Chapter 02
Shaggy's mother had downloaded his class schedule into his phone for him and at the top it read: Report to the School Office 15 Minutes Before Homeroom.
At 7:44 AM, Shaggy pushed through the door into the office. Behind a counter sat a woman in her mid-forties who was not beautiful and never had been. The placard on the counter gave her name as 'Sandra Stanford'. Her hair was the color that said 'auburn' on the bottle but turned into 'purple' on the head. Grey was showing at the roots along the severe center part in her hair.
Shaggy tentatively stepped up to the counter. "My schedule said to report here before homeroom."
She held out her hand. "Let me see."
He handed her his phone and she looked at the screen.
She returned it. "You need to see Mr. Grimes. Wait right there." She pointed at three plastic chairs next to the door. Another student was waiting in the chair to the far left so Shaggy took the one to the far right.
Shaggy leaned over and whispered, "Do you know why we're here?"
The other boy didn't look up. "I dunno. We're probably gonna get accused of a Grimes Crime."
"Of what?" Shaggy's fear meter jumped from its usual status in the red into the redder.
"Rogers." The voice came from a man who was standing in an office door which seconds before had been closed. A girl was shuffling out toward the door into The Mall with her head down.
Shaggy gulped. "That's… me?"
Mr. Grimes' eyes narrowed and focused on Shaggy. "It that a question or a statement?"
"I'm Norville Rogers."
"Come in, please."
Shaggy stepped into the office and sat in the offered chair as the door closed behind him. Mr. Grimes was about fifty with his hair a mixture of grey and brown. He wore a cheap grey suit and a red and white striped tie in keeping with the school colors.
"Norville, my name is Mr. Grimes and I am the vice principal here. Mr. Deedle, the principal, has put me in charge of making sure that every student in this school gets the opportunity at the best education possible-without unnecessary distractions. I am going to give you that opportunity and I am, most certainly, going to give it to your classmates."
There was a pause which Shaggy didn't know how to fill. He tried. "Thank you?"
You are new here so I took the liberty of contacting your previous school… Plainsville Junior High School. They were kind enough to send me your files from your time there. It appears to me from reading your file that they considered you to be such a distraction."
Shaggy gulped again. "A distraction?"
"To put it bluntly, they believed that you were using drugs. And possibly selling drugs. Judging by the smell, I would say that they had good reason. The difference is that, in Plainsville, California, marijuana is legal. Here, it is not.
You need to know, Norville, that I have the right to search you or your locker at any time that you are on school grounds. If I find any indication that you are using or selling drugs, then I will consider you a distraction and will have you removed to protect the other students. I can and will utilize the Crystal Cove Sheriff's Department in your removal."
Shaggy was no longer listening to the details. He was thinking about the stash that was in his backpack that he had just stowed in his locker. If his locker was searched, he was toast.
As if reading his mind, Mr. Grimes continued, "I won't be doing any searches today. Like I said, I want to give you every opportunity. But, starting tomorrow, I could search you or your locker at any time. Please remember that. Now, you need to be getting to homeroom. You don't want to be late on your first day."
Shaggy did not have to be told twice.
xXx
Velma had gotten to the school early to familiarize herself with the layout. She had been here many times before for science fairs and advanced testing but thought she should review things from the point-of-view of a student.
She got a little lost in her thoughts and made it with only a minute to spare. After testing out of first grade and topping out every intelligence test since that time, she had been placed in the best of the public schools at both the elementary and middle school level. So, she had gone to Central even though her family could not come close to affording a house in Central's zone.
She surveyed the homeroom. Most of the seats were already taken and she recognized a statistically-correct one-half of the students from Central. Some other faces she recognized from having been born and raised in Crystal Cove. Most notably, she recognized the tall, handsome blond boy who had frequented her parents souvenir shop/museum through the summer. Her analysis of the social and group dynamics of the students in the classroom placed him sitting among the jocks.
Near the front were the mean girls from Central: Daphne, Sarah, Melissa, and April. Velma had known them for years and had known Daphne since second grade. In that time, they had averaged 5.278 words per year. Sarah, Melissa, and April were openly aggressive in their bullying and meanness. They had called Velma 'Robot Girl' or 'Geeklet' since elementary school. Daphne's brand of mean was that she considered Velma and others to be inconsequential and ignored them.
In the center of the room were the 'Pollies' or 'Politicals'. They got along with everybody and were liked by everybody. Of that group, she knew Butch Roberts who stood and reached out to her as she tried to walk past.
"Hi Velma."
He clearly was offering to shake her hand. She didn't dislike Butch but wasn't fond of being touched. Not knowing what else to do, she gave him a high five and kept walking past.
Butch watched her make her way back toward some empty seats. "It's good to see you again."
This was a nice thing for him to say and she should respond but words, never her friend, failed her again. "Thank you." She said without turning around.
Sarah snarked, "For Robot Girl that was a love song, Butch. Maybe you two ought to go ahead and set a date."
Melissa and April laughed. Butch and Velma blushed. Daphne was oblivious to the exchange as she checked texts on her phone.
In the far back were the Stoners of whom she recognized a couple of faces but knew no names. They were not her crowd at all. A tall, thin boy came running into the room just ahead of the bell. He had long, unkempt brown hair and was unshaven in the way of fifteen-year-old-boys. Scanning the room, he spotted the Stoners and went back to join them.
Lastly, she noted the Nerds and Geeks. She recognized two of the three. One was Andrew from Central. The second was Marcie Fleach from Eastern. Velma knew Marcie since they competed in every science contest in the state. Velma always won unless it was biology. Biology was Marcie's sweet spot.
Unsurprisingly, there were several seats available nearby and she took one of them.
Andrew started. "Hi."
Marcie said, "Hey."
The unknown boy said, "Hello."
In her world, this was a resounding welcome. She responded without making eye contact. "Hi."
Basic communications achieved.
The teacher that stepped in was tall, large, and muscular. His blonde hair was cut short and he looked to be in his late twenties. When he spoke, He was surprisingly soft-spoken. "My name is Mr. Marcus, and I will be your homeroom teacher this year. I also teach 'Technical Construction Methods'—what used to be called 'Shop Class'.
"Homeroom is simple. First, I'm going to turn up the volume on the speaker and we will all see a video of Principal Deedle giving the morning announcements. Then, I will talk in more detail about the boring stuff he just announced. And last, you will, in a panic, start working on the homework you didn't do last night. Repeat that 228 times and then its summer again. Any questions?"
There were none.
"So, let's see what our dear principal has to say." He turned on the monitor and Principal Deedle was sitting frozen at his desk. He was middle-aged, bald with a fringe of brown hair. Thje only distinguishing feature was his bright paisley bowtie. A triangle obscured his face. The video was obviously pre-recorded. Mr. Marcus clicked the 'play' arrow and the principal began to speak.
Good morning students and welcome to a new school year. I hope you are as excited as I am about what is to come.
Someone snickered. It might have been the teacher. The pre-recorded principal heard nothing.
There are two announcements this morning. The first is some exciting news. This year, the school will be going cashless. Today and tomorrow, the gymnasium is set up with ID card printers and everyone will get their school IDs made during their physical education period. This ID card will also function as a pre-paid credit card stocked by your parents. If you spend it all, then you will have to get your parents to replenish it. You will not be able to use cash or third-party credit or debit cards to purchase lunch or anything from the vending machines in the school. Once you get used to this, it will make all of our lives easier.
The second announcement is sadder. As many of you may know or maybe you have seen the fundraising signs around town, Annie Sadler who would be a senior this year was in a car accident over the summer and suffered some severe injuries. She is going to be taking the year off to recover. To help her family with their unforeseen medical bills, the Board of Education has been conducting a city-wide fund raiser since the accident. Money has been donated by businesses throughout Crystal Cove as well as by individuals from Crystal County and even as far away as Riley and Danforth. Cash is preferred but checks will also be accepted. Please have your donation turned in to the front office by the end of the day on Friday so that we can give it to Annie on the following Monday which will be her eighteenth birthday.
Now, I will turn things over to your homeroom teachers if you have any questions. Have a good day and study hard.
Mr. Marcus turned off the video and looked around the class. "Any questions?"
A girl that Velma didn't recognize raised her hand. "What exactly happened to Annie?"
"There's a limit to what I can say but she was in a car accident and broke her back. She's having to relearn how to walk."
The girl continued. "Oh my gosh. She ran track. That's terrible." The room broke down into a cacophony of teen-agers trying to make this tragic story about them.
Mr. Marcus raised a hand. "Okay… Okay!... OKAY!" The third and loudest iteration got the classes attention and they silenced.
"I know what they are going through. Not long ago, my nephew was in an accident and my brother found out that their insurance was garbage. They found themselves in a mountain of debt which keeps getting deeper. His wife couldn't stand the stress and left. A day doesn't go by that my brother doesn't worry about money when he should be worrying about my nephew. I've volunteered to head up the fundraiser. Please, give generously."
He took last look around the room. "Any more questions?"
A stoner raised his hand from the back. "What's with these ID cards?"
"It's a cost-saving and risk control measure required by the School Board. It's supposed to save money."
"We all have to get them?"
"You all have to get them."
Since there was no homework due, the last ten minutes of homeroom was spent in general chaos.