Coach Assistant

By: Tim
(© 2015-2017 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

tim@tickiestories.us

Chapter 71

David walked towards the hall and said he’d register all of us.  We tried to stay away from the journalists as much as possible.  When he came back, he wasn’t alone.  Jordan, Susan and a lot of others were there and we were congratulated by all. 

“So, do you want a spot in the first row, guys?” Susan asked. 

“No, I don’t think that would be a good idea … not with all the journalists around,” I replied 

“Yea … sorry about that but, after our statement this morning, we’ve had a lot of press attention,” Jordan said.  “We even got several requests for private interviews tomorrow.  I’m sure they’ll hunt you down as well.” 

“Is Steve around?”  I hadn’t seen him at the court house and I wanted to thank him for his efforts to support us. 

“Yea, he’s being interviewed by one of the journalists.  Steve wants to finish it off his series with a final article about what has happened here today, I think.” 

“Can you thank him for me, Jordan, and tell him we can meet up some time soon?  I don’t think there’ll be a lot of time to meet later.” 

“No, there won’t be, I’m sure.  But I’ll let him know.” 

“So, where are the others watching this?” 

“Well, we’ve got so many people here that we decided to put up the big screen in the gym,” Jordan said.  “Otherwise we’d have to put too many monitors in too many rooms.  But, as far as I know, this’ll work out fine.  It might be a bit crowded in there, though.  So if you want to watch it from somewhere else, I’m sure we can arrange that.” 

“No, the gym will be fine.  Good luck, Jordan.  See you later,” I smiled supportively as we walked away 

“You bet, Nick,” Jordan tossed back 

We moved towards the gym.  Dad and Susan went in first and a roar went up when they saw him.  I knew he was quite popular with most of the parents.  He was a good teacher, so the roar was a good sign and brought a smile to his face.  I saw parents loOK a bit concerned at first but, as we proceeded to some open seats, the room started to loudly chant “Nick! Nick! Nick!”  I’m sure they understood what the issues were tonight. 

Again, we were congratulated by a lot of people.  Most of the “day” teachers were sitting in one corner of the room and, although dad proceeded more to the front of the room, I turned Francis and David towards that side.  I saw that some of our friends who had no duties tonight were there as well. 

I saw Randy.  I’d missed him earlier at the court house.  “Hey!  We won!” I said. 

“Yea, I heard!  Sorry I wasn’t there but I couldn’t go and I wanted to avoid the press as much as I could.” 

“I understand … but we nailed them good.  I’m sure that I couldn’t have done it without your help, though.” 

“I’m not sure … your testimony was pretty convincing all by itself.” 

“Well, they might have bullied me … but they wouldn’t have given in that quickly …so it was good that you testified as you did.” 

“Thanks.  I heard you talked with David earlier today, Nick.” 

“Hmmm … yea, I’m a big fan of his.” 

“He was impressed with your knowledge of SF/fantasy writing and said he’d loved to talk with you later tonight at the party.” 

“Party???” Francis interrupted. 

“Yea!  Don’t you think there’ll be lots to celebrate tonight?  I got the impression that it is going to be an all-out victory tonight.  So we organized a party for later and, of course, you’re all invited to join in.” 

“Good!  That is, we’re going to have one later, too, and you’re all invited to join us for Thanksgiving if you want.” 

“Sounds like a plan, Nick! Randy said. 

I saw that Francis had moved towards Andy and Brad. 

“Can I join you down here, Randy?” 

“Yea, this spot is still free.  We’ve attracted quite a crowd.” 

“Yea … I think that most of the students are still here, and a lot of the parents have dropped in, too.” 

“Well, most of the parents are sitting in the hall,” I pointed out.  “But it seems that not everyone could be fitted into the auditorium.” 

“Oh, they’re starting.” 

We sat down and went silent as we saw on the big overhead screen that everyone was taking their places at the big table on the podium.  There was the director of education of the school and the eight teachers and eight parents who made up the committee.  Formal introductions and some announcements were made to inform the audience what the procedures for the evening would be.  An announcement was made that there would be at least one other subject that was on the agenda, but it was up to the executive committee of the board if this second item would be discussed or not.  The director of education didn’t mention what the second point was so that was rather strange, I thought. 

The discussion then was opened by a short resume of what had been going on that day.  Then a few teachers and students were invited to give their comments about the current situation.  Most of them were in favor of what the students had tried to achieve.  One or two were a bit more cautious and stated that they wanted to make sure conflicts like this would be prevented in future.  Some demanded a strict code of behavior for students and teachers alike. 

Then there was a round of statements by members of the parents’ association.  It was quite clear that the positions taken now were considerably less dogmatic than they had been in the past.  The teachers seemed especially more open to a compromise.  You could see that they’d felt parental pressure on them from the last meeting.  Some of the parents seemed to take a more moderate stand.

After 30 minutes of discussion … and a lot of boos when some of the more extreme members of the parents’ association maintained their positions … the director of education invited some members of the audience to comment on the discussion.  Again most of the participants didn’t at all understand the decisions taken earlier to suppress the school newspaper and strongly urged the administration to take a more approach to student protest. 

The director of education then closed that part of the discussion down.  One of the parents wanted to open the discussion again but the director of education prevented that. 

“I think we’ve heard most of the arguments now.  I think we’re just repeating ourselves, so I think it best to conclude this part of the agenda.  But before I do that, I want to ask Jordan as spOKesperson for the students to present their demands which would permit the school to go back to normal operations.  Jordan?” 

Jordan stepped to the microphone. 

“I know that most of you were surprised by the action taken by the students.  I must make sure you understand that this is not a protest by just a few students but one that is supported by almost 90 percent of the students going to this school.  I’m not going to go into the amount of support we’ve gotten today from other groups and from students all over the district.  Our demands haven’t changed and are still the same as we presented earlier this week when we started the occupation of the building.  To sum them up: we want the revocation of all decisions of the last parent-teacher association meeting.  Further, we want to make sure that repressive measures like those decided at the last meeting won’t happen again.  We’ve issued a list of student rights that can assure that.  I hope that the teacher-parent association, in all its wisdom, will listen to the voice of the students, even though the association thinks they know best.” 

“Thanks, Jordan,” the director of education said.  “We all have the list in front of us.” 

“I move that we vote on this immediately,” one of the teachers said.  “I don’t think we need more discussion at this point.” 

“Oh, we do.  It’s not that we’re just going to approve all they want,” one of the parents said. 

“I think we can proceed,” the director said.  “Otherwise I think we’re just going to go over familiar arguments.” 

“Oh, well … in that case, I propose we vote twice … once on the status of the decisions taken earlier and one on the proposals put forward by the students.” 

“I second that,” one of the teachers added. 

I was starting to see what they were trying to do.  The extremists knew that they’d lost, but they didn’t want to surrender.  The vote went as I expected.  The decisions of the last meeting were voided but they didn’t approve the new additions the students wanted.  I think perhaps four of the eight teachers and six of the eight parents voted against it.  I saw that the director was talking with the teacher and parent sitting beside him. 

“I adjourn this meeting for a short break of ten minutes.” 

Audience comment in the gym was quite loud.  Some were shouting that they’d continue the occupation and that the best thing to do was to toss the parents and teachers out now.  I could see that some of the parents were quite taken aback by what was happening.  I think a lot of them had no idea what the students had been thinking. 

We talked a bit about the situation.  The general feeling was that accepting the association’s compromise wasn’t good, bit it was better than nothing. 

After the break that lasted closer to 20 minutes, the director informed us that, just before the meeting, he’d received a petition for recall of the present members of the association signed by the required 15% of signatures of both parents and.  The people who’d signed the petition seemed to feel that new elections would be necessary if the association refused to listen to the students. 

There was a storm of protest from the current members of the association as they found that an unjust decision because they had another two years to go before elections would be held.  But the director pointed out the rules and regulations that governed the association.  It seemed that, under the bylaws, if 10% signed a recall request, it was valid and an election had to be held at the first possible opportunity … that is, tonight. 

He explained the election procedure and, to make the appropriate arrangements, the meeting was adjourned again. 

“Wow!  Now that’s a surprise!” Randy said. 

“I don’t think so,” Francis said.  He’d just joined us and heard Randy’s remark.  “I think that they must have been working on that all afternoon.  I think that is the reason why so many parents turned up.  They knew there’d be an election.  Let’s see what the others are saying about the prospect of an election.”  

We walked towards the hall like most of the students, parents and teachers were doing.  It toOK us some time to get there. 

“Let’s go to room 101.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Jordan and the team were there.  They used that as an office all day,” Francis pointed out. 

He was right as most of the protest leaders were there. 

“So, what do you make of this, Jordan?” Alexei asked. 

“I think this is exactly what we need to get what we wanted.” 

“Oh, I think so, as the parents in the gym know exactly how the students feel.” 

“You knew something like this was going on?”  I asked him. 

“Not exactly.  I’d been told that some of the parents had called a meeting as soon as tonight’s meeting had been announced.  I think Andrew and Peter’s parents had a lot to do with it.  I think that, on the teachers’ side, the fellow we toOK around the school this morning managed to get them on his side or at least most of them.  I don’t think we have to be afraid of the teachers’ position so, if we get enough parents over to our side, I think we should be safe.  I don’t think all of the current parents will be replaced.” 

“Well, at this point, you never know what’ll happen.” 

“How long do you think this will take?” 

“The director hopes the voting won’t take more than an hour and then the counting should be done quickly, too.  He wants to do the count in public, so all can see what is happening.  He said he wanted to make sure that there’d be no objections to the final result.” 

“I’ve got the idea that he’s very happy with this outcome.  I understand that, secretly, he wants to get rid of some of the more rigid association members.” 

“Oh, I’m sure you’re right about that.  He told me this afternoon that he was very impressed with what we’d accomplished today.  Of course he understood what we wanted, but he had no choice but to do what the association had told him.  He wanted a large turnout tonight, in the hope that he’d be dealing with a more moderate association.” 

“Well, an hour … that gives us some time to think about what will happen after this is over.” 

“Yea.  Can you come to room 201 in about 15 minutes, Nick, and you too, Francis.  There is something Steve and I want to discuss with you.  Peter and Andrew might be there, too.” 

“OK.  Let’s see if we can get some drinks and we’ll make our way there.” 

On the way to get a drink, we managed to see my dad and congratulate him on how things were going.  He said he was happy that things were coming to a conclusion.  He just wasn’t sure things would help him, but he just had to wait and see.  He told us he has some great news for later on as well.  He wanted us to drop by our house before the party.  He wondered if we could bring Alexei with us, too. 

So, all in all, it went OK.  We were stopped several times again, sometimes by journalists who wanted an interview with us … but we told them that we might do something on the Saturday morning. 

When we arrived in room 201, Steve, Jordan, Andrew and Peter were there already.  I walked towards Steve.  “Thanks for everything, Steve.  I’m happy we’ll soon be back to normal again.” 

“Yea, that’s a big relief for me, too, although I might have ended up with a permanent job as a result of my writing … but it’s better to complete my education first.” 

“I know that all this might not have happened if you hadn’t done the story on me, but I think if we loOK back now, it’s done our community a lot of good.” 

“Well, if I can achieve as much with all my future articles as I did with this one, I’ll be a very, very lucky journalist, Nick.”

“So, what is this meeting about, guys?” 

Peter answered that one.  “We … well, Steve and Jordan mostly but some others too … have been getting a lot of requests for interviews from TV and newspapers.  So far, we’ve been able to put them off but, this afternoon, we realized that what we did here today might have some good influence on student awareness all over the country.  We got a lot of positive feedback from students and it seems that our programs were a general success from an educational point of view.  So if we want this to have a wider influence, we need all the publicity we can get.  We think that bringing attention to student rights is a good idea.  We don’t want a small group of religious people to control what we do and how we think.” 

“It sounds like an opportunity we need to grasp,” Francis said. 

“But we didn’t want to do it without you guys.  You’ve been too important in all of this.” 

“I don’t know, Jordan.  We might have been the genesis of this but you guys, Steve and the rest of the team, put it together.  I think it’d be better if some of you toOK it forward.  I don’t want to discuss what happened to me any more.  I’ve had enough of that in court.  So I say, go ahead.  I agree … it’s too good an opportunity to pass up but it might be better if you do it without us.” 

“He might be right there, Jordan,” Steve said as he though it over. 

“So you’re OK if Steve and Jordan do the talking about this issue?” 

“Yea … I can trust you guys.  Just make sure you focus on the appropriate issue and the quality of the professional teaching experience.” 

Peter loOKed around and toOK some paper off one of the tables.  “OK, then there’s just one decision left.  I’d say we go for just two of the requests and leave the rest.  We can prepare a short statement and release that after tonight’s meeting so we can be ready tomorrow morning … but I think the best way to approach is, an interview for a TV station tomorrow and an interview for a regional newspaper that is put out on Sunday or Monday.” 

“Yea, that loOKs good to us …we don’t want to spend the whole weekend on it, that’s for sure,” Jordan answered. 

“You OK with that, too, Steve?” Peter asked. 

“Yea, do you think it’ll be regional television or a national program?” 

“I don’t know yet, Steve … we seem to have a lot of media attention … and that might increase after the outcome of tonight’s meeting.” 

“OK … you’re handling this fine … so just let us know who’s the one we’re going to support in our campaign as I’d guess that this is only the start of it all.” 

“OK.  Is that all, then?”  Peter asked.  “It is almost time to go back to the meeting.” 

“Yea.  You know what?  You’re good at this, Peter.  Do you think you could come by our house tomorrow morning?  We (my dad and the two of us) have been thinking about what to say to the media, too.  They’re following us around and I think a short statement might help to end their harassment.” 

“That might be a good idea.  I wouldn’t wait too long … silence just intensifies their interest.  Maybe, if you want, Nick, I could do a last personal interview to bring it all to a conclusion.  You know you can trust me … and it might end all the harassment.” 

“Yea … well, let me sleep on this and we’ll get together tomorrow around … hmm … let’s say 11 or so … as I think it might be a late night.  Did you guys hear about the party as well?” 

“Yes, Nick, we did.  I think there’s actually several planned.  We thought for a moment to organize one down here but we weren’t sure if that would work out time wise … so I think there’ll be three or four big ones in several local pubs and bars.” 

“Good!  Well, let’s make it midday then … that would give us enough time to prepare something.  We want to get this out of the way,” Francis said. 

“So, as Steve suggested, we’d better go back and see how far the voting has gone.”

It seemed that the voting had just completed, so we returned to the gym to wait to see what the results were.  Most of the students and several of the guest teachers were still there, but quite a few parents had left.  I think they came especially for the vote.  I wondered how they knew who to vote for.  I hoped the old ones wouldn’t be returned to office again. 

But as the counting started, it became clear that there had been just a few more candidates to vote for and it was generally known that they represented the slate of people who wanted a change in policy.  So, when the ballots were counted, it became very clear that the previous members wouldn’t be re-elected.  Maybe one or two would keep their seats but that was it.  It had been very smart to keep the alternatives to a slate of people who opposed the current policies. 

After about 45 minutes the results were announced: only two teachers and four parents of the old association were returned to office but the others were new.  They were sworn in and they agreed to hold their first meeting immediately.  After a short discussion, there was a revote on the student proposal and, without any hesitation (well, two dissenting votes), it was passed. 

The director closed the meeting after announcing that normal classes would resume on Monday, but that there would be a general assembly at 4 p.m. that afternoon. 

There was just one thing to do after it was over and that was … party time.  We were invited over the course of the next 20 minutes to at least four parties.  We’ go to one … that would be enough after the day we’d had so far.  We found dad in the hall and, after some congratulations, we left to go home.  Susan, James and Alexei were there, too, together with Kathy and David. 

After we got past the journalists who somehow made the trip faster then we did, dad handed out glasses of champagne. 

“I know you all have parties you want to go to and I just want a moment.  I can’t thank enough the people who stood by us during the last few months and kept us going.  For you, Alexei, I know that you played an important role in getting today’s events organized, and I thank you for that.  To you, Kathy and David: I know you have more then enough trouble as it is already but I hope you know that we love you and we’ll be there for you just like you have supported us.  For you, Francis: thank you for being beside us in these rough times.  I know it wasn’t the easiest way to start a relationship but, from what I’ve seen of you, I think Nick has been very lucky to find you.   For you, Nick: I can only say thanks for being there for me, for having the strength to go through all of this.  You’ve amazed me with that strength.  Just know that we’re a family who’ll always be available to help whenever you need help.  For you, Susan, who I’ve become dependent upon faster then I could imagine possible: I was afraid you’d back off when the accusations started, but I found out quickly just how much spirit you have.  I can’t say how happy I am that, this morning, you agreed to become my wife.” 

He stopped after that word and I looked at him … at David … at the others … and then we both (David and me) flew towards him to congratulate him.  I saw James doing the same with Susan.  She was the next on our list.  Though we didn’t know her well, she seemed to be a very kind and sweet person … perhaps a little old fashioned … but a fine match for my dad.  More champagne was poured for the next 30 minutes or so.  How much better could a day get, I thought at that point. 

We told dad about the press statement and other interviews that were planned to move the professional teacher program into action as well as the equal rights issue.  He agreed that it was indeed a good idea to press forward.  It would take more time and convincing to get it done but, with the support of the board of education, who knows what might happen?  Alexei said he knew that more people from all kinds of professions would be interested in contributing a few days a year to a program like the one we were proposing. 

We then went to our rooms as we wanted to freshen up before leaving.  Alexei and James had gone with us as they would join us for the party.  David and Kathy were going somewhere else. 

“Hey, guys … you didn’t tell us where we’re going.” 

“The gay bar … we rented it … it’s going to be completely ours tonight.” 

“Hmm … ours … who is ours?” Francis asked. 

“Well … the gang … quite a number of the people who taught today and a number of students as well.” 

“Ah, well, we’d better get a move on then,” Francis said and started to undress in the room. 

“Hmm … I don’t know if this is a good idea, to do it right here in the room, guys,” Alexei said. 

“Oh … are you getting shy now, Alexei?” James giggled. 

“Yea … no reason for any of that,” Francis said.  “We’ve seen it before and, anyway, we’re going to be family soon.” 

Oh yea, I thought.  Now that was strange.  “You’re going to be my brother-in-law then, I guess, Alexei,” I said. 

We laughed and smiled as we realized that.  We were quite a bunch together. 

We changed clothes and, although a bit shy, I noticed we all checked each other out as it just seemed appropriate with so many good looking hunks around. 

We made it out of there without too many hardons, I suspect, and that was good. 

Alexei had been right: when we entered the gay bar, it was filled with people.  The identities of some students were a bit of a surprise for me but others really weren’t.  Some were there just to support us … others came out that night just to enjoy the friendly environment we’d created. 

I talked a lot with several people.  I had a good conversation with David Eddings who, to my surprise, was still around.  He had a book signing in a shop in town tomorrow before he went back home.  We swapped e-mail addresses so we could keep in touch. 

I had a good talk with both Andy and Brian who, although I hadn’t chatted with much before, I knew had been very good friends to Francis at a time when he needed to blow off steam. 

A number of people tried to get me to dance with them.  They’d been there before and had seen Francis and me dancing, I suppose … or they must have heard about how much we enjoyed dancing … but I wasn’t in the mood for it. 

I’d drunk some nice whisky and started to feel a lot more relaxed.  The stress of a great day was just starting to flow out of me.  Francis had been on and off the dance floor and was now standing beside me with a cola. 

“So, what time do you want me to be ready tomorrow and what do I wear?” 

“Oh, no, Nick!  I haven’t had anything to drink, so you can’t trick me that easily.  I won’t tell you anything, so stop trying to find out what we’re going to do tomorrow.” 

“I know you’ll tell me eventually … you can’t keep that from me forever.” 

“Oh, I will … don’t worry!” 

“Hmm … Alexei, as a future brother-in-law, you must tell me if you know where we’re going tomorrow.” 

“You have a date, then, Nick, with Francis?” he said with an innocent face. 

“Ahhh!  You do know!  Now, a new challenge!  If Francis won’t tell me, maybe you will.” 

“Stop it, Nick!  If you want to know, you can keep trying to find out from me … but keep the others out of it.” 

We talked a bit more and I thought I’d give it another try.  It was starting to become a bit of a contest now. 

“Shall we dance?” I asked Francis and gave him my best seductive smile. 

“Are you sure?  I don’t want you to faint or anything.” 

“No, I can handle it, don’t worry … just as long as you can.” 

I walked towards the dance floor.  I was going to get him where I wanted him.  I asked for three songs to be played and they said they’d be on in a few minutes. 

“So what did you ask for, Nick?” he asked. 

“You’ll see in a moment, Francis … just be patient.” 

I saw that he was thinking about it.  I drank my whiskey and when the DJ signaled me, I knew it was time.  “Come on … let’s go.” 

“OK, girls and guys … now a special three number request from one of the greatest dancers I’ve ever seen here.” 

Oh, damn!!!  He must have recognized us from the last time, I thought. 

At least the announcement gave us some space as, when we entered the floor, some stood back to watch us. 

“What do you have planned, Nick?” Francis whispered as we centered ourselves on the floor. 

“You’ll see, Francis … just try to keep up with me.” 

I’d asked for a fast mover to start with.  It was perfect to get him in a state of dance shock, I knew that.  The second was one I knew he loved.  The last one was a slow one just to come down and relax. 

There we go, I thought as I heard the first sounds coming out of the speaker. 

“Great choice,” he whispered and we started to move around.  Just like in the past, our minds and bodies worked perfectly to the music.  We immediately got into a simultaneous dance rhythm.  It must have looked as if we’d practiced this an awful lot of times.  The song continued faster and faster and, although our bodies were hardly touching each other, we copied each other moves without any problem.  It felt great.  I knew we should do this more often.  It felt like we were almost one.  I felt the end of the song coming close and started to prepare myself for the second.  Oh, yea … when I look back, I think I was stupid to do it … but I had had a bit to drink and my normal shyness was certainly gone. 

When the music died down for a moment, I looked around and saw a lot of people were watching us.  I smiled.  I saw Alexei saying something to James, who started to laugh.  I found a chair in the corner of my eye and got it.  I got back to Francis and, when the second song started, I took him in my arms.  He looked into my eyes and, as we continued to dance, I moved him slowly towards the chair.  As the music increased in intensity, I pushed him slowly onto it.  Again, his face questioned what I was doing, but I just smiled at him seductively and then slowly started to dance around the chair … moving my hips wildly, sometime close to his hands but always far enough so that he couldn’t touch me.

To be continued...