoebe something." His eyes opened slightly in surprise. Ms. Pataki was actually being calm when speaking to him? Being around Mr. Simmons must have gotten to him because now he could tell when students were joking or being serious. It helped him as a principal, because he could give fewer detentions. And thus, the school would have a better reputation. By the look she was giving him too, she was being sincere. But he had to keep his position in check, and simply shook his head. He didn't know what was going on between her and Ms. Heyerdahl. But he didn't have the time to think on such matters.
Walking back into his office, he stepped around his desk and sat in his reddish brown leather chair. Taking off his glasses, he set them aside as Helga came in. Pulling out the blue chair that sat across from him, she crossed one leg over the other as her arms folded.
"So, Wartz, what did I do now? Scale the side of the school and covered it in glue so pigeons would get stuck?" She spoke sarcastically. He closed his eyes as his hands also folded on the table. This was not going well already. And he bit his tongue hard. He didn't need the superintendent coming in again. He needed to compromise with the students, not degrade them into thinking they were animals. Instead of choosing to act out, he spoke as rationally as he could. "Ms. Pataki, you are in no trouble. However, there is something I should tell you about." Although he had to be upfront with the students on the issues that they were dealing with, it was this sort of situation that he wanted to avoid. The young lady sitting in front of him was hard to deal with as a whole, even if her test scores from last year proved that she could become anything she wanted, like her sister could.
Helga shrugged her shoulders as her head looked lazily around the room. Turning her attention back to him, she lifted her gaze to meet his. And he could tell that she was probably going to argue – as usual. "What is it then? I haven't got all day. I do have to get to class you know." She did have a point. But it had to be done. There was no other time he could do it. He breathed before saying anything.
"You see, Helga, I received a phone call from Dr. Bliss. And she informed me that she is going out of town for the next week. She is quite aware that you had an appointment, but now she wants to meet you right after school since there really is no other time until two weeks from now." All of a sudden, her legs both stood on the ground as she sat up with her mouth hung open. "Wh-wh-what?" Her hands untangled themselves and gripped the sides of the chair. She quickly replied, "No, no, no. I can't go today!"
That was just another excuse to getting out of it. Reaching for his glasses, he put them on as he opened the drawer for the school phonebook. "And why not Ms. Pataki?" he asked. Surely she didn't have any other plans except homework. There couldn't be anything else, unless she was going to spend time with those other children around the neighborhood. He looked down to the book as he flipped through the pages, searching for Mr. and Mrs. Pataki's phone number. Helga gulped. And Principal Wartz could see through her lies. She obviously had nothing planned. She didn't say anything. He continued. "Ah, yes. Since you don't have a good reason, I will have to call your parents to let them know that you are going to be home later than normal."
The student in front of him stood up and banged her fist on his desk. "No! Don't! I can go by myself and tell them why later!" The man looked up at her face. She was desperate; it seemed, to not have him call her parents. But he would not be deterred from doing so without some reasoning.
"Now, why would you want that Ms. Pataki? I would think that it wouldn't be as big of a problem as you having to tell them. " He hadn't spoken to Mr. Pataki much since Olga was a student at P.S. 118. He was a good man; he always supported and understood his successful daughter. Same went to Mrs. Pataki. He never saw her as much, maybe once or twice, but enough to know that she was the same way. Sure Helga and Olga were in fact different people. But didn't she get along with them?
Unfortunately before he could think any further, Helga leaned back with a frown. But her anger was there as she spoke through clenched teeth. "My dad is at a very important business meeting and my mom is sick. Please," she faced down to the desk, "it really is best not to bother them."
And she left. He didn't call Mr. and Mrs. Pataki. And nothing happened. He left it at that. Her parents didn't call to complain – which meant things were well. And it was also Olga's essay that inspired him to contact the CTA. The best way for students to have a better understanding of the world is if they were in the culture themselves. Finally, to know that one of his 5th graders, Arnold Shortman, had won the contest was good news.
Arnold was a decent student. He didn't fail his classes and he was very helpful. He was an all-around kind of person and had helped him on many occasions. He convinced him that the teachers' strike was pointless because the main focus was to teach the children, not the budget. He also wrote an honest school newspaper in comparison to Ms. Pataki's rumor-filled one.
Even so, it was a proud accomplishment to have one of P.S.118's students win this contest. And he didn't want to get his hopes up, but what if Arnold chose Mexico? Or Spain? Or San Lorenzo? Those would be some very interesting trips. Not that the others are less remarkable, but the Spanish cultures in the world amazed him. They were vibrant and filled with life. It became a part of him too. They allowed him to feel more at ease and relaxed, but with that excitement followed. But also, next to the school, it gave Principal Wartz a sense of family. He never was close to any of his relatives. He knew that the older he got, the stricter he became. His family seemed to accept it for a number of years as it was a part of his personality.
But one day when he was a senior in high school, he saw that one of the sophomores drawing on one of the lockers and immediately informed the principal. That student did get in trouble of course, but not without the repercussions that Principal Wartz was not affected by anymore. Apparently, that student was not drawing on the locker. Rather, he was using a glue stick as a sudden replacement for tape to attach a get well card to his older sister, who was also a senior named Elizabeth, who had a serious concussion. The most humiliating part for him at the time was that it ruined his reputation – again. He'd caught random students and former classmates in the past. The difference was that the student he turned in was actually innocent because he had already received permission to post the message on her locker as a gift.
So he never went on to doing some "senior events" like going to the prom or the last home games of the year. He never went to any plays or won any awards. At that time, life was very dull – all he was good at was getting others in trouble by doing the right thing. Yes, he excelled at school because he wanted to influence children in behaving better – therefore becoming better individuals. It was simple psychology to him; the younger one was to learning how to behave properly, the chances are that it would continue throughout life.
But even so, this incident not only ruined his reputation, but his younger brother's as well. They were inseparable despite them having been three years in age difference. They couldn't be torn apart. They played games, did homework together, and anything else that seemed like fun. However, when Principal Wartz's status fell, so did Michael's. All of a sudden he became resentful of him, claiming that it was because he was going to college.
But Jonathan knew that was not the reason why his brother was upset with him. At the time, if someone had a certain reputation at high school and had a younger sibling coming in – their reputation was determined by the older - and since his ended rather shortly, then started to get better only to end up at rock bottom, so did his. Thus Michael tried to do everything to prove himself while Principal Wartz was at college. Unfortunately, he went about doing drugs and alcohol and who knew what else until he died of a heart attack in his junior year. Everyone unintentionally told him, even at the funeral, that it was his fault too.
Principal Wartz then became as rational, and if not more strict, ever since. His brother's death did sadden him because they were so close, but he had to keep going. Regardless of what happened toward the end, Jonathan kept remembering that Michael wouldn't want him to stop his dream of being an educator. And he vowed that he would do his absolute best, even if it sacrificed him the other relationships that he had with his family. His brother also inspired him to listen to Latin music since he enjoyed it himself. And that music led him to exploring the cultures that surround it.
So he hoped that Arnold would chose something related to that culture although the chances were thirty percent. So he shouldn't expect it. For all he knew, the student could choose a country like France! Regardless, since he was the one who came up with the idea and as the principal, he would be leaving the country for this trip.
And if anything went wrong, well he didn't want to think about it just yet. Arnold had this school week to decide where he wanted to go. The only thing that concerned him was the other students. If they found out somehow that the boy had won, they would try to influence his decision. Regardless of Principal Wartz's goals in life, he was still working with elementary school children. They weren't as rational as they could be in their lives.
As the man continued to look at the plaque, he could read Olga's first few sentences.
"If there is anything that I have learned in my life, it is that all life matters. And if we love it, in all its' forms, then the right thing will be done."
He didn't get any farther though as he heard a cough from behind him. Jonathan's head jerked to the left as he turned to find the one student he was just thinking about – Arnold. Seeing the student now, Principal Wartz could see that he had grown up quite a bit in the past three years at P.S. 118. He could recall that Arnold wore a long blue shirt in the third grade, which then changed into the red plaid shirt and a greenish-blue sweater. And now here he was, in the same plaid shirt, but with a dark green t shirt underneath it. It suited him well as a student. At least he didn't have piercings or tattoos or something like that.
The boy was acting rather oddly too. He rubbed the back of his head as he swayed side to side. Jonathan could see the signs – he was nervous. And for some reason, even though he didn't want to believe it himself, he enjoyed the feeling of being taken seriously to the point that he would make a student nervous.
To cut to the point, he made the first move. "Why, hello there son. What brings you to see me? Shouldn't you be in class?" He questioned him. Arnold seemed to be out in the hallways all alone other than him. Not even Mr. Simmons was accompanying him. He probably had to stay behind with the class because of their behaviors. Fortunately, the student he was talking to answered him. "Well, yes, I know I'm out of class. But I did ask Mr. Simmons to come talk to you." At this point they were walking down the hallway, passing the sixth grade classrooms as they went. Arnold seemed to calm down a bit, but not entirely. He kept glancing side to side, even if it seemed that Principal Wartz wasn't noticing. He pulled out the key from his pants pocket, jingling here and there. The room he intended to continue this conversation was down on the left.
"Oh really? Well, hold on one second," his tongue clacked a bit as he opened the door for the boy. Believing that he was treating this student with respect, he went on. "Step into my office." Arnold still was unsure, but he smiled up at him. "Thanks." He went right to the blue chair that he sat at once before. Only this time he wasn't in trouble. He had tried to cover for three young boys a few months ago over a mooning incident, receiving a month's detention and almost ruined his record. But of course, that was all in the past. And now they could move forward from such an awful memory.
Closing the door behind him, Jonathan went to his comfortable chair behind his desk. He stared down at the boy, trying to think of what could be the problem. Although he had his suspicions, he knew that he shouldn't push it. He didn't mean any harm. He wanted to come see him. The fifth grader swung his legs as he looked down at the floor. His hands were gripping the seat. He had to be as understanding as he could. Otherwise, it could have not turned out right. "Now please tell me what is troubling you young man."
Arnold began, still not quite turning his head back up just yet. "Well, you see, it's about the travel contest." His voice was quiet, as if he was afraid of upsetting him. Principal Wartz raised an eyebrow. Shouldn't a student be happier that they won such an amazing contest? He almost sounded like he didn't want to win. But first, he still had to make him more welcomed. And seeing as it was Mr. Shortman here, it shouldn't have been too hard. He smiled a bit himself as he reached for his glasses that were left in his shirt pocket.
"Ah, yes, I received a phone call that confirmed that you won. Congratulations, Arnold." It was true. He did deserve the award. And it made him feel better as an educator. This contest was actually nationwide. It of course, by law, applied to all public elementary schools. Fortunately, a lot of schools chose not to do it out of a few concerns: the age of the students, the costs that parents would have to pay etc. But this was an opportunity more than anything else. Principal Wartz had to have the best representatives come into his school after all.
Arnold finally began to look up and his legs stopped swinging. His hands folded on his lap as he grinned."Thanks. I appreciate it." Now that the ice was broken, they could finally get to the root of the matter here."No, no. The pleasure is all mine. Now what seems to be the problem? I would think that any boy such as you would be rather happy about it." And once again, his face faltered. He continued to look at him as the boy took a minute to think out his thoughts.
He started out as nervous as he was when he came in. But he had built up his confidence as he went on. Jonathan could hear it in the way he spoke so adamantly about it."I am happy about it Principal Wartz. It's just that, I, it's hard to explain. But I got to do this now." One of the boy's hands came up to blow his face with air, sighing as he did so.
As the head of the school, he had to keep up with appearances. So he took a pencil and twisted it in front of his face with both hands as he stared down at Arnold. He didn't want to do it of course, but just in case if anyone should walk in…"Well just tell me then. If there is something that may affect the travel plans that we have to make, I would like to be aware of it now before it is too late." That could be the only thing on the student's mind. And the child in front of him nodded his head. Ah hah! "I understand. I do. But, this is a rather odd thing of me to ask. I hope you will understand too."
Ok, so he wanted his approval of something; probably to go to some crazy city and party the entire time while they were there. "Go ahead. All I want is your honesty." Yes, it would be nice to have a break, but it was still a cultural experience and school was still going to continue when they leave the country. And besides, the superintendent decided to run the place while they were gone. Just because it would give Arnold and his classmates time out of school, there was always time to get educated.
Luckily, he took Jonathan's advice."You see, I chose the country that I want to go to -" he started. Wait a minute – he already chose? That couldn't be possible. Arnold was not a person to rush into decisions. He normally thought things through before acting on them. There must have been one solution. Principal Wartz coughed to get his attention. And when it seemed that it worked, the boy's eyes widened and his mouth shut. He probably thought he had done something wrong. He had to act quickly.
"Sorry to interrupt you Arnold, but were you told by your classmates which country you have to choose? If that is the case, then I must investigate it." And that was true. According the provisions of the contract with the CTA, the winner must not be influenced by their peers. But fortunately, he was told otherwise as the other waved his hands out toward him. "What? No, they didn't. I already made up my mind where I wanted to go the day we were told about the contest." As he lowered both of them, Jonathan lowered the pencil in front of his face and lifted his glasses closer to his eyes."Well, alright then. Which country did you choose?" he asked calmly.
"I chose San Lorenzo sir." Arnold seemed to have bit his lip, unsure of what to make of it. Same could go for himself. He never expected such an outright answer before. He really wanted to go. There were no influences. That much he could tell. And it had been one of the countries that he wanted to go to as well. He could actually see it now – the music, the food, and the sense of belonging more than anything else. Principal Wartz smiled at him as he stood and went behind the student. "Well now, that is a fine place to go. But may I ask why?" He was a self assured boy and very intelligent beyond his years. There was the possibility that he needed a break from it all himself. And Jonathan couldn't blame him either. Arnold sounded confused as he patted his shoulder. "I, uh, chose to go to San Lorenzo for personal reasons. And I figured that you might want to know what they are before I got myself into any trouble."
He had to admit, Arnold was still impressive."Well that was very wise of you", he walked back and stood in front of his desk. But he could only do so much for him, "Unfortunately, you know I cannot do anything if you don't tell me." He kept leaning on his hands as the pressed against the wood.
The boy turned into someone else. He was staring directly at him in the face. And oddly enough, Principal Wartz didn't know what to make of it. "Ok, you see, I wanted to find answers from some local documents in San Lorenzo." He didn't turn his head or go back and deny what he said. This was unexpected. Unfortunately, he had to counteract against the boy. Normally he would've just said no. But Arnold wasn't like this at all. "Now, Arnold, what reason would you have to do that? We are going to explore the culture of that country, not interfering with documents that don't belong to us let alone the United States."
He watched as the student stood up rashly, causing himself to step back. Arnold moved the chair to the window, not at all stopping to stare at him. "I know that. But you see Principal Wartz, you know that I live with my grandparents right?" Well that seemed like a pointless question. He recalled the time when he called to let his grandparents know about the flood and having to stay overnight at the school. And his grandpa had starting rambling all sorts of nonsense so he just hung up the phone. "Yes, of course. But what does that have to do with anything?" He arched an eyebrow.
At least Arnold wasn't avoiding the situation and instead chose to answer. "My parents worked in San Lorenzo for a few years before I was born. And when they had me, they moved back here for my safety." His parents huh? Well, at least they were smart enough to help their son. If he was anything like them, then they must have been good people. He never met them, but they were right. He commented, "Well, San Lorenzo is dangerous with all of that wild life and jungles." That was very true. While the coastlines were full of the amazing culture it made itself out to be, it was the core of that land that nobody would dare to go near.
"Yes. Anyhow, my parents received work to help other people down there when I was too little to remember anything about them. They had to leave even though they didn't want to. But," He stopped and turned around once more. Arnold went and sat down with his head in his hands. Principal Wartz couldn't see his face, but he was sure that he was crying a few tears. How important was this to him?
Sighing to himself, knowing that this couldn't be ignored, he went and kneeled down in front of him."But what young man?" He didn't dare to put his hand on the boy's shoulder, since he wasn't used to these strong emotions. Though it seemed for the first time, Arnold was the one who needed the help. And he was the only one who could probably try to help him by talking to the CTA.
"They were never found." Arnold only whispered. And even though it was a shock to Principal Wartz, at the same time even though he hated to admit it, it wasn't a surprise. Mr. and Mrs. Shortman were never at any school event and he never saw them period. Otherwise, he looked back up at him with red eyes and tears. "That is why I need permission to see the local documents. Maybe someone saw them before they disappeared. I mean, I lived there for the first few months of my life. My parents knew people from all around the country. Please, Principal Wartz, this is as close as I can get to figuring out what happened to them!"
And he broke down in front of him. Arnold wouldn't look at him anymore as he continued to cry in his own world. This was probably the most serious and uncompromising situation he'd ever face in his life. He was used to getting students into trouble, not out of trouble. But wasn't that his job? He was supposed to help and compromise with his students, not to see them like this.
Now he put a hand on Arnold's shoulder, which was still racking with sobs. He hoped that he could hear him over his weeping. "Arnold. I want you to understand something. This is a very delicate situation and I don't want you leaving San Lorenzo without some fun put into it. I can't promise you this for right now, but I'll see what I can do. And if the association that sponsored the contest approves of it, then that will be enough to get what you need."
Arnold sniffled and rubbed his face. His eyes were still red, but at least his words helped calm the boy. Seeing him in this condition was still unbelievable – it didn't suit him. What truly let Principal Wartz know that he said was the right thing was that he genuinely smiled. His voice was still hoarse, but he managed to speak as best as he could. "Thank you Principal Wartz. This really means a lot to me."
They stood up and shook their hands. At least at the end they could be professional about it even though it was anything but. The man guided the student over to the door and graciously opened it for him. "Yes, well, I'm open to more compromise now. So you better get back to class young man." Arnold walked out, but surprisingly hugged him. He could feel his arms constrict him with arms that couldn't fully go around his waist. "I will. And thanks again." He kept that grin on his face as he walked back to class.
Jonathan continued to stare down the hallway as the boy went away. Shaking his head, he went back into the office and closed the door. The first thing he found himself staring at was the green and orange school flag. Suddenly, he knew he was imagining it, but he saw Michael's face in the window. He still looked the same as he did the last time they got along – brown shaggy hair that had long bangs swept over his face with a smirk in his eyes and grin. And for some odd reason, he felt compelled to touch the flag and decided to walk over to it. It was like his brother was the flag. It sounded crazy and unreasonable to him, but he had no other way to describe it. Reaching out and feeling the texture beneath his fingertips, he finally felt at home. The moment didn't last long, but he left it short because it was still out of his comfort zone and he had a phone call to make.
He didn't bother sitting down as he went to dial the number.
"Hello?"
"Yes. This is Principal Jonathan Wartz at P.S. 118 in Hillwood."
"Well you see one of my students, Arnold Shortman, won the essay contest that was sponsored by the association. And I need to speak to the person who is in charge of the contest."
"No, there's nothing wrong. I just need to make a compromising arrangement."