The Taming Read Free

lunch, and thanks, man.”
    “No problem. Thanks for the car. With any luck I should be back from my joyride by lunch,” he said.
    He was looking for my reaction. I wasn’t going to give him one—well, at least not the one he expected.
    “Like I said, as long as you don’t screw around with the sound system, that works for me. See you later.”
    I caught a glimpse of his expression—surprise, maybe even a little bit of shock—before I turned and headed in the direction of the office.

     
    I got up from the seat against the wall and walked over to the counter.
    “Excuse me,” I called out to the secretary, “isn’t the headmaster free yet?”
    “Headmaster?” She looked as though I’d said something amusing. “Do you mean the principal ?”
    “Yes, yes, the principal. I’ve been waiting almost an hour.”
    “He’s very busy and—” She stopped as the door with “Principal” on it opened, and we both turned. Two students—younger than me—came out, followed by a man who I assumed was the head … the principal. None of them looked too happy.
    “I think he might be free now,” she said. “Mr. Waldman!” she called out. “Your eight-thirty appointment is here.”
    “Show him in.” He retreated back into his office.
    I walked around the edge of the counter and pushed open a little swinging door. I stopped at the threshold of the principal’s office. He sat there behind his desk, partially hidden by a pile of folders, head down, working. I knocked on the door frame.
    He looked up. “Come in … please.”
    “Hello, my name is Evan Campbell.” I reached out my hand. “I’m pleased to meet you, sir.”
    He looked as surprised as Danny had, but reacted more quickly. He stood partway up and we shook hands. His grip was weak—my father said that you could tell a lot about a man from the way he shook hands. Weak grip, weak person.
    “I’m glad to meet you, as well. I always try to get to know all the students in the school.”
    “How many students are in this school, sir?”
    “Fifteen … no, closer to sixteen hundred.”
    I was pretty sure that if he didn’t even know the number of students he definitely didn’t know the individual students. Again, that worked well for me. It would be easier to disappear into the masses, and my plan was to blend in, cause no problems, graduate and get back to my life the way it was supposed to go. In nine months this school would be nothing more than an unpleasant memory.
    “Actually, come to think of it, enrolment is up this year so I guess we’re creeping closer to seventeen hundred students,” the principal said.
    “My last school only had two hundred students, with an average class size of ten.”
    “Not something that will ever happen here.” I guessed that was pointing out the obvious. Now he was frowning. “When this appointment was made I assumed your parents would come in with you.”
    “My father is somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. He’s on a business trip to Japan, sir.”
    “There’s no need to call me sir,” he said.
    “My parents always insist that I show respect to adults, sir, but especially to those who are my teachers.”
    “Well, good manners are always appreciated, I’m sure … And your mother?”
    “My mother has a board meeting today. She’s very active with charitable causes. Today is East General Hospital, I believe. My mother was here when I registered last week, sir,” I replied. “I just thought that it would be appropriate to meet with you today, to introduce myself to my principal.”
    That was a lie. My father thought it was what I was supposed to do—introduce myself to the headmaster. I assumed his assistant had made this appointment, since he wouldn’t have had time for that.
    “That was very considerate of you. It shows good manners … good breeding.”
    “Thank you,” I said. My father would have loved the “good breeding” comment.
    “I had my secretary flag your student record when