Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2004 03:17:26 +0100 From: Joey Tailor Subject: John Hamilton School 1 The John Hamilton School is a wonderful school and my place of work Characters (introduced in this chapter) Main 32 - Sean Worthington Boy 07 - Cole Searing Teacher 48 - Mr. Edwards The John Hamilton School is a wonderful school and my place of work. Situated in a remote area, we cater to the children from two very different walks of life. Firstly we educate gifted children that are mainly of lower income families on academic or private scholarships. This group accommodates nearly 60% of the seats in our school. Following that, 35% of the children are from military families. Of that 35%, only a small fraction are from the local base. Our school has a contract with the military offering full room, board and education. We can arrange virtually any duration from two days to graduation. John Hamilton School is able to handle well over 200 such students. Most of the military children are from high ranking personnel on active duty. Recently we have received children of some enlisted personnel and those called to serve in the Gulf. The remaining student body are our beloved locals, counting less than 20 boys and girls. As I mentioned, we are a very small community in an extremely remote area. Our capacity of 300+ beds has yet to be met. Due to contractual rights the military bought. Paid for services not yet rendered, now that's business. My name is Sean Worthington. I am the Finance and Contract Manager for the John Hamilton School. In short, I look after all the moneys either received, due or owed by our facility. This also includes contracts, scholarships, transfers and deeds. I am both an accountant and a lawyer. No, not the type that goes to court and battles to the death. Just a paper pushing lawyer, but a darn good one I might add. I took this job based on many grounds. The remuneration is above average, located amongst the most inspiring scenery in the world. Not to mention some personal reasoning that might become more evident later. In reality, it was a close and dear friend that sent my resume to the school. Days after the Headmaster contacted me I had arrived and started to settle into my new surroundings. That was almost two years ago. I am still very happy with my position and give my dedication to the job with every breath. I have a great knowledge of how to control finances and let money work to make money. John Hamilton School has enough resources to continue for many years without a single student setting foot on the grounds. This allows us to give an outstanding quality of education to our young scholars. At the same time paying the staff what they are truly worth rather than the substandard income of an inner city teacher. In return, we have some of the best and most dedicated staff. Our teachers educate elementary, middle and high school classes. Our above standard education covers grades 1 to 12. Situated on very large grounds with over 50 acres, 22 buildings and many recreational facilities, John Hamilton School is the perfect choice. I had been going over some of the transfer papers received in reference to a new group of students. It is part of my duties to ensure all transfers are properly documented. Although the children's transcripts come to me first, I rarely read them. I am not exceedingly interested in the scholastic abilities or previous history of the children. Not that I am cold, more to the point, I think they all deserve the same quality of education regardless of past circumstances. John Hamilton school has been a second chance for some. On this occasion that I am writing about, the birth date did not match on the only two documents in the files that required this data. One was 05/06 and the other was 06/05. I didn't think it a big deal, a simple transverse typo. Month and day are a frequent problem when being transcribed between two countries. The easiest means to correct this conundrum? Ask the student. Cross referencing the child's name on our database, I found Mr. Edwards to be the assigned teacher. He is a nice, gentle person. Now in his late 40's, Mr. Edwards has been teaching 2nd grade at the John Hamilton School for longer than any other teacher. Only the janitor has a longer employment history here. Just as I was clearing up from a culinary delight in the teachers lounge, Mr. Edwards entered the room and made his way to the grand buffet of offerings. As I approached Mr. Edwards, he called out to me, "Sean, wont you join me?" "I see we have a wonderful seafood spread." I thanked him for the kind offer and asked if he instead had a few minutes to spare me. Sat in a window seat with a picturesque view, I showed him the file and explained about the different birth dates. Mr. Edwards confessed he did not know the answer but offered to send the child to my office during second recess. I expressed my thanks for both his time and assistance. Most of the staff here at John Hamilton have come to learn my need to ensure documentation is in order. Yes, we all have our little quirks and fetishes. Seconds after the 2:45 bell sang out, came a soft knock at my office door. I called out "Come in," the handle twisted and the door slowly opened. I thought to myself, gees its opening so slow, almost like a horror movie. I had been deep in concentration on school related matters. When the door reached halfway, a black hair clean complexion 7 year old boy walked into the room and stood directly in front of my desk. The little boy dressed in his school outfit looked very nervous as he peered straight at me. I asked "...and you are?". My eyebrows raising in a suspecting manor. "Cole, Cole Searing that is sir." "Mr. Edwards said you sent for me." My mind recalled the purpose of this meeting. "Ahh yes, that's right." "I have a little problem with one of your files." "Did Mr. Edwards explain why?" I questioned the child as I closed one set of files, locating that of young Cole's' laying it open face on the desk. "No Sir, he didn't but I think I know what you want. Does my teacher know everything, please I don't want anyone else to know what happened. I said I was sorry." The now somewhat upset lad was in an obvious state of despair. Not understanding a thing the boy was muttering about, I moved to the side of the boy attempting to reassure him he was not in any kind of trouble. I sat in one of the two hard back leather chairs and gestured for young Cole to come toward me. The boy gazed to his feet taking the two forward steps. Cole almost jumped into my arms tears already in his eyes. There I was with a 7 year old boy cuddling into me sobbing his sorrows away. For almost five minutes I was caressing the lad. My mind started to wonder as I felt an emptiness growing deep inside my soul. I have never married and as far as I know have no children. This boy had just placed a yearning in my heart for the love of a child, one not unlike Cole. When the boy sobs relented and his labored breathing eased, I spoke gently in his ear, "Cole, I need to ask you a question, is it ok with you if we talk a little?" With a deep inhale, this tender hearted boy spoke in a voice so soft you could hardly imagine. "You want to know about sex?" His words although gentle toned brought a chuckle to my voice, "No, I already had that chat with my father years ago." I honestly thought the boy was joking with his comment about a sex talk. "You had sex with your dad?" Cole gasped air to his lungs his head twisted upward to look me in the eye with that quizzical look that only a child can empower. "NO, Cole no, I umm... I just wanted to ask your birth date, I need to correct some of your records. "I stumbled my words in disbelief this small child could suggest such a thing. "OH.", The boy's young voice had a scorching tone of fear. "Ah ah ah June 5th "he near shouted to me as jumped to his feet, legs flailing trying with all his might to get him out of sight. Cole crashed his way out of my office, the large wooden door slamming behind him.