Page 36 of Facade

“Thank you, sir. That eases my mind,” Casey said.

“You’re welcome. How are things in the caster dorm?” Heath asked. If Casey and Trent vented to each other about their monitors, trouble might be brewing there as well.

“It’s better to be a caster than an elemental right now in regard to housing,” Casey replied. “Mr. Baker ignores us, and can’t be bothered to post signup sheets for games or activities. He leaves most of the work to the prefects, only assisting and checking on the underage students. If anyone has a conflict, they work it out among themselves.

“But it could be worse. He doesn’t shout, or try to tell us who we should and shouldn’t be friends with. Some of the guys might feel leaderless, and adrift because of it. Mr. Baker is neither great nor terrible, but somewhere in between.”

Casey was acting restless again, seeming ready to leave, having said what he had come here to say. For a moment, Heath wondered if Casey had applied to enter the tournament, and if he should warn him to be on guard. He decided to leave it alone for now, since Casey had other places he wanted to be.

“I appreciate your honesty,” Heath said. “If anything else comes up, don’t hesitate to stop by.”

“I won’t. Thank you, and have a good day, Professor,” Casey said as he stood from the chair.

“You, too, Casey,” Heath said, staring at the door for a moment after it closed behind Blackburn. He sent a message to Armando Garcia, summarizing the situation, and asking if there was anything that could be done under the circumstances.

In his class on magical control with the underage students, Heath asked the boys how they were settling in. He made subtle inquiries geared to determine if they were comfortable and reasonably supported. Those factors were essential to Ray Baker’s job.

As the head of Caster Studies, Armando would want every detail Heath could glean pertaining to this situation. That included what might or might not be going on in the caster dorm.

The boys did seem to feel that Ray was available if they needed assistance of any kind. Robert mentioned that the older students came and went as they pleased. Steve agreed that curfew only seemed to apply to them. Everything they said substantiated Casey’s comments.

It was clear to Heath that Ray was not a good monitor. Looking good in comparison to Mitch, simply because he didn’t rant to the students and attempt to control who they socialized with, wasn’t much of a testimonial.

After class, Heath opened a message from Armando Garcia, summoning him to the department head’s office at his earliest convenience. Heath replied with his available time slots, and they agreed to meet at the end of the day.

When he arrived, Heath found Armando Garcia and Duane Denault, second in the hierarchy, waiting for him. He got along with both of them well, and as such, was neither concerned nor intimidated. This indicated that they took the matter seriously.

“Heath, have a seat,” Armando said, and waited for him to do so before speaking again. “I trust that I’m stating the obvious, but until further notice, what is said in this meeting will remain in this room.”

“Certainly, sir,” Heath agreed.

“While typically, interference between departments is frowned upon, we are glad that Casey Blackburn came to you with his concerns, and that you brought it to our attention,” Duane said. “Casey is correct that Mitchel Pierce applied to teach twelfth-grade classes here, and has expressed anger at being passed over for it in favor of Voudrie. This lends credence to his other statements.”

“Mitchel Pierce’s accusations of unfair treatment have no basis in fact,” Armando said. “Clark Voudrie has a master’s degree, and more teaching experience in comparison to Pierce’s bachelor’s, making Voudrie the obvious choice. This has been explained to Mitchel Pierce, who isn’t listening to reason. He has become a problem.

“Carl and I have discussed the less-than-satisfactory performance of our monitors, and how we might fix the issues. Not being aware of exactly what is transpiring in the dorms complicates things. We appreciate you shedding light on that from a student’s perspective.

“In the most recent meeting for academic department heads, Carl Washington made it clear that he would prefer Mitchel Pierce being replaced as monitor over the elemental dorm.”

“That could be problematic during the school year, if he’s contemplating immediate dismissal of Pierce,” Heath mused out loud.

“Problematic, but not impossible, and it has been done before,” Duane mentioned. “I had the impression that Carl is fed up with Mitchel Pierce for more reasons than we are currently aware of, and has reached the end of his tolerance.”

“The primary issue preventing Carl from removing Mitchel Pierce is a lack of evidence of violations that would merit termination,” Armando said.

“Evidence that may be available if elemental students report what is happening in the dorm,” Heath concluded. “Proof that Pierce is accosting another monitor, and framing a student to take the blame for it, would be damning, and conclusive.”

“Precisely, and this is a serious matter that needs to be addressed. Carl Washington now has reason to investigate, and invite students to confide their concerns to him,” Duane mentioned. “Browbeating and targeting students will not be tolerated.”

Heath nodded. This was a situation that needed to be resolved as swiftly as possible. “Is there anything else you need from me to facilitate this?”

“Not that I am aware of at the moment. You included the first name of the senior air elemental who is friends with Casey Blackburn in your message. That should give Carl Washington enough information to request a meeting, and invite the student to express his grievances with Mitchel Pierce,” Armando said.

“We appreciate your concern for the safety of all the students, and determining Ray Baker’s level of dedication, or lack thereof. This validates our conviction that having young professors function as dormitory monitors first, is advantageous. That connection and foundation of trust gave Casey Blackburn the confidence to approach you with this sensitive topic.”

“Fortunately for Ray Baker, Mitchel Pierce is currently the biggest problem,” Duane said. “We’ll leave Ray alone for now, since the underage students are being supported and supervised.”

“I’d like you to keep tabs on that situation, however,” Armando said. “Ask casual questions in class, talk to upperclassmen you know well, things of that nature. I don’t want any of the students to feel interrogated, but want to ensure that the situation in the dorm doesn’t deteriorate. After Mr. Pierce is dealt with, we’ll want to make a decision on how best to support the students in the caster dorm.”