The Ohso Project: The Recruit - Jeff Thomason (cat reading book .TXT) 📗

assigned to.
He walked down to the counseling office telling himself this was no big deal—lots of students got in trouble and saw the principal and school counselor everyday, and they were still alive. But had a hard time convincing himself of it. The first time never feels good.

The secretary smiled as he walked in the door. “Drew, so good to see you again.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Harris.” His eyes scanned the three doors. “I was told the school counselor wanted to see me.”

“Yes. She’s waiting for you.”

He looked again at the three doors, letting his eyes linger on one before dragging them over to the next.

“It’s Mrs. Hillman. The middle door.”

“Thanks.” He walked over to it and knocked gently. “Mrs. Hillman?”

“Drew, come on in,” he heard her say thru the door.

He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

*****

Her office was small but didn’t feel cramped. She had shelves lining three of the four walls displaying books on every subject he had ever heard of. Family photos were arranged around the office adding a touch of home.

“Please have a seat.” She turned from her computer and gestured to a padded chair. She leaned forward, put her elbows on the desk, and rested her head on her clasped hands. “You’ve had quite the morning, haven’t you?”

He let out a deep sigh.

“Don’t let Principal Bish get you down. You’ll encounter many … people like her who become slightly … defensive when they feel they or someone they identify with is being … questioned. But I didn’t call you down here to discuss that. I called you down here, because I was curious about something. Did you raise your hand and correct your teacher to embarrass her in front of the class?”

“No! I was just trying to correct the false information so the other students knew the truth.”

“Were you surprised at her reaction?”

“Yes. I thought she’d be grateful. I always am when someone shares something new with me.”

“And had you known how upset the comment would make her, would you have still made it?”

He pondered this for a moment—but only for a moment.

“Yes, I would have. Besides, she’s an adult. She shouldn’t have taken it personally. Did she think not knowing something made her a bad teacher?”

The corners of Mrs. Hillman’s mouth rose ever so slightly. “This wasn’t the first incident of this kind, was it?”

Drew shifted in his seat.

“Two weeks ago in American Government you made a comment that contradicted what the teacher said.”

“Well, she was wrong, too.”

“How so?” Mrs. Hillman leaned forward.

“We were discussing the post-Civil War era and the three amendments passed shortly after. She claimed the Fourteenth Amendment extended all the rights in the Bill of Rights to state and local levels via the due process clause. I pointed out that first, despite its name, the Bill of Rights was not a list of rights but a list of limitations on government. Second, if the due process clause was really meant to apply to state and local governments, there would be no need for the Fifteen Amendment, and yet there it is. I also pointed out that the due process clause wasn’t used like that until nearly a century later during the Black’s Rights Movement of the 60’s when lawyers used it to overturn local and state laws and the courts conceded. For example, until the late 1960’s, a policeman in Chicago did not need a warrant to search or seize.”

“And what was her reaction to all of that?”

“She was very upset, at first, but later said it was very insightful and original thinking. I had brought up points she had never considered or even heard before.”

“That was very bold of you. But it wasn’t the only other incident, was it?”

Drew slumped back in his chair and looked up, mild desperation in his eyes. “How much trouble am I in?”

Mrs. Hillman laughed. “You’re not in trouble. I’m not the school principal; I’m here to help you. I appreciate people asking questions and examining ideas from different angles.”

Drew sat up a little straighter.

“How would you like a chance to put your insightfulness to good use?”

He gave her an odd look. “How?”

She brought her hands down to her desk and smiled. “There is an after school club I think you’d be interested in.”

*****

Drew trudged thru the rest of his classes like a zombie. His mind continued wandering back to the Student Builders Club. What was so special about it? The school counselor’s recommendation was the first time he had even heard of it. What did they build? Tables? What possible contribution could his insightfulness make to that?

After an eternity, the last bell rang. School was finally over. In a few minutes all his questions would be answered. At least, he hoped they would.

He found the room easily enough: M-22—Mr. Grovestand’s room. He had spent many mornings learning algebra, trig, and calculus in that room. He liked Mr. Grovestand. He was one of the best teacher’s Drew had ever had. He explained mathematical concepts clearly and worked with students until they grasped them. Teachers just didn’t do that these days. They were too concerned with getting thru the book and raising test scores so no child would be left behind. Drew never needed the extra help—in fact, he spent a good deal of his class time answering other students’ questions and helping them with their assignments—but he was grateful the help was available if he ever did need it.
He stepped into the room. Sitting in a circle of desks sat six upperclassmen. He immediately felt out of place and turned to leave.

“Drew!” Mrs. Lorraine walked over from the chalkboard. “We’re so glad you decided to join us.”

Now he was confused. What was the office secretary doing here? Was the regular advisor home sick?

“Please have a seat.” She motioned to an empty desk in the circle—the only one open.

He sat down and looked around. He only recognized one other student, a transfer who had joined his competitive speech class just last week. She wasn’t a great speaker.

“Let me introduce everyone to you. This is Tom, Jerry, Brandon, Tim, Nathan, and Natalie. Everyone, this is Drew.”

They all said their hellos.

“Drew, we are working on a business scenario. Company XYZ has come to you requesting a line of credit. You’ve made loans to them in the past. Examine their financial statements and history and decide whether you will grant the line and why or why not.”
She handed a stack of file folders to Tom who took the first one and passed the rest along. When Drew got his he opened it up, pulled out Balance Sheets, Income Statements, Statements of Cash Flow, and previous loan history for the past three years. He studied each document carefully. He couldn’t fathom what any of this had to do with building, but he decided to wait and see. He had said enough for one day.

After a few minutes, Mrs. Lorraine interrupted the class. “All right, I want to hear what you’ve decided. We’ll start with Tom.”
Tom cleared his throat, wobbled his head from side to side, and said, “I would grant the line of credit. They’ve borrowed money several times in the past and have always paid it back on time. I noticed they do have a current loan, but it appears the additional need is because of lower-than-usual sales due to a soft economy. I would grant them the loan so they can continue functioning; I wouldn’t want to lose their future business.”

“Thank you, Tom. Brandon, what about you? What are your thoughts?”

“I agree with Tom. They’ve always paid their obligations before. I don’t see why they wouldn’t now. The line they’re asking for isn’t that much larger than what they’ve requested in the past.”
Drew listened to each member of the club make the same recommendation citing similar reasons.

“And what does the newest member of our group think?”
He sat there quietly, looking around at the others. He glanced over the financial statements one more time then answered. “I understand why all of you would approve the line of credit for XYZ. They have a history with us, and on the surface they appear to be a good credit risk. However, there are a few details that bother me. First, they’ve made a few changes in management this year. That in itself isn’t bad, but it is likely the cause of some of the unusual behavior I’m seeing that they haven’t exhibited before. For example, at the beginning of the fiscal year, they increased executive salaries and paid bonuses despite falling revenues, and they used a loan to fund them. Also, they declared a dividend even though profits have been the lowest in three years and no dividends were paid out in the previous more prosperous years. It appears that they took the profits from the company to pay themselves. Then they borrowed money to pay themselves again. Now they are asking for more money. I can only guess that they’ll use it to pay themselves a third time.”
“So what is your recommendation?”

He drew back preparing for the assault he knew would come. “I recommend denying the line of credit.”

“So are you saying the other six members of the group are wrong? Members who all have a year more than you in school?”

He slumped a little more. “I’m not saying they are wrong, I’m just saying there are other facts they didn’t mention that concern me and lead me to a different conclusion.” He turned his head.

Mrs. Lorraine looked at him sternly. She seemed to peer right thru him. “Well, Mr. Charles, all I have to say to that is,” she smiled, “welcome to the Club. You’ve passed your test.”

Tim patted him on the back. Drew flinched, and then realized it was a congratulatory pat, not an attack. Jerry also patted his shoulder. “Good job, man. You didn’t back down when everyone else was against you. You also didn’t ignore the important facts when others pretended to.”

“You mean this was all just a test? You all saw those problems with XYZ?”

“Of course,” Natalie laughed.

“Oh.” He didn’t know what else to say.

“Drew, we want to show you something. Come with me.” They all stood up and followed Mrs. Lorraine out the door and down the hall. They turned into the library and entered the first back room. After everyone was in, they shut the door and lowered the blinds.
Drew had never been in this room before. Inside sat two round tables encircled about by hard chairs. Textbooks filled the shelves along two adjacent walls. The third wall had several cardboard boxes stacked against it. Jerry and Tim pushed the boxes aside revealing a mosaic embedded in the wall.

“I didn’t know that was there.”

“Most people don’t. It’s the only one like it in the building. One of the Builder’s Club’s projects.”

“Why build it here where no one can see it?”

“Why indeed.” Mrs. Lorraine touched several of the tiles, and the archway lit up. The glow extruded from the wall over their heads. Drew saw a flash then the little used room was gone, replaced by a massive hallway of carved wood, sculpted metal, and clear glass. Doors lined the hallway leading to a grand staircase. People went in and