10. Principal, You're the Best 2

Chapter 10: Principal, You're the Best 2

Hell's Kitchen's Community School had 36 classes spanning grades 1 through 12, with more than a thousand students.

Alvin was now the principal of the school. To make it happen, he had summoned Hell's Kitchen's gangs to a meeting. After some "friendly" negotiations and a "fair" election, Alvin had been elected principal of the Community School.

As for the principal appointed by the Department of Education, who cared?

The first thing Alvin did after taking office was negotiate with Kingpin. You're a gang boss, the underground Godfather of Hell's Kitchen. It's only right that you contribute to your hometown's education, isn't it? And that contribution couldn't be a one-time thing; it had to be a long-term commitment. So Kingpin made a generous contribution of five million dollars a year and earned the honor of becoming a School Trustee.

With money in hand, hiring teachers wasn't hard. Even if this was Hell's Kitchen, it was still a school, wasn't it? Find a headhunting firm and see which excellent teachers were unemployed. Then send them a "sincere" invitation: good pay, meals and lodging covered, and insurance. You could at least do Alvin that favor, couldn't you? You might not know Alvin, but you owed Kingpin that much!

As for the students, having spent his previous life raising his son through Fourth Grade, Alvin knew the schedule at a good school.

He took a page from Maotanchang High School's timetable: arrive at 7:30 a.m. for morning reading, classes began at 8:00, break from noon to 1:30, and school let out at 5:00 p.m. At 7:00, "voluntary" evening study began.

Anyone who didn't want to attend had to ask Principal Alvin for permission to leave. Unless someone had died at home or their house was on fire, Mr. Alvin usually wouldn't approve it. Besides, Mr. Alvin was busy and wasn't often at school.

Alvin stood at the school gate, watching students file inside on tiptoe, like mice trying not to get noticed by a cat.

Hearing Nelson Norris, the school's current vice principal and former principal, heap praise on his methods made Alvin very pleased.

Why should his own son have to study from six in the morning until nine at night, while these little brats got to play happily every day? They were all going to class now. This place was Hell's Kitchen's Maotanchang High School branch.

JJ, acting as a bodyguard with a shotgun in his arms, felt a pang of sympathy for the children. What kind of school was this? It was a children's Concentration Camp in Hell's Kitchen!

Dom loved coming to school with Alvin. He thought the work here was a lot of fun. Tackling a student, listening to him scream in fear, and rummaging around for interesting little trinkets was a great time.

In no time at all, Dom had piled up a heap of spoils behind him: snacks, Toys, and other things. Several children of varying ages stood in line before Alvin, holding the dangerous items that had been confiscated from them and waiting to find out what would happen.

Alvin held a uniquely shaped butterfly knife, twirling it as he asked the white boy in front of him, who looked about thirteen or fourteen, "What class are you in? What's your name? Why'd you bring a knife to school?"

The white boy stuck out his chin. "I'm Feili, from Ninth Grade, Class One. I brought the knife to trim my nails."

JJ, who was watching the show, snorted with laughter. "You need a half-foot-long knife to trim your nails?"

Alvin couldn't stand people talking back to him with their chins up. He slapped Feili on the neck, making him howl and crouch on the ground with his hands over his head.

Even after getting hit, the kid still looked defiant. He didn't dare fight back, but he glared at Alvin with a hard, challenging stare. That was too much. He dared to glare at the principal!

"Detention for two days. Nelson, give him a copy of the school rules and have him write them out a hundred times," Alvin said angrily. He'd show the kid who was boss. If the school's methods didn't work, he'd use the Prison's.

Feili, who'd been acting so tough, screamed as the burly JJ dragged him into the school. The other boys were so scared they barely dared to breathe. They admitted their mistakes, accepted their punishments, and were assigned to copy the school rules between ten and fifty times.

The last one, a chubby little Black boy, gave Alvin pause. Gritting his teeth, Alvin asked coldly, "What's your name? What class are you in? Who the hell told you to bring Marijuana to school?"

The chubby boy lowered his head and mumbled, "I'm Raven, from Sixth Grade, Class Two. I brought the Marijuana because my dad told me to."

Alvin roared angrily, "Who the hell is your dad?"

Raven grew even more frightened and bowed his head. "My Teacher, Mr. Nathan, gets headaches all the time. He's very kind to me. When my dad found out, he told me to bring him a bag of Marijuana to make his headaches better."

Alvin held back his anger and kicked a metal trash can by the gate, sending it flying. He didn't know what to make of it.

The kid's dad was probably a Drug Dealer. He'd wanted to thank the Teacher, so he sent his kid to bring him a bag of Marijuana to treat his headaches. What the hell was this?

Unable to bring himself to blame Raven, Alvin patted his head. "If your Teacher has a headache, he'll go see a Doctor. Don't bring Marijuana to school again, or you'll end up in Detention like Feili! I'm confiscating this bag. Now get to class!"

Raven fled into the school with his head down, as if he'd just been pardoned.

Seeing Alvin in a bad mood, Nelson chuckled softly. "This is already a huge improvement. A few years ago, this place was practically a training ground for future gang members. Can you believe kids used to sell Drugs openly at school? Things are much better than I ever imagined they could be."

Alvin paused, then said coldly, "How's the land we applied for from City Government coming along? I need to get the student dormitories built as soon as possible. I want to keep these kids on campus instead of letting them hang around on the streets. I'm going to get every one of them into college."

Nelson smiled. "Almost there. There's plenty of vacant land in Hell's Kitchen. The empty lot behind the school is big enough for two more School Buildings, two student dormitories, and a Faculty Dormitory."

After hesitating, Nelson continued, "It's just that the design of the student dormitories might be a little cramped. Would a thirty-square-meter room for six students be too crowded?"

Alvin glanced sideways at Nelson, thinking, You've never seen the student dorms in China's remote regions. You should thank your lucky stars I'm not making these kids sleep in a big communal hall. Six to a room, and you're still complaining it's cramped? Plenty of universities in China don't even meet that standard! Ninety-five percent of Hell's Kitchen's families are in the poorest Class. I'm not charging tuition, so what more do you want?

Nelson must have noticed Alvin's displeased look, because he quickly changed the subject. "Still, this will do. At the very least, we're providing the children with a safe place to study, where they can focus on their education. History will remember what you've done for this school," said the gray-haired old gentleman with a sly streak.

Those words lifted Alvin's spirits. He happily patted Nelson on the shoulder. The old fellow had been principal in Hell's Kitchen for fifteen years, so he did have some ability. His character might be nothing special, but at least he knew how to say things people liked to hear. He was also good at dealing with the Department of Education.

In the end, the school would still have to rely on the Department of Education. The equipment and funding would all require Nelson to handle the legwork.

"Alvin, you bastard! Look what you've done!" an old voice shouted from behind him.

Alvin rubbed his nose. The owner of that voice wasn't nearly as likable!