Scott Didn't wait for the hubbub to die down he spoke right up!
"Settle down you idiots; I didn't hit Dave cause he was GAY I hit him cause he didn't trust me enough to tell me! I love him like a brother. In fact now with Jake in the picture and the two of them out of the hunt; I just might have a chance with some of the girls who were chasing after my best friend." Scott's joke had the desired effect and the tension from the students drained out of the room. The administration was another thing entirely.
Scott began speaking again in a very serious tone of voice.
"Now, on to a more serious matter and I can't emphasize this point enough! David is NOT a GAY BASEBALL PLAYER!!!! He is a Baseball Player who just happens to be GAY; just like I am not a Straight Baseball Player, I am just a Baseball Player who hits for the Winning Team." Scott had to duck the swipes that both David and Jake threw at him as well as the boos from the audience.
"Basically what I am trying to get across is that who we fall in love with has nothing to do with the person we are or how well we can throw or catch a baseball! And as you can see stereotypes are pretty stupid; just look at David he is a stud and he doesn't wear dresses like some people would like you to believe. And before you start on Jake..." Scott was interrupted by David.
"What my dufus friend here is trying to say is, 'Don't judge a book by its cover,' while Jake may look smaller and frailer than me that isn't the case! In fact, when Jake found out I hadn't told my best friend, he smacked me a good one. When I saw the look in his eyes I wasn't going to cross him. Hopefully we can all learn from my suspension and have a great School Year as well as great Sports Teams. That is all I have to say so..... Wait Jake wants to say something." David was stunned that Jake wanted to speak to the whole school.
Jake stepped up to the microphone in a hushed auditorium. "I just wanted to say that the rest of this school needs to cut the Jocks a bit of slack. A lot of them aren't as dumb as you think! David's GPA is just a few points below mine and with some help, Scott could catch him by the end of the School Year. I also bet that you didn't know that Scott can play the Twelve String Guitar just like Roy Clarke. All of us here need to ditch all of the stereotypes that are holding us back." Jake paused a bit to gauge the reaction of the student body and as he did so, he felt two bodies stand very close on either side of him.
As David and Scott took up their possessive places near Jake; Jake was busy looking at his beaming father.
Bill was in the back of the auditorium absolutely amazed at how confident his shy son was being. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think his son would be speaking in front of a whole school. Let alone defending his Boy Friend. Bill quickly gave Jake a great big thumbs up and then unthinkingly blew him a quick kiss.
Scott, seeing that and being the natural 'Merry Andrew' that he was, returned Bill's kiss which of course caused the students in the audience to turn and gawk at the 'girl' that Scott was kissing. They were confused when they couldn't see anyone, however, Jake began speaking again regaining their attention.
"As I was starting to say earlier, labeling people and using stereotypes is wrong and it is wrong in so many ways. Labeling people and using stereotypes causes you to only see part of the person and not the whole person and that is a shame. Because you labeled Scott a 'Jock' and therefore didn't get to know him you never found out he is a musical virtuoso who also speaks Gaelic, Keltic, Cymraeg and even some Breton. Did you know that my boyfriend can teach Bobby Flay a few things when it comes to Grilling Food?" Jake had to pause for a few moments as his last comment caused a few stirs in the audience and some of the earlier idiots again started to open their mouths. The idiots were quickly silenced by either members of the Football Team, The Student Government or their Girl Friends.
"I am going to prove my point very quickly and then get on to my real reason for speaking today. I am going to ask all of you two simple questions and then I will ask someone else for the answer. Okay the first question is; name the greatest general in history?" As Jake expected, he heard the obvious answers but not the right one or even the next closest.
"George Patton!" was the answer shouted by most of the student body with a few "Rommel's" shouted out by some history buffs.
"As my dad would say, 'Close but no Cigar' okay David do you want to give us the correct answer or as you usually do answers?" Jake questioned the love of his life.
David just shook his head at his now very confident and outgoing boy friend. David sarcastically replied;
"Since you insist." He then gave Jake a quick peck on the check before stepping up to the mic just missing a swipe at his head from Scott.
"Well, as good as both George Patton and Erwin Rommel were, they don't really hold a candle to the real Military Genius I am going to mention. The Greatest General in the History of the World was Megas Alexandros more commonly known as Alexander III of Macedon or Alexander the Great. The second greatest would be one of his best students General Thomas Jonathan Jackson also know as "Stonewall" Jackson. The third choice would be "Stonewall's" Commanding Officer General Robert E. Lee. Why are these three considered the greatest Generals or Military Minds in history?" David paused for a few seconds as he was choosing his next words.
"Very simple time and time again they accomplished the impossible with the improbable. To put it even more succinctly they won almost every battle they fought even though they were consistently vastly outnumbered and they won decisively! Well Jake has another question for you." David started to return to his place near Scott but he had to stop and blushingly acknowledge the tremendous applause he was receiving.
"Thanks David and you folks call him a 'Jock'! Okay my next question you should do better, at least I hope you do." Jake was a little sarcastic but he was intent on pushing his point home.
"Where was the "Battle of Bunker Hill" fought?"
As would be expected the unanimous answer was derisively "Bunker Hill"! Jake let the laughter and boos continue for several moments before raising his hand in a request for silence. Surprisingly the audience quieted quickly. Of course that may have been caused by the Baseball Team taking a few steps forward and the teachers starting to walk up the aisles.
"COACH Anderson," Jake heavily emphasized the title. "Would you please educate these students with the 'CORRECT Answer'?"
Coach Anderson looked at Jake quizzically, trying to figure out where Jake was going and what he was trying to accomplish. More importantly he was trying to figure out how Jake had known that he had done a monograph on the battles of the Revolutionary War fought in and around Boston for his Graduate History Class at Stanford University.
"Okay Jake, I am not sure why you want me to answer the question but I will. Students there are several different reasons why the 'Battle of Bunker Hill' is misnamed; suffice it to say the battle was actually fought on 'Breed's Hill'. And the name of the battle should be 'The Battle of Breed's Hill'. Does that answer your question satisfactorily, Mr. Patton?" Coach Anderson inquired of Jake when he had finished his answer.
"Thank you very much Coach Anderson; that was perfect. And another stereotype has bitten the dust I believe. The majority of you students thought that just' because Coach Anderson was 'only' a PE Teacher that he wouldn't know the answer to that question. I hope my demonstration today has opened your eyes and hopefully your minds and given you something to think about." Jake stopped speaking to allow his comments to sink in and to try and gage the reaction of his captive audience.
"Now that I hopefully have your complete and undivided attention, I would like to bring up the real reason I stepped forward to speak. One of the biggest problems in High School Athletics is keeping the athletes Academically Eligible in all sports not just Baseball. I may have a solution; I propose we establish a Tutoring Club open to all of the school's Athletics Teams, Boys and Girls." Jake had to pause a second because his last comment stunned the auditorium and then scattered applause broke out until the Baseball Team joined in and then the auditorium erupted.
"Thank you very much, but you haven't heard the rest of the plan. You may not like it once you hear the details." That stopped the audience in their tracks.
From the his seat at the side of the stage, the Principal spoke up;
"Jake, please go ahead I am definitely interested."
"Thank you sir. There are several obstacles to overcome. First of all we need two Faculty Advisors. Second we need the School and The Board of Education's approval. Third we need tutors. But before I go into those areas, I need to make sure that everyone understands the commitments and requirements.
All tutors must fully honor their commitment. So don't volunteer unless you are going to go the distance.
All tutors and those who are being tutored in the program will sign a contract.
Participation on all parties is voluntary. Coaches, you can't order your students into the Tutoring Club. However ..." Jake paused in his recitation and turned to stare directly at the Baseball Team standing behind him. "You may strongly remind them what GPA they must have to remain Academically Eligible. Teachers, feel free to do the same thing. Just remember if the Club sees an inordinate number of athletes from your classes you may be conscripted to help!
This is not a 'Pickup Club' the purpose of the club is to improve the Academic Standing of Student Athletes! It is not a place to see how many notches you can add to your belt or purse! Any Tutor or Athlete using the Tutoring Club for such purposes will be expelled from the club and their Coach and the Administration will be notified.
The Club will be open to all students, not just Student Athletes. The club will be gender and orientation neutral.
Progress will be monitored by the Faculty Advisors and any Coaches, Teachers or Administrators willing to spare their time."
Jake looked around the auditorium for a few seconds before proceeding and as he began to speak the auditorium burst into applause. Jake began to blush a bright crimson red as soon he was receiving a Standing Ovation. Even the bigoted idiots were applauding; maybe only the idea and not Jake, but it was a start.
David and Scott quickly rushed to Jake's side and began hugging him tightly. David sneaking a few quick kisses in when he could.
Seeing that Jake was in no shape to continue, the Principal walked over to the mic and raised his hand; he was pleasantly shocked when there was instant silence.
"Jake, I think you have a wonderful idea and I for one am in favor of it and I will be honoured to present it with you to the District School Board..."
"That won't be necessary!" a new voice boomed out from the rear of the stage. Several people in Business Dress walked out from behind the risers where they had been listening to the whole assembly. One of the men obviously an ex-athlete from his body and carriage moved towards the mic; and with a nod of his head asked the Principal if he could speak.
"For those of you who do not know who I am, my name is Dr. Dan Monahan. I am the School Board President, and before I comment on Jake's wonderful idea; I must address the issue that The Board and I came here for originally. However, WE must apologize to an individual first. Coach Anderson, We, The Rolling Hills School Board unanimously apologize for doubting your integrity and considering sanctions against you." Dr. Monahan paused as he and the rest of the School Board turned towards Dale Anderson and applauded him.
"We came here to investigate charges that the School District's 'Zero Tolerance Policy' had been violated. Although we found the charges accurate; we will be taking no action against those persons involved. Instead, we would like to commend Coach Anderson for his ingenuity in solving his moral and ethical problem to the benefit of this school and the District. We must also commend Principal Ito for having the courage of his convictions and standing behind Coach Anderson with his job on the line." Dr. Monahan then turned and shook Principal Shunji Ito's hand and then to everyone's surprise hugged him. The rest of the Board also shook the Principal's hand. While the Board was shaking the Principal's hand Dr. Monahan turned to David and mouthed;
"You are next."
Dr. Monahan turned back to the microphone and began speaking again.
"Last and definitely not least, We would like to commend David Dorn, David not only took his punishment like the mature individual he is; but he went beyond the 'Letter of the Law' and actually followed the 'Spirit of the Law'. By this I mean he not only fulfilled all the requirements of his punishment; but he actually understood the reasons behind it and took that to heart. It took a lot of courage for him to stand up here today and bare not only his heart but his soul. For that, he should be commended." Dan turned and walked over to David and shook his hand. As he began to return to the mic he whispered to Jake "Nice Catch".
"Alright, that is the good news regarding David's situation now on to the bad news; David, you violated a Cardinal Rule when you outed your partner without his permission..." The auditorium went into a shocked silence.
Dr. Monahan continued as if nothing had happened;
"For that, you will have one hour of Detention and you will serve as Vice President of the Rolling Hills High School Tutoring Club!" Dr. Monahan looked out over the audience and had to chuckle as it took the audience members several seconds to process the fact that David wasn't in a lot of trouble.
"If you haven't figured it out yet, the School Board approves of the Tutoring Club unanimously. We will get to more of that in just a minute." The highly audible sighs of the audience caused Dan to chuckle silently to himself.
"I am sure that my next announcement will more than make up for your obvious disappointment. Effective immediately, the 'Zero Tolerance Policy' is hereby suspended throughout the District and hopefully soon in other District's as well." The roar of applause made it impossible for Dr. Monahan to continue.
Principal Ito decided to see if lightening does strike twice and he raised his hand for silence. Lo and behold instant quiet which brought a grin to his face.
"That is the good news, that doesn't mean that there won't be punishments for violations of School and District Rules or Honor Codes. It just means that there will be new policies in place soon on how to handle them. Coach Anderson, Principal Ito, Dr. Patton, Jake Patton and David Dorn we would like you to join the Board Committee in charge of rewriting the 'Zero Tolerance Policy'. The actions of Coach Anderson, Principal Ito, and David Dorn have proved today beyond any shadow of a doubt how wrong 'Zero Tolerance Policies' are! If Coach Anderson had blindly followed the policy as required, this school would have lost not only a very promising Baseball Player and ruined the season for the team. But he would have also irreparably damaged David's College Future! Will those we have requested please give us your answers after the assembly?" Dr. Monahan looked at the individuals he had named and they all nodded yes.
"Before we get sidetracked again, back to the new Tutoring Club. It has been approved with a few qualifications..." The moans were very obvious and Dr. Monahan began laughing out loud at the response.
"I can't get no respect here..." That brought out a few laughs, as he adjusted his tie, and then Dan continued.
"Before you start throwing Rotten Tomatoes and Banana Peels, hear me out. The qualifications are very simple Jake Patton serves as President and Coach Dale Anderson as one of the advisors. Are those qualifications fair enough for you?"
The audience as expected responded with a resounding "YES"!
"Jake would you step up here and give us your answer and also explain to us why you think Athletics are important enough to go through the trouble of starting and running this club?"
To say Jake was unprepared for both questions would be a great understatement. Jake, though, did start to move slowly towards the microphone until David took his hand and literally dragged him to where Dr. Monahan was waiting.
"Since David has agreed to assist me I will accept the Presidency if Coach Anderson will accept as well.?" Jake looked over to Coach Anderson who nodded his head as he made his way towards the stage and his team.
"Well I guess that makes me President then." Jake paused to let the giggles and chuckles die down.
"Now as to why I think Athletics are important enough to speak out about and to stand up here in front of all of you; it is very simple. Athletics are important for several reasons and yes some of them are 'clichés'; however, I do believe that Athletics and Scholarship can go hand in hand. If all athletes took their dedication to their team and sport and applied that to their studies the whole school would benefit. Team Sports teach teamwork and depending on others to help accomplish a task; things that are very valuable in the corporate world. Another benefit...." Jake continued for a while longer until David shut him up by putting his hand across Jake's mouth and then giving him a peck on the cheek.
"I believe Principal Ito has a few words to say." David announced and then let his Principal take the microphone.
"This has been a rather enlightening and thought provoking day for me and hopefully for all of you, teachers and students alike. I have decided to end the school day now and declare the rest of the day an In Service Day. Most of you will be dismissed and your buses are on their way. If anyone has transportation difficulties please see my Secretary Mrs. Watts she will assist you. I want to thank all of those who spoke today and commend David for his honesty and his dedication to his friends and school. Hopefully today will be a new start for tolerance and cooperation here at Rolling Hills High School...." Shunji had to pause for a few moments to let the applause die down.
"I am looking forward to this school year now with renewed enthusiasm. You are now dismissed." The rest of his words were covered up by the roar of the dismissed students.
While the majority of the students were leaving the auditorium, some of them were trying to talk to David and Jake who were being mobbed by the Baseball Team and School Board Members. Several students who had attempted to cause problems during the assembly found themselves being guided to the Principal's Office by either Teachers, Administrators or School Security. They were given seats in a Conference Room where they were greeted by an unsmiling Gerald Figgins the feared Dean of Boys!
Gerald wasted no time at all before he started in on the miscreants.
"First of all, let me tell you how lucky you are to not be in Jail right now! Every single one of you has violated at least half a dozen School District Regulations, School Regulations and City and State Laws. I won't even bother with the Federal ones. As of now, you are all on 'In School Suspension' and will have to have clearances from your Guidance Counselor, Dr. Patton and myself before being released. There is no discussing this; you either accept or head to Jail and deal with the Justice System and your parents. And before any of you start to say that your parents won't put up with this; remember, they are also responsible for your behavior and under the Law they can be jailed as well. Now any questions before I go into the rest of the details of your suspensions?" The stunned students had no response.
Dean Figgins began speaking again as he laid out the remaining details.
While Dean Figgins was dealing with the troublemakers, Bill & Michael had finally been able to make their way to the stage. Once there they still had to fight through the crowd to reach their sons. Scott finally saw Bill and Michael and put his fingers to his lips and let out a whistle that could be heard in Missoula and as far away as Havendale. Bill and Michael were able to reach their sons and to David's dismay, they both hugged Jake first.
Michael even beat Bill in congratulating Jake;
"I am so proud of you, son, it took a lot of guts for you to do what you did. I am very proud to call you son. Now I need to go and hug my other son before he starts pouting."
Michael then let go of Jake and pushed him into Bill's arms and then turned to where David was standing with a pouting look.
"Ooops, too late," Michael quipped which brought a smile to everyone's faces.
Michael grabbed David and hugged him and then gave him a quick kiss on the forehead while whispering;
"I love you more than ever and I will always love you; never forget that!"
Before David had a chance to respond or break down into tears, his Dad changed the subject quickly.
"I think we had better fly this coop before we get swamped with well wishers like the School Board that is heading this way. Besides, I know David is 'lusting' to try out the new Barbecues."
Michael then took David's arm and followed by Bill towing Jake who was now looking a bit apprehensive as his burst of courage was fading quickly.
The four of them made it out to the parking lot quicker than they thought, thanks to a delaying action by the Baseball Team. Scott got the team to sidetrack the School Board while he ran interference for his friends.
Bill decided to repay Scott the only way he knew how, so he whipped out his Cell Phone and called Scott's parents and informed them that Scott was having dinner with them and staying the night. Bill quickly explained what had happened during the assembly and that they just wanted to thank Scott for his help. Scott's parents gave in to Bill's persuasive reasoning.
Since they had three vehicles Bill tossed his keys to a very surprised Scott and said;
"Meet us at home you are staying for dinner and spending the night. I am going to ride home with Michael and I know Jake is going home with David, hopefully David can keep Jake from sitting on his lap while he is driving."
Bill quickly hid behind Michael to avoid the glares and imprecations from his son and his son's boyfriend. Scott was laughing so hard he didn't know what to do.
David took pity on his best friend and told him;
"Car....Drive...to our home...Now!"
Scott smacked himself in the head and muttered, "Duh", before heading towards the Teacher's Parking Lot quickly being followed by Bill and Michael. Meanwhile Jake and David were running across campus as the parking lots were on the opposite sides of the school.
After a scrumptious meal of grilled sausages, grilled Portabello Mushrooms and Green Onions along with Twice Baked Potatoes, the adults headed towards the den for some Male to Male Bonding. Meanwhile the boys headed towards David and Jakes Suites to cruise the net looking for some good stories to read.
The boys were so engrossed in reading a story they had found that they didn't realize that it was after ten until Bill and Michael knocked on the door announcing;
"Bed Time and Lights Out."
And wouldn't you know it the main character in the story they were reading had just uttered his trademark phrase;
"Jeez©...."
'Jeez©'? I wonder whose story that might be... Duh? Thanks for the plug. The check is in the mail. Now if you can get a check from Missoula...
Very nice chapter. Wrapped up quite a few loose ends and set the stage for more interesting things to come. I am so glad that at least one school system has seen how counterproductive those 'Zero Tolerance' policies can be. There can be abuse with any set of rules or guidelines but with these policies the abuse is just built in and automatic. Jeez©
The tutoring club looks like a great idea and not just for the 'jocks' but for the whole school. I know from my own experience you don't really understand something until you have taught it to someone else.
Great chapter TSL!
Str8mayb
This was a great chapter.
Now I know that they expect me to come up with something profound and amazing. Well, it ain't a gonna happen.
I agree completely about the Zero Tolerance policies. They are wrong on so many levels. The same thing goes for the "Three strikes your out" laws. Any punishment needs to fit the specific crime so to speak. The real reason to discipline someone is to make them realize they have done something that is unacceptable; Punishment for the sake of punishment makes no sense. It only causes resentment and more bad feelings on the part of the person that has been punished. If you put a teenage kid in a facility with adult criminals, you only succeed in teaching the kid how to be a better criminal.
I never, for example have been able to understand why they punish kids that skip school by expelling them or even suspending them. It seems to me that it would be like punishing someone who stole something valuable by making them take something else valuable, or giving someone who tried to commit suicide, the death penalty. It seems somewhat counter productive.
I just had a thought; we should send people who are convicted of murder, overseas to fight in our no win wars. That would seem to be the kind of punishment that would be like suspending truants, "Hey you killed someone; your punishment is that you have to go kill someone." There, finally I understand.
Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher
I apologize for the long delay between chapters but Real Life struck me many a blow over the last year. Things are better but my new job does not give me as much time to write or edit, however, I will try my best to keep the chapters and stories coming.
If I seem to be making statements, political or otherwise in this and my other stories I am and deliberately so. I write stories not only to tell a tale but to hopefully expand the minds of those who read them and at the same time open their eyes to the world around them. If this activism causes someone not to read my stories then that is their loss. I want to thank everyone who has read my stories and a double thanks to those who have taken the time to write me or 'Goos'.
The Story Lover