The Envelope

This wasn't where he wanted to be. Actually, he would have preferred to be anywhere else. This wasn’t his first time here. Oh no, Josh had seen this rodeo before, which was kind of the point. Mom and Dad did not like being called at work because of their miscreant son’s latest exploits. Being sent to detention was no big deal; hell, he had an assigned seat. Getting caught screwing off IN detention, that was going to be hard to explain. Being punished for not following the rules is one thing, but not following the rules when being punished for not following the rules is a deeper kind of stupid, as his father had pointed out the last time.

The Dean of Students, Dr. Scholl, was in charge of student discipline, hence the nickname “Dean of Stupids”. His secretary, Carol, was in her early twenties and was always getting hit on by the braver male population, faculty included. Avoiding his normal banter, Josh had just taken a seat outside the office and waited for the teacher overseeing detention, Mrs. Johnson, to come in and lodge her complaint. This in itself was note worthy, because the teachers normally sent the students down carrying the report. Only major transgressions warranted a personal delivery, and the lack of conversation told Carol that this was serious.

Mrs. Johnson was taking longer than expected, and when she did arrive she handed Carol a large manila envelope, and walked away without a saying word. Josh hadn’t seen the envelope before, but he knew what was in it. Carol looked inside the envelope and was startled by its contents. She looked at Josh, who at this point was taking a keen interest in the floor tiles. Carol got up and took the envelope to the Dean. Carol was with the Dean for several minutes before she returned to her desk. She looked at Josh and chuckled to herself. The sound of her chuckling wounded Josh. He thought she was laughing at him, and in a way, she was.

Dr. Scholl shouted for Josh to join him in the office. Josh stood up and walked into the office like he had done at least once a week since he started high school. But this time was different. This time Carol had laughed at him and didn’t wish him luck, she just chuckled again. Josh saw the contents of the envelope on the Dean’s desk, the current issue of Playboy magazine. Dr. Scholl put the magazine back into the envelope and handed it to Josh. Josh took the envelope and looked at Dr. Scholl for an explanation. Dr. Scholl, just looked at him and then to the envelope.

Written on the envelope was note to Josh’s parents asking them to review the contents of and sign the envelope then have Josh return it to the Dean the follow day। Initially, Josh couldn’t believe his luck. Then it sank in. He would have to tell them himself when they got home and ask them to sign the envelope. This was obviously a job for Dad. He wouldn’t get too upset. He is, after all, a guy.