Chapter 17: "(1.) Fight (2.) Flight (3.) The most popular, and the seldom mentioned, Acceptance"

Mathias knew there was one person who knew where Mr. Vainamoinen could be and he knew just where to find him. On the way to art class, he went off on his own down a short hallway towards an old brown door with "Do Not Enter" written on a sign stuck on the front. He knocked quietly, then stepped in when nobody replied.

There was a room full of cleaning supplies and other things like that, then a small office to the right where one of the janitors was sitting. He was a short plump man, not the man he was looking for. He knocked on the side of the office door. "Uh, sir? Do you know where the other janitor is?"

He stood and looked at him curiously. "Is there a problem? Something you need? I can do it," he said. Mathias breathed in nervously and shook his head. "Nah, it's more personal."

The janitor just nodded his head slowly and shrugged. "Well, okay. He's in the cafeteria. He should be. If he's not there, check through the halls." Mathias smiled and gave a quick "thank you" before leaving for the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was empty besides the janitor, who was mopping in the corner. He walked over, actually a little afraid, but he tried not to show it. He hoped this man wouldn't be mad at him, too. "Sir?"

He didn't turn. He didn't say anything, either. "Sir?" He glanced over at Mathias, but then averted his eyes and continued his job. "I was just, um, wondering if you knew where I could find Mr. Vainamoinen?"

The mop stopped moving and he looked over at Mathias again. He propped the handle against the wall and said, "Why?"

At least he doesn't sound annoyed, he thought. "I wanted to apologize for everything. I feel really bad and want to say sorry in person." The man looked at the tiles thoughtfully, then picked up the mop again. "Here. Saturday." The boy looked at him and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, thank you!"

He almost asked why he was going to be back on Saturday, but he didn't want to say more than he had to. He went back to art class, giving the excuse that he'd really had to go to the bathroom when the teacher questioned him.

Mathias and Lukas walked into the school. It was much different on a Saturday. It wasn't busy at all. They made their way to their classroom, assuming that's where Mr. Vainamoinen would be. They were both hesitant to walk in, so they waited outside and watched him for a moment.

Mr. Vainamoinen was packing his things into boxes with a solemn look on his face. He picked up a picture from his desk and stared at it for a moment, then put it away. He took drawings off of his filing cabinet. They were drawings that a few students had made for him. He smiled at them before stuffing them into a folder.

"Uh, Mr. Vainamoinen?"

He jumped and slapped a hand over his heart with a weak smile on his face. "Mathias! Lukas! You scared me," he said, inviting them in with a wave of his hand. If there was one thing they didn't expect to see him do, it was smile at them. They sat down on a desk in the front, neither knowing what would be appropriate to say, but luckily, Mr. Vainamoinen understood.

"I don't want either of you to worry about what happened. It's nobody's fault. Between you and me, there will always be people out there who can't stand somebody different than them and those people are complete idiots," he said with a little smile. They both nodded, but the teacher wasn't finished. "I'll be okay, though. I'll find another job somewhere, I'm sure."

Mathias spoke up first. "I wish you weren't leaving," he began. "You're a really good teacher." The teacher smiled and sat on his desk across from them. "Thank you. I've enjoyed this year a lot."

Lukas nodded and smiled a little. Mathias didn't seem content with the conversation though. He had a lot to ask. "Did you try to keep the job?"

Mr. Vainamoinen stopped smiling and nodded. "Of course," he said, playing with a staple remover on his desk. "But there's only so much fighting you can do before you turn to flight." Mathias thought about that and his eyebrows furrowed. Lukas glanced at him curiously.

"That doesn't seem right," he said finally. They both looked at him. "Well it isn't right. That's correct," Mr. Vainamoinen said. Mathias shook his head at the teachers comment and said, "No. They forced you into this situation and it's more like you're accepting it. Not really fighting or flighting or whatever."

Mr. Vainamoinen was completely silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "Mathias, I tried. I fought them as hard as I could have. Sometimes it isn't enough. They don't teach you that, but there will always be things that set you back and there is no helping it. No amount of "you can do whatever you put your mind to" and "If you can dream it, you can do it" will change the free will of the people around you."

Mathias didn't know what it was, but something inside of him snapped and the tears he'd been holding in since the visit to the principals office spilled. Both Lukas and Mr. Vainamoinen looked at him and tried to comfort him. Lukas held onto his arm and patted his back gently while the teacher kept saying, "It's okay! Mathias, it's okay!" He buried his face into his palm while his body shook with quiet sobs. "No it isn't," he muttered.

"Mathias, I didn't mean to say that. I shouldn't have said that," the teacher said quickly. He got up and pulled Mathias into a hug. The taller boy said, "That's not it. I know stuff can't always be fair, okay? I just really messed up and I'm so, so sorry, Mr. Vainamoinen. This is my fault. It's my fault you were fired, okay?!"

"Mathias," he said, starting to get choked up himself. "It isn't. You're supposed to be able to confide in a parent and you weren't able to, but that isn't your fault at all. You did your job as the child and if he couldn't do his job as your father, that isn't your fault, and it'll never be your fault." Mathias clutched onto Mr. Vainamoinen at this point, wishing the circumstances were different.

Lukas watched them both with wide eyes and tears started falling down his own cheeks. Mr. Vainamoinen pulled him off of the desk and hugged them both tightly. "I love you both. I really do," he said sincerely. "You'll both do great things, I can feel it." He flashed a smile and pulled away to look at them both with red, puffy, sticky cheeks. They were both trying to keep it under control and it would have been a little funny in a different situation.

"Tino," a voice from the doorway said. They all turned to see the janitor standing there. They all tried to make themselves look a little more put together, especially Tino. "Hey, Ber!" Mr. Vainamoinen said, giving the man a small wave. "Uh, Mathias and Lukas just came to say goodbye. Thank you both so much," he said to both of them before leaning down and giving them another hug. "Listen," he whispered, pulling them closer. "Take care of each other. Okay?" They nodded and new tears rolled down their cheeks.

"Good." He pulled away and smiled. The two walked to the door, then turned around to look at him again. The janitor was starting to help him pack things away. He gave a little wave and another smile, which they returned. They turned towards the doorway again and finally left, neither one knowing what to say.

Easter was exciting because of Spring Break. Mathias was just about craving a break. When he got home, he dropped his stuff in the doorway and crashed on the couch. He played video games and slept until his mother was home. She smiled and sat next to him. "Hey, sweetie! You excited for break?" He nodded quickly and sat up. "Definitely," he replied.

She smiled wider. "Good! Excited for Easter?" He smiled and leaned back. "Yeah. So ready for this week, honestly." She cleared her throat and patted his thigh. "Honey, we need to have a talk."

Oh, no. It was never good when she said they needed to have a talk. He frowned a little and looked over at her expectantly. "About?"

She pursed her lips, leaned forward, and gave him a little smile to start things off. She knew what she was about to say was going to upset him. "Well, your father wants to spend Easter with you. He wants you to go down to Munich on Wednesday and stay till Sunday night." Mathias immediately stood up and shook his head. "No. No. Absolutely not. No. Never."

"He wasn't too thrilled, either. You'll miss a football game, won't you?"

He scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah but I don't care if he isn't thrilled. If he isn't thrilled, tell him to call it off. I can't spend five days with him." He crossed his arms adamantly. He couldn't stand to even hear about his father anymore, not after how he'd gotten his teacher fired.

"Please. You can do it, I know you can. You never spend time with him, you can do it this once."

Did he really have a choice? He just shuffled up to his room, ignoring her comment. He knew he'd have to go and there was no use fighting it. I mean, he was definitely still bitter about it, but maybe now his father wouldn't want to see him again until Christmas.

That'd be great.

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