Volume 2: Knocking on Heaven's Door Chapter 49 The Unworthy Principal
As soon as he returned to Warwick City and stood outside the main gate of Lincoln High School, Tommy Hawke issued the latest action instructions to his two best friends.
Seeing the principal, vice principal, and provost jogging out of the teaching building, Tommy Hawke said:
"History has taught us that if it hadn't been for the Princeton incident, the president and his colleagues would never have bowed down to us and welcomed us back to school with the same attitude as they welcomed Lincoln."
"Tommy~" Ottilia reminded from the side.
Tommy ignored the beautiful teacher's reminder and continued, "So, be prepared for the worst. We have to carry out this summer camp without Princeton and without support."
After that, he threw the list of requirements he had prepared long ago to Dennis:
"Dennis, you are responsible for the most basic fundraising, textbooks, sports equipment, etc., mobilize your connections and charm in the local high school community, I just want to see the final number! Don't tell me you can't do it, Mr. American Youth Student Leader, Honorary Citizen of St. Vincent, and Director of the St. Vincent National Police Department! Finally, I remind you that when you do this, you don't have any financial support! This is the most basic, even if there is no business coming, you still need to prepare."
"Are you sure? I even saw you wrote that you need one hundred and twenty American high school course textbooks!" Dennis took it and looked at the densely packed requirements, then said to Tommy, "This is not something a high school student like me can handle! Do you know how expensive a textbook is? It's more expensive than a fucking bag of hemp!"
"Then forget that you are a high school student, use your brain, and display your unique wisdom as the American youth leader praised by Prime Minister Maduf!" Tommy didn't even look at the other person, but turned to look at Pam on the other side.
Dennis gave Tommy the middle finger, turned around and left swearing with the list without entering the school.
Pam was still looking through Carly's photos. To be honest, Tommy felt that Carly might be so hungry that she hadn't seen a white high school student for a long time, so she actually became friends with Pam, a nerd who had no experience with girls in American high schools.
"Pam! Stop staring at Carly's photo! Take the photos you took before, the documentary. I don't care if you know photography or design, but there are related clubs in the school. You can find a way to convince them to help you, even if it means selling your body. Anyway, I need to see a leaflet and a promotional video as soon as possible. I will provide you with the text content later! And you are luckier than Dennis. You have a funding support of up to fifty dollars!" Tommy Hawke patted Pam on the shoulder, snatched the photo of beautiful Carly from him, and said loudly:
"You'd better be able to do it, or I'll become your rival in love, pursue Carly, and send some intimate photos of us together to your good friend for your appreciation! So that you can give us your blessing with tears in your eyes!"
Pam reached out to grab the photo back, cursing, "Of course! Fuck You Tommy! I will do my best to protect Carly from being taken by a bastard like you."
Then he looked up at the principal and his two companions who were getting closer and closer, turned around and walked along the path next to him towards the campus, apparently heading towards the photography club.
"That's it! Get this done and protect your Carly, otherwise I would definitely be interested in telling Carly how Dennis's breasts became swollen! Make her believe that you and Dennis are a gay couple! Then join me in wishing you and Dennis a happy bed together!" Tommy said behind Pam.
After Pam left, Tommy Hawke looked at the principal and his two companions who were a few meters away, and said to Otilia beside him:
"I bet they'll pretend they didn't hear what I just said."
Sure enough, after walking the last few meters, the principal, Mr. Mendez, smiled kindly and said, "Ms. Farrell, Tommy Hawke, we are glad to see you return safely. Moreover, we have a surprise for you."
…
"You informed Holy Cross High School and several other high schools that are better than ours? Is that the surprise? I thought you were going to give us a checkbook for five thousand or ten thousand dollars." In the principal's office, Tommy Hawke stared blankly at Mr. Mendes, the principal of his own high school, who was trying hard to remain serious and dignified but couldn't help but curling his lips.
The principal simply ignored Tommy's second half of the question about funding and only answered his first question:
"In fact, more than that. I called all the high schools that had held exchange competitions with our high school and had no gentlemanly spirit to humiliate us by a large score. I told them that a professor from Princeton University would come to attend the summer camp held at Lincoln High School. Guess what, they used the same tone as I did when I was humiliated."
"But we haven't contacted Princeton yet, and we don't know whether they will see our plan and whether they can really attend." Tommy frowned in confusion.
The principal hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Kid, this is the problem. After I calmed down, I thought about it for a long time and felt that if I wasn't crazy, then that unknown professor from Princeton was crazy. In order to avoid being too excited for nothing, I called those guys first. After all, they had humiliated me with my grades. This way, even if there's no Princeton professor, we won't be left with nothing."
Tommy Hawke looked at Otilia next to him and said to the principal, "We need to confirm some information first, Mr. Principal, before we can judge whether it is true. Please give me and Miss Farrell ten minutes."
The two left the principal's office and returned to Ottilia's office.
Tommy told Ottilia his guess.
"You mean, I'm being overly sentimental? My godfather didn't actually help us?" Otilia's eyes widened. "Is that what you got from what Dennis said?"
Tommy Hawke nodded. "I think so. At least it's higher than 50%. Maybe 55% or 60%. You were no different back then than you are now. You are just being too sentimental."
"Are you saying that my godfather only loves me 40%?" Ottilia glanced at Tommy with dissatisfaction.
Tommy tilted his head and gestured to the phone on the table: "Call your father or your godfather, and we'll know how much they love you."
"Tommy, I think you are disrespectful to my godfather, and I have called them before. Although they did not admit it, we can't find any other reason." Although Ottilia was dissatisfied in her tone, she still picked up the phone and dialed her godfather's number.
A female voice without any emotion came on the other end of the line: "This is the Rhode Island State Superintendent of Public Instruction's Office."
"Oh..." Otilia was a little nervous. She covered the receiver and whispered to Tommy, "This is the first time I call him during working hours."
"Miss?" the person on the other end of the phone asked.
Otilia released her hand from the receiver. "My name is Otilia Farrell, the college recruitment director for Lincoln High School in Warwick. I'd like to speak to Mr. Frank Chaffee."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No."
"Business or personal call?"
"Private call."
"Then I'm afraid Mr. Frank Chaffee is temporarily unable to answer your call. He flew to Switzerland with the Secretary of State earlier today for a week-long visit. I can register your phone number and inform Mr. Frank Chaffee when he returns."
"Okay, thank you." Otilia hung up the phone and looked at Tommy Hawke: "He is accompanying the Secretary of State on a visit abroad."
"But I can still call my father. I think if my godfather helped me, he must know about it." Ottilia thought about it, said to Tommy, and dialed another number.
Soon, a gentle female voice sounded over there: "This is the office of the president of Haixian Shipping Industry."
"Daisy? I'm Otilia." Hearing the female voice, Otilia said, "Is my father here?"
"Of course, he's looking at documents, but I don't think he will refuse your call, Miss Farrell. Mr. Farrell, your daughter is calling, line one." After the secretary helped to connect the call, he cut off his own line.
"You rarely call me during work hours, Ottilia, what's the matter?" Father's voice soon sounded on the other end of the phone, with the sound of paper flipping through documents quickly.
Otilia said: "I know you are working, Dad, but there is something I want to clarify now. I...I sent an application to my godfather's office a few days ago."
"Then you didn't give the high school student a chance to trade like I said, right? You didn't make any changes and sent it directly to your godfather. Yes, he called me before to inquire about the situation. I'm sorry that the deal was not reached, but your godfather said that he can still provide you with some necessary support. After all, Lincoln High School is too stingy. I'm sorry that I didn't admit it when you asked me last time. I thought, since you didn't do what I said, I don't want to ruin the enthusiasm of you and the students." Farrell said as he flipped through the documents.
"But what my godfather did was a little too exaggerated, Dad. You scared me and my students." After getting an affirmative answer from her father, Ottilia looked at Tommy with her eyes as if in protest, as if she was still dissatisfied with him questioning her father and godfather's favor towards her.
Mr. Farrell said absentmindedly, "I understand that poor boys from public high schools are indeed scared, but shouldn't you thank your godfather? It's not me who supports you."
"I'll call and thank him again, Dad. You know the difference between public high school and Princeton..."
"Daughter, I have an internal meeting in five minutes. I need to use this time to finish reading the materials. Then I have to fly to the Miami Yacht Show to meet clients. You can call your godfather to thank him. I'm a little busy before the summer vacation officially arrives. After all, rich people are busy buying yachts and starting their vacations during this period..." Seeing that his daughter was about to continue chatting, Farrell could only confess that he was very busy at work now.
"Okay, Dad, goodbye." Ottilia hung up the phone tactfully.
"Sea Line Shipping? Wow." Tommy Hawke heard it clearly nearby and exclaimed with emotion.
He is now familiar with this brand. The two boats in Bethea's foster family are both products of this company. Tony has also helped to adjust them. One is a leisure boat for playing in the river, and the other is a near-shore motor sailboat for the whole family to go fishing and have fun. It is considered a well-known leisure boat company in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
"Are you sure now that the Princeton incident is related to my godfather? My father admitted it." Otilia lowered her head and exhaled, then looked at Tommy. "Although you suspected them just now, Tommy, I still want to say that I will not change your application. This was your idea. You also heard that although my father was arrogant before, he did not insist on writing my name on it just now."
"I'll go and work out a detailed and complete plan first." Tommy Hawke walked out of Otilia's office, thinking about the information he had obtained, and subconsciously took out a cigarette and lit it in the corridor: "I always feel that some links must be different from what we think."
The solemn Dean of Academic Affairs happened to pass by and saw Tommy Hawke standing in the school smoking like an old smoker with skillful posture.
"Sorry, Mrs. Wharton..." Tommy hurriedly threw the cigarette on the ground and wanted to explain.
Mrs. Wharton looked at Tommy expressionlessly, then turned around and walked back the way she came. "Student Tommy Hawke, if your proposal attracts a university professor, you and the cigarette will be put in the school's honor room. That's a sign of your maturity. But if it doesn't work, I will arrange for the most stringent adolescent psychology teacher to take care of you and teach you what it means to abide by school rules."
At this time, Otilia also walked out of the office: "Tommy, I think I know what the surprise the principal was talking about is."
"What?" Tommy picked up the extinguished cigarette on the ground, put it in his mouth and lit it again.
Otilia took the note she had just written and said, "The administration office called me and asked me for information about the summer camp, because some parents from the schools that the principal had shown off to others actually called the administration office to inquire about our summer camp."
"Did the principal leak it on purpose?" Tommy's eyes lit up. "Yes, the principal taught me a lesson. It doesn't matter if the Princeton professor comes or not. It's best if he comes. He has to make money if he doesn't come. He has to make money from the high school students who once humiliated him. Mr. Mendez is a waste of his talent as a principal. If the president invites him to be an economic advisor, the US economy may be better."
