Interview #2

{Individual Interview #2}: MELINA BISHOP

Site: WINSLOW HIGH SCHOOL CONFERENCE ROOM

Date: FRIDAY, APRIL 20TH, 2018, 9:08 PM PST

----------

WEST: Okay. Whenever you're ready.

MELINA: Okay. Hello, my name is Melina Bishop and I am the vice president of the Tuct Side Board of Education and have been for eight years. I'm only thirty-five years old, so I was pretty young when I was first elected. Believe it or not, I actually loved going to school, so if that doesn't tell you that I wasn't like the other kids, then I don't know what will.

WEST: Don't worry. I get it.

MELINA: (LAUGHS) The town celebrity? Of course, you'd understand. To be honest, if we went to Patriot together, I would have run the other way. I was and still am what the populars would call a "bookworm." Whether it be textbooks, romance novels, or whatever, I could not get enough. They say knowledge is power and you do not know how true that is.

WEST: Oh, trust me. I do.

MELINA: Then you and I have a lot in common. Though, there isn't anything else about me. Grew up here all my life. Parents were cool. Two brothers and one sister. All amazing.

WEST: That's quite alright. Why don't we get into the main course? So, the district would include both Patriot and Wildwood, right?

MELINA: That's correct. It might as well be every school in Tuct Side at this point.

WEST: How was… seeing over Wildwood? Or rather, what's your opinion on then and now?

MELINA: Oof. Wildwood was… quite troublesome to keep a hold of. The finances, regulations, and even the students. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure most of the kids that went there had their backstories and unfortunate situations, but it was as if every day there was an issue or a change in policies. If you ask me, based on the fast pace of things, I don't think President Mitch was in control of anything.

WEST: You think there was some kind of inside job?

MELINA: Didn't want to believe it, but things weren't quite adding up. Now, Mitch is the kind of guy that once he sets his mind on something, it is set in something stronger than stone. It'll take ten wrecking balls to get through to him. However, I'd say a year before Wildwood officially closed down, he would have one idea, but then suddenly have a turn-around. Very unlike him.

WEST: And the others caught on to that?

MELINA: Oh, most definitely. He was a well-respected citizen in the community. Everybody knew what he was about. But, for some reason, no one questioned him. Or if they did, it was only once. He wanted Wildwood's graffiti cleaned up, he'd come back the next day and say he was actually talking about some writing in the men's bathroom of Patriot High. He wanted to hire some teacher out of town, the person-in-question would have a job at the high school in the next town over. We had no idea what was going on with him.

WEST: And the response to the shooting threats?

MELINA: That was a big shocker! I think the world stopped moving when we got word of the news.

WEST: And no one even questioned him on that?

MELINA: Actually, just about everyone in the office was on his case about that one. The poor guy. I don't even think it was his decision. It sounded like a choice the state department would make.

WEST: To close the school completely must have meant the threat would have been carried out.

MELINA: Tuct Side always did have some… untoward presences in its midst. A gang, they called it? No, that's just minimizing the danger. They were more because they had influence. The police would have been on their tails a long time ago, but their longevity just goes to show you that this whole thing started before arriving in Tuct Side.

WEST: How much influence would you say?

MELINA: Other than the school board? The police department. The town itself. Hell, the people inside the town. Even ran secret town hall meetings.

WEST: Town hall meetings? Were those a thing back then.

MELINA: Way before you guys, but they diminished in recent years. Many say the gang took over. They were secret, but once you'd start paying attention, you'd see the signs.

WEST: Signs? Like what?

MELINA: Tuct Side is already a pretty quiet place, but on those days, everything would just be… silent. No cars. No kids playing at the park. I don't think anybody would step outside of their house to go to work. The gang? They ran the streets, and it was indirectly hammered into your head that you were not allowed to disrespect them. Nobody talked about them. Either they wanted to pretend like they weren't there or…

WEST: Or?

MELINA: They had eyes in every corner. They were easy to spot when they wore certain clothing, but then it got tricky. You wouldn't know you were talking to one or inviting another into your home. Hiding in plain sight.

WEST: So, you would say they had a hand in the shooting threats against Wildwood?

MELINA: I believe so. No one else had that kind of power in little ol' Idaho. Whoever they came from, it wasn't from a single student. It was from the ones behind the curtains. The ones pulling the strings.

WEST: The gang?

MELINA: Exactly.

(INTERVIEW END)