K is for Kid Chapter 11

It wasn't long before Zane and I started dating. And he quickly became a part of the group. He was at every show and he even started coming to spaghetti night. Before long he was helping with the shows too. He'd help get people interested in coming to the show, create hype that kind of thing. And he also helped a lot when it came to set up, break down, and clean up. With his help, and a few other regulars, we were able to add a second "show night" to the weekly schedule. Soon we had shows booked for every friday and saturday night!

With the extra work needing to be done at the gallery, I decided that I would try to do my senior mentorship there. But getting approval wasn't going to be easy.

I was in the principals office for the third time that week.

"Charley, I know you really want to do your mentorship with Kronos, but I just don't think Kronos is the type of place a high school student should be at." the school principal, Dr. Ellis said to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked already pissed off.

"Well I went to the website, artisdangerous.com, and well... it's very disturbing. I mean it's all F this and F that. And the music is loud and angry. It just doesn't send the right message as an "educational" experience." He said trying to sound assertive.

I had already had this conversation with my Mentorship instructor, the Assistant principal, and now I was going to have it with this loser.

I took a breath.
 "Ok listen. For starters Kronos IS a local business. It is an art gallery. If you understood art you would understand that artist have artistic license and that means they might sometimes make things that are not just "pretty". Because they are trying to convey a message, and not every message is a nice pretty one. Secondly, that website is the owners personal artist webpage that contains his personal portfolio. IF you had read my proposal I clearly said that you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on the link that says KRONOS ART GALLERY, in order to get to the Gallery page. But no one seems to be willing to do that. And lastly, regardless of your own personal prejudice, if my parent says it is ok for me to have my mentorship there, then I can have my mentorship there. I even had my dad sign the form!" I said pointing to the form on his desk.

Dr. Ellis stared at me in silence for a minute.
I stared back.

"I am going to call your father, and see what he has to say about this." Dr. Ellis said picking up the phone.

I continued to stare.

"Hi! Mr. Quinn, this is Dr. Ellis, the principal at R. E. Lee High School." He paused. "I am calling because we are trying to place Charley in a mentorship, has Charley talked to you about this?"
My mouth fell open. The nerve of this man.
He reached down and put my dad on speaker phone.
"Yea." Dad's voice came over the speaker. "She said she's doing her mentorship at Kronos."
Dr. Ellis shot me a glare.
"Yes, and do you know the nature of Kronos?" He asked.
"Uh... yea it's an art gallery?" Dad said sort of irritated.
"Yes. I mean are you aware of it's explicit content? The strong language, the vulgarity of the artwork?" Dr. Ellis pushed.
"Yes. And?" my dad asked.
"Ok Mr. Quinn we just wanted to make sure that you were fully aware of the kind of place your child wanted to complete her mentorship at. We need to know if you are 100% aware of the mature content this art gallery displays and that you are 100% ok with Charley having her mentorship there." Dr. Ellis pushed some more.
"I signed the paper didn't I?" My dad said.
OOOOOOH snap, get them daddy. I thought.
"Yes but like I said we have to be 100% sure.." Dr. Ellis started.
Dad cut him off. "When will you learn that you should really just let Charley do what she wants to do?"
Now Dr. Ellis's mouth fell open.
Dad continued. "Yes Charley can have her mentorship at the gallery, she spends most of her time there anyway, and yes I am aware of its mature content. As if that is anything new for teenagers. Is there anything else you need from me Dr. Ellis?"

"No sir!" Dr. Ellis said quickly. "Thank you Mr. Quinn, goodbye."

He hung up the phone and stared at me some more.

"Fine. You can have you mentorship at Kronos." he said as he signed the administration approval form.