Chapter 10

Prologue 10

I had enjoyed my time at Clarke middle school.

Alright, being limited with my textbooks had been frustrating for me. But I understood my parents’ reasoning behind not wanting me to rush through my education, gaining even more years ahead of my peers.

I had completed my end of year exams, plus the tests to determine where I would fit into the high school hierarchy of class forms.

This week we had an orientation session at the High School. My mother and I attended with a group of my current classmates. We had the usual tour of the school, looking at the different academic areas. This would include several new possible interesting avenues of learning for me, specifically the sciences. Of which we had barely touched in middle school and only in generic terms so far.

By the end of the tour, I was giddy in my anticipation of joining the ranks of students, who would attend the school next year.

This was probably unusual to a large proportion of other students. They would go from being the top dogs at middle school, to back as the bottom of the pile as freshman in High School. But for me the opportunity to learn a more difficult syllabus, overrode any lowering of my status.

Just before we were about to depart, a man entered the room we were currently occupying. He went to the table where our guide for the day stood. “Would Jack Owens and his parents please come with me” I looked at Mom, who just shrugged her shoulders. We got up and followed the man along a corridor to the administration building. He opened an office door and ushered us inside.

The plaque on the door stated this to be the office of Vice Principle a Mr A. Carver. The man took the seat behind the desk and gestured to the seats in front of his desk as an invitation for us to sit down. Once we were settled, he opened a folder on his desk. He perused the contents for a few seconds before bringing his attention to my mother and me.

“I have here your entrance test scores, which I must commend you on Jack. There is just one point I wish to clarify. It states here that your age is twelve, I take it that was a grammatical error in the system.” He asked with a smile.

“Uh no, I am twelve.” I answered confused.

“Oh dear, well that’s a problem then. You need to be a minimum of fourteen years of age to attend high school here at Clarke Central High.” Mr. Carver responded.

Mary Owens was usually a very mildly spoken and accommodating individual. But any attack implied or actual would bring out her protective maternal instincts.

“What are you implying to Mr. Carver? My son Jack has graduated middle school; he also has the qualifying grades to put him into the advanced class schedule here.” Mom growled out.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Owens, I’m afraid there is nothing I can do. It is a school policy here that no student may attend who isn’t fourteen years of age. I believe it was written into the rules to stop younger than fourteen year olds being bullied.”

Mom was incensed by this attitude against me, but before Mom could launch a verbal offensive against this school bureaucrat, I thanked Mr Carver for the chance to tour the school but we wouldn’t take up any more of his time.

Mom gave me a strange look, but followed my lead and followed me out of his office. I felt that with the help of Andy, that I would find a way to overcome this obstacle put in my way of attending high school here, but actually I was more interested in just getting out of here and finding somewhere new. I believed it would be good for me to have a new start somewhere else where I wasn’t known.

I could then join a high school as a normal student. No one would have a need to know that I was younger than normal.

When we got home and told Dad about what had happened he was also upset, but was more philosophical about it.

This was a perfect time for the family to move if that is the route we wanted to pursue.

If we moved somewhere close, then I could attend a different High School. One which would accept me, and then he could remain at his firm. If not, there were other stock brokerage firms who would be happy to have someone like him with his impressive resume.