March 6, 2011

Location: William Friedman’s rooms at NRH at around 7pm. The members of NRH’s Executive Council — Will, Sal Levy, Mitch Bennett, Tom Rosen, Chloe Gold, Kevin Reilly, and Jaime Cohen — are engaged in an intense discussion of statewide political developments. Will and Tom are sipping Scotch and Chloe is having a Pinot Grigio, while Sal and Mitch are drinking coffee. Kevin is nursing a  Guinness.

Sal: I just don’t see how things keep going on like this. Putsis and her miserable coalition are really surging now that she’s won that special election.

Kevin: Lady’s a bona fide cunt.

Jaime: I call ixne on that word.

Mitch: They’ve certainly been active. There are a bunch of bills being introduced in the Assembly that seem to be pointed straight at us.

Chloe: “Seem”?

Mitch: I’m not suggesting they’re subtle. Just that they’re not explicitly “Kill NRH” bills.

Sal: Would you care to give a “Greatest Hits” for those of us who can’t bear to watch the news?

Will: I’m gonna’ need a smoke for this. [Drags his chair over to the window and cracks it open]

Kevin: [Following suit] Right behind you, man.

Mitch: [Counting on his fingers] A bill prohibiting “politicized curricula”; a bill requiring all charter school teachers to be vetted by an “independent committee”; and here’s the big one: a bill stripping charter schools of their discretion over school security and surveillance.

Sal: Jesus H. Christ. 

Kevin: It’s a little late, isn’t it? I mean, NRH is already up and running. 

Jaime: It’s not about us. It’s about the expansions. They don’t care if one school plays weirdo hippie out in the Valley. They want to make sure the thing doesn’t spread and interfere with their plans to make every teenager in America a freaking criminal.

Tom: Not the most elegantly put, but correct.

Will: [Takes a drag off his cigarette and blows it out the window] Alright, let’s not dive down the hole. The bills haven’t passed yet.

Sal: Those knuckle-draggers control the Assembly, Will. The bills will pass.

Will: There’s still the Senate, Sal. And the Governor.

Sal: I know, it’s just so nerve-wracking. If we lose the Senate and they get a veto-proof majority…

Will: [Laughs] How about we not worry in advance Sal? 

Kevin: Isn’t all worrying in advance?

Jaime: [Rolls her eyes] Just ignore him.

Kevin blows Jaime a kiss.

Chloe: All of that will take a lot of time. Meanwhile, we’ll have great schools up and running in Oakland and Berkeley and record-breaking college admissions here at home. Successful teenagers. Happy parents. Relieved communities. The politics won’t be in their favor.

Tom: It’s not the politics I’m worried about. At least not the above-board politics.

Chloe: What do you mean?

Tom: They’re showing their intent, what they’re focused on, and how far they’re willing to go.

Chloe: And…?

Tom: I’m afraid of dirty tricks.

Chloe: Would you care to elaborate?

Tom: All they need is one kid planted in this school. Or bribe a kid who’s already here. He (or she) feeds them information about what’s going on, and they bust the whole thing wide open.

Chloe: That’s dark, Tom, even for you.

Kevin: You’ve seen way too many spy movies, man.

Tom: Alright, forget the spies. Teenagers aren’t exactly discreet. All that has to happen is for one kid to blab to his parents and his parents blab to some other parents, and this thing spills out into the greater atmosphere. The media gets hold of it, and Putsis and Company have a big club to beat us with. And not just PR-wise. I wouldn’t put it past them to try and sic the Attorney General on us.

Chloe: [Teeth clenched] Our classmates aren’t traitors.

Jaime: Yeah, what the fuck, Tom?! Where do you come up with this shit?

Will: It does seem a bit exotic. I mean, you’ve chained like twenty “if-thens” together.

Tom: [Shrugs] You all saw that Shirley Putsis rally that NRH TV reported. She’s already talking about “criminal activity” going on at NRH. We’d be stupid to ignore it.

Sal: As awful as it is, I have to agree with Tom. We’re in dangerous territory.

Chloe: [Angrily] I’m not hearing any suggestions from you, Tom. What are we supposed to do? Pack it in? Cancel the expansions? We can’t control what every sick degenerate in California does. You offer nothing constructive, just misery and defeatism.

Tom: [Coolly] You asked. I answered.

Chloe: [Holds up her hand in Tom’s face] Can we please discuss something more pleasant? 

Will: Yes! [Flicks the butt of his cigarette out the window and drags his chair back to the group] Stage Night. Are we all set?

Mitch: We are! The talent competition is fully stacked, and our “battle of the bands” between The Compton Boys and Kids of the Black Hole is scheduled. The talent portion will go first, and the battle of the bands will close the evening. Billy and Tim have put together an incredible program.

Sal: And how will the winner be decided?

Mitch: By a vote of the audience. My news team has printed ballots, and we’ll pass them out as people enter the auditorium.

Kevin: [Lights another cigarette] Kids of the Black Hole are gonna’ sweep, man. They kick ass.

Mitch: [Coolly] We’ve already had this conversation, and all I can say is that the Compton Boys have the grooves and the moves.

Jaime: I’m still struggling with the idea of you in that whole scene.

Kevin: Care to put a bet on that, little man?

Mitch: Absolutely.

Kevin: We’ll talk later.

Will: It sounds fantastic, Mitch! Just what everyone needs. With everything going on right now, it’ll be good for morale.

Kevin: As will the Senior Party. I am so psyched for that.

Chloe: [Beaming] I promise it’ll be the party to end all parties. Will and I have been hard at work on it!

Will: [Raises his glass] That we have!

Kevin: Suhweet!

Sal: Do we have college acceptance data yet?

Will: Some Early Decision bids, yes. We’ve got a sprinkling of Berkeleys, Michigans, and MITs. One got into USC… The bulk of them should be coming any day now.

Mitch: Once you’ve got them all, pass them on to me or Laurie. We’ll do a press release and a big feature on NRH TV: student profiles, interviews…, all that kind of stuff.

Will: I’ve also got a bunch of media invites: KABC, the NBC affiliate, CNN…

Sal: You’re taking them, right? I mean, given everything we just discussed, we’ve got to have good press on our side to counter Putsis’s toxic brigade.

Will: Yes, of course. John Stacy — the guy on KABC — actually invited both Chloe and me. He wants to interview us together for a kind of “Year in Review” sort of thing.

Mitch: That’s awesome! I can’t think of better PR for the school than the two of you!

Chloe: [Squeezes Will’s arm] I know you hate these things, but it’ll be fun. I promise.

Will: [Pats her hand and laughs] I’ll be alright!

Tom: Are you sure that’s a good idea?

Will: What? Doing press?

Tom: No, you and Chloe doing press together.

Will: I don’t see why not. I’m the Principal, she’s the Student Body President. Between the two of us, we can speak to both the administrative and student side of things.

Tom: [Looks thoughtful] Hmmm.

Chloe: I don’t like the sound of that ‘hmmm’, Tom. What are you getting at? [Shoots him a look]

Tom: Nothing. Forget it.

Will: Well, that’s all I’ve got. Has anyone got anything else?

Sal: Nope.

Mitch: No, that covers things.

Jaime: I’m good.

Kevin: Still up for the boardwalk at Zuma tonight, Doc? Three live bands.

Will: You know it! I’ll meet you there.

Kevin: Right on! I’ll pick up Marty and Jon and meet you in about half an hour.

Will: Sal, wanna’ come along?

Sal: No, I’m going home and acting like an old person.

Chloe: Mitch, you need a ride home? I’ve got the car.

Mitch: Cool! Thanks!

Jaime: C’mon Tom. Take me home, and I’ll teach you how not to be so miserable all the time.

Tom: [Laughs] Sounds good.