Asked to Compromise

I whipped around, facing four other guys in the office. They were all tall and dressed semi-casual, like Mr. Haner was. They were all staring directly at me. I refused to be intimidated by these guys. I turned to the man who spoke. He stood in front of me. His brown hair was cut short and he had hazel eyes with small silver gauges. If he wasn’t looking down at me the way he was, I’d say he was cute.

“Well, how do you know the rumors aren’t true?” He repeated after I was done looking at all of them.
“I know when a rumor’s true or not,” I said. “And the rumors I heard about this place, definitely not true.”

“Sit,” He said, pointing to a chair in front of huge mahogany desk.

“I’m not your dog,” I retorted, but sat down anyway.

He walked around the desk and sat down in the leather chair behind it. Haner rolled my suitcases to the corner of the room. All eyes were still on me.

“Now, I’m Mr. Sanders,” The guy with hazel eyes said. “I’m the principal of this school. I see you’ve already met Mr. Haner. This is Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Baker, and Mr. Seward, and you will address us as so.” He pointed to the rest of the unknown guys in the room.

Mr. Sullivan was the tallest out of all of them with bright blue eyes and messy black hair. He clearly had a tattoo on his neck. His stare alone could probably make someone else shake, but I didn’t break that easily. Mr. Baker was shorter with gelled black hair and green eyes. His lips were pierced with snakebites. Mr. Seward was the shortest out of all of them and didn’t try to hide his tattoos that covered his arms. I wondered if they all were inked up… They looked way too cool to be at some school.

“So when do I go home?” I said sarcastically. “I’m tired of this already.”

“Keep it up, you might get an extra year,” Sanders said. I rolled my eyes at his threat, even if he could make it possible. He picked up a manila folder and opened it. “Priscilla Daniels, from Batavia High School, eleventh grade…” He read from it. “Don’t we have another student from there?”

“Yeah, we do,” Haner said. “Maybe you know him, but let’s hope you don’t.”

“I don’t,” I shook my head and bit my lip. Of course they were talking about Eric, who else?

“Your former principal wrote down some notes about you,” Sanders went on. “I guess we should be aware of your language and your behavior. Let’s be honest, we don’t have to be aware of anything. It takes a lot for students to get to this point. We know what to expect, and we know how to deal with it.

“You’re going to see us around a lot. Mr. Haner, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Baker, and Mr. Seward will be teaching some of your classes. I assure you they’re all licensed in their subjects. Our curriculum is the equivalent of every high school in the country being that we get students from all over. Questions so far?”

I was about to open my mouth when he interrupted, “Serious questions, not your smart answers.”

“Serious questions, then no,” I said, leaning back into the chair.

“Good, then you’re learning,” He said. “It is mandatory that we go through your suitcases.”

“Go ahead then. I have nothing to hide,” I said nonchalant. Haner, Baker, and Sullivan each unzipped a suitcase and started going through it. “Good luck with finding anything illegal in there.”

“Now,” Sanders continued while they went through my things. “Violence of any kind is not tolerated, including threats. Bullying of any kind is not tolerated. Foul language is not tolerated…” He stated all the rules.

After a half hour or so in the office, a loud bell rang. I raised my eyebrow when I heard voices outside the office door.

Mr. Sanders checked his watch, “It’s the final bell of the day.”

When they were done going through my suitcases, they zipped them up and set them upright. A small pile of my clothes were on the floor along with my laptop.

“You’re kidding me,” I groaned. “You’re taking my fucking laptop and my clothes?!”

“Language,” Sanders warned. “If you must have internet access, we do have a library open at all times. We do not want our students dressing inappropriate, whether on a school day or after hours. Profanity on clothing is not permitted, and neither are inappropriately short or small articles.”

“Whoa, what the hell are you doing?” I stood up as Haner picked up my pile of clothes and dropped them into the garbage can. “I fucking paid for those! Those are my clothes!”

“They’re not a part of your wardrobe anymore,” Haner said. “We don’t even allow you to have them.”

I sprinted across the room and lunged at him, reaching out for his shirt. I was going to kill him. You do not throw away anyone’s clothes, especially a female’s. He didn’t even flinch, instead he just stood there. Mr. Baker grabbed me by my waist, pulling me back.

“Let fucking go of me!” I screamed, kicking and thrashing around in his arms. “I’m going to kill you!”

“Why don’t you let her go, Zack, since she likes to fight so much,” Haner said.

“Priscilla, sit down!” Sanders yelled. “Did you not hear a word I just said?”

Mr. Baker practically threw me down into the chair I was originally sitting in. He placed his hands on my shoulders, making me sit still. My whole body was shaking, but that always happened. I wasn’t afraid to attack any kind of authority figure.

“You broke three rules on your first day and it hasn’t even been two hours yet,” Sanders said. “We do have a psychologist for any sort of anger management problems.”

I didn’t have any “anger management problems”, I was pissed off. I glared at Haner. I thought he was going to be alright, until he pulled that shit.

“Now, before we let you get adjusted and show you to your room, we need to go over dormitory rules, punishments, and rewards,” He said. “Classes obviously run Monday through Friday. You are expected to be at your first class at eight o’clock every morning and the rest of your classes on time and not a second late. You are allowed to wear whatever you like, now that your inappropriate clothes have been confiscated. Last class is at three o’clock. All homework is expected to be done and your grades are to be pulled up tremendously. Lights are to be out by ten on school nights.

“Again, the library and cafeteria is open at all times before curfew. Vending machines are throughout the main building and the dormitories. Boys are not allowed in girls’ dormitories, and vice versa. Random room checks are sometimes given. Your room is expected to stay clean. As for punishments, any teacher can give you whatever punishment they feel is needed. Those punishments can include detention, extra work, cleaning, or any kind of physical activity.

“As far as rewards, students can go out on Friday and Saturday nights, and during the day on Sundays. However, you should be able to get at least one good recommendation from a teacher that states you deserve it. Places during those times are not limited, whether it be the beach, the movie theater, or the mall. You are expected to not drink or smoke on those trips, and anything you buy will be checked. Got it? Any questions?”

I shook my head.

“For visits, your parents can visit you on weekends and can choose if they would like to bring you back home for a break, whether it be Thanksgiving, winter, or spring break. Did you parents give you any money?”

I nodded and unzipped my bag, pulling the envelope from it. He took it from me and opened it, counting out five twenty dollar bills.

“Students are only allowed to have a hundred dollars at a time,” He said, handing me the bills. “The rest goes in your own personal file, I promise.”

I folded the money and stuffed it into my wallet.

“This is yours to keep,” He said, handing me a thick folder with a closed flap. “It has an agenda, the official handbook, a map, your schedule, your room key and room number. You can go now. Mr. Sullivan will bring your bags to your room shortly.”

I snatched the folder from his hand, glaring at him, then Haner, and then Sullivan. Mr. Baker let go of me and I walked out, slamming the door. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop me from screaming out loud in the hallway. They didn’t know me. I wasn’t going to be defeated this easily. I was going to turn their perfect school inside out.