Chapter 6

And, so, another month passes by for all before they really even realized it. They are all having so much fun, they are working hard, but having fun doing it, and everyone is beyond happy. All their newest students are now every bit as happy as all others had been, but that had already started very quickly, and Peter is incredibly happy with their test results that he keeps getting. They have now passed the bottom three schools in scores for reading comprehension, math, science, and general.

The school board head had come by this past week to not only congratulate all for this remarkable achievement, but to find out how such a switch had come about. Of course, Peter blamed Chance for it fully, and while Chance did blush, he just handed him his report that he had done on dyslexia and told him that he had just done a fuck tonne of research into dyslexia, and ways to help kids learn how to read.

By now he is no longer shocked by the language that comes out of the students mouths in this school. Any other school and they would have gotten in trouble, but, Peter had warned him long ago that bad language is not something that he punishes kids for, he instead helps them to say what they need to say, even if that means swearing to put a whore, a sailor, and a trucker to shame, at the same time. He did take the report, saying thanks, and by the end of the week he was back, wanting a meeting with Chance and Peter.

“I must say, Chance, that this is some dedicated and intensive research that you had to have done. I learned about a hundred times more about dyslexia reading your report, than I ever knew was out there. I spent hours going through all your sources, and while some are by teachers that have found methods that have worked well for them, most are from professionals from all over the world. I do haveta ask, though, exactly how many languages can you read, there are probably fifty links that weren't in English?”

“I can sorta understand four, five really, but trust me, most of that was thanks to the translate feature. The problem, though, is that not all words translate over properly, so there is some question as to what they were saying, but you probably realized this as you were reading, because I did note all points when I wasn't certain as to what they were saying, or, more importantly, meaning.”

“Impressive. You'd haveta have a pretty decent grasp on them to even get that much. Even with translator programs, they can't always translate correctly to get the whole point across.”

“Hence the reason I noted that.”

“Yes, which was great, but the fact that you were able to glean even that much information is phenomenal. I hope you don't mind, and I really should've asked prior to doing so, but I made copies of it and gave it to every learning assistance teacher in the district, as well as to every principal and vice principal. While we don't have an abnormally high amount of dyslexia, in that we don't have more than any other average school district, I still think that the numbers of kids that can't read fully or properly are still too high.

“You list dozens of techniques to get kids reading, but you very clearly state that not all will work with all people, nor that you would guarantee that any will work with all people either. Even still, from seeing your numbers so steadily increasing, leads me to believe that if this school, that had an absurdly high amount of dyslexia, can get their kids reading, when no one else has been able to, that we should be able to get every last one of our kids reading. No, maybe not to a hundred percent, but if we strive for that, and only get ninety five percent, then we're still better off than we were.”

“I did all that research mostly for my boyfriend Zayden, but if it helps others as well, then I'm even more glad that I did it all. I was able to find the reason that Zayden could hardly read at all, and now he's gone from D's, or less, to almost all A's, and in just a few months. He's gone from probably not being able to graduate, to being well on his way to graduating early. He still has lotsa work to do, but I did it all for him, and I'll happily do so more.”

“While it's admirable that you did it for just one student, your boyfriend in particular, it's truly spectacular that your research has already helped dozens of students. How many dyslexic kids did you have Peter?”

“With all the new kids you asked us to take on, we jumped from thirty two I think it was, to damn near seventy. I think fully half the kids you asked us to help had little to almost no reading skills.”

“And now, what would you say your illiteracy rate is, and what was it prior?”

“We probably started at about twenty percent fully illiterate, and now we're currently sitting at zero fully illiterate. Even the worst of our kids is now reading at roughly a grade four level, which, considering that only about three months ago he couldn't even read at all, that's truly amazing.”

“Chance, that's all you. You've done something that teachers like Peter and I've been trying to do for years. You probably already understand, or at least partially, how hard it must be for kids who can't read, something so simple that everyone else can do so easily, yet they either can't do, or struggle in doing even the most basic in reading. This causes far more hurt than most people realize. I'm willing to bet that a vast majority of the people on the streets are illiterate, most likely they too are dyslexic. Your techniques may go a long way in helping to prevent a considerable amount of people from ending up on the streets, turning to crime to make a living. I'm not saying now, nor ever, that that's the only reason, of course, but I do know that a good portion are.”

“Believe me Sir, I do know it. I met many of them, fucked or was fucked by many of them. They all felt so stupid because they couldn't read. I didn't want that for Zayden. I could tell that he was smart, he has a brightness about him that might even exceed mine, just in different ways, but he couldn't harness it because he couldn't even read the most basic of stuff. Had he've been in a regular school, he'd already be a thief, living on the streets, doing anything and everything he could to survive.”

“Most don't know it, but I too grew up in the gutter. I know all too well what it's like to sell my own ass to be able to eat. I'm not gay, but I knew that it was the men who'd pay, and they paid well. I had women too, don't get me wrong, in fact, I had probably more dirty, kinky women that wanted a nine year old than I ever did men, but they didn't pay near as well. Funny enough, but it was always the men who treated me nicest, they made me feel good, especially when I told them that I'm not really gay, that I'm only doing so to be able to afford food. Sure, I had a couple real mean ones, but the vast majority of those were women, but, over all, I actually did well.”

“I was offered lots to go with women, couldn't do it, just the thought of being with one made me so fucking soft it wasn't even funny. Glad you know where we're coming from though.”

“I never thought I'd get hard for men, but they almost always made me so hard it was amazing. When I was with women, it was an hour, tops, but men, sometimes they'd take me for the whole night, they'd feed me, clean me, kiss me all over, caress me, they'd make love to me. They'd suck me and rub me, they'd make me feel good, and only once I said I was ready, would they fill me up. Of course, I always demanded condoms. And yes, I did suck as well, but it was never what I really wanted.”

“I'm glad that they made it good for you, even though you weren't gay.”

“Overall, it was a good experience, I certainly learned a lot. Several of the men I had, I had several times, and they taught me a lot about how to prolong it, so that we both enjoyed it as much as possible, I think it actually made me better now.”

“That's really good then.”

“It was. So, I understand where most of you kids are coming from, I know many of the struggles that you all faced, and that's why I was so happy when Peter came to me with all the changes that he wanted to make, and what he wanted to do. Same with all the changes that you've recently made. A few heads turned when I agreed to it all, they said it was absurd, that we couldn't possibly afford that, but, like I told them, you guys are pretty self sufficient here, and really, how much more could it cost, versus how much help it'll give. So far, the help has been astounding. Your reading scores alone prove that I was right in doing this. Give kids a safe place to learn and call home, and they will do better.”

“I hope that maybe there's a few more school districts out there in the seedier areas that might just follow our lead. When I graduate and get experience, I plan to go find a school where I can do all this as well, and my boyfriend Zayden plans to come right along with me.”

“That's one of the reasons I'm here today as well. I have two other school board people who wanna come check out your school and interview you Peter to find out what all you've been doing, and how, and see if maybe they can make this work in their schools as well.”

“It's not just me, though, they'll haveta interview several of the staff and students to be able to get a good understanding, so, if they come, tell them to do so at the same time, and expect to spend pretty much the entire day here.”

“Agreed, fully. While this is certainly all your vision, there's zero chance you could've done it alone. I'll make the arrangements. We'll do it on a Saturday, so that it doesn't interrupt classes or anything.”

“Whatever day really doesn't matter all that much, as you well know, classes may be canceled at any time for any reason, it's not like most of our kids can fall behind, and we've always encouraged them to work at their own pace, and that only not trying will get you poor marks.”

“True, I suppose.”

“Now, we have a question for you. Several of the kids in the mechanics class have designed and built a couple wind power generators just for fun. Technically speaking, I know we need permission to install them, so, can we get that, and if yes, any chance that you'd send an electrician out to hook it all up for us?”

“How the hell'd they build that?”

“Outta scrap parts. They built a small prototype, and installed it up on the roof, and it charges a battery, that then runs a pump, that pulls water to the roof, so that we're using as much collected water for our gardens as possible, just because it's way better for, and much more natural for our plants.” He grinned.

“You have a garden on your roof, since when?” He laughed.

“Little while now.”

“May I see it?”

“Certainly, we'd be happy to show you.”

They headed out, and when they got to the open gate leading to the stairs that goes up to the roof, he eyed that, saw the sign, and shrugged.

“Holy shit Peter, two greenhouses and however many planters up here, no wonder why your produce bill went down.”

“Only one greenhouse, the other one's a solar kiln for drying wood. They're different.”

“Oh. Good use of space though. I see the power generator, it looks good. How many do they have, and how many are you planning on putting up?”

“They have two built, but were thinking of doing another two once parts become available, so that we can essentially have one on each corner of the building. It gets good and windy up here most days, so it'll work quite well we figure.”

“Hell yeah, why not. We've been looking at ways to make our schools more green anyway. I haveta pick four schools to get energy audits and upgrades, it's being done for free, so, I think I might just pick this school, since it gets used twenty four seven, it might make the most sense to get this one done first.”

“That'd be great Sir. If you can cut our light and heat bills down, and we can create some of our own power, then it'll all do so much.”

“Exactly. And considering this is one of the only schools within the city that actually gets real sunlight, since it's taller than most, they might even put solar power collectors up for us.”

“That'd be cool. So, like I said, we have two built already, they already have the masts made, and we can install them pretty much any time. If you arrange the Electrician to come in pretty much any time, that'd be great.”

“I'll get it arranged to happen some time this week then.”

“Thanks.”

“No, thank you once again.”

They chatted for a while longer, but soon enough he was gone, and then Peter and Chance went about their previously scheduled days. Peter gave the kids in the mechanical department the go ahead to install their wind generators, and that an electrician would come and wire them up soon, and they were excited to do so, so pretty much as soon as they were able to, that very same day, they got them installed.

Two days later, the electrician was there to wire them up. He had been instructed to inspect the generator units, to ensure that they were not going to be a fire hazard, Peter and all the kids understood why he would request this, and the electrician gave it a clean bill of health, and told the kids that they had done a spectacular job on it, every bit as good as he himself would have done. He got them wired up right away, and left shortly after testing it all, and because there was already a breeze, the turbines were already spinning and creating power.

Almost a week after the school board head had been there, two men from two other school districts in rough cities came by for the day to visit and learn. Peter and Chance pretty much took them on a tour of the entire facilities, allowed them to stand in on several classes, they all had lunch together, and so far they have asked very few questions. After classes were all done, they did interview pretty near all the teachers, and at least a couple dozen students, though Peter would not allow them to do so alone, he made it very clear that he must be present for all interviews. Near the end of the day, the four of them are sitting in Peters office.

“Well Peter, I must say, you have an interesting school here.” The one man said.

“I couldn't have said it better myself.” The other said.

“I hope that that's a good interesting, and not a bad one.” Peter laughed.

“Definitely not bad.”

“Good. As you clearly saw, this place only works because we all want it to work. A school like this must have compassionate and understanding teachers and helpers, the fact that I chose almost all ex street kids wasn't by accident. They know and understand where the kids are coming from, we all grew up in the same gutters, we're all just shit in the eyes of the rich folk. Every last one of my students has horrific pasts, but so do my teachers and I. Not one of us was what you'd call normal. Even Chance here, he damn near killed two kids in rage, was kicked out of pretty near every school there is, was offered here or jail, and sold himself to any man, or gave himself usually, he didn't care about the money. Then there were all the addictions that we hadta deal with, too many kids were addicted to all sorts of shit. So many of my kids are like that it's not even funny.”

“That's horrible.”

“You only think that because you didn't grow up in a gutter Sir, I assure you, down at our level, that's perfectly normal and acceptable. I used sex to get what I needed, mostly I craved some form of love, and I thought that that's what I needed to do to get it, hence the reason I didn't usually charge for the privilege. You see, down here, rules don't apply, you do what you haveta do, you do what you wanna do, rules be damned. Peter teaches us all love of self, he gives us a reason to live. And yes, I threw myself at him, offered him my ass any time he wanted it, but, sadly, he refused. Said he's refused virtually every other boy who came through here too, and that he'll haveta refuse hundreds more.”

Well, both men are fully blushing now.

“Chance tells the truth. Even I sold myself to anyone who'd pay, it didn't matter, not once did anyone ever ask a question, hell, the cops almost never come down here unless they have no other choice, and yes, I had cops too. You see, the slums aren't for the weak of heart, yet, every one of these kids deserves love and understanding. Most of them are different, you'd call them.

“Sometimes up to as much as half my kids were kicked out by their rich parents because they were different, and so they turned to the streets, and to the street life. The other half, they grew up down here, it's all they know. As you may have read already from the reports my boss likely gave to you, more than half my students couldn't even read when they came to me, and the rest of their schoolwork was laughable at best. I make them promise that they'll do their best, and I promise to do my best to help them, to understand them, to love them for who they are, no matter what they've done.

“And yes, I do have several kids here who have in fact killed. I've had the meanest of the mean, and I tamed damn near all of them, and the very few that I couldn't, I still feel guilty, thinking I should've tried harder, but, even I know that if someone is rotten right to the core, that there's little I can do, yet I still try. Chance, once more, was a rotten little fuckup, and now look at him, he's already started his university courses, he's brilliant, he just needed a guiding hand.”

“You talk about your kids like that?”

“Hell yeah, right to their faces, but I'm not telling them anything that they don't already know.”

“I was, plain and simple. I never started a fight, but I sure as fuck ended them. I was mean, and Peter's right, I was a rotten little fuckup, but, not any more.”

“Oh. That sorta language isn't allowed in our schools, by neither staff nor students.”

“In a school like this, those rules can't apply.” Peter said. “And when and if you open ones of your own, you're gonna haveta tell them to allow their kids to express themselves in whatever way possible. Remember, most of these kids have been called way worse by people that should've never offered them anything but love.”

“Fair enough. So, what about teachers, we can't ask them to work every day, I don't know how you manage it.”

“We don't, though, hell, even when we're actually working, we don't honestly feel like we are. We all live here as well, we all call this home, we have our jobs, yes, but after that, we're more like the family that none of us really have. And trust me, those of us with family wish to forget them. We all have a lot of fun, we learn and play together, we work hard together, for all of us, and trust me, not one of my teachers feels overworked or under paid. Hell, my husband and I donate back almost half our paychecks to the school, since we clearly don't need it all, and almost all our teachers do the same. If you get the right people, trust me, they'll do the same if given the chance.”

“And furthermore,” Chance added. “You must have the shops and everything, this sorta thing can't succeed without that sorta thing, and yes, let your kids make and sell their things to donate to their home, let them help to support themselves. Trust me, most of us have been supporting ourselves for well over half our lives, and it makes us feel good to be needed. We must be challenged to create, to make, to do. Most of the kids here have a hard time in the academic part of school, but the hands on stuff, most of us are really quite smart.”

“He's right. I've never had very many kids go onto much in the way of higher education, but almost all go to trades schools. I have so many master woodworkers, carpenters, mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and so on that came from this school, it's not even funny. The kids have always loved creating things, and getting to sell it all to help them earn their keep here has always made them feel good. Now that they get to live here too, it's even more so.

“None of my kids worries about where they're gonna sleep, what they're gonna eat, what they're gonna wear, and they all help to ensure that. They never haveta sell themselves to get what they need, and trust me, half my kids have done so in the past, most of them repeatedly. Once every month or two, we all hit the thrift stores and buy or get donated all sorts of things that we can use, and this too is great. We also ask the community for all sorts of donations, what we can't use, we fix up and sell, or use it to make other things. Challenge your kids to do things to not only better themselves, but to better their fellow students and their school, and you'll be surprised by what they can accomplish.”

“And, I also add, that adding our garden club, having us kids help to grow the food we eat, has already had an impact.” Chance added.

“You're right, a great impact in fact. Most of the kids really enjoy it, and when we had our first batch of vegetables come out of the greenhouse, we had almost nothing but salad and assorted vegetables for dinner that night, everyone was so proud of what they'd accomplished.” Peter added.

“All this is well and good, and I'm glad that it's working so well, but I can't see how my already money strapped school district will be able to pay for all that.”

“Same here, to tell you the truth.”

“So, neither did ours. In fact, when I got here, this place was a massive shit hole. I had next to no books in the library, almost no tools in any of the shops, I had desks and chairs that were falling apart, it was a destitute, forlorn lost cause, but then, so were the teachers and the students. Those of us down here in the gutters, you see, we don't need much, we ask for nothing, especially from you rich folk. You give the right people the job, and they'll take it and run with it.

“As much as I'd be loathe to part with them, I do have two people here that really do deserve their own schools. You let them do all this, and they will make it work. All they'll really need to get started is a decent budget for food and for medical supplies, and absolutely ensure that every bed wetter has the diapers he or she needs and likely even wants, trust me. You'll need to equip the schools to house the students, because, honestly, I think that that's had the single largest impact over everything else, and of course, just let them do their job, don't interfere, don't tell them to follow all the rules, those rules can't work in a school like this. Most of my kids shrink under normal rules, but let them work in their own way, give them guidance and help, and they do shine. You're gonna haveta be fully setup and prepared to deal with all sorts of addictions, for so many of my kids came addicted to so much shit it's not even funny.” Peter said.

“Which ones?” They both asked at the same time, and Peter told them both, both of whom they had interviewed.

“And furthermore, they need to interview their own teachers. They're gonna want others there that know what the kids are going through. You'll needta supply an on staff doctor and a therapist, again, preferably ones who know where your kids are coming from. Approximately how many kids do you both have that could benefit from a school like this.”

“About a hundred.”

“A bit better than a hundred and fifty.”

“So, you'll both need facilities and staff roughly the size we have here. I could probably house about fifty more, if we really hadta, but it'd make it tough. We already have a hell of a time trying to juggle everything.”

“Not sure I have anywhere this much space, and nowhere to house them either.”

“Same.”

“Find it, otherwise this can't work. Nothing hasta be brand new or flashy, in fact, it's better if it isn't. Most of my kids don't like that, they're sparse and plain, but it comes from growing up like we all did.”

“I suppose I do have one school, it's been closed for near on twenty years, all the windows are boarded up, it has a decent sized yard, and as far as I know it's still in reasonable condition.”

“I have one too, actually, I have two boarded up schools right now that aren't being used, couldn't afford to keep em open, but can't sell em either.”

“Then there you have it. Get them opened up, get the teachers and the kids in there, and let them do the rest. Clearly you'll haveta provide some monetary support, especially to start, but let them do as much as they can on their own, let them take ownership of it, let them build it up how they want and need it to suit their needs.”

“What if it doesn't work?”

“Yeah, but what if it does. Look how many kids have gone through my doors, and where they all are now. I've taken hundreds of kids who were destined to end up in jail, homeless, or dead, and they now lead great lives. I take the worst of the worst, the slime on the underbelly of society, and I help them to become far more than they could've otherwise.”

“And believe me, we were slimy.” Chance grinned.

“Yeah, sounds like it.”

“Oh, you haven't even been told the truly disturbing details.” Chance said simply.

“Selling yourself, almost killing two kids, that's not disturbing.”

“No, that's just basic life on the street. If I told you disturbing, you'd lose your lunch.”

“Oh.”

“Life on the street, it's like nothing you can possibly imagine. And that's where your school should be as well, by the way, right in the middle of the worst possible place.”

“But why, don't you worry about theft and whatnot?”

“No, not really. You know, we never have homeless or dirty people come in the yard. They know what this school is and what it represents, they know what we're doing here, and even they wouldn't steal from kids who were like them. Proudly announce what your new school is, what it's gonna do, who they're there to help, and I doubt you'll haveta worry. Sure, maybe a little disappears from time to time that even I'm not aware of, but I bet not.”

“Oh. I've never dealt with this sorta thing before.”

“No, but there is some honour amongst the homeless and the destitute, they'd steal from you happily, because you're rich, but they'd never steal from us, because we're even more poor than they are.”

“Um, I'm not rich.”

“What kinda car was that I saw you drive in in?”

“Mercedes.”

“Still think you're not rich. How many of those cars did you see driving in?”

“None.”

“Is it paid off, or on payments.”

“Paid off.”

“Then that car is officially worth more than this school. Congratulations, you're ten thousand times more rich than anyone within twenty blocks of here in any direction. If you make more than five hundred dollars a month, you're considered rich here. Hell, me and my teachers are considered rich, yet, we're not, we give so much back to our local community, that by the end, we have almost none left.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Think about that. You're not fat, but you're certainly well fed. My kids are now too, but how many fat homeless people do you see.”

“I get your point.”

“Good. I was just as rough and dirty as every last one of my kids here are. I ended up here as my last chance too, after damn near killing a student, but the little fuckup deserved it, and when he came to this school and continued to be a little fuckup, I happily handed him over to the police, and he's still in jail, and will stay there for life. Just remember that, almost every last one of us deserves to be here. You can't possibly understand, and while you think you might, I promise you, you simply can't.”

“You damn near killed a student and you didn't end up in jail?” The other man gasped.

“Oh, his parents tried, but he was gonna stab me, so, I fucking nailed that little bitch, broke his face nearly in half, I should've hit him a second time and put him out of the communities misery. Now he's in jail, wasting far more money than this school will ever require.”

“I just fired a teacher for that.” The other man said.

“Let me guess, he was defending himself, and you fired him for protecting either himself or other students?” Peter snarled.

“Yes, but I had no choice, no teacher may touch a student, period.”

“So, what would've happened had he done nothing and that student actually harmed another student, or maybe him. He would've been fired for doing nothing, right. You see, that's the problem with you government thinkers, you can't do that to people. You can't fire them for doing the right thing, but then also say you would've fired him for doing the wrong thing, I hope he's suing you.” Peter looked at him like he was filth.

“He is.”

“Good, now, I want you to leave this school please. I don't like you very much right now, and I'm inclined to not be very nice if you say anything else. I also won't allow you to hire one of my people, they're too good to work for someone like you. Once you get replaced, because I have a feeling that'll happen soon, maybe I'll send someone. Maybe, if you do manage to keep your job, and start a school, hire that teacher back to work in that very same school, then I might no longer hate you.”

“You can't talk to me like that.”

“Actually, I can. Now, please leave, and think long and hard on what was said here today.”

He got up and left without saying anything more.

“What kinda car do you drive?” Peter asked the other man still there.

“A Ford.” He laughed.

“New or used.”

“New, but I bought it almost ten years ago now, I don't replace my vehicles every year. Unlike him, I wasn't brought up rich, and I still have a hard time spending money. I make good money now, but I'm like you guys here, nothing flashy.” He grinned. He likes Peter.

“Good. Then maybe you'll be able to make this work. I doubt he could, and I started doubting it hours ago. I get a very good feeling about you though, and I can usually tell when someone is genuine. Which teacher would you like, we can call him and you can make the offer?”

He said which one he personally liked best, and Peter called him to the office. A few minutes later, he was there.

“Peter tells me that you've been here a long time, and know and understand how this school runs and why it works, is that correct?”

“You could say that, I suppose.”

“You're shy and don't like being in the spotlight.”

“No, most of us that grew up under rocks don't like the light.”

“Fair enough. I got a really good feeling about you earlier when we interviewed you to see how and why this school works, I wanna do the same thing in my school district, and Peter offered up two teachers that he felt would be more than capable of taking on that challenge. I'd like to offer that chance to you.”

“Not me.” Chance giggled.

“Wouldn't take you anyway, you're too fucking ugly for me.” He grinned and stuck out his tongue at Chance.

“Ditto.” Chance giggled again.

“That's a really nice offer, but I can't just leave here, this is my home too.”

“Andrew, this is home, yes, but you have the chance to go do this somewhere else, make a great home for so many other kids just like we were, how our kids are now. Don't pass up the opportunity to go do something great because you're scared.” Peter said softly.

“I'm not scared, I'm terrified. What if I fail?”

“Then you fail, so be it. Then you pick yourself up, say what the fuck did I do wrong, figure it out, fix it, and try again. You think I never failed when I started all this. Think again. At least you have some form of a guideline, you've been with me since nearly the beginning, and you're always welcome to call me as well. We're all failures, but that's what makes us so much better to do what we do here.”

“Fair enough. Can I at least help to find my replacement?”

“Absolutely. And I imagine you won't be needed for at least a couple weeks. The school that you're gonna get sounds as if it's been boarded up for several years, so it's likely to need some powerful cleaning, and probably some work done to it before you can even get in there anyway.”

“That's true. I could give you two weeks, then I'll pay to move you there. It's five hours from here, so not too far. I have no idea how I'll afford everything, but, in the same breath, I can't afford not to, I have too many students that shouldn't be with the kids who think they're normal.”

“Get me the school, get it at least somewhat ready, and me and my teachers and students will take care of the rest. If you have any kids who are serving time, try and get them out and into my school as well. Most of the kids in there really don't deserve to be. I'll haveta ask that I interview every teacher and student personally, and I'm gonna need several care staff as well.” He said, and though he still looks green, he does know he can do it.

“Agreed. I'll do what I can to get you at least the basics. Nothing will be new or fancy, I'll dig through the archives and find you anything that you can all use, and I'll get you a good allotment of cash to go and get everything you need.”

“Thanks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I needta go throw up.”

They watched him leave.

“He'll be fine. He's really very good at what he does, and I know that he'll do very well for you. Now I haveta find a new teacher to replace him, but I already have a few in mind, and I might even ask for one more, since we could use one.”

“Thanks. If this all works out, you may help to turn around my incredibly poor inner city as well.”

“Good. The more we help the kids out to become more than they ever dreamed, the better the entire world will be in the long run.”

“I couldn't agree more.”

They talked for a few minutes more before the man headed out to his hotel. He will head home in the morning. Both Peter and Chance are very happy with what happened, and hope that the other man either gets fired or manages to pull his head from his ass and do something good for once.

They found out a week later, because he actually called Peter and apologized, as well as told him, that he did manage to do so, went to teacher that he had fired, apologized, and offered him the chance to run a new school, told him everything, and offered him a very good salary to do it. He talked it over with his lawyer, who talked it over with the school boards lawyer, and they admitted that his boss had been fully at fault, that he should never have been fired, especially without an inquiry, but that he does want to make amends for that. He did accept, and they too are working together now to create a Last Chance school in their city. Peter and Chance are both very pleased with that.

Andrew left later that week, after helping to hire his two replacements, because Peter was authorized to do so, and he is on the bus to his new home to set up another Last Chance school. Peter gave him several thousand dollars in cash as a donation to a fellow school, and he took it happily, knowing that he will need it very soon.

Almost a week later, an energy auditor came and checked out the entire school, wrote down everything that will be needed to cut their energy consumption nearly in half, and then another week later, a crew was in to take care of all of that. It had been felt that solar collection would not be an added benefit, since there was nowhere suitable to install as large an array as they would need, so it was not added. About three weeks after that, the first power bill came, and with the wind generators and the new energy efficient lighting and everything else that had been done, Peter was told that their power bill is roughly half what it usually is, so they are all happy.

Every day the kids are working on whatever projects they care to that day, and several days Chance and Zayden were in the sewing room, helping everyone in there to make hundreds of blankets for babies and little kids. They are also making hundreds of all in one cloth diapers, and some pajamas, they had gotten word that there was a considerable need for this sort of thing, and so, they wanted to help fill that need.

The kids are still doing amazing wood works, and they always sell fast, and the kids in the other shops are also doing lots. The mechanical shop had recently gotten their hands on three more generator units, and though they can really only use two, they are rebuilding all three anyway and making them into wind power generators. They decided to hell with it, and just installed all three once they were done, and because the electrician had left them connection points to do this easily, they managed to hook it all up, but Peter did call him back to come verify everything was done properly, just to be safe, and he said it was perfect.

Before they know it, spring is slipping away and turning day by day into summer. The greenhouse is nearly overflowing with fresh produce nearly every day, and their garden planters are all doing incredibly well as well. Chance has grown another two full centimeters, put on another two kilograms, and his still boyish equipment has grown even more, and is looking day by day more like a teens equipment, something that Zayden is enjoying thoroughly. Every day they hope that Chance will finally cum, and feed Zayden the treat he deserves, but he is still a little ways off from that they both figure, but the doctor does say that Chance is now, finally, well and fully into puberty. Better late then never. He now almost looks twelve, at least, and though he is still quite small, he is no longer looking quite so young. He even had his first pimple, something he hated.

They have been kept up to date on the two new Last Chance schools, and while they certainly started slow, they are gaining momentum and are already starting to show promising results. This of course pleases all, because Peter has kept them all up to date on this as well. A few of the other kids have decided to become teachers, so that they can do the same thing, to help others that were just like them, and so, of course, Peter is giving them anything and everything he can within his power to help them achieve this goal.

Chance is already doing excellent in his university studies, and both times he had to take a day trip in to actually go sit in on a class, he had a good time. Most of the students there were shocked to have such a young child there, but none treated him poorly because of it, so that is good. Peter took him the first time, and picked him up, but the second, Chance just took the bus too and from.