Through the years: Two against the world part 5

Thanks to Djkauf for the editing

We join in on the day Tracy has her meeting with the Principal. A look in at Sage, Brooke and Rachel too.

Meanwhile....Rancho Las Positas Elementary, Livermore CA

It was lunchtime and Sage walked with Brooke and Rachel up to the cafeteria. Brooke had come to school later then the rest of them, mostly because of a doctor’s appointment. She sped up to Sage and tried to stop her for a moment. “Hey, Rachel said you had news for us. Something about Tracy?”

Rachel looked to her friend when she heard no answer and she saw Sage walking with her eyes on the ground in front of her and clearly deep in thought. She tapped the redhead on the shoulder and asked as her friend made eye contact. “You okay?”

Sage looked at them and realized that she had been focused on her thoughts the whole way up. “No.”

Brooke stopped and turned to face her. “What's wrong? Not those drugs from the doctor, is it?”

“The hormones? No. The doctor wanted to wait a couple more years, in case I start making my own female hormones.” Sage shook her head. “I called Tracy last night to tell her that I was got them yesterday and I got bad news.”

Brooke gave her a big grin and chuckled. “Vance is moving down here and living with your parents?”

Sage looked at her, then thought about it. She shook her head and sighed. “Worse then that, if you can believe it.”

“Her parent's won’t let her be Tracy anymore?” Rachel asked.

“Nope.” Sage replied as they got into the long lunch line. She turned to face then and whispered. “Someone saw her and took pictures. They left them for her in her desk and backpack, plus they called her house and threatened her.”

“Oh, shit.” Brooke replied as her smile faded away.

“I'll tell you what I know when we get a table, okay?” Sage said as she turned back around. Less then ten minutes later, they were huddled together, away from everyone else at the table and Sage gave then a fast rundown on what she knew.

As she finished, she sat upright and Rachel shook her head. “They don't know who did it, do they?”

“She didn't know the voice.” Sage replied.

“They making her go back to school today?” Brooke asked.

“No clue. But she said they had an appointment to see the Principal. He knows about her, so hopefully things can get worked out.”

“Thank God Mary Beth and her sister went there.” Rachel added. “Peter too.”

“That won’t end well.” Brooke said with a forced smile. “Her dad finds out he was there with no adults and he'll roast Peter alive.”

“Man. It would be so much easier if she lived down here. A lot more schools to pick from.” Rachel stated. "Plus friends who care about her."

“I know, I just hope she stays safe.” Sage replied. “I asked Mom if we could go up this weekend, but we have plans.”

“Maybe we should ask our Moms for next weekend?” Brooke smiled wide. “Like go on Friday after school, there is that staff development day on Monday, so we could have the full weekend.”

“I'll ask; you all ask.” Rachel said with a smile and a nod.

“Groovy. I'll see if Casey and Stacey can get away too.” Sage said.

~o~O~o~

Northern California

Troy followed his mother into the main office of the school and he took a seat at the bench. Maggie went to the receptionist’s desk. “I believe my son has an appointment with Mr. Harper today?”

The older lady looked at her schedule book, then back up at Maggie. “Ah, yes. You're a few minutes early. He's got someone inside right now, but he'll see you in a few.” She looked to Troy. “Are Mr. Lowery and the Higgins’s girls coming too?”

“Maybe?” Troy shrugged. He knew it was almost lunchtime for the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, the cafeteria was currently empty. The bell had rung a few minutes earlier, calling the end of the middle school's classes lunch period. They sat there for a few minutes and a second bell rang, this was for Troy's grades lunch period.

William walked through the door and smiled at his son and wife. “Are we early?” He asked.

Maggie nodded. “Yeah.” She replied as he sat down.

“Good.” William sat down on the other side of his child.

Emily May came into the office, her pack and purse still over her shoulder and the pictures in her hand. She went to the desk and looked at the older woman. “I was sent here by Mr. Walkley to give something to Mr. Harper.”

“Well, he's got the Pattersons next. I can give it to him now if you want.” She offered.

“Oh.” Emily May glanced over her shoulder and saw Troy and his parents and she smiled at them. “I'll wait.”

The older woman smiled as she went back to her work and Emily May went to Troy. A moment later, the door opened up and Mary Beth came in, followed by Peter. They stopped and stood near Troy and his parent's. “Emily, why are you here? I thought you had a class?”

“This is why.” She stated and showed all of them the pictures. “Mr. Walkley found them in his classroom.”

“Crap.” William muttered. Maggie held back a curse and Troy just slumped in his seat. He could see the writing on the wall now.

The door to the office opened up and a student that Troy didn't know came out with his mother and Mr. Harper. He paid little attention as they made a little small talk, then the mother and child left. Mr. Harper moved to the Patterson's and held out a hand for William. “Mr. Patterson, it's good to see you.”

“Thank you for seeing us.” William gave him a smile as he stood up and shook the hand.

“Maggie.” Mr. Harper held out a hand to her.

“Hello. Sorry to intrude on you like this.” Maggie stated.

"Nonsense, it's my job to be here to talk to the parents." Then he looked to Emily May. “Shouldn't you be in class young lady?”

“Um...I'm with Troy, I have something that concerns why he's here today.” She replied as she held up her hall pass. “Mr. Walkley gave me permission to come here.”

“Well then...” He went to the swinging gate door that kept the kids from getting behind the desk and held it open for the group. “Come on back.”

Troy got up and followed his mother, father and friends into the principal’s office. When they got in, Troy stayed standing, with his friends, while his parents took the two chairs.

Mr. Harper looked at Troy, then at Maggie. “I thought Troy was sick today?” He asked.

“The reason I called in for him today is why we're here.” Maggie stated. She reached into her purse and pulled out the pictures and passed them over. “Troy found these in his desk yesterday.”

“And my backpack.” Troy added.

“Oh my.” Mr. Harper said as he looked over the pictures. He bit his tongue so he didn't swear in front of the children. “I think I understand.”

“No, you don't.” William replied. “Yesterday, when Troy got home, Someone started calling the house and threatening him.”

“Do you know who it is?” Mr. Harper asked.

“No.” Troy's voice was strained, as he fought the urge to burst into tears. Mary Beth put an arm around him.

“I went there after school with my sister.” Mary Beth cut in. “I answered one of the calls too. It's an older boy, but I don't know the voice.”

“And has he called back since?”

“I don't know. When I got home, Troy was at his grandparent’s house.” Maggie stated. “We went home and unplugged the phone till this morning.”

“I see. When were these left for you?”

“Lunch yesterday.” Troy replied.

“I went into the classroom and saw Troy holding them.” Mary Beth added.

“Sir?” Emily May cut in. “Mr. Walkley found these in his room just a few minutes ago and had me bring them to you.”

Mr. Harper took the stack of pictures, then flipped thought them, till he saw enough to realize they were all the same thing. He looked to Troy and asked. “Has anyone threatened you, face to face?”

“Over the phone doesn't count?” William asked, a bit of anger in his voice.

“I'm thinking that if someone threatened him face to face, they may have been the person who left the pictures.” The Principal replied.

Troy shook his head. “No one said anything to me the past few days about that.” He gestured to the pictures. “they just threatened to kick my as...butt over the phone.”

“There was Clark.” Peter piped up. “Before Troy got hurt here at the school,Clark was telling people that Bruce saw him in a dress.”

“But do we have proof that Clark left these pictures?” Mr. Harper asked.

“Does it matter?” William asked.

“Without knowing who left them, I really can't punish them.” Mr. Harper said. “We can't watch just one child all the time. I'm not sure how much we could do here without knowing who the guilty party is.”

“So what can we do then?” William asked with an annoyed tone. “Send my child back into a hostile environment?”

Maggie put a hand on her husband’s shoulder to try and calm him down. Then she glanced at Mr. Harper. “Could we possibly put Troy into home schooling?”

Mr. Harper leaned back in his chair and looked from Maggie to William, then at Troy, then finally back to Maggie. “That is a possibility, and it may be the best idea, but don't you both work?”

“We do, but can anyone do the teaching?” Maggie asked. “If so, we could have my mother-in-law teach him.”

Before he could answer Maggie, there was a knock at the door. He turned over all the pictures, then called out. “Yes?”

The door opened slightly and his secretary poked her head in. “I don't mean to interrupt you, but I have Mrs. Burns and Vance Patterson all out here.

Mr. Harper raised an eyebrow, but got up and headed to the main office. As he stepped out, he was immediately assaulted verbally by the short Mrs. Burns. “Mr. Harper, I need to get back to my class, but I need Mr. Patterson here put on detention for getting out of his seat and leaving the class after I told him to sit down.”

“Sir, I had to come here.” Vance said, pleading with his eyes. “It's about Troy.”

“What about Troy?” Mr. Harper asked.

Vance leaned forward and whispered. “The pictures from yesterday.” He hoped that his parents had already covered the pictures. Then he passed the picture he had pulled from the other boy over to Mr. Harper, image down, so neither the teacher, or the secretary could see what it was.

Mr. Harper looked at it as Mrs. Burns sighed. “I don't care what this is about, he left my room after I told him to get in his seat. He needs to be punished for insubordination.”

Mr. Harper ignore the little woman and he looked at Vance. “Where was this? Who had it?”

“In her room. Some of the other kids have them and were teasing me about it.” Vance replied.

“No one teased him.” She snapped back.

Mr. Harper looked at her and she backed down. He looked to the picture once more, then at her and made a snap decision. “Janice, I need you to get back to your class. I'll be there in a few minutes. Don't let any of them leave until I get there, understood?”

“Fine, and what about him?” She pointed at Vance.

“He has his reasons for coming here I will deal with him for that.” Mr. Harper replied. As she was about to speak again, he held out a hand and stopped her. “I'll discuss it with you, but right now, I have some other business to attend to. So please, return to your class and I'll be there shortly.”

She huffed out an angry breath, then stormed out of the office. Mr. Harper watched the teacher leave, then he put a hand on Vance's shoulder. “I'll discuss your situation with Mrs. Burns later. But for now, come on back, your parents are here.”

Vance followed the principal back and when Maggie saw him, she raised an eyebrow.

“Before you say anything, I had Vance come back here because of these.” He handed the picture that Vance had given him. He looked to Emily May, then wrote out a quick hall pass, forgetting she already had one. “I'm going to send you back to class. Tell Mr. Walkley that if he finds more of these pictures, to send them to me straight away.”

Emily May gave Troy a quick hug, then took her two hall passes and left. Mr. Harper focused on Peter and Mary Beth. “I'd like to discuss Troy's options with his parents. That you for coming here for him, but you two need to get going, or you'll miss out on lunch.”

Peter looked to Troy who just nodded. “Call me when school is over. I want to know what happened.”

As Peter started to turn. William got up and put a hand on Peter's shoulder, stopping him. “One moment, Peter.” He had wanted to do this away from the others, but he didn't want to any of the kids wondering what was going on. He held out his hand, in the offer of a hand shake. “I want to thank you for staying with Troy yesterday. Thank you for making sure nothing happened.”

“Um...” Peter was stunned as he looked at the offered hand, then he slowly gripped it. “No problem. I would have kicked myself if I hadn't gone over there.”

“Thank you. We may change the rules again and I'll let you know, personally, okay?”

“Okay.” Peter smiled slightly. “Thank you sir.”

“Now get going. Go get some lunch.” William said with a smile.

Peter left the room, after giving Troy a smile, then Mary Beth hugged her friend once more, then William offered her a handshake as well. “That goes for you as well. And give my thanks to your sister for coming over as well.”

“I will sir. I'm just glad nothing happened.”

William nodded. “That makes two of us, little lady.”

William took his seat as Mary Beth left, then he looked at his wife, who was looking at the pictures Troy's teacher had brought in. The anger rose in him once more. The decision was made, he knew that now. When he spoke, he forced his voice to remain calm. “How do we get Troy into Home schooling?”

“Normally there’s a couple of days to get it approved, but I can call in a favor.” Mr. Harper stated.

“Do we need anything special to teach him? Like any teaching degrees?” Maggie asked.

“Not that I'm aware of, but there will be tests, run by the school district. I'm sorry, but for those, Troy will have to show up, but given the circumstances, I'm sure we can have those held in here, or in the teacher’s lounge.” Mr. Harper watched as Troy slumped his shoulders. “Hey, tests will be a part of life.”

“I know.”

Mr. Harper looked to the clock, then he stood up. “Now if you don't mind, I need to go to Mrs. Burn's class before it lets out. I'll only be a few minutes. I want to make sure that no more of the pictures are there. Vance, You can stay in here and we'll discuss any punishments for leaving the class when I return.”

“Okay.” He replied as he felt both his parents look at him.

When the Principal had left the room, William turned to fully face his eldest. “Punishments?” He asked.

Vance sighed and gestured to the pictures. “Someone was teasing me, then he showed me the picture. I grabbed it and came to tell Mr. Harper, 'cause I knew you two would be here. I thought he should know that new pictures had been left.

“That doesn't explain the punishment part of it.” William stated.

Vance nodded. “I got up and Mrs. Burns got mad and told me to sit down, but I didn't 'cause this is important. So I asked for permission to go to the office, but she wouldn't let me, so I left the room.”

William took it all in and nodded slowly. “Well, you did what you felt was right. True, you disobeyed a teacher, but something like this was important. But next time, you could have waited till after the class. Then you could have brought the picture up.”

Vance lowered his gaze. “Yes Dad. I'm sorry.”

“Don't be. You did what you did to protect family, right?” William asked and his son nodded. “Well then, that's all I needed to hear.”

“You Okay?” Maggie asked as she looked to her youngest.

“No.” Troy shook his head. “This whole thing sucks.”

Maggie pointed a finger at him, but only half-heartedly scolded him. “Language.”

“Sorry, it's just, why can't Tracy come to school?” He asked. “And now someone is putting pictures all around school.”

“It's okay. We're going to home-school you. This won't even be an issue anymore.” Maggie gave him her best smile.

“I hope so.” He answered back.

~o~O~o~

Mr. Harper walked into Mrs. Burn’s class and stood to the side, then cleared his throat to catch her attention. “Janice, could I have a moment of your class time?”

“Sure.” She replied, not at all happy that he interrupted her. After all, this was her class, her kingdom. How could she rule over it if people kept compromising her authority.

“Listen up, class.” Mr. Harper spoke loud enough to be heard by all. “I know there are pictures in this class of another student at this school. The administration of this school will be treating these pictures as a threat to that child, any siblings of said child and any friends mentioned in the pictures. If you have one, hold your hand up and I will come collect them.”

Not a hand went up in the room. “Do I need to threaten with a class-wide detention because no one wants to come forward? I'd also like to mention that anyone in sports will be barred from playing if they are found in possession of those pictures.”

As he said it, a couple of hands went up and Mr. Harper moved forward to collect the photos. “Thank you. Any one else?” He asked, then waited a few minutes as no one else moved. “Okay. Like I said, those photo's are being treated as threatening material. Any student caught with them will be suspended for at least three days, if not longer. Any of you in extracurricular activities will be barred from participating to the end of the school year. If you find any photos with threatening messages on them, bring them to the office, straight away.”

Curiosity got to Mrs. Burns as Mr. Harper went to the door. “Continue reading and I will be right back in.” She went outside and shut the door behind her. A quick couple of steps helped her catch up to the principal. “What is all this about?” She asked.

Mr. Harper stopped and turned to face her. He knew he was going to send out a note to all teachers. They would be instrumental in finding the culprit. “Someone is passing pictures of Vance Patterson’s brother around with threatening notes aimed at Troy and at least three other students.”

“Troy...? Is he the kid that got hurt in December? The one that Millet kid attacked?” Mrs. Burns asked.

“The same.” Mr. Harper replied.

Then she put the easy pieces of the puzzle together. “That's why Vance said he had to leave, he had to tell you.”

“Correct. I've got his parents in my office right now.” Mr. Harper replied.

“What are these pictures of?” Mrs. Burns asked.

Mr. Harper thought about it for a moment. He knew that two teachers now knew. And if he was to put out a note to all of them to stop the photos, knowing what they were looking for could help. He turned the picture over and showed her.

She raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “It's a young girl. Why target Vance?”

“No.” Mr. Harper replied. “That's Troy."

Her tone changed and when she spoke, there was disbelief and a hint of disgust in her voice. “Wait, he wears girl’s clothes?”

He sighed. He knew there were a few backward thinking members of his staff and as long as they kept their opinion to themselves and their actions didn't harm a child, there was little he could do. But Mr. Harper could tell by her face that she wasn't happy to be a part of this. “Janice, for all we know, it was taken at Halloween. And what he wears isn't our problem. The fact that someone is openly threatening not one, but at least three children and they are leaving the pictures at the school, that makes it out concern.”

She read the words at the bottom, then looked at him and shook her head. “That isn't a threat. It's just pointing out that Troy wears girl’s clothes.”

“He received a phone call while at home yesterday and they threatened to attack him.” Mr. Harper replied. “He got the pictures here at the school, so did two other students. That makes it our problem and something I have to report to the sheriff's office.”

“I see.”

“I'll be holding a staff meeting after school, but for now, you need to get back to your class and I need to go to the office.” Mr. Harper turned to leave, then he stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Janice, our personal feelings have no place in this. So if you see a picture or any threatening notes, then bring them to me.”

She huffed out a breath and turned back to her classroom door. She knew he was right, but in defending the little boy, she hated that. If he wanted to prance around like a girl, it was her belief that he should fight his own fights. “Fine.” She stated as she opened it up and stepped in.

~o~O~o~

Mr. Harper was almost back to the office when Mr. McCoy came running up. "Alvin!" He shouted. The Principal turned and raised an eyebrow. Mr. McCoy took a moment to catch his breath. "S-sorry, out of shape."

"What's wrong?" Mr. Harper asked him.

"I just went to my room to grab some papers to grade while I ate, I totally forgot them when the bell for lunch rang, but when I went into the class, someone had left these on one of the desks." He looked around to make sure no kids were watching, then he handed over a few pictures, each with the words "Troy Patterson is a dress wearing fag." written in black ink at the bottom.

"On a desk?" Mr. Harper raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Troy's desk, actually." Rodney replied. "Is this why he was sick today? He seemed out of it after lunch yesterday."

"I shouldn't answer that, but yes. He's received phone calls too, threatening ones last night. This isn't the only pictures around. Vance, his brother, got one from another student in a different class and Mr. Walkley found some in his class, each targeting Troy and other students that Troy knows."

"Crap." Mr. McCoy muttered.

"Yeah. There will be a meeting after school, I'll announce it shortly, but for now, if you see any of those pictures, bring them to right away."

"Okay. I'll keep an eye out." Mr. McCoy replied.

"Thank you Rodney." Mr. Harper said before he turned and went back to the office. He stopped at the secretary’s desk long enough to make an announcement to all teachers about the meeting over the PA system, then he went to his office, while his secretary gave him a bewildered look. He went in and nodded at the Patterson family as he took his seat. “There were a few more pictures.” He stated as he looked up. “So you all know, I'll be holding a staff meeting after school today and I need to get everyone on board about collecting those pictures. One more thing. The pictures were left here and you have been threatened, at least I see it that way. I'm sorry for any inconvenience, but I need to notify the sheriff’s department.”

“Do you have to?” Troy asked, his voice was strained with fear. He didn't want this becoming bigger then it was.

“Troy, if people found out that I didn't inform the cops when a student was harassed both here and at home, I could lose my job. And with the notes going to your brother and the Higgins girl, I have to tell someone. I'll do my best to keep you out of it, okay.”

Troy didn't look up. He began staring at his feet. “Okay.” he stated, not believing him at all.

“Okay. Now as for home schooling. Will this be just Troy, or Vance too.” Mr. Harper looked to Vance, then Maggie.

Maggie looked to her eldest and then at her husband. “It would be safer, I mean he's getting the notes too.”

“Can I still play sports?” Vance asked.

“I don't think so.” Mr. Harper replied. “I believe that you need to be a student at the school, but I can look into it.”

“Vance, I know you like sports, but this may be safer.” Maggie said as she leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder.

“But Mom, I like being on the team.”

William cut her off before she could continue. “Maggie, what if the pictures stop after Troy leaves? We could leave Vance in for now, so Mom only has to worry about teaching one kid, then if things get worse, we can pull Vance.”

“Could we?” Vance asked, his eyes shining with hope. “I don't wont to leave the basketball team and baseball is starting soon. Plus there's soccer.”

Maggie thought about it for a moment or two, then she looked to her husband and nodded slightly. “Okay.” She stated, but held up one finger. “But one problem and he gets pulled, understand?”

“Deal.” William agreed.

Mr. Harper waited for the couple to finish, then he smiled and leaned forward in his chair, reaching for his Rolodex with the important numbers for the school district. “Now that that is settled, I'll get a hold of the district office. We can have someone come over and start the paperwork.”

William leaned over to Maggie and whispered into her ear. She shrugged and looked to Mr. Harper. “Do we both need to be here? He needs to get back to work and if it's paperwork, I tend to deal with that.”

“That should be fine. We only need one of you here for the paperwork.” The Principal looked to the clock, then to Vance. “Your class should be letting out soon, so at the bell, go ahead and take off. I'll take over your detention from Mrs. Burns and we'll discuss it later, okay?”

“Okay.” Vance replied and he smiled at his brother. “See you at home, lucky bum.”

“Later, Vance.” Troy replied.

William stood and both he and his eldest left the room. Maggie patted the seat and looked to Troy. “May as well get comfortable.” She replied.

There will be more, I just don't want to overwhelm people with large chapters