CHAPTER 6
Tobias
“I really can’t thank you enough for agreeing to do this for us, Tobias,” said Headmaster, Vince Greene, beaming at me.
“And I thank you for having me,” I said, politely smiling back at him. Time had been good to Headmaster Greene; he practically looked just as I remembered him, save for his thinning hair and a few extra pounds. I recalled him being a whole lot more laid back than people tended to give him credit for. During my time as a student, he’d had the reputation of being strict, and a lot of the students hadn’t particularly liked him very much. Admittedly, I had initially been one of them. I’d gotten into major trouble once, having almost gotten into a fight with another kid in gym class when I’d thought he intentionally thrown a soccer ball at me. Both of us had been sent to Headmaster Greene afterwards for a pretty brutal scolding. He had been so livid, I had been convinced he was just moments away from pulling out a ruler and beating us both with it.
A couple months later, when I had been sent to Headmaster Greene yet again, my stomach had been turning in knots. But it turned out that he had only wanted to congratulate me on a job well done with a presentation I had done.
“You have a lot of potential, Tobias. Something tells me that I’m going to hear nothing but good things from you once you leave here. Promise me that you’ll live up to your potential, all right?” he’d said, and then shared a root beer with me in his office. My whole perspective of him changed from that point on.
“Man, you’re still alive? I thought Headmaster Greene had killed you or something. He kept you forever, didn’t he? What did you do this time?” Anderson had said to me after school that day.
“You won’t believe how cool he really is,” I’d told him, and then recounted what had actually happened.
When I had arrived on campus, Headmaster Greene had greeted me like an old friend. Initially, I had been convinced that some of his friendliness towards me was because he knew that I was a billionaire and was expecting a generous donation from me. But as he began showing me around the school grounds, pointing out all the changes and new developments that had occurred since my time as a student, I realized his warm feelings toward me were genuine.
“Nothing makes me happier than to see a former student doing well,” he said, as we walked through the corridor to where I’d be giving my lecture. “I’ve dedicated my life to this school and its students, you know. Your achievements feel like my own.”
I glanced sideways at him, detecting a bittersweet tone to his voice. Casually, I glanced at his hands, noticing that they were free of rings. I wondered if he had ever been married or had kids of his own, or if he had simply been married to Hullen for all these years.
“Well, this school did right by me,” I said. “So, it definitely shares a role in my success.”
Headmaster Greene smiled and gave me a pat on the back. “Here we are,” he announced as he stopped outside of a classroom door.
“Oh boy,” I said.
Headmaster Greene laughed. “You’re not nervous, are you?”
“Just a bit.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be fine,” he said, sounding far more confident than I felt. “Come on in. I’ll introduce you to the class. They’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
And with that, he opened the door. The voices of chattering students instantly drifted out into the halls. As Headmaster Greene ushered me inside, they all stopped. Before I knew it, I had several dozen young sets of eyes staring in my direction.
“Good morning, class,” Headmaster Greene said cheerfully. “I know you’ve all been looking forward to this day, and now it has finally arrived. So sit up straight and please give your undivided attention to Mr. Tobias Gentry. Mr. Gentry is one of our most successful alumnus. He was an amazing student during his time here at Hullen Prep, and he’s became even more amazing in the years following. So please, let’s give Mr. Gentry our warmest welcome.”
The room broke out into applause, and Headmaster Greene beamed at me, his clapping being the loudest of all.
Jesus. This was unexpected. So much for saying some big words and boring them to death.
Carefully, I made my way to the front and center of the room, trying my best not to puke at the thought of so many judgmental adolescents staring at me, undoubtedly looking for weaknesses.
Get a grip, I told myself. You are a grown man. You have no right to be intimidated by a bunch of teenagers. You are a powerful and successful businessman. These kids can only hope to be you one day…
After my inner pep talk to myself, I took a deep breath. “Good morning, class, and thank you Headmaster,” I said, plastering a smile onto my face and getting ready to begin my lecture. I turned to face the class and continued. “It may seem hard to believe, but many years ago, I sat precisely where you guys are right now…”
An hour later, the lecture was over and I bid farewell to the class as they applauded me, satisfied with the ways I had answered their questions. I stayed behind as they filed out of the room, preparing to head to their next classes, shaking some of their hands as they made their exits.
“Fantastic job, Tobias,” Headmaster Greene said as we stepped out into the hall once the room was empty.
“Thank you, sir. And thanks again for inviting me to speak. It’s been an honor to come back here,” I said.
I glanced around the hall, a strong feeling of nostalgia coming over me. Now that the lecture was over, I was able to relax and take in my surroundings more. I remembered this particular section of the campus well. Anderson and I had spent a lot of time roaming these halls, discussing homework assignments and eyeing girls.
“Taking a trip down memory lane?” Headmaster Greene correctly guessed.
I nodded. “Yeah. Just thinking about the time I spent here with my best friend. Do you remember Anderson Lawrence?”
Headmaster Greene laughed. “I most certainly do! He was quite the trouble-maker at times, but he had a wonderful sense of humor and a brilliant mind, much like yourself.”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding and laughing. “We had some good times in this hall. We’re still good friends to this very day.”
“That’s wonderful. Have you run into any of your other classmates?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I have actually. Just last night, I ran into Scarlet Kale. I don’t have much memory of her as a student here though. She thought she remembered me, but she had me mistaken for someone else.”
“Scarlet Kale,” Headmaster Greene said, but this time, there was no fondness in his voice.
I raised my eyebrows. “Do you remember her?”
“Oh yes,” he said. “I may be old, but my memory is still good, especially when it comes to someone like Scarlet.”
I tilted my head, finding something curious about the way he spoke of her. “What do you mean? What do you remember about her?”
The Headmaster shook his head and sighed. “No offense if Scarlet is a friend of yours. But I like you, Tobias, so I feel compelled to warn you. Scarlet…Let’s just say she’s a bad girl, and I don’t mean that in a good way, like the kids say these days. I mean that she’s nothing but trouble.”