The next day was Thursday. Brielle first stopped at Olivia’s school and turned in her books. As she made her way through the halls there, she noticed the stares she got from some of the teachers and office personnel nearby. Next, she arrived at Thomasville High School and went into the principal’s office with an armload of textbooks.
“Mrs. Markowitz, how may I help you?” the principal, Mr. Winchester asked.
“I’m just here to turn in Jane’s books. She will not be returning to Thomasville High,” Brielle told him.
“Oh, yes. We heard about the knife fight, and we were prepared to address it this morning when Jane returned,” the principal said.
“Yeah? Well, that won’t be necessary because she’s not coming back here,” Brielle quipped.
“And why’s that, may I ask?”
“I think you know why. I’m enrolling her in Pathways Christian Homeschool. So, she will still be getting an education. She just won’t be getting it here,” Brielle told him.
Mr. Winchester leaned back in his chair.
Brielle Confronts Mr. Winchester
“Well, just so you know, we’ve filed an unruly child report and recommended that Jane be shipped off to reform school,”
Brielle gave the principal a serious look.
“Jane is a good kid and she’s being bullied! She has been for a while now! And none of you are protecting her! Some of her teachers are even joining in! I won’t let you send her up! No!” Brielle refused.
“Then the district will have to recommend it. In cases like these, we’ll see that our powers supersede yours.” Vice principal Walker said as he walked in.
Brielle gripped each side of the principal’s desk and leaned in toward the principal.
“Not if I home-school her! And let’s get this straight! She is my child! Not yours! Now, here are her books. She won’t be needing them anymore.” Brielle said as she sat Jane’s textbooks on the principal’s desk in front of him. She then walked out.
“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way, Ms. Markowitz,” Mr. Winchester called back.
As Brielle headed for the front exit, she noticed a group of snotty teachers standing nearby and glaring at her.
“What are you looking at?” Brielle fired off before walking out of the school.
The teachers looked at each other and shook their heads.
Brielle Takes her Girls Out of Thomasville Schools
“That woman is crazy, just like her daughter,” remarked one teacher.
“Yep. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree,” remarked a second teacher.
“I feel sorry for her. I truly hope the poor dear gets the help she needs before it’s too late. And I hope she gets her daughter some help too,” remarked a third.
Unbeknownst to the school, Brielle went into the school wearing a body camera she’d ordered online, which was disguised as a bejeweled broach she wore on her blazer style jacket. Brielle knew that if she was going to protect her babies from these narcissistic psychopaths, she would have to gather her own evidence and she would have to seek a court and law outside of Thomasville and Glover County.
One of the teachers then went into the office and approached one of the secretaries.
“I need to make an important phone call,” she said, “And I need to make it from the school phone so that it looks better.”
“Sure,” the secretary said kindly as she handed the teacher the phone that sat upon her desk.
The teacher began dialing.
Mr. Winchester, who sat in his office, also picked up his phone and dialed.
Brielle Enrolls Jane and Olivia in Pathways Home School
Next, Brielle took the girls to Pathways Christian Homeschool. The mother and daughters sat in the lobby for thirty minutes before they were called back to the office of the Dean of the school.
The Dean was a kindly elderly man of seventy, who had forgone retirement and loved the work he did. A tall, thin, bespectacled, silver haired man, he shook Brielle’s hand and the hands of both girls.
“I’m Mr. Culpepper, the Dean here at Pathways. I’m happy that you chose Pathways to provide the remainder of your education and I’m confident that these girls will have a wonderful educational experience here,” the Dean said in a friendly tone.
“Now, I’m curious. Why did you choose Pathways?” he asked with a smile.
“Because the kids at Thomasville Middle and Thomasville High were bullying these girls. And when I was going to school here, I also experienced bullying. It was so bad that the bullying my classmates dished out to me bordered on mobbing. And now, some of the teachers who teach there today are former classmates as is the sheriff and most of the powers that be in this town. And since they can’t get to me so easily, they’re now targeting my daughters. I’m also pretty sure that they’re having their kids target them too,” Brielle explained, “One of the kids slashed Jane with a knife yesterday and that was the last straw.”
The Girls are Excited at the Prospect of Home School
“Oh, yes. I hear that things are really bad in the Thomasville schools. In fact, they’re quite dangerous places to learn for a lot of kids. We have several students here at Pathways who were bullied at Thomasville Middle and High Schools. I remember getting their school records. And when I looked at them, I noticed their grades were poor and they had negative marks by the teachers there. But when they transferred here and began attending, their grades skyrocketed seemingly overnight. These kids school performance improved dramatically. And now, they’re doing wonderfully and many of them will get to graduate early. I have no doubt that your girls will do the same,” Mr. Culpepper assured.
Brielle looked at each of the girls and smiled.
“Well, girls. Are you excited?” she asked.
“Oh, I’m so excited!” Jane gushed.
“Me too!” Olivia said excitedly, “I can’t wait to get started!”
Brielle looked at Mr. Culpepper and smiled.
“Well, if you have the enrollment forms ready, I’ll be happy to fill them out and make a check out to pay for this year’s tuition and books,” Brielle told him.
“Are you sure you can afford it, Mom?” Jane asked, concerned.
The Dean of the Home School Welcomes the Girls
“Yes, baby girl! I make enough tips at work and with your dad’s child support, I can afford it. I wish I had done this long before now and I’m so sorry, sweeties! I’m sorry that I drug my feet and let things get out of control before I finally took you out of those hellholes. I feel partially responsible for you getting hurt yesterday, Jane. I’m so, so sorry,” Brielle told them as she wiped away a tear.
Jane and Olivia, who each sat on opposite sides of their mother, leaned against her and laid their heads on her shoulders. Brielle snaked each arm around each girls’ shoulder, giving them a big squeeze. Mr. Culpepper sat behind his desk and smiled.
“I’ll have my secretary get those forms,” he assured as he rose from his chair.
And so, the girls were enrolled and began their studies at Pathways. They attended school at home, with Brielle as their teacher in the mornings. Grandma Bennett took over the teaching duties during the hours Brielle worked at Bobtail Bud’s.
Both Jane and Olivia studied hard, using the kitchen table as their school desks. Their schoolwork had suddenly, almost magically, gotten much easier and before long, their grades skyrocketed, just as Mr. Culpepper had predicted.
The Girls Quickly Adjust to Home School and Their Grades Improve
Jane no longer had to worry about her grades being marred by school suspensions and detentions. And Olivia, no longer had difficulty in her schoolwork due to the hyper-vigilance she had sometimes struggled with due to being bullied by classmates at the middle school.
And as the first days of home school went by and the week progressed until it ended, it seemed that the girls had seen the last of the Thomasville school bullies and could finally leave the bullying they suffered in the past, where it belonged.
