DEVIL'S CLAWS : CONVERSATION WITH ADMINISTRATION
Draft 02

Twenty excruciating minutes had passed since I got called into the principal's office.  Of course, he would have to decide to take his coffee break promptly after sending me a hall pass with a note saying he needed to talk to me.  IMPORTANT, the pass said in red inked block letters.  Not important enough for him to actually be there on time, obviously.  I passed the time examining his collection of awards and degrees.  It was like he had some kind of calligraphy-and-parchment fetish.  "Doctorates my ass," I muttered to myself.  "Probably got 'em from an infomercial."

Of course, he chose that moment to finally arrive.  If he heard my comment, he didn't show it.  "Aah, Nina, please have a seat."  The harsh flourescent lights made his bald head gleam like a waxed apple.  "Thanks for taking some time to come visit with me."

"Thanks for keeping me waiting for twenty minutes," I said cheerfully.  "It's not like I was doing anything important in class anyway."

"Aah, yes, that's exactly the problem I wanted to discuss with you."

"Problem?" I asked without inflection.

"Yes, problem.  As you can see," he said, gesturing to a chart on his computer monitor, "you've been absent seventeen days this past quarter.  After eleven, school policy states that you start losing credit."

"School policy also states that exceptions are made for family or medical emergencies."

His eyes darted nervously from me to his desk to his monitor then back to his desk.  "Well, yes, I'd say you've had your fair share of those..."

"So what's the problem?  All my absences are excused."  I emphasized the word "excused" by lifting my left hand off the armrest, showing off the bandages that covered my recent injuries.

"Yes, but we haven't gotten the correct forms signed by your parent or guardian yet.  Without those signatures, your absences will count as unexcused."

My eye twitched.  "Parent or guardian?  Don't you read the newspaper?"

"Er--"

"I turn 18 in a month," I said, barely resisting the urge to throw paperweights at his head, "so there's no point in becoming an emancipated minor.  For all intents and purposes, I'm my own guardian.  But if you're THAT desperate to get your stupid forms signed by an 'adult,' I have a cousin who lives in Kalispell you can send them to.  She's the only living relative I've got left, last I checked."

He swallowed hard, and his glasses started to slide off his nose.  "But how well are you doing in your classes?"  Nice subject change.  Talking about death must have made him nervous.  "It must be difficult to keep up with your homework when you miss entire weeks without prior notice."

I almost told him, demons don't GIVE prior notice, but I didn't want to bring supernatural shit into the conversation.  Bring up death was bad enough.  Instead, I replied, "If you check with my teachers, they'll all say I'm doing fine.  I do all my make-up work promptly."

"I find that hard to believe, considering your course load.  AP English?  Physics?  Spanish IV?  How exactly can you expect to do well in those classes when you're not attending them?"

I stared at him blandly.  "Textbooks.  And a little outside help from some very kind teachers who are more than willing to help me through my hard times."  It was a subtle insult, but I doubt he caught it.

"Well, you see, I was starting to get the impression that maybe high school was, that is, getting to be too much for you to handle.  What with you being in, er, law enforcement and all."  Sweat started to bead on his forehead.

"What exactly are you getting at?"

"There are...  safety concerns."

"My being absent constitutes a <i>safety concern</i>?" I asked incredulously.

He tugged at his tie.  I started to get the impression that he was afraid of me.  "Not exactly.  It's, um, you see..."

"Get to the <i>point</i>, if you don't mind.  I'm wasting precious class time sitting here listening to you babble."

"I'm not sure Helena High is the right place for you," he rapidly stammered.

I blinked, briefly stunned into silence.  "Wait.  Are you saying you want me to drop out?"

"Er--"

My hands unconsciously gripped the arm rests, and I heard the wood creak.  "Three months from graduation and you want me to <i>drop out</i>?"

"Well, it's...  you see, the administration has been talking, and--"

"That is BULLSHIT."  Whatever pretext of civility I had at the start of the conversation was long gone.  "You can't force me out of <i>public school</i> because of my <i>job</i>.  And the very fact that you'd try to... to <i>coerce</i> me into dropping out is pretty <i>damn</i> close to contributing to the dilenquency of a minor."

"You said yourself that you're not a minor anymore."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT."  I slammed my fist down on his desk.  One of his shiny plaques fell to the floor with a loud thunk.  "The point is you can NOT force me out of school."

"We could have you expelled."

I must have looked as homicidal as I felt, because he quickly scooted his chair back and raised his hands defensively.  I snarled through gritted teeth:  "No you can't."

He asked quietly, "What's stopping us?"

"Gimme a minute, I know there's a reason here.  OH YEAH."  I stabbed my index finger at the air for emphasis.  "It goes against my DUE PROCESS as a student.  I'm an investigator in my spare time," I added sarcastically.  "I know these things."

"How about a transfer?" he meekly asked.

"No.  I'm finshing out my last few months of high school <i>right here</i>, whether you like it or not.  Now if you don't <i>mind</i>," I stood quickly and glared down at his shiny bald spot, "I have classes to attend."  As I turned to leave, he made one last comment.

"I'm just looking out for the safety of the other students."

"The other students should feel <i>safer</i> with me here.  So should you."  I snatched my hallpass and stormed out of his office.