The Secrets of Hawthorne House

Chapter 10: The Principal's Office

After looking up the number, Mr. Tanner picked up his phone and dialed Matt's father. "Mr. Mitchell? This is Principal Tanner from Hawthorne High."

"Yes?" Sam said. "What's wrong? Is Matt or Tina hurt?"

"No, they're fine," Mr. Tanner replied. "But Matt's been in a fight, and he may also be involved in something significantly more serious. I have him sitting outside my office. Could you please come in now? I think we need to deal with this right away."

"Uh... Okay," Sam answered, worried about his son but also about what his boss would think of him leaving in the middle of the afternoon. "Give me ten minutes to reschedule a meeting, and I'll drive right over."

"Perfect, Mr. Mitchell. And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Gerallt Hawthorne is also involved. The boy lives near you, doesn't he?"

"Yes, just next door."

"Well, it appears his mother didn't leave a phone number. Would you mind stopping by and asking her to come, too? Given the boys' close friendship and what has happened today, I think it would be best if both of you were to take part in resolving this."

"Okay. I'll stop by and let her know what you've said. We'll be there as soon as we can."

Ten minutes later, Sam pulled up in front of the Hawthorne House. He hurried up the front walk, raised the antique doorknocker, and dropped it loudly on the old oak door. When no one answered, Sam knocked again. He was about to knock a third time when he heard faint footsteps and the unlocking of several locks. The door opened a few inches to reveal Vivianne Hawthorne peering over the sturdy security chain that prevented the door from fully opening.

"Why, Mr. Mitchell," she said warily. "What brings you by on a weekday afternoon?"

"Is your niece at home?" Sam answered. "I had a phone call from the high school and need to speak with her."

"What happened? Are Gwyneth and Gerallt okay?" Worry washed over the old widow's face.

"Yes. They're fine." Sam replied, sorry that he had unnecessarily worried the old woman. "It's Gerallt. Apparently, there was a fight at school, and both he and Matt were involved. Mr. Tanner, the principal, asked me to tell Gerallt's mother. He wants us to come to the school right away."

"Oh, dear!" Vivianne Hawthorne exclaimed. "Just a minute. I'll go get her. We'll be right back." With that, the door closed and the footsteps rapidly receded.

It wasn't long before the door opened again, and the Hawthorne women, wearing long and heavy cloaks against the cold November air, joined him on the porch.

"Mr. Mitchell, I'd like you tah meet my niece, Gwendolyn."

"What happened, Mr. Mitchell?" Gerallt's mother asked, ignoring the introduction. "My ahnt said somethin' about a fight. Are the boys all right?"

"Please call me Sam," Mr. Mitchell replied, unable to help noticing how beautiful Gwendolyn was, and even more surprised to notice that he noticed. "I'm not really sure myself what happened, but the principal did say that the boys are okay. Anyway, he called me at work and asked me to tell you that they are in some sort of serious trouble and that he wanted us to go to the school right away to discuss it."

Sam paused, looked around to see if any other car were parked along the street. "Do you have a car? If not, I can take you in mine."

"I'm afraid not," Gwendolyn answered. "I'd greatly appreciate the ride."

"Would you like me tah join you, dear?" Vivianne Hawthorne asked tentatively. "Or maybe I should go instead if you're not feelin' well enough."

"No thanks, Vivianne," Gwendolyn replied wearily. "He's my son. I will handle it."

Matt's father and Gerallt's mother drove off, leaving a worried Vivianne Hawthorne on the porch as threatening gray clouds rolled down from the north. After a final glance at the gathering storm, she returned inside, locked the door, and sat down in her darkened parlor to wait.

The boys were still sitting in the chairs outside the principal's office when their parents arrived.

Gwendolyn rushed up to her son and sat down in a chair next to him. "Gerallt, what's going on?" she whispered angrily, leaning over so that only Gerallt could hear. "Mr. Mitchell told me you were in a fight." Meanwhile, Sam walked up and asked Matt the same question. Before either boy could answer, the door to the principal's office opened, and Mr. Tanner stepped outside.

"Please follow me, Mrs. Hawthorne and Mr. Mitchell," the principal requested. "I've asked Mrs. McKinney, the English teacher, and Mr. Armstrong, the gym teacher, to join us in the conference room. Boys, wait here. I'll send for you shortly once we've had a chance to talk with your parents."

Gerallt and Matt were left to stew in their own juices while Mr. Tanner led their parents into the school's conference room. Gwendolyn and Sam sat down at the large table opposite the principal. The English and gym teachers soon joined them and took the seats on either side of Mr. Tanner. It made Gwendolyn and Sam feel like defendants awaiting judgment before a tribunal.

After brief introductions, Mr. Tanner said, "I want to thank you for coming on such short notice, Mrs. Hawthorne and Mr. Mitchell. Ordinarily, I'd just have one of the secretaries set up a conference in a day or two. The potential seriousness of today's events, however, made me feel it was important to talk with you before deciding what to do about your boys." He glanced at the English teacher at his left. "Mrs. McKinney, would you please tell them what happened in your class this afternoon?"

"Your sons have English with me right after lunch. It was near the end of class, and Gerallt and Matt had already turned in their assignment for the day. I was speaking with another student when I heard someone fall to the floor. I looked up to see Dylan lying on the ground in front of your boys' desks, holding his leg and crying out in pain. Originally, I thought that he'd accidentally tripped, but he immediately accused Gerallt of tripping him as he passed between your boys. More importantly, Dylan also accused Gerallt of deliberately hurting him because he had not been able to pay Gerallt the money he demanded."

"But Mrs. McKinney, my son would nevah do such a thing," Gwendolyn exclaimed. "I can't believe it."

"Yes, I understand," Mrs. McKinney continued. "Parents often have a hard time believing what their children are capable of. However, Dylan's accusation was substantiated by two other boys in my class. They saw Gerallt trip and push Dylan, and they complained that Gerallt has also been forcing them to give him their lunch money. They said Gerallt had threatened to put a spell on them if they didn't pay him."

"Oh, no!" Gwendolyn gasped, the color draining from her face.

"Yes," Mrs. McKinney said. "Naturally, I sent your son here to the office while I escorted Dylan to the nurse's station."

"Mrs. Hawthorne," Mr. Tanner said, "perhaps now you realize the seriousness of the situation. Gerallt is no longer in middle school. He's growing up, and his actions can have the most serious of consequences. Assault, extortion, and possible experimentation in the occult are matters that I could potentially turn over to the local police."

Stunned, Gwendolyn sat there as if turned to stone. Finally, with great effort, she asked, "Surely, isn't there some other solution? He's nevah done anythin' like this before."

"Well, that's why we're here," Mr. Tanner replied. "While we cannot allow Gerallt to continue extorting money or to injure other students, we also want to do what's best for him." Mr. Tanner turned to the teacher to his right. "Now Mr. Armstrong, let's hear what happened in gym class."

"Class had just started, and Matt had not joined us out on the gym floor. I heard a boy in the locker room yelling for Matt to get off Dylan. I ran back to the locker room and found Dylan lying on the ground with a b****y nose. Another boy was holding Matt's arms behind his back so that he couldn't continue hitting Dylan. According to Dylan, Matt was waiting for him when he got back from the nurse's office and started to beat him up for telling on Gerallt. Two of their classmates said they heard the noise and went back into the locker room. When they saw Matt sitting on top of Dylan hitting him, one of them grabbed Matt from behind and held him until I arrived. I sent Matt here to the office and escorted Dylan back to the nurse's station."

Never having had any serious problems with Matt, Sam was finding it hard to grasp what he was being told. "Are you sure it wasn't just a typical kids' fight?" he asked hopefully.

"Mr. Mitchell, it was hardly a fair fight," Mr. Armstrong replied. "While Matt isn't huge, Dylan is one of the smallest students in the school and had just been injured. And we usually don't have to drag one student off of another."

"So now you know what happened," Mr. Tanner continued. "The question is why. The teachers and I have been concerned about both of your boys, even before today. Except for each other, they are loners who don't seem to have any other friends. Then there's also the matter of their clothes."

"Clothes?" Gwendolyn asked, her brows knitted in confusion. "I don't understand."

Mr. Tanner briefly glanced at Gwendolyn's plain black dress before continuing. "We don't have a dress code here at Hawthorne High. Nevertheless, it is worrisome that in the last few weeks, Matt has begun to imitate Gerallt by dressing totally in black. Their antisocial, Gothic, and now violent behavior may be symptomatic of serious depression or worse. Have your sons ever mentioned hurting others, or possibly themselves?"

"No, never!" Sam blurted. Gwendolyn could only shake her head.

"I note that you are both single parents who have recently moved into town from out of state. I'm sorry if this next question stirs up painful memories, but how well have your sons handled being separated from your former spouses? Divorce can be very hard on any child, and it can sometimes be even worse on a teenager who is struggling with making the difficult transition to adulthood."

"My wife died last June in an automobile accident," Sam whispered, clearly remembering the terrible moment when the doctor had turned off her ventilator, and her breathing stopped.

"And my husband passed away last May. There was a fiah..." Gwendolyn added in a dull monotone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize," the principal stammered. "Then maybe that is where we should look for the underlying cause of your sons' behaviors. Perhaps they see themselves as kindred spirits. Death can be traumatic, especially to a child, and it can lead to antisocial behavior, depression, d**g use, and even violence. It might also explain your sons' interest in witchcraft and the occult."

Gwendolyn visibly flinched at Mr. Tanner's final words.

"And how are things at home with the boys?" the principal continued. "Have you noticed any change in their routines? Are they becoming withdrawn from the family, spending all their time together rather than with you and their other siblings?"

"I guess," Sam replied, realizing just how much time he'd been spending in the office, working in the evenings and on weekends. He realized he didn't know what Matt was doing other than having Gerallt over and working weekends at the Hawthorne House. "I'm not really sure."

Gwendolyn had been spending so much time sitting alone in her room that she had even less idea what her son had been up to. She dropped her head as her anger quickly turned into darkness and despair.

"I want you both to understand we take violence and theft very seriously here at Hawthorne High. If they were seniors rather than freshmen, we'd expel them and might even involve the police."

Gwendolyn gasped.

"However, this is their first serious offense. If the two of you can commit to working with us to make sure that this doesn't happen again, I think we can let the boys off with a one-week in-school suspension and a stern warning. During that time, we are going to keep them separated and keep a close eye on them here at school. Can I count on you giving the boys sufficient restrictions to get their attention? If we all work together, I think we can get them back on track to becoming good students and citizens. Does everyone agree?"

Gwendolyn and Sam nodded solemnly. Swept up by the swirling tide of events, they felt as though they had no choice but to agree.

"Well, it's settled then. I'll go and ask the boys to come in. Once I've told them what their punishment will be here at school, then you can take them home where I'm sure you have much to discuss. The day's almost over, and I'd prefer they didn't ride the bus home together today."

With that, he rose, left the room, and swiftly returned with Matt and Gerallt. The boys sat down next to their parents and looked anxiously across at the principal and their teachers.

"Well, boys, Mrs. McKinney, Mr. Armstrong, and I have discussed today's events with your parents, and we've all come to an agreement. Despite the seriousness of what you've done, I've decided this time not to expel you because this is your first major violation of school rules. However, if there are any more occurrences of extorting money or attacking your classmates, do not doubt that you will be expelled."

Mr. Tanner paused briefly for the full weight of what he had said to sink in. "I have decided to give you a one-week in-school suspension. Instead of going to your regular classes, you will be doing your assignments under the watchful eye of Mr. Armstrong. He will be reporting directly to me on your behavior. You will not sit together, and you will not talk to each other until your suspension is over. Is that understood?"

Both boys hung their heads and nodded.

"When I ask you a question, I expect to hear an answer, gentlemen," the principal said. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Tanner," both boys replied.

"As the day is almost over, I am permitting your parents to take you home. I'm sure that they will also have something to say to you when you arrive."