Page 22 of Demitrius

“I’ll look into that. Sometimes I feel like we’re supplying things for their homes, too, and that’snot what we’re doing.” Alex looked over the list. “Why do they need a microwave for the second graders. Last I heard, they didn’t have eating in their rooms. And I know for a fact that the teachers’ lounge has a nice one.” She looked over more of the lists. “It says here gift cards so that they can buy supplies not on the list. I thought that was what we did this for. So they’d not have to buy things that are listed.”

“I think you’re being taken advantage of.” Alex sat down with the list and told her a couple more things that she’d found. “Wait until you get to the sixth grade. They want paint to paint their rooms during Christmas break this year when it comes up. This is only the third week. Why does it need to be painted already?”

“I’m going to have to get some clarification on these. There is no way they’re going to need this much in the way of supplies to get them through the end of the year. There are things on here that I know for a fact are just things that the teachers lounge has had put in.” She started making a list. “This is stupid. I’m going to tell them not to do this if this is the way they’re going to be treating the charity that comes their way. Did you see this list from the front office? I didn’t know that we had anything to do with supplying them things?”

“Ms. Lavine handed me that when I was leaving. She said that it’s only a few things that they’re forever running out of. I don’t see how that’s something that, as a charity, we should be responsible for either. I mean, since when do we supply them with tissues and wipes too? And why so many?” The two of them made a list with the counts of what they were requesting. There were over two hundred and fifty boxes of tissues as well as three hundred containers of wipes. That didn’t even count the fifty-five containers for the front office and the hundred boxes of tissues. “I really think this is wrong in so many ways.”

By the time they were finished, they had three microwaves, two televisions, as well as a stereo system for one of the rooms. There were things on the list like paper napkins and paper plates. And then there were the water bottles that they wanted. Over three hundred and seventy-five cases, not individual bottles but cases of water for the rooms that requested them. This was just ridiculous.

“I wonder where they’d even store that much water. And they can’t even say it’s for the band boosters. We already supply them with water at every home game to sell. I’m going to have to have a meeting with these teachers. I’m curious as to what they’ll say when we ask them what on earth they were thinking about when they put these things on the list. I’m betting, as you said, they’re taking most of this home with them.” Locke came into the room when they were totaling up the price it would be for the things on the lists. “You’re not going to believe these lists that Mandy picked up today. We’re supplying them with things that aren’t even part of the teachers’ programs for school. Look at these.”

As Locke went over the lists, she and Alex talked about what they’d actually give them. She was of the opinion that they didn’t need anything from them if they were going to be greedy but Alex said it would be better if they just got them a few things then told them they were shit out of luck for the rest.

“I’m going to put my foot down to the principal. There is no way that he knows about these lists. And if he does, then shame on him, too. This is something out of a book, people taking advantage of the rich people in town because they think that they’re stupid or something. Having money doesn’t make you blind to people taking advantage of you. I’m going to call Zander to let him know about this and have him talk to the principal. Something needs to be done about this.” They both agreed. “Don’t buy anything yet. I want to see what’s going on with this first.”

“All right. The second-grade teacher did ask me how quickly she could get the gift cards. She said that paint is on sale right now, and she wanted to pick it up. Do you suppose she’s painting her home with charity money?” Locke said that he hoped not, that would get her into deep trouble using charity money fraudulently. “I think that they all are using it that way. We need to crack down on this before it gets really out of hand. Next, they’ll be asking us for new desks or something.”

“We are helping with the new school. Not in the way of financial needs, but with people working with the contractors to get it done quickly. They get a great deal of money to have a new school built, as well as the things that would go into it.” She asked Locke if he was sure about that. “I’m not sure nowthat I’ve seen these. Let me call Zander and see what he has to say about this. If he goes to the school, I might go with him. I want, like you two, to see the reaction of the people when they find out we’re not going to do this.”

Zander was pissed off about it. Locke put the call on speaker so that they could hear how upset he was. After reading him a couple of things on the list, he was furious about the way they were taking advantage of the group of them. He made an appointment as soon as today to talk to the other man.

The meeting was going to take place as soon as Zander could get there. The principal, Mr. David Sheen, said that he didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t want it to fester and become something serious, and asked them to come in now. Since he didn’t want the teachers to know what was going on, they asked him to come to the Crockery Pot to have lunch and talk there. The man was more than agreeable. She and Alex were going too just to be there in case they wanted information about the lists. Also, to see if he was a part of it, which they all hoped that he wasn’t.

David showed up just as they were being seated. He was a good-looking younger man, but also had a serious look about him. Mandy was impressed that he brought himself a notepad and pen to take notes. She noticed that there were a couple of lines on his paper before they even began. He asked to go first.

“I don’t know why, but I was asked to see if there would be gift cards coming soon. This is from Ms. Piper, the second-grade teacher. She’s been with us a year now and perhaps doesn’t understand that you supply us with things rather than give out gift cards to let them spend the money. I might be wrong about that; I’m just not sure I ever heard of it happening.” Zander handed the man the list from Ms. Piper’s class without saying a word. As he went over it, his face got redder and redder as he got to the bottom. “I don’t understand what it is I’m looking at. Or perhaps I do, and I’m just shocked by it. I don’t know where they would have gotten the idea that—is this from my office? What do they need a microwave for? We have two now that are seldom used.”

David was fired up by the time he had gone over the lists with Zander. He told him that if this was how they were going to treat the charity that supplied them with extra, they just might not do it next year. David asked him to allow him to talk to the teachers. He’d get it to stop.

“What are you going to do?” David said he was going to find out who thought that this was a good idea, then go from there. “And if they don’t tell you whose idea it is, then what are you going to do? To be honest with you, sir, my family isn’t at all happy with these lists. It sounds as if we’re supplying them with things that, at the end of the year, will go home with them, if not before then. These lists total up to being more than eleven grand. We don’t even spend that much on the backpacks that we donate with all these supplies and more in them.”

“I would ask you to hold off on buying anything for a while. I might even have you not buy anything at all for this school year. But it won’t come back on you guys. I promise you that this is going to be laid at their feet and they’ll know too that I’m pissed off as well.” He looked over the lists again. “This isn’t even a couple of teachers here. This is all of them. Every teacher has put things on the list that shouldn’t be there.”

David was going to set up a meeting for this coming Friday. It would satisfy him on so many levels to have them stay after classes on Friday to talk to them. Hoping for a long weekend, he’d have them an answer to their lists then. Mandy thought that Daivd was looking forward to this as much as they were pissed off about it. She could almost feel sorry for the teachers who had given her the lists that they thought would amount to about five hundred dollars total, not the lists that they got.

By the next morning, word had gotten around about the teachers’ meeting the next evening. Gossip traveled quickly, and since Daivd had told them it was about the Erikson’s donations to the school, there was speculation that everything that they’d put onto their lists was going to come to them at the meeting. Some were even suggesting that they bring help with moving the stuff they had asked for into storage, which they expected the charity to pay for as well.

She and Zander, since she’d gotten the lists, were going to be there. He was already drafting a lawsuit on the things that they thought the teachers were going to be using for their own homes. Noone would ever believe that they wanted that much water for the classrooms for the school year.

When the meeting was to start, she noticed that there were a lot of trucks and vans in the parking lot, like a great many of them for moving things. A great many of the teachers had changed into jeans and T-shirts with tennis shoes to work. It was going to be epic to see their faces when he told them that they weren’t getting anything.

The next afternoon, just yesterday, David had called Zander and told him that the school wouldn’t be needing their help for the rest of the school year. The more he had thought about it, the angrier he’d gotten, and he decided that they’d have to do without if they were going to be greedy. He even had him fill out a lawsuit for each teacher that stated that they were fraudulently using things that had been donated for their own personal use.

“I heard them talking about how they had pulled the wool over your eyes about the lists. I know now that the gift cards for the paint was going to Ms. Applet for her daughter’s bedroom and the kitchen. As was the microwave that she asked for on her list.” David sighed heavily. “I’m ashamed to admit that I had no idea this was going on. And to be honest with you, I didn’t think that this would happen for as much as you’ve donated to the schools in the past. I’d tell you to go to another school to help out instead of this one, but I know that without the donations, the regular donations, this school wouldn’t be in half as good of shape as it is right now. I doubt very much we’d be getting the new building that is going up as we speak.”

“I’m sorry as well, David. We won’t cut you off completely, but we won’t be donating anything to the teachers’ funds this year. Also, the end of year awards dinner, either.” He said it was no less than he expected. “The kids aren’t at fault, so we’ll continue with the backpack funds, but I’m doubtful that unless something really changes, we’ll be giving any more money to the school.”

“Would you mind if I told them that?” Zander had told him that he was going to be saying that at the meeting. “Good. I want them to come to the realization that they’ve bitten the very hand that has fed them. I mean, I expected you to tell me that your family isn’t going to be helping with breakfast anymore.”

“As I said, this has nothing to do with the students. We’d not take that from them. But the teachers are going to have to pay for their meals from it.” David asked if the teachers were eating too. “They are. All of them.”

“Christ, there is no end to what they’ll do, is there? All right.” They made arrangements to get together on what was going to be said and done at the meeting, and now here they were. Zander had even dressed up in a three-piece suit, and she in a professionally looking suit herself. This was going to be something completely unexpected for everyone there.

Chapter 10

Zander looked around the room at the fourteen teachers. Each of them had given a list as to what they wanted for their rooms, and the list had been outrageously expensive. One had wanted a high-tech microwave, and another insisted that they pick up the brand of water that they specified on the list. One hundred and twenty cases of the more expensive water, too. In the sixteen ounce bottle size, that would be two pallets of water with a whopping seventy-two cases per. Where were they going to store that sort of purchase? In their rooms? He was going to find out today.

Who had told the other teachers to pad their list? He had a feeling that he knew who had done it and why they’d called Alex last night and given a list that was more in line with what they’d been expecting. He wanted the others to get into trouble. Or he’d thought about what he’d done and decided that he’d be the odd teacher out when it came to how much money they were asking for. He’d bet his last check against the fact that he’d told them all that the Erikson Foundation men were too stupid to look over the list as anything but a nice list of things to put into their rooms. Well, he was going to enjoy this more than he probably should.

---