The Taming Read Free Page A

it arrived,” he went on. “The files came in yesterday.”
    Great. Just what I needed. I was here to leave that history behind and now it was following me.
    He fumbled around on his desk, shuffling papers and folders and files till he found my records and started reading. “You have certainly been in a lot of schools.”
    I could tell he was counting, his head down, finger running down the page. I could have saved him some time by telling him the number, but I didn’t.
    “Eleven,” he finally said.
    “My father’s career has necessitated a number of moves, sir.”
    “In a number of countries. Japan … Germany … and is this one in Luxembourg?”
    “We lived there for almost eighteen months. It was a very nice school.”
    “I imagine it would be. These are all private schools, are they not? But now … this school … this isn’t a private school.”
    I tried not to laugh. My little walk through the halls and my time spent waiting in the office had shown me just how not a private school this was.
    “Why did you register so suddenly, and now, almost two weeks into the school year?” he asked.
    Obviously that reason wasn’t included in my student record. I was pleased, relieved, but not really surprised. I didn’t suppose the headmaster, or the teachers involved, would have wanted to risk a lawsuit by going on record with why I was asked to leave my last school.
    I took a deep breath. I’d been rehearsing this line.
    “I feel badly talking about it,” I said. “This is difficult.” I looked down at my feet. I knew how to fake upset and shame. I could play almost any role. “My tuition was expensive … there were some problems … the recession … financial setbacks …”
    “I understand,” he said. “No need to say anything more.”
    Actually I hadn’t really said anything, so I hadn’t really lied. In truth, my father had more money than God, but it wasn’t like he’d be talking to my father. He wasn’t coming to this school any more than he’d come to any of my others. And I figured there wasn’t much chance of the two of them just running into each other … it wasn’t like this guy ran in the same social circles as my parents.
    “I think you’ll find some things are very different at our school,” Mr. Waldman said.
    “I’m sure there will be differences, but I’ve heard this is a very fine school,” I said.
    “Yes … yes, it is.” He didn’t sound very confident in that statement. Instead, he looked somewhat taken aback, surprised. Apparently, even he didn’t believe this was a fine school.
    “And really, sir,” I continued, “a school is only a building. It’s the staff of a school that makes it a good institution of learning.”
    “That is certainly correct,” he agreed, although he didn’t say it with any confidence or tell me how “wonderful” his staff was. “I just hope the curriculum here will be challenging enough. I’ve been led to believe that private schools often provide a more stringent curriculum than the public system.”
    “I’m not sure if they were more stringent, sir … perhaps just different. There are some areas where I might be more advanced, but others where I’m sure I’ll have to work especially hard to make up lost ground. Thank you for your time, sir.”
    He smiled and then stood up, and I did the same, getting to my feet quickly. He extended his hand and we shook again. This time his grip was much more firm. I turned, walked out and closed the door behind me. I didn’t need to think twice to know that I’d impressed him. Stupid people were easy to impress.

Chapter Four
     

     
    I flowed along with the crowd of people moving from their period one to period two classes. There wasn’t a lot of order. Actually, there was no order at all unless you counted size—big people moved littler people out of their way unless they moved first. Students rushed noisily, bumping along with no proper sense of decorum. If