Chapter 50

2019.03.24

It is my fault. I was doing it all by myself. We were supposed to be a team. I was being over protective of my members and I even thought that I should take care each and everything on my own as a leader. I think I ruined the picture of what a leader should be. I should have been better. The day would have been success. I am to blame? Yes, I am to blame.

I went to school today. All were absent in the science stream except for me. I guess they were tired of doing nothing. No, I do not blame the ones who did their part perfectly. I rocked my chair in the classroom alone. Mrs. Beth had not come today also which means no studies today at all. I picked out the Biology past paper book and started working on the Multiple Choice Questions. I felt someone crossed the corridor. I rose my head from the book and looked through the window to see the principal passing by. I felt ashamed when I saw her.

Yesterday after the trophies and souvenir were given to respective people and one was given out of kindness which was total foolishness. That is, I bought a souvenir for Mr. J. J. Fortune titling best teacher. My Foot! Okay. So after the day was almost over, the principal left the hall as I told you before even before sending off the guests. She had left her souvenir in the hall. The in-charge teacher asked me to take it to the Principal. I picked it up and headed to her office. I knocked on the door gently and pushed it open saying, "May I come in?" "Yes." She replied and crossed her palms and locking her fingers. I placed the souvenir on the table, "Madam, you left it in the hall." She did not say thank you but she just nodded. She was accompanied by the deputy principal number 2. She spoke, "Anna, your speech was very good. It was professional. And the presentation was on another level. (It has to be I spent two months on it.) Is it not Principal Madam?" She faced at principal madam after looking with me. She went back to her paper and just said, "Hmmmm." The deputy principal number 2 was in an awkward state. She was shocked herself. I quickly thanked the deputy principal for her kind words and left the office closing the door behind. What kind of an odd reaction is that? She could have praised me now even though she did not praise me and our team on the stage. It was as if her enemy was on the lead and she hated to compliment or wish luck. Am I not a mere student? She was being unreasonable.

While I was having my breakfast I remembered to that my mother told me to get the sponsorship for the files from Mr. J. J. Fortune. I was not in the mood to look at his face. If I did I might end up clawing it up. His face does not look good even now, it is useless of clawing it. I sighed and left the class to his table in the laboratory. He was fiddling a paper. "Sir, the sponsorship money for the files?" "Yes, about that. Principal Madam said that she will not sponsor to it." What the hell! I did the finances without the sponsorship, where will I go and get it? "Sir, I even gave the quotation for the files and after confirming only I printed them." "It is because behind the file there are other sponsors." It did make sense but he is only telling me now after I asked him about. He should have given me a heads up. I left the laboratory and called my mother with in-charge teacher's phone.

My mother called Mr. Fortune and talked to him. Now, I could have talked with him about the issue but he does not want to because I am a kid and he is an adult. Also he does not like an adult coming in too; my mother, so to whom is he going to discuss the matter with?

2019.03.25

I bought two quotations for the file sponsorship under name of sound system quotation. Yesterday my mother called the sound system team and asked them a favor to give a quotation and next called the printer and explained the issue to him. The printer is a good friend of our family. He understood the situation and said it was okay and he even added that all the national schools are like that, they think thousand times before giving money.

I gave the quotations early in the morning and asked for the envelope of money. You know what he said, "Are you insane. How can I give you? You should ask the person who printed to come and take it." I was annoyed when people are not taking me seriously. I will be nineteen years old in less than a month and why do they still keep telling me off. I do know that the adult world if full of responsibility and it is very different from a child's world. It would be nice to help me out to slowly understand it.

I asked Mrs. Beth to lend me her phone to make a ring to my mother and as the printer to come to the school. My mother was mad that Mr. J. J. Fortune was changing his words constantly. He was talking in a tamed cat's voice with my mother and a cunning fox along with me. He had told my mother yesterday that he will give the money to me and asked her to give it to the printer man. But now he demands to see either my mother or the printer.

Finally the printer came to the school and also did my mother. Mr. J. J. Fortune did not know that my mother had come to school. My mother came to school was because of me. She went to the deputy principals to talk with them. She wanted to tell that why was not the science team praised but only the sectional head. She explained how unfair was it? That I went through all to do this and I was not praised at all. She added Zarina leaving from the group, I did almost all the preparation and Mr. J. J. Fortune almost did not do anything. She even told the file incident. And finally she asked to thank the science team for doing the job really good. See, my mother was not selfish only to include my name. My mother even asked me, "Are you sure about this? Me coming and talking about this. What if Fortune sir got to know about it? Would he not do something to you?" "What is more is there to do? We all worked so hard and he is only the one who got praised!"

So that is what she talked with the deputy principal and went. Later in the evening I was summoned by the deputy principal number 1. I went in thinking there is going to be a positive result. I saw Mr. J. J. Fortune also sitting inside the office. It is definitely bad. I hesitated to go in but eventually I went in. "Excuse me, madam you asked for me?" "Oh so it is you." She was already mocking at me from the start. Who gave her this position? She continued, "Your mother was just here?" "Yes madam I know that." "Tell me what happened with the secretary?" May be it was not all bad. I told her the whole story and exposed Zarina without any mercy but I was careful when choosing what words to speak out. "She even told that Mr. J. J. Fortune did not do any of the work in the science day. Did he not?" "Not necessarily. He did a bit." I replied. Now I do not know what my mother had spoken and to be honest she is very straightforward. I hesitated what to say next and the deputy principal number 2 continued. "And your mother even told that Mr. J. J. Fortune was not paying for the sponsor and was being mysterious about it." He definitely was being annoying but I refused to say anything. She continued, "What kind of a parent is she? How can parents talk about teachers?" What kind of deputy principal talks like this? This was absolute adult shit talk. From my corner of my eyes I saw the deputy principal number 2 who is a gossip sitting by the desk in her office and not lifting her head at all. Her eyes was glued to a paper and she quickly left the office when the things were getting a little fired up. She was definitely running away from the problem. I looked back at deputy principal number 1 ad Mr. J. J. Fortune and said, "It was me. I told my mother to be here and complain about this whole situation. She has no fault. I messed up and I had conveyed the message wrong. Sorry." I was not going to let down my mother for these little retards. Mr. J. J. Fortune who was only nodding his head spoke finally, "I do not care. It has nothing to do with me. It will only affect you. (It already has.) I forgive you next time make sure you tell your mother to not to do these kind of things." I will not. I will do them by myself. I left the office in anger. Those two sat in and catted for a while. I know how Mr. J. J. Fortune tames everyone. He has his own kid who is luckily a girl. They say Karma gets you and I will be waiting for it. I am not the devil but I am so hurt that it still lingers around with me. It took me four years to get rid of this trauma filled incident.

I went home and I cried. I told my mother what happened. According to my mother they had spoken to her in sweet honey voice. The both the deputies were present. I think the number 2 did not want to get involved in this. And I confirmed the number 1's personality. She did the same with the school captain. She dissed her behind her back saying that the school captain thinks herself as high as a president but on the next day she was on her knees in front of the school captain praising her. My mother immediately dialed the deputy principal number 1 and asked her why did she made her daughter cry and embarrassed her in front of Mr. J. J. Fortune? She also added, "I asked you to praise her not scold her. You could have told me that this was in appropriate thing to do and I would have apologized and left the office. Why did you involve my daughter in this?" The deputy principal quickly cut the phone saying to come and talk with her in the school. She was running away. My mother dialed her again and again. She did not pick up the phone and finally she picked up the phone after so many calls. But the phone was answered by a male, probably her husband. MY mother talked in a very polite manner and said if MISS comes out of the please tell her to give me a call. You know what he said in return, "She is not MISS, she is MADAM. You should her MADAM." My mother dumbfounded. She said in return. "Okay I will. Remind MISS to give me a call." and she disconnected the call.

My mother was ready to come to school and talk about this with the principal. I already had enough everyone talking about her in a very absolute disrespected manner. I told her to forget about it and I did not want to deal it with anymore. She agreed and let go but deep within she wanted revenge from the people who hurt her daughter.