Authors: Mercedes Keyes
"We're here to register our daughter in school, she's transferring from California."
"Okay... did you bring her school records and transfer papers?" She asked him.
"Yes..." Shawn leaned forward to look at Sylvia who laid them on the counter saying, "They're right here."
The woman looked from Shawn to Sylvia, suddenly realizing they were there together. She swallowed, started turning red, stiffly nodded and in the blink of an eye, her entire demeanor changed. She turned from them steaming from within and walked to her desk, picked up the paperwork that needed to be filled out and tossed it on the counter before Shawn. Sylvia and Shawn stood stunned, taken by surprise. From that moment on, she no longer made eye contact with them, especially not Sylvia, acting as if Sylvia was not in the room after that. Her body language shifted, she became stiff, her features hardened as if she were fighting back words on the tip of her tongue, the tension in the air sparked to life and grew instantaneously overwhelming. Sylvia sighed, cynically smiling while she shook her head.
'Here we go!'
She thought.
The tension was so intense the forty something other woman looked up to see
what
had changed in the room. She looked at Shawn who was glaring at the younger woman, and then at Sylvia who backed up and sat on the benches against the wall in the office, not in the mood for it, not today. Because of the way she felt, she knew she would handle it all wrong and decided to just sit down and chill and let Shawn take care of everything.
"Excuse me, hi... I'm Pauline, are you all here to register your daughter in school?" She asked trying to cover over the awkward silence. Shawn wasn't making it easy on her as he stared at the younger woman, his jaw clenched tight as he fought not to speak or else lose it in front of his daughter. He stared so long, she grew uncomfortable and couldn't stand his hostile glare, so looked up at him with wide eyes, at first trying to put on a brave front but he was relentless.
"Excuse me sir... ummm, please lets just get her registered okay?" Pauline asked nervously, caught off guard and shaken by her co-worker's unacceptable reaction to the interracial couple. It put her in the middle and she was trying to break the tension so turned to Angela smiling. "Hi, what's your name? You'll be going to school here now?"
Angela looked at Pauline, then up at her father and then back at Sylvia, who smiled at her sympathetically. Angela turned back to Pauline and shrugged.
Shawn was still staring the young woman down, his jaw locked and angry, his nostrils flared, unwilling to break it off. It was that, or go off on her. After more than a couple of minutes ticked by, his eyes became harsh and aggressive, so much so that she could stand no more, shame and embarrassment washed over her, making her turn an even deeper hue of red, she finally burst into tears and ran from the office, just as three teachers entered with the principle. Shawn then turned to Pauline.
With very tight lips and stiff jaw he asked, "I need to know the alternatives of my daughter getting an education, preferably somewhere other than this school, outside of home schooling." He pushed the registration forms across the counter at her. Pauline shook nervously, with her voice trembling, her gestures jerky she looked from Shawn to the principle.
"Stan..." She called to the principle who was talking to one of the teachers and hadn't heard her at first. "STAN! Mr. SHAW!! I need your - attention - now!" She barked.
All four people looked around at her, then at Shawn who was maintaining his look of belligerence. Not aware of what was going on, the principle was smiling when he walked over.
"Good morning sir, Pauline... what's going on here?" He greeted Shawn and then asked Pauline. He was a tall, slender white male of Shawn's height, head full of grey hair, cropped close to his head, wearing glasses over sharp features, looking to be in his early fifties.
"Ummm, they're here to register their daughter in school and-..."
"They?" The principle asked, aware of only Shawn and Angela.
Pauline nodded her head towards Sylvia who was looking anywhere but at them, fighting the urge to get up and leave and wait in the SUV.
The principle looked at Sylvia, then at Shawn, "Are you two together?"
"Yes - we are!" Shawn answered sharply.
The principle swallowed and looked down at Pauline. "What happened?"
"Ummm, I'm not really sure-..." The first bell rang cutting her off, she continued after it stopped, "...
Beth
- was here seeing to them first, and ummm... I'm not sure what happened, but something did."
The principle picked up the registration forms, "Are these her transfer records?" He asked, as if getting permission from Shawn to grab them as well.
"Yes."
"Will you and your wife follow me, this way - please." He asked looking from Shawn to Sylvia, who finally turned to look up at Shawn. "Please..." The principle repeated. Sylvia stood and walked to the swinging gate that led behind the main desk where one went to go into the principles office. Shawn placed his hand on Angela's shoulder and chose not to correct the principle on calling Sylvia his wife... in a few days she would be, and he wasn't about to change that status in their eyes. He walked up to her, placing his hand at her back and looking into her eyes, she glanced away and made her way toward the principle, following him into his office. He closed the door and invited them to have a seat. Angela sat between Shawn and Sylvia.
"Okay... let me begin by saying... I don't know what happened, but I can tell something did - I assume for the - obvious reasons." He meant their interracial relationship, which they were fully aware. "Before we go any further, I apologize for anything that may have happened that brought offence to your family." He said looking Sylvia in the eyes and then to Shawn.
"Lets get your daughter registered first, and then we can go from there."
"To be totally honest with you, I'm not feeling comfortable leaving her here. My wife and I feel insulted by your office worker Beth, who without words, but by her actions, catapulted us back 50 years in time, giving me the feeling that she'd wished she'd worn her white sheet today!"
"That's a little strong!"
"No, her actions were strong! Out of order and out of place for an establishment that brags and claims such high standards of education - enlightenment - broadening of young minds. We are worried about our daughter right now!"
"Sir, ma'am... we need to introduce ourselves. I'm the principal here, Stan Shaw." He reached over, extended his hand first to Sylvia. "Please... and you are?" He asked as Sylvia looked from his hand up at him. Trying to be fair to him, she reached up and answered, sticking with the assumption. "Mrs. McPherson, Sylvia McPherson." And shook his hand.
"I apologize to you directly Mrs. McPherson and I assure you, this matter will not end here...this is not the fifties, and this school
is
set up to broaden young minds and to educate."
Sylvia gave no reaction other than to let go of his hand and sit back as he offered it to Shawn, "Shawn Everett McPherson." Shawn introduced himself next and shook his hand, the principle then went to Angela, "And you young lady, your name?"
"Angela Rae McPherson." She responded in turn, shaking his hand.
"I'm delighted to meet you." He then sat back and looked to Shawn.
"I normally would not have to say this, but under the circumstances I must. We have three African American teaches here, one of them in fact, teaches fifth grade. Mrs. Dearborn - she's an excellent teacher - and an asset. The other two teach kindergarten and third grade. Mrs. Beverly and Mr. Jenkins."
"There was no problem in me being black until it was evident that I was with him. After seeing me - a black woman, with a white man -
THAT
sir - generated the problem. There was no hostility or resentment until she knew that we were here together." Sylvia spoke up.
"I see, so it really wasn't racially motivated, you two must admit, under the circumstances-..."
"What circumstances!? And further more, how in the hell do you come to that conclusion?! Not racially motivated!?" Shawn cut him off and asked sitting forward in his seat, his browns drawn and confrontational.
"I meant, that whatever her behavior, it wasn't directed because your wife is black. I mean -... " The principal stated, then gulped and turned red.
"Bullshit! That's exactly why she responded as she did! Because my wife is black! You're going to sit here and try to convince me - that we would have been treated that way if she had been white?! Further more, you commented under the circumstances!?? - Lets get something straight right here, right now. There is no circumstance! I am human! She is human! We match! I am a man! She is a woman! We - match! Due to early mans dividing off into tribes - for whatever reason... genetic selections have made me into what you see... and her into what you see! WE - FUCKING - MATCH!-..."
"Shawn! Calm down." Sylvia sat forward afraid for him to go any further.
"Mr. McPherson, I understand where you're going with-..."
"No! You think we have extenuating circumstances!
We don't!
You've just sat here and doubly insulted me and my wife thinking that we're so fucking thick - that we don't know when we've been racially discriminated against, you think I don't know when we've been cut, you gonna sit here and tell me that display of snobbery wasn't racially motivated?! Then add insult to injury by justifying her actions!" Shawn shot to his feet. The principle stood, growing red in the face as Sylvia stood unsure of what to do.
"Mr. McPherson can you just, just calm down and give me a chance here."
"Not when I'm this pissed off! The fucking problem here is not - my wife and I!!! The problem here is how you and those in this screwed up world perceive
us
that creates the circumstance!
We
- are normal! You sonofabitch! Your education hasn't done you a fucking bit of good thanks to thousands of years of effective social brainwashing and BULLSHIT!!! You wanna fucking make us out to be abnormal and I'm not standing for it!
You
as an instructor - a teacher should know what I'm saying - without me having to explain it to you. If you lack the proper facilities to educate my daughter - you need to give us the school districts alternatives!" Shawn's anger had him going from pointing at the principle to flexing his fists open and close, the urge flowed up through his body, gripping him, shaking his arms so he wanted to launch a punch to knock him out. Sylvia's heart was pounding as she could see the extent of his temper. Pauline out in the office could hear him as well a few students and parents that were in the office, there was also one of the black teachers that had been earlier mentioned, standing and watching, curious about what was going on.
The principal stood swallowing nervously as Shawn went into his rage at him. All the years he'd been in the board of education, he hadn't faced this situation. Simply because, he'd always avoided any and all racially motivated confrontations. Now here he was, facing it and not handling it well. Part of his problem was he had no one to blame for this but himself. He knew how Beth was. Mrs. Beverly's husband was white and the two women didn't get along. As a matter of fact, he knew that Beth would not take messages to her class. Would not call her with any needed information because she resented her being married to a white male. Cora Beverly had come to him and expressed certain instances concerning Beth, but he'd made light of the matter, conjuring excuses. He had talked over her and discarded her concerns because she needed this job as a teacher, and he knew it. Even though making
excuses -
he had written
it up, but it hadn't gone any further. Cora had simply resigned herself to ignoring Beth, this woman whom was hired on as just an office extra. She resented that, but was powerless as Beth proudly ignored her. Now it was a different story. The McPherson's didn't need anything from him. From the school. Mr. Shaw had a perfect school record and reputation that this incident could very well jeopardize - with all the other matters going on as well, it would now have to be dealt with, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see - that Mr. McPherson was not going to take any sugar coating from him, he had to stop this before it went too far.
"Let's go!" Shawn ordered having concluded what he had to say.
"Wait a minute - wait a minute. There's no need for this, have a seat... please."
"No! Screw this! I don't need anymore of you blowing smoke up my ass! As for that racist peace of shit bitch out there that you sit here and pretend not to have known about, she and you, will wish she had not insulted my wife as she did!"
Shawn was too angry to listen and stormed out of the office slamming to principles door back against the outer wall, the momentum forced it to swing back. Sylvia turned to grab her purse, taking Angela's hand and made to follow him. "Ma'am I'm asking you to please take a seat and give me an opportunity to deal with this. I don't wish this to end this way. Please... just a moment, let me follow him out and talk to him. I can fix this... please sit and wait... give us just a moment."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Sylvia replied.