A/N - WARNING! This chapter contains the corporal punishment of a minor by an authoritative figure. DON'T LIKE? Then DON'T READ! ... if you read you do it at your own choice and I don't want to hear your opinion if you are unhappy you made that choice!
Sam wasn't very good at sitting and waiting and so Luc tried to keep him busy playing word games and 'I spy'. When he couldn't keep the little one occupied any longer Luc stood hesitantly and approached Mrs. Hitherfield's desk sluggishly. Luc leaned his hips against the desk and tapped his fingers mindlessly waiting for acknowledgment. As soon as the assistant raised her head Lucas jumbled his words in an effort to ask "Do you know when Mr. Harper is going to be here 'cause ….well…." he wasn't sure how to complain without really complaining. He knew well enough that he didn't really have the right to be unhappy about the wait, but he also knew that Sam wasn't going to be a very patient much longer and he had no interest in keeping his brother calm for much longer, even if he could.
Normally she would be annoyed by a student who had gotten themselves into enough trouble to need to visit the office in the first place and then have the gaul to ask how long they had to wait. In this case she understood and felt sympathetic, Lucas had been keeping Sam occupied and sitting quietly for over 30 minutes and she wasn't so cold to not understand that the older boy would be worried about his own hide as well. So with a gentle smile she replied "Unfortunately I do not know how long it will be" but was unable to finish her explanation as Mr. Harper flew in through the door heading straight to his own office calling "Morning" over his shoulder dripping on the floor along his path.
Lucas followed the man's route with his eyes and when he disappeared into his personal office shot back to Sam and fell onto the bench. Sam could often sink into his own world and pay almost no attention to those around him. But Lucas' bullet like return to his side and panic stricken expression was hard for even Sam to miss. "Is it still going to be ok?" Sam queried.
"In the end, ya, it will be ok" Luc reassured patting Sam on the knee. He then leaned in and whispered something into Sam's ear so that no one else could hear and then wrapped his arm around the little one's shoulder and pulled him closer.
Lucas listened as Mr. Harper moved about his office, with each new sound Lucas tried to visualize what the man was doing. So Luc was not surprised when the footsteps headed back out towards the outer office area. He looked up over his shoulder having to raise his head almost straight up as the man stood beside the bench. "Who do you have there?" Mr. Harper asked Luc.
Sam, Luc and Mrs. Hitherfield all answered "Sam" at the same time. The man smirked having been unable to hear any of their answers. Instead he restated the question "Mrs. Hitherfield who is the second guest we have with us this very wet morning" raking his fingers through his hair spraying water in a circumference large enough to get a few drops on Luc. The assistant explained how Sam had come to be visiting. The principal thought for a moment and then asked for Sam's file, he waited for it before turning back to his desk opening the folder as he walked, stopping in the doorway as he finally made the connection that the 2 kids on the bench were brothers. He chuckled inwardly to himself. Turning only slightly Mr. Harper requested Sam to follow him into the office. Sam slid off the bench, Lucas patting his shoulder as he walked passed.
Lucas watched the hands of the clock that earlier had been ticking loudly now seemed to move ever so slowly. He could hear both the man's and the boy's voices through the closed doors but couldn't make out any words. The hands moved around the face as the minutes passed excruciatingly slowly. Ten minutes passed and they were still talking. A smile crept at the corners of Lucas' lips; he knew Sam could talk anyone in circles. And it would take some time for Mr. Harper to get Sam to understand why he was there in the first place. Lucas was listening intently and closed his eyes to focus his ears when things went dead quiet in the next room. He couldn't determine any voices or movement through the wall and door. So when he heard the swat of a paddle making contact with a body. Since Luc had been forcing himself to listen hard the unexpected break in silence had him involuntarily scrunch up his face and shoulders almost folding himself in half.
Mrs. Hitherfield saw Lucas' reaction and her heart broke just a little. She had seen how he had looked after his sibling and she could see the emotional bond that was also present. Lucas scrunched again with the landing of the second swat. The assistant had wanted to offer some words of support and encouragement but Lucas' own predicament made anything she thought of sound hallow and awkward.
Lucas had tried to close his ears to the office noises after the first smack but his body grotesquely wouldn't allow his brain to shut down. And although he knew the footsteps and sniffles were coming in his direction Luc jumped when the door opened. Sam bolted into his brother's arms, an uncharacteristic behavior. Lucas hugged his brother and then pulled the smaller body away from his own and while maintaining his grip said "Sam, everything is ok. Go back to class and I'll pick you up this afternoon just like normal. K?"
Sam unsure of what else to say or do so he just nodded as he wiped his eyes on the back of his hand. Lucas gave the little boy a big smile and tussled his hair "off you go Monkeyshine". The assistant came around the edge of the desk and held out her hand to Sam, ready to escort him back to his classroom. Sam looked at Luc and then Mrs. Hitherfield "You gonna go back to class now too Luc?" he asked with a look of confusion on his face. "In a minute. OK?" Luc answered haltingly looking out of the corner of his eye at the tall man standing next to him.
The two left into the hallway heading back to Miss Carmichael's class, leaving Luc alone with Mr. Harper. "Well young man let's have that chat we had planned" the principal said heading into his office not waiting for the boy.
Luc rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants before standing. He stalled as he had to step over the threshold. And then quietly turned to shut the door to give the privacy he would later want. When he rotated back around Mr. Harper was leaning against the front of his desk, his arms folded across his chest. Without unfolding his arms Mr. Harper motions with his hand for Lucas to move closer. The student slid through the room to stand several feet away but in front and facing the principal.
They looked at each other silently for a long time, Lucas through the top of his eyes, not able to look at the man straight on. The man was taking his time trying to size up the teen in front of him. Two years ago he had transferred into the position of principal here at St. John's and since then he had only heard Luc's name associated with good deeds. The kid was the eighth grade class admin representative, he volunteered as a reading buddy, and he was also great at the academic portion of the school day. So why then was this kid standing in his office. Since Lucas wasn't speaking he walked around the desk and sat in the chair opening the Lucas Scuito-McGee file that he'd asked to be pulled when he called in to say he'd be late. He flipped through the pages, scanning them quickly. His eyes grew wide as he found page after page of incidents that the student in front of him had been part of. After flipping through much of the file he finally looked up to see the boy staring at the file as well. The kid's demeanor had changed in the few minutes since he'd last looked up at him. Lucas stood taller, squarer and looked right at him.
Lucas no longer needing to care for Sam and having had a few minutes to recover from what he had listened to, as well as having seen the file of his past deeds was able to find the bravado he had once displayed previously in this room.
"Wow" Mr. Harper breathed. "This list surprises me. Not at all what I expected to see."
Luc smiled and suppressed a quiet laugh. "Ya, your arrival gave me the opportunity to turn over a new leaf" Luc offered. It wasn't exactly true but Luc had felt that once he was in middle school he should try and behave so it was close enough to the truth that he didn't feel like he was lying.
"Seeing as this is not the first trip to this office you probably have heard many, if not all the things I have to say."
Pursing his lips, Luc nodded his head once again having to hide a laugh and smile. "That might be the truth" Luc answered after thinking through his options of responses.
"Since you seem to have relapsed into poor decisions maybe you need a refresher on the more important points." Mr. Harper replied waiting to see if he got any response.
When Lucas didn't answer Mr. Harper continued with his prearranged lecture of responsibility, maturity and safety of the whole school. He discussed the devastation of what a fire could do. He talked about leaving elementary school and heading to high school. How once in high school he would need to be more responsible for his actions as there would be less supervision yet higher consequences for not conforming.
Lucas had had many opportunities listening to long lectures. He listened with only half an ear, enough to know when to nod and say yes. He shifted his weight from foot to foot unhurriedly and subconsciously. It was a mannerism he developed years before that was needed to release the building tension as the conversation continued. Mr. Harper had been watching the teen and with his years of experience of dealing with 13 year old boys he had noticed the glazing over of the eyes and the stereotypies that happen when they are no longer listening to the rant.
Mr. Harper wrapped up his speech and has many a child had before Lucas snapped back into the moment. "Are you listening?" the man asked. Moving once again in front of the desk he resumed his previous post.
"Yes, sir" Lucas answered automatically.
"Really?" He asked the boy.
"Yes, sir" he replied immediately.
"So, you have more than one problem here this morning" the man began.
Lucas was startled by the statement and did a double take which didn't go unnoticed.
"Before Friday night you had racked up 9 demerits, your walkabout with Miss Munroe earned you a 10th. And then your irresponsible prank with the lights and umbrellas would have earned you a trip to my office on its own" he explained so the teen would understand.
"Ah!" Luc answered puffing out his cheeks and breathing out deliberately allowing his cheeks to deflate as he did.
As Mr. Harper walked to the far side of the room while Luc followed him with his eyes, the older of the two retrieved the school paddle he had placed beside the desk only minutes before. Carrying the implement in his right hand while he gently tapped it in his left, he returned to his station. His years of experience had also taught him that pageantry and showmanship were just as much part of teaching the lesson as the lecture and punishment were.
"Do you remember what I said about this" tipping his head towards the paddle "two years ago when I joined this community?" Mr. Harper asked.
Nodding Luc answered "ya".
"I meant it. I do not want to have to use this. My goal really is to not have to ever use it." Mr. Harper reminded Luc of the details of the declaration from his first ever assembly. "And so far Mr. McGee I haven't needed it until today… " Mr. Harper continued.
Luc dropped his head shaking it. Great he thought to himself, not only was he getting it, he was breaking this man's streak of not having to dish it out!
"Really sorry about that sir" Lucas shifted into damage control mode. "We can just write this all off as something stupid and I can promise to never do any of this again. That way you keep your streak and" but Lucas was interrupted "my streak was broken with your brother so you don't need to worry about that" Mr. Harper responded keeping the smile under control.
"That is a shame that it is already broken. However I think that since you are so against its use I can be persuaded to ensure that my behavior will be impeccable for the remainder of my time here at St. John's. I have 2 more weeks, one of which is exam week so I really won't have time to get into any more trouble. So there is no need for you to have to use it again and you can start counting your days without swinging immediately."
"That is very considerate of you and something the Lucas I know is more like than the one I saw on Friday" Mr. Harper answered. "Unfortunately I need to follow through with the rules and regulations set out by the student handbook. If not for your benefit but for those left here after you leave so that they understand that I will follow through with what is written and they have been told."
Lucas was running out of stalls and reasons as to why he shouldn't be punished. The two stood face to face noiselessly in a stare down of sorts. When Lucas remained uncommunicative Mr. Harper decided there was no more need to discuss anything.
"Com' on young man let's get this finished" standing and motioning to the small desk pushed against the side wall. Lucas twisted on the spot, looked at the student desk and then back at the principal. With a huge sigh Lucas headed to the desk and bent over it placing his head on his folded arms.
Four swats landed in equally spaced succession. Lucas was too pissed off at himself for getting into this situation to do anything but growl as each landed on his now burning backside. When he was instructed to stand again he straightened and before moving anymore took several deep breaths to become completely composed.
"Luc, I believe that last week was a bit a blip in your otherwise stellar past 2 years. Keep up with that reputation as you move onto high school. Deal?"
"Deal" Luc answered as he took the hall pass from Mr. Harper. Luc made a stop at the restrooms as he wanted a moment or two to get ready before returning to class. This was going to be a long day; as exam review was all that was on the schedule. If the meeting that morning hadn't been so unpleasant it would have been an excellent place to stay to avoid the rest of the day.
The groups of students gathered around tables studying and working on practice questions meant that Luc was able to slip into class without an audience. Sean, having been waiting for his friend, was the only one to notice and slipped out of his chair and over to his friend wanting to give support. "You alright, man?" he asked.
"Ya, I'm fine. Let's get to work so I don't start wondering if he's going to call home or not" Luc answered walking to an open table he and Sean could share.