Elegy - Chapter 34

Monday, I was back at school, and it felt weird. I’d been gone for so long, it almost felt foreign. Weirder than that was that no one really paid attention to me. I guess I should have expected that, since most high school students really only have the energy and time to think about themselves, but I guess I felt my absence would have been noticed. At least it kept my ego in check.

Kat was still doing early practices, so just like the day I was expelled, I was all by myself. Also like that day, I needed to check in with the office. Not because they required me to, but because I wanted to make sure I didn’t run into any problems returning to class. I’d been blindsided the last time and, even with the superintendent’s assurances, I just didn’t trust the school district to not screw me again. If it happened, I didn’t want it to happen while I was in class, where others would be watching.

I was mostly looking around at the other kids standing around talking or walking to class and didn’t look into the office until I pulled the glass door open to go inside, almost running right into Mr. Packer, who was carrying a cardboard box full of picture frames and papers. I silently cursed myself for not paying more attention, but in my defense, I really thought this was what the rest of last week was for. They knew I was starting back today, so it seemed crazy that Mr. Packer would be here at the same time, since he had to know I was the reason he was suspended and being investigated.

For a moment, we both just stared at each other.

Finally, he broke the silence, saying, “Looks like you got what you wanted, didn’t you, Nelson?”

“Me? All I wanted was to come to school and get an education. You were the one who took Aaron’s dad’s money and went out of your way to harass me.”

“You don’t know anything. Everyone in this town knows you’re a punk, and the only reason you’ve stayed out of jail is by dating the sheriff’s daughter. Mark my words, Mr. Nelson, I’ve seen a lot of troublemakers over the years, and those consequences are going to catch up to you eventually. You’re just lucky your mother died before she had to see what you’ve become.”

He had a smirk on his face with those last words, and I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me. Two months ago that probably would have sent me into a seething rage, but with everything I’d been through recently, it was going to take more than that to rile me up. I saw him for what he was: a sad man in his forties who just got fired from his job for gross incompetence.

“Speaking as someone whose consequences caught up with him, huh, Mr. Packer?” I said calmly.

“You little shit,” he snarled, not holding on to his emotions nearly as well. “I’ll be back, and when I am I’ll make sure you never finish at Carr.”

“You’re joking, right?” I asked, smiling in his face. “This suspension is just a step required by the rules. The superintendent has already decided you’re done. You’re never going to teach in this district ever again. Hopefully, you’ll take that as a sign and get out of education altogether. You have no business working with kids anywhere, let alone here. You’re a sad, little man who only feels big when he’s wielding power over children. You’re pathetic.”

His knuckles turned white as he gripped the box, the sides denting in where his fingers clawed into the cardboard.

“You piece of …”

“Mr. Packer,” a voice came from behind him. “I believe it’s best if you just leave.”

Mr. Packer didn’t look back at the man I assumed was the temporary administrator. I stepped back, holding the door open for him as he walked past, glaring at me. I just grinned back, although I made sure to turn my head away from the administrator. It was a petty move, and I was sure they wouldn’t approve of me provoking him like that, but after what he put me through over the last almost two years, I couldn’t help but feel vindicated.

“Mr. Nelson, come here please,” the man said.

He wasn’t yelling or angry, so it was already a step up from what I was used to.

“We’re happy to see you back in school,” he said when I stopped in front of him. “But I’d appreciate it if you would refrain from speaking to any of the former administration, should you run into them. I understand the urge, but you will make your life and the lives of the rest of us a little easier if you resist, and I hope you can see there’s little benefit to such a confrontation.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ll just walk away next time.”

“Good. I was told you were a reasonable young man, and I’m glad to see that was accurate. Until the end of the year, unless we send for you, you don’t have to come to the office any longer. We’ve held conferences with each of your teachers, and they’re aware of your situation. They have each prepared a plan for you to catch up with your classmates and finish the year on schedule. I don’t know if Superintendent Jennings said this to you, but we’re expecting you to work hard to catch up. I know that’s not fair, considering the situation, but I think it’s within your ability, yes?”

“Yes, sir. I’m willing to do whatever you need me to do. I just want to finish this year and graduate next year with everyone else.”

“Excellent. With that kind of attitude, I’m sure you will. If you run into any problems, my door is always open. Although I don’t expect to see you in here very much since I’m sure you’re going to be too busy getting back up to speed.”

“I’ll do my best,” I said.

“Good. Then head to class.”

I gave him a nod and hustled out the door. I was happy he seemed more reasonable than Mr. Packer or Mr. Little. Of course, they seemed reasonable the first time I’d met them, too. It was only afterward they became difficult. Of course, those were different circumstances, and I assumed he wasn’t going to start getting paid off to screw me over like Mr. Packer was.

I was happy I’d stopped in the office. I know it’s petty, but seeing Mr. Packer leaving, with a box of his personal stuff, felt good. I liked to think I wasn’t a vindictive person, but it was nice, for once, to see some real proof that people got what they deserved.

I was a little less happy once I started getting the work from my teachers that I needed to complete to catch up. When they said it was going to take a lot of work to get up to speed, they weren’t kidding. Especially considering that the assignments that were happening while I played catch up were going to pile up at the end of my workload, so I could literally see the load of stuff still to do increasing as I worked on it.

At least spring break had happened while I was suspended, so it wasn’t quite as bad as it otherwise would have been. Still, I needed to figure out more time to do some homework, so my first stop was to go see Coach Dean in conditioning class about the practice schedule for the rest of the year.

“Hey, Coach,” I said, knocking on his door.

“Charlie,” he said, smiling. “They told me you were back.”

“Yep. I’m guessing there isn’t much in the way of makeup homework for this class,” I said.

“Nope. There was the performance test, to see if your reps increased, but we can do that later this week and you’ll be all caught up.”

“Good. I did get a lot of work from my other teachers, so I wanted to see what our practice schedule was now, because I’m going to need some extra time to get caught up.”

When he glanced away and looked nervous I knew something was off. Especially when he didn’t reply right away.

“What?”

“We’ve had a lot of games since you stopped being able to attend and were forced to move someone up from junior varsity to fill your space. I know it’s not your fault you were taken out of school, but it also wasn’t this kid’s fault, and I really can’t move him back down now. That wouldn’t be fair to him.”

“Oh,” I said.

It hadn’t even occurred to me that I was going to be replaced. It should have. A month was more than a third of the season and they would have played about ten games since my whole ordeal started. Coach Dean had been one of the more fair teachers I’d had, and I knew he wouldn’t purposefully do something that would cause me problems, and he also had a bunch of other kids to deal with at the same time.

“I’m so sorry, Charlie. I even talked to the administration to try and get an idea of how long you were going to be gone, and we were told you were removed from school permanently, otherwise I would have just held that spot open. I could move you to the junior varsity team if you want. I know it’s a step-down and would be a little disappointing, but you’d almost certainly make varsity again next year, and you always said you just wanted to be able to play ball. Again, I know this sucks and none of this is your fault. I really am very sorry.”

“No, I get it. You had to make the best call you could for the team, and even Iwasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get back into school before the end of the year. Yeah, you can’t take the guy you moved up and bump him back down. I couldn’t do that to anyone.”

“So will moving to junior varsity work for you?” he asked, almost hopefully.

“No. I appreciate you trying to find a place for me, and I know that you had no choice in how things played out, but honestly, now that I’m thinking about it, this might be for the best. I was just coming in here to find out how to open up some time in my schedule, and this does just that. I have so much catch-up work to do. Besides, I’ve honestly lost most of my school spirit. This school has gone out of its way to tell me how much I’m not wanted, and I’m starting to get the message.”

“Charlie, it’s not like that,” he said, sitting up in his chair. “I know you’ve had problems with some of the staff and the administration, but you have a lot of teachers here who know you’re an asset, and I most certainly do. You’ve been a great player this season and if there was a way I could put you on the team without bumping anyone else, I would. In a heartbeat. You’ve got real talent and you could almost certainly play in college if you wanted to.”

“I appreciate that, and I wasn’t trying to blame you. You’ve always been really fair, and I know none of this was your fault. At the same time, I think I’m going to take this as a sign I that should stop playing school sports. My long-term goal has always been my music, and besides getting caught up on my school work, I have a lot to do to get my music career back where it needs to be. Since I’m not currently on any team roster, I think it’s best if we leave it that way. Maybe I’ll feel differently next year and try out again, but right now, honestly, I seriously doubt it.”

“I won’t say it’s not disappointing since you’re an excellent player and we’re going to miss your talent on the team, but I understand. Again, I’m really sorry how this has gone for you, and I’m glad the district has started to work to fix some of the things the administration did to you. If I was in your place, I’d probably have made the exact same decision. What I can do is keep you in conditioning class. Normally, if you aren’t on one of the teams, we’d have to move you out of the class, but we're this far into the semester it also wouldn’t be fair to force you to switch to a new PE class, especially since it wasn’t your decision to get pulled off the team.”

“That works for me, Coach,” I said, sticking out my hand.

“No problem,” he said, shaking it. “If you change your mind or need anything, even next year, my door’s always open.”

And just like that, my short foray into sports was over. I was a little disappointed because I really did love playing the game, but it was probably for the best. I’d been serious that I needed to focus on my music. With my contract canceled, I needed to put all my efforts into figuring out how to get my career started again. Which wasn’t going to be easy.

***

A week passed, and things were slowly settling into a new normal. With Seth back in the band, we were starting to sound like we had it together, again. We’d had to do some work to get the melodies Marco was carrying back into my parts, but it was doable. Functionally, not having a keyboard wasn’t that big of a problem since a lot of bands used the guitar, bass, and drums setup.

If we added anything else later, it would end up being a second guitar part to allow for more complex melodies, but I liked the idea of keeping it small, with just the three of us. We were still only playing at the Blue Ridge. However, I hoped the meeting Mr. Eaves and myself were going to attend, would change that.

Part of our problem was that we’d been in a holding pattern, waiting until the contract issue was settled with MAC, and today was the day Mr. Eaves had set up to negotiate with them. All they knew was that he was preparing a lawsuit against them for the way they canceled my contract. He hadn’t pointed out that they’d actually violated the terms they’d written down, and they didn’t seem to be taking the whole thing very seriously. I imagined they got threats of lawsuits from musicians almost every time they canceled a contract, but Mr. Eaves seemed confident ours was different in that we actually had a winnable case.

After some basic pleasantries, they put us in a conference room where we waited well past the time we were supposed to meet. I was a little annoyed since I’d always made sure I was on time or early for any call or meeting with them, but Mr. Eaves believed this was pretty normal. Apparently, this was a way to show dominance, or something … although I couldn’t imagine how just being made to wait would weaken our position.

Finally, Kent and four people in suits showed up. I’d originally thought that they were all lawyers, but once everyone introduced themselves, I found out two of them were actually Kent’s bosses, and probably the people he referred to every time he mentioned his bosses not being happy with me. One was the director of talent, and the other was the vice president of operations for MAC Records. The other two people were, in fact, lawyers like I assumed.

“It’s your meeting, Mr. Eaves,” one of the lawyers said. “What can we do for you today?”

Of course, they knew we were threatening a lawsuit, so they knew exactly what they could do for us.

“Considering the history you’ve had with Charlie and that the label saw fit to give him a shot in the first place, Charlie insisted that we meet with you and give you a chance to fix your error in releasing Charlie from his contract. I will say that I advised against this, since I believe our case is winnable and we could get a better settlement directly from a jury, but Charlie is a big believer in loyalty, and despite MAC’s lack of loyalty in return, he wanted to give you a chance to do the right thing first.”

That, of course, was a complete lie. I’d just agreed to go along with everything Mr. Eaves said we should do, but I assumed he knew what he was doing and this was just another part of his tactic for getting them to negotiate. The lawyers both looked passive, which I guess was normal for lawyers, and Kent gave me a look that was almost apologetic, but the two execs seemed almost offended by the implication.

“You’re joking.” the director of talent said. “We bent over backward to deal with him because there were some people in our office who believed he was worth it. Clearly, they were wrong and we should have never given a contract to a kid because that always comes with huge headaches. Charlie should be thanking us for doing as much as we did for him.”

“What Mr. Taylor means is that everything surrounding the disposition of his contract upheld the terms of that document, and this meeting was given as a courtesy. As everyone has busy schedules, I think it’s best if we just move forward.”

“Fine,” Mr. Eaves said, pulling a stack of documents from his briefcase and putting them in front of him. “We are here mostly to inform you that we are preparing to file a lawsuit against your company for breach of contract, but wanted to give you the option of settling this matter before we filed. We’re alleging two different errors made in the withdrawal of the contract with Charlie. First, that the contract had already expired when Charlie’s deal was removed, and the parties were operating under an implied-in-fact contract, bound to the stipulations of how that contract was being conducted rather than the stipulations of the previous contract. As such, the morality clause that was executed to release MAC Records from their obligations was no longer in effect, and its use was improper.”

“What do you mean his contract had expired?” Mr. Davis, the VP of Operations, said. “There was still just under a year left on his contract before it was due to be renegotiated.”

“That is incorrect. His contract was in effect until Charlie was legally able to sign a contract in his own name, at which point it was to be renegotiated, removing the clauses that were put in place to meet the laws for employing a minor and to make the new contract a full term, instead of the abbreviated one. Yes, Charlie turns eighteen in a little under a year, but the requirement wasn’t his age, as stipulated in the contract, but his classification as a minor and his ability to sign a contract in his own name. You were informed five months ago that Charlie was granted emancipation by the State of North Carolina, meaning the effective end of Charlie’s contract happened then and not at its originally assumed time. Since that point, the label has continued to take its portion of Charlie’s earnings as stipulated in the original contract and provide the services it had been required to provide under the original contract, creating a new implied-in-fact contract in its place; since, after Charlie’s emancipation, no contract existed.”

The lawyers flipped open papers they had in front of them, which I assumed were copies of my contract, fingers flying down the pages as they looked for the points referenced. The VP looked at them, I guess to confirm that Mr. Eaves was right. One of the two lawyers, neither of whose names were given at the start of the meeting, looked back passively, but his partner was less controlled. His expression gave the game away, confirming that Mr. Eaves was, in fact, correct.

“Your second problem is the morality clause itself. There are four sections to the morality clause, none of which Charlie violated. First, there’s the professional conduct section. The text states that Charlie has to maintain a professional demeanor at all times while representing MAC Records and refrain from activities that could hurt the reputation of the organization. Charlie has done this. Defending someone else, as the courts found, could in no way be construed as unprofessional or damaging to anyone’s reputation, but especially not MAC. Last month, you cleared a singer on your label who threw a couch out of a third-story hotel window. When asked about it, one of your representatives told WATC that it was a momentary lapse of judgment caused by a bad reaction to a sleeping pill the man took. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but his booking documents were leaked and made public, and a drug test he took showed he had no such sleeping medication in his system. It did, however, show that he had very large amounts of amphetamines and cocaine in his system. Since he has not been let go, I believe I could convince a jury that you don’t believe that kind of drug use or destruction of property is considered damaging to your label’s reputation.”

“George didn’t kill anyone,” Mr. Davis said, obviously familiar with the musician Mr. Eaves was referencing.

“Fair point. Then we should look at last year. One of your performers was driving back from a gig, drunk, crossed the middle line, and hit a car head-on. He walked away. The forty-two-year-old woman in the other car did not. Surprisingly, the district attorney in Virginia decided that there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute him for this and dropped the charges after a brief investigation. He is still with your label, so his killing someone while drunk and then being arrested on manslaughter charges clearly wasn’t deemed damaging to your reputation.”

“You just said yourself, the charges were dropped.”

“Just like with my client. To that point, there’s also part two of your morality clause that states that the performer agrees to not participate in any illegal activities during the term of the contract and even specifies drug use and theft as examples. I might be mistaken, but cocaine and amphetamines are not legal drugs, correct? I believe that performer received probation and agreed to go into a drug diversion program as part of the deal to avoid getting charges for the destruction of property. And, I think we all know that drunk driving is illegal. And yet, both these performers remain with your label, one more than a year after his incident. Charlie was let go two weeks after his parents died.”

“I believe we made it clear his release was due to breaking the moral turpitude section,” one of the lawyers said.

“Yes, you did. While under contract, my client agreed to not conduct any actions that might be considered morally reprehensible or socially unacceptable. Are you telling me driving at four times the legal limit and destroying a hotel room are socially acceptable, but rushing to your mother’s defense when your drunken father, whom she has a restraining order against, is breaking into her home isn’t? Is that what you plan to take to a jury?”

The men looked at each other, but Mr. Eaves wasn’t finished.

“I don’t know about you gentlemen, but I learned about contract uniformity in employment in law school, specifically that contracts must be drafted in a clear, concise, and consistent manner. In the state of North Carolina, where this contract is enforced, a company cannot enforce some provisions against one employee but choose not to enforce those same provisions against another employee. If the company is not enforcing its contracts consistently, then that contract is voidable, and the employee is not bound by its terms. Now, I know you might want to argue that those circumstances were unique and different, and uniformity doesn’t apply here, but let me ask you this; how confident are you that there aren’t other performers out there who violated sections of this clause and whom you didn’t release from their contract? Are you willing to bet the very large number you put in the penalties section of this contract for its breach? Because we are.”

Mr. Davis and Mr. Taylor leaned over to the lawyer who’d been doing the bulk of talking, the three of them whispering frantically, the lawyer waving his hands around as he talked. While everything Mr. Eaves had said sounded pretty convincing to me, I didn’t know enough about the law to say how accurate he was, and if they’d been playing as fast and loose with their contracts as it sounded like they had. I did, however, know people … at least, a little bit. It was pretty clear from how the lawyer was gesturing and the faces he was making that they were in trouble. Mr. Eaves saw it too, of course. He let them go on for a minute before clearing his throat to get their attention, so he could land his coup de gras.

“We are not, however, unreasonable. We know it would be a major burden for MAC to pay out that kind of money and that even the best arguments don’t always survive a jury, which is why we are willing to be reasonable. In lieu of the full damage terms listed in the contract, which I believe comes to just about two million dollars, we are willing to take a much lower amount if MAC Records agrees to simply assign all rights to Charlie’s record and the master of the recording back over to Charlie.”

“When you say a much lower number, what are you thinking,” Mr. Davis said, getting an annoyed look from his lawyer.

Something Mr. Eaves had once said to me was that the first person who blinked in a negotiation always lost, and this seemed like a pretty significant blink. Just by asking that, he’d acknowledged that they knew they were in trouble and they’d be willing to come to some kind of settlement. The only thing left after that was to figure out where that settlement would end up.

“Two-hundred and fifty thousand, plus reversion of all assigned rights and the rights to the masters assigned to him, along with the raw files.”

“That’s still a lot of money, not to mention the rights we contracted him for in the first place.”

“It’s a whole lot less money than you’re going to have to pay if this goes to trial. I know it’s tempting to try and drag this out and hope we go away or you find a loophole. Don’t. We’re going to give you one week. If we don’t hear from you by then, we’re pulling our offer and filing. Talk to your lawyers. This could get a lot more expensive for you … very fast,” Mr. Eaves said, standing and waving for me to follow.

It was a good line, and he seemed confident that the label would look at that number and give in, but I still wasn’t sure. Mr. Taylor was right, that was still a whole lot of money, and if they wanted to they could drag this out and make it very expensive for everyone involved.

They were still arguing as we left.