Compounding Traumas (Artemis University #6) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,14

as I’m not the right person to tell all the exceedingly qualified and experienced people in this room how to do that. I can tell you how human programs work, but you could learn what I know, and more, fast. What we wanted for this meeting is to bring you the ideas and make it clear we need at least half the schools to join in for this to work.”

The jerk interjected before I could continue. “We’d be willing to discuss helping your plan, but in exchange, you attend our university next year.”

I snorted and then chuckled, letting it build into a full laugh. “I’m sorry you thought I would whore myself out like that to so you would help my plan, but no. No, I won’t sell myself to make your job easier by giving you the key to getting the parents and councils off of you, and out of running your school.”

“You need us to make this work, and you’re a student, Ms. Vale, so I’d remember that.”

“Yes, but I’m not your student, so you’re just anyone on the street to me.” I held up my hand to silence whatever he would have said next. “We only need half the schools to make this work well. And it’s a good plan. Half won’t hold out for your selfish desires. So be an asshole, and we won’t let you in. Your school would be left out of the progress, and you’ll lose new students each year.”

The voice in the back spoke up again. “It’s clear half of us would jump at any chance to get the parents off our backs and less bullshit in our schools, but how would we divide the responsibility? The backlash?”

That sparked a lot of heated debate. Everyone was mostly calm and reasonable, but passionate on what would work… Or the jerks wanting a bigger share of the pie and credit.

I wasn’t shocked in the slightest. Listening to them gave me all the parts to the answer that would work, and when Craftsman jumped in with his thoughts, I changed my mind slightly. It was mean, but not wrong, and he more than deserved some crap from me after everything he’d done.

Or not done really.

“Time out!” I bellowed, holding my hands up in the sign for it. People quieted down, and I looked around the auditorium. “Most of you are right in the parts you are suggesting. You need to blend them up better.”

“Who are you to tell us what to do?” the jerk sneered. “You said yourself you’re not qualified for any of this.”

“That’s not what I said, and as an educated man, I would have thought you were more adept at understanding words. And I’ve been sitting here for twenty minutes in a removed position as I’m not fighting for my school and paycheck and sanity, but for supe education and progress overall. You need pieces of all of your schools.”

“How?” Edelman sighed.

“Name a new school something like Chimera College and have the list of established universities it’s a branch for. That’s common in human education, like a charter school. It gives equal parts for flack and credit. You also want this to be as non-scary as possible, so someone established like Professor White, a dean, won’t be one of the teachers.

“No, you have the newbs. You’ve all said your potions curriculum lines up with each other. Fine. Which is the youngest teacher of all of the schools wanting to do this, that teaches potions, and is the least threatening? That’s more time working to be better for the pompous elite kids. It’s also showing—”

“This isn’t a power play to take from the elites or councils, but a move as educators to do better all around,” the voice from the back said.

“Yes, exactly. Several of you were bringing points that worked, but not the picture together as your focus is—and understandably—your school. The councils didn’t have all this power and corruption in one big step. It was a lot of baby steps, and that’s what we need to make this work and return balance to the education system. There’s a lot of ways to frame this so it’s not aggressive.”

“You’re right and that is a good point too,” White agreed. “I was devastated to know former students of mine were forced into matings to get their education, and some weren’t given the chance at education because they wouldn’t do it. That’s a much different reason we, as a society, say people don’t have