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American High School Drama

“Thank you for coming in, Mrs. Sampson,” the principal said, smiling thinly. 

She motioned for the anxious mother to sit in the chair across from her desk. 

The bookcases behind Mrs. Sampson’s seat were filled to capacity, mostly with well-annotated history books that the principal kept from her years of teaching. 

Holding her designer handbag in front of her like a shield, Mrs. Sampson’s lacquered nails made indents on the leather. She sat on the chair’s edge, legs crossed, settled in. 

“I don’t understand what this is about.” 

Wordlessly, the principal closed the door, circled back to her desk, and took out a small stack of papers. Taking her time to find her reading glasses, the principal let the silence deflate Mrs. Sampson’s posturing. 

“My husband wants to be involved if things—escalate.” She pulled out her cell phone to show that she wasn’t making an idle threat. 

“I don’t anticipate any escalation,” the principal replied, squaring her shoulders. 

“Thank you for that, but every time I come down here, there’s a problem with my son that’s not really a problem—” Mrs. Sampson stopped short when she saw the principal raise her right hand with the palm facing outward. It seemed like an ancient gesture, powerful and symbolic.

“Yesterday, your son was sent to the office for some concerning images he’d drawn in language arts class. He talked with the assistant principal, but your son would not explain himself.” 

The principal flipped to the assorted pages in front of her.

Angry scrawls in black and blue ink left his mother unmoved. 

“Those are doodles! Is this why he’s in trouble?” Mrs. Sampson cried. She took one of her son’s notebooks in her hands to examine the symbols more closely. “It’s not like he’s drawing machine guns or penises. This is scribble scrabble. What does it matter?” She dismissively tossed the notebook back on the principal’s desk. 

“It matters a great deal. This school has a zero-tolerance policy for racial discrimination or intimidation.”

“They are pictures!” 

“We take pride in our diverse student body, and we want all of our students to feel comfortable.”

“Are you calling my son a racist?” 

“I’m not calling your son anything.” 

“You act as if my son drew swastikas!” 

“He might as well have drawn swastikas,” the principal replied evenly, “but your son is too smart to do that.”

Mrs. Sampson didn’t know what to do with the principal’s backhanded compliment. 

Of course, her son was smart. 

She stared back at the principal. “What exactly are you accusing my son of?”

“I think your son is involved with right-wing extremism.”

“Not a chance. We’re not like that.”

“Look at these symbols more closely, Mrs. Sampson. Yes, these look like harmless sketches. But there’s a historical context.” Ipsa historia repetit, the principal thought, looking at her bookshelves. History repeats itself.

“A historical context.” Mrs. Sampson rolled her eyes. 

“I’ll fast forward to the 1940s: Heinrich Himmler, second in power to Hitler, wanted to imbue the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany with the strength and power of ancient Germanic tribes.”

“Uh huh,” Mrs. Sampson nodded. She looked at her watch.

“Himmler was fascinated with the occult,” continued the principal. 

“My son does not worship the devil,” Mrs. Sampson hotly interjected. 

“Himmler believed in the superiority of the Germanic race and created an entire mythology around it.”

“Like Zeus and Hercules?” 

“Something like that. Are you familiar with the Futhark alphabet?”

“No.”

“Suffice it to say that your son’s drawings are letters from an ancient Germanic alphabet. The letters are called runes.” 

“Ruins?”

“Runes. Rhymes with moons.” The principal paused and drank her tepid tea. “Himmler felt using these runes would help Germans return to their rightful place as the master race. See this rune?”

“It looks like a fish,” Mrs. Sampson said skeptically. “Is it the Christian fish?”

“This is not the ichthys. It’s the odal rune meaning heritage—very popular with white supremacist groups. It symbolizes the Nazi doctrine of ‘blood and soil.’ It's the belief that the motherland belongs to those with pure bloodlines.”

“I’ve heard of that before. On the news…” Mrs. Sampson said softly.

“2017. Charlottesville, Virginia. ‘Blood and soil’ was one of the more popular chants used by radicalized young men—young men not much older than your son.”

“You’re saying that my son drawing an O in his notebook means all of that! My son is not a Nazi.” Feeling out of her depths, she reached for her cell phone again. Maybe it was time for her husband to step in?

The principal took out another one of her son’s notebooks and flipped to a page in the back.

“This is the sun-rune. You’ve probably seen it on the German uniforms in World War II movies. The SS, the Schutzstaffel, wore this on collar patches and cuff bands to empower them. You can see your son has drawn these throughout his Spanish notebook.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to offend anyone. It’s probably just for shock value,” she added.

“It might be,” the principal conceded, looking thoughtfully at her.

“Or maybe he was just drawing lightning bolts?” Mrs. Sampson offered.

“Or maybe your son drew the symbol for a paramilitary organization that systematically murdered six million people,” the principal countered. “Either way, I think you and your husband should talk with him. I could show you several other examples if you wish. But Mrs. Sampson,” the principal paused. Her eyes look worried. “This is a time to be vigilant. Racists are recruiting.”

Another half hour passed before Mrs. Sampson could leave the principal’s office with her hands full of paper, all scribbled with Germanic runes. 

On the way to her car, she tried to shake off the feeling of parental failure. 

Her son was a good kid, she reassured herself.

The principal had commented on how smart he was. 

But maybe her son was too smart? 

Pulling her cell phone out of her purse, she dialed her husband.

He answered on the first ring.

“Do you need me to come down there?”

“No,” Mrs. Sampson replied quietly. “But I’m going to need you to talk to our son.” 


December 06, 2022 21:56

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51 comments

Edward Latham
22:57 Dec 13, 2022

That would be a scary and difficult thing to accept as a parent! I felt at first you portrayed the mum as being overly righteous and protective, but she became someone to be pitied by the end for a difficult situation to be in!

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16:20 Dec 14, 2022

Thanks for the comment, Edward -- !! Honestly, thanks for pointing out the mother's dramatic change of heart. I think I was more focused on the principal (being a teacher and having to tell parents some hard truths...) but I can see how the mother turns into a sympathetic figure. Let's just hope she isn't an enabling on.

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E. B. Bullet
16:33 Dec 13, 2022

OOOooOooOooOO. You know I love the way your stories just ride along. I feel like I'm in a kayak, down a rapid. I can't put it down until I'm all the way through, there's such a nice flow ~! Its as though I was just plopped into the mid-beginning of a novel here. There's this subtle inclination that things are going to go very badly. It's ripe with serious drama, being entertaining while also mature in it's message. I like it a lot~ ! Your writing style is supes polished, I hope you're very proud of it !!

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17:12 Dec 13, 2022

Big smile at the kayak simile. :) Thanks for the enthusiasm and kudos. They keep me going!!

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Laurel Hanson
21:40 Dec 12, 2022

Skillfully ambiguous. Were they symbols? Were they doodles? Is the kid ignorant? Is the kid misguided? And of course, what is the right way to deal with it to avoid driving the kid further afield? You clearly are an educator when you recognize the power of silence: "the principal let the silence deflate Mrs. Sampson’s posturing." There is a time for silence and a time to speak up.

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21:59 Dec 12, 2022

Thanks, Laurel :) I think adolescence is wholly ambiguous, the notorious "trying-on-of-hats" phase. Erikson's Lifespan Theory explains how that exploration is necessary for young adults to discover who they are so they can form meaningful attachments in their 20's...it's just a shame that the internet never forgets. I thank God every day that I came of age before the digital revolution...yikes :)

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AnneMarie Miles
00:46 Dec 07, 2022

Ooooohhh what an eerie and unfortunately relevant topic!! For a short read, it was intense one! I was rushing to the end to see what was going to happen!

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21:38 Dec 07, 2022

Let's hope Dad isn't as duped as Mom. Too much of this kind of stuff going on... :(

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Susan Catucci
15:07 Dec 12, 2022

What a wonderful display of how words can manipulate, twist and transform. I loved the setting in the principal's office, using her wealth of historical knowledge to convince a mother that her son's doodles reveal something more than meets the eye. The relevant history tossed into the mom's lap are indeed dazzling and absolutely terrifying. No wonder she's concerned by the end of the meeting. I almost was, too. This is also a worthy comment on just how tenuous our hold is on actually preventing history from repeating itself. How about ...

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22:03 Dec 12, 2022

Brilliant comment :) I just wish we had a long lunch to talk about all your salient points. (WOW. That would be awesome!!) Maybe AI will help humans learn from the past? :) I mean, after AI takes all of our jobs...including writing stories and creating art and making music. I'm all for AI politicians --- ones that actually know history so we aren't condemned to repeat it!

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Susan Catucci
23:03 Dec 12, 2022

Ooooo, this is such good stuff. I find it fascinating that great minds can seemingly make coherency of the human experience; yet with so many humans at the helm, common sense is so uncommon. Why aren't these thing universal? (What is logic?) AI could probably accomplish what we're talking about but doesn't it smack a little of cheating on the exam? I honestly am not sure we're meant to figure it all out. Perhaps the life we live is one big classroom and, once we make of it what we will, the next group of underclassmen take our seats an...

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17:15 Dec 13, 2022

I look forward to seeing you around here -- and I love your wit and wisdom!! You may want to check out Michal Pryzwara -- you and he would solve the world's problems in one cup of coffee at Starbucks :) https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/author/michal-przywara/

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Susan Catucci
17:59 Dec 13, 2022

Ah yes, I'm familiar with Michal and am already a member of his fan club. He's scary smart, just like so many I've come across on Reedsy. I like it here.

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18:09 Dec 13, 2022

It's a great place. Join us on Discord? (link in my bio.) Lots of folks there for chats about Reedsy and other contests and all things writing. :)

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Valerie Shand
23:05 Mar 08, 2023

This is great writing that sucks you in and doesn't let go until the end, and then only with great effort can you get loose. I was pleased that my mind could and did automatically translate the Latin title to an English one. Nice to see those junior high school hours weren't wasted after all. The question that keeps swirling around in my brain now is how could, would, and should these concerned parents proceed at this point? How do we prevent history from repeating itself if the boy's doodles are Germanic runes? How much does the princip...

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Tommy Goround
14:36 Feb 02, 2023

(ah... This is why I forgot the name of the story. Thank you for the link).

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16:17 Feb 02, 2023

Yep, my Latin titles fare the worse. I should quit doing that. :)

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16:18 Feb 02, 2023

This one still cracks me up. My first shortlist :) https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/b7yooo/

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EVA RAY
07:22 Dec 26, 2022

Hi ! I really like your story. The way you presented and specific details its owsome, anding is also amazing keep it up !!!!

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Tommy Goround
06:15 Dec 23, 2022

This story is very memorable. Good plots come and go and some people are blessed with a voice that is easy to follow. This particular story is memorable because of the layers. Really lovely layers. Clapping.

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23:39 Dec 25, 2022

Thanks for the read, Tommy. I'm amazed at your writing as well -- prolific and colorful :)

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Starry Skies
15:17 Dec 14, 2022

I love this!! I think it's interesting how the mother denies everything until there is just too much evidence and uses several identifiable logical fallacies to deny that her son is involved with racist groups, including what sounds like the "alternate truth" fallacy. The principal also uses several logical fallacies in her argument, such as the fallacy, "where there's smoke, there's fire". I love how you inserted those so smoothly in there!

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16:27 Dec 14, 2022

Hi Skies! What fun would it be to argue without logical fallacies? :) All that reason and common sense would get so boring after a while (haha). Thanks for the read and for giving me food for thought. I hadn't thought about logical fallacies in a long time...definitely inspired to write a conversation where the participants use all of them...(and sound like 3rd graders...hahah)

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Starry Skies
17:42 Dec 14, 2022

Haha, that would be funny! You should totally do that, I'd definitely read it. (Obviously sounding like 3rd graders... No one can argue like civilized people haha)

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Mary Lehnert
22:34 Dec 11, 2022

All in a Principal’s day. Well researched piece and absolutely true of Himmler, a chicken farmer, before becoming head of the secret police. Beware of country squires and former house painters . Great story.

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22:04 Dec 12, 2022

Every principal goes straight to heaven. That's just the law. (Of course, Himmler was a chicken farmer...I didn't know that before your comment, but it totally makes sense.)

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Mary Lehnert
22:10 Dec 12, 2022

He did study agriculture, Deidra, Nevertheless he was a chicken farmer as well as a fertilizer salesman. I’ll leave it at that. Thankyou Mary

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Rebecca Miles
05:39 Dec 11, 2022

Turned up too late to the party. I agree with all the comments written here. I live in South Germany and reports on the news of radicalised groups rising in the north of the country is alarming. Age of Enlightment: our arms are open wide.

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22:05 Dec 12, 2022

Never too late. Always glad to have your eruditeness on my feed :) Sorry to hear the news in Germany -- I'm sure there are a lot of interesting conversations going on in the coffee shops. We need to have some pretty intense ones ourselves here in the states. (Why is democracy so hard to hang on to?)

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Rebecca Miles
21:36 Dec 13, 2022

I've a long drive into my school and I've just finished listening to 1984 read by the wonderful Stephen Fry. I think perhaps they should play the audiobook on the loudspeakers and radios rather than Christmas consumer jingles...now they are deserving of room 101!

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21:46 Dec 13, 2022

I always felt bad for Syme. He drank the Koolaid. He was vaporized anyway.

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Rebecca Miles
05:53 Dec 14, 2022

They'll get you if you're too intelligent, even if you seem to tow the party line. Have you read Deborah Levy's essays Deidra? Her first one : Things I don't want to know is a wonderful take on Orwell's Why I Write, told from a feminist perspective. Levy is one of my all-time favourite authors; her books like Swimming Home and Hot Milk are for"thinking people" while still delivering nuanced characters and gripping plot. Pop her on the Christmas present list. Have you a good recommendation for the long- awaited break we teachers are inching...

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16:23 Dec 14, 2022

Orwell was a genius...and dying of lung(?) cancer while he wrote 1984. Thanks for the Levy rec! If you haven't read anything by Yuval Noah Harari -- I recommend everything. Narrative nonfiction at its finest. The history professor you wished lived next door. “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” is the most thought-provoking book I've read in decades. "Home Deus" and "Sapiens" should be its own curriculum in schools.

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Delbert Griffith
19:39 Dec 09, 2022

Well, this was powerful! I'm thinking of how many tragedies (Uvalde, Columbine, etc.) could have been prevented had parents been less inclined to defend their kids than have their kids explain themselves. But it goes much deeper, doesn't it? Everyone needs to belong to some group, especially kids. If a 'family' doesn't find them, they will assuredly find one that accepts them. Teachers see this all the time. A kid getting mixed up with the wrong crowd is an adult phrase for a kid needing some group to belong to. The kid is always blamed whe...

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21:13 Dec 10, 2022

Less of a story, more of a rant :) Thanks for the support, Del.

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Lily Finch
16:54 Dec 09, 2022

Deidra, what a lovely story about how easy it is for parents to miss what indoctrination looks like in a young man. Scary that the parents were so unaware, and kudos that the principal and assistant principal were so in tune with the signs and symbols of early recruitment. And those words, "blood and soil," as they pertain to Nazis. The boy probably feels alone and isolated and wants to belong to something. He chose a large group full of hatred. Maybe just for laughs or maybe because he had nothing else to do? But we know that his mother ...

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21:19 Dec 10, 2022

Insightful and intelligent commentary, as usual. Principals (and definitely teachers!) all need our support these days. Having the world in students' pockets is making education a Herculean task these (sad and tired) days.

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Lily Finch
02:38 Dec 11, 2022

No argument here!

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Felice Noelle
22:05 Dec 07, 2022

Deidre: Such a disturbing story that touched some of my family's history. Back in the 1950's, my fourth grade younger brother identified himself on his school papers and books as William Michael Anthony Sampson, Esquire, II and always drew pencil renditions of WWII airplanes and machine guns complete with flying bullets and skeletal remains of the enemy falling out of their planes. My mother, Mrs. Sampson, also, was called in by his worried teacher. He decorated every paper and page with stylized swatstikas. Back then, the problem was n...

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21:22 Dec 10, 2022

Ms. Noelle - it's been a minute! How did you survive another hurricane from hell? Yes, we're glad to be back in the heartland of Virginia. As for youth being attracted to the "worse" angels of our nature, it's an age-old concern. I'm sure the Greeks and Romans fretted about it as well. And life still goes on... :)

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Michał Przywara
21:43 Dec 07, 2022

Chilling. Doodles are innocuous - until they aren't. Who hasn't gotten up to doing stupid things in their youth? That's rhetorical; we all have. That's the privilege of youth. (Though it seems like some of us stubbornly drag our privileges with us, long past their prime :P) And it's perhaps understandable that a young person, feeling lonely, isolated, or powerless, might be angry, and might be drawn to ideas and groups that accept and encourage the anger, and offer a sense of power. But it doesn't really stop there, does it? And it's n...

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21:28 Dec 10, 2022

Dr. Przywara, I presume... Another masterclass in the insightful commentary! Yes, youthful indiscretions abound. It just seems like the drop-off is far shorter than when we were walking along the edge. The drugs are more potent. The addictions are harder to beat. The counterculture seems crazier. But maybe that is what all older generations think? Maybe the kids are all right, after all? Thomas Barnes wrote in 1624: “I find by sad Experience how the Towns and Streets are filled with lewd wicked Children, and many Children as they have p...

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Michał Przywara
00:41 Dec 11, 2022

That reminds me of Plato's Republic. Seems like a lot of high falutin philosophizing, until they complained one of the big problems in (their) society was there were too many lawyers :) We have the capacity to learn from history, we just exercise our right not to :)

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01:59 Dec 11, 2022

The unchecked willful ignorance will be the greatest unsolved mystery when historians write about the collective insanity of the 21st c. I'm looking forward to the next Age of Enlightenment. (There's got to be another one, right?)

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Jeffro Tan
14:25 Dec 07, 2022

Incredible writing. I was hooked from the first couple of sentences, and kept reading with increasing anticipation - was the mother going to realize what was happening? You're such an inspiring writer! I wish this piece kept going!

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21:33 Dec 07, 2022

Spoiler alert -- She leaves him for a poetry professor who "gets" her. You know how love goes... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ “The Heart wants what it wants - or else it does not care” -Emily Dickinson

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Cindy Strube
02:25 Dec 07, 2022

Skillfully unsettling. All the more creepy because we had a local family with that same surname when I was growing up. It’s nothing new, as your historical references tell us. These people had a compound, had “Posse Comitatus” on their vehicles, their own flag and motto, and tried (but failed) to get into local politics. The patriarch would have liked to run a cult, I think… (I drew clowns on my history book cover. What does that mean?)

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21:37 Dec 07, 2022

I had to look that up: "a posse comitatus is a group of people who are mobilized by the sheriff to suppress lawlessness in the county." Yeehaw...(OMG)

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Cindy Strube
21:55 Dec 07, 2022

Yup… Wild West! It’s not a common phrase, but I’ve known about it as long as I can remember. But ~ They were mobilized by themselves to suppress law enforcement. My dad explained the meaning and significance to me - he had a scary experience with Mr. S back in the 70s. (If you read my story “Balancing Act”… Same town.)

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