Heath
Every missing graduate had performed at a Regional Evolved Tournament. Each of them had excelled, achieving top marks, and had been offered highly sought-after positions by illustrious companies or sports teams.
The columns under each heading on his whiteboard were still frustratingly, mockingly, empty. There were no leads, not a single clue to investigate or present to authorities.
They decided to hold a strategy session at her house on Saturday. Hopefully, one of them would have more information to work with by then, or at least ideas of how to defend the students.
The town would be flooded with spectators, family members of the entrants, scouts, and professors from other colleges. Hundreds of people flocked to these events, just to watch the competitions. Many would camp outside of town rather than staying at hotels.
It would be impossible to vet everyone. Just thinking about it was enough to give him nightmares.
Heath was sitting in his office on Friday, immersed in thoughts of the upcoming tournament, when there was a knock on his door. He didn’t have any appointments until later in the day, so this was unexpected.
“Come in,” he said distractedly.
The door opened, revealing a senior caster. Heath remembered him from his days as a dorm monitor, but didn’t have him in any of his classes.
Casey Blackburn attended Mars because of their stellar academic rating, and the prestige a degree from this institution offered. He had never struggled to control his magic.
“I apologize for barging in unannounced, Professor,” Casey said, looking hesitant. “Do you have a couple of minutes?”
“Of course, Casey. Come in and sit down,” Heath said, waving a hand toward the chairs in front of his desk. He was curious to learn what had prompted this unscheduled visit. “What can I do for you?”
Casey sat down, but fidgeted restlessly, crossing and uncrossing his ankles. He was a picture of awkwardness. After clearing his throat, he spoke, “I’m not sure you can do anything, but I trust you. I didn’t know who else to approach with this.”
Now Heath was really curious. Casey was distracting Heath from his worries about the tournament, but that was probably a good thing.
“Whatever this is about, I promise to help if possible,” Heath said, meaning it. Something was obviously bothering Casey. He would help if he could.
“I have a class on artistic theory in Fine Arts with a senior elemental that I have become friends with,” Casey said.
“On Wednesday morning, Trent and I were walking across the quad when the fish fountain shot water at Mr. Voudrie, the powered monitor. All the water was sucked up from the basin, and poured onto his head. It didn’t hit anyone else.
I cast a protection spell on Mr. Voudrie’s messenger bag.
Otherwise, his electronics might have been destroyed.
Trent used his air to dry Mr. Voudrie’s clothes, to prevent him from being late to class. ”
So, Jace was right that Mitch had progressed from verbal insults, and was attacking Clark. Heath didn’t know who else it could possibly be. He wasn’t sure, however, why Casey was reporting this to him.
Helping Clark Voudrie had been kind. Casey Blackburn was at the top of his class, with a bright future ahead of him. He was also clearly a good person, who felt that the assault should be documented.
But this was an elemental issue that they, as casters, had no recourse to fix. Heath could lodge a complaint on Casey’s behalf if the attack had been directed at him. But it hadn’t.
Most of the power to resolve this problem was in Clark Voudrie’s hands. It didn’t sound as though he was exercising it. At least Heath hadn’t heard anything about this until now.
“You think this was a targeted elemental assault, and I agree with you,” Heath said. “I sympathize, but don’t have any authority over elementals, and to my knowledge, Mr. Voudrie hasn’t reported the incident.”
“Yeah, but I came to you because I know that when you hear all of it, you’ll try,” Casey said. “Mr. Voudrie should report this, but if he does, the wrong person will be blamed for it. I don’t think he would want that to happen.”
“No, he wouldn’t, and neither do I,” Heath said. He didn’t know Clark at all, but couldn’t imagine that the powered monitor would want anyone punished for an act they hadn’t committed. “Ok, tell me everything.”
“All the elementals know that Mr. Pierce has it out for Mr. Voudrie,” Casey said.
“He isn’t quiet about it. Mr. Pierce thinks he was passed over for a teaching position he applied for that was unfairly handed to Mr. Voudrie.
The embarrassment of being shown up by a brand new monitor in the first drill, and hearing Mr. Voudrie commended for it, solidified Mr. Pierce’s hatred.
“Most of the elementals have no respect for their monitor. It’s obvious to them that Mr. Voudrie earned, and deserves, his positions,” Casey continued.
“Mr. Pierce disagrees, and seems to think the students owe him loyalty simply because they share the classification of elementals.
He has gone on more than one tirade about betrayal and solidarity, glaring at students he suspects of not being on his side.
Pierce shouts things like ‘Elementals should stick together’, and ‘Powered people are not superior to us’.
I know this from talks Trent and I have had, commiserating over being stuck with the worst monitors on campus.
“There’s a sophomore who still has trouble controlling his water at times.
He was overheard commenting that they would be much better off with a monitor like Mr. Voudrie, and that the powered students are lucky to have him.
Mr. Pierce has been insinuating that this student has been playing pranks, and has no discipline. ”
Mitch must have talked a good game and looked great on paper to get hired at Mars. Heath knew that the Dean, Assistant Dean, and department heads had to be disappointed in Mitchel Pierce.
But what Casey reported was far worse than Heath had expected. He wondered if there was any proof of those claims. Elementals would have to be willing to give statements to justify a disciplinary measure against the dorm monitor.
“That student was on the quad at the time of the incident with the fountain, and your friend thinks Mr. Pierce is framing the sophomore for it,” Heath guessed. “If Mr. Voudrie was late to class due to needing to change clothes, he could lose respect, which would satisfy Mitchel Pierce.
“Additionally, Pierce would delight in causing Voudrie the hardship of needing to replace his electronics, which constitutes destruction of property. Blaming the sophomore for it might solve two of his problems without him getting in trouble over it.”
“Exactly,” Casey said. “Mr. Pierce was also there, though, hiding in a rose arbor just around the curve past the fountain. To my knowledge, no one else saw him. I know that, because I did a spell meant to reveal the perpetrator. Trent is willing to take this to one of the elemental professors, but if he does, Mr. Pierce will make his life unbearable. I offered to discuss it with you first.”
“You did the right thing, Casey,” Heath said. “I can’t make any promises, but I will bring this to the attention of Armando Garcia.”
“Thank you, sir. That eases my mind,” Casey said.
“You’re welcome. How are things in the caster dorm?” Heath asked. If Casey and Trent vented to each other about their monitors, trouble might be brewing there as well.
“It’s better to be a caster than an elemental right now in regard to housing,” Casey replied.
“Mr. Baker ignores us, and can’t be bothered to post signup sheets for games or activities.
He leaves most of the work to the prefects, only assisting and checking on the underage students.
If anyone has a conflict, they work it out among themselves.
“But it could be worse. He doesn’t shout, or try to tell us who we should and shouldn’t be friends with. Some of the guys might feel leaderless, and adrift because of it. Mr. Baker is neither great nor terrible, but somewhere in between.”
Casey was acting restless again, seeming ready to leave, having said what he had come here to say. For a moment, Heath wondered if Casey had applied to enter the tournament, and if he should warn him to be on guard. He decided to leave it alone for now, since Casey had other places he wanted to be.
“I appreciate your honesty,” Heath said. “If anything else comes up, don’t hesitate to stop by.”
“I won’t. Thank you, and have a good day, Professor,” Casey said as he stood from the chair.
“You, too, Casey,” Heath said, staring at the door for a moment after it closed behind Blackburn. He sent a message to Armando Garcia, summarizing the situation, and asking if there was anything that could be done under the circumstances.
In his class on magical control with the underage students, Heath asked the boys how they were settling in. He made subtle inquiries geared to determine if they were comfortable and reasonably supported. Those factors were essential to Ray Baker’s job.
As the head of Caster Studies, Armando would want every detail Heath could glean pertaining to this situation. That included what might or might not be going on in the caster dorm.
The boys did seem to feel that Ray was available if they needed assistance of any kind. Robert mentioned that the older students came and went as they pleased. Steve agreed that curfew only seemed to apply to them. Everything they said substantiated Casey’s comments.
It was clear to Heath that Ray was not a good monitor. Looking good in comparison to Mitch, simply because he didn’t rant to the students and attempt to control who they socialized with, wasn’t much of a testimonial.
After class, Heath opened a message from Armando Garcia, summoning him to the department head’s office at his earliest convenience. Heath replied with his available time slots, and they agreed to meet at the end of the day.
When he arrived, Heath found Armando Garcia and Duane Denault, second in the hierarchy, waiting for him. He got along with both of them well, and as such, was neither concerned nor intimidated. This indicated that they took the matter seriously.
“Heath, have a seat,” Armando said, and waited for him to do so before speaking again. “I trust that I’m stating the obvious, but until further notice, what is said in this meeting will remain in this room.”
“Certainly, sir,” Heath agreed.
“While typically, interference between departments is frowned upon, we are glad that Casey Blackburn came to you with his concerns, and that you brought it to our attention,” Duane said.
“Casey is correct that Mitchel Pierce applied to teach twelfth-grade classes here, and has expressed anger at being passed over for it in favor of Voudrie. This lends credence to his other statements.”
“Mitchel Pierce’s accusations of unfair treatment have no basis in fact,” Armando said.
“Clark Voudrie has a master’s degree, and more teaching experience in comparison to Pierce’s bachelor’s, making Voudrie the obvious choice.
This has been explained to Mitchel Pierce, who isn’t listening to reason. He has become a problem.
“Carl and I have discussed the less-than-satisfactory performance of our monitors, and how we might fix the issues. Not being aware of exactly what is transpiring in the dorms complicates things. We appreciate you shedding light on that from a student’s perspective.
“In the most recent meeting for academic department heads, Carl Washington made it clear that he would prefer Mitchel Pierce being replaced as monitor over the elemental dorm.”
“That could be problematic during the school year, if he’s contemplating immediate dismissal of Pierce,” Heath mused out loud.
“Problematic, but not impossible, and it has been done before,” Duane mentioned. “I had the impression that Carl is fed up with Mitchel Pierce for more reasons than we are currently aware of, and has reached the end of his tolerance.”
“The primary issue preventing Carl from removing Mitchel Pierce is a lack of evidence of violations that would merit termination,” Armando said.
“Evidence that may be available if elemental students report what is happening in the dorm,” Heath concluded. “Proof that Pierce is accosting another monitor, and framing a student to take the blame for it, would be damning, and conclusive.”
“Precisely, and this is a serious matter that needs to be addressed. Carl Washington now has reason to investigate, and invite students to confide their concerns to him,” Duane mentioned. “Browbeating and targeting students will not be tolerated.”
Heath nodded. This was a situation that needed to be resolved as swiftly as possible. “Is there anything else you need from me to facilitate this?”
“Not that I am aware of at the moment. You included the first name of the senior air elemental who is friends with Casey Blackburn in your message. That should give Carl Washington enough information to request a meeting, and invite the student to express his grievances with Mitchel Pierce,” Armando said.
“We appreciate your concern for the safety of all the students, and determining Ray Baker’s level of dedication, or lack thereof.
This validates our conviction that having young professors function as dormitory monitors first, is advantageous.
That connection and foundation of trust gave Casey Blackburn the confidence to approach you with this sensitive topic. ”
“Fortunately for Ray Baker, Mitchel Pierce is currently the biggest problem,” Duane said. “We’ll leave Ray alone for now, since the underage students are being supported and supervised.”
“I’d like you to keep tabs on that situation, however,” Armando said.
“Ask casual questions in class, talk to upperclassmen you know well, things of that nature. I don’t want any of the students to feel interrogated, but want to ensure that the situation in the dorm doesn’t deteriorate.
After Mr. Pierce is dealt with, we’ll want to make a decision on how best to support the students in the caster dorm. ”
“I’ll be happy to, sir,” Heath said.