A New Hope (The Second Chance Series Book 2) (17 page)

On the Monday following the competition Leslie got a call from Elliot’s principle. “Mrs. Peterson, this is Mrs. Pence. I need you and Dr. Peterson to come to come to the school as soon as possible.”

“Can you tell me what this is about please?” Leslie asked. Wanting to know what was going on before she woke Andrew.

“Elliot has been in a fight and we are trying to decide whether to suspend him or not, but he won’t tell us what the fight was about. We’re hoping you and Dr. Peterson can get him to talk. If not I’ll have no choice but to suspend him.”

“We’ll be there as soon as possible.” Leslie answered and hung up. When she woke Andrew up and told him what was going on he immediately got dress and they headed to the school.

When they got there Leslie immediately led Andrew to Mrs. Pence’s office. Elliot was sitting there with an ice pack on his face and bruises on his arms. “What happened here?” Andrew asked Mrs. Pence.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out Dr. Peterson.” She answered in an irritated voice.

“Where is the other person who was involved in the fight?” Leslie asked.

“He’s in class.” Mrs. Pence answered.

“Why?” Andrew asked. He was starting to get irritated with this woman.

“Because I had more than one person tell me that Elliot threw the first punch.” Mrs. Pence answered him in a hateful tone.

“Excuse me? Before this goes any further the other boy needs to be here.” Andrew told her. “And so do his parents.”

“I disagree. Several students told me that Elliot threw the first punch so I hold him responsible for what happened.”

“Mrs. Pence, if you don’t get the other boy and his parents here right now I will be personally going to the school board and I will be having you, the school and your entire staff investigated. Get them here now.” Andrew said. He was furious at this woman for accepting the word of the other boy’s friends without finding out what actually happened.

“Dr. Peterson, I don’t know who you think you are, but this is my school and I will do what I see fit.” Mrs. Pence told him. “I do not respond well to threats sir.”

“And I do not respond well to adults taking the word of a student’s friends without trying to figure out if they are just saying that to protect their friend or not. Children lie, Mrs. Pence, and it’s your job to figure out the truth, not believe kids who are trying to protect their friend.”

“Dr. Peterson, I can assure you that I take my job very seriously and I have asked several students and teachers about the incident.”

“Let me guess, the ones who said Elliot threw the first punch are the only ones who actually saw anything right?”

“Well, yes, but..” Mrs. Pence started, but Andrew cut her off.

“I bet if you asked around you’d find out that those kids are friends with the other boy. So I’m going to tell you one more time, if you don’t get the other boy and his parents in here now I will be reporting you to the school board and have a complete investigation into this incident conducted. Before you say anything I want to tell you that I don’t make threats Mrs. Pence and I am not afraid to stand up for what I believe in. I will go to any lengths necessary to protect my family.”

“Fine, have it your way.” Mrs. Pence said with a sneer. She wasn’t happy, but she wasn’t stupid enough to keep fighting him on this.

“I also want you to get Malinda and Madison Carpenter in here. They’re usually always with Elliot and may know what happened. I’m not saying they wouldn’t lie to protect him, but if you’re going to believe the other boy’s friends you may as well talk to some of Elliot’s friends too.”

“Fine.” Mrs. Pence said and walked out of the office.

Once she was gone Andrew turned to Elliot. “Want to tell me what happened, son?” He asked quietly.

“Mallie, Maddie and I were walking to the cafeteria when a group of boys from our Language Arts class surrounded us. Brian, one of the boys who likes Maddie, grabbed her by the arm and asked her why she was hanging out with a boy as stupid as me when she could be hanging out with a boy who was as smart as she is. Maddie and Mallie both defended me and that just made Brian mad. He jerked her closer to him and I snapped. I did throw the first punch, they weren’t lying, but they didn’t say anything about him jerking Maddie around either. You both know how I feel about boys hurting girls. Anyway, after I hit Brian, he and his friends ganged up on me. Mrs. Pence ignored Maddie and Mallie when they tried to tell her what happened so I didn’t even bother to tell her anything. Brian is her nephew and she’s going to believe him no matter what anyone else says.”

“We’ll see about that.” Andrew said just as Mrs. Pence walked back into the office. “Mrs. Pence, why didn’t you tell us the other boys involved were your nephew and his friends?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything.” She said in response to his question.

“Well I beg to differ. I see how it has everything to do with it.” Leslie said, furious at the woman for not taking her seriously when she talked to her at the beginning of the school year. “You gave me your word at the beginning of the school year that you have a zero tolerance for bullying yet you protect the one student that has been accused of bullying because he’s your nephew.”

Before she could say anything else Brian walked in. “What’s going on Aunt Leigh. I thought you said you weren’t going to call my parents.”

Mrs. Pence stood there in silence after Brian spoke. When he looked up and saw Andrew and Leslie standing there all the color drained from his face. “Umm.. hello sir, ma’am.” He said in a quiet voice.

“Hello, Brian.” Elliot said. “This Dr. and Mrs. Peterson.”

Before Brian could say anything Malinda and Madison walked in. “Dr. and Mrs. Peterson, I’m glad you’re here.” Malinda said in a relieved voice.

“We tried to tell Mrs. Pence what happened, but she wouldn’t listen.” Madison said. “I have a bruise on my arm from where Brian grabbed me, but she wouldn’t even look at it.”

“Is this true Mrs. Pence?” Andrew asked.

“They said something about Brian, but I thought they were just lying to protect their friend.” She said in a defensive voice.

“So you didn’t believe a child who told you she was hurt by your nephew, but you believed your nephew’s friends. It’s good to know someone like you is taking care of our kids.” Andrew said sarcastically.

“Now listen here.”

“No. You listen and listen well because I am only going to say this once. Your nephew verbally attacked Elliot and physically attacked another student, but instead of doing your job you protected your nephew, who was clearly in violation of the bullying policy you have here. You are not fit to be around children Mrs. Pence and a petition for your removal from this school will be filed with the school board first thing in the morning and I’m sure a full investigation will be opened. If this happened once, I’m sure it’s happened before.” Andrew told her in a clear, firm voice.”

“Dr. Peterson, I called my dad already and he was trying to leave work and come up here. He just sent me a text and said he was on his way.” Malinda said from behind Andrew.

“That was a very smart thing to do, honey.” Leslie told her. “Why don’t we go into the front office and wait for him. I need to make a couple of phone calls anyway and I’d rather Mrs. Pence not know who I’m calling.”

When they were gone Mrs. Pence sat down at her desk and didn’t say anything to anyone. She knew she was in serious trouble if they opened an investigation. After a few minutes passed she looked up and said, “Dr. Peterson, if I suspend Brian and leave Elliot alone can all this go away?”

“Mrs. Pence, do you think I’m stupid?” Andrew asked with a comical expression on his face. It was taking everything inside him not to laugh at her for that.

“I’m sorry Dr. Peterson. No, I don’t think you’re stupid. I was just trying to come up with a solution to keep the school board out of this.” She pleaded with him.

“Mrs. Pence, even if I took you up on that the school board would still get involved. Elliot wasn’t the only one hurt by your nephew. He wasn’t the only child you failed to protect.” Andrew said just as the office door opened and a tall, dark-haired man walked in.

“Dr. Peterson?” The man said and extended his hand. “I’m Dr. Ron Carpenter.”

“Nice to meet you Dr. Carpenter.” Andrew said and shook the man’s hand. “I’ve heard your name around the hospital, but I never placed that you were Malinda’s and Madison’s father.”

“You’re Elliot’s guardian, correct?” He asked.

“I am. My wife and I are adopting his sister and when his grandmother passed away she named us his guardians until Karla turns eighteen.”

“That’s good. Now, to the matter at hand.” He said and turned to face Mrs. Pence. “My daughter told me everything that happened and I am bringing charges against you, the boy who put bruises on her and the school itself. She should have been protected from bullies like this boy and when the adults failed to protect her a friend stepped in and was hurt in the process. You disgust me. As an educator you are incompetent at best. Your actions were neglectful and possibly criminal and I will make it my personal quest to see you removed from this school and the education system.”

“Dr. Carpenter, I regret what happened to your daughter, but there is nothing criminal about it.” Mrs. Pence said, starting to get some of her backbone back.

“Oh, but there is Mrs. Pence.” Leslie said as she walked back into the office. “I just talked to the Department of Children Services and what you did is classified as Criminal Neglect by an Authority Figure. DCS is sending a representative out to talk to all the children involved and their parents. Andrew, if we want to file a formal complaint a representative from the school board is also on the way here. They should both be here within the hour.”

When the door opened again a tall red-haired woman walked in and looked at everyone. “Leigh, what’s going on here? You’re secretary said that Brian was in trouble, but that’s all she would tell me.”

“Michelle, this is Dr. and Mrs. Peterson and Dr. Carpenter. Brian was in a fight today. He was bullying Mr. Matthews, who is Dr. Peterson’s foster son, and Ms. Carpenter, who is Dr. Carpenter’s daughter. He called Mr. Matthews some names and when Ms. Carpenter said something he physically assaulted her. Mr. Matthews came to her defense and Brian and a few of his friends attacked him. I tried to do what I have always done and cover it up, but it backfired this time and now my job and my freedom are at risk.” Mrs. Pence said and slumped back into her chair.

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘I tried to do what I always do and cover it up’?” Michelle asked her sister.

“Over the years since I was made principle I have covered for your boys if they did something. I made it all fall on the other child to keep them out of trouble because I know how their dad is. I was just trying to protect them from him.”

“Well I guess that answers my first question.” Bob Jennings said from the door.

As Bob questioned Mrs. Pence, Leslie stepped out and called Karla. She knew this was Karla’s lunch period and that she’d answer her phone. “Hey, Leslie. What’s wrong?”

“I wanted to let you know that we may or may not be home when you get home. There was a problem at Elliot’s school that we’re dealing with and I’m not sure when we’ll be finished here.”

“Oh my gosh. Is Elliot alright?” Karla asked, worry over her brother evident in her voice.

“He has some bruises and maybe a cracked knuckle, but he’s okay. We’re dealing with his principle now then we’ll take him and have his hand x-rayed. We’ll be home after that, but I’m not sure if it’ll be before you get home.”

“I’ll be fine Leslie. I have a key and can get my homework done while I wait. Is it alright if the gang comes over? We have a project we need to start on.”

“You know they’re always welcome over. You all know where everything is so I’ll try not to worry. Oh, tell Conner we have plenty of snacks.”

“We’ll be fine, Leslie. I promise.” Karla assured her.

“We’ll be home as soon as we can.” Leslie said and hung up the phone.

“What’s going on?” Conner asked Karla. He could hear the worry in her voice while she was talking to Leslie.

“I think Elliot got into a fight at school.” She told them all. “I don’t really know what happened, but Leslie said he may have a cracked knuckle so that leads me to believe he hit something or someone.”

“We know he has a temper.” Rylee said. “He did pop James in the nose that day.”

“Yes he did, but I don’t think anything less than someone hurting someone he cares about would set him off like that.” Callie voiced her opinion.

“Who is Elliot?” Daniel asked. He had just walked up and didn’t hear the entire conversation. 

“My younger brother.” Karla told him and laid her head on Conner’s shoulder. “I hope he’s alright.”

Conner wrapped his arm around her, pulled her closer to his side and kissed her forehead. “He’ll be okay. He’s tough like his big sister.”

Callie smiled at them and said, “He’ll be alright, Karla.”

“Thanks guys. Leslie said it was alright for you to all come over so we can work on our project. Conner she wanted me to tell you that we have plenty of snacks.”

Conner laughed loudly and pulled her closer. “She knows me so well” He said and leaned his head against hers.

“Okay, I’m not going to worry about this anymore. We have a project to discuss.”

“I was thinking we could do a video like we did for our History project last year.” Rylee said and they all nodded their agreement.

“We’ll have to find someone to work the camera because it’ll take all five of us to act out the play.” Callie told them.

“I can do the camera work.” Daniel offered. “What do you guys have to do?”

“We have to recreate The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. We have to do a visual aide, a written report and an oral presentation. If we do the video that will cover the visual aide and the oral report.” Rylee told him.

“Sounds fun. We had to do Mansfield Park by Jane Austen last year. I had to force myself to read that book.” Daniel told them.

Karla rolled her eyes at him. “Why does everyone have problems with the classics? I could do Mansfield Park with my eyes closed. Although I can do The Scarlet Letter with my eyes closed too.”

“Karla, not everyone can read something once and be able to quote it word for word.” Callie teased her.

Karla rolled her eyes again and laughed. “You’re just jealous because I have a better memory than you.”

It was Callie’s turn to roll her eyes and laugh. “Yeah. Keep telling yourself that.”

“Okay ladies. Let’s stop with the friendly jabs and talk about this video.” Rylee said with a grin. “We can write the script and report tonight and shoot the video Friday night if Daniel’s free to operate the camera.”

“Sounds good to me.” Daniel said with a grin.

“Dominic? Is tonight and Friday night good for you?” Conner asked. His friend had been uncommonly quiet today.

“What?” Dominic asked.

“Is tonight and Friday night good for you to come to my house and do the project?” Karla asked him.

“Oh, yeah. That works for me.” He said distracted.

“Dominic, are you alright?” Rylee asked him. He had been distracted all day.

“No. I’m really not alright. Ry, I’ve been trying all day to figure out how to tell you this, but I can’t figure out a good way so I’m just going to say it. My dad’s job is transferring him to Philadelphia. We’re moving at the end of the month.”