Crossing Into Forever

Chapter 28

Nicholas had a look around the bathroom, looking for some type of tool that could have been used to make the opening. He found nothing though. He made note that the hole was in an inconspicuous spot, behind a pipe that ran down the wall. He would have been worried that it had been there for a while, except fresh cement dust was on the wall and floor, so it was obvious that someone had recently done this. Maybe it was something that had been being dug out over time and just recently completed. There would have to be a very thorough search of all of the bathrooms that were adjacent to any of the showers, to make sure there weren't more peep holes like this. He would have a talk with Nachton after he spoke to the headmaster and Agatha about inspecting all of the sites in question. He made another quick phone call and walked back in the direction he had just come from. After a few moments, he came to a large door and opened it. It was the door to the headmaster's office. When he entered, the headmaster was sitting behind his desk waiting for him. There were two chairs in front of his desk and Nicholas had a seat in one and let out an exasperated sigh. The headmaster looked at Nicholas with an understanding look on this face.

"So, we don't know which girls the boys were watching?"

"Correct. The only one I know for sure that they saw is Ella." Nicholas sat there quietly for a moment as if he were in deep thought. He then shook his head slightly and raised his eyes upward while he sighed again. It was a rare display of emotion, "One day is what I would like to have. At least one day. A day that I am not faced with a quandary involving her. Do you know what my day consisted of?" He asked Heinrich, and Heinrich looked at Nicholas and lightly shook his head. "I had a wonderful day in the classroom. The students were all well behaved. They understood all of the material we had covered and asking all of the right questions. Then after classes, I had the pleasure of scaring the bejesus out of Addison. Something I might add, I will forever preserve as one of my fondest memories. After that, I made love, for hours, to one of the most beautiful women on this planet. It was an amazing and impeccable evening with her. Then we went to Gerardo's, and I had the most excellent steak I think I have ever eaten. We returned back here, and Liz left for home..." he raised his finger up as if making a point and he had just a hint of a roguish grin on his face. "One of the pivotal events of the evening. Once I returned back to my apartment, I relaxed in my favorite chair and savored a glass of my best bourbon and then I decided I wanted to read a little before I went to bed. But I realized I had left my book in my downstairs office. No worries there. I walked down and retrieved my book and headed back to my apartment. I decided to go by way of the main corridor, since it is a little faster. But then, as I got closer to the lavatory on that hall, I heard the distinct and disgusting voices of excited adolescent boys. I knew from the moment I heard the first syllable come out of one of their mouths, that they were up to something no good."

Nicholas shook his head again. "How did they make a hole in the concrete!? Why did it have to be her? Why did I have to walk by at precisely that moment when they said her name. If it had been anyone else, I would have simply sent them on with Ingvar, then spoken with you. We would have notified all of the parents and the girl. Those guilty would have been punished. We would take the necessary precaution to prevent something like this from happening again. It would have been difficult for those involved, I'm sure, but it would have been governable. But now...now this is going to be very complicated. Agatha and Mother Christina are going to be extremely upset..."

"Did I hear my name mentioned?" Agatha had opened the door right when Nicholas had spoken her name. She couldn't miss the bleak look on his face. "What is wrong?" She was getting concerned that something bad had happened to someone.

Heinrich spoke, hoping that the simple act would give his friend a small reprieve. "It seems we have a small problem that we need to attend to. I don't feel as though it can wait until tomorrow, or at least it needs to be discussed tonight."

Agatha looked at both of them and couldn't imagine what the problem was. "Well, what is it?" She was getting exasperated with both of them for their diffuseness.

Nicholas spoke this time. "There was a group of boys that snuck into the lavatory adjacent to the girl's dormitory this evening and they somehow bore a hole in between the concrete blocks and could see into the girls shower."

Agatha's eyes widened and she looked bewildered. "How did this happen? That's just terrible! Did they see any of the girls showering?"

Nicholas almost cringed when she asked. He so didn't want to tell her, but he had to. "Yes, they saw at least one, but I'm not sure if there were others. Ingvar is questioning them now."

"Who was the poor girl that they were spying on? Does she know? This will have to be handled very delicately. She and her parents will have to be notified immediately!"

Nicholas looked Agatha in the eyes. "It was Ella that they saw showering."

Agatha looked at him with a blank stare for a couple of seconds and then a distraught expression spread over her face. "Oh, no... no that is...This is horrible! This cannot be! She will be devastated if she finds out. We cannot tell her about this." Agatha was in a panic. She could only imagine what this would do to Ella. She was still so shy and uneasy around many of the students, especially the boys. She still pleaded to go home every time she saw Christina. She was afraid this would break her emotionally. Ella had always been such a happy girl until she came here. She was happy around her small group of friends, but she was so timid around others. She had been through so much since that evening when she followed Millicent into the woods and Agatha couldn't stand the thought of seeing her hurt again.

"With all due respect Agatha, we can't keep something like this away from Ella. She has a right to know."

"But Nicholas! She will be shattered if she finds out. I don't know if she can handle finding out about this sort of thing. I don't know if Christina will want her to know."

Nicholas wanted to roll his eyes, but he wouldn't dare disrespect her. He couldn't help but be frustrated with the way she and Mother Christina treated Ella. They treated her like she was a fragile, sickly child. The truth was, she wasn't fragile, she was not sickly, and she was no longer a child. "Agatha, you can't keep treating her like a child. The reason she is so timid and frightened all the time is because she has been so coddled all of her life. She is a grown woman now. I think you will find that she is quite capable of handling a lot more than what you think she can. She has to learn to deal with adversaries. She has to learn to take care of herself."

Agatha was not expecting Nicholas to give her a lecture. Usually, the tables were turned, and she would be chastising him about something. Usually, in regard to being too strict with the students or something of that nature. She was a little taken aback by his scolding.

He could tell she was not sure what to think of him speaking to her like he had and now he felt bad. "Agatha, you know I would never try to tell you what to do. I did not mean any disrespect toward you or Mother Christina. I simply want what is best for the girl too and I'm afraid that being overly protective of her will not serve her well in the future. However, if you and Christina still feel like she should not know about this, I will honor your wishes. Do you think it is too late to call Mother Christina?"

Agatha accepted his explanation as an apology and decided not to be angry with him. She knew in a lot of ways he was right. She knew Nicholas had the reputation of being hardnosed, but he did care about the students and their wellbeing. He wanted nothing more than the best for them, and that included Ella. She couldn't be upset with him about that. "It isn't too late to call her. She would want to know about this immediately."

The phone call was made, and Mother Christina was soon speaking to them face to face on a computer screen. The news was broken to her gently by Agatha. Agatha had asked to be the one to tell her. As was predicted, Christina's reaction was very similar to her own when she first found out. Surprisingly, Agatha decided it was best for Ella to know the truth and after discussing the situation with Christina, she decided it was best as well. Not only did Nicholas urge her to look at things in a different way, but he also soon made her realize that Ella may find out from the other students. There may be rumors and gossip about the invasion of privacy. They couldn't be sure that there hadn't been other boys that looked through the peep hole or even how many girls they had spied on. The truth was it would be necessary to inform all the girls that lived in that dormitory and their parents of the incident. They had caught one group of boys peeping, but how many others were there? It was a question that may never be fully answered.