JR (35 page)

—Retards that's supposed to be, that's the…

—Retards, right. A little trouble with your machine printout here Dan. Retards.

—Dan's been having a lot of trouble with his holes, an old story to you and me of course Stye, the minute you hook the corporate process into a computer, testing, evaluating these, look. Set your little retreads up in business over here in north seven and then…

—But that's where the equipment's stored, the teaching equipment we bought last year we can't just…

—Fine, it can all go right down to the…

—Wait though you can't store delicate equipment like that just anywhere, it needs controlled temperature and humidity till we unpack it and use it.

—Utilize it, right, and…

—Not quite Dan, open one case of that equipment of yours, unpack one teaching machine you'll have every teacher in the district in here with a sledgehammer, Mister Stye here knows what I'm talking about. Anything to dramatize the issue, that's all your teachers are looking for here Whiteback, something to pounce on.

—As a matter of fact it's already ahm, I thought Dan might be some help to us on this as a matter of fact. She, his wife, your wife that is to say Dan, orientationwise that is, I understand she's ahm motivating factor there activationwise, she's probably talked to you about it.

—To me? About what.

—This strike threat over firing that young Best was his name? With the Mozart…

—That's what I'm talking about Whiteback, dramatize the issue. Fire him and you'll have the whole outfield behind you running interference, there's too much milksop management sitting back in the defense zone while the opposition marches up to the basket and drops one in. Let us carry the ball for a change, I know Vern's with me on this one. Put the ball over in their court for a change.

—If he doesn't have tenure he …

—Tenure? He doesn't even have a certificate, but the…

—A little problem with one of these artistic types Stye, he got up on our open-circuit system here and passed out his foulmouthed opinions on some of our great classic musicians, came in on a Foundation gravy

train, Stye knows what I mean.

—He was a composer yes, writes music you might say we ahm, we tried to integrate him into, tie him in that is to say, into a grant request as part of a cultural resource pilot program aimed at deepening the cultural aspects of the arts in ahm, in depth yes…

—Composer in residence he called himself.

—Yes well he didn't, he didn't actually live here of course, he's right under here somewhere I just signed it, under the Foundation grant that is, Bast. Here it is, that's his name, Bast. A hundred fifty-two fifteen and he hasn't shown up to collect it, call his house even his mother doesn't know where he is, Dan? This Bast, have you seen him?

—He was, I heard there was a field trip to New York he helped out on yes but my wife…

—Horned in on probably, my boy's had trouble with him.

—That field trip, yes, six J. There was something about train tickets, one of the youngsters turned in a lot of train tickets for refund, they're right here somewhere…

—Quite the little musician, Stye, trumpet, nothing pansy, said he wouldn't let him play the Call to the Colors. Just let one of your patriotic groups get hold of that, Whiteback.

—Yes they've, one of them's been in touch with Pecci, Assemblyman Pecci that is to say some Defamation League I think it is, he departed from the curriculum quite severely, some reference to superstitious Italians yes you may know Mister, Assemblyman Pecci, running for Senator Mister Stye?

—He's a good man to know Stye, very close to the community here I expected him this morning in fact Whiteback, clear up a few points on that proposition thirteen he's introducing…

—He's busy with the, out activating his SOS campaign, the SOS for Mario campaign that is to …

—SOS? Sounds a little negative PRwise, SOS…

—Stamp Out Smut.

—Smut, let me tell you what my boy got in the mail Stye, sent away for a ball glove and wait, wait turn that up will you Dan? The sound, turn up the sound.

—Sixth grade Mister Stye, they…

—Look. Look what they're holding up, look. A stock certificate, see? Diamond Cable, that's my parent company Stye, youngsters pitched in and bought a share of Diamond Cable as a share in America that's my boy there, the one back there by the flag want to turn that sound down a little Dan? As I was saying, this man Pecci is a good man to know, he's a good friend of this district what part of the district is Mister Stye in, Whiteback?

—Right there on the border with district thirteen, out past the Dun- kin Donuts location…

—A smart move Stye, really smart. That's where they're talking about locating the new Cultural Center, right out in that area, a new

shopping center ready to go up right there where the highways cross nothing there now but a couple of empty old houses and woods, I drove by there this morning, have you seen that new sign Coming Soon, Mister Custard? That highway's next on the list to be widened when they clean up Burgoyne Street here, you can see why it's a natural for a Cultural Center.

—This is Gottlieb's daughter, remind me to call him.

—You want to turn that sound down a little Dan? He knows what we're talking about, Whiteback, somebody connected with wait, turn that sound up a little Dan?

—Sixth grade Mister Stye, orientationwise…

—Yes, well, gets right to the facts and that visual, nothing pansy about that, the, want to turn that sound down just a little now Dan? The ah, as I was saying…

—Yes that ahm, visual might be misinterpreted…

—As I was saying Stye, this whole Cultural Center project, we're thinking of tying it right in with the school Spring Arts Festival in the spring, expanding it a little with a few remote specials on the itv that will get across the remote capabilities of microwave transmission with a good dependable cable system, get the patriotic theme in there.

Whiteback?

—Yes the ahm, this boy who turned in all the train tickets where are they yes, something about a lost child…

—As Whiteback was saying, he's suggested doing a remote special on my shelter, tying it right in with the whole theme, what America's all about, wall thickness, food storage, waste, what we have to protect. I guess you know what I'm talking about in your business, right Stye?

That empty chair at the head of the dinner table, protect what you have, am I right? And you can get your cameras right in there now Whiteback, that pile of dirt out in front of it is gone. I don't know

where the hell it went but it's gone. Arms cradled, he sank back on the desk's litter, staring at the screen. —This project seems to have sparked real interest in these youngsters, turn that down a little more Dan?

A telephone rang. —What? Whiteback cupped a hand over the mouthpiece. —Ganganelli. —Who? —Of Ganganelli, Pecci and Peretti, they're handling the, hello?

A telephone rang. Hyde shifted a hampacked web of creases and got hold of it. —Parentucelli…

—Tell him, just a minute…

—He just wants to know if you want the French doors in the dining room to open out or in.

—Tell him, tell him out. Wait, in.

—Hello? In.

—No wait, tell him…

—He says he's got to raise his quote for blacktopping from thirty cents a square foot, he says the Flo-Jan Corp wants twenty cents for every yard of asphalt landed over the town dock with a seven fifty a month minimum, he wants to offer them fifteen with a five hundred minimum.

—Tell him to tell them, wait… hello? Parentucelli's on the other phone here, he's offering fifteen cents a yard on the Flo-Jan contract with… what?

—They're on the other phone here with, here you talk to them. Loud. Give me your phone there Whiteback, get them together and let them straighten it out.

—Did you tell him out or in?

—Who the, who's that, that Gibbs? I thought this class was supposed to be Mrs, Mrs…

—Joubert, yes, Mrs Joubert… Whiteback's hands clasped over the nested telephones ranting at each other in the small under his tented sleeves, —she's taking a few days' sick leave she…

—Do you hear what he's saying? Like putting the fox to guard the henhouse, right? Sounds like every crazy radical in town got in on that field trip.

—Mister Gibbs usually teaches physics Mister Stye, he's ahm, just filling in here that is to say…

—Squatting, what's he want to do, offend the religious sensibilities of every parent in the district? He shifted, waved off by a flurry intent over the telephones nested mouth- to ear-piece in the desk. —A church, squatting… ?

Uncoupling the phones, Whiteback raised one to his ear reflecting its vacancy in a rimless gaze. —Hung up, he said finally, restoring it to its cradle as the other continued to rant into his sleeve. —Apparently Miss Flesch is suing the Catania Paving Company too I, I happened to overhear Mister Parentucelli discussing it with his attorneys here he ahm, seems rather upset…

—Why shouldn't he be? Creases intact, the herringbone massed to standing —thinks she can sue the school and anybody else for getting her smile knocked sideways and ruining a promising career in television, she was employed here as a teacher she wasn't hired as an entertainer, the only people who.thought she was a star were all your

jobless, old, retired, shut-in, welfare, Stye here sees plenty of it in his …

—As a matter of fact he, that's why Mister Stye is here yes, the insurance aspect of the ahm, insurance that is to say…

—This ah, yes he shouldn't have any trouble smoothing this over, probably sees little lawsuits like this all the time at his level Whiteback, suing the school because she was on school property, is that about it?

—She's ahm, yes suing the school, the Catania Paving Company, the Ford Motor Company, and Skinner. Catania, Parentucelli that is to say, he's suing her, Skinner, and the school, and Skinner is suing…

—Who the hell is this Skinner?

—The textbook salesman who was riding her over, he's su…

—Yes well I'm sure Mister Stye here is a busy man Whiteback, we've taken up a lot of his time, his company's time that is, he'll ah, as soon as he gets this situation smoothed out we should get together again and kick around this school board idea Mister Stye. It can be a pretty rewarding experience, see it pay off at the community level and the corporate level and these little headaches that come up now and then, helps you get a consensus, see things our way…

Billowing to a rise, blue fought blue to free a cuff of the ranting telephone and seek mid-air for a handshake —when you have some more time Mister Stye, we're always on the lookout for ahm, for experienced knowhow in terms of implementing our efforts activitywise down to the bank that is to say, housing, small business applications, potentiating some of our ahm unadvantaged citizens

here…

—Out this way Mister Stye, I have to stick around a little longer stop off over at the Holy Name of, Holy Name school there see how they're coming setting up their closed-circuit facility, they ought to stop lifting your lessons off the air for free any day now Whiteback, worth stopping in there sometime just to see Sister Agnes cut up a frog… His energy pitted against the apparent weight of the door as though for the first time almost flung it off its hinges, —And I mentioned our Assemblyman Pecci to Mister Stye here, a good man for him to know, we ought to get them together as soon as he's straightened this little situation out so nobody's embarrassed. Pecci's a good friend of the district of course, we wouldn't want to see him embarrassed right now, Mister Stye knows what I mean…

—If you can stay with us a minute longer Dan, we just want to discuss, you awake, Dan?

—I don't like it. Hyde massed against the door as though it were being assaulted from the other side. —Notice the way he just sat here and took everything in? And what's this about him running for the school board.