Arc 1 Settling In
1.1 Transfer
Heroic, a term used to describe going above and beyond normal levels of doing the right thing. The last bit had changed after some argument with dad. He wants me to be safe, and wouldn't accept a definition that implied self-sacrifice. I eventually had trouble blaming him. He still wasn't doing well without mom. Neither was I, but it turns out that it's easier to see what's wrong with other people, rather than with yourself.
I was going to be a superhero, albeit that was kind of a far off dream at the moment. Every time I complained though, I had to watch another video about how messed up child-soldiers were and how ineffective they were over the long term at actually fixing problems.
I caught dad glancing over at me while I was fidgeting with the recorder. It was mine, but I shouldn't draw attention to it, so I purposely put it in my backpack and sat on my hands.
I was excited and nervous, which made being calm hard. Arcadia was the best high school in the city. I could have gone here. I lived between it and Winslow, and my grades had been good enough.
The office looked normal enough though, just cleaner, less shoddy than Winslow. The secretary had also been a lot more polite. He invited us to have a seat, saying that the principal would be a few more minutes as he was finishing some scheduling adjustments for the next year.
Winslow's administration was a bunch of jerks. Sure the gangs were a bigger problem there than here, but still, it rankled me.
I should have gone here. I had earned a slot, but Emma hadn't, and I had wanted to stay with her. So, I had committed to Winslow.
Spending a year regretting that decision had changed my life in a lot of ways. Incipient heroing plans aside, things had been hard. I huffed a bit. Plus or minus a few weeks, it was a year since dad had sent me away to nature camp while he tried to pull himself back together. I had hated camp. Being surrounded by people and still being alone had sucked. Getting back to Brockton Bay had been worse though.
Emma was somebody else now. Somebody who hated me. Dad had tried to talk to Mr Barnes, but dad said he hadn't wanted to understand.
It was easier, thinking of Emma as who Emma was now, and Past Emma as if she was a separate person. I had come across a list on being an evil overlord while looking into cape villains. A required prerequisite for 'perfectly trusted' was 'posthumous'. While Emma was hilariously no where near the running, Past Emma, who was dead to me, qualified. It was sad but easier to think of her as dead to me.
Still, that was what brought me here, waiting, away from my lab, to try and get a transfer away from Emma and Sophia.
The pair of them were horrible people. The kind of people that would invent a puppy blender or something, and then falsely advertise it as a weight loss tool. Since the start of highschool, the bitches had been progressively making my life worse at school. Sticking it out as my original plan had been a terrible idea.
Powers spark during periods of stress. The internet said they were called Trigger Events.
Dad had been withdrawn and sullen, but he hadn't been able to miss me in the kitchen baking a thermolytic converter polymer in the oven.
He had called in sick for us both the next day, and he had refused to leave me alone until he had found out about Emma. And about him, for not being there for me.
Since Dad kept expecting me to flip out and try to sneak out to be a hero, he's been much more pressing on my personal life. I was grateful and resentful at the same time. He gave up some of his work on the dockworkers union. He still runs the docks, well, he's head of the dockworkers' union, which is almost the same thing, but he started making people volunteer on the weekends to keep ahead of union business.
He had refined my plans to get away from the bitches. Which had brought us to this point.
In addition to my recorder, my bag had copies and notes that I'd made of the bullying they'd done to me, the hateful emails, and a record of the times I'd reported it to Winslow faculty. Second to the recorder, that last bit was the most important, and brought a small smirk to my face.
'Paperwork,' dad had said, 'is how you make the other guy say thank you for bending them over their desk.' We had just been talking at the time. I think Dad had had a beer or two. Either way, he had blanched and immediately tried to rephrase that after he said it, but it was too late. I had been able to ask him to clarify what that meant, and provide numerous other questions to make him uncomfortable.
Winslow staff had refused to do anything for their responsibilities, so here I was, heroically sticking up for myself, by sitting in Arcadia's principal's office. I was smart, at least enough to have gotten into Arcadia, but I had gone to Winslow. That had been a mistake. Everything had gone to the dogs after that. Dad had been slipping away, Emma turned into a monster, recruited another monster, Sophia, and decided to turn the school against me. The whole while, Winslow ignored what was going on.
On the other hand, bureaucracy might let me escape through the cracks. After dad had gotten over the shock of things, he had started making plans. He had called Arcadia, and talked them into 30 min of their time with their principal, Mr Edgeworth. Dad and I were going to make the case that I deserved a transfer for my sophomore year. Mostly I had my excellent grades from middle school, a backpack of evidence that Winslow wasn't helping me, and dad's foresight to do this immediately after the end of the school year, before other people asked for slots for their kids. I suppressed a brief surge of resentment for these imaginary applicants. After some negative comments on people in general, dad kept trying to make me make friends for socializing and 'friendship'.
The secretary got our attention, interrupting my nervous thoughts, to let us into Mr Edgeworth's office.
As we had discussed, Dad started talking as we were sitting down. "Good morning Principal Edgeworth, I have two topics I'd like to discuss with you. They are both potentially delicate, and are interrelated. My daughter, Taylor, is struggling with the Winslow staff, due to personal issues, and I want to show you; to convince you that she both deserves a place at Arcadia, and that Winslow is incapable of treating her appropriately."
My dad then explained that there was a ongoing bullying campaign against me, and that the staff was unwilling to address the issue. Principal Edgeworth wasn't all that receptive. Dad had explained to me previously that this was our first hurdle, that we had to convince Edgeworth that our problem was worth him sticking his neck into a problem that really ought to be addressed between the district superintendent and principal Blackwell.
Dad explained, with accompanying letters and stuff, how I could have gone to Arcadia, and the ongoing awful emails I was getting, several every week, as well as an overview of the types of issues I generally had from Emma, Sophia, and the others.
Eventually, Principal Edgeworth did as dad predicted. He interrupted my dad, politely holding his hand to indicate he wanted dad to stop talking. "Mr Hebert, and Miss Hebert, I fully agree that you are presenting issues which ought to be addressed. However, this information needs to be presented in other forums. Please understand that Principal Blackwell is my peer, and not only do I have no oversight over Winslow, but intentionally attempting to undercut her administration would be inappropriate."
Then, it was my turn. The moment for me to do something ethically, well, edgy. Not that I would say that word, ever, in front of Principal Edgeworth. "I can prove to you that I cannot successfully get help from the superintendent?"
That got his attention, and while he appeared unsettled, he didn't throw us out, which is what we needed. I got out tape recorder, with my illegal recording. I explained a bit of what I had.
"Principal Blackwell has modified my school records, to ensure that I can't make trouble for Winslow. I need your help, not to make an issue of this, but I just want to get out of there."
Here it was, and he nodded slowly, so I pushed play.
"Emma and Sophia tripped and shoved me repeatedly today, said insulting things, and one of my school books was stolen from my locker." My voice came out of the recorder.
Blackwell's voice responded. "Ms Hebert, do you have any witnesses to any of these allegations that would support these claims?" I thought she sounded dismissive and insulting, but maybe I was biased.
"None that I believe would be truthful, although Mr Thomas from biology saw those two following me after class, even though their next class is in the other direction."
"I'll investigate these claims then Ms Hebert, but for now please return to your lunch."
There's the sound of me leaving, and the door closing. Then an intercom button, and Blackwell asks her secretary to come into her office. It's no longer surprising to me, I've listened to it many times. Blackwell orders her to mark down that I made false accusations against other students, and that I had lost a text book, in my school records. Additionally, she tells her to email Mark, the first name of my biology teacher, a reminder to avoid loitering in the halls to ensure that students do not have opportunity to vandalize the classrooms.
My dad starts talking, before Principal Edgeworth can. "I'm not looking to fight the school district, or unfairly advantage my daughter, but I'm sure that you can understand that I don't feel she is capable of succeeding as a student in her current environment. I don't need to see justice done, but I want to give her an actual chance to succeed in her education."
This is why I let the head of a union talk for me. Well, that and also because dad told me to let him talk. He stops and waits, because now we've put Principal Edgeworth on the spot. He has to know that however I made that recording, it's illegal. My dad and I wait, to avoid looking like we're trying to demand an answer, or worse, blackmail Principal Edgeworth.
He sighs, and collects himself. If dad hasn't told me to wait beforehand, I'd have already started talking.
"I think that, in light of the issues you've described, and the previous opportunity you had earned to attend Arcadia, I'd like to invite Taylor to interview here within the next month. If Ms Hebert's scholastic abilities appear to remain at a similar level to what her middle school grades demonstrate, then we may be able to provide an opening for her the fall."
I'm honestly a bit surprised it worked, and I can't think of anything to say. Thankfully, dad responds for us. "Thank you for hearing us out. Taylor will make the most of her opportunities."
"I would like to add one more thing before the two of you go. While I'm unaware of evidence suggesting inappropriate behavior on Taylor's part." He makes a knowing look at me and then dad. "I sympathize with the reasons that you desire a transfer, and hope that things can improve for your daughter. To be clear though, this is fresh start for Taylor, and a different school. Every student at Arcadia must understand that the school rules are upheld, fairly, by all staff, and I am willing to make that claim especially in light of your reasons to desire a transfer. Any attempt to illegally record the staff or students will be met with a harsh punishment or even immediate expulsion, as in accordance with our rules. For now though, good day, and please make arrangements with my secretary for a interview for acceptance. Each student is required to attend one when joining under unusual conditions, and I expect Taylor to do so as well." He finishes with a more than minimum smile, although not exactly joyful.
On my side of things, I'm very happy to follow my dad while he makes the arrangements for a week from now to do the official interview, and then we head home.
