Disciplinary Action/Disciplinary Office/First Week/Perl

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Perl, distracted in class

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A soft knock on your door made you look up from the papers you were reading.

“Come in,” you said, a bit surprised, it was your understanding that the secretary would buzz you before anyone came. The door opened and in came the secretary, Mrs. Varano, with a somewhat concerned expression, “is something wrong, Mrs. Varano?”

“I wanted to let you know that Miss. Accardi is her for you,” said the secretary, handing you a note from the teacher and a pretty big folder labeled Perl Accardi, “I just wanted to stress that Miss. Accardi’s fault was a minor one, so keep that in mind,” she added in her usual serious tone. You found that quite weird, this was the first time Ms. Varano questioned your methods.

“What do you mean?” you asked, a bit annoyed at her lack of confidence.

Her expression hardened and she spoke in a no-nonsense way, “I mean that I usually wouldn't care if you overstep your boundaries a little for most children,” she stated, and you suddenly didn’t feel that confident, considering that you had indeed gone a bit too far with some punishments already, “in fact I agree that troublemakers should be harshly punished,” she added, and then her voice lost a bit of its edge, “but Perl is one of the best students in our school,” she said, pointing to the dossier in your hands, “so I just want to make sure she doesn’t get any special treatment, Ok?” you just nodded, not wanting to anger the hand that feed you, “Good, I’ll send her in.”

You released the breath you’ve been holding. You were suddenly very aware that even though this job seemed like a dream come true, you better watch your steps, you were still a foreigner, and even if it appeared people accepted your proclivities, it didn’t mean they agree with them.

A moment later the door opened again and a young girl entered. She appeared to be about 13 or 14, but with the school uniform, it was hard to tell how developed she was. She wore a serious face under her glasses, and her dark hair flowed freely to the middle of her back. She didn’t seem particularly bothered to be in your office, but she stood quietly by the door, clearly awaiting instructions.

“Perl, right?” you asked, opening her file.

“Yes, Sir.” she politely answered, lowering her eyes for a moment. It wasn’t a display of fear or shame, but a conscious act to show respect. The girl knew exactly how to behave in front of an authority figure.

“Take a seat,” you asked her, indicating a chair in front of your desk. The girl nodded and moved quickly. You saw her eyes dart an instant to the low changing table, but unlike most other students, she neither stared nor asked any questions, “I’ll be with you in a minute, I just need to read this,” you said, focusing your attention on her file.

Perl was indeed a good student, you could even bet she was the best student the school had, judging by how many inter-school contests she had participated in and won for the school. She was also a cheerleader and apparently helped tutoring kids after school. No wonder Ms. Varano wanted to ensure you wound’t break such a valuable asset. Her notes alone probably brought good money to the school.

You didn’t waste time reading all her achievements, prizes and endorsement offerings, you close her file and take a look at the report that has brought her to you.

“Not paying attention in class?” you said out loud. It was a minor infraction, indeed, but you were curious why she of all students would do that.

“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir.” you didn’t expect an answer to your rhetorical question, much less such direct acceptance of guilt.

“Why weren’t you paying attention?” you asked, honestly curious at this point.

Mr. Williamson was reviewing last year’s linear equations,” she explained, and for once you could hear some feeling in her voice, “I know I should have paid more attention, Sir, but I thought I already understood it, so I tried to work on another subject. I’m really sorry, I know I was wrong… Sir, and I won’t do it again, Sir.” you were beginning to feel like a drill sergeant with so much Sir, but you couldn’t really ask her to stop.

That was a really small infraction, in fact, the guidelines said that teachers should handle that with a verbal warning, unless it showed no positive response; but from what you’ve seen so far, Perl would have responded just as expected. You weren’t sure if the teacher was just lazy, or if this was some kind of test for you. Either way, you didn’t like it.

“I’m glad you accept you did wrong, and I want to believe you won’t repeat it, but I’m afraid I still have to punish you,” you started, still wondering how far to take this.

“I understand, Sir,” she said, meekly lowering her eyes, “if I may ask, could you allow me to serve detention after I finish tutoring? I don’t want to leave my classmates hanging, Sir.” While her attitude was of complete submission, you suspected that the last line was an underhanded attempt at using her position to get off with no punishment.

“Don’t worry,” you replied, trying to hold back your smile, “starting this year detention is no longer a valid punishment, so you won’t miss your tutoring,” she raised her eyes, looking at you with honest curiosity for the first time, “in fact, your punishment will be…”

A light punishment
Something that lets you enjoy a bit more
Take it up a level