The scandal escalated. The trio argued for a long time about how to dress Alice. The principal immediately recalled not only all the miscalculations of the young head teacher, but also the unfulfilled work tasks. It seemed that the abyss opened up and out of it poured out all the bile, pain, and frustration. Robert was on edge, defending himself, protecting his daughter, responding to the directors aggression with no less stinging aggression. In the end, when he came out, the feeling of disappointment in his work and a desire to quickly get out of the school didnt leave him. But there was no way out, the second shift had begun, and he had three more classes in high school. The conflict had to be swallowed and he had to go to class.
A new conflict with the principal didnt take long. Literally the next day at the same time the vice principal came into his office with the information that he had to talk urgently with a 10th grader who was a candidate for expulsion from school because of her appearance. Unlike his daughter, who dressed decently, though creatively torn skirts, complete with embroidered T-shirts, the tenth-grader had an indecent appearance.
Diana (that was her name) stood in the principals office in a cathouse outfit: black fishnet tights, a leather short skirt, and a tattered gray T-shirt. The candidate for expulsion was frightened to look around. She knew that Mr. Robert, though not a supporter of such clothes, but he didnt consider it a disaster.
The conversation began with the director:
See, thats what the creative nature can lead to. We warned Diana, as you know, many times, we called her mother, and you remember, even you participated in our conversation last week. But to no avail, we will have to take measures. This kind of appearance is unacceptable in our school. What do you have to say about it, Robert?
Robert understood everything. It was a stone in his own backyard as well. The principal had created conditions under which he had to agree with her. And then the girl would be expelled. But by agreeing with the principal, he would lose, and the whole exchange yesterday would become meaningless. Robert preferred not to play this game:
Mrs. Marble, he began to answer the director, I can understand why you invited me here. I think: it is unprofessional, using the precedent with Diana, to hint at my situation, thereby humiliating me. My opinion about my daughter remains the same. As for Diana, I will say the following: I would not want her to be expelled from school because of her appearance, especially since she has leveled off in her studies and is making significant progress in history and social studies.
Mr. Roberts words produced a mixed reaction. The principal was extremely unhappy with her vice-principal, including the way he harshly answered her and thereby raised his credibility in the eyes of the student. Mrs. Marble had long wanted to expel Diana from the school, and now she needed Roberts consent, which she didnt get. As for Diana, she sat silent, looking at the floor, and it was obvious that she was very bad and ashamed right now. Ashamed, in part, because she respected her teacher very much and didnt want to cause him any trouble. But it was his words about her success in her studies that really stuck with her. She had already made up her mind: if she was not expelled, she would dress differently and study hard.
But Diana was expelled. The girl is now in the gymnasium, where she is supposed to spend her free time with her classmates, who are going to take her to the kindergarten for the rest of her life. Robert found out about it the next day during the lesson, when the children told him everything. Rage, anger these were the feelings that were eating away at the good soul of Robert. He no longer thought about the lesson, about education, about upbringing. He wanted to rebel, he wanted to be angry, he wanted to show the principal, the teachers, the whole educational system his indignation. To work not for the good, but in spite of it thats what this whole situation was pushing toward.
Consumed with these feelings Robert was sitting in his office, thinking about the absurdity and stupidity of what had happened, when the phone beeped, announcing the arrival of a text message. Robert read the text message and smiled. The message was from Diana: «Thanks for believing in me. Ill get better at another school.» «Theres still hope,» Robert noted to himself. And he felt a little better.
Roberts defeat in this story was defining. He was angry at everything: at the principal, at the education system, at the teachers. But the most disgusting feeling he felt for himself. The disappointment, the senseless waste of time at work, the nervous atmosphere at home all of this combined to upset him even more. He still had a few days of work left before the end of the week, but he felt no desire to do anything at all. He had no energy for anything. Everything seemed pointless and empty.
Tonight Robert wanted to spend time in a bar, and for some reason he remembered the times when he used to drink with friends, or rather with one friend. And it was him that Robert decided to call.
The conversation was short and brief:
Hi, George. How are you?
Hi, fine, and how are you? The voice of an old friend inspired and cheered up a despondent Robert.
You know, I dont want to burden you. Id just like to meet you the other day.
Great, Im all for it! Listen, lets do it tonight, if you dont have work.
Yeah, tonights really good. Then lets do it at our place.
All right, its a deal, buddy.
Roberts friend George was happy to meet them and was clearly in a positive mood. Apparently, something had really changed in his life. Robert and him often «hung out» in different bars, and most often in three. But this time the choice fell on a small and quiet place in the center of the city.
The bar where Robert and his friend spent their evenings was what they called «the colorful place. Robert was a teacher at the time, and George worked part-time somewhere from time to time. The bar was called «Solo Rock». It occupied the ground floor of a big house on the main street and had a really racy and brutal design. Its dark walls reeked of a pleasant smoky smell. There was a stage in the bar, on which from time to time some youth groups played. The owner was a fan of rock, so there was never any quiet music in the place. And this was not necessary for men who came here to have a «cultural rest», to listen or tell stories, pour out the soul of an unfamiliar drinking companion And in general Robert, as a capital intellectual, liked the fact that visitors didnt get drunk here. And the aura of this bar with a male character was full of empathy and solidarity.
The music of the 90s was playing tonight. As usual, Robert was the first to arrive at the bar. He bought two bottles of beer, asked about the local alcoholic ration, and waited for his buddy. «Hmm, nothing changes, how nice that many things remain, and thats a good thing,» he noted to himself. The bar was indeed the same, and had hardly changed in the three years since he and George had last met, except for the revamped stage, where teenagers, apparently a local amateur band, were already bustling about. So, it will be interesting. Roberts mood brightened up noticeably.
Here comes George, he, as usual, made his friend wait a little longer. «And that doesnt change,» Robert noted with a smile as he watched his buddy swiftly descend the stairs straight to him.