“What does?”
“Weareremoved from the student body. Do you remember being irritated in school because people were making decisions that affected us when they’d never been in our situations?”
“I think you may have worded that question wrong,” Zarek says. “Everyone has been a student.”
I shake my head. “Sorry. I mean… the number of times I’ve heard my teachers gripe about that, like…” I pause to see if I can recall something specific. “Okay, I remember coming back from break one year when I was in sixth grade, maybe, and the teacher’s desk was gone. It had been replaced with a podium. All the teachers’ desks were replaced with podiums. I remember overhearing teachers complaining many times that the directors needed to stop making decisions for the teaching staff when they’ve never been in that position to begin with. There was no way to spin that this change was positive. It was less than three months later when the desks were returned.”
“I’m following,” Byndley says, “though now I’m trying to make that make sense outside of desks.”
Zarek laughs quietly. “No, I get it. And I appreciate that the administration doesn’t tend to make ‘improvements’ that only affect the faculty without consulting the faculty, such as was the case in your desk/podium situation.”
“Right. There’s always this breakdown in companies where higher-ups make so-called ‘improvements’ to work environments, but like so many upper-management positions, those people have never actually been in those… I hate to say lower positions, but you get what I’m saying. It’s more frequent that upper management is hired from outside and therefore has never experienced the day-to-day life of those working under them,” I agree.
“If I understand how this relates to our original line of dialog, you think you need to spend more time with the studentsbecause what we’re working for directly affects them,” Byndley says.
“Yes. That long side explanation was a means to get to that point,” I say, earning myself amused smiles from both of them. “Also, I saidwe, Byndley. You and me both.”
She nods. “That’s fine. I like hobnobbing with the kids.”
Zarek laughs. “Hobnobbing. Please, please use that when talking to them. Also, call them kids to their faces. I dare you.”
I glance around Byndley to look at Brevan again. His head is against the window and his eyes are closed. I think he has earbuds in. Jerome is poking his head around the seat to talk to Wendy, who is sitting in front of him.
“You’re going to begin with Brevan, huh?” Byndley asks.
“Begin what?”
“Hanging with the students.”
I nod almost absently. “I hate that he now looks so… out of place. I don’t want him to feel like he doesn’t belong here, and if what I understand of the situation is accurate, I imagine he feels exactly that.”
“I’d agree with that assessment,” Zarek says. “My partner treated Brevan last year for a sports injury—nothing critical—and I may have been fighting off other animals trying to get at my man, so I was hanging around often. Especially on the field. I’ve gotten to know Brevan a little, and he’s a really good guy. He’s perfect for this trip. Having observed him, I think you’re right. He probably feels like he doesn’t belong.”
“Considering he’d already been struggling with that,” Byndley says, nodding.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“I told you that one of our student ambassadors stopped in just after the letters went out to tell us we’d made a mistake. He didn’t believe he was a good choice, citing that he’s not smart enough to represent RDU.”
“You didn’t tell me that was Brevan,” I say.
“I thought I’d relieved his misgivings. He’d also insisted that he hadn’t applied for the position, which means someone else applied on his behalf.”
“This is all news to me.” I narrow my eyes at her.
Byndley smiles. “I did some research, and it looks like his coach submitted his documents on his behalf, unbeknownst to Brevan.”
“Oh no,” Zarek says, and we turn our attention to him. “I suddenly feel bad for those girls.”
“Why?” Byndley and I ask together.
He laughs. “You talked abouthobnobbingwith the kids, but have you ever hung around your staff? Specifically, Coach Lemon Frost?”
I shake my head. “I’m failing at being a good provost.”
“You’re not, but that’s a different conversation. I’m saying this off the record and not as a complaint, so we’re going to pretend that this is not a work environment and we’re talking over drinks as friends.”
Byndley and I nod our agreement.
