Page 58 of The Curve
I chuckle at the thought. “I’m just messing with you. You’re going to be great.”
When we reach her door he pauses. “The last time I had to go to the Principal’s office it was because I looked up Ginny McMartin’s dress.”
“I see you didn’t learn a thing from that punishment.”
He chuckles and knocks on the door.
“Come in,” her voice calls.
Walking in, I’m immediately taken by the cool look of the room. It’s a place a young person would feel comfortable in. Above a wall of framed pictures are the wordsTHE GREAT COMMUNICATORS.I see contemporary musicians and ancient philosophers. There’re artists standing in front of their creations and writers with their books. There’s a President in a thoughtful pose. Martin Luther King and Jane Goodall are the bookends of the arrangement.
“Hello! I’m Principal Wagner,” she says standing and coming around her desk.
She extends her hand to me first and then to Atticus.
“Hello. I’m Charlotte Bay, Mallory’s mother. And this is Atticus.”
She looks at him and says, “I’d have to be a recluse not to know this face. Nice to meet you both. Sit, please.”
We pull up the two chairs and I take a deep breath.
“Thank you for seeing me. I know this must be a busy day for you.”
“You sounded like a mother in need of a little backup. You mentioned Mallory has been the victim of bullying.”
“Yes.”
“How long has that been going on?”
“For some years now. She suffered a burn on her face, and since then she’s been a target.”
“You mentioned on the phone that the latest incident was perpetrated by one of our students.”
“Jeffrey Midas,” Atticus says.
She leans her head back and closes her eyes. A long sigh escapes her lips. “I was hoping he learned something last semester.”
“He’s done this before?”
“Many times. The students even organized a club to combat his tweets and Facebook posts. Most of all to stand up to him and any other bully in school. It’s become a force to be reckoned with. They were very effective last year.”
She takes a yearbook from the shelf behind her and thumbs through. She finds what she wants and turns the book toward us. “Here they are.”
It’s a group of at least thirty kids. All different types, sizes, colors. Mrs. Wagner points to a pretty blonde in the center. “That’s Kelli Timber. She’s the cheerleader who thought the club up.”
“That’s surprising,” I say. “Even she was bullied?”
“In grammar school. I guess she was a chubby kid, and she said he never forgot how the bullying hurt. And now she’s recruited some of the athletes, including the quarterback, to join. It never hurts to have popular students on your side.”
“What has the school done? Can you tell us how you attempt to protect the bullied?” I ask.
“Everything we can do legally. Jeffrey was suspended for a few days last year, but when the home front doesn’t take the punishment seriously, neither does the adolescent. I’m afraid the most powerful, effective deterrent is the ability for the bullied to stand up for themselves.”
I take in the information and roll it around my mind.
“I agree. That’s what I said to Mallory. I like the idea of a group support system like the club,” Atticus says.
“If you agree, Charlotte, I’d like to introduce your daughter to the group. They call themselves the Sun Club. It stands for Speak Up Now.
