Title:           Week13 - GreentextSavant
Author:          AlexanderGrey
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/tf40tKV5
First Edit:      Friday 17th of June 2016 02:12:26 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Friday 17th of June 2016 02:12:26 PM CDT

LISTEN
>”Mr. Mous.” Cinch’s voice coldly greets you.
>You are so not in the mood for this right now.
“Did you get my-”
>”OF COURSE I GOT YOUR MESSAGE. That’s why I’m calling you!”
>Now that you can see the clock clearly, you notice the time indicating itself as 4:49 AM. How on earth is Cinch even up this early, let alone expecting you to be up this early by extent? You rub your eyes as you wonder this, as well as wonder what Cinch said as the phone was lazily held further away from your ear.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
>”I said have you really, truly seen a significant improvement in Miss Zest’s obedience in class?” Cinch repeats. “And I mean a SIGNIFICANT improvement.”
>This whole conversation feels so unnecessary.
“Yes, I have.” You explain. “She’s paying attention, taking her notes… and didn’t have hear headphones throughout the entire class time. So everyone’s happy.”
>”Why didn’t you bring this up before, Mr. Mous?” It’s becoming more and more obvious that Cinch just might be interrogating you.
“Because I didn’t know that the girl lied to me until right as you snuck up behind me.”
>”Ah, yes. I was just about to get to that.” Cinch apparently continues. “The main thing I addressed to Miss Zest and her parents is that she lied to her teachers.”
“What did they say?”
>”Well… long story short… I couldn’t convince them to get their daughter to refrain from taking her headphones to school. Given that she’s already 18 years old and all.”
“That makes sense.”
>”Plus, she was not on school grounds at the time of the call, so there was nothing within my sphere of power that I could do to keep her from bringing them to school again. And as you know, I am far too busy to be bothered to go headphone hunting throughout the school day.”
“Uhh…”
>”That’s where you come in…”
“…Excuse me?”
>”The only way to truly keep the girl from bringing the headphones to school is for her to have them confiscated again.”
“But…” You protest. “This doesn’t exactly have to do with me anymore.”
>Her audible scoff on the other end is sharp enough to cut you off if you had still been talking. “Mr. Mous! How could you be so selfish?”
“Uhh…”
>”This is about WINNING. Winning, Mr. Mous. Lemon Zest needs to learn that she can’t get away with disobeying school policy multiple times.”
“But she’s following policy now, isn’t she? I mean-”
>”That doesn’t matter!” She interrupts you this time. “Nobody, whether from within or outside of school grounds, disrespects Crystal Prep policy and gets away with it! Punishment must be implemented, Mr. Mous. And you’re the only one who can truly bring punishment into the feasible region.”
>Your eyes, despite being extremely tired, now begin to widen in the wake of what you just heard the principal say.
“F-feasible region?”
>”Things that are possible to happen.” Cinch puts it into terms you somewhat understand. “Miss Zest wearing her headphones in your class is the only way we can possibly take them. If she brought them to school and only took them off in your class, she might be wearing them in her other classes. Think about how her grades would look there, Mr, Mous.”
“Then why don’t you call her other teachers instead? I did my part!” You ball your free hand into a fist as you realize how unnecessary this conversation turned out to be.
>It’s times like this that make you hate this job.
>Cinch goes on to explain her side if the story, sounding more like she’s incoherently rambling to your tired ears to more they’re forced to listen to her over the phone. You’ve honestly heard a lot of the stuff she’s saying before.
>”Because they provided her the privilege to wear headphones in class. You’re the only one of her teachers who actually upholds a policy regarding the use of unnecessary accessories in class. None of her other teachers are in a position to confiscate them unless they change their class rules. Which… they didn’t. Miss Zest can’t get away with breaking a rule on school grounds. Remember, she snatched them right off of YOUR desk and ran out with them. SHE is undisciplined and needs to have those headphones taken from her if they are going to be that much of a problem.”
>You need to find some kind of a way to get it through to Cinch that she’s taking this way too far. Is the only thing this lady ever thinks about is winning?
“With all due respect, Principal Cinch… I honestly stopped caring after she stopped wearing her headphones in my class. I think it’s better we just let this one slide.” You add in a final comment to give your argument an overlying feeling of victory, hoping it will suffice Cinch’s ego. “We changed her behavior, didn’t we?”
>”NO WE DIDN’T!” Cinch snaps. “At least not to a certain extent. She’s simply being more careful about WHICH classes she wears the headphones in.”
“So what do you even want me to do?” You gripe, resisting the urge to pound that ‘hang up’ button.
>”Here’s what we’re going to do… to settle the score a bit.” It’s already becoming clear how low Cinch is willing to sink for the sake of winning. “You wait for Miss Zest to become more comfortable with breaking the rules once more, since she believes that she got away with it the first time.”
>It’s now when you realize that Cinch could have just sent you an email instead of calling you this early in the morning. Your brain has pretty much tuned out from anything else she says.
>But you still automatically assume that her plan dances somewhere along the lines of you getting Lemon Zest to wear the headphones in your class again, so you have an excuse to take them. It’s a good thing you managed to pick that up from her implications a minute ago before you tuned out completely.
>Otherwise, you would be pretty much unable to pretend that you’re still listening.
>”… when she lets her guard down.” Principal Cinch’s final words of a sentence are all you pick up on.
“Yes, when she lets her guard down. Of course.”
>”Are you listening to me?”
“I understood all of it, ma’am.” You reply. “But I have to admit that it’s going to take a while before she gets the impression that the classroom rules have changed.”
>”Well it’s better than making it too obvious by directly telling her a few days afterward. It’s the best way to do this.”
>You’re totally not going to actually do this.
>You already know it.
>She hangs up before you know it… and the sun is close to rising.
>In your head, you start to come up with a plan of your own outside of Cinch’s agenda as you get ready to drive to work. In fact, the thing you formulate in your head begins to take more and more of a shape of something that works directly against Cinch’s agenda.
>…
>You enter the school with a fast pace, fixing your gaze on anything that resembles those lime green locks. You’re last intention is to get Lemon to give you her headphones — your second to last intention involves losing your job.
>The morning is quiet so far. You get some paperwork done after letting a few students in before homeroom starts up. First and second periods go by with a breeze.
>In your mind, you think up the things you’re going to say to Lemon Zest. You’ll start out by asking how her talk with her parents went, implying that you heard form the principal that she had a talking to the night before.
>By the time you’re supposed to see her in class… you’re ready.
>”Hey, Mr. Mous.” Lemon is the first student into the classroom, as though she’s been waiting this whole time to come here.
“Miss Zest!” You greet her in your usual formal voice. “I’ve been meaning to speak with you.”
>She freezes, but in a way that implies that she had mentally prepared for this; she had stopped walking before she heard you greet her.
“With what?” She asks, turning towards you.
“Principal Cinch told me about you and your parents settling everything out. I’d just like to let you know that everyone else is on the same page now. So there’s nothing left to worry about.” You need o think of a way to get her to talk to you after school without seeming suspicious.
>Zest smiles at you. “Awesome.” She replies before sitting down at her desk… without her headphones present.
“So.” You begin after the rest of the class is seated. “Today, we’ll be having a short pop quiz before continuing where we left off.” You watch the students’ eyes go wide when they hear you say ‘pop quiz’.
>You’ve always loved doing this out of nowhere.
>Pencils are taken out before you can even reach for the hidden stack of quizzes. Lemon Zest looks especially concerned, giving away the possible evidence that she wasn’t fully taking in the information during last class. You’ve always hated it when students developed the habit of only looking as though they are paying attention while not actually doing so.
>Watch the class complete the “cruelly” delivered pop quiz. You had made it easier than you had let on for it to be.
>They’re all panicking internally, especially when you jokingly tell them that they have 30 seconds left when there’s really five minutes. The relieved looks on their faces when they realize that they have more time is the thing that makes you feel like less of a jerk.
>The pop quiz is over and you assess the situation.
>The students turn their papers in looking a little bit more confident about how they did in contrast ho they previously looked regarding how they used to think they were going to do.
>”Alrighty!” You announce as you turn on the overhead projector, getting ready for what you love to call fun. “Today’s lesson…”
>Lemon Zest is the only one who doesn’t seem to have much of a confident expression regarding her performance on th pop quiz — you were afraid of this happening. The look doesn’t leave her face as you go on with your lecture.
>She’s still not taking notes, just sort of staring at the image on the screen. Possibly taking it in through visual memory?
>You’d be surprised if this girl was that good.
>In any case, you can’t help but feel a tinge of guilt about the fact that the girl’s practically afraid to bring her headphones into this class anymore… in fear of losing her precious musical headwear.
>But that’s fine; that’s the very reason you’re looking to speak to Zest after class today. You continue about the day’s lesson, enthusiastically telling it like a story that the students take a deep liking to.
>Especially with the way you roll through the events that take place. If you didn’t love teaching this stuff, the students wouldn’t love learning it.
>The task to get Zest to stay after class is made even easier to happen after you see how she did on the quiz. You look it over after the students are working in groups.
>It’s sort of a bittersweet feeling as you write the F on Zest’s paper… followed by a “see me!”.
>This is your chance to relay the plan to the girl. Cinch must not get away with what she tried to do.
>After class ends, the students take their papers and walk out of the room. You watch Zest read the message on the paper.
>…
>”So… yeah.” Lemon Zest starts up the conversation.
“What happened? You were doing so well.” You tell her with a softer tone. “I made that one a little easy.” You remember giving the prelude to the quiz some thunder for the students to try harder out of subtle intimidation.
>Lemon slides her hand along the back of her head. “Heh, sorry. I guess I just didn’t spend much time memorizing this stuff.”
>You’re a little bit disappointed that she said memorizing instead of learning.
“Well… what is it that you’re having trouble remembering?”
>”How did the other kids do?”
>You sigh awkwardly, taking a short peek out the door once more. There are a couple of the students from the next class already standing there waiting to come in. You need to wrap this up.
“Well… I didn’t need to call them in here after class.” You try to word it without making it too impactful. “But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to help you take in the lessons a bit.”
>Refrain from leaning in, just let what you’re saying encourage the girl to try harder.
“I mean, I know you don’t have your music distracting you anymore. But when you don’t do as well, it kind of defeats the whole purpose of you not wearing them in class in the first place.”
>”…Yeah…” Her hope for something rests in her tone.
>And you know exactly what it is she’s probably hoping for… that word of approval to eliminate that hour long gap in listening to her beloved music. It’s like eliminating commercial breaks from TV, in a strange way. At least, a reaction to that is what you compare the lights in her eyes to once you mention the headphones to her again.
“Are you… more comfortable with the headphones on in class? I think I might have an idea.” You lead her on.
>She doesn’t even seem to car that this premise most likely won’t help her pay attention during class time. Lemon Zest excitedly nods her head at your suggestion.
“You’re aware of after school tutoring, are you?” You bring up.
>…
~
>You’re at home, sitting at your own dest with the phone up to your ear.
>Principal Cinch still has yet to answer, despite how eager she seemed to be about whether or not you let her plan fall into place. Why hasn’t she answered any of the emails you have sent her so far?
>Isn’t she supposed to… care about this?
>A few more unanswered calls later, and you find your phone ringing.
>”Excellent work, Mr. Mous.” Cinch immediately congratulates you. “I certainly hope I’m not getting ahead of myself here.”
>You make sure she can hear you chuckle into the phone’s mouthpiece.
“Oh don’t worry.” You insist. “You’re not. All is said and done.”
>Cinch cannot be heard chuckling herself, but you can still hear the subtle glee in her voice after she realize that her plan is falling into place. “It’s about time somebody did something to get the message through that girl’s head that the performance of Crystal Prep students is serious business. And that never will I, nor will any other staff member, tolerate slackers.”
>She literally hangs up before you get a chance to answer her. It’s as though you were relaying a completed mission over a military walkie talkie.
>The next thing you do is send Lemon Zest an email conveying that you want to meet her after school tomorrow to begin tutoring. You hit the keys on your keyboard with a little bit of angry passion after being so rudely cut off by your superior.
>And that angsty feeling in your gut possesses you to keep in mind that the possibility of Cinch seeing your emails still whispers into your head through a bit of paranoia that the principal had instilled into every teacher employed at Crystal Prep High. There will be no Hillary Clintons in this school’s faculty.
>Through a carefully worded email, you hint to Zest that it’s best to not let Cinch see that she has the headphones on after history class tomorrow.
>What isn’t said in the email is that this is only the first step of your master plan.
>…
>The next day could not have come faster.
>In class, Lemon Zest sits at her desk with her headphones hugging the top of her head. The rest of the students in the class don’t even pay any mind to the fact — they aren’t aware of the situation anyway.
>You meanwhile go about your usual lesson, enjoying making the assignment and note taking as fun as possible. On this day, you challenge the students to come up with a plan to defend themselves of invaders from another continent that have forces much greater than a hypothetical home force.
>Long story short, you end up getting them into the idea of what it was like for Charles Martel to defend against the Umayyad Caliphate.
>At the same time, Lemon Zest tunes out the school day once more with her head nodding to the beat fo the song that blasts directly into her ears.
>By the time class ends, Zest is the first one out the door, having sprung to her seat form the rock music playing. She bolts out the door and turns a corner into another hallway. She’s starting to get closer to Principal Cinch’s office… while her headphones are supposed to be gone.
>You follow her out the door after the rest of the students leave the classroom, looking to tap her on the shoulder and remind her that she still needs to keep her headphones hidden in the hallway.
>Catch a quick glimpse of her turning a corner, and decide to take a shortcut the other way around to where you’re sure she’s going to end up. In a flash, you enter another hallway with Zest on the far end, and Cinch’s opening office door at the midpoint between.
The girl stops in her tracks while “Danger Zone” plays. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siwpn14IE7E
>Wave to Zest with a worried expression; she can immediately tell what this is.
>You watch the girl slip the headphones off of her head just in time to let gravity direct them into her open backpack.
>Cinch, not having seen, looks at you and Zest, knowing that you must have the headphones in your possession.
>”Oh hello there, Mr. Mous.” Cinch greets you, almost grinning.
>You immediately think back to the desk in your classroom… remembering what Cinch would expect to see on top of the surface when she walks through the door.
>Wave to the Principal as Zest cautiously walks in the other direction, not registering what Cinch being in your presence at this moment means for you.
“Good afternoon.” You’re already backing away into the direction of your classroom, trying to remember the location of the drawer keys with a quick idea sprouting in your mind. “How’s work been going?”
>There’s no way you’ll be able to stall her.
>”You know exactly how busy I always am.” Cinch watches Zest disappear around a corner.
“So you aren’t doing anything right now?” Maybe you can get her to go back into her office and not ask about the headphones.
>Cinch raises an eyebrow at you, instantly reminding you of something you overlooked. “You… do realize that I have always monitor the hallways in between classes, right?” She brings up.
>You start to think up some damage control to counter this, but you’re forced to abandon the though upon the next thing Cinch says.
>”Is there something you’d like me to see?” She speaks slower so you know that she’s talking about the headphones.
>There’s nowhere left to turn, though you keep your head from turning back towards your classroom to prevent and… further suspicion. Class with Lemon Zest has ended, and there’s an answer she’s expecting form you, and now.
“Of course.” You answer, pretending to happily walk in the direction of your classroom with your head still turned towards the principal.
>Get a head start, trying to figure out how you can lock the drawer as quickly and silently as you can before Cinch can see what you’re doing in the room. Her heels immediately start clacking onto the marble floor behind you as she follows.