Ghosts that Watch Us

7

It wasn’t until a week later that Ellory got a call from Jeanine, Dean Ambrose’s secretary. “He wants to see me now?” He sighed. “Yes, I’ll be down momentarily.”

Spread before him were student papers and a pile of take-home exams that Delia had collected from his discussion section. There was so very much to get done, and the dean could sometimes wax poetic. And Ellory was hoping to get to sleep early tonight… But, Delia would be here within the hour to help with grading so he could get on with his research, and he didn’t want to keep Dean Ambrose waiting. He left his office and strode through the dark hallways, the lights dimmed after hours. Steps echoing over the cold stone walls, Ellory stuffed his hands in his trousers and hunched his shoulders against the chill.

Jeanine was just leaving for the evening, and Ellory bid her goodnight before knocking on the dean’s door.

“Ellory! Come on in.” The dean was sitting at his mahogany desk, some formal looking letter before him. He signed it with a flourish and placed it in a tray labeled with Jeanine’s name. “I was surprised to catch you so late here. I apologize for the hour.”

Ellory shrugged with a smile. “Just grading some papers still. I’ll be heading out soon myself.”

“Good, that’s good. Listen, have a seat. I wanted to talk with you about something.”

Ellory gave the door a glance, thinking of Delia waiting alone back at the office. They hadn’t seen Chase around since he’d spoken with Sean, but he didn’t want to give the boy another chance of catching Delia alone again and regaling her with more verbal abuse. The girl could take care of herself, Ellory knew that, but it didn’t sit right with him that she would need to in the first place.

“Alright,” he said, taking the seat opposite the dean. Hands between his knees, he smiled at the man.

“I trust your semester’s going well, Ellory?”

“Oh, definitely. My classes are full again.”

“Your classes are always some of our most popular.”

Ellory smiled and shrugged again, never quite sure what to do when complimented.

“You have a few athletes in your classes, right?”

Ellory’s smile froze. Where was this going?

“Well, yes,” he said slowly. “Some of my lower tier courses can be used for the general education degree, easy enough to complete while focusing primarily on athletics.”

Dean Ambrose nodded.“Brown, statistically, has some of the brightest young minds in the country, including our student athletes, who definitely have had to work twice as hard to get where they are now, excelling not only in academics but in athletics as well.”

Ellory pursed his lips, not entirely agreeing with the man. “Yes well, perhaps so.”

“Chase Thompson is in your class this semester, right?”

Ellory blinked. “Yes.”

“You know, I had a talk with his coach the other day. Brought me a pie from the bakery on Sixth? You know the one?” Ellory smiled noncommittally. “Anyway, he brought up Chase. And my goodness, that young man is an absolute titan on the field! Did you know he helped boost the amount of donations the last two years? We’ve been able to bolster the scholarship fund because of that kid. He’s multiplied the number of attendants to home games – just the ticket and vendor sales alone are up forty percent from two years ago!”

Ellory shifted in his seat, a warm heat beginning to creep up his neck. He had a suspicion about where this was going. “I’m afraid I haven’t been able to attend any of the matches,” Ellory said.

“He’s great. But from what his coach told me, perhaps not the best student. I take it to understand that he only barely passed your class last semester, and is retaking it again this fall?”

“That’s correct.”

The dean stood and walked around the desk, leaning back on the edge of it. “You know, perhaps it might be a good idea to offer the young man more extra credit opportunities? Or invite him to attend your office hours? The school benefits from his enrollment here.”

Dumbfounded, Ellory stared up at the dean, a man he had thought was his friend, someone who understood the importance of a quality education and not cutting corners for the sake of passing entertainment. He swallowed and looked down at his clasped hands.

“Michael…are you asking me to simply let Chase pass for the sake of ticket sales and burgeoning patron support?”

The dean laughed and clapped Ellory on the shoulder good-naturedly. “No, Ellory! Not at all. That would be highly unethical. And Brown isn’t about that. All I’m asking you to consider is maybe cutting the kid some slack. Be a little more understanding if his assignment is a day or two late. If he needs more time on an exam. Let him make up for loss of points, just like other students do with extra credit.” Ellory swallowed, doing his best to hide the disbelief from his features, and the creeping rage he felt blotting the edge of his vision. The dean patted his shoulder again and walked back around his desk. “It’d be a shame if he had to stop playing or drop out entirely because he was a few points short of the required GPA. You understand what I’m saying?”

Ellory put on his best poker face, nodding after a moment. “Yes, sir. I understand. I’ll see what I can do.”