Fat School Confidential by Joe Rourke Page A

Red”—with satellite radio to boot!
        Back at work, I was summoned to Bill’s office.
        “ You hear about Johnny?” Bill said, straight and stiff at his desk.
        Standing before him, I replied, “Only that he went on solo.”
        “ Solo,” as the term suggested, meant solitary confinement. Meted by staff when a student broke a major rule, the penalty isolated the offending party from the rest of the student population for twenty-four to seventy-two hours. The length of time depended on the severity of the infraction. In this case, Johnny having sex with his girlfriend normally meant an automatic, maximum sentence of seventy-two hours. But why would Johnny—a minor—be punished more severely than an eighteen-year-old?
        Bill corrected me. “Johnny isn’t on solo. He’s at S.A.P.”
        Before I could even think of reacting, Bill added, “Give him a couple days to get used to his new living arrangement, then bring him his work. Maybe you could coordinate it with his other teachers.”
        The last suggestion was easier said than done. While most of my colleagues were more than happy to oblige with makeup work, Strumm, on the other hand, was a bit resistant. I met up with him in his office. The door was wide open—probably to give his tiny office a more spacious feel.
        “ Fuck him,” he blurted, before catching himself. A flush of embarrassment spread over his face, as he noticed students ambling by. I closed the door behind me.
        “ He’s failing my class. I don’t see how giving him a few handouts is going to make much of a difference.”
        “ I totally agree. But since he doesn’t have the same distractions as he did here, don’t you think he might be able to focus more?”
        “ On what? Losing weight?”
        Flashing Michael a knowing glance, I replied, “You know what I mean.”
        “ I doubt Sandy not being around is going to make much difference in his grades. At least Sandy knows her priorities. Johnny’s just her lapdog.”
        “ I think it’s the other way around,” I replied, adding, “Either way, Johnny has got to do something on that island besides losing weight and obsessing over his girlfriend.”
        With a look of resignation, he handed me a few worksheets.
        “ Tell him if he doesn’t complete these, I’ll fail him until he makes it up in my class, got it?” I nodded, knowing Strumm meant business. I didn’t share the same tough-love attitude as he, but I understood where he was coming from. Maybe I should have taken a page from his playbook and done the same.
        Honoring Bill’s wishes, I waited until later in the week to get back to the island. With dark clouds rolling in and a wind picking up speed, a storm was fast approaching. Armed with graded assignments for the “old” campers as well as new work for Johnny, I slogged through the brush to the encampment. Johnny was first to spot me.
        “ Mr. Rourke! Mr. Rourke!” Johnny bounded over the unlit fire pit and rushed towards me. Offering a quick, manly hug, he was happy to see me. Then, leaning in, he whispered, “You gotta get me out of here.”
        With a nervous laugh, I broke away from the hug. Kenny, on duty in front of the shack, ran up to join us.
        “ What’s going on?” Kenny asked, a little alarm in his voice. Was he thinking I was the one doing the hugging? I needed to turn this around—and fast.
        “ Johnny’s just happy to see me, I guess,” I replied. Staring him down, Kenny led Johnny to the compound. I followed suit.
        “ You guys all did better than I thought. Good work,” I said, passing papers back to the students. One of them, Karen, a tomboy with cropped hair and facial piercings, spoke up. “This was easy. Can’t you give us something more challenging?”
        I thought I gave them something challenging. Wasn’t being a good little Long-Term-Weight-Controller