Chapter Eight: James Price

It is not entirely her fault. Nevaya simply does not understand, but she will someday, under my steady hand. Do not be mistaken. I am not some common child molester. Those monsters do not care about children; all they do is cause harm. I care about my students. I want the best for her. Obviously, I could not harm her or anyone else.

A lesser man would feel bitter, would try to get revenge against Nevaya for her folly. I will not do that. I will guide her so that she knows the right thing to do and will choose it willingly. I will, of course, have to teach her a lesson because she will never become a success in life if she thinks she can mistreat other people and get away with it. She must learn right and wrong. I will have to give a lot of thought to the best way to help her see the light. It must be a good lesson, one that will bring my student the greatest benefit. And when her eyes are opened, she will appreciate all I have done for her.

Nevaya is a beautiful young woman. The young men her age are not worthy of her. She needs someone who can appreciate her finer qualities and bring them to maturity. She can’t help but see that I am that man. I’m practically as young as she is, in the prime of my life. I’m still fresh. I know who Lil Wayne is. I’m almost in the same shape I was in college. There is no real generation gap between us at all.

When I was in high school, I got in a few fights. None of my teachers even tried to understand me. To them, I was just an out-of-control problem child. So I had to do something to prove to them that I was there, that I mattered. They kept sending me out of the room so they would not have to deal with me as a human being. They would just shrug their shoulders and say they tried all they could, oh, how they tried.

One bully in fifth grade, Charles, split my lip open. He just walked up to me and hit me. I had not said one word to him. But when I hit him back, I got suspended. Nobody at the school would listen to a word from me. That injustice will never happen to any of my kids. I will make sure that we listen to all of them. No matter how long it takes, we must listen to all their stories so we can know their needs. I have no doubt that Charles’ teachers had failed him, too.

I have scheduled a motivational speaker to reach out to all my kids soon. A former athlete, he grew up poor; his mom had to sell herself on the street. If I had had the chance to be one of her clients, I would have had to decline politely, because my kids come first. Maybe he can reach them where even I could not. Most principals would not care so much about the quality of the school assemblies, but I do. My kids need contact with people from the outside world. Assemblies must not be just a free period, a way to avoid keeping the focus on instruction.

Anyone can see that I am maintaining my high principles here. To do so, I am following a more creative path. I know how to think out of the box. Nevaya will be so much better off with me. If I had failed to care enough to intervene, she would end up with another drug dealing thug like Tyreek. Oh, yes, I know about her and Tyreek, because I care.

 (c) 2009 Michael Russell